Top Story with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Episode Date: August 2, 2023

Former President Trump is federally charged in the special counsel investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Ellison Barber reports from inside a migrant processing center in New York City as officials say the city is out of space for new asylum seekers. A car rams into a group of pedestrians in New York City, injuring at least 10 people. Police hunt for a 17-year-old who allegedly killed a professional dancer — in what they now suspect is a hate crime. And Tom speaks with the creator and star of the new Broadway adaptation of Back to the Future.

Tonight, breaking news, former President Donald Trump criminally indicted for a third time. The special counsel charging Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The charges, the most serious allegations an American president has ever faced, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. We will have full-team coverage on this bombshell indictment tonight, including the legal road ahead for, Trump, as special counsel Jack Smith says he will seek a speedy trial and we're now learning the identity of one of the co-conspirators not named in the indictment. Plus, what all of this means for his bid to become president yet again as one of his Republican rivals for the GOP nomination joins Top Story Live tonight. Also breaking no more room, the migrant crisis in New York City

spilling out onto the streets. Asylum seekers forced to sleep on the sidewalk as the city's mayor says shelters have run out of space. Migrants from South America and Africa, crowding sections of Manhattan because they have nowhere to stay. Our Ellis and Barber takes us inside one of those overcrowded facilities tonight. The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer

making his first appearance in court what prosecutors revealed about evidence they've discovered as we get a first look inside of his home where investigators say the alleged killer was living a double life. Killed for Vogue? Surveillance video showing the moments before a deadly confrontation in Brooklyn,

a man who was dancing to Beyonce with his friends stabbed and killed. The search for the teenage suspect tonight and the tribute just posted by Beyonce. Desert wildfire, a fast-moving blaze, fueling a dangerous file world in California's desert, the all-out efforts to contain that raging wildfire tonight. Plus, wild video out of China igniting a debate online, is this a bear or a huge? in a costume. What we're hearing from the zoo where it lives. And Great Scott, Back to the Future, is back, this time on Broadway. Our conversation tonight with the creator of the mega hit from the 80s and the actor, tasked with bringing Marty McFly to life on stage. The moment he found out,

he scored the role and the advice he got from Michael J. Fox himself. Top story starts right now. And good evening. We begin top story and our special coverage tonight with that bombshell news coming out of Washington. Former President Donald Trump has been criminally indicted for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and undermine the will of American voters. The charges likely the most serious allegations Trump is facing and perhaps the most serious charges an American president has ever faced. Here they are. You can see him on the screen. Conspiracy to defraud the U.S. conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding,

and conspiracy against another person or people's rights. Those charges handed down by special counsel, Jack Smith, centered around the former president's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Some of the most serious allegations involving Trump's communications with Vice President Mike himself. I want to read a portion of the indictment.

You see it on your screen right here. On January 1st, the defendant called the vice president and berated him because he had learned that the vice president had opposed a lawsuit seeking a judicial decision that at the certification, the vice president had the authority to reject or return votes to the states under the Constitution. The vice president responded that he thought there was no constitutional basis for such authority and that it was improper. In response, the defendant, Trump, told the vice president, quote, you're too honest. The indictment goes on to say on January 3rd, the defendant, Trump, again, told the vice president that at the certification proceeding, the vice president had the absolute right to reject electoral votes and the ability to overturn the election.

The vice president responded that he had no such authority. Those communications, of course, happening in the days leading up to the January 6th Capitol riot, a dark day in our nation's history that ultimately spurred this investigation, this indictment, the third levied against the former president. the second by special counsel, Jack Smith, who spoke late today about the decision to bring these latest charges. We wanted you to hear directly from him. Here's the special counsel. Today, an indictment was unsealed, charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. The indictment was issued by a grand jury of citizens. here in the District of Columbia, and it sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage

everyone to read it in full. The attack on our nation's capital on January 6, 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. The men and women of law enforcement who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6th are heroes. They are patriots and they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. They put their lives in the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people. They defended the

very institutions and principles that define the United States. Since the attack on our capital, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment, and our investigation of other individuals continues. In this case, My office will seek a speedy trial so that our evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizens. In the meantime, I must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. And you heard it right there from Jack Smith himself. The former president is, of course, innocent until proven guilty.

Trump tonight slamming the indictment, calling it a weaponization of the Justice Department and a witch hunt. We'll have a robust discussion tonight in the best legal and political minds on TV. Plus, a GOP rival to former President Trump, who is running for president himself, Will Hurd. We'll join our show live. But first, let's get right over to NBC senior legal correspondent, Laura Jared, who has been combing through the indictment. She joins us here live. So, Laura, I know you've been on TV for the past couple of hours. I do want to pull out something that Jack Smith just said, which is he made it clear.

