Transcripts For CNNW The 20240704

Investigating efforts by former President Trump and his top allies to try to overturn the 2020 election, that grand jury has finished meeting for the day. The big question, will we learn in the next few minutes or hours if the grand jury here in washington, d. C. Has, in fact, indicted donald trump or anyone else involved in the plot to overturn the election. This is the third criminal indictment against the twice impeached former president of the United States and current frontrunner by far for the republican president ial nomination. There is quite a bit that we just dont know and it is unclear when or if the Federal Grand Jury here in d. C. Has even voted. But based upon what we have reported over the last three years, Potential Chargesn Special Counsel jack smiths his allies efforts to pressure state Election Officials and their disinformation about the election creating fake slates of State Electors and potentially inciting the deadly capitol insurrection among other potential charges. Yesterday the former president posted on his Social Media Website that he expected criminal charges to come any day now. Lets get right to cnn senior justice Correspondent Evan Perez who is following all of the latest developments. Evan, how do we expect to get word if and when this indictment is handed up to the judge from the grand jury . Well, jake, we have a team inside of the courthouse. Theyre watching the magistrate proceedings. The grand jury votes on an indictment and the foreperson and the prosecutor hand up the indictment to the judge, often what they do is you dont know the name of the person, but they have the initials of that person who is being indicted is read in open court. Today could be a lot different. We certainly have seen in for example in the maralago case in miami, where they did it behind the scenes, away from reporters who were watching every single court proceeding. So that could happen in this case as well. Wit we do know that the grand jury has left but the foreperson stayed behind. We have not seen that person leave the courthouse. So, that is one indication possibly that there is still more action to be taken by the foreperson on behalf of the grand jury and prosecutors in jack smiths office, jake. So obviously Law Enforcement has been preparing for this likelihood that he will be indicted for sometime. Right. Have you heard anything from Law Enforcement about any indications that they may have seen about possible threats that could come from whatever the grand jury has decided . Donald trump himself was issuing vague pronouncements that if he were sentenced to jail, there could be violence. Right. Exactly. And look, because of that, Law Enforcement has been looking very closely at all of those Online Platforms where some of the threats come from, jake. And so far everything indicates that they havent seen anything abnormal to indicate that there is an active threat to the courthouse. Now, when the former president if and when hes indicted, then he has the option to come to court and that would about he then to present additional possible threats. But at this point, Law Enforcement said that everything seems completely normal. They dont see any indication of people coming to washington at this point, jake. If he were to be indicted, donald trump, would we expect him to appear in person for the Arrest Arraignment and if so when might that happen . How soon after any indictment is handed up . Well we anticipate that that could happen as soon as later this week. It is certainly in the next couple of days. And here is the thing. This court allows for presentment for first aernst poo to be done over zoom. So he could do it remotely from his club in bedminster. However, we know that the former president , of course, is the kind who wants to show up in person, of course, as you know, jake, every one of these things have been used by him to do more fundraising. And so we know that one of the conversations that has happened already, between the Special Counsel and the former president s legal team is how they would do this. Theyve offered him the option of Doing A Zoom Presentment or first appearance, we anticipate, jake, that the former president will want to do this in person. Again, simply because that is how hes done all of the others. Evan, thank you so much. As mr. Trump huddles with his advisers for yet another potential indictment to be filed, this one by Special Counsel jack smith, Kristin Holmes is tracking this from bridgewater, new jersey, just down the road from trumps Bedminster Golf Club where donald trump is right now. Kristin, what are we hearing about how donald trump is planning to respond if an indictment does, in fact, come . Reporter yeah, jake, well his team is expecting an indictment. They feel like they are actually prepared for this. Theyve been waiting tor this since they got the Target Letter and something they have been putting together, their response. Were told that there are Paper Statements and videos and they plan to roll out surrogates all over conservative media to make the case for the former president. And last thursday, they expected, they believe that there was a potential indictment coming down. And then they were surprised by that maralago superseding indictment. That is not the case today. They do feel like they are prepared now, they do expect this to happen. And with dou know that donald trump has been having conversations with his closest allies on capitol hill since he received that Target Letter talking about how theyre going to defend him, to come to his defense when it comes to january 6. And it is interesting, talking to many of this advisers, they really believe