up to what we already knew. he lived like the rich and famous and on the dime of actual billionaires, who had business before the court. i'm dana bash. let's go behind the headlines and "inside politics." we start with that breaking news out of fulton county, georgia. donald trump formally entered a plea of not guilty. that happened minutes ago. he did it in a new court filing. it means we won't see him inside an actual courtroom next week on september 6th, when some of trump's co-defendants are expected to be arraigned. let's go to zach ko hadn't. what exactly did the former president file? >> reporter: donald trump pleading not guilty in this case. it takes some perspective. this is the fourth time donald trump has entered a not guilty plea in response to criminal charges since he's left office a couple years ago. that's pretty remarkable. he's charged with trying to overturn the presidential election. it remains to be seen how this might impact a trial. there's still a lot of moving pieces, but the d.a. stands by her position that she wants to try donald trump in the 18 other co-defendants altogether. trump is one of a handful that have entered a not guilty plea so far, but we expect there will be more to come and it remains to be seen if fani willis will be able to try all 19 together at some point. >> thank you so much for that reporting. appreciate it. joining our conversation is sara murray, katelyn polantz, and form er georgia prosecutor chri timmons. i'll start with you, chris. what is your take on why the former president chose this route this time? >> sure. waiver is the most traditional way that an arraigned is going to go. you're not going to waste an attorney's time. the alternative is what's re referred to as formal arraignment. i thought that former president trump might try to do formal arraignment, and that's the situation where the judge or the assistant district attorney reads the entire indictment into the record, and at the end of it, the defendant enters the plea and says not guilty. so here what benefit is he could have come in, had the indictment read, and then made a very dramatic statement of not guilty, perhaps leaning forward like he did in his mug shot. however, this is a 96-page indictment. so the former president would have had to sit there for almost two hours before he could have that dramatic moment and probably all the cameras are turn ed away. so there's no dramatic moment here unless you're hanging out for two hours listening to somebody read. >> that might be true. sara, you have covered donald trump for had many years now. and it's the drama. it's a bit surprising he is foregoing that drama. he has to sit in the courtroom for an hour and a half, but he understands the spectacle he creates because he's done it twice in the four cases he's had to deal with. he believes it's helping him in the short-term. >> i think he realized it's not all that fun to go to court. so he's gotten the drama of showing up in georgia to participate in his arrest torks get the mug shot that he's repurposed in a number of ways to make money off of. he's also been complaining that all the time he has to spend in a courtroom takes away from his ability to campaign and to holds the events he wants to hold, which are these big rallies where his supporters have gathered to cheer his name. if given the opportunity to perhaps be on the road and hold another rally versus sitting in the courtroom for a better part of the day with a number of other co-defendants, he decided to skip it this time. >> that sounds very logical. >> this usually in federal court, they bundle it altogether. it's actually the bond agreement and the discussion of the release conditions. and the arrest. that's what we saw last week happen in georgia at the jail. sara was at the jail. we saw all of this play out day by day. so the not guilty part is a formality at this point, which is why it's being done on paper. the thing this does now that does make court exciting is that now that everybody gets their initial pleadings of not guilty locked in, this is when people start making choices. do they plead guilty. we keep talking about this case as having 19 defendants. all these people are not going to go in the same direction. may they all go to trial, but the likelihood is not how the criminal justice system functions. >> there's something else we want to talk about and that is rudy giuliani is now join ing te likes of alex jones. in the eyes of the law, they are liars who defamed innocent people. the judge said that the former new york city mayor should have known better when he tried to take a shortcut around his legal obligations and around the truth. it may cost him millions. >> our expectation is we'll be able to prove tens of millions of dollars in compensatory damages. >> tens of millions? >> you heard me correctly. >> giuliani made the choice to not comeply, and the lawsuit filed by two georgia election workers. and now he finds himself sanctioned, liable for those lies. how will the judge wrote off the legal excuses of having more holes than swiss cheese. that's 50 years in litigation should have taught him that lip service will never satisfy a court of law. former federal prosecutor shan wu joins the table as well. shan, what do you make of this decision by the judge when it comes to a civil case going on in georgia for these two women who were very much defamed and theirs were turned upside down. they described it in real detail when they were testifying before the january 6th committee. >> it's not itoo surprising tha the judge saw through this. he made an odd legal