that he wanted to tell the American people they were going to have a speedy trial. Explain why you think he told this to the American people. Well, it's really a defendant's right to have a speedy trial, Tom. And in many cases, a defendant wants that because they're in custody, and they obviously want to get on with it. In this case, obviously, the defendant is somebody quite extraordinary, the former president, the frontrunner for the Republican Party, someone who, by all accounts, has wanted to delay this legal process as long as possible. And certainly that's been the case with the first. indictment that he faced from the special counsel, Jack Smith. But the public also has a right

to a speedy trial. And in this case, according to prosecutors, the public, the voters, the American people are really the victims of this alleged crime, this alleged conspiracy perpetrated by the former president of the United States. And so I think you're going to continue to hear from prosecutors to the extent that they can speak about this case in court and through their filings that the voters have a right to have this trial happen as soon as possible, Tom. You know, Laura, I know we have some new reporting tonight. There are several co-conspirators in the indictment, but they're not named. We're now getting the identity. We're able to report this now of one of those co-conspirators. Yes. John Eastman, known as sort of the architect

of the plan to try to overturn the election, to try to pressure the vice president, to use his power to try to either delay or block outright the certification of the votes on January 6. Remember, for those at home, he really just has a ceremonial role there. Well, Eastman had come up with this plan to use fake electors, pro-Trump electors, who had no authority at all. And the idea was that was going to serve as sort of a pretext for Pence to say, ah-ha, see, there are these dueling slates of electors, there's some conflict here. I have to try to delay or block this in some way. obviously didn't go along with that plan, and he carried out his duties, but Eastman concocted that plan, and by his own account thought that the plan was legally risky, and it appears

again that he is one of these alleged co-conspirators. Now, you point out, Tom, these people have not been charged with a crime, and there are six of these alleged co-conspirators, as the prosecutor puts it people who are known and unknown to the grand jury, but they're described in such a way that it's pretty clear who they are. And Eastman is one of many here. The others appear, again, based on what we know, public reporting, and we're going to continue to report this out, again, people like Giuliani, people who are actually Trump's own attorneys are at issue here and face some jeopardy. But again, they have not been charged. They have denied any wrongdoing, and it's important to state that, Tom. All right, Laura, Jared, leading us off here. Laura, we always appreciate all your analysis and reporting for more legal analysis on this unprecedented indictment of a former president. We have two of the best here in-house with us in studio.

I want to bring in former federal prosecutor, Christy Greenberg, and Danny Savalos, of course, a criminal defense attorney and NBC News legal analyst. I'm going to push you guys both on this because we sort of laid out the facts for our audience. I got to tell you, throughout this indictment, there's a lot of pages. And Jack Smith makes it a case to say the president lied or gave false statements over and over again. But at the top of the indictment, he says that itself is not a crime. There's freedom of speech, and the president can interpret election results any way he can. How does he connect the dots from saying all these lies, from misinterpreting facts, pushing people, to then conspiracy? Well, there is a difference between lies and material lies that are used as a fraud and a pretext to be able to change the, try to change the results of an election, to obstruct an official proceeding with corrupt intent.

That's one of the charges here. to conspire with intent to try to deprive somebody of their right to vote and to have that vote fairly counted. Again, there are lies that you can say about different aspects of, you know, the election and how things were run. But when you are doing it with this criminal intent, that's what changes, you know, just a white lie to something material and something with intent that makes it a crime. As a federal prosecutor combing through this, what are the two biggest pieces of evidence? you think that the federal government has. Is it the conversations with Vice President Mike Pence? Is it the fake electors?

Is it both? The conversations with Mike Pence are incredibly damning evidence. There is a line here that's private conversation, so this is the first we're hearing of it, where Donald Trump says to the Vice President, you're too honest. There's another line here where he said, And the vice president says, well, even your own lawyer doesn't think I have the authority to do this, to delay or reject the electors.

And yet Donald Trump continues to pressure him and try to get him to act. And then even knowing that there could be violence, even hearing that Mike Pence had to be escorted out on January 6th, the private conversations that are in here is he's still saying, well, it's great. you know, people are angry. And look, people are angry for me. No concern about his running mate. You know, no concern for the vice president of the United States and his safety. It's just it's shocking. But I'm not sure if that's a crime. And Danny, I want to ask you as a defense attorney, pouring through this, I mean, you hear it a lot. Trump's words are being used against them. But again, is that a crime? And could he use the defense of, listen, all these co-conspirators, these were, these were lawyers, a lot of these guys. And they were telling me things like, quote,

we don't have evidence, but we have theories, which is in this indictment. Is that a defense? I got bad legal advice. I didn't know I was breaking the law. Yes, and you say the magic word defense, and that's the context in which I look at what is the most important evidence alleged in this indictment, and I think about the defense. And when you talk about there are a bunch of lawyers that were doing this, what you're really saying goes to the core defense, really the only defense Trump has ever had, which is ignorance, which is, I believed I won. And on page, I believe, at 7, the government responds to that.

And they start listing all the people, all the important people who told him unequivocally that he was wrong, starting with senior members of the DOJ, including Bill Barr, his then attorney general. Then you have other members of the national defense. Other people who knew that he lost, told him that he lost. That means that Trump, the government's planning to prove, at least to a jury, that Trump, in light of all of these people telling him that he lost, he still believed he won. And they'll just let the jury decide. They'll let the jury weigh whether Trump's argument that, hey, in light of all this, I still had no idea, I still believed I won. I relied on these attorneys. And by the way, relying on attorneys, it's a risky defense.

