Predecessor on trial for inciting insurrection. Any minute President Joe Biden will begin to make true on his promises to the Diverse Coalition of voters who handed him the white house. Hell sign a number of executive orders focused on Racial Justice the sweeping range of topics for those orders include not renewing federal contracts with private prisons, insuring fair and equitable housing and respecting tribal sovereignty and conbatting and outlining President Bidens new Racial Justice agenda earlier this afternoon. President biden will renew the federal governments commitment to making the American Dream real for families across the nation by taking ambitious steps to address equality in our economy and expand opportunity for communities that have been left behind. Also happening this hour, the senate will be sworn in for the second impeachment trial of now former president donald trump. It will be the first time the same president will be put on trial twice. It will also be the first impeachment trial for a former president. And note this, the trial is taking place in one of the scenes of the crime. The senate chamber. This hours split screen sets the tone for the next few weeks. President biden wants his white house to stay above the fray focusing instead on a bold agenda for his first 100 days while congress led by democrats but including some republicans, worked to make sure that even the most powerful among us are held accountable for their words. Lets begin with President Bidens agenda this hour. Joining me now from washington is nbc news correspondent mike memle and Ashley Parker and also with us is the president of the network and host of politics nation reverend al sharpton. Everybody, welcome. Well start this hour with joe biden at any moment signing the executive orders. Rev, i want to start with you on this because joe biden is following through or trying to at least beginning to on the promises he made to a Diverse Coalition of americans who put him in the oval office. I think this is a deposit. Certainly there is a long way to go and particularly the abuse that was suffered by these communities over the last four years. But to make the move in terms of the ending of privatizing of federal prisons and dealing with that aspect of incarceration to deal with housing where we saw a lot of retreating on housing fairness and equity based on race even though it was dr. Ben carson i think is a step in the right direction. We have not addressed policing, we have not addressed some of the economic discrimination, as well as the zeen phobia he addressed here as well as what he addressed in terms of dealing with native americans. I think it is a deposit, but by no means paid in full. The beginning of a long walk with a couple of steps. Executive actions can be overturned by other executive actions when a new administration comes in. How much pressure is the biden team facing to get some of these things done, ledges slatively and what does that mean for the fate of the filibuster . Can he get Police Reform and these other major reforms done if the filibuster is still in place . I think that we clearly need new laws. Many of us have been saying for the last couple years that if you dont put laws in place, you will have what you just had. Trump was able to rescind and revoke a lot of the executive actions that president obama had in. We need george floyd and not just executive action on policing. We need the john lewis Voter Protection act. Thats law not just executive action. I think executive action is good but its only as good as long as that president is sitting in the seat. He should use his bully pulpit and his ability to deliver messages direct to the democrats who now control not only the white house but has a tight control of the senate and the house to get these laws through and they must deal with the filibuster which was born in the archaic times it was used. We need to bring about laws that will protect the right and fairness for the american people. Anna, we are just under a minute for President Joe Biden coming out. So, i apologize in advance if i need to interrupt you. But on that same subject, what is the appetite you know what, here he is. Ill save this question for just a moment. Here is President Joe Biden. In my campaign for president i made it very clear that the moment it arrived as a nation where we faced deep racial inequiies and systemic racism that has plagued our nation for far, far too long. I said it over the course of the past year that the blinders have been taken off. But what Many Americans didnt see or had simply refused to see couldnt be ignored any longer. Those eight minutes and 46 seconds that took George Floyds life opened the eyes of millions of americans and millions of people all over the world. It was the knee on the neck of justice and it wouldnt be forgotten. It stirred the conscious and tens of millions of americans and in my view it marked a turning point in this countrys attitude towards Racial Justice. When the 6yearold daughter, gianna, who i met when i met with the family. I leaned down to say hi to her and she looked at me and said, daddy changed the world. Thats what gianna said, his daughter. Daddy changed the world. And i believe she was right. Not because this kind of injustice stopped. It clearly hasnt. But because the ground has shifted. Because its changed minds and mindsets. Because it laid the groundwork for progress. Covid19 has further ripped a path of destruction through every community in america, but no one has been spared but the devastation in communities of color has been nothing short of stunning. Just look at the numbers. 