but it s worth just, sort of, going back to brass tacks, i think, for a second. in a two-party system, each party is important, right? in a two-party system, the relative strength, the relative skill, the organizational capacity, the financial status, the size, the health and capacity of each party is at least a little bit important in every single state in the country. even in states that are dominated by one party or the other, the health and the capacity of each party matters. it s particularly crucial, of course, in swing states, though, where one party doesn t dominate and the places it s likely to be a close race between the republican nominee and the democratic nominee and the general election this fall. it is particularly important how healthy the state parties are on both sides.e and the battleground states, the swing states these days, it s at familiar list. states like arizona, georgia, pennsylvania, michigan, a few others. given all that, though, here s today s po
outfront next, the trump pinted judge making her first ruling in the classified documents case. is it a sign she s not stepping aside? new details about the judge. why a case she s working on now could shed light on how she ll rule in trump s case. plus, a graveyard of russian missiles. ukrainians utilizing putin s deadliest weapons. what they found may surprise you. a special report. and where is melania and ivanka and the family? trump s 2024 campaign is anything but a family affair. let s go outfront. and good evening. i m erin burnett. no recusal. the judge who was appointed by trump and is presiding over the classified documents case issuing her first order. a sign she has no plans to heed the calls to recuse herself. ordering both parties to start the process of obtaining security clearances for their lawyers by tomorrow. it comes as there are mounting questions about her record in past cases. the judge, who was piappointed 2020, has little experience in oversee
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,
records? or as peter baker put it in the new york times, republican voters may be care if their leader slips money to a porn star to keep quiet, but will they be indifferent about impeding authorities seeking to recover clandestine materials? that s today s poll question which i ll share in a moment. it may depend upon responses by trump s gop opponents. most were quick to weigh in before the indictment was unsealed. ron desantis said the weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. mike pence used the same word while calling for the unsealing of the indictment. the american people should be able to judge for themselves whether this is just the latest incident of weaponization and politicization at the justice department or if it s something different, he said. ditto for south carolina senator tim scott on the weaponization charge. another went further comparing pardoning trump immediately upon his own swearing-in. chris christie ke
3:00 p.m. eastern and we expect the former president to plead not guilty either today or in a separate formal arraignment. we ll find out. much of the republican party has been rallying behind trump. they are trying to utilize the d.o.j. as an influence operation within the campaigns within elections. america is seeing a double standard. perhaps president trump should have gone after hillary clinton. he didn t. should joe biden be allowed to aggressively go after the former president? i think president trump has not been treated equally like everybody else in this process. harris: 2024 challenger nikki haley has reversed course. two things can be true at the same time. one, the d.o.j. and f.b.i. have lost all credibility with the american people. the second thing can also be true. if this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, president trump was incredibly reckless with our national security. harris: so why trump, though? and not biden? plenty