You waive all of your privilege. And in addition, some of these attorneys, Tom, are co-consult. They may turn on him? Well, yes and no, yes. I mean, yes, they may turn on him. They probably will turn on him. In my view, attorneys are more likely to turn because they don't want to lose their law license. They don't want to lose their career.

There are people that are more likely to rush into the government and enter into a cooperation agreement. And I usually throw attorneys in that category, you know, maybe not always, but generally. So when I read through this indictment, right, because I'm trained in this job to kind of figure out what are the headlines here? how can we make this into television? What do we need our viewers to know? I know you read this and you look for flaws. You look for ins where you have an advantage over the prosecution. Combing through this indictment. Do you see in Rhodes as a defense attorney? Let me tell you the way it usually goes down when you're defending a federal criminal case. You look at the indictment and then you have a very long, hard talk with your client. You say, look, you may have won a few cases in state court,

but we're in federal court now. They win almost every single case. Most of a federal criminal defense attorney's job is a prolonged guilty plea, a negotiation. But that isn't really an option here for the former president, because there really isn't anybody else that he could give the government that they'd be interested in. This case is almost certainly going to go to trial, unless the former president simply doesn't have the stomach for a trial. So when you ask me, do I see flaws in this indictment? I don't see many, but I wouldn't expect to see many. Do you know why? Because this is a case that Jack Smith and special counsel's office investigated until they were absolutely certain they could prove each and every paragraph

in that 100-plus-page paragraph indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. So I'm not surprised that I don't see a whole lot in a way of weakness. Christy, the president, Republicans are already stating the fact that this investigation took two and a half years, right? And they're questioning the timing. Why did this take two and a half years to bring this indictment against the president when a lot of this stuff happened right after the election? Is that a fair, is that a fair criticism?

or does an investigation of this magnitude take that long? Well, this investigation, Jack Smith's investigation into January 6th, I mean, he was only appointed in November of 2022, and that's really when things started to pick up with respect to the investigation. That's not a long time for an investigation of this magnitude with this many individuals that they were interviewing. I mean, there were so many different state officials that are listed in here, different states where there were fake elector schemes.

pressure on the state officials to turn away electors. I mean, this is a sprawling conspiracy that is charged here. So, you know, this is not a lengthy period of time. Why were the co-conspirators not named? Well, you can't, if they're not charged, they're not going, in this charging instrument, they're not going to be named. And why do you think they weren't charged, or is it just not yet? I think because of speed.

So Jack Smith wants to get to trial before the election against Donald Trump. If you charge these other six individuals, five of whom are identified or appear to be lawyers, you're going to have exactly what Danny was just saying. They're going to start pointing the fingers at each other. And then you get into pretrial motions about motions to sever if their defenses are antagonistic to one another. And then so if the first case out of Florida is May 20, 20, 24, would this case come after that, before that, around the same time? This could come before it because unlike that case, which has classified discovery and their procedures for how, you go about reviewing that discovery. This, I mean, there may be some classified files,

but by and large, it seems like this is non-classified discovery. This is a judge in D.C. that has dealt with January 6th cases before. It's one defendant. This is a case that could move and go before that may date. So, Danny, this is not your world, but I want to set this up for my question. We're going to talk about this with the political panel in just a moment, but a poll came out today in New York Times, Santa poll. It shows President Biden and former President Trump neck and neck, right? Former President Trump is way out ahead in the GOP primary. He's likely to be the nominee.

If he wins the nomination and he beats the current president and he is found guilty, can he pardon himself? What happens to that scenario? The answer is a definitive nobody knows because it's never happened. But far better for the president is that, or excuse me, the former president Trump is that he delays this case until after he is sworn in. And then he doesn't need to deal with the thorny issue of a pardon. You know what he does? Can he delay it, though? I thought they're going to have a trouble delaying this before the election.

Well, the answer to that question, yes, they can try, and they may be successful. And there are reasons, but ultimately it's up to the judge to decide when this case goes forward. Federal court moves much more quickly. But he doesn't even need to deal with a pardon if the case is still open. He interviews around, gets the attorney general who either explicitly or implicitly promises that he will end this investigation. The investigation goes away. Donald Trump no longer has any federal concerns if he can just delay this case until after

after the election and specifically after he's sworn in. But the state cases, he cannot pardon himself. He cannot do anything. Danny Savalos, Christy Greenberg, we thank you so much time for your analysis. With the former president indicted again, many of his 2024 opponents still reluctant to speak out. But former congressman Will Hurd, one of the last to enter the contest, has been unafraid to go on the attack, even saying he won't sign the RNC's pledge to support the eventual party nominee. He worked for the CIA before serving in Congress for six years representing a swing district that stretches from El Paso to San Antonio in Texas. Former Congressman and current presidential candidate Will Hurd joins me live now on Top Story. Congressman Hurd, what's your

reaction to this indictment? Well, my reaction is simple, and it's a continuation of something I said last weekend. Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great. He's not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 or 2020 or who voted. donated to his campaign, he's running to stay out of prison. And the fact that three out of $4 of his campaign, people that donate to his campaign, go to paying for his legal fees, is outrageous to me. And the fact that more candidates are so afraid of challenging Donald Trump and being upset by this is nuts to me. And the bottom line, the bottom line for me is that, is, you know, let's take away the names, let's take away the letters after the names.