40 of front line workers, nurses, first responders, Grocery Store workers are americans of color. And many are still living on the edge. One in ten black americans is out of work today. One in 11 latino americans is out of work today. One in seven households in america, about one in four black and one in five latino households in america report that they dont have enough food to eat in the United States of america. Black and latino americans are dying of covid19 at rates nearly three times that of white americans. And its not white americans fault, its just the fact. And the americans now know it, especially younger americans. One of the reasons im so optimistic about this nation is that todays generation of Young Americans is the most progressive, thoughtful, inclusive generation that america has ever seen. And they are pulling us towards justice in so many ways. Forcing to confront the huge gap in economic inequity between those at the top and everyone else. Forcing us to confront the egstenshal and white supremacy. Its just been weeks since all of america witnessed a group of thugs of political extremists and White Supremacists violently attack the capitol of our democracy. Now is the time to act. Its time to act because thats what the faith and morality calls to do. Across nearly every faith the same principles hold. Were all gods children. We should treat each other as we would like to be treated ourselves. And this is time to act and it is time to act because its what the core values of this nation calls to do. And i believe the vast majority of americans, democrats, republicans and independents share these valus and want us to act, as well. We have never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation to state the obvious. That all people are created equal and have a right to be treated equally throughout their lives. And its time to act now, not only because its the right thing to do but because if we do, we will all be better off for it. For too long we have allowed a narrow cramped view of the promise of this nation to fester. You know, weve bought the view that america is a zero sum game in many cases. If you ssucceed, i fail. If you get ahead, i fall behind. If you get the job, i lose mine. Maybe worst of all, if i hold you down, i lift myself up. Weve lost sight of what president kennedy told us when he said a rising tide lifts all boats. And when we lift each other up, were all lifted up. You know, when any one of us is held down, were all held back. More and more economic studies in recent years have proven this. But i dont think you need economic studies to see the truth. Just imagine if instead of consigning millions of American Children to underresourced schools we gave each and every 3 and 4yearold child a chance to learn, to go to school. Not day care. School and grow. And thrive in school and when theyve done that, the places it has been done shows they have an exponentially greater chance of going through 12 grades of school. Does anyone in this whole nation think were not all better off if that were to happen . Just imagine if instead of denying millions of americans the ability to own a home and build generational wealth who made it possible for them to buy a home, their first home and began to build equity to provide for their families and send their children off to school. Does anyone doubt that the whole nation would be better off . Just imagine instead of denying millions of young entrepreneurs the ability to Access Capital we made it possible to take their dream to market, create jobs and reinvest in their own communities. Does anyone doubt their whole nation wouldnt be better off . Just imagine if more creative and inovative and how much more creative and innovative wed be if this nation held the historic black colleges and universities to the same opportunities and minority institutions that had the same funding and resources of public universities to compete for jobs and industries of the future. You know, just ask the first hbcu graduate elected Vice President if thats not true. But to do this, i believe this nation and this government need to change their whole approach to the issue of Racial Equity. Yes, we need criminal Justice Reform, but that isnt nearly enough. We need to open the promise of america to every american. And that means we need to make the issue of Racial Equity not just an issue for any one department of government. It has to be the business of the whole of government. Thats why i issued among the first days my whole government executive order that will for the first time advance equity for all throughout our federal policies and institutions. It focuses on the full range of communities who have been long underserved and overlooked. People of color, americans with disabilities, lgbtq americans, rural, urban, suburban communities facing persistent poverty. I asked ambassador susan rice to lead the administrations charge through the white house and Domestic Policy Council because i know she will see it through. Every white house, every white house component and every agency will be involved in this work because advancing equity has to be everyones job. Today ill be shortly signing an additional package of executive actions to continue this vital work. Housing, for example, housing is a right in america and homeownership is an essential tool to Wealth Creation and to be passed down to generations. Today im directing the department of housing and urban affairs and urban development to address federal housing policies. Today im directing the federal agency to reinvigorate the consultation process with indian tribes. Respect will be a cornerstone engaging with native american communities. This bill is on the work we did last week to expand tribes access to the Strategic National stockpile for the first time. To ensure they receive help from the federal Emergency Management agency, fema, to fight this pandemic. Today, im directing federal agencies to combat resurgeance of xenophobia specifically against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that weve seen skyrocket during this pandemic. Its unacceptable