Lawrence: Trump cannot survive a federal criminal justice system that works

[0:00] cooperation ends today. It is time for him to pay. Those rhyming lines were aimed at Donald Trump, [0:13] and they are from one of the many people Donald Trump hates. Today, as every Republican in [0:22] Congress, in the House and in the Senate who is running for reelection cowers in fear of Donald [0:29] Trump every single day of their lives, people who Donald Trump threatens, people who Donald Trump [0:34] hates as much as he has ever hated anyone continue to stand up to Donald Trump, and one of them [0:45] is going to make him pay and pay very soon. Former special prosecutor Jack Smith came to this network [0:53] today to do the first interview he has ever done about his two federal criminal prosecutions [1:01] of Donald Trump. Did that interview with Nicole Wallace here at 5 p.m. Donald Trump has repeatedly [1:08] threatened to imprison Jack Smith, and Jack Smith, who told Congress in public testimony that he [1:15] developed proof that Donald Trump is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, said today there is nothing [1:22] Donald Trump can say or do to intimidate him. I am not going to be intimidated, [1:29] and there is no way in the world. If the thought was to go after me so that I wouldn't speak up about [1:37] the corruption that's happening or speak up to defend these agents and prosecutors, that is a [1:42] grave miscalculation. There is no way I'm going to be intimidated. And E. Jean Carroll, who is now 82 [1:50] years old and who has beaten Donald Trump in court repeatedly in two different cases, is now telling Donald [1:59] Trump it is time to pay up. E. Jean Carroll's most recent crushing of Donald Trump in court came when the [2:08] United States Supreme Court unanimously rejected Donald Trump's appeal of the $5 million judgment that a [2:16] federal jury awarded to E. Jean Carroll three years ago after finding Donald Trump, as the New York Times put it, [2:25] quote, liable for sexually abusing and defaming Ms. Carroll. In order to pursue his appeal, Donald Trump [2:34] had to put the $5 million in an escrow account controlled by the judge in the case. Both sides of [2:41] the case, Donald Trump's lawyers and E. Jean Carroll's lawyers, at the time agreed that the money would have [2:48] to be paid as soon as Donald Trump got to the end of the line of his appeals, which is, of course, the denial [2:56] of a petition for the Supreme Court to hear the case. And that happened on Monday. And immediately, [3:02] according to E. Jean Carroll's lawyers, Donald Trump's lawyers called E. Jean Carroll's lawyers [3:08] to ask for an extension on paying the money that Donald Trump now owes E. Jean Carroll in that case. [3:15] Attorney Roberta Kaplan, who has successfully represented E. Jean Carroll in this case at [3:20] every stage, told the judge in writing, quote, defendant's counsel contacted Carroll's undersigned [3:27] counsel to inquire whether Carroll would consent to a further stay of enforcement of the judgment in [3:34] this action so that defendant can ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its denial. And yeah, [3:43] I'm kind of laughing about that because the Supreme Court just doesn't reconsider their denials. [3:47] I mean, theoretically, technically, it's possible, but it's way, way, way less than a 1% chance. [3:53] E. Jean Carroll's lawyer had a one-word answer for the Trump lawyers, no. And then she immediately [4:01] filed a motion with the judge saying, quote, the court should enforce the plain language of the existing [4:08] stipulation and order and direct immediate disbursement of funds because the $5 million judgment gains [4:15] interest every day that Donald Trump doesn't pay it. And it has been gaining that interest for three [4:21] years now. The total that Donald Trump actually owes E. Jean Carroll as of Tuesday was $5,779,783. [4:33] And it has gone up since then because it goes up every day that Donald Trump doesn't pay it. [4:40] E. Jean Carroll's lawyer reminded the judge of all the delay tactics Donald Trump has used [4:46] throughout this case over the years and quoted the judge himself as having said in the past [4:53] that Donald Trump, quote, should not be permitted to run the clock out on a plaintiff's attempt to gain [5:01] a remedy. E. Jean Carroll's lawyer ended her nine-page motion with these words, quote, [5:08] to date, Carroll has agreed to each of defendants' many requests to delay the payment he owes her. [5:15] Given the extraordinary lengths he has taken to avoid such payments and that each of those efforts [5:21] has been denied in full, that cooperation ends today. It is time for him to pay, Carroll. [5:32] The judge gave Donald Trump a deadline of next Tuesday, July 7th, to reply to that motion. [5:40] It is at this point impossible to foresee any other outcome than the judge ordering Donald Trump to pay [5:47] the now almost $5.8 million that he owes E. Jean Carroll within a matter of days, probably within this [5:54] month of July. And so it's time's up for Donald Trump because E. Jean Carroll says it is. [6:04] Time's up for Donald Trump because our judicial system was designed to allow a private citizen [6:10] to have the same rights and powers in a courtroom that anyone else has, even if the other person in [6:17] the case is currently the president of the United States. And that is why Donald Trump has tried to [6:23] destroy that system. That is why Donald Trump has tried to poison the federal judiciary with incompetent [6:31] federal judges like the one he appointed in Florida, whose place in history will be having disgraced herself [6:37] by doing everything she possibly could to block Jack Smith's prosecution of Donald Trump for violations [6:42] of the Espionage Act and the illegal possession of classified documents after Donald Trump left the presidency. [6:48] That is why Donald Trump has poisoned the Justice Department by trying to fill it with people, [6:55] including an FBI director, with no allegiance or expertise and no allegiance to anything or anyone [7:03] other than Donald Trump. Donald Trump cannot survive in a federal criminal justice system that actually works. [7:11] And so he's done everything he can to destroy it, not because of some political or philosophical belief, [7:17] but entirely as a matter of self protection, protection from brave plaintiffs like E. Jean Carroll, [7:27] who could not be intimidated by Donald Trump, and brave prosecutors like Jack Smith, [7:33] who could not be intimidated by Donald Trump. Donald Trump can afford the $5.8 million that he owes E. Jean [7:41] Carroll. And the federal judge handling the case knows that, because like all federal judges in New York [7:48] City, he must read the New York Times, which has been delivering the best reporting on Donald Trump's [7:53] profiting from the presidency.