let s take a look at the week s top stories. as you know, i can t talk about particulars of this or any other ongoing criminal manner. as i said when i appointed mr. smith i did so because it underscored the justice department s commitment to an oath independents and accountability. mr. smith is a veteran career prosecutor. he has assembled a group i ve experienced and talented prosecutors. and agents, whose share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law. any questions about this matter will have to be answered by their filings in the court. attorney general, merrick garland, with some breathe where it s for the first time since donald trump s federal indictment. is it just may or willie are we starting to see again. not a complete breaking of ice. but a more thawing of ice? this is horrible. it s bad, but i m gonna pardon him. day three, too early to talk about pardons. because you know the news came out. i m sure mike pence saw the new jersey nightmare. the p
just days before the iowa caucuses. the former new jersey governor declining to endorse any of his republican rivals, at least for now, even as he urges he supporters to choose a candidate with character. this comes as we re just now a few hours away from cnn s republican presidential debate later tonight, nikki haley and ron desantis about to come face to case for the final time before the iowa caucuses. it s a critically important test as both candidates try to close the gap with donald trump. i m wolf blitzer, you re in the situation room. announcer: this is cnn breaking news. it s major breaking news indeed, with chris christie suspending his run tonight. the race is on for other candidates as to try to pick up his supporters. kylie atwood is with us. the remaining campaigns are clearly interested in bringing voters over to their side. what are you hearing? reporter: they are indeed. there was a hot mic moment that wasn t actually included in that speech that we
stone cited several trump legal and political advisers who claim that the former president is demanding that they incorporate fringe conspiracies into his legal defense, quote, here s a list of ideas have included inserting that there is evidence that anti trump elements in the fbi framed him and a maga protesters by using undercover agents and to instigate the january 6th riot. and there the left wing anti-fascist played a role in attacking the capitol that day, and that trump s lieutenants have gathered real evidence showing, quote, massive amounts of voter and election fraud, and quote, in 2020, in swing states. and heavily democratic urban areas, as his long basically claimed, and quote. if trump s team as we ve been discussed calling witnesses, like nancy pelosi and other political foes to the stand, in an effort to pay them as the true violence of january six. that new reporting helps explain why just last week, the special counsel jack smith asked the judge overseein
talking about the case over the weekend. it comes as trump s rivals for the 2024 nomination rally to his defense. some of them do. we will have the comments. some of them do. some don t. some do and don t. mixed bag. you know? what is the strategy there? sad thick. the latest from ukraine with the counteroffensive claiming small victories over the russian forces. also ahead, an update on the i- 95 collapse. a disaster that has shut down the section of one of the busiest highways in america. good lord. good morning, and welcome to morning joe. if is monday, june 12th. with us we have the host of way too early, eddie claude jr., and richard hoss joining us. richard, jonathan, so much news. we cannot talk about sports. is there a minute? not even a minute to talk about what happened at yankee stadium or the stadium as they call it. the red sox taking 2 of 3. we don t have time to talk about it? we don t have time to talk about it. the little league team
that s how one person familiar with the january 6th trial preparations described the strategy according to rolling stone magazine. in new reporting tonight, rolling stone cites several of trump s legal and political advisers who claim the former president is demanding they incorporate fringe conspiracies into his legal defense. quote, his list of ideas has included asserting that there s evidence of anti-trump elements in the fbi framed him and maga protesters by using undercover agents and informants to instigate the deadly january 6th riot. the anarchists and left wing anti-fascists played a role in attacking the capitol that day and they gathered real evidence showing, quote, massive amount of voter and election fraud, end quote, in 2020 in swing states and heavily democratic urban areas as he has long baselessly claimed, end quote. trump s team has even discussed calling witnesses like nancy pelosi and other political foes to the stand in an effort to paint them as the tr