Is this the kind of behavior that anybody would want from a president, whether it's Republican or Democrat? And the answer is no. And I appreciate that you are innocent until proven guilty, but also nobody is above the law. So, Congressman Hurd then, what's happening with your party? Because he's leading in the polls, and he's not leading in the polls like he was in 2016. he's leading in the polls by a monster margin. Look, I recognize that. He is a leading candidate.

Joe Biden, obviously, a leading candidate on the other side. Two-thirds of Americans want neither one of them on the ballot. People want something different. Here's the thing that we've got to remember about polls. Polls is a snapshot in time. Pudding for president is not one election. It's 50 elections. We have 24 weeks before the first vote.

and here's what people are recognizing. People that have voted for Donald Trump both times are sick and tired of his baggage and recognize that if they're frustrated with how DOJ is operating or the FBI, if they're frustrated with Joe Biden and what Hunter Biden is doing, they realize that the worst person to litigate those issues is the person that has so many indictments already

and probably more. And so I think you're going to see things evolving as we get closer to the election. And guess what? We're going to see this, hopefully, on the debate stage. And folks want to see these things brought in front of Donald Trump. Help me make that requirement and go to HerdforAmerica.com and donate at least one dollar.

Yeah, Congressman Hurd, I hear you say that about the polls, but I also want to roll some video from an event this weekend in Iowa. I won't need to remind you, you were there, you live through it, but our viewers may not be familiar with it, so let's watch. Donald Trump is not running for president and make America great again. Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison. And if we elect—

But if we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House, and America can't handle that. God bless you and God bless America. Congressman Heard, you said what you said right here on this program and you were booed by Iowa Republicans. What's going on? Well, look, there were some booze, of course, but there were also some people that didn't move and there were some people that actually clapped. And the people that I was talking to are the folks that believe in personal responsibility. The people that I was talking to are the people that believe service matters.

The people that I was talking to by saying those statements are the people that believe in common sense. And there's more of those folks. And you can't be afraid of Donald Trump, but we also got to be articulating a vision for the future. People are frustrated with the direction of the country. They want someone who's working and dealing with complicated issues that we're dealing with now, whether that's the Chinese government trying to surpass the United States of America as the global superpower or artificial intelligence going to upend every single industry, not in 10 years, but in two to three years.

These are the things people want us to focus on. But guess what? If we're talking about Donald Trump's indictments, if we're talking about the problems with Hunter Biden, we are unable to talk about these issues that are required to make sure that this experiment called America last for another 247 years. Those are the people that I'm talking to.

Those are the people that we need to show up. Let's go back to 2020. The lesson in the 2020 election was don't be a jerk and don't be a socialist. The lesson of the 2022 election was candidates actually matter. And the fact that Donald Trump is a proven loser, he lost the House in 2018, he lost the White House and the Senate in 2020, and he prevented a red wave from coming forward. We need to make sure we're electing someone that can target these new voters. debate is less than a month away. Will you make that debate stage? I'm getting close. I'm working there. If your viewers want to see me on there,

heardforamerica.com, donate at least one dollar. I'm feeling confident about hitting the requirements to do that. And then, you know, Donald Trump hasn't agreed to whether he's going to be on the debate stage. I do before you go, though, before you go, if the former president is on that debate stage and you're on that debate stage as well, you qualify. What will you tell former President Trump when you see him face to face? I'm going to tell Donald Trump that, you know, defrauding your supporters by taking three out of every $4 and using it for your campaign is not making America great. You're not focused on the future of the country.

You're worried about not dying in prison. He's 78 years old, and if any one of these counts is found guilty, he's going to be in prison for the rest of his life. That's what he's focused on. And that's not acceptable. That's not what the American public deserve. And if we elect him, if Republicans elect him as a GOP nominee, we are giving four more years to Joe Biden. Okay, Congressman Wilhur, we appreciate your time. Thanks so much for joining Top Story tonight on this big night of news. This latest indictment putting even more legal pressure on former President Trump. But will the charges chip away at the MAGA base or will President Trump continue to pile on to his larger lead in the poll?

I want to bring in our panel tonight here on Top Story tonight. Former Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, political strategist, RNA Shaw. She served as an R&C delegate in 2016, and NBC News political contributor, Maria Theresa Kumar. She's also the CEO of Voto Latino. Thank you all for being here tonight on this special edition of Top Story. Hogan, I'm going to start with you. A lot of allegations against the former president tonight. What do you think is going on in Trump's head right now as he's watching all this news?

Well, first things first, if you think you're going to make the allegation stick that Donald Trump truly in his heart of hearts believed he lost that election, I think you've got a really difficult uphill battle to try and win there. But look, I was just with the president. He has continued to be focused on his campaign, the America First policies that improve the lives of all Americans, regardless of race, religion, color, or creed. He made a comment in Erie, Pennsylvania over the weekend in which he said, they're not indicting me, they're indicting you. happen to be standing here in the way. We're all in this fight together. That's where Donald Trump's head is right now, and the MAGA base is kind of right there with him. It seems like every time he gets attacked, every time an indictment comes down, he goes up in the polls. He's, in fact, increased his lead. Close to 40 points now in the polling. And that includes not just the

national polls, but the more important polls, state by state. He's way up in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina as well. And so right now, pending some real bombshell, Donald Trump looks like he's poised to take the nomination and cruise on to victory. Hogan, what do you tell to Trump supporters who funded his PAC to the tune of about $105 million, and now there's only about $4 million left because it's all gone to legal bills? I mean, if he is the nominee, how are you going to be Joe Biden if you're paying for lawyers? Yeah, I saw that report.

