indictment, attorney general merrick garland is voicing support for special counsel jack smith. we ll show you his new remarks. plus new polling shows that trump s support among republicans is standing strong despite his mounting legal troubles. we ll break down those new numbers. and the judge handling trump s classified documents case, aileen canon, is coming under new scrutiny for having very little trial experience. that new reporting and so much more is straight ahead. good morning and welcome to way too early on this thursday, june 15th. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. for the first time since donald trump s federal indictment, we re now hearing from attorney general merrick garland. speaking to reporters yesterday, garland declined to answer questions about the case, but he defended special counsel jack smith, the man that he appointed to lead the investigation into the former president. so as you know i can t talk about particulars o
tonight, the trial calendar, the primary calendar, and how the 2024 election could come down to a referendum on city donald trump to prison. plus, former manhattan d. a. cy vance on his efforts to expedite justice for the former president. the defense attorney for reality winner on the extraordinary preferential treatment donald trump is receiving. jamal bowie on how the republican primary field is easing up defending the indefensible. this indictment can taint serious charges and i cannot defend what is alleged. when all in starts, right now. good evening from new york. i m chris hayes. donald trump now holds the official title, being a federal felony defendant. yesterday on the eve of his 77th birthday to trump was arranged and treated not guilty in a federal courthouse in miami. those are the sketches there. that s all we get. there were no cameras inside. the proceeding, before a federal magistrate judge lasted under an hour. the ex president not uttering a single
thank you. well at this hour, tonight right, now, 27 hours after donald trump was told that he had just become the first former president in history charged with federal crimes, including violations of the espionage act, the trump criminal defense team is in chaos. the trump criminal defense lawyer who call donald trump at seven pm last night to tell him that he was indicted by prosecutors in the executive branch of the government that he once controlled, resigned or was fired this morning along with another criminal defense lawyer that also resigned or was fired this morning. last night, after the indictment was announced, the league criminal defense lawyer in the case of the u.s. versus donald j trump said this even if he talks about the documents or the existence of them, that is light years away from the specific intent that they need for an espionage case. and now, that lawyer is gone. anything the trump defense lawyers have ever said publicly about what we re do
interference. they re trying to destroy a reputationsy they can win an election. i did nothing wrong and will fight this out just like we ve been fighting for seven years. i m innocent, and we ll prove that very, very soundly. fact check. when the former president is saying the word they he is referring to democrats. democrats did not indict the president. president joe biden did not indict donald trump. it was a grand jury based in florida. that is it. we should also note trump has already pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records here in new york. we ve got a lot to cover so let s start off with our panel this evening. peter baker, katie bennett, former u.s. attorney joyce vance who spent 25 years as a federal prosecutor, charles coleman, former new york prosecutor and civil rights attorney, anthony former justice spokesperson under attorney merrick garland, and frank figliuzzi, former fbi director for counter intelligence. as i look at you all, h
president with multiple crimes. and for the first time since this investigation began america heard directly from the man in charge, special counsel jack smith. today, and indictment was unseed. charging donald j trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the department of justice in our nation s commitment to the rule of law sits an example for the world. we have one set of laws in this country, and they ve let everyone. the 38 count indictment against trump and his personal and now codefendant walt nauta accuses the former president of 30 accounts of willful retention of national defense information, three counts of withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation, two counts of false statements, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. according to the indictment the classified documents trump stored in these boxes