and unamerican. I asked the department of justice to strengthen its partnership with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to prevent those hate crimes. Ive also asked the department of health and Human Services to put out best practice for combatting xenophobia and our National Response to covid. Look in the weeks ahead ill be reaffirming the federal governments commit to diversity and inclusion and accessibility and building on the work we started in the obama Biden Administration. Thats why im rescinded the Previous Administration harmful band on diversity and sensitivity training and abolish the counterfactual 1776 commission. Unity and healing must begin with understanding and truth, not ignorance and lies. Today im also issuing an executive order and that will ultimately end the justice departments use of private prisons and an industry that houses detainees and federal prisons. The executive order directs the attorney general to decline to renew contracts with privately operated criminal facilities, a step we started to take in the end of the Obama Administration and was reversed under the Previous Administration. This is a first step to stop corporation from profiting off of incarceration that is less humane and less safe as the study shows. It is just the beginning of my administrations plan to drasz systemic problems in our criminal justice system. Heres another thing we need to do. We need to restore and expand the Voting Rights act. Named after our dear friend john lewis and continue to fight back against laws that many states are engaged in to suppress the right to vote while expanding access to the ballot box for all eligible voters. Because heres the deal, and ill close with this, i ran for president because i believe were in a battle for the soul of this nation. And the simple truth is, our soul be troubled as long as systemic racism is allowed to persist. Its not going to be overnight. We cant eliminate everything, but its corrosive, its destructive and its costly. It costs every american. Not just who felt the sting of racial injustice. Were not just less, were not just a nation of morally deprived because of systemic racism. Were also less prosperous. Were less successful and less secure. We must change and i know it is going to take time but i know we can do it. And i firmly believe the nation is ready to change. But government has to change, as well. We need to make equity and justice part of what we do every day. Today, tomorrow and every day. I am going to sign these executive actions to continue the work to make real promise of america for every american. Again, im not promising we can end it tomorrow, but i promise you, were going to continue to make progress to eliminate systemic racism and every branch of the white house and the federal government is going to be part of that effort. Thank you. This First Executive order is a memorandum for the secretary of housing and urban development to address our nations and the federal governments history of discriminatory housing practices and policies. Next. Next executive order is a reforming incarceration system by eliminating the use of privately operated criminal detention facilities. Third executive order is a memorandum for the heads of executive departments and agencies tribal consultation strengthen the nation to nation relationships. The last executive order is condemning and combatting racism, xeonophobia against Pacific Islanders in the United States. I think the country is ready and i know this administration is ready. Thank you. Reporters trying to get some answers out of joe biden there. We just saw him sign a number of those executive orders. We were lining them up as he walked in. Reverend, one part of that speech he made before he signed the order stuck out to me and the part in particular was where he said and he tried to underscore this. To those of you that might worry that an opportunity for somebody else means an opportunity that is not there for you, remember this. What president kennedy said. That a rising tide lifts all boats. For him to say that i think was key because many on the right or many that are opposed to these issues of social justice and fairness and Economic Justice have said theyre doing it at my expense and that is not true. It is not about trying to sink those boats in the waters. Its about lifting those boats and even getting those that have been left out of the water altogether to be able to rise up in an equal fashion. And i think for him to address that was important. I also thought it was important that he addressed his conversation with the george floyd family. I was in that meeting, attorney ben krump and i attended the meeting with the family when he addressed George Floyds child and talked about changing the world to remind people from the president that will not be forgotten. These orders did deal with privatizing the prisons. We still want to see the george floyd bill come about and we still want to deal with Police Misconduct directly. Im glad he brought it up in his statement. I would like to see it addressed, though, with legislation. So, anna, susan rice a little bit earlier said just because theyre doing these executive actions doesnt mean theyre not going to also pursue legislative opportunities to address these issues. Whats the appetite in congress to pursue this . I know there was some momentum for Police Reform last year. Does that still have support . Criminal Justice Reform is one of those few areas where republicans and democrats came together over the past couple of years. We have seen some momentum on Police Reform, particularly from republicans and democrats whose communities have been impacted directly by it. I think that the fact that hes doing these executive actions is a sign, though, that this Administration Knows congress is not going to be moving fast on this issue. They are barely