Again, I didn't corroborate any of it, but let's just assume that's all. correct. I think the American people, especially those on the Republican side giving money to Donald Trump, also don't appreciate the weaponization of government. Three-letter agencies going after not just a former president, but if you like the wrong tweet or you download the wrong podcast or you attend the wrong speech, you're targeted by this government. So they do feel as though they're in this altogether with President Trump. And right now, I've heard no outcry from the people I've spoken with who've given money to Trump. And they say, yeah, we're giving him money. We want him to win the campaign, but part of that is beating back some of these ridiculous charges and these insane

allegations. And so for them, they see it as a victory. Rina, I want to get to you before we go to that. I understand there's a new statement coming out from the former president. I don't know. From Vice President Pence, I think we have a new statement here. Let me just see. Do we already have the graphic for this or no? Okay. Okay, here it is. Former Vice President said in part, quote, today's indictment serves as an important reminder, anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the U.S. So I actually want to go to you, Reno. I was talking to you earlier about this. You know, we spoke about this yesterday. His poll numbers are surging. Do you think with this

third indictment now, he's going to go even higher in the Republican polls? I think we'll see a temporary boost of support, no doubt, amongst Republicans who are very distrustful of sort of this moment in history, sort of why are these indictments coming down so long after these crimes have supposedly been committed. Now, look, there's something also that factors in here that's really huge. Here on Capitol Hill, you have a number of folks who sit in elected positions right now who carry the water for the former president every day. They sow doubt in the minds of Republican voters, even those who are lukewarm about former

presidents Trump's candidacy now. Those elected officials know better. They know that this third indictment is essentially about election interference. They know it's about fraud in an American election. And look, I'm of the mentality that if you go looking for fraud in an American presidential election, you're going to find it like you're going to find sand in the desert. But the question really here is how much of that? And is there an overwhelming amount?

And as everybody goes through these some 50 pages of this indictment, what becomes clear, essentially, is that Jack Smith wanted to paint a broad brush of charges here, I believe, to get this pass a judge and to a jury. So a jury of peers, I think we'll see this for what it really is, is something that paints out the former president to be crying victim over something that he really should be taking accountability for. But with the Republican electorate right now, you're just going to see a temporary boost of support. I don't think that will be sustained, and it's going to take a lot more for Trump to carry that. Okay, Rita, Maria Theresa, so we mentioned the poll numbers on the GOP side, but there's a poll out now from the New York Times-Syna poll that shows the former president. I want to put this up on the screen for our viewers now.

The former president and President Biden, neck and neck, look at this. So you got to ask yourself, I mean, what happens here? What is Joe Biden doing wrong? And is former President Trump doing something right? No one's paying attention. It's in the middle of the summer, and people are enjoying themselves and going outside. And I say this, Tom, it's because when we did a very similar poll right during the midterm elections, one thing we found was not only were people saying they were lukewarm on Biden, they wanted

the other candidate. And then when we went ahead and voted, it was like which other candidate, they couldn't name one that they wanted to go for. So what we're going to see right now is this play out in the court of law, in the court of the media, in the court of people's conversations tonight. And when we come in the fall, when you really see this ramping up, you're going to see Joe Biden's packages that he's delivered, whether it's the IRA, whether it's the chips, actually started coming into fruition. For the first time, in a long time, we see gas prices coming down. You're going to start seeing milk coming down, eggs, the cost of eggs coming down. And people are going to say, wait a second.

But don't you think the current president should be in a better spot, though? No, it's not unusual. You have a former president who's been indicted three times. Right. No, well, this. And January 6th, everything you guys have been talking about for the last two and a half years against the Republicans. I mean, and race is still kind of where we were in 2020. No, because you saw what happened in 2022 when the red wave didn't materialize. I would be very cautious with all these polls.

And a large part is because the folks that, are paying attention right now are the ones that are the political insiders. They're the ones that understand. This poll right now that we're seeing was taken before this latest indictment, but I do want to say the fact that we saw Pence come out so strongly against his former boss means that the gloves are off. The fact that Will Hurd was on your air saying that speaking the truth of what is wrong with Donald Trump and what it means for the country also means the gloves are off. So it's not only Chris Christie that was out talking about that you see Pence. What I would look very closely at is what is DeSantis saying? What is Nikki Haley saying? Is this an opportunity for them

to break ground, break the fever of Donald Trump, so that they can actually be seen as possibly the person to fill that back? Hogan, detach yourself from the former president if you can for a minute if you can do that. And tell me, what are the other Republicans doing wrong, in your opinion? Well, look, I've said on your show before. They're all running in the I'm Trump's policies without his personality lane. That's a crowded field to be in. It's very difficult to attack a former president of the United States who is quite popular in the Republican Party

