for joining me this evening. the last time the republicans had a contested presidential primary was the year 2016. and no it seemed sort of impossible to imagine now the party was kind of divided about trump s victory all the way to the convention floor, and you saw that no more clearly than when senator ted cruz went to the podium in a prime time speaking slot, i might add, and refused to mention trump s name during his convention speech. and boy, oh, boy did people notice. if you love our country and love your children as much as i know that you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience. vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom. god bless each and every one of you, and god bless the united states of america. prior to that moment, before all those just deafening boos, ted cruz and donald trump had been going at each other for months. relations between these two men were not good. trump regularly went after ted cruz s family during
felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the department of justice in our nation s commitment to the rule of law sits an example for the world. we have one set of laws in this country, and they ve let everyone. the 38 count indictment against trump and his personal and now codefendant walt nauta accuses the former president of 30 accounts of willful retention of national defense information, three counts of withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation, two counts of false statements, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. according to the indictment the classified documents trump stored in these boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the united states and foreign countries. united states nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the united states and its allies to military attack
the united states of america, versus donald j trump. we have one set of laws in this country. and they apply to everyone. , tonight the stunning 49-page indictment. 37 criminal counts, secret national security documents, strewn around his country club, on stage in a ballroom, on the floor in the bathroom. a conspiracy to hide them from the feds, and the lies that he told to cover it up. rachel maddow, lawrence o donnell, aubry melbourne, joy, read are here for msnbc s special coverage of the second indictment of donald trump. good evening from new york. welcome back to our special coverage. i m chris hayes here at 30 rock with the whole team. as well as the great and the good, rachel maddow who is joining us remotely on this historic day. and unprecedented, is an understatement. 37 count indictment against the 45th president of the united states. was unsealed today. a special counsel, jack smith, made his first public comments since his appointment by attorney general,
president with multiple crimes. and for the first time since this investigation began america heard directly from the man in charge, special counsel jack smith. today, and indictment was unseed. charging donald j trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the department of justice in our nation s commitment to the rule of law sits an example for the world. we have one set of laws in this country, and they ve let everyone. the 38 count indictment against trump and his personal and now codefendant walt nauta accuses the former president of 30 accounts of willful retention of national defense information, three counts of withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation, two counts of false statements, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. according to the indictment the classified documents trump stored in these boxes
i am a victim of one of the great political smear campaigns in the history of our country. the entire thing has been a witch hunt, and there s no collusion. if there were lawyers they d be disbarred for what they re doing. it s a one-sided witch hunt, and i am a victim, i will tell you i m a victim oh, they re after me for so many things oh, those prosecutors. for years donald trump has complained about potential legal problems now it s a reality for the former president we have a lot to get to this morning on the historic indictment by the manhattan grand jury plus, we ll have reactions from top republicans including former vice president mike pence. and also ahead, a look at the security measures being put in place across new york city as authorities prepare for possible protests ahead of trump s arraignment. good morning, and welcome to way too early on this friday, march 31st, i m jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us, and we will begin this friday w