that they have a playbook down on how to respond to these indictments. They believe that it starts with these Fundraising Emails and then it turns into videos, and in which trump is directly addressing voters. And they do think that it will lead to a spike in fundraising and poll numbers. But as we have reported, multiple times, even if these advisers believe the shortterm gain is there for a primary, there are still larger concerns about what these legal implications will mean for a general if donald trump is to be the nominee, and as you mentioned he is still leading in the polls, on whether or not he could actually go through a general election with all of these looming over him. So a lot of questions. But again, they do feel in this one particularly prepared. They have statements ready, ready to hit the airwaves to go to Donald Trumps defense. Kristin holmes in bridgewater, new jersey, thank you so much. Lets discuss. Kaitlan, let me start with you. So trump could face charges related to any number of a with the 2020 election. Ng to do there is the Pressure Campaign that he and his allies launched on Election Officials. The fake state elector plots and potential charges for inciting that riot on the capitol on january 6. I dont know how much you could read in the tea leaves in terms of those who he has interviewed and those he hasnt, which charges are the most likely that he will face. Well we know that they indicated some of them in the Target Letter. I think the question that trumps own orbit has, his attorneys and his political advisers, or is it bigger than that. Because they have looked aat a lot of different aspects, from fundraising to the fake electors to trumps mindset. So there is a big potential for a lot to come out of this. Conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding and that reconstruction era civil rights thing that they looked at that was referenced in the Target Letter. That is what theyre looking for. But i think how much bigger could it be . From the Target Letter, it was much bigger than we believe. So lauren, just to go through the Target Letter, it cites three statutes and you say the english version, there is the deprivation of rights, taking away voting, deef fraud the United States and tampering with the witness. What do you think in terms of what is likely . The last one is more expansive than it sounds like on the face. It calls for that but it could mean more than trying to persuade or corruptly influence a witness. It could mean more. But the big part of this all this, remember, that congress, the january 6 Committee Also recommended charges. Recommending ones in buckets including conspiracy, including obstruction. The Target Letter is a courtesy. I dont mean like it is a friendly thing to receive. But it is a courtesy. It is not required that as a prosecutor you give this to someone. And so you need not give them all of the information that theyre looking at. You ultimately, if they are indicted, have to give them anything that is exculpatory, means what tends to show your innocent. But this is a place holder. Youre on notice, due process requires that you be on some kind of notice and an opportunity to be heard he. And i would expect given the amount of time since the january 6 recommendations, that there has been a lot of time that has transpired. There has been investigations. They had dozens and dozens of people who were on the record mostly republicans they point out in their report, who were on the record testifying. Since that time, what else has jack smith and his team uncovered . Theyve got a criminal jury subpoena power. They dont have the same sort of hurdles that a congressional subpoena would say. Thank you if you could send me to jail, you could kick rocks. They have the power at the doj. So you have a lot more that i would expect to see to buttress what weve already seen from january 6. So, jamie gangel, deprivation of rights. That is about an attempt of taking away the Voting Rights of individuals. Lets talk about the trump Pressure Campaign on state Election Officials in that context. To nullify peoples vote who voted legally and cleanly and fairly for his rival joe biden. Perhaps this is best illustrated in his infamous phone call with the secretary of state of georgia which biden won very narrowly, with brad raffensperger, when trump asked him to find enough votes to flip georgia from biden to trump. Take a listen. So, look, all i want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes. Which is one more than we have. Because we won the state. Do you see this as one of the strongest bits of evidence against donald trump, at least that we know of. There is no question that that phone call is very impressive in the worst sense. You see him there, you hear him there, and when you hear Donald Trumps voice saying that, there is no denying it either. So that is true. I also spoke to several former very senior justice sources who said that we should expect this likely indictment, if it comes, to be what one said, the mother of all speaking indictments. They said, expect it to be very long, a lot of detail, they said to also look at what else might be named. Are there coconspirators, unnamed and what if any role does mark meadows play in this . There has been some talk that hes been cooperating. But the main thing that they say about this indictment is that it will be overwhelming evidence plus. It was the quote. Because this is the former president. And kaitlan, one of the arguments laura was just making was that as strong as the january 6 Committee Hearing was, there were individuals that they were not able to get to testify. Such as Vice President mike pence. Such as some of the white house