move. he smithed this pleading and called it pleading that there's no contest. and he basically admitted that what he said was false, but he wanted to say he had a right to say it with the first amendment. so that's a textbook case of defamation that you know you're saying something false, and yet you strongly assert you have the right to say it. it's not like it was by accident. so that's really going to hurt him on the damages issue compensatory is hard to figure that out. but the punitive, he's looking at a world of hurt there because the judge is going to be mad. >> chris timmons, you're down in georgia where all of this occurred. what's your take on what the judge said to giuliani yesterday? >> the funny thing is i'm a former prosecutor, but current civil litigator here in georgia. so what the judge basically said if you fail to obey the discovery yule rules, there's going to be a sanction and that means your answer is going to be struck. so what happens at that point, we're down to one issue. no longer liability, but rather how damaged were these poll workers. so to figure out what those amounts are. but that's of the highest sanction you can get in a civil litigation is to have your answer struck. so that's a very big deal. >> you want to turn to something that donald trump said on the glen beck radio show. he was talking about the notion of when or if he becomes president again how he will deal with his political opponents. >> you said in 2016, lock her up. when you became president, you said we don't do that in america. that's not the right thing to do. that's what they are doing. do you regret not locking her up? and if you're president again, will you lock people up? >> the answer is you have no choice because they are doing it to us. >> this is not surprising coming from donald trump. he felt like even when he was the president that the attorney general should essentially be his personal attorney and the justice department should act on whatever whim he wanted them to. we have seen trump's lawyer gos to court and say this is joe biden coming after donald trump, even though the prosecutors in this case are special counsels who are are appointed separately, or local prosecutors who are not reporting up to joe biden. so i think in some ways, while it's a learning rhetoric, it's the same stuff he was saying last time. >> as they are all saying, weaponization of the justice system. they are all complaining about this. there's different parts of the justice system. there's the justice department and the prosecutors that charge cases, but then there's the court system. it's separate from the presidency, the executive branch, the justice system and so all of these cases have to go through judges. that's a really important part of the step. >> such an important point. thank you so much for the basics on checks and balances. appreciate it. coming up, mitch mcconnell freezes, again, while speaking to reporters. we have new reporting on that, next. don't let student loan det hold you back. refi at t sofi.com. you could save thousands and get to your goals faster. sofi. . get your money right. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. ma, ma, ma— ( clears throat ) for fast sore throat relief, try vicks vapocool drops. with two times more menthol per drop, and powerful vicks vapors to vaporize sore throat pain. vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain. more shopping? you should watch your spending honey. i'm saving with liberty mutual, mom. they customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. check it out, you could save $700 dollars just by switching. ooooh, i'll look into that. let me put a reminder on my phone. save $700 dollars. pick up dad from airport? ohhhhhh. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ - [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020. allies of mitch mcconnell are doing damage control today racing to reassure colleagues he can still do his job. for the second time in two months, the 81-year-old froze in front of reporters while answering questions. aids say he was light haeaded ad dehydrated. here's the entire exchange from yesterday in kentucky. >> what are my thoughts about what? >> running for reelection in 2026? >> did you hear the question, senator? running for reelection in 2026? >> all right, i'm sorry, we're going to need a minute . >> somebody else have a question? please speak up. >> what efforts on the campaign trail to win kentuckiens over? >> senator daniel cameron. >> i think the race is going to be very close. far and away the best candidate we could have norminated. i'm optimistic that daniel will be the next governor of kentucky. >> cnn's manu raju joining us from capitol hill. you have been working your sources. what are you hearing from the senator's fellow republicans? >> reporter: he has been on the phone with those republican allies since this episode yesterday. senator mcconnell call ing up john thune and john cornyn. two of them could be part of a leadership race to succeed senator mcconnell. both of them indicating through their offices that senator mcconnell sounded fine he sounded like his usual self. he was calling other members as he headed off to a fundraiser in the afternoon with congressman banks. all accounts from that meeting was that that went normal. and mitch mcconnell did not address the underlying cause of that moment where he froze up for the second time in a as many months. there's still questions about what that underlying cause is. his office said he consulted a doctor before the banks event, but no word on what the diagnosis from