and has a record of success while being president of the United States and then somehow maintain those votes. Don't forget, Chris Christie executed probably the best murder suicide in the history of presidential politics on a debate stage where he called out someone and got them to kind of acquiesce and do exactly what Chris Christie told the crowd he was going to do. But Chris Christie didn't pick up those

votes. He just took out a former candidate as well. So the same thing applies here. You can't go after Trump and hurt him mortally. If you fatally wound him, the MAGA base, 30% of whom will not vote for anybody else, they're not going to come to your side. So I think a lot of them are waiting for these indictments. They're waiting for the legal process to knock Trump down a peg. It's just not happening right now. And they may run out of time. Yeah, since you know this, how will the president, give me the theory here, how will the president serve as a defendant in criminal court, federal criminal court, while also campaigning? How will that look? Will he campaign in those states while he's, you know, listening to testimony?

Again, no inside information here. I can just go by history. I mean, the fact is the last time he had an indictment, he turned it into a campaign rally with a stop off at a courtroom. I mean, that's the way he kind of does things. And if his lawyers are worth their salt at all, chances are they can file motion after motion to do whatever they can to push this thing past the election. And once it gets within a certain window, obviously the political ramifications of this won't be felt in any form or fashion. So we've got a long way to go, but I'm sure there's some political maneuvers out there by attorneys who understand how this can be dragged out, and they're going to work to do that. Maria, Teresa, you know, President

Biden has really stayed away from this. They really haven't talked about this because they want to say the Department of Justice is doing this independent. I do want to ask you, at what point does this turn political for President Biden? Well, I think that the Department of Justice is doing it independently, and I think that he's actually done exactly what Trump failed to do when he was president. Personally, I think one of the things that you're going to see is not the president engaging, but perhaps the Vice President engaging.

She is the former Attorney General of California. You saw how she went when she was a senator, when she crossed examined Kavanaugh. She has that muster, but she also has the political acumen of being able to do it in a way that creates a body. between her and the president. So I would not be surprised if Kamla, when she goes on the road, the vice president, when she goes on the road, she's the one that's going to be engaging those conversations. Okay, Maria Theresa, Rina. Hogan Gidley, always a pleasure. Thank you all for joining us here tonight on Top Story. Still ahead tonight, the growing migrant crisis here in New York City.

Have you seen these images? Asylum seekers from Latin America and West Africa, forced to sleep on the streets of Midtown Manhattan, as shelters run out of room, are Ellison Barber inside one of those overcrowded facilities. facilities tonight to find out what's going on in New York. Plus, another developing story in Manhattan tonight, a driver striking multiple pedestrians in a crowded midtown block will explain this is just coming in. And the video out of China generating a great debate online. What is this? Is it a bear? Is it a human? The zoo at the center of this controversy, setting the record straight tonight. Stay with us.

Welcome back. We want to turn out of the migrant crisis in New York City. Men, women, and children continue to seek refuge, but the mayor says the city is out of space. What's happening? This was told to migrants to be a sanctuary city. NBC's Ellison Barber was granted access to Roosevelt Hotel, a shelter that officials say is so full.

They're now forcing dozens of these migrants to sleep outside on the sidewalk. walk as they wait to be processed. Tonight in the heart of New York City, a few blocks from Broadway's brightest lights. People seeking asylum are crammed together, sharing what food they have and waiting. Hoping they'll be able to get a bed inside the historic Roosevelt Hotel turned shelter. A lot of the people here we've been speaking to say they have been waiting for days trying to get information about whether or not there's a bed or someplace for them to stay in this shelter here that is supposed to be for people seeking asylum.

But right now, they tell us really the only information they have is what's written on this board here. This dry erase board saying that they are currently at capacity. Tickets, save your place in line, and there will be updates at 3, 6, and 9 p.m. Most tell us they've been sleeping on the sidewalk for days. Bits of cardboard the only relief from the dirt and grit of concrete. Jose has spent more hours than he can count waiting to be processed. He was a pharmacist in Venezuela, but says the country's political and economic turmoil forced him to flee.

If you already have a trial date, why are they making you sleep out here instead of inside? The mayor's office says more than 95,600 asylum seekers have come through the city's intake system since last spring. It's not going to get any better. From this moment on, it's downhill. There is no more room. And Mayor Eric Adams says the city doesn't have the resources to keep up with the demand. We have to figure out how we're going to localize the inevitable that there's no more room indoors.

We spoke to migrants who say word about the Big Apple traveled fast. Family and friends told them New York City is a place that will try to house them. You have hope that a solution will come quickly? Yeah, I hope so. Miguel traveled for 18 days, making his way from Cuba to Mexico and eventually New York City. He says a friend bought him a plane ticket to New York after he was processed at the southern border. The situation was getting worse and worse. So it's happening in Latin America.

