1
00:00:38,330 --> 00:00:41,333
[audience cheering, applauding]
2
00:00:46,088 --> 00:00:47,089
Hey!
3
00:00:47,756 --> 00:00:49,466
- [grunts]
- [audience member whistles]
4
00:00:49,466 --> 00:00:50,843
Welcome!
5
00:00:51,593 --> 00:00:53,887
[vocalizing]
6
00:00:53,887 --> 00:00:55,556
Good evening, everybody.
My name is Jon Stewart.
7
00:00:55,556 --> 00:00:59,726
Welcome to the finale of
season 2 of The Problem.
8
00:00:59,726 --> 00:01:01,270
[stammers]
9
00:01:01,270 --> 00:01:03,188
- [audience cheering]
- I thought that would get--
10
00:01:03,188 --> 00:01:05,274
No, I thought-- Uh, it just seemed--
11
00:01:05,274 --> 00:01:08,110
It was met-- met with apathy
on that one really.
12
00:01:08,110 --> 00:01:09,862
- [audience laughs]
- Welcome to the finale.
13
00:01:09,862 --> 00:01:12,990
- Oh! Uh, my name is Jon Stewart.
- [audience chuckling]
14
00:01:12,990 --> 00:01:18,245
Obviously huge news this week
that everyone’s talking about.
15
00:01:18,245 --> 00:01:22,374
Finally, the new Barbie posters are here.
16
00:01:22,374 --> 00:01:25,210
- [audience cheering, applauding]
- [Stewart] I mean, come on!
17
00:01:26,378 --> 00:01:27,546
Come on!
18
00:01:28,213 --> 00:01:29,882
Looking good!
19
00:01:31,133 --> 00:01:33,760
No one passes over this Yiddishe queen.
20
00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:35,262
[audience chuckling]
21
00:01:36,889 --> 00:01:38,724
- [audience chuckling]
- [chuckles]
22
00:01:38,724 --> 00:01:40,809
That’s a Passover thing, I think.
I don’t know.
23
00:01:41,310 --> 00:01:42,769
Of course, the other news this week was
24
00:01:42,769 --> 00:01:46,982
the official indictment of
former president Donald J. Trump.
25
00:01:46,982 --> 00:01:50,068
- [audience cheering, applauding]
- It--
26
00:01:52,696 --> 00:01:55,699
- [mouthing] You bastards.
- [applause continues]
27
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,463
[clears throat]
And the finale of season 2.
28
00:02:09,463 --> 00:02:11,131
[audience chuckles, applauding]
29
00:02:11,131 --> 00:02:15,052
No! I don’t even want it!
I don’t want your sympathy.
30
00:02:15,636 --> 00:02:17,679
I don’t want your sympathy applause.
31
00:02:19,264 --> 00:02:22,935
Donald J. Trump was indicted.
It was the climax to the weeks-long orgy
32
00:02:22,935 --> 00:02:25,646
of media speculation and anticipation.
33
00:02:25,646 --> 00:02:30,526
And like most orgies,
it began with directions.
34
00:02:30,526 --> 00:02:32,152
{\an8}[reporter 1]
Live pictures from Palm Beach.
35
00:02:32,152 --> 00:02:35,280
{\an8}The former president expected
to be leaving any second.
36
00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,241
{\an8}[reporter 2] Currently on Ocean Boulevard.
37
00:02:37,241 --> 00:02:39,826
{\an8}And it’s gonna be taking
a right turn onto Southern Boulevard,
38
00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:42,204
{\an8}five miles directly east
to get to the airport.
39
00:02:42,204 --> 00:02:44,623
{\an8}And he will be crossing over
onto Bingham Island,
40
00:02:44,623 --> 00:02:47,668
{\an8}which is the causeway that connects
Palm Beach to West Palm Beach.
41
00:02:47,668 --> 00:02:52,464
{\an8}We should expect this ride to be about
five, six minutes at that point, Andrea,
42
00:02:52,464 --> 00:02:55,008
{\an8}before he arrives
to Palm Beach International Airport.
43
00:02:55,926 --> 00:02:57,052
[audience chuckling]
44
00:02:57,052 --> 00:03:00,347
Oh, my God.
MapQuest is such a good TV show.
45
00:03:00,347 --> 00:03:01,431
[audience laughing]
46
00:03:02,683 --> 00:03:04,184
What happens next?
47
00:03:04,184 --> 00:03:07,896
{\an8}[reporter 3] The former president is gonna
get out of that car and...
48
00:03:12,025 --> 00:03:14,403
{\an8}We’re obviously at quite
a distance to see if
49
00:03:14,403 --> 00:03:16,947
{\an8}that is he going up the steps,
the back of the plane.
50
00:03:17,573 --> 00:03:19,408
[audience chuckling]
51
00:03:19,408 --> 00:03:21,285
You fucking hate yourselves, don’t you?
52
00:03:21,285 --> 00:03:22,744
[audience laughing]
53
00:03:22,744 --> 00:03:27,207
Now, of course, you can make the case
that the news media soiled themselves
54
00:03:27,207 --> 00:03:29,459
in up-to-the-second footage narration,
55
00:03:30,294 --> 00:03:31,753
but this has been
a difficult time for them.
56
00:03:31,753 --> 00:03:35,966
You see, the president was indicted
on Thursday. A historic event.
57
00:03:35,966 --> 00:03:40,137
But unfortunately, the indictment was
sealed until the arraignment on Tuesday,
58
00:03:40,137 --> 00:03:45,517
which left them only five days of
abject, unanswerable speculation.
59
00:03:45,517 --> 00:03:47,978
- To the dumbass machine!
- [audience chuckling]
60
00:03:47,978 --> 00:03:51,607
{\an8}So what will the upshot be politically of
Donald Trump’s indictment?
61
00:03:51,607 --> 00:03:54,318
{\an8}Can I just get your kind of Chris-o-meter,
62
00:03:54,318 --> 00:03:58,697
{\an8}in terms of, um, how much you think
this changes the country, if at all?
63
00:03:58,697 --> 00:04:01,783
{\an8}Do you think the case in Manhattan
benefits his political campaign?
64
00:04:01,783 --> 00:04:03,660
{\an8}Will it help him or hurt him?
65
00:04:03,660 --> 00:04:07,456
{\an8}You think historians will look back
and say it helped Trump get reelected?
66
00:04:07,456 --> 00:04:12,252
This was a commercial-free,
nonstop circle jerk-ararium.
67
00:04:12,252 --> 00:04:13,587
[audience chuckling]
68
00:04:13,587 --> 00:04:16,298
Now, normally I would say,
all right, you’re overly excited
69
00:04:16,298 --> 00:04:18,132
and O.J. hasn’t killed anybody in years...
70
00:04:18,132 --> 00:04:19,885
[audience chuckling]
71
00:04:19,885 --> 00:04:23,764
...and I’m sure you could be talking more
about Florida passing permitless carry
72
00:04:23,764 --> 00:04:26,183
or Nashville's student protests
73
00:04:26,183 --> 00:04:29,645
or the heartless killing of
a nine-year-old’s goat.
74
00:04:29,645 --> 00:04:32,189
- Her goat!
- [audience chuckling]
75
00:04:32,189 --> 00:04:36,485
And worse,
her goat was killed by this man!
76
00:04:37,069 --> 00:04:38,278
[shouting] No!
77
00:04:40,906 --> 00:04:42,157
Damn you!
78
00:04:42,741 --> 00:04:45,118
First you ski into Gwyneth Paltrow...
79
00:04:45,118 --> 00:04:47,621
[audience laughing]
80
00:04:47,621 --> 00:04:51,625
...and then you kill that girl’s goat.
81
00:04:54,711 --> 00:04:58,882
Will this skiing optometrist
stop at nothing?
82
00:05:01,093 --> 00:05:02,594
Am I the only one who watched that trial?
83
00:05:02,594 --> 00:05:04,596
- Why’s everybody--
- [audience laughs]
84
00:05:04,596 --> 00:05:08,392
But perhaps the media’s speculation
and anticipation and wonder
85
00:05:08,392 --> 00:05:09,685
will all be worth it.
86
00:05:10,185 --> 00:05:14,022
For on indictment day,
it was Christmas morn for all.
87
00:05:14,022 --> 00:05:16,191
{\an8}The indictment can now be unsealed
88
00:05:16,191 --> 00:05:19,403
{\an8}and that is what we’re all waiting for
with bated breath.
89
00:05:19,403 --> 00:05:22,197
{\an8}I’d love to just show everyone
what we’ve been waiting for.
