On this wednesday night. Good evening once again i am stephanie ruhle. We are now 251 days away from the election. Major news from the Supreme Court. Donald trump has officially succeeded in at least i laying another one of his criminal cases. The Supreme Court will hear his appeal over president ial immunity in the federal Election Interference case in april. Earlier this month, a panel of Circuit Court judges ruled against trump, then given the chance to ask the Supreme Court to take t the case. Here is my colleague laura jarrett. Tonight the u. S. Supreme court deciding to weigh in on a critical issue that could make or break the special counsels former President Trump, agreeing to decide whether mr. Trump must be shielded from prosecution by claiming president ial immunity for the acts He Tech Leading up to january six. Those acts, the basis for the criminal Election Interference case he is now facing in federal court. The move further delayed any trial in the case, flikely for months. If mitzvah trump wins, the charges could be dismissed. Arguments now set for the week of april 22nd, an Appeals Court had ruled against him saying former President Trump has become citizen trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But mr. Trump hoped the Supreme Court would put that on pause saying he was being wrongly prosecuted for official acts that have been well he was still in office. If you have a president that doesnt have immunity, he is never going to be free to do anything, because the opposing party will always indict him as soon as he leaves the white house. And in a new york civil fraud judgment, today a judge denied trumps request to put up just 100 Million Dollar bond to appeal it, and as it stands now, he will have to post a bond for the full four years 84 million. With that, lets get smarter with a top of our lead off, panel and we brought in a fantastic one. Mil Susan Glasser is here, staff writer for the new yorker. Andrew weissmann, ewformer fbi general counsel, and former Senior Member of the mueller probe. He is now a professor at nyu, ca and former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst glenn kirschner. You know it is a huge legal news night when Andrew Weissmann agrees to come into the studio after 11 pm. Andrew, im so excited, if you were wearing a black turtleneck, i dont even think could do the show. Walk us through this. What do you make that both the Supreme Court decision, and and how long it took to make . It i think the shocking part from he was all of it . Its not so much that they took. It its h the delay in how they took. It just remember, if they were going to take it, they could have just granted jack smiths request to hear it from the district court, remember he ages ago you know what, just hear it directly, if you are going to hear this, maybe you are going to decide because you feel the Supreme Court is the one who has to break down the law, here just take it directly from the district court. They said no. Of appeals. Then there was this application to have wit heard, and this so of thinking was, who was taking them two weeks just to decide. And the thought was, they are going to say. No because why would it take two weeks . They are either going to take it or not so i think he got a lot of people including myself by surprise, then the third piece is the schedule they said, because we are here at the end of february, and they are not going to hear till the end of april. That is all of that is a lot of time when you are looking at thet clock which is that judge chutkan had said this trial was going to be march. And this clearly is saying we really dont care about your schedule. t it may bump against the election, or not, and that is really what is in jeopardy. So what about on what grounds are they deciding to hear this . We were waiting and waiting for those three Circuit Court charges, that panel, when we finally got there, ruling you said well, they took the time because they wanted this tto b airtight, they had given a gift to the Supreme Court that they are absolutely no openings. The Supreme Court cant possibly say, we want to hear it, unless they. Did on the merits, the two pieces, the merits and the timing. On the merits, you could have the court ultimately say there is no president ial immunity as a principle, but in fact they will be giving donald trump immunity because he would not be able to have a trial before the election, so if he wins the election, he de facto is immune. My gosh, glenn, is there any precedent for a president having complete legal immunity because for the average person person listening to donald trump speaking at the podium, he acts like it is a given. Yes, there is no precedent, even in the civil context he does not have absolute immunity against civil liability. There has been no precedent at all regarding whether the president is immune from prosecution. There is some precedent that he is not immune enfrom criminal processes like subpoenas having to comply with subpoenas in criminal investigations, by Natural Extension you would think he would not be immune from prosecution, indeed even the constitution says that even if a