Some advocates say this overflow is by design that Mayor Adams is trying to send a message that traveling to New York will not be the American dream these asylum seekers are looking for. What we've been experiencing for several months now since they opened up the respite sites is inhumane treatment and people that are coming here for help and being blamed for a system that has been in shambles since before the migrants got here. But the deputy mayor of Health and Human Services says that is far from true. I've been so proud of the fact that we've been able to take care of over 100,000 people on top of the system that we have already, and no one has had to wait in the ways that they're

waiting now. We're the good guys. We are the ones that are standing in the gap of what I feel is a national issue and should have a national solution. Over the last year, the city has opened 194 sites for migrants, including 13 large-scale humanitarian relief centers. They say they're currently housing over 56,000 asylum seekers. We were granted access to the hotel turned arrival center. So inside this hotel, this is the first place where people who are seeking asylum are processed in New York City. Officials with the city, they tell us it is hundreds of people coming in to this room every single day. It was closed for years, but the city opened it as this crisis got worse. We have met people seeking asylum from Venezuela, Cuba, West Africa, the Congo,

the Middle East. Once they're inside, this is a place where they can sleep. One thing that has been striking, seeing people inside as well as outside, is that outside everyone we've seen their adults, mostly men. That's because the city says they have been able to shelter every single family and child who have come seeking asylum. And this right here, all of these playpins for kids, it's a reminder of that. The people we're seeing inside, we are seeing more families, more children who are here waiting for their and their family's claims to be processed. As for Miguel, he says he will wait. along the way. I made it. I made it through, so I guess I can't give up.

Ellison, Barbara, joins us tonight outside the Roosevelt Hotel, who is where is, if you're not familiar with New York City, is right next to Grand Central. Alison, we've been hearing officials asking the federal government for months now. What is it exactly they want and what will help the situation? And I think you bring up a really good point here in the report, which is that the mayor is doing this to get the attention of the federal government? Yeah, I mean, in some ways. Mayor Adams says in the immediate future, a start to help this process would be for Congress to expedite authorization so people seeking asylum in New York can work for a set period of time.

But speaking with the deputy mayor, she says the issues here are incredibly complex. They say they're looking at the situation. They know this is not the best New York can do. This is not the best the United States can do. But they say they don't have the totality of resources available to deal with this problem on their own. They say it's not just about rooms. They say they need to provide health care, mental health service for people seeking asylum, and they claim they don't have enough to do it.

But advocates, they tell us they feel like that's a cop-out that New York can do more. And instead, they feel like the Democratic mayor is trying to make a statement. So the federal government will step up and do more. Tom. Okay, Ellison, Barbara, for us. Ellison, we appreciate all your reporting, you and your team. When we come back, the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer in court, the man accused of killing at least three women on Long Island,

appearing before a judge, what prosecutors revealed about the evidence and the photos we have from inside his home. That's next. All right, we're back now with Top Stories News Feed, and we begin with breaking news right here in New York City. A police say a driver apparently fleeing a traffic stop drove into a group of pedestrians near New York City's Grand Central Station. Again, that's exactly where Ellison was just reporting from, these 10 people hurt, including children as young as five years old. They are expected to be okay. One suspect is in custody and police are searching for a second. Also in New York, the suspect in those Gilgo Beach killings in court today. Fifty-nine-year-old Rex Hurman remaining silent

as he stood accused of murdering three young women over a decade ago on Long Island. Today, the prosecution says they turned over four hard drives filled with evidence to his lawyers, including DNA reports. Hureman is also the main suspect in a fourth murder. He has denied the allegations and is currently being held without bail. A massive wildfire in California has now spread into Nevada. New video shows the York fighter creating a whirl, a viral world, if you will, a potentially dangerous natural phenomenon created by intense heat and hot winds. Look at that.

The fire has now burned 80,000 acres. It's the largest fire currently burning in the state. Strong winds and intense heat in Southern California only feeding those flames. And overseas a zoo in eastern China is refuting claims that one of its bears is a human in a costume. This is somewhat of a bizarre story, but the video has gone viral. It's of a Malaysian sun bear at the zoo,

many questioning if it was a human in disguise. Now, due to the way it was standing and the way its fur was folding, well, experts telling NBC News, the zoo is telling the truth. You should Google images of this bear too. I know I did. That, in fact, is a sun bear.

Okay, coming up next, we switched gears. Killed for Vogue, a man fatally stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station where he was dancing, to Beyonce music with his friends. The hunt tonight for his killer as police launch a hate crime investigation will explain it all.

Stay with us. Now to the fatal New York City stabbing that's being investigated as a potential hate crime, police are searching for a 17-year-old who killed a professional dancer after allegedly hurling homophobic remarks. NBC's Antonio Hilton reports.

O'Shea Sibley was living out his dreams in New York City as a talented dancer working with Alvinalee and performing in the underground vogue scene. Now, friends are struggling to make sense of a sudden loss. It seemed very surreal. I'm still kind of in disbelief. Witnesses say late Saturday night, the 28-year-old was dancing to Beyonce music with friends outside of this gas station in Brooklyn when a group of men approached, shouting anti-LGB

slurs demanding they stopped dancing. It escalated. Then police say a man pulled out a knife and stabbed him. Sibley's close friend, Otis Pena, was there. He posted this video to Facebook, describing the horrific scene. I had to run to him and hold his wound as blood is dripping on my hairs, as blood is all my clothes. Police say they are now searching for a 17-year-old suspect and investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. For months now, LGBT people have been warning of an increase in threat.

threats and attacks. There have been more than 350 incidents of anti-LGBQ harassment, vandalism, and assault since June of 2022. Do you think some queer New Yorkers are going to start pulling back bits of who they are or not expressing themselves fully now? I think that's one of my biggest fears is that we'll see people closeting themselves. Like we've done so much work to be out loud and proud and be who we are. O'Shea's close friend and fellow choreographer, Kimmer Jewell, says change needs to happen. People are literally dying, dying, because you are taking away our rights.

