A postelection trial in the Georgia Elections case, and that could actually happen. Well have expert legal analysis for you straight ahead. Meanwhile, a codefendant in that case is taking a different approach. Well explain the strategy for trumps former Chief Of Staff, mark meadows. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was on the road yesterday talking about everything but the latest indictment for his predecessor. Well show you what he was focused on instead. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this wednesday, august 16th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. The clock has begun on the tenday windowt that former President Trump and his 18 codefendants have to voluntarily turn themselves in. Fulton County District attorney fani willis announced a sweeping Election Interference indictment on monday night and gave everyone charged until august 25th to surrender to authorities. If and when they appear theyll do so at the Fulton County jail in atlanta for potential mug shots and fingerprinting. An appearance before a judge will be scheduled later down the road. Trumps team is reportedly negotiating when he will schedule his surrender. His advisers for differing views on the best time for him to come in. With some pushing for the middle of next week and others opting for the last possible minute. The august 25th dead leanto voluntarily appear is two days after the first republican president ial debate. Trump has not announced yet if he will attend. Meanwhile, mark meadows is seeking to move his Fulton County election case to Federal Court. Donald trumps former Chief Of Staff was indicted along with him and 17 others on charges of attempting to overturn trumps Election Loss in the State Of Georgia. Meadows faces two counts in the 41count indictment including violation of the georgia racketeerinfluenced and corrupt organizations act, rico, and solicitation of violation of oath by a public office. In a 14page Filing Meadows attorneys defended his actions writing that he was merely acting in his official capacity as trumps Chief Of Staff. His attorneys detailed Arraignment For Organizing Oval Office meetings, contacting State Officials on trumps behalf, visiting a State Government building and setting up a phone call as among his duties. Meadows petition to move it case to Federal Court could result in a more favorable jury pool made up of conservative residents, and it would almost certainly mean no cameras would be allowed in the courtroom. However, fani Willis Office would still likely prosecute the case. Trump is also expected to mount a similar effort. Youll recall at least for now cameras are allowed in the state courthouse in georgia. Former trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has also called for moving the georgia case to Federal Court and criticized the d. A. For charging him and other defendants with racketeering. This is a ridiculous application with the racketeering statute. Theres probably no one that knows it better than i do. I was the first one to use it, but in major cases this is not meant for election disputes. This is ridiculous what shes doing. Its worth noting that during the 1980s when giuliani was with federal prosecutor in new york he was celebrated for his innovative use of racketeering laws to take down the leadership of Organized Crime families. Joining us now former u. S. Attorney and msnbc contributor barbara mcquade. Barbara, so great to see you this morning. So lets start with this idea of how several key defendants in this case in Fulton County are looking to move to from a state to a Federal Court. First of all, do you think that is a smart strategy for the former president and his codefendants . And then secondly do you think it has a chance to be successful . As for strategy, yes. I do think its probably a good strategy and the main one is one you said, which is the jury pool would become very different. Instead of a jury composed of residents of Fulton County which is primarily a democratic community, it would expand to the entire Northern District of georgia, and that Federal District is much larger, includes a number of suburban counties that tend to be republican lawyers. So to the extent that political affiliation is a proxy for how they might view this conduct, its probably a wise strategy. Now, does it have a likelihood of success, i think probably not. The question is whether the person was an officer of the United States at the time of conduct. Here, yes. As to mark meadows, donald trump, jeffrey clark. But it has to be within the scope of the authority of the official. And now what mark meadows says all i did was arrange some meetings and do some visits and handle some meetings for donald trump, if thats all he did within the scope of his job as president and his duties as president , that would be a valid defense. But here what the allegation is he abused his authority and acted outside the scope of his authority. If, for example, donald trump asked mark meadow tuesday go rob a bank, most rnt certainly we would say thats outside the scope of his authority. The judge will have to make a decision whether its outside the scope of the authority. If you take it at face value it alleges he exceeded the scope of his authority. Give us a sense how that rico statute is being applied here, and do you think its being used appropriately . Yes, absolutely. And he knows that. In fact, he mentioned he used it. Those were traditional crime family mafia cases. Those were Organized