The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Trump’s Arraignment, Bragg’s Presser, Lawmakers React to Trump’s Arraignment | April 4

Episode Date: April 4, 2023

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Former President Donald Trump appeared at the New York City courthouse this afternoon for an arraignment hearing.  Jarrett’s reporting: https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/04/04/what-i-saw-outside-trumps-arraignment-at-manhattan-courthouse/ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg held a press conference this afternoon after Trump’s arraignment. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are reacting to the former president’s arraignment.  Relevant Links Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/ Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription   Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts Sign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Samantha Sherris. I'm Virginia Allen. And this is the Daily Signal Top News for Tuesday, April 4th. Here are today's headlines. Former President Donald Trump appeared at the New York City Courthouse this afternoon for an arraignment hearing. The former president arrived for the Big Apple on Monday where he spent the night at Trump Tower. Reuters reports that Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. As we have previously reported, Trump was indicted by a grand jury last week. The indictment follows months of investigations into supposed hush money payments Trump made to Porn Star Stormy Daniels. He allegedly paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to cover up an affair. Manhattan District Attorney General Alvin Bragg headed the investigation into Trump.

Our colleague Jarrett Stettman is on the ground in New York City reporting on Trump's arraignment. Jarrett writes for the Daily Signal that hundreds of passionate supporters and opponents of Donald Trump turned out Tuesday for his scheduled arrest and arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, creating a carnival-like scene. Jared is joining us now. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you so much. It's good to be on.

So first and foremost, can you tell us a little bit about the vibe on the ground and what you've been seeing? Yeah, absolutely. In fact, since I initially started writing the story at 11 o'clock this morning, that the crowd grew much larger, for them there was initially maybe a few hundred, Trump supporters by the end. There were definitely thousands of people, both pro and anti-Trump, although I would say that the crowd itself tended to be much more pro-Trump than anti-Trump, which I think is quite interesting, given that this is taking place in New York City, which is not exactly a location

known for its conservative or mageleading politics, but there were a huge number of Trump supporters that showed up at this with flags, with signs, showing their support. and there was a lot of banter going back and forth between the various political factions at this event, those who were for and against the indictment and the arraignment today. Yeah, that's really interesting. I was following all of your tweets and we'll make sure to include a link to your article in the show notes as well. And I wanted to ask what you were hearing from people who are outside the courthouse, both pro and anti-Trump. Yeah, it was very interesting.

I think that the general tenure from those who were in favor of Trump and against the indictment, I think they largely believe that this is a politicized kind of prosecution, that this is something that strikes them of a banana republic. I heard used a few times. I thought it was very interesting that this courthouse is very close to Chinatown, New York City. There was a huge contingent of Chinese American Trump supporters. And a few were saying that this reminds them of communist China. I heard one person who walked by me actually say that, which I thought was quite interesting. So there was this feeling that this was very political, that Trump was being persecuted

because he was a Republican president because of who he is. And on the other side, I think you had many people who were against Trump, who were very happy to see him get arrested. They thought that, well, this is what Trump gets for being who he was. and being a very bad man. I think there was definitely a lot of, there were a lot of people who were very excited. There was one lady who was dancing around in a bizarre costume,

like almost a mummy costume and screaming that she, you know, down with, she actually said down with white people, which I thought was very interesting, given that the pro-Trump crowd was actually very racially mixed for sure. So there was definitely a lot of heated debates, I guess you could say, I guess you could say going on in front of the courthouse and people arguing with each other. But there was nothing violent. I didn't see anything that we can be construed of as a riot or anything dangerous like that.

These were people having their voices heard and showing up for what is potentially a big moment in American history. Yes, definitely. And after the president left the courthouse, did most people disperse? Did they hang around? What kind of was the vibe after he pled knocking? guilty to those charges? It was very kind of order of business. People just kind of walked off. People made their lunch and dinner plans. People, again, it was almost like a ball game kind of atmosphere there. People wanted to catch a picture of former President Trump as he left the courthouse.

People were just very interested in this. It's not every day that something like this happens, even in New York City. So I think there was this kind of surreal quality to it because you have helicopters still going overhead. You have crowds dispersing. You have trucks going by with giant Trump signs and Trump flags hanging over them. And so it was definitely almost like a carnival-like atmosphere at this event. Again, a very serious thing.

But I think for many people, this just seemed like a striking moment in history. that they want to be witness to. Absolutely. Jared, thank you so much for joining us and for being on the ground to cover this event today. Thank you so much. Thank you. Appreciate you having me on.

Well, today's news is all focused on former President Donald Trump and his arraignment. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg held a press conference this afternoon after Trump's arraignment. Trump was on his way out of New York when Bragg took to the podium and had this to say.