90
00:05:22,197 --> 00:05:24,241
{\an8}This is the indictment. So we now have it.
91
00:05:24,241 --> 00:05:27,953
He’s charged with 34 felony counts of
falsifying business records
92
00:05:27,953 --> 00:05:28,912
in the first degree.
93
00:05:28,912 --> 00:05:31,832
[inhales sharply] Oh, my God, I’m going
to fuck the shit out of that indictment.
94
00:05:32,457 --> 00:05:36,044
[grunts] Oh, yeah! Read it to me.
95
00:05:36,044 --> 00:05:38,380
[audience chuckling]
96
00:05:47,264 --> 00:05:50,601
Can I tell you something? I’m so old
that I do now literally only fuck
97
00:05:50,601 --> 00:05:53,270
- on a rolling chair.
- [audience laughing]
98
00:05:54,271 --> 00:05:56,148
It’s the only momentum I can build up.
99
00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:01,612
If your hips don’t move anymore,
you need something to swivel.
100
00:06:02,988 --> 00:06:04,907
[chuckles]
101
00:06:04,907 --> 00:06:07,117
All right, the indictment came down.
It’s 30--
102
00:06:07,117 --> 00:06:09,077
You know what? I just forgot.
I’m not a lawyer.
103
00:06:09,077 --> 00:06:11,038
Is-- Is any of this normal?
104
00:06:11,038 --> 00:06:13,457
{\an8}This DA’s office prosecutes
this crime all the time.
105
00:06:13,457 --> 00:06:18,295
{\an8}This is a mundane business records crime
that is not uncommon
106
00:06:18,295 --> 00:06:20,506
{\an8}and it’s not uncommon
from this prosecutor.
107
00:06:20,506 --> 00:06:22,508
Oh. Well, that’s awesome.
108
00:06:22,508 --> 00:06:25,010
That’s, uh, just a normal indictment
charging Donald J. Trump
109
00:06:25,010 --> 00:06:27,888
with 34 felony counts of
falsifying business records.
110
00:06:27,888 --> 00:06:31,683
Or to translate that into jaded news-ish...
111
00:06:31,683 --> 00:06:34,645
{\an8}Do you see anything new in there today
that you didn’t know?
112
00:06:34,645 --> 00:06:38,524
{\an8}No. In fact, I, um--
It-- It’s kind of expected
113
00:06:38,524 --> 00:06:41,235
{\an8}that there would be less
than people would want to read.
114
00:06:41,235 --> 00:06:42,653
{\an8}People felt it was a little underwhelming.
115
00:06:42,653 --> 00:06:44,363
{\an8}Some found it disappointing.
116
00:06:44,363 --> 00:06:46,490
{\an8}It depressed some people on the left.
117
00:06:46,490 --> 00:06:48,075
Oh, were you disappointed?
118
00:06:48,075 --> 00:06:49,576
Were you depressed? Here’s why.
119
00:06:49,576 --> 00:06:53,247
’Cause you treated this
like the final confrontation with Thanos
120
00:06:53,247 --> 00:06:56,333
and then it actually just
played out like what it was,
121
00:06:56,333 --> 00:06:59,962
a boring-as-shit legal procedure
at the very beginning of
122
00:06:59,962 --> 00:07:04,091
what will be a long, drawn-out,
laborious legal process
123
00:07:04,091 --> 00:07:08,804
because as I mentioned earlier,
law is boring as shit.
124
00:07:08,804 --> 00:07:10,681
[audience chuckling]
125
00:07:10,681 --> 00:07:13,267
But please continue being let down
126
00:07:13,267 --> 00:07:16,937
by the expectations
you motherfuckers created.
127
00:07:16,937 --> 00:07:19,314
{\an8}This is one of the most historic cases,
128
00:07:19,314 --> 00:07:23,652
{\an8}arguably the most significant case
right now, in an American court system.
129
00:07:23,652 --> 00:07:27,072
{\an8}It appears to be built
on a pretty shaky foundation.
130
00:07:27,072 --> 00:07:29,241
{\an8}It’s a bubble case. It’s not a slam dunk.
131
00:07:29,241 --> 00:07:31,785
{\an8}Commentators across the spectrum
are saying,
132
00:07:31,785 --> 00:07:33,537
{\an8}"Boy, there’s really not much in here."
133
00:07:33,537 --> 00:07:36,957
{\an8}Raises all kinds of questions about
the legal theory behind this case.
134
00:07:36,957 --> 00:07:38,584
{\an8}An unimpressive document.
135
00:07:38,584 --> 00:07:40,836
Right, ’cause it’s not the trial.
136
00:07:40,836 --> 00:07:42,546
You’re thinking of the trial part.
137
00:07:42,546 --> 00:07:45,632
It’s like if you look at
a recipe for apple brown Betty
138
00:07:45,632 --> 00:07:49,511
and go, "Butter, apple, cinnamon.
I don’t know, I’m underwhelmed.
139
00:07:49,511 --> 00:07:52,222
This isn’t-- This isn’t delicious at all."
140
00:07:52,222 --> 00:07:56,101
Yeah, ’cause it’s fucking paper.
It’s the recipe.
141
00:07:56,101 --> 00:07:58,896
It’s not the game, it’s the roster.
142
00:07:58,896 --> 00:08:04,318
And by the way, only our media,
those cloistered, short-attention-span,
143
00:08:04,318 --> 00:08:06,612
own-ass-spelunking--
144
00:08:07,779 --> 00:08:10,908
- [audience chuckling]
- [audience member cheers]
145
00:08:10,908 --> 00:08:15,829
- No, defenders of democracy...
- [audience chuckling]
146
00:08:15,829 --> 00:08:20,834
...find a president paying hush money
to a Playboy model and an adult film star,
147
00:08:20,834 --> 00:08:26,089
and then cooking the books to help himself
win an election, underwhelming and boring.
148
00:08:27,674 --> 00:08:30,177
By the way, does anybody--
and this is just an off-topic thing--
149
00:08:30,177 --> 00:08:34,806
did anyone think $130,000
to Stormy Daniels seems a little light?
150
00:08:34,806 --> 00:08:38,309
Is that-- In this economy, in this mark--
151
00:08:38,309 --> 00:08:40,229
[stammers] The only thing I’m thinking is
152
00:08:40,229 --> 00:08:43,357
you could probably get that much
hush money for banging an alderman.
153
00:08:43,357 --> 00:08:44,858
- Like, it’s--
- [audience laughing]
154
00:08:44,858 --> 00:08:49,071
I’ve seen people get $750,000
for spilling coffee on themselves.
155
00:08:49,071 --> 00:08:52,157
Like, that’s just a dollar figure
not of this era.
156
00:08:52,157 --> 00:08:55,452
That’s some shit, like,
Taft or Coolidge would have pulled.
157
00:08:55,452 --> 00:08:57,496
[audience laughing]
158
00:08:57,496 --> 00:09:00,082
Coolidge would have been like,
"How about $130,000
159
00:09:00,082 --> 00:09:02,543
or perhaps, hmm, a Model T?"
160
00:09:02,543 --> 00:09:04,795
[audience laughing]
161
00:09:04,795 --> 00:09:06,463
But I’m sorry, I interrupted you.
162
00:09:06,463 --> 00:09:11,051
{\an8}The one person we have not heard from
is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
163
00:09:11,051 --> 00:09:12,719
{\an8}- Now, he is still in recovery...
- Yeah.
164
00:09:12,719 --> 00:09:14,513
{\an8}- ...after that fall.
- Mm-hmm.
165
00:09:14,513 --> 00:09:18,308
{\an8}But talk about why the silence of
Mitch McConnell,
166
00:09:18,308 --> 00:09:21,311
{\an8}fall or no fall, speaks volumes.
167
00:09:22,938 --> 00:09:25,899
[audience chuckling]
168
00:09:25,899 --> 00:09:27,693
I’m gonna go with "fall."
169
00:09:27,693 --> 00:09:29,736
[audience laughing]
170
00:09:29,736 --> 00:09:31,947
Let me ask you, coma or no coma,
171
00:09:33,407 --> 00:09:37,494
why hasn’t Mitch McConnell responded
or at least dilated his pupils?
172
00:09:39,413 --> 00:09:43,500
Epic fucking media fail.
173
00:09:44,501 --> 00:09:46,170
Now, there was a media
organization that shined,
174
00:09:46,170 --> 00:09:48,005
that executed this story exactly the way
175
00:09:48,005 --> 00:09:50,132
their organization was intended
to execute this story.