aides like dan scavino and others. Individuals who did testify before the Special Counsel because the Special Counsel had more ability to force them to do so. What might we learn. They viewed it completely differently. If you talk to people in trumps orbit, pence fought it on different grounds and he still had to go and talk to them and that is where he felt the Pressure Campaign and that is what theyre looking for. The Congressional Committee report is very kind of laid a road map for what weve seen jack smith do. Absolutely. And in a remarkable way and in a way that it was reported that the Justice Department really lagged on a lot of investigations into things like the fake elocectors and then january 6 hearings started coming out. But remember they wouldnt give everything to doj. They were not handing everything over. Until they were done. Until they were done. Which is something that youll hear doj prosecutors talk about. But in the sense of what they could be looking for, i think theyre looking for quotes from Vice President mike pence, what is he detailing in there, what are other scenes that are potentially included in the indictment that we did not know about from the january 6 Congressional Committee. And jamie, the investigation theoretically could go back to before the election because donald trump was paving the way, he was setting the table to challenge his pending loss of which we kind of all saw coming, by going after paper ballots and mailin ballots. Which his campaign was saying please dont bad mouth paper ballots. It was in the throes of covid and we need to vote by mail and he set the taj for blaming fraudulent paper ballots, which there is no evidence that there was enough of that to turn the election in any state. But take a listen. I dont want to see a crooked election. This is the most rigged election in history. They know it is going to be fraudulent. It is going to be fraud all over the place. Ive been explained very strongly about the ballots an the ballots are a disaster. We saw this coming a mile away. This is a critical point. Not just the ballots, but the fact that as the january 6 Committee Said over and over, that is premeditated. He was setting it up because his pollsters had told him, you know, youre not going to win. And so what do you do if youre not going to win . You have to say the election is a fraud. And then there is Something Else we havent talked about for a while. But remember he came out Election Night early and he wanted them to stop counting. Stop counting, right. The ballots. So this was all potentially a setup for then what came afterwards. Everyone stick around. Coming up, trumps legal fight is dominating the 2024 president ial campaign trail. Including how much donor money is going toward paying for Donald Trumps legal fees. That is ahead. Now is the time to partner with our expeperts. 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In our politics lead, were in the midst of a historic moment. Were waiting to learn whether a Special Grand Jury here in washington, d. C. Has returned an indictment against donald trump. This would stem from Special Counsel jack smiths investigation into trumps c con conduct before and during the election. So, what do republican voter make of this and trumpsrowing legal issues. 13 of republicans now say that they believe trump committed crimes and yet they still support him. That is according to a new New York Times Siena College poll. The share of republicans who believe donald trump has committed crimes has gone up slightly from 10 in september 2022, to 13 in july. But does that matter . Well, it doesnt seem to matter in terms of where his overall horse race number is which is in the dominant position in this race. I would note, while talking about the republican Nomination Race, youre wisely looking at numbers among republicans. That question, if you look at it among registered voters overall, a majority of the country said in that poll that he committed serious crimes, and that he threatened democracy. And this is Donald Trumps problem. I realize hes tied with joe biden, were a polarized nation and hes in a dead heat race overall but this is the problem for donald trump. What doesnt seem to be a problem for him in the Nomination Race may prove to be a problem in the general election. It is because not just the majority of voters that think that he tried to undermine democracy, but it is independent voters who will be important swing voters. S. E. , one republican votetold the new york i think mmitted crimes and done , has terrible things but hes also done a lot of good. I dont like trump but i like the democrats a lot less, unquote. As trumps gop rivals all trail him in the republican race, by at least 37 in the latest New York Times poll. What should his rivals take awe from this, do you think . I mean, the reminder is constant that donald trump is a cause. Paul beghala will not enjoy this comparison but this reminds me of Hillary Versus Bernie in 2016 when i was saying Hillary Clinton is a corporation, Bernie Sanders is a cause. And that is why so much of the passion from voters was with bernie. Now she obviously ended up clinching the nomination. But this is very much the same kind of thing for trump and trump v de santis. Desantis feels like a corporation and donald trump is a cause to a lot of republican voters. So what he did or didnt do and what he may be indicted for is so beyond the point for so many of his voters. Because they would literally, die for him. And paul, there is a new warning sign for democrats in President Biden is neckandneck dond trump in this possible rematch. 