Time to consider the charges against donald trump and make up your own mind, what we tried to do in the book, in our commentary and insider tips and the cast of characters is made this is easily digestible and understandable as possible for lawyers and nonlawyers alike. We understand that there are various rationales for the decisions that were made by prosecutors and we tried to reveal those in this book. And again, as part of that educative mission we have tried in this hour to explain some of those choices and the implications of all of these delays in their we are so grateful to all of you for joining us for this hourlong special. We really appreciate it. I am melissa my. I am Andrew Wiseman. Good night. Am Andrew Wiseman. Good night. A good evening once again. I am stephanie ruhle. We are now 200 85 days away from the election and you are in luck. Tonight we have a very special nightcap we are going to get to in just a moment featuring an amazing lineup of student journalists. Fir
We today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone their evidence can be tested in court and judged by a jury of citizen sdpgs we look at the fact, we look at the law and we bring charges. For the fourth time in as many months donald trump, the former president of the United States, is facing a criminal indictment. Good morning and welcome to morning joe. It is tuesday, august 15th. Lets dive right into the latest indictment for the former president. The charges are from Fulton County, georgia, where trump and 18 others were named in a sweeping 41count indictment targeting alleged attempts to overturn the states 2020 Election Results, Fulton County District Attorney fani willis announced the charges just before midnight. The states role in this process is essential to the functioning of our democracy. Georgia like every state has laws that allow those who believe that results
Yes, you too. All right, you guys, make way. So, elie honig, she is now bringing that document, which the judge has now looked at, to the clerk. Correct, anderson. And what we just saw was the judge reviewing that indictment. And to be clear, that is not a substantive review. That indictment appeared to be quite long. The judge does not read through it and have to sign off on it. Thats The Grand Jurys province. Thats already happened. The judge is just making sure that there is no procedural irregularities. Thats why you heard that quick questioning, did Everything Go as expected in the jury room. The individual said no problems. Its being sent to the Clerks Office where the next step is it will be docketed. It will become part of the official record. It will be available to all of us in the public and the media, assuming that its not under seal. All indications are that its not going to be under seal. If thats the case, we will have access to that document momentarily. And michael moo
Legal experts tonight. Were discussing rico is a powerful charge because it is so broad. It is one of the broadest laws in the nation, the way georgia uses it, as the Washington Post explains, because prosecutors can weave together alleged crimes, violations of state and federal laws, activities in other states, the law as this d. A. Knows well, does not require a defendant to set foot in georgia to be charged. Why . Because rico is that broad, you do need, of course, something to happen in the state, in georgia, but you could be a person who stayed out of state. Maybe youre a busy coconspirator. Maybe youre a coward and send other people to do things for you. Under the Georgia State rico statute, a long as some people have committed these crimes of some kind inside the state, other people can be looped in. Thats one of the ways d. A. Willis came out with this strong, broad set of charges last night rounding up these 19 defendants. Theyre not all Household Names. I want to show you def
Election interference case. And we know that multiple witnesses are likely inside. What we do not know yet is when we will know. Indictments arent usually sealed in georgia, so we would likely find out the moment it is filed. Who exactly is going to be charged, if they are charged . Is it one person or multiple . The initial grand jury investigating the case recommended charging 12 people. What will be charged . Is it racketeering, conspiracy, false statements, solicitation, and how would those charges apply . Looking ahead to if and when a trial date is set, what will that trial look like . Emphasis on look. Unlike federal trials, court cases can be televised. We could get answers to all of these questions and more very soon. So lets get into both the reporting and the legal analysis. Starting us off with the reporting is nbc news correspondent blayne alexander. Nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent, ken dilanian, and the Atlanta Journalconstitution Senior Editor of trump gr