176
00:09:50,132 --> 00:09:53,135
Or at least according
to their texts and emails.
177
00:09:54,094 --> 00:09:56,513
Fox News, a network founded
on two sacred principles:
178
00:09:56,513 --> 00:09:58,140
that women should never wear pants
179
00:09:58,140 --> 00:10:02,603
and Republican presidents should never
face consequences. Literally.
180
00:10:02,603 --> 00:10:04,938
Roger Ailes invented Fox News
181
00:10:04,938 --> 00:10:08,734
to make sure that the next Nixon
got away with it, to protect their king.
182
00:10:09,234 --> 00:10:10,652
So how did they meet the moment?
183
00:10:11,153 --> 00:10:16,783
Pure, unadulterated, uncut, right in
the veins, fear-laced catastrophizing.
184
00:10:16,783 --> 00:10:19,328
{\an8}I think this is a dark day,
a dark moment in American history.
185
00:10:19,328 --> 00:10:25,083
{\an8}[Levin] This is a war on the party.
It is a war on conservatism and MAGA.
186
00:10:25,083 --> 00:10:27,419
{\an8}This country will become
a banana republic.
187
00:10:27,419 --> 00:10:29,796
{\an8}The rule of law
in the United States of America died.
188
00:10:29,796 --> 00:10:30,923
{\an8}- [anchor] It’s dead.
- It’s dead.
189
00:10:30,923 --> 00:10:32,257
{\an8}It’s like Stalin’s purges.
190
00:10:32,257 --> 00:10:34,051
{\an8}Probably not the best time
to give up your AR-15.
191
00:10:34,051 --> 00:10:35,969
{\an8}The most threatening thing to our republic
192
00:10:35,969 --> 00:10:39,431
{\an8}since South Carolina fired shots
at Fort Sumter and started the Civil War.
193
00:10:39,431 --> 00:10:41,475
- [audience chuckles]
- [in Southern accent] I-- I say, I say,
194
00:10:41,475 --> 00:10:44,144
- what there, boy?
- [audience laughs]
195
00:10:44,144 --> 00:10:46,730
You Yankees think you can come down here
196
00:10:46,730 --> 00:10:52,152
and keep me from utilizing fraudulent
accounting to pay my adult film--
197
00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:53,570
Well, not film, I guess, back then.
198
00:10:53,570 --> 00:10:56,823
But-- Stage?
199
00:10:58,242 --> 00:11:00,327
[normal voice] I don’t know what they did
back then for porn.
200
00:11:00,327 --> 00:11:02,454
Did they have porn in the 18th ce--
All right.
201
00:11:02,454 --> 00:11:05,499
- [audience laughing]
- [chuckles]
202
00:11:05,499 --> 00:11:07,918
That’s crazy.
203
00:11:08,794 --> 00:11:10,879
But I’m not quite ready yet
204
00:11:10,879 --> 00:11:14,424
to take up arms
against my fellow countrymen over this.
205
00:11:14,424 --> 00:11:15,843
Do you have anything else?
206
00:11:15,843 --> 00:11:17,135
{\an8}I’m gonna make a prediction.
207
00:11:17,135 --> 00:11:22,307
{\an8}By 2025, we are going to be at war.
208
00:11:22,307 --> 00:11:25,102
{\an8}We are going to have a new dollar,
209
00:11:25,102 --> 00:11:28,313
{\an8}a currency that probably
is coming from the central bank.
210
00:11:28,313 --> 00:11:30,816
{\an8}We’ll have a currency collapse, uh,
211
00:11:30,816 --> 00:11:33,944
{\an8}and we will live
in a virtual police state.
212
00:11:33,944 --> 00:11:36,822
{\an8}The Bill of Rights is gone.
213
00:11:36,822 --> 00:11:42,494
{\an8}Please turn to God, repent,
pray for our country, pray for peace.
214
00:11:42,494 --> 00:11:44,121
{\an8}Put on the full armor of God.
215
00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,875
[audience chuckling]
216
00:11:47,875 --> 00:11:49,626
Full armor of God and pray for p--
217
00:11:49,626 --> 00:11:51,378
Yes, as it says in the Bible,
218
00:11:51,378 --> 00:11:56,925
"Blessed are the real estate moguls
for they shall inherit the earth."
219
00:11:56,925 --> 00:11:59,720
Well, more of the earth
than they inherited when they were born,
220
00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,598
which was already a substantial
part of the earth, but--
221
00:12:03,348 --> 00:12:05,601
Shit got weird over at Fox.
222
00:12:05,601 --> 00:12:07,853
{\an8}Now, all of a sudden,
consensual is a felony?
223
00:12:08,812 --> 00:12:10,731
[audience chuckling]
224
00:12:10,731 --> 00:12:14,151
First of all, why does it seem like
he’s just learning the word consensual?
225
00:12:14,151 --> 00:12:15,402
[audience laughs]
226
00:12:15,402 --> 00:12:16,737
But yeah, that’s what they’re doing.
227
00:12:16,737 --> 00:12:19,698
They’re charging Trump
with a felony for consensual sex.
228
00:12:19,698 --> 00:12:21,158
That’s exactly what they’re doing.
229
00:12:21,867 --> 00:12:24,995
But the greatest mind trick,
the Jedi mind trick
230
00:12:24,995 --> 00:12:29,208
in the reality distortion field of
Fox’s arsenal came next.
231
00:12:29,208 --> 00:12:30,125
{\an8}He’s become a symbol.
232
00:12:30,125 --> 00:12:32,211
{\an8}He’s become a symbol
for the disaffected man and woman
233
00:12:32,211 --> 00:12:34,046
{\an8}and the forgotten person in America.
234
00:12:34,046 --> 00:12:37,508
{\an8}They see Donald Trump as a symbol,
really, of freedom--
235
00:12:37,508 --> 00:12:41,220
{\an8}As a symbol for all the freedom-loving
patriots in this country.
236
00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:43,013
{\an8}They’re really coming after all of us.
237
00:12:43,013 --> 00:12:44,515
{\an8}He’s the one that’s standing in the way
238
00:12:44,515 --> 00:12:46,975
{\an8}and he’s been that figure for us
for so many years.
239
00:12:46,975 --> 00:12:49,228
{\an8}They gotta take him out so they can
get to the rest of us.
240
00:12:49,228 --> 00:12:50,771
{\an8}But he’s gonna stand firm and strong.
241
00:12:50,771 --> 00:12:53,023
{\an8}If there was ever somebody
to fight this fight, it’s Donald Trump.
242
00:12:53,023 --> 00:12:57,402
There it is folks.
Donald Trump, selfless hero.
243
00:12:57,402 --> 00:12:59,488
A man who cannot go anywhere
244
00:12:59,488 --> 00:13:03,325
unless his name is in giant letters
on that conveyance
245
00:13:03,325 --> 00:13:06,787
is an egoless freedom fighter
for the little man,
246
00:13:06,787 --> 00:13:11,834
battling desperately until
there is no one in his inner circle left
247
00:13:11,834 --> 00:13:13,335
to go to jail for him.
248
00:13:14,586 --> 00:13:19,716
A man whose malignant narcissism
knows no bounds.
249
00:13:19,716 --> 00:13:25,264
Yeah, that guy is actually on
the ramparts, shielding the regular joes.
250
00:13:25,264 --> 00:13:31,854
This motherfucker is so selfish,
he didn’t even give his sons a jawline.
251
00:13:31,854 --> 00:13:33,856
[audience laughing]
252
00:13:36,525 --> 00:13:39,236
My jawline, not their jawline, mine!
253
00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,823
Trump is not fighting for you.
254
00:13:42,823 --> 00:13:47,369
You are his human shields
and you always have been.
255
00:13:47,369 --> 00:13:48,662
And it’s a shame,
256
00:13:48,662 --> 00:13:51,582
because I’m not sure I would agree
with any of you politically,
257
00:13:51,582 --> 00:13:54,376
but you deserve better.
258
00:13:55,502 --> 00:13:56,628
Let’s get to the panel.
259
00:13:56,628 --> 00:13:58,172
[audience applauding, cheering]
260
00:13:58,172 --> 00:13:59,381
So...
261
00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:06,013
the media is screwing this up.
262
00:14:06,013 --> 00:14:10,434
To talk about why and how,
we are joined remotely by Norman Ornstein,
263
00:14:10,434 --> 00:14:14,146
{\an8}a political scientist at
the American Enterprise Institute.