And when you take away our rights, you are nonverbally communicating to people that we don't matter. Beyonce has now paid him tribute writing on her website, Rest in Power, O'Shea Sibley. His friends tell me that they're deeply appreciative of this because he lost his life on the very same night that she was here in the New York City. area performing for the Renaissance tour. A tour that she has made clear has been inspired by the LGBTQ community and their contributions to her music and performance style, Tom. An incredibly sad incident. Okay, Antonio, we thank you for that, and we'll be right back.

Stay with us. And that, of course, was the cult classic Back to the Future. Now almost 40 years after it was first released, Marty McFly and Doc Brown are taking on a new life this time on Broadway. To find Broadway's newest show, buckle up and get ready to go 88 miles per hour back in time. The newest installment of the Back to the Back to the, the future franchise is now on the Great White Way, complete with the traveling Galorian, Doc, Marty, his mom, and of course, Biff.

Hey, McFly. But now, the 80s classic is adapted for the stage with a reimagined plot, a collection of songs. Some you know from the film, but also new ones. Great Scott! I had a chance to sit down with the actor playing Marty McFly, Casey Likes, and the co-creator and writer of the film and musical, the famous Bob Gale, who told me how he came up with the original story.

I found my father's high school yearbook when I was using my parents in the summer 1980, accident, totally by accident. And I said, if I went to high school with my dad, would I be friends with him? And that's when, you know, the proverbial bolt of lightning hit me in the head. He said, there's a movie.

Not just one movie, three. And now a hit musical. That comes to Broadway after an award-winning run on the West End in London. And get this, the star of the show now was born 16 years after the first movie was released. So you weren't even born when it came out, and now you're playing this iconic role. When you got the role, when you won the audition, what did you think? I was as thrilled as I was terrified, which I think is the healthy reaction to have when you

get a part that is so synonymous with the actor who originally portrayed it. I mean, Michael is Marty McFly, and that is why Marty McFly is who he is in our conscious. And, yeah, just trying to wrap my head around, kind of doing my own version of that. Recently, the new Marty got a chance

to meet the original when Michael J. Fox attended a special performance to benefit his foundation dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's. I ran over it home and I just said, hey, Michael, do you have anything you can give me before I go on stage? And he goes,

kick-ass, and if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Oh, that's great. And then a minute later, I walked out on stage. And on stage, like in the movie, there is magic. The DeLorean coming to life and seeming to speed right into the audience. Talk to me about the moment you saw the final sort of graphics, special effects package on stage, because it really is incredible. I didn't know how they were going to do it.

When they started, they didn't know how they were going to do it. And thanks to a lot of computer technology, which allows the backgrounds to move in sync with the car move. And you feel like you're watching that car go 88 miles per hour and turning and doing donuts and all that stuff. It's an incredible illusion. Adding to the action-packed show, which runs just over two hours, singing, dancing, and even some skateboarding. Well, there's a few prerequisites that I had to kind of nail down. You know, you got to skateboard, you've got to play guitar, you've got to be able to keep your stamina up so you can run away from Biff a million times, eight times a week, and you've got to sing on top of that.

It's just also, you know, it's a big musical theater role. It's like, you know, I'm singing at the top of my range. I'm going through some emotional moments. It's kind of an actor's dream. Is there a pressure? I mean, was there a pressure? Is there a pressure every night? You had Michael J. Fox in the audience, Stephen Spielberg, thousands of fans across the world that grew up

with this movie? Is there a pressure to deliver for them every night? Absolutely. And I think it's a healthy amount of pressure. I think, like I was saying earlier, you have to love something. You have to tell them that you love it. And once they see that, they're willing to go on the journey with you. But they know Bob loves it. I mean, he wrote the thing, you know? But, you know, I'm a new character in this whole world of Back to the Future. So once those fans accept that I'm on the same page as them, I think it's, I think the pressure goes down. fans hoping for a Back to the Future 4, the gatekeeper of all things Marty and Doc says, if your soul needs more than 1.21 gigawatts, head to Broadway.

When people say they want Back to the Future 4, what they're really saying is I want to, I want something that gives me the experience I had when I saw the first Back to the Future movie. And this musical does that. This is it. This gives you your dose of Back to the Future that everybody has wanted. And people that have never seen the movie in an audience, and of course they're going to see the show in an audience, and there's this extra energy. You get this adrenaline rush.

You were there. You know what I'm talking about. And that is the best thing that we can do to keep back to the future alive. And I can report back. It is a great show for fans of all ages. We want to thank Bob and Casey for spending the time to talk to us before their big opening night this Thursday.

We thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamous, New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.