national political reporter. that is our show for tonight. time for the last word with lawrence o donnell. lawrence, i m gobsmacked by some of these numbers. i m just gonna leave it to you while i scratch my head. ali, you know that thing happens once in a while where one of our great guests really is getting warmed up right when we have to go to commercial break because that s life on commercial television? that happened last week with yale professor david blight, who is an expert on the 14th amendment. he knows everything about how it came to be, the congressional debate about it. we are bringing him back tonight to finish his thoughts about that. that is worth watching because the most important amendment nobody ever thought about six months ago, and this is worth staying and listening to. certainly not thought about in this context. and he will follow harvard law professor laurence tribe, also an expert on constitutional law and the 14th amendment, who will give us
ari melber starts right now. i m glad i let you go because i remember you have your own show to anchor. thank you. our thanks to nicolle wallace and the whole team there doing this cover nl. we continue the breaking coverage of the first ever federal indictment of a former president. today the justice department unsealed an indictment of defendant donald trump of 37 counts. we re covering this historic and unprecedented development with our legal experts who have been pouring over this 44-page indictment since it was first unsealed this afternoon. the nation heard from special counsel jack smith for actually the first time ever today. a prosecutor known for his work and today his actions, indicting the former president after about seven months on the job. and he spoke clearly and concisely about this indictment and national security crimes. today an indictment was unsealed charging donald j. trump with felony violations over national security laws, conspiracy to obstruc
walt nauta, and the final count is four false statement. trump and are set to be the indictment laying out detailed allegations against the two, with pictures showing boxes showing classified documents stored in the bathroom. the twice impeached, now twice indicted former president is on the campaign trail today, speaking at republican state conventions at both georgia and north carolina. earlier today, trump s former lawyer, michael cohen weighed in on the case. this is more than just an espionage act. every single location that donald went to, from the time that he left the white house, to today, needs to be examined. donald will throw anyone and everyone under the bus in order to preserve his own freedom in order to benefit himself? . not a trump says he is innocent, and plans to plead not guilty. but if convicted, he could face decades in federal prison. we have a number of reports, with the very latest information, and reaction today on the indictment to the form
lawrence, i m gobsmacked by some of these numbers. i m just gonna leave it to you while i scratch my head. aly you , know that thing happens once in awhile where one of our great guests guests really is getting warmed up right when we have to go to commercial break because that s life on commercial television. that happened last week with yale professor david blight, who is an expert on the 14th amendment. he knows everything about how it came to be, the congressional debate about it. we are bringing back tonight finishes thoughts about that. that is worth watching because the most important amendment nobody ever thought about six months ago, and this is worth staying and listening to. certainly not in this context. and he will follow harvard law professor laurence tribe, also an expert on constitutional law and the 14th amendment, who will give us his view of how the 14th amendment, how it has the power to keep donald trump off the ballot in some states. i look forw
today on inside politics, disqualified. the state of maine becomes the second to say donald trump is an insurrectionist barred from seeking the presidency. now it s up to the supreme court. plus damage control mode. with just days to go until the first votes are cast, nikki haley is trying to move past a controversy. her opponents are not so eager to let her. and where have all the democrats gone? i ll talk to a leading liberal political analyst about how he thinks the party lost its way with working class voters and the dilemma democrats face in turning it around. i m dana bash. let s go behind the headlines and inside politics. first up is donald trump eligible to be president again? that s the legal question face ing this country after maine became the second state to say he s not buzz of the 14th amendment s ban on insurrectionists holding federal office. it is a recipe for constitutional chaos at the supreme court will almost surely have to solve. cnn senior repo