going to be able to figure out how to do impeachment at the same time get these nominations through and at the same time trying to figure out what theyre going to do on covid relief. If you look at the first couple months, i dont believe Police Reform or policing is on Congress Agenda as a high priority. Mem, a busy day for joe biden. Hes signing these executive orders and trying to get his nominations passed through the senate and pursuing legislation on covid. At the same time, the senate is going to take up the swearing in of senators for the upcoming trial, which is delayed two weeks. But it is still on everybodys mind. You can see live here. Theyre preparing for it. Quite a busy day for this still very young administration. Yeah, katy. In fact, if you look at it as were heading into the first week tomorrow of the Biden Administration, perhaps the busiest on a range of issues for this new administration so far. You saw the president just there signing those executive orders and president ial memorandum on important issues of criminal justice, Racial Justice and importantly as susan rice herself laid out earlier today. Shes been in multiple administrations and we have seen certainly in democratic administrations efforts to prioritize issues of racial equality. Shes making the point beyond the specific actions theyre taking today that she as the domestic policy head a priorityizization in a different way. This is something that is core and embedded in everything this administration wants to do. Well also hear from the president later today on covid again and we heard jen psaki addressing some of the difficulties were hearing and some of the mixed messaging on some levels on what exactly is the president s goal and expectation and hope in ters and word of a call between President Biden and president Vladimir Putin of russia. Of course, russia so much in our conversations with the last administration, the cyberwarfare that is believed to be attributed to russia. This is, in fact, the first conversation directly between these two men in more than a decade. Yes, he was the Vice President of the United States. Yes, he was the chairman of the Foreign Relations committee but the only time biden himself spoke directly with president putin is when he was Prime Minister in his times between president. A very significant call happening behind the scenes. Katy, you mentioned what were seeing on capitol hill. Any better demonstration of the competing issues facing this administration where the senate just a few hours ago confirming bidens choice. One of his longtime deputies in his administration and tony blinken and now the senator is getting ready to be sworn in as court of impeachment to pursue the conviction of the last President Biden. Of course, offering a little bit more insight into his views on this issue yesterday. But the question that remains unanswered is does this president believe that the former president should be convicted . Obviously, biden in my conversations with advisors is always reluctant to weigh in on issues before the senate, especially issues that are politically problematic for republicans. He wants to give some of those republicans who we believe may be leaning towards conviction the space to do so without weighing in clearly himself and you look at a senator like rob portman just announcing yesterday he is going to retire from the senate potentially freeing him up to do so. The more biden weighs in publicly on this issue the more difficult it is for some of those republican senators to get there, as well. Last i checked, rob portman would not say where he stands on the issue of conviction. We are just a couple minutes away from the senators getting sworn in. Dont call them jurors. Our own Pete Williams has told us specifically that theyre not jurors. They are participating in the trial. They can call witnesses. They can do all sorts of things that jurors technically cant do. But, ashley, briefly because mike memoli brought it up and i think its such an interesting point. The call that joe biden, President Biden had with Vladimir Putin today, what a marked departure from what we had seen or used to from President Trump and Vladimir Putin warm, fuzzy relations. It sounds like this was a pretty long call from the look of the topics they discussed and the poisoning and u. S. Support for ukraine the new stark treaty and solar wind hack and bounties on u. S. Soldiers. A huge story a couple months ago. Interference in the 2020 election, yet alone 2016 and the way russia treats peaceful protesters. I want your thoughts on this as someone who covered the last administration so closely and covered the relationship donald trump had with Vladimir Putin. Its such a marked departure. From the timing of the call a little unclear how jen psaki presented it, but it seemed as if the president may have been having that call with putin while she was doing the briefing. This is a tiny point. But that never would have happened under President Trump because donald trump was always watching his press secretaries incredibly closely and watching the news cycles. Some of the tough truths and issues that President Biden presented to putin in this call and told him information he probably did not want to hear. In some ways it is, again, a bit what were seeing with the Biden Administration this return to quote unquote normalcy and what we would have expected under Previous Administrations and because of the past four years with donald trump it feels so much more significant because this was a president who no matter what happened and who took, you know, so much pride in standing up to people and being mean and nasty on twitter was always referring to russia and Vladimir Putin for reasons that wouldnt make sense. He would stand next to him and denounce meddling in the 2016 campaign and from ukraine which ultimately led to his first impeachment