president is impeached, he can still be prosecuted for the same conduct. So it is a headscratcher as to why they heare accepting review of the case, i couldnt agree more with andrew, the way they just sort of casually sold american democracy down the river, by putting the soft for two months down the road, when they could have taken this up just two weeks from now, steph, what they have done is all but deprive the American Voters from knowing whether when they go to the frpolls in november, assuming donald trump is the republican nominee who has been fully cleared by a jury of his peers, found not guilty on all charges. I think the American People are entitled to know who they are voting for, somebody who tried to overturn the last president ial election, or an absolutely innocent man. The Supreme Court has all but taking that away from the American Voters. Susan, is it fair to say that this will be one of the biggest decisions in our courts history . What is at stake . O look at the election is at stake, a View Of American Democracy is at stake. The legitimacy of the Supreme Court by the way is f at stake. I know that justice roberts, the Chief Justice is often reported to be someone who cares very much about the legitimacy of his institution, he appears to have really dealt a blow to the vecredibility of the institution. You know you have great legal experts on here. I am not that. But i have to say my immediate thought turned to how quickly Supreme Court was able to movea and Bush Versus Gore back in 2000, i thought back to when i was just a little kid, and the nixon watergate tapes, the Supreme Court moved with Lightning Speed to decide that. If this isnt a kind of commensurate emergency, in my view it is actually a much greater emergency, because not only are the credibility of our institutions at stake and individual laws, but the very question about vwhether the United States might elect someone who would be a felon for the first time in history. E then when trump is the first former president who have been indicted. The idea that americans are going to go to the polls without really understanding whether hes guilty or not of the crimes he is charged with, which are crimes against our democracy. I just find this to be a very big moment. In 2024, im not sure we are going to have many other big days that are bigger than this one. Andrew, what would it mean if the highest court in the land decides that a president of the United States is immune from any and all prosecution . You know what . Even though i am very pessimistic about what happened today in terms of whether it will get to to trial, maybe call me an optimist on this point, i just dont think that is going to happen. I do not think there will be five justices who say that he is immune in the circumstance. The idea that you could engage and criminality, valve in the overthrow an election, even if they say we are not going to say you are a sort of have immunity for everything, i just cant imagine that they will have five votes. My biggest concern is they defective have said that, because ctthey might write a Ve Flowery Opinion that we all sit around thand go, isnt this wonderful about how they are upholding the rule of law . But g they will be in fact denying the rules of law in this case by not allowing the trial to go forward, because ilt even though we can all look at the facts, the way to dispute issues or decide in this countrys go to court and people can assess the facts of a jury can hear it, the American Public can read about it, and if that is the way we decide things i think that is what is being deprived now. Glenn kirschner, Donald Trumps attorneys are going to bele arguing his legal faith fate by donald trump himself. Is there any chance that we see any of the three of them recuse themselves . I didnt even mention clarence thomas. Thats a whole other thing. What a yeah, what a quaint notion that a justice who has the appearance of a conflict might feel compelled to remove themselves from the case. You know, recusal doesnt seem to be a thing anymore, steph, other when you look at the federal law, the bar to have a judge viewed quite too remove themselves from a case is actually pretty low. It just says if the judges impartiality might reasonably be questioned, might is not all that high a bar, and reasonableness is an objective standard. I maintain that there are any number of legal experts far smarter than me that have questioned the impartiality of people like justice thomas, of people like judge cannon in florida, have we seen the recusal . No. We sure havent. And i dont think we should expect to see one anytime soon. Susan, we have talked about it a, lot americans opinions of the Supreme Court are at a historic lows. I mean, we know the justices are aware, how much of that if anything is a factor in what they do next, because a reminder to our audience, they dont have to get elected, they are on that bench for life. Look, if they really cared about americans views of the institution, it seems highly unlikely they would have proceeded as they already have in this case. You know, this is in effect a decision that means we are not going