32 past the hour. nearly every republican presidential candidate is in iowa today, six days before the caucuses that could shape the future of the race. noticeably missing, the frontrunner, former president donald trump who appeared in a d.c. courtroom this morning for a hearing in his federal election interference campaign. they are trying to use his legal issues to their advantage. joining us now, national political correspondent steve kornacki at the big board. in iowa, garrett haake. garrett, what's the strategy here? >> reporter: jose, they feel two things. first, they are very far in the lead here in iowa as they are nationally. spending money on rallies and keeping the candidate in the state isn't necessarily something they have to do at this stage. second, they think his message about going to war against the federal government and the doj, a two-tiered system of government, the same things he was talking about in his