43 to 43 . What is going on here . Well there is some good news for biden. Hes solidifying his place with democrats. Hes improved his position with democrats but hes style tied, youre exactly right, a lot of other National Polls have biden up by maybe two to four points. That is margin of error, so lets call it a tie race. So with trump there is almost nothing keeping him from the republican nomination and with that nomination having 43 of the national vote. He got 47 in the last election. And there seems to be nothing but the climb for trump to 50 is far steeper than biden climb from the same 43 to 50. Because in the New York Times poll, people who hate them both disapprove of them both, biden is winning them. He won them handily last time and he has to win again this time. It is going to be an unlovely election that is for sure. And the trump Fundraising Committee has brought in 53 million in the first three months of the year and his Political Action committees have spent much more on legal fees. That is a considerable amount. And this is Astonnishing Development to continue to watch. Because this is a bit of a crunch financially for donald trump because he has to take or he doesnt have to, but chosen to take the money from grassroots donors and apply that to his legal bills rather than on the work of the campaign. This shows how linked his legal and political lives are at this moment. In fact, one of his committees asked for a 60 million refund from another. It was initially a transfer to a superpac to put saads and air a now theyve spent money on legal bills and he has more coming down the pike. And s. E. , listen how Chris Christie reacted to the news of trumps spending on legal bills. This guy is a billionaire, and how about you go down the street, maybe just tell trump tour and pay for his legal fees or sell the plane. You could do that. Or one of the golf courses. But instead hes taking 25, 50, 100, from every Day Americans who believe theyre giving it to him to help elect him president. And s. E. , that is true but one could argue many of the small donors dont care or know exactly that the money is going to help pay the legal bills for trump and his officials. Again, hes a cause. He is something to believe in. And dont tell their lying eyes anything differently. So, you know, hes been willing to bilk his own voters, but also the republican party, right. He used rnc money for his legal bills. So, he doesnt want to spend his own money. That is clear. Hes happy to spend yours even if it is not what you think it should be going toward. Doesnt the fact that joe biden is neckandneck with this guy who has these unprecedented charges against him really undermine a fundamental weakness of joe biden . No, it is showing that i disagree with s. E. Donald trump is not a cause. Hes a result of personality. That is a big difference. Bernie is a cause. And it is not fair to compare bernie and trump. He was about National Health care and taxing and issues and ideas an a cause. For a time trump was a cause. You talk about the wall and expelling muslims and stuff that i didnt agree with. But now it is simply a cult of personality. An and he solidified an iron grip on one of the two great parties in america. It means any democrat is going to cede 43 of the vote to the republicans. The if the fact that the republicans have rallied around the cult of personality, Chris Christie is in it for himself than for you. But there are a lot of independents, 14 in this poll who havent chosen between biden and trump. I think biden could make that case to them far better than trump. Thank you everyone, appreciate it. Coming up, the gilgo beach Serial Killer appears in court as they hand over 2500 pages of documents seized in the investigation. That story is next. Am i . Yaya save up to 500 on the new sleep number® s smart bed. Plus, free Home Delivery when yoyou add an adjustable base. Shop now only at sleep number®. 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Thats what i thought. Introducing the next generation 10g network. Only from xfinity. In our Law And Justice lead, Rex Heuermann, T Alleged Gilgo Beach Serial Killer is back in court. His first appearance since being charged with murdering three women and being labelled the suspect in a fourth victim. Brin is outside of the courthouse in riverhead new york where hes made his appearance. Tell us what happened in court. Reporter it was a short hearing for discovery. He was there wearing a khaki pants and a suit jacket and handcuffed. He didnt say anything to the judge just spoke to his attorney when they had a little bit of a conversation. But this again was just handing over discovery, handing over evidence in the next process of this case and athe District Attorney here describing it as a tremendous amount of evidence. It includes 2500 pages of evidence that theyve checked at numerous locations including Crime Scene Photos and autopsy and dna reports from the medical Examiners Office as well as Surveillance Video of not just him but one of the motels allegedly of where one of the victims visited Rex Heuermann according to the District Attorney. I want to hear from District Attorneys and Rex Heuermanns attorney who spoke after this hearing. This as 13year case so as you saw, we have a great deal of of information, evidence, photographs, reports to provide to the defense counsel. Weve gun that process. At this point in time, i cant tell you what defects, if any, are in in think of their evidence because i havent seen it yet. What has your client told me. He told me he didnt do this. Reporter michael brown, his attorney said his met with his client several times while Rex Heuermann remains behind bars maintaining that he didnt do this and he will add more staff just to go through all of the evidence in