to have a verdict on this important issue before americans go to the polls. So they made that decision. They will have to have the consequences, whatever those will be in terms of the courts support among the American People. But it is part of the broader crisis in our democracy that the legitimacy essentially at this point of all of our major institutions have taken a hit, in many cases deliberately. Remember one of the strategies of donald trump from his maga mob is to go directly after the legitimacy of any constraints that might exist on his power that is one of the reasons he is always gone after the media, it is one of the reasons he is gone after not only democrats, his ideological, opponents but who did he go after . He goes after rhino rhino rinos in his own party. Donald trumps power when he was president and now, i think it benefits him for the legitimacy of the courts to be in question as they will be because of this decision. Andrew, one of Donald Trumps most successful tactics has been to run the clock. You think some people could look at this delay and say this is donald trump successfully manipulating the court with these delays through suit his timeline . Absolutely. This is a classic case of running out the clock, and the famous and it has worked for him. It has completely worked for him for his, life not just, now so this is a tried and true strategy, you know when you think about the math, here there was a stay that went into effect in the d. C. Case 88 days before the scheduled trial date. So presumably whenever judge chutkan gets a greenlight for the Supreme Court, that is the bigger issue, if it happens, presumably 80 day period where judge chutkan is going to stand on the trial, should start with this 88 days from, now so if you get a decision at the end of the term, the and of the Supreme Court term is the end of june, count 88 is for that that will be the start of the trial. And so what i suspect you are going to see is a lot of people angry with Merrick Garland . [laughter] i dont think that is future tense, i think you have that just checking. I think that if you are jack smith, what you are doing now is in addition to preparing for the arguments, you are thinking about what arguments can i make to judge chutkan to shorten that 88 days. How do you slim down the, case, and get this to trial sooner than what she had done before . Do you agree with that, glenn, what do you think jack smith is thinking, strategizing tonight . Yes i think he is continuing to move forward. He is probably thinking about fridays hearing before judge, cannon down in florida. That will be in part a Scheduling Hearing to see whether judge cannon will keep the may 20 trial date in place, which would still give the people an opportunity to have one federal prosecution against the former president before the election. It is anybodys guest guess as to what judge cannon is going to do with it. But you know, the bulk of the crimes he is charged with, virtually all of them were committed after he left the presidency. So they are an impacted bye this nonsensical claim of absolute president ial immunity. So the judge shouldnt be able to use that as an excuse to continue the may 20 trial date. But she may very well find other excuses. Susan, if donald trump is sitting in a courtroom, just weeks before the election, that cannot be good for his campaign, yes, we know that his maga base is ride or die with him forever, but they are not enough voters to win him the presidency. Never say never, steph we. We already thought he could never win the presidency once before. Until this election with is over, im not gonna say theyre enough voters for him to retain the presidency again, number one, number two, i think it reinforces the great number problem with this schedule as it now appears. Which is that there are millions of potential trump voters, Republican Voters who have told pollsters that they would be willing not to vote for donald trump if he is convicted of a felony. They may never have a chance to reach that kind of important decisionmaking, so it feels like this reinforces the kind of rolling democracy disaster that 2024 is, it is really, i know for sure that people around the world are going to be looking at this today, and saying wait a minute, the Supreme Court is going to defer the question of Donald Trumps trials because of the question about whether your president is basically a king who is unaccountable . How could that be that america, the original democratic Constitutional Republic is going to screw up its own election to decide a case like that . Almost all around the world. Im guessing vladimir putin, not so much. He is eating caviar, drinking vodka, saying you are my boy. Andrew, lets talk about donald trump and the civil fraud. A judge decided today he has to put up the four 464 Million Dollar bond. Explain how this works . That is a lot of dough. It sure is, were talking about some actually now real, money. But you put that together with about the 90 million in the e. Jean carroll, the verdicts, you sort of wonder as we were talking off air about the donald trump who obviously is concerned about money, which