Crime, and any Organized Crime is subject to rico. In my former office we used it against violent street gangs and against corrupt Public Officials. Whenever you have a criminal organization that has a hierarchy its an appropriate use. And here its a way just like in all Organized Crime cases to allow prosecutors to go after not just the underlings doing the dirty work. And lastly certainly very clear the strategy being deployed by trump, giuliani, and others is to delay. Certainly this is big, sprawling, complicated case. Whats your best guess, your sense of time line when this could get started and how long a trial like this could take. I know fani willis said shes prepared to try the case in six months. Im sure she is. In a Perfect World that would be possible, but its not a Perfect World. So with 19 defendants all of whom will raise a variety of motion that have to be briefed and argued and decided, i could see this case extending well fast the November 2024 election. The rico cases my office handled were measured in years and not in months, and so i think were probably a year or more away from trial, probably two years away from trial. And how long would it take to try . Many of these defendants i think based on statistics seem likely to plead guilty, so the number for trial would pair down. If the number was five or six, i think the judge would break them down into smaller groups. Still, i think, in light of the number of overdacts listed in the indictment i think itll take some time to try this case. Itll be one of the other cases facing donald trump, perhaps the Election Interference Case in washington could go first. Great stuff as always. Barbara mcquade, thank you. Im certain well be speaking to you again soon. To that Election Interference against trump were learning more about the evidence collected by special counsel jack smiths office. According to documents made public yesterday, prosecutors obtained a Search Warrant back in january for, quote, all information associated with the twitter account realdonald trump. It was looking for, quote, evidence of criminal offenses between direct messages, searches, and other data. The elon musk owned Company Fought the warrant and only complied after being found in Contempt Of Court and sanctioned 350,000. Its unclear, though, at this point what prosecutors found after they got ahold of trumps twitter records. Trump suspended from twitter after january 6th. Hes since been reinstated but has not used the platform since, now called x. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, the latest on the devastating wildfires still burning across maui as President Biden publicly addresses the disaster. Plus what were learning this morning about Hunter Bidens attorney stepping down. Those stories, a check on sports and weather when we come right back. N sports and weather when we come right back age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv ella fashion moves fast. Setting trends is our business. Bakeryinspired flavor. We need to scale with customer demand. In real time. jen so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. marquis with a custom private 5g network. ella with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. marquis so our customers get what they want, when they want it. jen its not just a network. Its enterprise intelligence. vo learn more. Its your vision, its your verizon. 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Yesterday maui county began to identify those killed and were learning more about the harrowing stories of citizens trying to flee the fire or protect family members. Hawaiis governor says the wildfires are likely the worst Natural Disaster in the history of that state. Yesterday while in wisconsin President Biden spoke about the tragedy and said that both he and the first lady are planning to visit the Hawaii Disaster Area soon. Let me say devastating wildfires some of which are still burning hawaii that claimed the lives of 99 people so far and they havent cleaned things up yet. The deadliest wildfire in more than a hundred years. The whole city destroyed, generation of native hawaiian history turned into ruin. Im spoken to governor josh green multiple times and reassured him the statewide have everything it needs from the federal government. Its painstaking work and takes time and nervewracking. My wife jill and i are going to travel to hawaii as soon as i can. Thats what ive been talking to the governor about. I dont want to get in the way. Ive been to too many disaster areas, but i want to go and make sure they have everything they need. The president will be spending vacation out on lake tahoe. During a viz yesterday to Baltalground Wisconsin the president focused on the economy and his signature legislation. The president was in milwaukee touring a clean energy company. The bill was part of the effort to acknowledge the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law a year ago today. The white house says that since biden has been in office, private companies have committed more than 3 billion in manufacturing and Clean Energy Investments in wisconsin. Wisconsin, of course, one of the True Battlegrounds next year some believe might be the Tipping Point state for the Electoral College map. President biden expected to further Mark Theflation Act later this afternoon with a speech at the white house. Meanwhile, a key attorney for hunter biden is no longer going to represent him. The New York Times reports attorney Christopher Clark stepped down