and Everything Else just loomed large over his presidency and, again, it feels like President Biden is going to address russia more as a Foreign Policy issue with a tough stance. But he will not take it personally in the way that donald trump did. It does certainly stand out given the past four years. Ashley parker, anna palmer and reverend sharpton, thank you very much for getting us started out. Were following breaking news you can see it on your left of the screen where socalled jurors are about to be sworn in for a trial. Theyre not technically jurors even though Donald Trumps fate is in their hands. The trial itself is set to take place in the same place, the same room where the actual crime took place. And that is just one of the many reasons were about to witness a historymaking drama. A lot about to happen. Joining me now is capitol hill correspondent Garrett Haake and the moderator of meet the press and host of mpt Daily Chuck Todd and Majority Council during Donald Trumps first impeachment Daniel Goldman. Welcome. Were about to see the senators sworn in. Pete williams told us theyre not jurors technically because they can participate. Where do you see this trial going with this twoweek delay before we start hearing evidence and arguments. Does this help or hurt the case against donald trump . Tell me how many more drips come out between now and then and i can more comfortably answer your question, katy. That has a lot to do with it. Either more evidence. The scheme that we learned about over the weekend at the justice department. I mean, that has to weigh heavier on the rob portmans of the world. The folks that we identified that might be in the swingish vote area when it comes to conviction. That has to bother them. The more that were learning on sort of how, how sophisticated some of the attackers were on the raid in the capitol. The more that were learning about that. You know, i think a lot of us are wondering. What more is going to leak out of what happened in those final couple of weeks of the trump, of the trump term. So, i think all of that is the potential that leaves unknown. But it is pretty clear to me that the politics in the republican side of things has shifted a bit and right now you have a whole bunch of republicans looking for the safety of arguing process. The louder they talk about process, the more they dont want to have to talk about the issue of up or down on trump himself, which tells you that maybe he is going, he has a better shot of getting acquitted today than he did two weeks ago. Garrett, weigh in on that. I think chucks right the more republican senators can be talking about process, the less they have to be talking about the specifics of what president , former President Trump is accused of. And i think one of the good ways to tell that these are not jurors is what were about to see after the swearing in here, which is going to be senator rand paul essentially putting a constitutional point of order on the floor here to say that he doesnt think that the senate should be doing this at all. A juror cant motion to dismiss the trial that he or she is going to sit in. The magic number here is 34. If he gets 34 votes in favor of dismissing this on constitutional point, that tells you that there arent going to be enough republican votes for a conviction of donald trump. And i think its going to be really tough. You guys were talking about rob portman. Yes, rob portman is in play here. But probably one of the republican senators who i could count on one hand who i think would be leaning potentially towards conviction at this point. The impeachment managers are going to have to convince some republicans who are up for reelection or who feel like they owe their political careers to donald trump to vote in favor of his conviction, if that is going to be the way this goes. And right now i dont know there is enough at least in the public sphere that we know of to convince the people to do that. Daniel goldman, first of all, welcome back. Good to see you. Its been a while. Democrats must know and the republicans are talking about process all the time. They have ears, theyre hearing it. How do the democratic impeachment managers address that on the floor of the senate . Well, by the time that it gets to the trial, i think that will be slightly in the rear view mirror. There may be a motion to dismiss either right now as garrett said or at the beginning of the trial. It will be a familiar fall back. The answer i think is twofold. One is legally its not correct what theyre arguing. The notion that this is an unconstitutional trial because the president is no longer in office cant be corrected. It just doesnt make any sense because otherwise a president could simply resign before the vote on conviction and then claim that he or she could not be disqualified going forward. And thats a perverse consequence that they would have not intended. Just making, recentering the conversation away from process and back to the merits of their case. And i think chuck brings up a very good point which is the drip, drip, drip. Less about what drips out in terms of the actual riot on january 6th and more about what drips out in terms of the president s efforts to overturn and overthrow the election. Such as trying to conspire with a lowerlevel department of justice official to oust the other, the higher level officials in order to announce an investigation into the georgia election. That kind of a thing, if that continues to come out, the call with the georgia secretary of state that was released by mr. Rathensburger. That kind of thing could make it more difficult for republicans to focus on process and instead of the egregious conduct that the president used during the two months or so after the election. Theres also the New York Times reporting, dandaniel, th the doj that President Trump was meddling with the doj and working