264
00:14:14,146 --> 00:14:15,772
{\an8}Did I wake you up, Norman?
265
00:14:17,357 --> 00:14:19,818
You-- I-- I--
You know, I’m now really upset
266
00:14:19,818 --> 00:14:22,154
because I left
my full armor of God at home
267
00:14:22,154 --> 00:14:24,656
- and I’m not gonna have it for my seder.
- [chuckles]
268
00:14:24,656 --> 00:14:26,366
- I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
- Why don’t you--
269
00:14:26,366 --> 00:14:29,203
And a chag sameach to you and the, what,
the one Jew in the audience.
270
00:14:29,203 --> 00:14:33,415
Thank you. You should always
have your full armor of God.
271
00:14:33,415 --> 00:14:35,918
Norman Ornstein, uh,
in-- in all your experience,
272
00:14:35,918 --> 00:14:38,128
you’ve written books
about the rise of Trump,
273
00:14:38,128 --> 00:14:40,923
about, uh, the media-industrial complex.
274
00:14:40,923 --> 00:14:47,137
I’m angrier at CNN almost more
than any other organization.
275
00:14:47,137 --> 00:14:49,932
Why is coverage this way?
276
00:14:50,432 --> 00:14:53,393
{\an8}The one thing that I find
most disturbing about the media,
277
00:14:53,393 --> 00:14:56,688
{\an8}is that there’s no
learning curve whatsoever.
278
00:14:57,189 --> 00:15:03,028
This is a guy who called them,
uh, basically the worst things imaginable.
279
00:15:03,028 --> 00:15:05,405
That, uh, the first people to go,
280
00:15:05,405 --> 00:15:09,368
if we ever get to that Trumpian autocracy,
are gonna be the press.
281
00:15:09,868 --> 00:15:12,329
And they play into his hands
over and over again.
282
00:15:12,913 --> 00:15:17,209
And, you know, the way they treated this,
which you handled absolutely brilliantly,
283
00:15:17,209 --> 00:15:20,879
making this huge deal out of it and then
saying there’s a nothing burger there,
284
00:15:21,380 --> 00:15:24,174
is just disgraceful. Uh...
285
00:15:24,174 --> 00:15:26,093
- And it’s not benign.
- Maybe they are the enemy of the people.
286
00:15:26,093 --> 00:15:27,636
It’s not benign.
287
00:15:27,636 --> 00:15:30,848
Fox has weaponized misinformation,
288
00:15:30,848 --> 00:15:34,059
the internet has weaponized misinformation.
289
00:15:34,059 --> 00:15:38,814
And if you don’t have
a tenacious counterforce
290
00:15:38,814 --> 00:15:42,401
battling that position at every turn,
291
00:15:43,026 --> 00:15:46,530
then misinformation
that’s been weaponized wins the day.
292
00:15:47,406 --> 00:15:50,450
{\an8}Absolutely so, and of course,
what’s also happened is
293
00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:54,371
{\an8}they bring on people who lie
and who exaggerate
294
00:15:54,371 --> 00:15:56,957
{\an8}and there is no pushback whatsoever.
295
00:15:56,957 --> 00:16:01,545
They are normalizing the abnormal,
they’re hyping what shouldn’t be hyped
296
00:16:01,545 --> 00:16:05,132
and they’re giving a pass
to things that shouldn’t get a pass.
297
00:16:05,132 --> 00:16:08,177
And it happens over and over
and over again.
298
00:16:08,177 --> 00:16:11,805
It’s Friday the 13th,
uh, part 27 right now.
299
00:16:11,805 --> 00:16:15,058
Ooh, is that coming out, Norman?
Because that sounds interesting.
300
00:16:15,058 --> 00:16:16,852
It’ll be on CNN.
301
00:16:16,852 --> 00:16:19,104
[Stewart, audience laughing]
302
00:16:19,104 --> 00:16:22,858
I really do wonder sometimes,
303
00:16:23,442 --> 00:16:26,195
in a healthy country,
in a healthy democracy,
304
00:16:26,195 --> 00:16:31,533
you would think that the efforts that
Donald Trump and his inner circle went
305
00:16:31,533 --> 00:16:35,162
to circumvent a democratic election
306
00:16:35,162 --> 00:16:39,374
would be disqualifying
in a myriad of ways.
307
00:16:39,374 --> 00:16:44,379
Why do you think we are unable
to hold presidents to account?
308
00:16:44,379 --> 00:16:46,673
One of the things
that’s disturbing about this,
309
00:16:46,673 --> 00:16:49,009
and we saw this throughout
Trump’s presidency,
310
00:16:49,968 --> 00:16:54,181
scandal after scandal after scandal,
and the press couldn’t handle it.
311
00:16:54,181 --> 00:16:56,642
{\an8}Everything washed over itself.
312
00:16:56,642 --> 00:17:00,521
{\an8}And we’re gonna see this now with
the different indictments that go forward.
313
00:17:00,521 --> 00:17:04,273
But they have to have a frame
where each president, in that sense,
314
00:17:04,273 --> 00:17:05,901
is viewed in the same way.
315
00:17:05,901 --> 00:17:09,238
So the scandal with Barack Obama
was he wore a tan suit.
316
00:17:09,820 --> 00:17:12,950
- I remember that, I remember that suit.
- And Donald Trump basically taking--
317
00:17:12,950 --> 00:17:15,743
- Yeah, it was a nice suit.
- Yeah.
318
00:17:15,743 --> 00:17:18,872
And... [stammers]
...what’s so disturbing about this
319
00:17:18,872 --> 00:17:23,752
is that you don’t see any sense of
self-reflection, any willingness to change
320
00:17:23,752 --> 00:17:26,839
and it’s leading us in a very bad place.
321
00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:30,300
It does expose the river of corruption
322
00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:34,596
at the heart of the American
so-called democratic capitalist system.
323
00:17:34,596 --> 00:17:38,433
That this idea of paying for favor,
324
00:17:38,433 --> 00:17:42,312
this moat that surrounds
the nation’s capital
325
00:17:42,312 --> 00:17:45,774
that’s filled with, uh, money
that nobody can trace
326
00:17:45,774 --> 00:17:48,944
and lobbyists that are not
accountable to anybody.
327
00:17:48,944 --> 00:17:50,946
We’re Tammany Hall.
328
00:17:50,946 --> 00:17:54,783
And this entire country
is built, uh, right now
329
00:17:54,783 --> 00:17:56,618
on that pay-to-play premise.
330
00:17:56,618 --> 00:18:01,623
Donald Trump has spent 60 years
paying off people,
331
00:18:01,623 --> 00:18:06,128
using the system for his own good
to avoid accountability.
332
00:18:06,879 --> 00:18:08,881
And whatever the press does,
333
00:18:08,881 --> 00:18:13,927
let’s hope the legal system finally brings
some measure of accountability.
334
00:18:13,927 --> 00:18:18,348
And I-- I also wanna say, Jon,
that the stuff that, uh, was said about,
335
00:18:18,348 --> 00:18:20,434
"Oh, well, there’s nothing new here,"
336
00:18:20,434 --> 00:18:23,061
we actually know some new facts here.
337
00:18:23,061 --> 00:18:24,688
Including the fact
338
00:18:24,688 --> 00:18:30,485
that Trump wanted to hold,
uh, Stormy Daniels, uh--
339
00:18:30,485 --> 00:18:32,988
To stay quiet through
the election campaign
340
00:18:32,988 --> 00:18:34,323
and then not pay her.
341
00:18:34,823 --> 00:18:40,204
So he could bilk her even as he tried
to use this to steal the election.
342
00:18:40,204 --> 00:18:42,706
Uh, we’re gonna find out a lot more
343
00:18:42,706 --> 00:18:46,418
and it involves a lot more
than just Donald Trump.
344
00:18:46,418 --> 00:18:52,049
There was a massive attempt to use
this process days before the election,
345
00:18:52,049 --> 00:18:57,387
after the tapes had come out
from Access Hollywood,
346
00:18:57,387 --> 00:18:59,598
to avoid accountability in an election.
347
00:18:59,598 --> 00:19:05,270
And while this is not as serious
as promoting a violent insurrection...
348
00:19:05,270 --> 00:19:06,563
Correct.
349
00:19:06,563 --> 00:19:10,567
...as trying to convince
the Secretary of State in Georgia
350
00:19:10,567 --> 00:19:16,823
and the governor to give him back Georgia
by stealing 10,700-plus votes,
351
00:19:17,366 --> 00:19:20,369
the fact is that
this probably had more to do
352
00:19:20,369 --> 00:19:23,789
with him winning
the 2016 election illegitimately...