the next court date is going to be in about next month, jake. And brin, his estranged wife, soon to be exwife, told the New York Post that investigators left her long island home a wreck in her view, as they looked for evidence. How is Rex Heuermanns family handling this shocking news . Yeah, well just that. She said shes still somewhat in shock. She and her two children that she shared are Rex Heuermann have been visiting the home and have been trying to get their life back together to some sort of normalcy and piecing together what investigators took and didnt take and she said to the New York Post, this is all ive got is this house. So it does seem that she has somewhat distanced herself from her husband in that she hasnt visited him in jail but they have been communicating. But she is someone that investigators are continuing to talk to as they continue this process and this investigation. Brin in riverhead, new york, thank you so much. Joining us to discuss, joey jackson. So the judge issued a protective order which would prohibit the release of copies of the evidence in this case. Is that normal . It is quite normal, jakem because you want to protect any potential witnesses or anybody else. The fact is that attorneys need to evaluate the discovery, it is the essence of the case. What does that discovery say . That is the information provided by prosecutors which they believe prosecutors would establish the defendants guilt but that information needs to beproekted it. It needs to be integrity and no one should be intimidated or threatens or should be approached or contacted by anyone related to the defense to evaluate and over see that information to ensure and understand that it needs to be in theyre care so there are no issues moving forward respect to the destin tim dating or reaching out to anyone. So the prosecutors are talking a big game here. Theyre talking about how many pages of evidence they have, how much do you take their claims at face value versus how much do you think this might not necessarily be the slam dunk that theyre suggesting it might be . So, early to tell. And that is the whole essence of discovery. Right. You could have a Press Conference as they have. You could have voluminous information within a dom which was their bail application. 32 pages noting Try Ang Lations of cell phones and data to identify him as we look at the victims of the case. At allegedly his hands noting all types of information which pinpoint him. Now it is incumbent to assemble a team to evaluate everything to assemble experts to look at dna and establish whether or not there is a connection to look at hair fibers and any shred of evidence, to look at any witnesses who identified not to the actual killings, of course, but giving information about the defendant. What is their credibility like. What is their veracity like. So there is a lot of challenges and before that discovery is turned over and looked at in all details and before experts eva evaluate everything, it is too earl early to say this is a slam dunk case. This is up to a careful assessment of the evidence to determine whether or not that suggestion by the prosecution is actually valid, credible and true. Joey, what kind of arguments do you think his defense should be making . Im sorry, jake. What kind of what kind of arguments do you think his defense team should be making . I think theyre going to make a whole assortment of arguments. First is let me have the discovery and let me have all of it. Once they do that, theyll have any motions to challenge any evidence. Although we may hear about evidence in public, it doesnt mean they wouldnt preclude the evidence so it never sees light of day and they will argue about Expert Testimony and science and look at dna and say it may be dna but perhaps it is not his or a valid reason as to why it is there. There is a assortment of arguments to challenge the evidence to show it was not their client who did this. Were aways away from that and this will develop and well learn more as it goes forward. Thank you, joe. Just in cnn, an update on a different 2020 related investigation, the Michigan Attorney general has brought criminal charges against two prominent republicans officer their aedge willed roles in the plot to access and seize Voting Machines across the state of michigan. Lets go Jessica Schneider who is covering this for us. Who are the defendants in this case. Weve been tracking the developments out of michigan and the two defendants most recently caught up in being charged with these plots as part of what the plots to overturn the 2020 election, the latest charges coming against two prominent republicans in the state of michigan. One of them matthew deperno, the second a former state representative. They have both been arrested and charged in michigan and theyre facing charges stemming from their alleged efforts to seize and then access Voting Machines. Now remember back in 2020 there were all of the claims from donald trump that the votes were rigged and in detroit and that also Voting Machines if rural parts michigan were manipulated. None of those claims turned out to be true. But as part of the effort, allies of donald trump in michigan, they attempted to seize and then access various Voting Machines throughout the state. Because of that, investigations have been ob ongoing. This particular Investigation Con conducted by a Special Prosecutor because of Conflict Of Interest from the Attorney General and two of the prominent republicans have been charged. This is a Special Prosecutor d. J. Hillson and we got a release from the Prosecutors Office saying that this is not the end of the investigation. That we should be potentially expecting more