my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused. trump on trial in august? the first court date is officially set, and it is just eight weeks away. tonight, what it all means for the possibility of a trial before the election and, the motives of the trump appointed judge in charge of it. then after a five year investigation by a trump appointed prosecutor, hunter unlikely that the august 14th start date, the one that is two months from today, will hold. it s fairly common practice for a judge to set an early start date as a sort of benchmark, only to see the trial slip further and further down the calendar. the prosecution needs time to prepare its arguments, and trump s lawyers deserve time to mount a reasonable defense of their client. the defense has not yet received, for instance, the classified evidence as part of the discovery process, something which, on its own, could had significant
present its case and we don t know also whether the former president might choose to testify in his own defense. i want to start by bringing in cnn senior legal affairs correspondent paula reid who has been all over this story for many, many week, and paula, the indictment is out now. i wonder, what to you as someone following this and every single move and detail, what stands out to you as the most damning information we ve gotten? it s such a strong reminder of how little we know compared to investigators. one of the things that struck me and i think will resonate with the american people are the photographs that the indictment uses to tell the story of how some of the nation s most sensitive secrets were strewn about mar-a-lago. prosecutors in this indictment say that these secrets were in a bathroom, in a ballroom. there you see the photo of them being in a bathroom boxes stacked up there, in the ballroom. these are cardboard, pretty flimsy in a ballroom actively being
bathroom, in a ballroom. there you see the photo of them being in a bathroom, boxes just stacked up there in the ballroom. i mean these are pretty flimsy cardboard boxes in a ballroom that is actively being used for events. there you see sensitive defense information, secrets that are only meant to be shared with a small handful of our closest allies, and they re strewn about the floor of a storage closet. and it s one thing to say that in an indictment, but it s another to support this with photographs. that was one of the things that really struck me in this indictment. but the breadth and the depth of the evidence that they ve gathered in this investigation, it s incredible. i mean, for example, there are two incidents where they say the former president shared classified documents in person. one is a story that we broke last week, a meeting at his bedminster golf club, where he says that he has sensitive information and appears to be urging people in a meeting to look at.
trial. reporter: can trump overcome this case? house judiciary chairman jim jordan will join me next. and political shock wave. the historic indictment further unsettles the presidential contest. it is a horrible thing for this country. i have never once suggested to the justice department what they should do or not do. reporter: will trump be on trial while he is on the trail? i ll speak to former impeachment prosecutor and democratic congressman dan goldman, ahead. plus, pardon power. one republican presidential candidate said he d pardon trump if he wins. this is not about politics to me. this is about principle. reporter: another says trump needs to drop out. the country doesn t need this distraction. reporter: how does the indictment change the gop race? two presidential hopefuls join me in moments. hello. i m dana bash in washington where the state of our union is once again in uncharted waters. this weekend a defiant donald trump is once again pre
jordan will join me next. and political shock wave. the historic indictment further unsettles the presidential contest. it s a horrible thing for this country. i have never once suggested to the justice department what they should do or not do. will trump be on trial while he s on the trail? i ll speak to former impeachment trial dan goldman ahead. plus pardon power. one republican press daidential candidate approximately. this is about principle. another says trump needs to drop out. the country doesn t need this distraction. how does the destruction change the gop. vivek joins me? just moments. hello. i m dana bash in washington where the state of our union is once again in uncharted waters f. this weekend a defiant donald trump preparing to meet in court this time on tuesday in miami where the former president will face 37 federal count over mishandling classified documents and obstructing an investigation after he left office. at campaign events on