if key takeaways from jack smith s 45-page indictment sounded familiar, it s because many of those details were already presented to the american public through the january 6th committee. in a series of dramatic hearings as well as an egg00-page report, the committee made the case that donald trump was ultimately responsible for the insurrection. congressman jamie raskin hailed the investigation for laying the groundwork for trump s third indictment, calling it a tremendous vindication. he also firmly rejected trump s free speech defense to the new charges, a view shared by none other than trump s former attorney general and chief henchman, bill barr. as the indictment says, you know, they re not attacking his first amendment right. he can say whatever he wants. he can even lie.
and i m holding out hope here that there is still going to be a superseding indictment, maybe more charges against the former president as they continue to get more information. maybe that next tier is going to be indicted, the unindicted co co-conspirators. but regardless of what happens, this is important that the former president s being held accountable to this level. trump attorney john laurel is previewing how he and the trump legal team intend to defend him in this case. take a listen. our defense is focusing on that we have a administration that has criminalized the free speech and advocacy of a prior administration during time that there is a political election going on. what is your reaction to this free speech defense? well it is asinine. a couple of things. first off, they re not saying, if you notice, not saying well
that instead of debating issues against joe biden that trump is in a courtroom. how is that justice? joining me now, justice and intelligence correspondent ken saturday lane yan, former u.s. un barbara mcquade and andrew weissmann. ken, i want to start with another excerpt from the indictment. he writes, these claims were false and the defendant knew that they were false. in fact, the defendant was notified repeatedly that his claims were untrue. often by the people on whom he relies for candid advice on important matters and who were best positioned to know the facts. he disregarded the truth. ken, this indictment gives us a strong sense of how the special counsel is going to approach this prosecution and pushing back against the free speech defense that he heard from john
the indictment makes the case completely. the fact that words are used doesn t mean it s free speech. i can say give me your like a holdup note at a bank, give me your money or i ll shoot your head up. that s speech, but it s also bank robbery. you can say that all the money in the u.s. mint belongs to me. but the moment you start grabbing it, that s not speech anymore. even if you use words to grab it, that doesn t give you a free speech defense. give me a break. also, professor, i appreciate your time. thank you. thanks. and, next, new signs pointing to trump chief of staff mark meadows, possibly cooperating with jack smith. did he flip on his old boss, and how crucial is he in this 45-page indictment? a special report on him coming up. plus, all eyes are on georgia now, where any day trump could be indicted for a third time. the fulton county sheriff is outfront on his preparations for a possible indictment, and why he says trump would be treated like any other
House Republicans introduced legislation that would prohibit the federal government from using Big Tech to infringe upon Americans' First Amendment rights.