behind the scenes with the doj lawyer to potentially try to overturn the results in georgia. There is one article of impeachment, the incitement article. Can you told that stuff in or are republicans going to object and say it doesnt apply to this idea of incitement . You absolutely can fold the georgia secretary of state brad hold on one sec. I want to go to the floor of the senate. We have Patrick Leahy who is overseeing this trial talking now. Majority leader. Mr. President. At this time pursuant to rule 4 of the senate rules on impeachment and the United States constitution, the president pro tem the senator from iowa will now administer the oath to the president pro tem patrick j. Leahy. Please raise your right hand. Your hands on the bible. Do you solemnly swear to all things pertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, former president of the United States, now pending that you will do impartial justice according to the constitution and the laws so help you god. I do so help me god. At this time i will administer the oath to the senators in the chamber in accordance class six of the constitution in the senates impeachment. Will all senators now rise and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear all things that pertain to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump former president of the United States now pending you will do impartial justice according to the constitutional laws so help you god. Call the names in groups of four. Senators will present themselves at the desk to sign the oath book. Mrs. Baldwin, mr. Barasso, mr. Bennett, mrs. Blackburn. So, what youre watching right now is senators being called up in small groups to go and sign in basically for the trial of now former president donald j. Trump. This is just the beginning as weve been saying there are still two weeks before the trial is going to begin. So, there is some time to get their legislative work off the ground and also confirm much of, if not the rest of joe bidens cabinet. Clare mccaskill youre joining us former democratic senator from missouri. You talk to your old colleagues quite a bit. How are they feeling right now in this moment . I mean, they are going to be holding a trial for the former president at the scene of the crime, the very place where the crime happened for incitement to riot. Im struck by how many of them talk about how different this is, katy, than the last time. Keep in mind there is some real history being made today. Those men and women that are signing that book all but a handful of them have done something that no united senator has done before in the history of our nation and that is sit for two impeachment trials for the same president of the United States. And this trial is so different than the last one because they are witnesses and because they felt the fear of what had happened and because its painfully obvious that there is not a republican senator that is defending the president this time. Theyre hiding behind a phony legal argument that will be presented by rand paul in a few minutes. Theyre hiding behind that process argument that is, frankly, dumb. But they are not defending him. And that, obviously, is much different than it was last time. But is the outcome going to change, clare . I dont think so. If it were a secret ballot, i have talked to a number of republicans that would love to make sure that donald j. Trumps name was not on a ballot again. They believe he is doing serious and permanent damage to their party and a lot of the principles they believe in. But it wont be a secret ballot. It will be a public ballot and i doubt there will be enough of them that will have the courage to look beyond the politics of this vote and simply to the principle behind this vote. Well, lets talk about the politics, chuck, because what were hearing from donald trump through articles, frankly, and through some aides because, again, he doesnt have access to any social media. Or prominent social media. Is that he in his days at maralago is thinking about revenge. A big story on what he plans to do to target those that he felt havent been loyal to him or have gone against him. Liz cheney being one of them and brian kemp being another and getting involved in the Ohio Senate Race for rob portmans soon to be open seat. Do senators at this point still feel like they are living under the metphorical gun of donald trump . I think a lot of them feel that way. Certainly depends on the state that they represent. But, you know, it looked you know, you read rob portmans statement and that felt like the statement of somebody who said he had to make a decision between being a United States senator and being able to do things in the senate for the next two years or running for reelection but not doing anything in the senate. Because there was going to be full, you know, it would be a full rejection by his base and his state if he somehow worked with biden yet alone voted to convict or Something Like that. So, i do think we are in that situation. But heres, heres something that i think ill be very curious about if say a Mitch Mcconnell really wants to find the 17 votes. I think the best arguments Mitch Mcconnell could make to a republican on the fence, katy, is this. Look, a million news cycles between now and the 2022 filing deadlines. A million and one, two million new cycles between now and the 2024 filing deadlines and a lot of other reasons that the base is going to be outraged at the Biden Administration and looking for a republican vehicle, theyre not necessarily going to be looking for a trump vehicle. And, oh, by the way, have you noticed how deplatforming of donald trump has really rendered him a bit. Not just rendered him mute but maybe have rendered him that he cant really effect anything and cant really flex his muscles the way he used to before. So, thats how, that to me is the leap that i dont