yesterday after revealing he intends to testify as a witness on behalf of the president s son. The Federal Court rules in Delaware Rohibit Clark from being a witness advocate. Clark witnessed hunter biden in the Plea Negotiations in a fiveyear investigation into gun and tax charges. Plea talks broke down meaning the case will likely go to trial. In a major shakeup of course announced at the end of last week the prosecutor in the case was elevated to special counsel status. That was announced by attorney general merrick garland. Still ahead in this show were going to have much much more about Donald Trumps legal trouble in georgia, but next well turn to sports and show you a very, very questionable strike zone last night here in washington. Plus more misery for yankee fans. Its a shame. While out west the dodgers continue to surge. All of that and an update on the womens world cup next. Pdate one womens world cup next. To not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. Nows the time to see what americas largest 5g network can do for your business. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv rsv is in for a surprise. Meet arexvy. arexvy is used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. Arexvy is proven to be over 82 effective in preventing lower Respiratory Disease from rsv and over 94 effective in those with these health conditions. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. 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No, this is not a strike. That wasnt even close. As you just heard announcers from both sides of the broadcast were just as stunned as Red Sox Third baseman Justin Turner after he was punched out on a pitch that was well, well outside of the strike zone to end the top of the fourth inning. You heard the nationals crew first and then the red sox won. Boston beat washington 54 last night to open up that series. I was there in attendance. Go sox, nice win. To atlanta the braves beat the yankees the last placed yankees are now 1222 since july 4th. Theyve lost four straight games and havent won a series in nearly a month and now 3 1 2 games behind the red sox, 5 1 2 out of the wild card. If the braves complete the sweep tomorrow with a complete sweep tonight the yankees will be below. 500 if the first time in a year. The dodgers extended their win streak to nine games in a 62 victory over the milwaukee brewers. They improved to 131 nis month and are a season best 26 games over. 500. Lets turn now to the nfl. The Indianapolis Colts have seen enough of quarterback anthony richardson. Richardson had been sharing first team snaps throughout Training Camp and he made his pro debut saturday. The Season Opener will mark the seventh Straight Year the colts have had a different starting quarterback. Lastly australia and england will faceoff at the top of the hour in a womens world cup Semifinal Match to decide which of those teams will play in the final and for the world cup title. The winner will meet spain in the title match thats going to be held on sunday. Spain sealed a spot in its first ever World Cup Final with a thrilling 21 win over sweden yesterday. Time now for the weather and lets go to meteorologist Angie Lassman for the forecast. Hows it looking out there . Weve got a couple of spots. Even the southeast dealing with this too. Well also watch for parts of midwest, the Upper Midwest specifically to deal with strong storms potentially even severe storms. By tomorrow that same line works through parts of the great lakes and leave us a little bumpy there for folks through the afternoon hours. From duluth to minneapolis, 5 Million People at risk. And of course we have to talk about the heat. It continues to be an issue. 31 Million People impacted by heat alerts. Triple digits, were talking numerous spots could be record breaking not just today but even into tomorrow, well still see warmth but finally get relief for folks there. When we talk about the gulf coast, more of the same, no relief yet for folks. But the cold front i mentioned will eventually sink to the south and bring a bit of relief to that area. And by the time we get into this weekend, though, Triple Digits across the midsection of the country and more records to come for that region. Angie, i will look forward to the forecast where it does include the phrase Triple Digits. Yeah, me, too. We really appreciate it. Well talk to you again tomorrow. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, were going to dig into former President Trumps and his legal teams latest reaction to that sprawling georgia indictment. Well be back with that. Indictment well be back with that. For Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv power e trades easytouse tools make complex trading less complicated. Custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an Earnings Tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. E trade from morgan stanley. Your brain is an amazing thing. But as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. Thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. The secret is an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. At stores everywhere without a prescription. And were done. Hm, what about these . Looks right. [sfx spilling sound] nooo. Nooo. Nooo. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. And bounty is 2x more absorbent so you can use less and get the job done with one. This works. Kind of. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Voltaren. The joy of movement. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv welcome back to Way Too Early. Its a couple minutes before 5 30 a. M. On the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. As expected former President Donald Trump is leaning into the victim narrative following his latest indictment. Trump spent much of the day yesterday attacking his perceived political rivals as well as the criminal Justice System as a whole on his fledgling truth social media site. He also posted a series of Mel Odramatic videos highlighting the, quote, burden he says hes taking on for all the American People. The test of a man is how much he will bear for a cause which he knows to be right. How long will he stand in the depths of despair . How much will he suffer and fight . Well then, additionally trump announced plans to present a, quote, irrefutable report on alleged 2020 Election Fraud in georgia. Hes going to unveil this at a News Conference scheduled for monday at his bedminster, new jersey, golf club. Its unclear who exactly is compiling this report or why trump has been sitting on his alleged findings for the past 2 1 2 years. One of trumps attorneys downplayed the new charges against the former president during a fox news interview. Take a look. Does President Trump know this is perilous threat . We do not agree it is a perilous threat because we actually have inside information. Well, the inside information, steve, and ive got to tell you this is something im not going to breach, right . I have confidentiality and i have ethics. Could do a media story out of that brief clip right there. Joining us to talk about all of this eugene scott. Lets start with mixed messages from trump and his team, that lawyer downplaying whats happening, but trump himself not only is he a subject of those melodramatic videos but the truth social posts speak for themselves, clearly deeply concerned and having this conference next week. What is your read for people you talk to in that orbit how theyre trying to handle the Public Relations part of this . The focus seems to be on keeping support with the base. The reality is as more of these indictments come out or more of these legal issues, period, hes at risk of losing support from people in the gop primary Voting System who may decide this is not someone we want to continue backing. We did focus group with axios last week, swing voters. And some are considering voting for trump again. But what is hurting them and making them say they dont want to lean toward that direction is these indictments. Lets get at that more, the idea of swing voters. Weve seen it for months now. As every indictment comes in, trumps support among republicans always seems to grow. But theres been this belief even though polls right now are tight between trump and President Biden, there is a belief next year in that general election were trump to be the nominee, its hard to imagine those swing voters and those undecided some who broke away from trump in 2016 and 2020, theyd come back to him especially in the midst of all this legal trouble. Tell us what youve been finding. To your Point Focus Groups are not paused. Theyre not coming back to him now. To be fair theyre confused by the indictments. Theres so many of them. They say they want someone who doesnt bring all of this potential for remaining in court and having these dragged out legal fights going on while theyre looking for someone to address the economy, apportion rights, Foreign Policy and all these other issues that they say, you know, arent getting that much attention given his legal troubles right now. Confusion is a good word there because i also think thats what House Republicans are trying to do with bad faith efforts to elevate this biden country stuff basically saying, look, everyones corrupt. Last one for you, this is happening. Were now a week out from the first republican debate. Is there any sense either, a, whether trump is reconsidering his decision to attend or not, but, b, how other republicans are going to talk about all these legal problems on the stage. Its an odd strategy because the way you get to number one is by attacking number one, but they have to keep the support or try to win the support of people who like trump and they feel like they cant do that by attacking trump, so they find themselves in this weird cunonegram. Yeah, they have yet to figure out a path forward. Great stuff as always. Eugene scott, great to see you on set. We appreciate it. Still ahead next on Way Too Early, well go live to cnbc for a first look whats driving day on wall street. Plus a new low for traditional Tv Viewership. The mornings top Business Stories are next. Well be right back. Stories are next well be right back. My most important kitchen tool . My brain. So i choose neuriva plus. Unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. To help keep me sharp. Neuriva think bigger. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv time new for business, and for that lets bring in cnbcs Joumanna Bercetche who joins us live from london. Good to see you. Investors are watching earnings. Hows the Market Shaping Up in the Early Morning hours . Yeah, well, futures are tilted to open more positive only marginally so. 0. 