353
00:19:23,789 --> 00:19:25,374
- [Stewart] Right.
- ...than those other things.
354
00:19:25,374 --> 00:19:29,419
Uh, Norman, it’s all information
that really grabs me by my pussy.
355
00:19:29,419 --> 00:19:31,129
- It really does.
- [audience chuckling]
356
00:19:31,129 --> 00:19:33,799
Uh, Norman Ornstein,
thank you so much for joining us today.
357
00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:35,592
Well, you’re a celebrity, so you should.
358
00:19:35,592 --> 00:19:37,177
- [Stewart] Excellent work!
- Thank you.
359
00:19:37,177 --> 00:19:39,596
- So...
- [audience applauding]
360
00:19:40,347 --> 00:19:41,640
Ah!
361
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,726
A powerful person is being
put through a legal process that is,
362
00:19:44,726 --> 00:19:47,771
quite frankly, ordinary for many people.
363
00:19:48,397 --> 00:19:49,815
Or to put that another way...
364
00:19:49,815 --> 00:19:54,319
{\an8}I never thought anything like this
could happen in America.
365
00:19:54,319 --> 00:19:55,779
{\an8}I never thought it could happen.
366
00:19:55,779 --> 00:19:59,199
If I had, I-I probably wouldn’t have
committed all those crimes...
367
00:19:59,199 --> 00:20:01,159
- [audience chuckles]
- ...for all those years.
368
00:20:01,159 --> 00:20:02,870
But if there’s one positive,
369
00:20:02,870 --> 00:20:07,749
it’s that those on the right
are now finally woke to something
370
00:20:07,749 --> 00:20:10,919
that the powerless
have experienced for centuries.
371
00:20:10,919 --> 00:20:12,588
{\an8}There’s a two-tiered system of justice.
372
00:20:12,588 --> 00:20:14,339
{\an8}There is no longer in this country--
373
00:20:14,339 --> 00:20:18,260
{\an8}And I say this with a lot of sadness,
equal justice under the law
374
00:20:18,260 --> 00:20:20,512
{\an8}or equal application of our laws.
375
00:20:20,512 --> 00:20:23,390
{\an8}Sadly, we do have
a two-tiered system of justice.
376
00:20:23,390 --> 00:20:25,851
{\an8}What are we going to do
about these two standards of justice?
377
00:20:25,851 --> 00:20:27,936
[imitating Edith Bunker] Archie, Archie?
378
00:20:27,936 --> 00:20:29,396
[audience laughs]
379
00:20:29,396 --> 00:20:33,775
There’s a two-tiered
system of justice, Archie.
380
00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,404
Oh... [stammers] ...now Meathead is here.
381
00:20:37,404 --> 00:20:38,989
[audience laughs]
382
00:20:38,989 --> 00:20:41,450
[normal voice] But there is.
But here’s the thing--
383
00:20:42,117 --> 00:20:44,870
You know Trump is in the good tier, right?
384
00:20:45,829 --> 00:20:47,414
He’s in this tier.
385
00:20:47,414 --> 00:20:49,833
{\an8}Former President Trump successful today
386
00:20:49,833 --> 00:20:53,170
{\an8}in a request to delay the release of
White House documents.
387
00:20:53,170 --> 00:20:56,798
{\an8}Trump’s lawyers filed to have her case
moved from state to federal court...
388
00:20:56,798 --> 00:20:59,009
{\an8}...refusing to cooperate
with the impeachment inquiry.
389
00:20:59,009 --> 00:21:00,511
{\an8}He is challenging that subpoena.
390
00:21:00,511 --> 00:21:03,680
{\an8}Block the FBI from looking
at the seized materials
391
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,849
{\an8}until a special master can be appointed.
392
00:21:05,849 --> 00:21:06,934
Oh, yeah, Your Honor,
393
00:21:06,934 --> 00:21:09,269
I prefer you not look
at the liquor store security footage
394
00:21:09,269 --> 00:21:11,355
until a, uh, special master that don’t--
395
00:21:11,355 --> 00:21:12,898
Fuck it! Easy on the wrists.
396
00:21:12,898 --> 00:21:14,942
[audience laughs]
397
00:21:15,484 --> 00:21:17,736
To be fair,
you are well within your rights
398
00:21:17,736 --> 00:21:20,739
to vigorously defend yourself
against legal charges.
399
00:21:20,739 --> 00:21:23,075
And that’s what this process
is going to entail.
400
00:21:23,742 --> 00:21:28,497
But in the not-good tier,
you don’t have the resources to do that.
401
00:21:28,997 --> 00:21:31,250
And chances are
you don’t have this either.
402
00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:35,379
{\an8}DonaldJTrump.com. Go tonight.
403
00:21:35,379 --> 00:21:38,340
{\an8}Give the president some money
to fight this bullshit.
404
00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:39,967
[audience chuckling]
405
00:21:41,218 --> 00:21:44,972
You are not in the bad tier
of our justice system
406
00:21:45,472 --> 00:21:49,893
if a US senator
is fronting your GoFundMe page.
407
00:21:51,353 --> 00:21:54,231
But as those in the bad tier know,
when in doubt,
408
00:21:54,231 --> 00:21:58,402
launch veiled threats
on the prosecutors’ and judges’ families.
409
00:21:58,402 --> 00:22:01,738
{\an8}This lunatic special prosecutor
named Jack Smith,
410
00:22:01,738 --> 00:22:03,532
{\an8}I wonder what it was prior to a change.
411
00:22:03,532 --> 00:22:08,495
{\an8}I have a Trump-hating judge
with a Trump-hating wife and family.
412
00:22:09,079 --> 00:22:11,832
{\an8}Whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris
413
00:22:12,416 --> 00:22:15,502
{\an8}and now receives money
from the Biden-Harris campaign.
414
00:22:15,502 --> 00:22:16,587
Look, I’m not a lawyer
415
00:22:16,587 --> 00:22:19,548
but I’m pretty sure most people
can’t get away with doing that.
416
00:22:19,548 --> 00:22:21,216
You know what else they can’t do?
417
00:22:21,216 --> 00:22:23,802
Just claim that by their nature of being,
418
00:22:23,802 --> 00:22:27,931
they are universally,
cosmically unable to crime.
419
00:22:27,931 --> 00:22:31,143
{\an8}Donald Trump is actually claiming
absolute immunity
420
00:22:31,143 --> 00:22:32,686
{\an8}from criminal investigation.
421
00:22:32,686 --> 00:22:38,483
- How much crime do you have to do...
- [audience laughs]
422
00:22:38,483 --> 00:22:41,862
...to build up absolute immunity?
423
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:46,074
Is that immunity coming
from committing crimes
424
00:22:46,074 --> 00:22:48,243
or did you get the crime jab?
425
00:22:48,243 --> 00:22:49,745
Did you get the jab?
426
00:22:49,745 --> 00:22:53,290
The MRNA-Bill-Gates-crime jab?
427
00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:56,585
He’s tracking your crime.
428
00:22:58,253 --> 00:22:59,880
Trump has used privilege and wealth
429
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,800
to protect himself
from legal accountability at every turn.
430
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:09,306
He has lived his entire adult life
in the space twixt illegal and unethical.
431
00:23:09,848 --> 00:23:14,061
He’s in the tier where you get
the platinum arraignment package.
432
00:23:14,061 --> 00:23:16,146
No cuffs. No mug shot.
433
00:23:16,146 --> 00:23:18,065
All-you-can-eat fingerprint ink.
434
00:23:18,065 --> 00:23:21,485
You think regular people
get to surround themselves
435
00:23:21,485 --> 00:23:26,073
with a meat shield of henchmen
to go to prison in their place?
436
00:23:26,615 --> 00:23:29,535
But if you really wanna know
what tier Donald Trump is in,
437
00:23:29,535 --> 00:23:33,872
let’s look at an actual fraud
we know he was guilty of.
438
00:23:34,414 --> 00:23:38,085
He used his own charitable foundation
like a piggy bank.
439
00:23:38,085 --> 00:23:41,547
Or as it’s sometimes known: embezzlement.
440
00:23:41,547 --> 00:23:43,966
{\an8}[reporter 4]
"A shocking pattern of illegality,
441
00:23:43,966 --> 00:23:48,136
{\an8}including unlawful coordination
with the Trump presidential campaign,
442
00:23:48,136 --> 00:23:51,473
{\an8}repeated and willful self-dealing
and much more."
