in february, of 2021, joe biden had been president for less than a month. the united states senate was still in the middle of impeaching the previous president for stoking insurrection. the house impeachment managers, all of them democrats, were making the case that even though trump was no longer president, he had to be impeached because otherwise future presidents would be free to commit any crime or misdemeanor as long as they did so right before leaving office. to rebut that, trump s lawyers offered this counter argument. if my colleague on this side of the chamber actually think that president trump committed a criminal offense, and let s understand, a high crime is a felony and misdemeanor is a misdemeanor. the words haven t changed that much overtime. after he s out of office, you go and arrest him. so there is no opportunity where the president of the united states can run rampant in january at the end of his term and just go away scot-free. the department of just
all in with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on all in. good present order seal team six to assassinate a political rival? history inside a d.c. courtroom. i asked you yesterday question. could a president who ordered seal team six to assassinate a political rival who was not impeached, could he be subject to criminal prosecution? the united ex president claims complete immunity. i think qualified, yes if he s impeached and convicted. first trump s criminal attorney is confronted with trump s impeachment defense. after he s out of office, they re gonna arrest him. the arguments, the implications, and the timetable for a republican front-runner running to stay out of jail. plus, starting new evidence of the ongoing coup as we learn of harrowing new threats to trump s prosecutor and judge. when all in starts, right now. good evening from new york. i m chris hayes. history made in front of the entire country today. at least we can all hear it, if not s
their entire families, and that s the point. that is the point. the maga movement has used threats of violence and the possibility of danger as a key tool of anti-democratic coercion. luxurious kordell served as a judge for 19 years, including 13 on the superior court of california. she joins me now. judge kordell, first, just your reaction to the stories which came one after another about each of these figures receiving this kind of intimidation. chris, first of all, swatting is the act of a coward. it is a federal crime, punishable five years to life, and it s a crime in some of the states. but last, year chief justice roberts gave his year-end address, and in it he addressed the fear that judges face today. one of the things he said is a judicial system cannot and should not live in fear. and he s right, of course. because the cardinal rule of judging is to rule without fear or favor. but fear, today, it s the new normal for charges in america.