-The judge in Donald Trump's defamation trial threatened
to kick Trump out of the courtroom
and repeatedly scolded Trump's lawyer
for being very bad at her job.
Meanwhile, Trump repeated his claim
that he should have complete and total immunity
to break any laws he wants as president,
even when he "crosses the line."
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
Not that they ever meant it, but the Republican Party
has abandoned any pretense of caring about the Constitution
or so-called limited government.
As we've explained on this show before,
that's what they used to say when they criticized Democrats.
In fact, they were so hysterical about it,
they even started using props.
-I think we need to return to constitutional government.
I think they shredded the Constitution.
-This is like the whims of a dictatorship,
where the elite leaders decide what parts of laws they like,
what parts of laws they don't like,
what they themselves will be subjected to.
-They believe in principles of big government.
They believe in this relentless assault
on our constitutional rights.
-Is it time the president just already do this already?
Torch the Constitution?
-That's a Fox host lighting a pocket Constitution on fire.
Does he think that's the only copy?
[ Laughter ]
It really lessens the impact
when the thing you're setting on fire
is something they sell at museums for $1.
It's like of a protester threw paint on a Van Gogh
self-portrait that was printed on a mousepad.
It's like the time NBC told me they wouldn't pay to let me
have a Beatles song in "A Closer Look,
and I was so mad I ripped up a photocopy of my ID.
"Well, in that case...
see you tomorrow!"
The point is that supposed reverence
for the Constitution was BS.
They all immediately fell in line behind Donald Trump --
a man who as president repeatedly claimed
he had "total authority" to do whatever he wanted.
And now Trump is claiming he must have complete
and total immunity from prosecution.
Last week, for example, his lawyer argued in court
that the president should have the power
to order SEAL Team 6 to murder a political opponent.
And when he was asked about that hypothetical,
Trump basically agreed.
-I say this: on immunity, very simple,
if a president of the United States
does not have immunity, he'll be totally ineffective
because he won't be able to do anything
because it will mean he'll be prosecuted,
strongly prosecuted perhaps,
as soon as he leaves office
by his -- by the opposing party.
So a president of the United States --
I'm not talking just me.
I'm talking any president has to have immunity.
-Quick, somebody give me a barbecue lighter
and an eighth grade social studies textbook!
[ Laughter ]
And by the way, Trump says he's talking about any president,
but I do think he means just him.
[ As Trump ] "Look, I don't mean just me.
I mean, any president should be allowed to use a violent mob
to overthrow an election and pay hush money to porn stars.
And if Joe Biden does that, my hands will be tied."
[ Laughter ]
Trump is making it sound like if we prosecute him
for inciting an insurrection
and trying to overthrow American democracy,
then future presidents will be indicted
nonstop for much smaller stuff, which is obviously ridiculous.
He wants us to believe that if he's convicted for January 6th,
then Joe Biden will start getting parking tickets
for leaving his Stingray in a loading zone.
[ As Biden ] "Oh, I-I'm loading something, alright?
I'm loading some Allman Brothers into my 8-track.
'Sweet Melissa,' 'Midnight Rider.' You know the songs.
We're going to blast some tunes and feel the wind in our hair,
and then we're going to down some Lactaid
and crush some ice cream cones."
And now Trump has doubled down on that immunity claim
in yet another bender
in his fake social media site, Truth Social.
In an all-caps post,
he insisted he should have total immunity
even for actions that may otherwise be illegal.
-Here's what Donald Trump has been posting recently
on his Truth Social account just within the last few hours.
Quote...
"A president of the United States must have full immunity.
Without which it would be impossible for him
or her to properly function.
Any mistake," he writes, "even if well intended,
would be met with almost certain indictment
by the opposing party at term end.
Even events that 'cross the line'
must fall under total immunity."
-It's chilling when Donald Trump
uses the words "cross the line,"
because that means he knows there's such a thing as lines.
So you know there are lines, and you still orchestrated a coup,
stole classified documents, extorted a foreign country,
took millions in foreign payments,
insulted Gold Star families,
called fallen soldiers "suckers and losers,"
tried to kill your own vice president,
doctored a weather map with a Sharpie...
[ Laughter ]
...and creeped on an American flag.
[ Laughter ]
This is not a man who has any moral limitations,
so I can't imagine what he means by saying
he should be allowed to cross the line.
What's he going to do?
Imprison his political opponents?
chop off California and sell it to Russia?
Outlaw umbrellas?
[ Laughter ]
So, Trump wants immunity from prosecution
even for crossing the line.
You can't have more open contempt for the law
than Donald Trump.
Unless, of course, you're one of Trump's lawyers.
Because while Trump is screaming about immunity on social media,
his lawyer, Alina Habba,
has been repeatedly scolded and reprimanded
by a federal judge during Donald Trump's trial in New York
for defaming E. Jean Carroll.
Now, if you're not familiar with Habba,
she's the Trump lawyer
who frequently does press conferences outside courthouses
where she says ridiculous stuff,
like the time she claimed Trump's children
were being harassed by the courts.
-He will open himself up to whatever they want
because he's not afraid.
People that are afraid cower. President Trump doesn't cower.