443
00:23:51,473 --> 00:23:56,645
He stole from his own
charitable foundation.
444
00:23:56,645 --> 00:23:58,564
How much more could--
445
00:23:58,564 --> 00:24:01,358
What, did he also nut punch a priest?
Like...
446
00:24:01,358 --> 00:24:02,985
[audience laughs]
447
00:24:04,027 --> 00:24:07,155
How are non-Trumps punished
for something like that?
448
00:24:07,155 --> 00:24:09,408
Well, some get two years in jail.
449
00:24:09,408 --> 00:24:11,785
Some get five years in jail.
450
00:24:11,785 --> 00:24:15,831
Some get ten years in jail
451
00:24:15,831 --> 00:24:19,585
for stealing from charitable donations.
452
00:24:19,585 --> 00:24:23,130
But what happened to
this selfless... [swallows]
453
00:24:23,130 --> 00:24:25,299
...shield of the working man?
454
00:24:25,299 --> 00:24:26,550
[audience chuckles]
455
00:24:26,550 --> 00:24:29,344
Well, he agreed to shut down
his charity piggy bank
456
00:24:29,344 --> 00:24:32,639
and paid a $2 million settlement.
457
00:24:32,639 --> 00:24:37,895
Or on your Trump conversion chart,
15-16 porn star hushings.
458
00:24:39,062 --> 00:24:41,190
He wasn’t even charged with a crime.
459
00:24:41,190 --> 00:24:42,983
So when people say this...
460
00:24:42,983 --> 00:24:45,736
{\an8}It’s selective prosecution and it’s wrong.
461
00:24:45,736 --> 00:24:48,071
{\an8}Selective prosecution on steroids.
462
00:24:48,071 --> 00:24:49,781
{\an8}It does feel like a selective prosecution.
463
00:24:49,781 --> 00:24:52,826
{\an8}If his name were John Smith,
464
00:24:52,826 --> 00:24:55,120
{\an8}no, Bragg would not be bringing this case.
465
00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:58,498
If his name was John Smith,
he’d be in jail already.
466
00:24:59,041 --> 00:25:01,126
He-- Yes.
467
00:25:01,126 --> 00:25:03,378
[audience laughs]
468
00:25:03,378 --> 00:25:04,880
It’s all selective prosecution.
469
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,382
And when you’re in the good tier,
you can do whatever you want
470
00:25:07,382 --> 00:25:08,675
and you’re probably gonna be fine.
471
00:25:08,675 --> 00:25:11,803
In fact, you might
even be president twice.
472
00:25:11,803 --> 00:25:15,015
- [audience cheering, applauding]
- Anyway, we got ourselves--
473
00:25:16,892 --> 00:25:18,769
We do have a two-tiered system of justice.
474
00:25:18,769 --> 00:25:21,396
And we’re gonna talk to someone who’s
actually been a victim of this system,
475
00:25:21,396 --> 00:25:23,106
and someone who can verify what’s broken.
476
00:25:23,106 --> 00:25:27,236
{\an8}Please welcome Melissa Murray,
a legal scholar and law professor at NYU
477
00:25:27,236 --> 00:25:29,154
{\an8}and an MSNBC/NBC News contributor.
478
00:25:29,154 --> 00:25:32,950
{\an8}And Jay Jordan,
CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice
479
00:25:32,950 --> 00:25:36,370
{\an8}and National Director
of the TimeDone campaign,
480
00:25:36,370 --> 00:25:38,372
{\an8}which organizes people
with past conviction records
481
00:25:38,372 --> 00:25:41,458
{\an8}to eliminate the barriers
blocking them from success.
482
00:25:41,458 --> 00:25:43,168
Guys, welcome to the program.
483
00:25:43,168 --> 00:25:44,711
[audience cheers, applauds]
484
00:25:44,711 --> 00:25:46,296
Jay, I’m gonna talk to you first.
485
00:25:47,631 --> 00:25:52,135
- Uh, you’ve been in the system.
- Yeah.
486
00:25:52,135 --> 00:25:53,554
You have spent time in jail.
487
00:25:53,554 --> 00:25:57,474
When you were arraigned,
did you pick the Zoom option?
488
00:25:57,474 --> 00:26:02,187
And did you go with the optional-mug-shot,
no-handcuffs approach,
489
00:26:02,187 --> 00:26:05,691
or did you say,
"I want the traditional experience"?
490
00:26:05,691 --> 00:26:06,859
[chuckles]
491
00:26:06,859 --> 00:26:09,152
Um, you know,
492
00:26:09,152 --> 00:26:11,446
- I laugh but it’s quite serious...
- [Stewart] Yes.
493
00:26:11,446 --> 00:26:13,991
...what happens
when people get arrested in this country.
494
00:26:13,991 --> 00:26:17,077
Especially if you are, uh, poor.
495
00:26:17,077 --> 00:26:20,455
Uh, if you don’t have the means
to, um, turn yourself in.
496
00:26:20,455 --> 00:26:25,127
Um, and that’s the vast majority of people
that get arrested in this country.
497
00:26:25,127 --> 00:26:26,628
- Three out of four people...
- Yeah.
498
00:26:26,628 --> 00:26:29,006
...that are currently incarcerated
499
00:26:29,006 --> 00:26:32,593
live right by or below
the supplemental poverty line.
500
00:26:32,593 --> 00:26:34,219
So we’re literally talking
about poor folks
501
00:26:34,219 --> 00:26:35,637
that are getting swept up in the system.
502
00:26:35,637 --> 00:26:37,764
When I got arrested, they came with dogs.
503
00:26:37,764 --> 00:26:40,100
I got tased right in front
of my two-year-old nephew.
504
00:26:40,100 --> 00:26:42,895
Like, people are getting brutalized
when they get arrested.
505
00:26:42,895 --> 00:26:47,941
I remember my first time getting arrested
was stealing a bottle of Hennessy, right?
506
00:26:47,941 --> 00:26:50,903
I was 15 years old. 15 years old. Fifteen.
507
00:26:50,903 --> 00:26:52,237
We’re in a car, we’re drinking.
508
00:26:52,237 --> 00:26:55,157
Police pull behind us,
we get yanked out of the car.
509
00:26:55,157 --> 00:26:58,827
And there’s a phrase that everybody knows
who’ve been brutalized by the police.
510
00:26:58,827 --> 00:27:00,412
Everybody knows this phrase.
511
00:27:00,412 --> 00:27:02,414
- It’s "quit resisting."
- [Stewart] Right.
512
00:27:02,414 --> 00:27:04,499
And when they say that,
they know that is a green light
513
00:27:04,499 --> 00:27:05,667
- to brutalize you.
- [Stewart] Right.
514
00:27:05,667 --> 00:27:07,461
That was my first instance
of getting arrested.
515
00:27:07,461 --> 00:27:10,797
Fifteen years old, for a bottle of
Hennessy, getting beat up by the cops.
516
00:27:10,797 --> 00:27:11,882
So, you know, no--
517
00:27:11,882 --> 00:27:13,717
When you see that--
When you watch somebody
518
00:27:13,717 --> 00:27:15,219
and they say, like, "Well, you know,
519
00:27:15,219 --> 00:27:18,555
if you had just taken money
from your charitable foundation
520
00:27:18,555 --> 00:27:20,432
and bought the Hennessy,
521
00:27:20,432 --> 00:27:23,227
and pretended that it was an expense
for there,
522
00:27:23,227 --> 00:27:24,978
everything would be fucking fine."
523
00:27:24,978 --> 00:27:27,105
Like, that must be infuriating.
524
00:27:27,105 --> 00:27:30,359
I mean, how the great
Bryan Stevenson puts it,
525
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:32,444
"In this country,
if you are wealthy and guilty,
526
00:27:32,444 --> 00:27:34,404
you’re treated better
than if you’re poor and innocent."
527
00:27:34,404 --> 00:27:36,782
{\an8}We do have two different
systems of justice.
528
00:27:36,782 --> 00:27:39,201
One for those who are poor
and those with resources.
529
00:27:39,201 --> 00:27:41,703
And it’s very different.
We’re seeing that play out right now.
530
00:27:41,703 --> 00:27:45,749
I think a big part of the sort of playing
down of these charges that we’ve seen
531
00:27:45,749 --> 00:27:47,543
is what the media has done.