charges. Because it wasnt just these two defendants involved. There were numerous republican allies involved in this alleged plot. Notably here, this is the second time weve seen prominent republicans in michigan charged in just a matter of weeks. I was up in lansing, michigan, just about two weeks ago when we saw 16 republicans who were charged in this fake electors plot. They had tried to submit those fake certificates saying that donald trump had won the state of michigan. When, of course, it was joe biden who had won. So the Attorney General in the tate dana nestle, shes been moving full force to prosecute these crimes. She prosecuted the 16 republicans that are due in court later this month and then today we learn that the special prosecuto prosecutor, d. J. Hillson, has brought the two charges again the prominent republicans. And jake, this Special Prosecutor is say this is not the end. Isnt over. The investigation is continuing and we should see more charges. But a lot unfolding in michigan all around january 6 and the attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Specially with the fake electors. Who are we hearing any reaction from the two charged today. Matthew deperno. He ran against the Attorney General dana nestle, losing. But of course he was backed prominently by former President Trump. His attorney has issued a lengthy statement denying any w wrongdoing and they denied any wrongdoing and asserts that these charges are unfounded and lack merit and he continues to say that he looks forward to the date when his innocence will be demonstrated in a court of law. So coming out full throated on his innocence here. But, you know, this is not the end likely in these charges, the Special Prosecutor is continuing this. So we could see more charges in the days and weeks to come, jake. So there was a different District Attorney who began the investigation. But that District Attorney bowed out. Do we know why . It was the Attorney General of the state dana nestle. She began the investigation into the fake electors plot, but then she realized that there was a likely Conflict Of Interest because one of the people charged today, Matthew Depe Rno and d. J. Hillson has been working on this since the beginning of the year and coming out two with multiple kachars against two defendants. 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Cnns Kristin Holmes is tracking this from bridgewater, new jersey, from the former president who is at his Bedminster Golf Club. We dont know where he got this information but what exactly is he claiming . Okay, Kristin Holmes, a sound problem. We have there with kristin. But lets talk about this. Because what donald trump has written, panel, he says, i hear that deranged jack smith, that is the special council and deranged is not his name. In order to interfere with the president s election of 2024 will be putting out yet another fake indictment of your favorite president , me, at 5 00 p. M. Why didnt they do this 2. 5 years ago . Why did they wait so long . Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial misconduct. Okay. You were a former prosecutor. Why didnt they do a 2. 5 years ago . Well first of all, they dont have work on his time line. They could work on time line of the evidence that lends itself to. So this notion that they are supposedly considering the political calendar is what the doj tried to guard fully against. Also, when you talk about before, they didnt have all of information. The fact that the january 6 committee had really the monopoly on a lot of the data points and the information they had been trying to get it from the january 6 committee, they had been waiting for that to actually occur. They did have it. They could take the amount of time necessary until the statute of limitations period runs. That is the clock that doj looks at. You dont want to until the last minute. And why . Because if youre talking about fairness to a defendant but from the prosecutors selfish standpoint. Memories fade. People could be who were cooperate are no longer cooperative. Grudges and axes to grind could continue. You want to be as efficient as you could be without compromise anything. And finely you have to be able to see where the evident leads you. Some things involve subpoena, getting information back. And having followups. Having discussions about what else is happening. So a lot of things take place. This is really predictable of trump. We should note, why didnt it take place 2. 5 years ago. Any number of people who are still were fighting, cooperating with the Special Counsel. Negative, question. Some of this had to play out in the courts. I spoke to a senior justice official who said to me eight months is actually a Land Speed Record for a case thats as complicated as this. They looked at it as if, you know, he was going as fast as he could. There are a lot of moving parts. Who is cooperating to your point, getting people to cooperate. The January 6th Committee did give the Justice Department a road map. They did give them a running start. Just remember, they interviewed more than a thousand witnesses, but they also held back that information for a while. So the Justice Department had to start when they could start. Kaitlan, go ahead. Also, two and a half years ago would have been i believe a month after january 6th happened. Right. I dont think anyone would have brought charges against a sitting president who just left office a month before with only one month of investigation, of investigative work done. Obviously they do take time. There was a lot of extensive reporting including the Washington Post that the doj was a little slow at getting into this, not just because of the January 6th Committee, but