And now his children are being brought in away
from their families for doing nothing wrong.
-These poor, innocent Trump children,
they're being brought in away
from their families without their toys.
Now they have to -- no time to do their homework.
When are they going to learn to count to numbers like 40,
42 and 46 -- which are their [bleep] ages?
[ Laughter ]
So that's Alina Habba.
She's clearly not a real lawyer
so much as a PR person for Trump.
And that much has been apparent during the defamation trial
where she keeps making embarrassing mistakes.
And the judge, Lewis Kaplan,
keeps scolding her for those mistakes.
When you're a judge and a Trump lawyer
walks into your courtroom,
you must know your job just got a lot harder.
It's like being a basketball referee
and seeing that one of the players warming up has a sword.
"Oh, it's going to be a -- it's going to be a long night.
Does he think you can have a sword?"
For example,
as you may know, if you're a lawyer or a person who reads
or if you've ever seen an episode of "Suits,"
there are rules for introducing evidence in a trial.
I'm no Ivy League constitutional scholar,
but I do know that you can't just take out
random pieces of paper in the middle of a trial
and start reading them
without first going through the formal process
of entering that document into evidence
and making sure the judge
and the opposing side knows what it is.
And yet Habba tried to do exactly that yesterday,
and the judge was furious.
-This is a moment that she has with the judge
where she is reading a document in court.
The judge says, "What exhibit is this, Ms. Habba?"
Ms. Habba: "I'm trying to get it in your honor.
I have to ask about it."
The judge: "Guess what?
You may not read from a document that's not in evidence."
Ms. Habba: "Sure. Let me get it in."
The judge: "No.
We're going to take a break now...
during which you should refresh your memory
about how it is you get a document into evidence."
-Oh, you want her to refresh her memory
on how to introduce evidence?
Well, joke's on you, judge.
She never knew how to introduce evidence.
At one point, he got even more fed up with Habba
when she made a ridiculous motion for a mistrial.
During her cross-examination, Habba asked Carroll,
"Are you aware it is illegal to delete evidence?"
Carroll's lawyer: "Objection."
Habba: "I move for a mistrial, evidence has been deleted."
Judge: "Denied and the jury will disregard
everything Ms. Habba just said."
Man, that is brutal.
She's so bad at this the judge is basically telling the jury,
"Just pretend she's not here."
[ Laughter ]
The judge is talking about her the way you talk to your kids
about the weird guy on the subway.
"He said the end is nigh. What does that even mean, Daddy?"
"Just...disregard it."
[ Laughter ]
Also, I love the move of making an accusation
and then, before the witness could even respond,
motioning for a mistrial based on your accusation.
What other high-level tactics will Habba try?
"Ms. Carroll, are you aware that loser-says-what?"
"Objection!"
"I move for mistrial,
they interrupted before the witness could say
'what' and thus prove she's a loser."
Judge: "Motion is denied, and from now on
the jury will be instructed to wear blindfolds
and noise canceling headphones every time Ms. Habba speaks."
[ Laughter ]
But of course, it's not just Habba
who's getting on the judge's last nerve.
The judge also threatened to kick Trump out of the courtroom
because Trump could be heard
muttering disparaging comments during the trial.
And even then, Trump could not help
but get into a back-and-forth with the judge.
-Throughout her testimony,
he was leaning over talking to his lead attorney,
Alina Habba.
Now, at one point in a break
when the jury was out of the room,
Carroll's attorney raised this to the judge,
saying that she could hear him saying words such as "con job,"
saying this was false and a lie.
And so she raised this issue to the judge.
The judge had asked Trump to be careful
about what he was saying, but it continued.
And then again later on this came up again,
and the judge had this very tense exchange with
the former president in court, the judge telling him
"If he disregards court orders, Mr. Trump,
I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial.
I understand you're probably eager for me to do that."
Trump replied audibly, "I would love it."
The judge said, "I know you would
You just can't control yourself
in this circumstance apparently."
-A judge actually had to tell a former president
of the United States, "You can't control yourself."
Hell, he can't even control an umbrella.
Think about how low Trump has sunk.
He's gone from the most powerful man in the world
to alleged criminal muttering
about con jobs in a New York courtroom,
while a sarcastic judge yells at him.
I'd say there's nothing lower,
but then these two clowns are behind 30 points, so...
[ Laughter ]
Things are so crazy right now.
In a year, Trump's either going to be president again,
or are we going to see him in Times Square
offering to take pictures with tourists
next to Elmo and Spider-Man.
[ Laughter ]
[ As Trump ] "A picture costs 10 bucks,
but for $20, I can hump you like the American flag."
This is a fundamentally lawless movement
with open contempt for the Constitution
and the criminal justice system.
Not only they want total
and complete immunity from prosecution,
they can't even be bothered to learn the basic rules
of how a courtroom functions.
Trump is such an obvious criminal
the only lawyers he can get to represent him
are ones who are...
-...totally ineffective.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
Hey everybody. Thanks for watching "A Closer Look."
And as a reminder, my brother, Josh, and I
have started a new podcast called
"Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers."
We hope you listen. We hope you like it.
We'll see you soon.