the physician was from that visit. it all comes as questions continue to persist about mcconnell's own political future. he indicated he will continue to serve as leader as he has for the past 16 years for the ekd end of next year, but what will happen with the current congress? will he serve as lead er in the new congress? talking to republicans, there's a growing doubt that senator mcconnell will continue to stay as leader in this coming congress, which could open up the first contested leadership fight for this very important position. the first time since 2007. so a lot of questions here and one big question is what was the reason for the freeze up. mcconnell's office not saying why that happened. >> very, very key question that is unanswered. thank you so much for that reporting. let's bring in our panel. melanie so zanona and jonah. >> i don't see how this is sustainable beyond the immmediu term. short-term, i don't think anyone is coming for him. as a conservative, i worry about losing mitch mcconnell in the senate because he's one of the last institutionalists. you can disagree with him about all sorts of things, but he wanted to have the job he has. and at the same time, what i keep thinking about is i'm saying joe biden is too old to run. we have seen with all sorts of things like me too, where a standard that applies to one politician becomes a problem for the other party because they don't realize it could blow back on them. a lot of people locked into positions about dianne feinstein being too old, and now mitch mcconnell gets included. you can see this metastasizing about arguments on finding a replacement for joe biden. if mitch mcconnell's came from having a fall, joe biden is one fall away from having similar problems. that's how i see it. >> all very interesting points, particularly the notion that we still don't know what happened. and it could be just because he's 81. but it also could be because he fell and suffered a concussion. and scott jennings, who is our colleague here at cnn, very close with mitch mcconnell. he was on cnn earlier today. i think he was one of the first people i heard talk about how these moments are likely relate ed to his concussion. >> since he had his concussion, there's been some moments where his hearing has not been quite as good as it used to be. i can personally aat the banks event, he had no trouble hearing or speaking or telling everybody how focused he is on winning back the senate majority. it was like nothing had happened. >> melanie, you're up there on capitol hill when they are in session. you're interacting with mitch mcconnell as much as he interacts with reporters. he definitely is having more trouble hearing, but this obviously was more than that. >> it is noticeable in recent months. we have noticed him just walking a little slower. he's been hard of hearing. he has trouble hearing questions from reporters. obviously, the freezing episodes are very alarming. they are playing out in front of cameras. it mauks you wonder how often is this happening behind the cameras. his aids when they come to his side seem to not be totally phased by it, as if it might have happened before. i think politically, jonah is right. in the short-term, he's fine. no republicans are calling for him to step down. but it's a different question when his term as leader is up is whether he would have the support to run. and health challenges aside, he's facing the ire of trump world. he did face that in the last election. so i think there are a lot of questions about what he wants to do. >> a lot of questions in the transparency issue has come up in the past with other members. i remember we discussed that with senator fedor man during the campaign. we discussed it with feinstein. the question around what is happening behind the scenes and how is the standard status is something that's going to be asked moving forward. members of the public, we already see they are concerned about the president's age. they are concerned that their elected officials don't represent them based on various demographics. so when they see clips like this, it's hard to think that this really builds trust when it comes to the voter base knowing their elected officials represent them. >> let's put data underneath what you just said. the latest ap poll said that the question was should there be maximum age limit to run for congress? 68% said yes. that's two-thirds. >> i think age limits probably have a lot more political power than term limits do. you can see the case for it. the only way toos it is it has to be for both sides in a certain way. so it doesn't seem like you're going after one candidate or another candidate. the other problem with the messaging on this stuff, it's a problem for biden and mcconnell, there are lots of political issues that normal voters are not experts on and don't think they are experts on. almost everyobody has a member f their own family where they recognize these things. bernie sanders doesn't seem to have lost a step. they can see that. they can see in other politicians when they have. they don't need to be told or spun about this stuff becauses they know when they see it. >> it's not necessarily just younger people who have family members. there are people who are about the same age, who are looking at them saying do i vote for them and support them knowing what it going on in their own lives and their own bodies. >> it's not just about age. it's about health and whether you're fit to serve. and mitch mcconnell has been working behind the scenes to reassure everyone he's fit to serve. i think scott jennings