stay he wanted today. Because, we lost the state with respect to the money, he got the stay for at least two months with connection to a criminal case. But it is a lot of money. The way it works is that donald trump is allowed to appeal, anyone is allowed to appeal a decision by a judge. But, that judgment with with respect to the 440 million . That goes into effect in the days unless you put up the bond. And that is the exact thing that the Court Of Appeals today , this next level court said, not staying that. So he has to come up with that money. I know were out of time, but glenn, let me just ask. Almost 500 million. If donald trump gets in charge of the rnc, can the rnc cover this hefty bill for him . Can they . Probably. Will they . I do not know. Is there any illegality involved . Perhaps. Will anybody investigate it . I doubt it. But i do love the fact that today, donald trump tried to lowball the judges, say, i tell you what, i am going to give you 25 cents of the dollar of what this judgment is. Like he was at some Bazaar Negotiating to buy some tchotchkes what the court, and the court pretty quickly slapped him down and said no, the rules and the law actually apply to you and you will go ahead and pull up the full amount or attorney general, tish james well start seizing your stuff. Glenn kirschner, channeling my grandmother ethel gordon with the tchotchkes at The 11th Hour. And he wasnt negotiating a bazaar, thats how he transacts as a business person. Ask any bank, any lender, any subcontractor, any lawyer. That is how donald trump, the businessman, rolls. Glenn, good to see you both. Andrew, thank you for staying up to late past his bedtime. When we come back, Senate Democrats play to protect the Ivf Treatments. It was blocked by republicans. We will be speak to former alabama senator, doug jones, about what it could mean for his state after the Supreme Court ruling there. And later, the big, big news on Mitch Mcconnell deciding to leave his leadership post. Our Political Panel is here on all of it. And the latest move to fund the government for at least another week. The 11th hour just getting underway on a consequential wednesday night. Wednesday night. When i was your age, we never had anything like this. What . Wifi . Wifi that works all over the house, even the basement. The basement. So i can finally throw that party. And invite shannon barnes. Dream do come true. Xfinity gives you reliable wifi with walltowall coverage on all your devices, even when everyone is online. Maybe well even get married one day. I wonder what i will be doing . Probably still living here with mom and dad. Fast reliable speeds right where you need them. Thats walltowall wifi on the xfinity 10g network. I want to let the legislators know that the world is watching. Our country is watching. What happens here today in these offices will be looked at by the rest of the country. This potentially could be a roadmap for other states to restrict access to ivf, or a road map on how to protect access to ivf and family building. Alabama is on edge after this date Supreme Court ruling that put the Ivf Treatments on hold. There is a rally outside the capitol today in protest of the ruling, while inside, the Republican Legislature rushed to protect ivf providers. Republicans across the country say they do support the procedure, but in d. C. It took just one, one gop vote on wednesday to block a senate bill protecting ivf at the federal level. So i need some explanations. And you are in luck, i want to bring in former democratic senator, doug jones of alabama, he was also u. S. Attorney in the state. You are the perfect person to discuss this with. Republicans say they support ivf, but the senator cindy hyde, they dismissed todays bill saying it was a vast overreach. What does that tell you about the Republican Party . It tells me they are in a twist, they do not know what the hell they are doing at this point. The dog caught the car once again. You know, stephanie, this issue, and the whole pro life after the Dobbs Decision has been demagogue for so many years. Over and over, and they use that catchphrases. And it was really easy when you had roe as a backstop to say i am prolife, and life begins at conception. And do not think passed that. And they did not. And thats what you had all these republicans on all of these bills throughout in the congress, and in the various states, and they did not think it through. And all of a sudden now, a Supreme Court has taken the next logical, legal staff step given what they had in front of them. That is my question, how did the alabama Supreme Court get here . They got there because the state of alabama in 2018 and acted a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of unborn children. That is the definition, unborn children, given them all the rights and privileges of anyone. And then the state of alabamas legislature had a very restrictive abortion law. Is that what the people of alabama wants . You know those voters. I dont think the people of alabama really want those kind of restrictions, i have never believed that, but we are in a very gerrymandered, legislative states. So there