Under New York State law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to the fraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about. 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York State, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious.

criminal conducts. Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow, Cully Stimson, says Bragg is a Soros-backed rogue prosecutor who has refused to prosecute whole categories of crimes in the name of social justice. Let's take a listen to some of Stimson's recent comments on a Daily Signal podcast bonus episode. Alvin Bragg is a Soros bought and paid for rogue prosecutor. He has refused to prosecute an entire campaign. categories of misdemeanors in his jurisdiction. He's watered down most felonies to misdemeanors.

So it takes a lot of chutzpah to indict somebody for essentially a scrivener or bookkeeping error for an alleged incident that occurred almost a decade ago. And if you want to learn more about the ongoing situation with former President Donald Trump, his indictment and arraignment, be sure to check out the Daily Signal website. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are reacting to the former president's arraignment today. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida tweeted a video this afternoon with the caption, Today is a bad day for all of us, and we are all going to regret it for a very long time. Let's take a listen to the video via the congressman's Twitter.

Like Trump or not like him, whether you're for him or not for him. Today is a bad day for all of us. Put aside for a moment whether you like Trump or not like him, whether you're for him or not for him. Today is a bad day for all of us. Today, American politics crosses a line that it's never going to come back from. After today, after today, especially on the basis of how ridiculous these charges are, after today, every abut prosecutor in America that wants to make a name for themselves now is going to have permission to basically go after someone in the other party.

What's going to stop some Republican or conservative prosecutor now from saying, well now I'm going to go after Joe Biden or his family or Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi, whoever. What's going to stop them? Nothing's going to stop them because today we set a new normal. Today we set the new normal that if you really want to take someone down, nothing should stop you. You should be able to manipulate the law any way you want to charge someone. And what really is damaging is that the charges here are absurd. You're talking about a misdemeanor, if proven, a misdemeanor that had a statute of limitation that expired. So this prosecutor has decided to link it to a federal charge, election law charge, that the federal government decided not to pursue.

And all of it built on the testimony of a convicted liar. Of a convicted liar. And so people see this for what it is. It's political, but it's more than just political. It's poison to our country. It will permanently change politics in America forever. We are going to regret this day, whether you like Trump or not, we are going to regret this day for a very long time. We are setting a new normal, a damaging new normal, that is going to disfigure American politics and put us on a destructive road.

We are going to regret this day for a very, very long time. Representative Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia tweeted, Mayor Adams and disgraced DA Alvin Bragg should be ashamed of themselves. On my way to my hotel in New York City, I've seen many people so drugged up they can't even stand. They just fall over on the sidewalks from using. drugs and Mayor Adams free drug use centers. But all these communist Democrats care about is arresting President Trump for their made-up fake crimes. Representative Matt Gates of Florida tweeted a photo of Trump outside the courthouse with a caption, Godspeed, Mr. President. America is standing

with you against the switch hunt. We're also seeing some reactions from Democrats. Representative Jamal Bowman of New York tweeted a video directed at Representative Green. with the caption, get your hateful rhetoric out of New York City. Democracy is all about love. Let's take a listen to the video via the Congressman's Twitter. Yeah, peace in love, yo. We know how we do. We cause ruckus everywhere we go.

We just finished shutting down Majority Taylor Green. She tried to bring that hateful rhetoric to Manhattan to New York. We're not having it. Number love, baby. Democracy is all about love, love for all people, love for humanity. We got Louie in the building. Now we're about to get on some bikes and ride around New York City because it's a beautiful day. It's springtime.

It's all about love. Don't spread no hate. Majority Taylor Green. Don't bring that hate here. It's all about love. We're about to go to Steam School. Check out innovation, design thinking in our public schools. I got Lou in the building.

Y'all didn't even see us in a minute, sir. Y'all forgot how we do. Wherever we go, we change the game. We revolutionaries. Join us. Stop playing. Representative Adam Schiff of California tweeted, a somber moment in the life of our country, when it's necessary to arraign a former president on criminal

charges. As the case falls to the DA to prove, we must recognize what is most important. Even the most powerful are held to account, and that nobody is above the law. And we have one more tweet from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said, I believe that Donald Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law. There's no place in our justice system for any evidence. outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right, but all protests must be peaceful. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't had a chance, be sure to check out

our morning show that's right here in this podcast feed, where we bring you interviews with lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning. I'm going to be sitting down with Rabbi Pinhus Taylor to discuss the history and the significance of Passover as Passover kicks off. Also, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read and appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. We hope that you all have a wonderful night and we'll see you right back here tomorrow morning.

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