coming out and saying he was totally sharp and fine after this incident was another way to try to reassure people that he is capable of doing his job. >> he went to an event afterwards after he consulted with a physician. he wanted to make clear, even in that clip, you can see his very stubborn, very determined mo come out because he didn't as to posed to the last time when members of the leadership team moved him from the microphone in the capitol. this time he said i'm going to stay. and he wanted to make clear he understood the question and could answer it, even though it was difficult. >> he did have an intention to stay. but this makes it even more of an important question of we don't know exactly what happened here. we don't know the full extent of the ramifications of his concussion. we learned that only after the fact that there were multiple other falls that occurred after that as well that we didn't see. this is where the transparency issue is very important. when there's a void of information, people will full it with their own assumptions. >> this was a headline in his hometown newspaper, and in it the columnist said after another freeze, mitch mcconnell needs to come clean about his health. >> there are going to be more calls for that kind of thing. and it's one of these things where how many more instances do you need before it just gels in a bad direction. i hope nothing but the best for much mitch, but it's so dependent on something you can't plan or schedule. it's dependent upon whether this happens again in public. and again, i think it's a cautionary tale for joe biden as well. if you saw the latest polls, two-thirds of democrats think he's too old and shouldn't run again. all you need is one event to change people's minds and optics. this is a small lesson in that. >> we do all wish him well and that should go without saying. thank you so much. standby. we're going to talk next about justice clarence thomas. he did disclose new trips paid for by a billionaire donor. so how many private jets did he fly on for free? 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undies closed travel reported earlier this year, the new document shows republican mega donor harlan crow paid for justice thomas' private flights and a luxury vacation in 2022. joan joins the panel. >> this is the first time that clarence thomas himself has disclosed anything about these trips. they were in news reports earlier, but this is clarence thomas saying that, yes, harlan crow paid for two trips to dallas and then also to his summer trip to resort in upstate new york. clarence thomas is acknowledge ing that and is going backwards to 2014 and saying that, yes, he had a financial relationship with a property deal with harlan crow for property that had been owned by thomas' family, that he want theed to put on record he hadn't before. >> so this this disclosure is against the back drop of a statement that the justice put out on april 7th. he said early in my tenure, i sought guidance from my colleagues and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable. now he's doing something different. >> there's bye-een a rule chang. kind of trips on a private jet or personal yacht should have already been recorded. but i want to just mention what thomas' lawyer said today in a statement that came with the filing. any errors had been inadvertent, and to reflect the atmosphere we're dealing in, he called it political blood sport to go after thomas relative to his financial disclosure filings. we know what this charged atmosphere is. despite the reality other justices had been reporting these personal hospitality travel and lodging. >> i thought that last aspect was fascinating. the defense in there and these disclosure forms, it shows just how polarized the highest court in this country has become at this point. already after a year of pivotal decisions that definitely stoked divisions in the country when you think of roe and other decisions as well. also multiple controversy surrounding justices. just the fact that you have clarence thomas who are is not exactly known for speaking publicly on these issues include that defense and these disclosures kind of shows the climate around the court. >> i think he's not only ba battling this erosion of public trust in general, but they are also battling an attempt from congress to try to reform their ethics code and two of the things that senate democrats put forward in their bill with the recusal. they are not required to recuse themselves. it's up to themselves. >> they are supposed to recuse if there's a potential conflict of interest or looks that way, but they don't have to give the reason. the congress in this bill, senate democrats i should say, have wanted that as one of the more stronger elements to counter the lack of transparent pit. >> i just want to add to that. we have a tweet this morning from a democratic senator, one of the people who is trying to put this legislation forward. he said, this late effort at cleanup on ailes 3 won't deter us from investigate ing the massive secret billionaire influence in which this court is amired. >> i'm going to be off the reservation of this and confess my conflicts. i know harlan crow. he's one of the most honorable people i know. i don't believe for a moment he tried to bribe or influence clarence thomas. i completely understand the appearance of ethical problems that clarence thomas got himself into, particularly with the real estate thing. all of that said, the fact that clarence thomas' lawyers said this is political blood sport doesn't mean it's not true. if you extend the