is a small minority of folks in those gerrymandered districts who do want that kind of very far reaching restrictive laws regarding abortion. And so that is what carried the day, and what the Supreme Court did, except for justice parker, which really bases decision on the bible instead of on the law. It was a logical step. And that is the point that people need to think about around the country. Elaborate, because people around the country do not think about that. No they do not think, and they think that is just alabama. Let me tell you something, the United States could be alabama if they are not careful. Because that decision is being applauded by these farright groups across the country. And you see them, and they are going to start taking the alabama law, even though that law right now only applies to alabama, it is that roadmap now. They already have the roadmap now to do exactly what they want to. Is that what you meant . Just last week you said that donald trump paved the way for this . There is no question about this. He made sure that he put three people on the Supreme Court of the United States that would overturn roe v. Wade, to give the states like alabama, and the others, the authority to do what they did without thinking it through. Without understanding the full consequences for women, for families. They just did not think, they do not think that way. They pander and they talk, in terms of catch, political catchphrases. Lets talk politics, because most americans do not believe that frozen embryos are children. Is this wise to do this . Headed into a president ial election . I think back to when roe v. Wade was overturned, remember how people were so worried for democrats about the midterms . And what fired up people to vote . This look, the Alabama Judicial System is not operating on that 24 election cycle. Although you have a couple, youve got one of the members running for Chief Justice, because the bible thumping Chief Justice is retiring. He cannot run again. So hes not going to be on their. So you do have to have an Election Year of politics coming into play. But this of course, there was a wrongful death suit filed, appeals taken, and this was a normal course. It happened to come out right here around election time. Which i think is a wake up call, and the signal forests for the rest of the country. This is still a significant issue going into 2024. Do you think this could fire up voters . I think about younger voters, who in recent polls have been sluggish about this upcoming election. Democrats are worried about if it is not, i do not know how you get so many things. Families. How many people across this country, you know someone there is someone in your family, there is a neighbor, there is someone you know. There are so many people that are touched by ivf. It is the only way that they can have families. And yes, youve got, and whats really interesting about this is that if you look and see who, you know, most of the people that are being affected, there are a lot of people in alabama that are sacrificing so much. Because this is an expensive procedure. It is not covered by insurance. They are living in mobile homes, as opposed, after they sold their house to try to have a family. But stephanie, most of the people that are involved and that are affected by this are people that do have some needs. Means. They do have money, and that is another reason why republicans are in a twist. Because it is affecting people that they think vote for them. And it is not affecting, they believe, of Minority Community the way that the Dobbs Decision has affected so many. There is an element to this of they are going to fight for their suburban white folks that you see that are really affected by this. And again, im not saying that it does not affect everybody because it does. But there is a reason why the republicans in alabama are in such a twist right now, about this, when they did not think that through and they did not fight for medicaid expansion, and they did not fight to make choices for women in their reproductive health. But of course, doug, katie this twist that they are in is a stepping down from his role as the top senate republican. Whether you love or hate Mitch Mcconnell, he is a political beast. He has been an extraordinarily powerful position, and very effective at its, the way he has wants to be effective for years. Yes, and look, and what i fear is what is going to come next. Remember when he was the scariest . Oh yeah, there is no question. And look, there are so many policy issues i disagree with with mitch, the whole thing about the Supreme Court and that sort of thing. But one thing that i cared for when i was in the senate towards the senate. And i know that Mitch Mcconnell cares about that as well. Its why he fought donald trump on the filibuster. People forget, democrats especially forget that the fact that donald trump had both the house and the senate. And if we had gotten rid of that filibuster in 2017, and 2018, or 2017 and 18, we wouldve been in trouble. You wouldve seen these far right bills, you wouldve seen things that happened at the border. That trump, the second term