532
00:27:47,543 --> 00:27:50,379
I mean, I think they were expecting
something explosive. And not really--
533
00:27:50,379 --> 00:27:53,215
- But they created that expectation.
- For sure, for sure.
534
00:27:53,215 --> 00:27:57,010
I mean, they were hoping for a perp walk
and maybe an orange jumpsuit.
535
00:27:57,010 --> 00:27:58,762
But this is a process, right?
536
00:27:58,762 --> 00:27:59,847
There’s an arraignment,
537
00:27:59,847 --> 00:28:01,765
and this was just the first act
538
00:28:01,765 --> 00:28:04,643
of what will be a very long
and drawn-out process.
539
00:28:04,643 --> 00:28:08,897
But to their point though,
this is unprecedented to some degree
540
00:28:08,897 --> 00:28:10,816
because of who Donald Trump is.
541
00:28:10,816 --> 00:28:12,484
He is a former president.
542
00:28:12,484 --> 00:28:14,486
And, you know, I’m a law professor.
543
00:28:14,486 --> 00:28:17,906
- We don’t lead very exciting lives, but--
- Stop it.
544
00:28:17,906 --> 00:28:20,409
I mean, this is the most fun
I’ve had in a while.
545
00:28:20,409 --> 00:28:22,160
- What?
- [audience laughs]
546
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:23,871
We have a long haul to go.
547
00:28:23,871 --> 00:28:26,331
We don’t know
what evidence Alvin Bragg has.
548
00:28:26,331 --> 00:28:28,876
We don’t know
whether these charges are thin
549
00:28:28,876 --> 00:28:30,502
because we don’t know
what’s underlying them.
550
00:28:30,502 --> 00:28:33,088
And so to say,
"It’s a weak case," it’s this or that,
551
00:28:33,088 --> 00:28:34,756
we don’t know that. They don’t know that.
552
00:28:34,756 --> 00:28:37,301
None of those people
have been to law school, and I know that.
553
00:28:37,301 --> 00:28:38,719
[Stewart, audience laughing]
554
00:28:38,719 --> 00:28:40,220
Well, that must be frustrating too.
555
00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:42,097
[audience applauds]
556
00:28:42,097 --> 00:28:46,018
{\an8}So, you know, after this,
the process is, you know,
557
00:28:46,018 --> 00:28:48,729
{\an8}- "We’ll see what the evidence is," right?
- [Stewart] Mm-hmm.
558
00:28:48,729 --> 00:28:51,231
The problem with everybody else
in the system,
559
00:28:51,231 --> 00:28:54,484
which is 97% of people take a plea deal--
560
00:28:54,484 --> 00:28:58,197
Most people who take a plea deal
never see the evidence against them.
561
00:28:58,197 --> 00:28:59,656
Never see the evidence against them.
562
00:28:59,656 --> 00:29:00,574
- [Stewart] Is that--
- Ever.
563
00:29:00,574 --> 00:29:02,034
- That’s true?
- That is true.
564
00:29:02,034 --> 00:29:04,494
They never see the evidence,
so they’re taking plea deals.
565
00:29:04,494 --> 00:29:06,246
I’m gonna tell you why, right?
566
00:29:06,246 --> 00:29:07,789
Like, so when you are arrested,
567
00:29:07,789 --> 00:29:12,211
there-- there are two main factors
in our current system
568
00:29:12,211 --> 00:29:16,924
that dictates the severity of your stay
and the length of your stay.
569
00:29:16,924 --> 00:29:20,385
And it is if you can make bail
and if you can buy yourself an attorney.
570
00:29:20,385 --> 00:29:22,262
If you can’t do those two things,
571
00:29:22,262 --> 00:29:25,057
you’re getting a public defender
who are overworked and underpaid...
572
00:29:25,057 --> 00:29:27,142
- Right. Toughest job of all.
- ...have dozens of people on their caseload.
573
00:29:27,142 --> 00:29:28,644
- Toughest job in law.
- Toughest job on the beat.
574
00:29:28,644 --> 00:29:31,939
So you take the deal, you don’t see
the evidence-- and get this--
575
00:29:32,564 --> 00:29:35,651
They don’t have to tell you about
the collateral consequences you face
576
00:29:35,651 --> 00:29:37,194
after you take the deal.
577
00:29:37,194 --> 00:29:39,863
So the 97% of people
that are taking these deals
578
00:29:39,863 --> 00:29:43,116
don’t even know that they’re gonna face
40,000 legal restrictions
579
00:29:43,116 --> 00:29:44,660
after they serve their time.
580
00:29:44,660 --> 00:29:47,329
How is that ok-- How is that legal?
581
00:29:47,329 --> 00:29:49,706
{\an8}Well, so, first of all,
the entire legal system--
582
00:29:49,706 --> 00:29:52,376
{\an8}[Stewart] I don’t mean to look at you
like, "You created this system!"
583
00:29:52,376 --> 00:29:54,086
- [audience laughing]
- Melissa?
584
00:29:54,086 --> 00:29:55,379
I just work here.
585
00:29:55,379 --> 00:29:57,005
- Um--
- [Stewart] It really is.
586
00:29:57,005 --> 00:30:00,300
In-- As a general matter on both
the civil side and the criminal side,
587
00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:02,553
most cases end with a settlement,
588
00:30:02,553 --> 00:30:05,848
whether that is on the civil side
an actual settlement between the parties.
589
00:30:05,848 --> 00:30:08,350
And we learned a lot about
that during the #MeToo era
590
00:30:08,350 --> 00:30:11,144
with nondisclosure agreements
and settlement of certain cases.
591
00:30:11,144 --> 00:30:13,522
But on the criminal side,
the settlement is the plea deal.
592
00:30:13,522 --> 00:30:16,400
And if you are poor,
if you don’t have money for bail,
593
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,235
if you are worried about your job,
594
00:30:18,235 --> 00:30:21,405
and they’re offering you a misdemeanor--
that may have collateral consequences...
595
00:30:21,405 --> 00:30:23,115
- [Jordan] Yeah.
- ...that you don’t know about.
596
00:30:23,115 --> 00:30:25,033
But a misdemeanor as opposed to jail time,
597
00:30:25,033 --> 00:30:28,245
you might just take it
and get railroaded into this and th--
598
00:30:28,245 --> 00:30:29,621
[Stewart] You have no recourse.
599
00:30:29,621 --> 00:30:31,707
- I mean, that’s-- that’s part of it.
- No, you don’t.
600
00:30:31,707 --> 00:30:33,792
And is that the shock that
we’re seeing in this system?
601
00:30:33,792 --> 00:30:36,587
This idea that, "Oh, my God,
he’s gonna have to face consequences."
602
00:30:36,587 --> 00:30:39,047
For sure. I mean, again, this is a man
603
00:30:39,047 --> 00:30:43,135
who is no stranger to
legal liability, both civil--
604
00:30:43,135 --> 00:30:44,887
{\an8}Um, he hasn’t had
criminal liability against him.
605
00:30:44,887 --> 00:30:47,890
{\an8}Now it looks like not only may he have
criminal exposure in this case,
606
00:30:47,890 --> 00:30:51,059
{\an8}but there may also be other cases
both at the state level in Georgia
607
00:30:51,059 --> 00:30:54,229
- and at the federal level that--
- But he only hasn’t had criminal exposure
608
00:30:54,229 --> 00:30:56,148
- because of his resources.
- No-- Undoubtedly.
609
00:30:56,148 --> 00:30:58,150
A normal person who committed those things
610
00:30:58,150 --> 00:30:59,943
- would have criminal exposure.
- Un-Undoubt--
611
00:30:59,943 --> 00:31:03,530
And even now, his treatment
in the legal system
612
00:31:04,114 --> 00:31:07,451
reflects the incredible privileges
that he does have.
613
00:31:07,451 --> 00:31:11,622
Jay, there’s gotta be a ray of lightness,
and you-- you know,
614
00:31:11,622 --> 00:31:13,332
in getting to know you a little bit here--
615
00:31:13,332 --> 00:31:19,379
I am shocked by what you went through
and your resilience to that.
616
00:31:19,379 --> 00:31:21,965
Is there a light here
that we can learn from?
617
00:31:21,965 --> 00:31:24,843
- Is there something to take from this?
- Two points.
618
00:31:24,843 --> 00:31:26,845
So I wanna make a point
about the system itself
619
00:31:26,845 --> 00:31:28,388
{\an8}and what we’re up against,
620
00:31:28,388 --> 00:31:30,057
{\an8}and then what we can actually do, right?