metaphor of blood sport is covered in partisan blood, he is not ex exactly a straight shooter or honest broker in these kinds of things. there is a disdouble standard suns the supreme court has moved into a conservative majority to cover this stuff, to question legitimacy of the court that we did not see before and if done in previous eras, if this was a liberal majority, how dare you delegitimize the court. we hear that every other institution from the right. but when it happens from the left, when it happens, and there's been north mouse numbers of really terrible journalistic hit jobs on clarence thomas that don't get the attention because there is political blood sport here. but this idea that all the equities go against clarence thomas and against the court i don't think it's fair and right. >> let's put a little data on this is a poll from july about trust in supreme court justices. 43% said a great deal or fair amount. 50% said little or none. this is what you have been covering for awhile. >> i think there's a broader problem here that we should not lose sight of. the court does have transparency issues. the court has wanted to keep back information. even today g, both justices had every right to ask for a 90-day extension here. but these tend to come late. they tend to come with skimpy information. so as much as i can appreciate your 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(vo) the all-new subaru crosstrek wilderness. adventure on the edge. - [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020. talk differently. that's the advice from former president trump on one-time michigan republican gubernatorial candidate podcast earlier this week. he revealed that he told her to soften her message, but she admitted her campaign just couldn't and didn't pivot fast enough. >> you came to me and said, you got to talk differently about abortion. and we could not pivot in time. and it really -- you were absolutely right. i hope that you are able to navigate that issue in '24 and we can win those women back, because they are already putting out attack ads and it's not a fair issue for them to attack on. >> that's what happened to you. and that's what happened to a lot of other people. it didn't happen to me because there's a way of talking about it. >> our panel is back with me. wow. there's so much to unpack here. let's just start with the most important, which is what donald trump said about the way he talks about it. we know that he is resisting at every turn the conservative groups, trying to pressure him to embrace stricter restrictions, even a national ban on abortion. >> it's really fascinating to hear trump talking about this, giving someone else advice because it gives a window into his thinking as he's thinking about the 2024 campaign. he has not promised that ban in contrast to his rivals. and with know he's privately complained about the antiabortion movement and impacts that it had on the midterms. he didn't like he was getting blamed. but the republicans have struggled with their abortion message. they tried to run away from the issue entirely, and that didn't work. >> or in this case, i went to michigan and did a story on that gubernatorial race, the democrats, not just the sitting governor, but the outside groups really defined dixon and her position on abortion before she got a chance to do it. and then she added to the skepticism, particularly among women, who she lost in the election by saying things like this. >> i have been very clear about my position. i do not approve -- i am pro-life with exception for life of the mother. i talked to the people who were a child of a rape victim. and the bond that those two people made and the fact that out of that tragedy, there was healing through that baby. >> now she's saying she couldn't pivot fast enough, but that sounds like her policy position. it's not a political strategy. >> that's right. you were right about democrats at the time were seizing on moments exactly like that, talking to folk s around there. which is also interesting given the current president has openly said he's uncomfortable speaking about abortion rights and what have you. we'll see what that means for the strategy moving forward. but this is an issue that has democrats thinking they could potentially make gains in the state like north carolina as well and other states that proposed these restrictions. so i think it will once again resident i guess nat and be relevant. >> i agree with all that. the thing that strikes me about this podcast interview is the rt sort of implied ere of donald trump's strategic brilliance to tell her, look, you shouldn't talk about forcing rape victims to carry the child of the rapist. you can be pro life, but this is not like a special insight into the minds of voters. this is like really basic stuff. it's not donald trump's genius. she got way out there living in a bubble and thought this was the kind of thing that was going to work in the general election in michigan. it was idiotic. >> that's true. but it doesn't change the fact that this debate is still going on right now within the republican party as they vie for not just the presidential nomination, but all of these down ballot races. and you have the susan b. anthony group and others like it, i'll just read you part of the statement they put out after a referendum in ohio. everyone must take this threat seriously and recognize progressives will win if opponents are scared into submission by the left. so long as the republicans and their supporters take the ostrich strategy and bury their heads in the sand, they will lose