also because there was this concern of a perception of going after and investigating a former president , something that Attorney General garland did not take lightly and neither did fbi director chris wray and others and how they looked at the people who actually broke into the capital before they looked into the fake elector scheme, the fundraising, and Everything Else here. Trump is claiming this is coming in nine minutes. Its not clear to us. I should note that he has been notified that he has been indicted. Our sense is this could be looking at press speculation. His team, weve been talking to them. Theyve been waiting to see if this is actually going to happen. Theyve been bracing for it. They dont know that it will be nine minutes. But theyre waiting for it to happen any moment now. If this were just about january 6th as the date, maybe the timeline that he is trying to put forth might make sense to someone. Not me. But this is about what happened leading up to january 6th, not just what was 187 minutes of dereliction of duty as they outlined in terms of what he was not doing while a mob was attacking the capitol. It goes back to the preparation leading up to the election. Various states have been implicated. Data points from all the different entities, et cetera. Youve got so much more here than just that actual date, which was bad enough to build that case. It takes time. And i repeat again, the department of justice is not beholden to the pleasure and schedule of a potential defendant. You know this as a former prosecutor and also as a journalist, but those of us who cover any kinds of trials, whether any alleged crime, it takes time. You have to talk to witnesses. You to get your facts straight. And you cant, as omar said on the wire, if you come for the king, you best not miss. If youre going make a criminal complaint against a former president , it better be rock solid. That was a critical point here. How many people thought in the beginning there was all this speculation that Attorney General Merrick Garland was not going to do this, that it was too high a bar, even though he then famously came out and said no one is above the law. But exactly to your point, jake, they wanted to make sure this case was beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the former president. This is donald trump, who does not behave like most former president s. Yeah. We continue to await word from the Justice Department on whether the d. C. Grand jury hearing the 2020 Election Interference Case has taken any action on an indictment. Were waiting to hear whether donald trump is right when he says that Special Counsel jack smith is planning a Press Statement in minutes. Well have latest from our team of correspondents, just ahead. Stay with us. The chase Ink Business Premier Card is made for people like sam, who make everyday products, designed smarter. Like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. Oh, genius for more breakthroughs like that i need a breakthrough card. Like ours with 2. 5 cash back on purchases of 5,000 or more. Plus unlimited 2 cash back on all other purchases. And with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas a brilliant reality the Ink Business Premier Card from chase for business. Make more of whats yours. Beautiful. You see how the light catches the hubcap . Stunning. You sure you dont want your family in the family photos . They helped us save money when we bundled, so. Yeah. Same difference. Okay. This ones going on the mantle. Your Shipping Manager left to find themself. leaving you lost. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com hire our ears connect us to the moments that matter. Give them the nutrients they need with lipo. Its formulated with ingredients clinically shown to protect your ears from dizziness, ear ringing, and even hearing loss. Never miss a moment with lipo flavonoid. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. We could soon learn any minute right now whether former President Donald Trump and his top allies Face Criminal Charges from a Federal Grand Jury who has been investigating their efforts to try to overturn the 202010 election, which of course led up to the deadly january 6th capitol insurrection. Just momen ago, donald trump adding to the speculation that an indictment could be imminent in a post on his social media count. Quote, i hear that deranged jack smith in order to interfere with the president ial election of 2024 will be putting out another fake indictment of your favorite president , me, at 5 p. M. If that does come to pass, this would mark the third criminal indictment in addition to superseding indictment filed by Special Counsel jack smith last week. Against donald trump twice arrested, twice impeached former president of the United States. Currently the dominant frontrunner for the republican president ial nomination. Were going to begin with cnn Legal Correspondent paula reid who is tracking all the latest developments. And paula, its unclear when or if the Federal Grand Jury has even voted on whether or not they want to indict donald trump. What do we know about how and when we might find out . Heres what we know, jake. We know the grand jury that has been Hearing Evidence in the Special Counsels investigation into january 6th. They were in building earlier today for several hours, and then they left, except for the grand jury foreperson. And that is significant because that is the only member of the grand jury that is required to return an indictment. But as you said, at this point, it is unclear if they have voted to indict the former president or any of his associates. Right now we have reporters in the Court Watching to see any sign of