10 of. For the technical analysts out there some people are noting the s p 500 fell below its 50day Moving Average for the First Time Since march, so it is kind of a negative signal. Looking ahead to today were going to get more clues on the health of the consumer. We get more results out of target and Tjx Companies reporting before the bell. And elsewhere we get the Industrial Production data and capacity utilization, so still a lot more to watch out for today. So this one raised a few eyebrows for folks. The ambassador who became famous and the profile you can see correctly predicted the collapse of the Housing Market back in 2008. Hes now seemingly again betting against wall street. Tell us about that. Yeah, thats right. It got a few headlines this week. These 13f filings show the fund have put on a 1. 6 billion bet on a wall street crash. They bought 866 million worth of put options, so thats a right to sell at a lower price on a fund that checks the s p. Its not just on main street, its also on tech stocks as well. And of course this is done by one of the most famous short investors of alltime. He became very famous after that big short movie and book came out. But ultimately back then he took a massive bet on the Housing Market. This time around hes taking a huge bet on the market indices. And cnn estimates its actually worth 90 of his total portfolio. So hes really making a big, big bet here. And joumanna, this last story hits Close To Home for me and you. Traditional broadcast and cable Tv Viewership has declined, falling below a major milestone for the first time despite the Quality Program you and i bring them each and every day. What has happened here . Well, hopefully we can change nis. But, its not great. Total traditional tv usage comprised of both broadcast and paid tv has dropped below 50 in july for the First Time Ever since nielsen has started putting out the report. That 50 has split for paid tv customers up to total usage and broadcast tv, this usage also dropped 20 on the month. But youre not going to be surprised to hear that streaming, of course, made up nearly 39 of usage in july. Paid tv has been steadily declining has consumers move away from bundles affords streaming services. One last statistic for you i thought it was interesting to note netflix alone accounts for 8. 5 of total tv usage in the United States. Jokes aside we certainly appreciate our viewers each and every day. Tell your friends and family to tune in, too. Cnbcs Joumanna Bercetche, live from london, great to see you. Thank you so much. Still ahead here on Way Too Early, well return to the latest out of the peach state as georgia officials are weighing in on Donald Trumps indictment and defending the integrity of their States Election pros. What theyre saying as trump promises to release some sort of report that he claims will prove fraud. Well be right back with that. Well be right back with that. Custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an Earnings Tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. 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Secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. And hours later, i still smell fresh. Secret works ohhh yesss. Age is just a number, and mines unlisted. Try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for Muscle Health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. Boost® high protein. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv some people think you can only have one favorite team. Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Well i beg to differ. Thats why i got xfinity. So, i can catch all my favorite teams outofmarket sunday afternoon games. And for the First Time Ever, no dish needed. In a word its fitzcredible. No. I got it, fitzsational. I should trademark that. Eligible Xfinity Rewards Members can get up to 100 off Nfl Sunday Ticket from youtube. Sign up for Xfinity Rewards now. Welcome back. Several prominent republicans in georgia are railing against Donald Trumps continued promises to reveal information detailing Election Fraud. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp replied to a trump social media post yesterday writing in part this. For nearly three years now anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward under oath and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as i am governor. Georgia Secretary Of StateBrad Raffensperger also put out a Statement Writing this, the most basic principles of a strong democracy and accountability are respect for the constitution and the rule of law. You either have it or you dont. Really strong statements from both these officials more even than they needed to be. They wanted to prove that point. Joining us now professor at Princeton University our friend eddy glaude. You have said to me i think with accelerated frequency either onair or privately you worry right now the nation is being tested, that were experiencing a series of crises. And theres an open question as to whether or not the country can rise to meet this moment. What do you think right now . Do you have faith in the american public, in Public Officials and voters alike that they can . I have to believe they can. That was a really horrible strike zone. I have faith in the American People that each generation in some ways theyre tasked were tasked in some ways to secure democracy. Its a difficult moment. We have to ask ourselves will we rise to the challenge. And i think in asking the question itself were priming ourselves to take on the responsibility that is before us, but we will see. We will see. Its a difficult time. So, eddie, are you heartened at all by republicans like kemp and raffensperger going Above And Beyond to push back against trumps false claims. Hes provided no evidence of this voter fraud. What is your read on there