would have started in the first term. And it wouldve been frightening and scary. And mcconnell stood in the way of that. I know we are out of time, but that is noteworthy. To speak to a democrat that says pay attention, there is something to be grateful to Mitch Mcconnell for. The worst could be yet to come. Yes, im not going to sleep well at night for having said that on public television. But it is absolutely the fact. But it is also, i think its also a concerning of to where i see the Republican Party going. Knowing how many times i have disagreed with Mitch Mcconnell, to see the direction that the party is taking right now, to be able to come back and say please, mitch, do not go. Well, boys and girls, the nightmares that you are going to have tonight are courtesy of senator doug jones of the state of alabama. When we come back, congress kicking the can down the road again on sunday the funding the government for one week can you imagine if they ran a business like this . It would be out of business. Plus the shocking step down from leadership. Were gonna talk more about it and were gonna break down this very busy day on capitol hill when some The 11th Hour continues. Ome The 11th Hour continues. Wait, no, im always hot. Sleep number does that. Can i make my side softer . I like my side firmer. Sleep number does that. Can it help us sleep better and better . Please . Sleep number does that. 94 percent of smart sleepers report better sleep. And now, the queen sleep number c4 smart bed is only 1,599, save 300. Shop now at sleepnumber. Com i launched our campaign at this union hall. Lets go win this thing then we hit the road and never stopped. You shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. Your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. It is not too late to realize those dreams. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. Overflowing with ideas and energy. Thats the San Francisco chronicle endorsing democrat katie porter for senate over all other options. Porter is easily the most impressive candidate. Known for her grilling of corporate executives. With deep policy knowledge. Katie porters housing plan has bipartisanfriendly ideas to bring Homebuilding Costs down. And the chronicle praises her ideas to end soft corruption in politics. Lets shake up the senate. With democrat katie porter. Im katie porter and i approve this message. Tonight, theres a lot of big news out of capitol hill. Congressional leaders have agreed to the briefest of extensions on government funding deadline, meaning no shut down this weekend. I mean, its so short i just dont want to give them credit for it. The deal was initially floated by speaker mike johnson. Hes very slim majority got even slimmer today. As new york democrat, tom suozzi was officially slow in, sworn in ending the George Santos era. Meaning while in, the senate, a surprise we just talked about. Longtime republican leader Mitch Mcconnell announced he well be stepping down from that role come november. For all the time remains undefeated. I am no longer the young man sitting in the back, hoping that colleagues would remember my name. It is time for the next generation of leadership. Let us discuss. With maria teresa kumar, the president and ceo of voto latino and charlie sykes, he is editor at large of the bulwark, and is an msnbc contributor. Maria, i just said, it i do not want to give them credit. No shutdown this weekend, but maybe one next weekend . This is incredible. There is no business great or small that could ever operate like this pack of jokers. Do you think anything is getting done here . Stephanie, this is the challenge right now with such dysfunction in congress. And one of the reasons why so Many Americans are fed up with politics to be honest. They have voted elected individuals to actually carry out the peoples business and they continue to fail to do so. And it is not just impacting our standing here in the United States amongst our neighbors and whether or not we will continue to thrive as a country , increasingly were seeing International Entities really scratching their heads and saying, you have a booming economy but can we really take a bet on the United States right now because there is such great dysfunction in your government . Its one of the things that we i think it has to be addressed during that election, because its going to be increasingly hard for Foreign Investment here. Because they are going to say, we cannot actually make enough a. Bet on the American Economy if you have such dysfunction in your congress. When charlie Mitch Mcconnell said that earlier this week, Government Shutdowns do not help anyone politically. So why do republicans keep taking us to the brink . Because they like the chaos, and they are not a serious governing party. This permacrisis has been a feature of the Republican Party. It feels like for the past decade, we go through this elaborate, kabuki dance. The number one job of government is to keep the lights on, and yet there is a faction in this party that has no interest in doing that. And i am really glad that doug jones made the one point about Mitch Mcconnell, as much as