think is as big that these republicans right now think is big for them. I think this thing fades and i think trump fades over time, if hes convicted. But i know that there is this belief on the right that if hes convicted, he becomes, you know, a martyr and more powerful. I dont buy it. Hes too lazy to understand how to be a martyr if you want to know the truth. Without the bark does donald trump still have the bite. On the subject of Mitch Mcconnell, Garrett Haake, are you getting any indication where his head is at right now. I know last week and the week before, there was leaks from his office that he wasnt sure where he was going to go. What do we know today . Well, we know that hes done with donald trump as a useful figure for him. I mean, remember, with mcconnell this is all transactional. In his number one job right now, at least as he will see it is regaining the majority of the United States senate. So, i think, you know, he will wait and see how these next couple weeks play out and if he determines that donald trump is so damaged and such an some of the candidates in the battlegrounds and he will find a way to jettison him. He will keep his cards close to the chest on this. It is also not clear that he can push other republicans to follow him. And being in a situation where he is vote six or seven out of that many who vote for conviction and the rest of the Conference Goes the other way, that could put his leadership into some question and hamstring his ability to fundraise and so forth. I dont expect Mitch Mcconnell to be the first, you know, to turn on trump when it comes time to vote for conviction or not. But he could be one of those who gets you to 17, if things go that way in the trial. Claire, i know you have thoughts on this. Weigh in. Well, i think Mitch Mcconnell would like to be done with donald trump. I think a whole bunch of the republican senators who have quietly put up with Donald Trumps lies, would like to be done with donald trump. But the Republican Party hasnt quit donald trump. And Mitch Mcconnell, i mean, garretts exactly right. It will be a transactional decision for Mitch Mcconnell. He will make a calculation which way will be better for the Republican Party gaining control of the United States senate, once again, in two years. Now, i think there will be more votes to convict donald trump this time than last time. I think there will be more than one republican that will vote to convict. But thats a long way from 17. And i dont think Mitch Mcconnell is going to twist anybodys arm. In fact, its pretty obvious to me if im talking to folks no whipping going on on the republican side. No one is encouraging people to speak up and defend donald trump. They brought in turley to talk to them at their caucus just a few minutes ago as if Jonathan Turley is some constitutional expert. I mean, obviously, this happened before and Daniel Goldman was right. All a president would have to do is resign after he did some heinous thing and he would avoid any kind of consequence. So, clearly, this is constitutional and clearly these republican senators are eventually going to have to go on the record. In fact, some will have to go on the record in as early as a few hours. If youre tuning in just now and youre wondering what is going on. What were watching right now are senators going in small groups to the table to sign the oath book to be sworn in for the trial of Donald John Trump. Youll notice and frank thorpe pointed this out, our senate producer, each one of them are getting their own pens to sign this book. Covid precautions in place on the senate floor. The senate floor. What about this idea raised that Mitch Mcconnell could make the argument that there are a million news cycles between now and 2022, 2024. Donald trump has been deplatformed. He is not as powerful or influential as he once was. There are a million news cycles. Not only will they bring fresh issues that the republicans will try on make hey with against joe biden but it will also bring more bad news for donald trump. Imagine how you feel if you hide behind a procedural argument after donald trump did what he did and caused the death in the United States capitol, and then he is perhaps indicted down the line. Or more information comes out about bad behavior that has not come to light yet. I believe there will be fresh news cycles, and some of those fresh news cycles will be dangerous for republicans who dont stand up and do the right thing during this impeachment trial. So it appears that every single senator has signed the oath book. Patrick leahy is there. Well see if he speaks again and well go in there. Joining us now, former acting solicitor general and georgetown law professor neal katyal. Justice roberts will not be presiding. Does that pose challenges for the democrats making this argument and potential advantages for republicans who dont want to vote to convict. I dont think so. The job is to make sure they follow procedure and it never a good sign when your team is resorting to picking fight with the referee, which is what theyre doing here by attacking senator leahy. The chief justice is obviously, would bring on paralleled stature to this but the fact is the constitution says thats only when youre trying the sitting president. Not a former president. It very consistent with practice, the president pro tem of the senate who presided. I think it is what is constitutionally required and appropriate in the circumstance, and yes, hes a democrat. But that is the way our constitution runs impeachment proceedings. Theres only one exception to that, for a current sitting president of the United States. There is still more signing to be done. I guess that one book got filled up so that got handed to senator leahy. Theyre still going. Claire, you wanted to add something . Yeah. I think as neal was saying, everybody in that room knows that Patrick