621
00:31:30,057 --> 00:31:31,934
{\an8}Or give people a green light
to do something.
622
00:31:31,934 --> 00:31:36,021
So this judicial bureaucracy, right?
623
00:31:36,021 --> 00:31:37,523
- [Stewart] Mm-hmm.
- Just to give everybody
624
00:31:37,523 --> 00:31:42,069
a sense of what we have been able to build
or allow being built under our watch.
625
00:31:42,069 --> 00:31:47,866
Since 1985-- my entire life-- we’ve spent
$11 trillion building this system.
626
00:31:47,866 --> 00:31:52,329
Eleven trillion dollars. That’s four times
what we spent in Syria and Iraq.
627
00:31:52,329 --> 00:31:54,748
We are talking about
a nation-building strategy
628
00:31:54,748 --> 00:31:57,668
that has forced America
to become the largest jailor, point one.
629
00:31:57,668 --> 00:31:59,503
Point two, right,
630
00:31:59,503 --> 00:32:03,966
that it is the second-largest
employer in the world.
631
00:32:03,966 --> 00:32:05,634
- Department of Defense, first.
- What?
632
00:32:05,634 --> 00:32:09,721
The American judicial bureaucracy, second,
Walmart, third, right?
633
00:32:09,721 --> 00:32:10,889
- That’s how big it is.
- What?
634
00:32:10,889 --> 00:32:15,561
Yes, that’s how big it is.
Employs 2.5 million people.
635
00:32:15,561 --> 00:32:17,771
Right? A lot of people are tied to this.
636
00:32:17,771 --> 00:32:22,985
Three, they-- they spend 300 million--
$300 billion every single year.
637
00:32:22,985 --> 00:32:25,737
Three hundred billion dollars
every single year.
638
00:32:25,737 --> 00:32:28,448
And they have
these associations and lobbyists.
639
00:32:28,448 --> 00:32:30,367
I’ve been against these
lobbyists in the state houses.
640
00:32:30,367 --> 00:32:33,370
They show up in their Armani suits
smelling like a Macy’s counter,
641
00:32:33,370 --> 00:32:35,038
- and they’re scary. Right?
- [chuckling]
642
00:32:35,038 --> 00:32:37,583
- So it’s-- it’s a protective shield...
- [Stewart] Mm-hmm.
643
00:32:37,583 --> 00:32:40,127
...that we’re talking about,
and it focuses on poor people.
644
00:32:40,127 --> 00:32:43,046
Again, three out of four people
that get sucked up in the system
645
00:32:43,046 --> 00:32:45,257
are living below
the supplemental poverty line.
646
00:32:45,257 --> 00:32:49,052
Like, poor people to the justice system
is like Big Macs to McDonald’s.
647
00:32:49,052 --> 00:32:51,388
It is a system, and it-- and it works,
648
00:32:51,388 --> 00:32:55,642
and we don’t have
a... [stammers] ...effective justice system.
649
00:32:55,642 --> 00:32:57,978
We trade justice for judicial efficiency.
650
00:32:57,978 --> 00:33:00,731
- But let me tell you this--
- I’m hoping there’s a "but" in here, Jay.
651
00:33:00,731 --> 00:33:02,316
- [Jordan] I can tell you here--
- Because right now,
652
00:33:02,316 --> 00:33:04,109
I’m just feeling like, "Oh, God."
653
00:33:04,109 --> 00:33:08,280
I am hopeful for all the people out there
654
00:33:08,822 --> 00:33:10,407
that are like,
"We can do something about it."
655
00:33:10,407 --> 00:33:12,284
So we always get turned
around when we say,
656
00:33:12,284 --> 00:33:13,869
"Well, I want to abolish the system
657
00:33:13,869 --> 00:33:16,413
or reform the system
or transform the system,"
658
00:33:16,413 --> 00:33:19,541
and you’re like, "Oh, you’re too woke,"
or "That’s too progressive," right?
659
00:33:19,541 --> 00:33:22,628
Well, let me tell you something,
in the Declaration of Independence--
660
00:33:23,378 --> 00:33:25,923
In the Declaration of Independence
of this country,
661
00:33:25,923 --> 00:33:27,257
we stop reading when it says,
662
00:33:27,257 --> 00:33:28,926
"Life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness."
663
00:33:28,926 --> 00:33:32,137
But what... [stammers] ...say--
What they say after that gives me hope.
664
00:33:32,137 --> 00:33:36,141
It says that any moment in time
that government becomes destructive to us
665
00:33:36,141 --> 00:33:39,728
means it is the right of
the people to abolish or alter it
666
00:33:39,728 --> 00:33:42,481
and create a new system of government.
667
00:33:42,481 --> 00:33:45,776
So if you’re talking about
abolition or reform,
668
00:33:45,776 --> 00:33:47,861
it is not that you’re too woke,
it’s you’re patriotic.
669
00:33:47,861 --> 00:33:49,655
So please take up, you know...
670
00:33:49,655 --> 00:33:51,990
- [stammers] ...a legal appeal--
- [exclaims] Yeah! Come on!
671
00:33:51,990 --> 00:33:54,159
[stammers] Become a lobbyist,
672
00:33:54,159 --> 00:33:55,661
- become a law professor--
- Jay Jordan!
673
00:33:55,661 --> 00:33:57,579
Become an organizer because we need--
674
00:33:57,579 --> 00:33:59,790
That’s the only way
we’re gonna get through this.
675
00:34:00,707 --> 00:34:03,085
- I needed that!
- [audience laughs]
676
00:34:03,085 --> 00:34:05,295
That was like a Jamba Juice. Yes!
677
00:34:05,295 --> 00:34:06,713
[audience laughs]
678
00:34:07,339 --> 00:34:08,799
- Thank you, both...
- [chuckles]
679
00:34:08,799 --> 00:34:13,637
...for being here and-and for giving us,
uh, your-- your wisdom, your analysis
680
00:34:13,637 --> 00:34:15,429
and most importantly, your perspective.
681
00:34:15,429 --> 00:34:16,889
Uh, thank you very much.
682
00:34:16,889 --> 00:34:19,184
Jay Jordan. Melissa Murray.
683
00:34:19,184 --> 00:34:21,103
- [audience applauding]
- Uh, thank you both.
684
00:34:21,103 --> 00:34:24,063
All right, everybody, that is our show.
685
00:34:24,606 --> 00:34:27,317
Uh, get your frequent viewer cards
punched before you leave.
686
00:34:27,317 --> 00:34:30,987
{\an8}If you want more content there,
head to our website.
687
00:34:30,987 --> 00:34:33,949
{\an8}Uh, Elon just turned it
into a Doge website.
688
00:34:33,949 --> 00:34:34,949
{\an8}[audience laughing]
689
00:34:34,949 --> 00:34:37,202
{\an8}You’ll love it.
Uh, I also got a podcast there
690
00:34:37,202 --> 00:34:39,580
{\an8}that I record from the lighthouse
that I call my home.
691
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:42,916
{\an8}All right, we’re ending tonight
with one final "for fuck’s sake."
692
00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:44,501
{\an8}[Jake Tapper] I’m gonna interrupt you
693
00:34:44,501 --> 00:34:45,543
{\an8}- for one second--
- [guest] I think--
694
00:34:45,543 --> 00:34:47,170
{\an8}[Tapper] I’m gonna interrupt
you because this is
695
00:34:47,170 --> 00:34:49,172
{\an8}one of the photographs that we just got.
696
00:34:49,172 --> 00:34:53,177
{\an8}The photograph is stark, and--
and historic as we look at it.
697
00:34:53,177 --> 00:34:55,846
{\an8}Donald Trump, uh, with a--
698
00:34:55,846 --> 00:34:57,764
{\an8}I don’t know how to characterize his face,
699
00:34:57,764 --> 00:35:00,726
{\an8}but certainly a serious expression
on his face. Uh--
700
00:35:00,726 --> 00:35:01,894
{\an8}[audience laughing]
701
00:35:01,894 --> 00:35:04,229
{\an8}[Tapper] Alyssa Farah Griffin,
is she-- is she with us?
702
00:35:04,229 --> 00:35:06,356
{\an8}If she is, I-I’d love her to weigh in
703
00:35:06,356 --> 00:35:08,859
{\an8}on what she sees
in this-- in this picture.
704
00:35:09,443 --> 00:35:12,654
{\an8}[Griffin] Jake. I mean, that-- that--
that’s a man who looks like a defendant.
705
00:35:12,654 --> 00:35:14,031
{\an8}[audience laughing]