because it does seem to me theyre pretty lonely voices out there among a sea of republicans. They are. But i think raffenspergers point either you believe in a law and constitution or you dont. I dont really have a lot of faith that the fever dream will break. Its in some ways we have to stop coddling these folks and simply say either youre on the side of the constitution and rule of law or youre not, just to echo raffensperger. I cant believe im echoing the former secretary of State Of Georgia at this moment. Well, thats where we are right now. Also we shouldnt lose sight of some of the regular people who have been impacted by all this. Weve been chronicling those poll workers in georgia who received such hate and terrible racism and threats of violence because they were unfairly maligned by trump, giuliani, and others. It theres real concern about elections this time around State Officials are going to have a hard time getting workers, getting volunteers to do these jobs, jobs so essential to our democracy because of further threats of violence, violence frankly is seemingly becoming more central to our political narrative. What do you think about when you consider all this . You know, part of the exhaustion has everything to do with is it worth risking myself, risking my family to engage in the arduous work that democracy requires of us . And of course part of the terror of the moment is to get every day ordinary people to kind of make the decision not to engage, to get folks to have a startling responsibility for democracy itself. We saw this happening in the 1870s and 1880s, jonathan. There is historical precedence for this, but in each instance we bounce back. As people weigh the cost we have to understand democracy hangs in the balance and its in our hands. Whether were afraid or not, we have to step up, and i think we have to be honest with ourselves, jonathan. Violence is always looming on the horizon especially in this moment. And lastly, eddie, and its a connected thought. Theres been much said about how donald trump has really eroded americans faith in their institution. Now, some of that started before trump, but hes absolutely accelerated it. Its across the spectrum whether its government or media or, you know, basic pieces of our society. And i was it feels to me that that erosion, thats going to be hard to regain that trust even when donald trump is off the stage, whenever that might be. Do you feel like those are things that can be repaired . Some days i do, some days i dont. It all depends on how honest we are with ourselves. We have to start telling ourselves the truth. If i said to you over and over again youve written a book about the big lie, but weve told ourselves a lot of little lies that kind of make up the backdrop of that big lie. Were going have to grow up and take responsibility for imagining our democracy anew. And we can look at this moment really quickly as just simply entertainment. We cant look at it as simply partisan grace. We have to understand the foundations of our policy are at stake. We have to be honest with ourselves. A true highlight for me is anytime we get to speak to the professor at Princeton University eddie glaude. Thank you, my friend, next on a new warning from republican strategists about the impact of dlifes latest indictment on a bid for his second term. Well get that that. Coming up on morning joe, the former president and his 18 codefendants have until next friday to surrender to authorities in Fulton County. Who might turn themselves in first and the option that trumps legal team are now weighing. Plus, well get reaction to the strong indictment out of georgia from Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer when he joins the conversation live. Also ahead, special counsel jack smith has trumps direct messages on twitter. What newly unsealed Court Documents reveal about the secret months long battle to obtain a Search Warrant and why prosecutors were worried about what trump would do if he found out as we look at a Beautiful Sunrise over the nations capital. Well be right back. Morning joe is just a few moments away. But, you also cant leave covered in hair. With bounce pet, you can cuddle and brush that hair off. Bounce. Its the sheet. The citi custom cash℠ card automatically adjusts to earn you more cash back in your top eligible spend category. Hi. You dont have to keep tabs on rotating categories. This is the only rotating i care about. Or activate anything to earn. Your cash back automatically adjusts for you. Can i get a Cucumber Water . 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The strategists who spoke with nbc news who said trump needs to win the state in 2024 to have a shot at returning to the white house and another year of Indictment Coverage could push dialed in moderate republican and independent voters in places like the atlanta suburbs and exurbs even further away from trump. Meanwhile, two of the former president s challengers in the 2024 gop primary were asked yesterday about this latest indictment. Theyre now doing an inordinate amount of resources to try to shoehorn this contest over the 2020 election into a rico statute which was really designed to be able to go after Organized Crime, not necessarily to go after political activity and so i think its an example of this criminalization of politics. I dont think this is something thats good for the country. We all heard that phone call with the former president , then president at the time where he said, just find me the requisite