Leahy will be going off a script that he is reading. And it is provided to him by the senate parliamentarian. Elizabeth mcdon over. He is reading the selfincrimination. Thats exactly what chief Justice Roberts did also. If there is a procedural question, it will be determined by a vote of the senate. Not by the presiding officer. So he is just doing a ceremonial role. And every single republican senator in the chamber knows that. Daniel, do democrats when they make their arguments address that . Or do they just take it as something that is just procedural . It is just what happens when the chief justice does not want to preside over the trial and when it not a current official, not a current president. No. If we think back to the last senate trial, chief Justice Robert did remarkably little and there is nothing for him to do for the reasons claire that. Any decisions that are made about the procedure and the process of the trial and the ultimate vote are made by the senators themselves. Thats why they are not the quintessential jurors and thats why whoever is presiding over this trial does not have the responsibilities that we would ordinarily think of as a judge. You know, and claire is right as well. Elizabeth mcdonagh, i work closely with understanding everything going on, was consulting for everything that needs to happen. That wont happen except it matters if they would make hey because people are confused that they think of a trial and a judge and a judge has a lot of authority. Lets bring in a New York Times politics reporter. I referenced the report with Maggie Haberman about what donald trump is doing at maralago and one of your other colleagues summed it up best on twitter. Thinking about revenge. Tell me whats going on. Hes playing a lot of golf and thinking about which republicans he is interested in taking out in the mid terms in 2022. And at the moment hes been focused on the georgia governor and secretary of state, trying to, thinking about ways to beat them in republican primaries. And hes also really interested in the congressman in ohio and michigan who voted for impeachment. Now i think we can expect that the president s Attention Span doesnt necessarily linger on particular things for too long so well see how long that lasts. And we also know that things that involve a lot of money or work are not necessarily places to put a lot of degree of confidence that hell follow through on. Neal, on the question of whether this is going to bar donald trump from running for office again, the vote to convict him wont do that. They would have to take up a second vote after conviction which requires a simple majority. If they dont get to conviction and that vote doesnt happen, there is also talk, there might be another way to make sure that hes not eligible to run for office again. Can you explain that to us . I think youre talking about the 14th amendment. After the civil war was put into the constitution to bar people who were insurrectionists to bar people from serving in public office, it has been put in but not in the way people are proposing here. A simple majority vote to exclude someone from running for office. Thats a little bit tough. I think the way, if they wanted to do it, would be to set up some mechanism for a Court Adjudication of whether donald trump was supporting insurrection or not. And then there would be a judicial proceeding that would decide that question. So that is another mechanism available to them. And the republicans, i think, are trying to say, dont do this, do that, do that. Theyre trying to avoid, vote on the merits and whether or not they think what donald trump did was right or wrong. In one way or another, whether you call it impeachment or a 14 amendment vote. That vote will happen and theyll be on one side of the ledger or the other. Claire, as i saw ben sass sign the oath book, i wonder, where is his head at . Hes somebody who has been very outspoken since donald trump lost the election about what donald trump had been doing to try to undermine the election. Hed been outspoken about the people in his own caucus, that he felt were doing a disservice to democracy. Is everyone of those senators that is still open to impeachment . Or is he somebody that well see make a process argument . I would assume he is. Especially because if you go down the road he has gone down, you incur the wrath of a trump base anyway. So hes already traveled this path. When he started talking about how bad it was for josh hawley and ted cruz to do what they were doing, to basically gin up vote on the big lie, he was choosing a road that would be tough. Hes had big moments, moments where hes disappointed me and moments of courage. I think hell be an interesting one. I put him in the category of possibly convicting donald trump. What should happen to josh hawley in your estimation in. Thats a tough one to answer. Ive always believed that when you lose an election, you should be a good loser. And i have tried to avoid going, being very confrontational with josh hawley. Keep in mind that 45 of missourians right after this all started getting ginned up, believed that donald trump had won the election. So im in a very trumpy state. Missouri is a very trumpy state. And he may in fact succeed politically in staying in the senate. But i think there should be consequences for what hes done. It is remarkable, the back lash he has received even from those who mentored him. Claire mccaskill, thank you for joining me. Garrett haake, neal katyal, reed emseen the, a lot to cover stay. Ayman mohyeldin picks up our coverage as we continue to watch the senators sign the oath book. Good afternoon. Im picking tim live coverage of several breaking news stories. Just to pick up where katy left off, you see the live screen. Senators already sworn in ahead of former President Trumps second impeachment trial. Theyre signing the oath books there