people do not like Mitch Mcconnell, or disagree with him, what is coming is likely to be worse. Weve seen whats been happening with the House Of Representatives, and in many ways, Mitch Mcconnell was the last bulwark against the crazies, turning the United States senate into what the House Of Representatives has become. When he is gone, i mean after him comes the deluge, because he stood there on the floor of the senate and basically acknowledge that he understood the way his party was going. He understood the politics of his party and. He understands that he held out as long as he could against trumpification of the senate gop. And now he is gone. So be careful what you wish for. But, what he said charlie, he said he wants to make room for the next generation of leaders. If the next generation is taking us to the house of crazy , then do you buy it . He knows they are crazy, he does not like them, he hates donald trump. This is what is fascinating to me. Because just a couple of days ago, we read in the New York Times there were back channel negotiations for Mitch Mcconnell to endorse donald trump. I want you to think about that. On one level it is not surprising because he is a partisan animal, on the other hand, we ought to be really shocked by this considering that he does hate donald trump, he knows who donald trump is, he know what donald trump did on january 6th. And he had the opportunity back in 2021 to read us of donald trump. If Mitch Mcconnell had pulled the trigger, we would not be at the moments that we are now. They would have voted to convict, its very possible he would have voted to convict donald trump for his inciting of the attack on the capitol. Then we would not be facing this particular crisis, so i am fascinated by the question of whether, and that he has nothing to lose, he will still go ahead and bowed the knee to donald trump. And then his career, this long and successful career with a humiliation that so many of his other colleagues have been willing to undergo in order to stay relevant. And he does not need to humiliate himself, maria, he is consciously, but literally voluntarily stepping out of power. All of these other people need to continue to bow at the altar of trump so that they can stay in power. What do you make of mcconnells move . Here is the thing, his leaving does make more chaos in the senate because of the next generation of leaders. Its exactly what charlie described. They are unhinged in many ways and they actually do not believe in the process of government. They do not believe in democracy and i mean like little d democracy. I do think that there is an opportunity here for the Republican Party, for those individuals that do espouse ronald reagan. That they actually are fashioned after what the republican used to be. And that is by saying lets actually declare ourself independents. Lets actually go forth and say we are not democrats, we are not maga republicans, we are independent and the amount of groundswell i believe from individuals by saying look, we are standing up to republicans but we still believe in our governance, we still believe in our institutions. It allows away for a third party i believe we havent seen since the last century. If folks remember. And that actually allows for the republicans who are moderates, whether it is that mitt romneys recently retired or it is the joni ernst or Lisa Murkowski to be able to find themselves in speak to the American People about the importance of having a conservative branch that believes that governance. I know i have to go to commercial, but charlie, i need you to weigh in. That sounds like an amazing idea, but do you see that as remotely possible . The republicans i think of our named liz cheney, adam kinzinger, and mitt romney. You know what they can all do . Go to lunch. Because none of them are working in government, or will be in the coming months. Ive given up wish casting for lent. So, no. [laughter] are we all catholic here, charlie . There are no unicorns over coming over the hill. Were not going to see that kind of centrist coalition, it couldve happened maybe a few years ago, but to your point, stephanie, we know what happens to the mitt romney. s we know what is happening to the liz cheneys and the adam kinzingers, and one after another you have the the serious principled conservatives who are leaving. Giving up cookies, cursing and wishing. Those are what we are giving up here for lent on The 11th Hour. You too, im not letting you go yet. Because when we come back i want to get their takes on the big news of the night the Supreme Court taking up trumps immunity claim. We selling things further when The 11th Hour continues. The 11th hour continues. Flight. Cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. Cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. Cirkul, available at walmart and drinkcirkul. Com. Back to the major breaking news tonight, the Supreme Court will decide whether donald trump is immune on Election Interference charges. Oral arguments are set for april 22nd. Maria, charlie, still with us. Charlie, here is my question, are there really voters out there who think that trump