number of votes that i would need. Doesnt that feel antiamerican . Doesnt that feel like not what a president should do . Ill continue to say what i see. The legal system is being weaponized against political opponents. Thats unamerican and unacceptable and at the end of the day we need a better system than and i hope as president of the United States yeah, but that phone call, you heard it, right . Yes, but i just draw different conclusions. Next . You would do that as president . Good line of questioning there and some very predictable responses from those republican president ial contenders. Joining us now nbc News Senior National politics reporter, Jonathan Allen. Great to see you. So, lets talk about first with how these other republicans are reacting to trump. We just heard a little sound there. There is a big moment on the horizon for them to talk about it, which is the first debate, one week away. You have new reporting on how some of these various candidates may approach that moment. What do you know . Its a great question. First of all theyre preparing to either have donald trump in the debate or not in the debate, a lot of these candidates doing different Mock Debate Sessions so people playing with that. I think what youve got going on these candidates trying to figure out what theyre going to say if he, in fact, turns himself and is arraigned on debate day. You know, we already know hes going to be a focal point, right . We know thats going to happen. Here is somebody who has an opportunity to choose when hes going to turn himself in and will release the report on the 21st all right around the debate time and this is going to be difficult for them. You see the new Talking Point or slightly newish Talking Point is criminalization of politics, desantis was talking about that, tim scott was talking about that. A little away from defending Donald Trumps conduct, but all of the candidates who are relatively serious or likely to win a republican nomination are standing with him and theyre going to be standing with him right around that indictment, i mean right around the indictment either right before or after, maybe even during and, you know, it makes it hard to make the argument you should be the nominee and he shouldnt if hes being indicted all these times and youre standing next to him. Trump suggested he wont go to that debate. But we wondered what kind of programming he would do. Maybe that is the day he surrenders and would take all the oxygen out of the room. So lets talk, though, about this latest case in g. With the political ramifications of it. You know, it was really striking, Governor Kemp and Secretary Of StateBrad Raffensperger were so vocal in their push back of trumps claims yesterday and it was a reminder this is a state where donald trump does not have much Institutional Support from republican, a state he lost last time around. They cant win the white house basically without georgia. Its very difficult to win without georgia. If he isnt able to reclaim that he has to find it somewhere else. A lot of those other swing states are places where he is alienated significant portions of the Republican Party and Saw Raffensperger and brian kemp survive with donald trump targeting them in their last election and primary, so, you know, this is a unique case, a unique state, and one that joe biden won by if i recall correctly about 11 some hundred votes. The phone call made it clear. Ive talked to democrat strategists who say georgia arrived as a Battleground A little ahead of schedule because of trump and if they werent to nominate trump it would be a real uphill climb for President Biden to win it again but they think its in play if its trump. Give us a brief sense as to other states where youre seeing fatigue, all this talk about all the indictments potentially dragging down trump. I think it could take place both ways in some sense. It obviously is rallying republicans around the flag and its making some of them angry and making them fatigued. One of our colleagues was in iowa yesterday asking voters if they knew what trump had been indicted for. The answer was effectively there is a witchhunt against him so there is that. In terms of other states where you could see that fatigue, the big ones, pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, places where mod rat republicans have a significant presence in the state, and may be sick of trump. Yeah, he gets to this point has done a pretty good job of rallying his base feverishly behind him but hard to winning over too many swing votes next year who are looking at this mess and saying, thats enough. I think thats why youre getting that argument its so unfair. Hes trying to win them back over, make them a little tired of it and make them think that hes unfairly targeted rather than indicted for a reason. The conversation well keep having and appreciate senior nbc news National Politics reporter, Jonathan Allen and thanks for getting up Way Too Early with us. Morning joe starts right now. I do think that the work in my office and other parts of the Justice Department has changed the definition of the problem of crime in america. Well have to attack it as a business not just as individual crime. We followed up with several rico cases. There will be some point which we will destroy the power of the mafia. This is a ridiculous application of the racketeering statute. Theres probably no one that knows it better than i do, probably know it as well, as the first one to use it, but in major cases like