again and again. so that is the pressure. this is campaign messaging, frankly, even as much as or more than the underlying policy. >> the right spent 50 years trying to get rid of roe. you could say you were anti-roe or pro life and there was no contradiction. after dobbs, all of a sudden, you have a federal society position, which says this is a state issue, which is what a lot of us said. then you have other people saying, no, the logic of this says it has to be a national thing. it turns out that few people on the right thought like how to drive once they caught the car. like we're going to do this and then we'll be ready. you saw all these state legislators getting ahead without thinking through what the politics were going to be. >> we didn't say this, but it goes without saying, the person who caught the car was donald trump. because he's the one that put the justices on the bench in the supreme court that allowed for roe to be overturned and now he doesn't want to talk about it. that was such an interesting discussion. i'm a little bit obsessed with this political issue. it's being hailed as the first step to easing marijuana restrictions. a new announcement out of the white house, next. together we provide nutrients to support immune, muscle, bone, and heart hehealth. yayaaay! woo hoo! ensure with 25 vitamins and mineralals and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ hi, we've both got a big birthday coming up. so we have a lot of questions about medicare plans. we've got a lot of answers! how can i help? well for starters, do you include hearing benefits? how about a plan with dental, vision and hearing 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(notification dings) in fact, more than 95% of enhance select premium customers report hearing better with their friends, family, and colleagues. with jabra enhance select, you can get the same advanced hearing aid technology and professional care you expect from a clinic at a fraction of the cost. for a limited time, get $300 off select hearing aid models. visit jabraenhance.com. trying vapes to quit smoking might feel like progress, but with 3x more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes - vapes increase cravings - trapping you in an endless craving loop. nicorette reduces cravings until they're gone for good. . now to a letter of recommendation with the potential to make federal law go up in smoke. cnn's arlette saenz is at the white house. walk us through what the health and human services department is asking for. >> reporter: yeah, dana. this is a significant recommendation when it comes to how marijuana is classified. with the health and human services suggesting to the drug enforcement administration that they lower it to a lower risk category. currently, marijuana is a scheduled 1 substance. that is a substance that is -- has a likelihood of high abuse. it has no medical use. it's on par right now with heroin and lsd. what hhs has recommended they move it to schedule 3 which can have some medical use and a less likely chance of abuse. things you can think about on the level 3 level, tylenol with codeine. this falls short of completely declassifying marijuana which would have made it legal on a federal level. that's something some activists have pushed for, as currently less than half of the states in the u.s. allow adult recreational use of marijuana. if this policy were to go forward, it's something that dea still has to fully decide on, it would go through a rule-making process as well, it could have significant implications when it comes to the economics around weed. think about those cannabis businesses across the country. this would potentially lower their federal taxes, and also make it easier for them to bake as well. this could be a potent political issue heading into the 2024 election, as marijuana has more frequently become common as you've seen the states, at least on the state level, allow it to occur, the use there. >> no question, arlette, there's clearly a disconnect particularly over the last couple years between what we're seeing on the state level and federal level, and, of course, this is an evolution for the president himself on this issue. arlette, thank you so much for that reporting. appreciate it. nice to see you. thank you for joining "inside politics." 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[music playing] let innovation refunds help with your erc tax refund so you can improve your business however you see fit. rosie used part of her refund to build an outdoor patio. clink! dr. marshall used part of his refund to give his practice a facelift. emily used part of her refund to buy... i run a wax museum. let innovation refunds help you get started on your erc tax refund. stop waiting. go to innovationrefunds.com you really got the brows. david: as we start a new school year, there's something new happening in california's public schools. they're called community schools. leslie: it really is shared leadership with families, students, educators, and communities. jessie: i feel like we're really valued as partners. david: it's a more innovative, holistic approach. grant: in addition to academic services, we look at serving the whole family. narrator: wellness centers, food pantries, and parental education. jessie: they're already making a difference. david: california's community schools: reimagining public education. pleading not guilty. donald trump enters his plea in the georgia election interference case, waiving his right to appear in person in court next week. and serious questions today about mitch mcconnell's health