might be guilty of Election Interference, but they need a Court Verdict to cement their decision on whether or not they want to vote for him . Yes, i think thats what the polls show. That people are looking to see whether or not he is a convicted felon. It makes a big difference. It would be a tragedy if American Voters had to go in the polls in october and november, not knowing if they we are putting in Office Someone who would have otherwise been a convicted felon. So this is a hugely consequential case, and a hugely consequential decision by the Supreme Court to delay this trial. Maria, do you agree with that . I mean, it seems that even if he were convicted, people who tend to want to vote for donald trump, rightwing media will give them enough excuses, well give them a narrative that will help them justify that vote either way . Sadly, i think that is true. But we have to remember what happened on january 6th was the biggest attempt of Voter Suppression that we have ever had. He was trying to create an insurrection to overthrow the democratically elected new president s, new administration, and vacate 80 million american votes. That is important for us to remember. At the end of the day its not just about donald trump. It is about the very institution and what we deeply believing in our democracy and he cant get away with it. Sounds like something democrats are going to need to remind voters of every single day for the next 252 days . Maria and charlie thank you both for being here. When we come back, inclusion on the ice. You nailed need to stay up i know i say this all the time, but this time it is for real how a very special Hockey Player Found friendship in the rink, when The 11th Hour continues. This will give you sweet dreams. Hang around. I still love to surf, snowboard, and, of course, skate. So, i take Qunol Magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. Qunols extra strength, high absorption magnesium helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. Qunol, the brand i trust. I launched our campaign at this union hall. Lets go win this thing then we hit the road and never stopped. You shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. Your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. It is not too late to realize those dreams. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. You ready for this one . The last thing before we go tonight, the mud ducks. We saw this beautiful example of kindness and compassionate from our affiliate in minneapolis. We had to share it with you. Veteran reporter boyd huppert has an the story of an unlikely friendship on ice. Watch this. How much do i like hockey . 100 , dude. Matt is unique. When he was born, there were some hintings there. There was a Genetic Marker that was missing in his chromosomes. Developmentally delayed. Its all they can tell us. Delayed. And delightful. Whatever you do, dont do this at home. Got home. Matt liked his high school years. And three more spent after graduation in the School Districts transition program. But when that ended last may nothing. After that, here you go. Missing his friends and structure. Matt found solace alone at the Cottage Grove ice rink during open skate. It was here he then also found them. The mud ducks. A group of men in their 60s and 70s. Our coffee clutch. Who met matt at the rink. They said, if you want to come at 9 00 when we start, you can skate with us. Which is how 74yearold don bremen and 74yearold tom what ended up skating daily. Come on, bring it, man. With 21yearold matt. Nice shot. You are a good teammate. Thank you, sir. They are his team. The team that thought matt needed better gear. Then bought it for him. Including a jersey like theirs. He set his alarm every day. My deducts on. At the front door waiting. That looks good. Just what matt needed. New friends. You look like one of us. He is. He found them. Three times his age. Im bringing up the rear. They are everything to him. He comes home and he talks about them. So one wasnt here today, but they think he is sick. I hope hes okay. The mud ducks dont play games. They just play. Enjoying hockey. Attaboy. And each other. Oh, yeah its been a blessing for everybody. When steve saw how matt was thriving, he started bringing his own son, will, who has autism. Hey, look at that going. Now learning to skate. And getting encouragement from matt. Him be who he is and they are inclusive. When we leave he gives us a hug. It means a lot. There you go. Thanks, steve. It means a lot. Wisdom borne of age. And friends born of a flock. Hes a mud duck. Boyd huppert, 11 news. We are so happy that he found his flock. Im so grateful that my colleague megan found this story, that mauro produced it and then boyd shared it. And please remember, it costs absolutely nothing to be kind, and i can assure you any nhl team owner that i know, ill be emailing you the segment tonight. You sure as hell better send this man some really cool gear. With that i wish you a great, great night. From all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with me. Thanks for staying late with me ill see you at the end of tomorrow. Ill see you at thenow