Classified documents case against the former president trump, a new cooperation deal between jack smith and the i. T. Worker known as trump employee number four. What might this mean for the prosecutions case. Plus, a manhunt commands in pennsylvania for a convicted brutal killer. Two entire School Districts in the commonwealth have canceled classes as incredible new video is released showing just how that inmate escaped. Welcome to the lead, im jake tapper. Donald Trump On Trial moments ago, a critical hearing wrapped in the Fulton County, georgia, Election Subversion case against donald trump and defendants. Cameras were allowed in the courtroom. A first in any case against the former president. One of the biggest topics discussed, whether the 19 defendants in the case will be tried together or separately and when those trials might be held. The judge ruled from the bench that protrump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell will go to trial together on october 23rd but the judge has not yet decides whether the other 17 codefendants will be tried together or when their trial will take place. Keep in mind, this is just the georgia case. There are three other criminal cases against mr. Trump that also will be taking up time in his calendar and as we came on air today, some Breaking News about president bidens son hunter. A new court filing from the Special Counsel investigating hunter biden, david weiss said in that filing he intended to indict the president s Son On Federal Gun Charges by the end of the month. That reporting is just coming in. Well have more for you there in just a moment. Our coverage will start with evan perez. In terms of the schedule in the georgia case against donald trump and the other 18 defendants, prosecutors today laid out their ideal time line, what was it and how did the judge respond to it . It is an aggressive time line, jake. Theyre talking about going to trial for all 19 defendants and theyre talking about going to trial in october. They said this is going to be a fourmonth trial. Theyre talking about 150 Witn Witnesses potentially that they would have to put on. The judge immediately seemed to throw a little bit of cold water on this saying it just seemed he seemed skeptical that this is something they could pull off. There is a number of reasons why. One of them is the fact that mark meadows, one of the key defendants in this case, is asking for his case to be moved to Federal Court. And that motion that he is making, that request is still pending. A federal judge is still considering that. And that has a lot of potential implications for everyone else. Because if he moves meadows case to Federal Court, it is possible that he might have to move all 19 defendants. That is something that is obviously something that is pending. So the judge really had some skepticism about that. But, he also threw cold water on the idea that powell and chesebro get to just sever their cases and from the other defendants. The argument that both of them are making, well, we werent part of all parts of this conspiracy so therefore i shouldnt have to be tried together. And the judge said, well that is not how the law works. Georgia rico law, Racketeera Law requires that all of the defendants who were part of this conspiracy, even if they werent part of all of it, get to be tried, have to be tried together. An that is part of the function of jageorgia law. So the judge dismissed that request. It was a quick decision for the judge. One of the things that we heard about this judge is that he makes decisions have he quickly and you saw that before the cameras in state court. Something that if this case moves to Federal Court, were not going to be seeing. But again, for the purposes of today, what this does is it gives a lot of incentive to the other defendants that you saw already. A few of them, i believe four of them now, have made similar requests to sever their cases and separate then selves because they dont want to be tried as with the former president or with other defendants. So Sidney Powells lawyer today argued that she was not actually the Driving Force behind the breach of Voter Machines in Coffee County, georgia. So if she wasnt the Driving Force behind it, who are they suggesting is . Well part of what theyre saying is that she theyre disputing what the prosecutors in georgia are saying. And they produced the prosecutors have produced evidence that they say shows that her Legal Organization was really the Driving Force. They hired consultants to try to get access to Voting Machines in georgia. Of course cnn reporting from our Zachary Cohen has shown this is a something that went beyond michigan. It went to Coffee County and other parts in other states as well. And she is saying you cant put this all on her. But we know from some of our own reporting that all of this ties back to former president and at the white house. We know that back in december, this issue, this idea of getting access to Voting Machines came up at that one meeting in december where Sidney Powell was present and where everyone was talking about getting access to Voting Machines. Evan perez, thank you so much. Lets talk about it more with cnns elie honig and karen freedman. You think that todays hearing was a bad day for the prosecutors, a bad day for District Attorney fani williss office, why. On balance. The good news is she won the motion to keep chesebro and Sidney Powell together. That is one trial that she doesnt have to try separately. But she all but lost on the other 17. He seld im skeptical of your ability to try all 19 at once and he said ill give you a couple of days to brief it but he all but signaled he wont keep all together. And there is a bit of hypocrisy is the public rhetoric is were ready. But here is the reality. Fani willis took two and a half plus years to indict this case. She indicted in august and then said i want a trial of everybody two months from now. I take two and a half years to investigate and they get a trial in two months and then she said, well im not ready to produce discovery until september 15th. That is half of the time. She should have been ready to produce discovery on day one and then today when the judge said how long do you need to brief this issue about keeping defendants together, and her lawyers say, we need two weeks. That is a quarter of the remaining time. So the talk here is were ready, but their actions are not consistent with that. And karen, does it surprise you that the judge would not separate chesebros case from powells . No, it doesnt at all. This is a rico conspiracy case. And really the charges and the acts and the events are applicable to everybody. It is a whole story and different pieces of the story belong together. This is an enterprise, a group that worked together to try and illegally overturn the Georgia Election that went for biden to trump. And so, that is a whole story that belongs together and should stay together. So, there really isnt any reason to separate the two chesebro and Sidney Powell here. And the judge was skeptical that the trial could be held for all 19 defendantsin in october d for those that dont know, in georgia you have a right to a speedy trial, some states have and some dont. And you have a speedy trial to chesebro and powell are like we wanted to be tried now and fani willis is like we could do all 19 right now but the judge doesnt think so, is fani willis not ready for this case . Shes not ready to try 19 defendants in october. And the reason that is not going to happen, part of it is legal. A defendant has a right under georgia, a very strong right to say i want my speedy trial. You get it within what amounts to two months from now. But you cant force the others into doing that too. And also there was an interesting unexpected wrinkle today. Well the judge said, well hang on, one the other defendants, mark meadows, hes trying to get into Federal Court and that is pending with the Federal District judge and today the judge said that could be appealed and that could take up to six months and the d. A. Said yes and they said well have to get back to you on that one. They werent ready on that one either. And prosecutors say the trial could take four months. The judge said he thinks it could take eight months. Who do you side with . I think it is closer to the eight months. Think about how much going into a trial. It excludes Jury Selection and there is a Jury Selection case in in a trial going on right near in a rico case in georgia, theyre still in Jury Selection and that is eight months. So it takes time. So the other side that is an unknown is the deefense case. And the more defendants that are going on trial, the moyer lawyers will crossexamine witnesses and the more opening and closing and it will extend the trial. So i think it is closer to the eight months for this particular trial than the four months. Prosecutors said Something Like 150 witnesses or Something Like that. Yeah. Elie, this was the first televised hearing in a trump case. We are expecting that the trial would be televised as they do in georgia. How does that impact the case . So, first of all, i thought it was interesting. Im glad people ared. I thought it was high quality lawyering on both sides. Good arguments. Sober. And the judge was in control. So the concerns about were going to have a circus, i think were undercut by today. This is not ito part two. No. If there is a trial of the early group, chesebro and powell, well see that and donald trump wont be a defendant at that table. But you could bet he will be mentioned and implicated while that is going on. And karen, Special Counsel jack smith and the Election Subversion case in the Federal Court said in the court filing that trump had made daily extra judicial statements that threaten to fprejudice the jury pool. Do you that i that is accurate, that his social media statements are tainting possible jurors. It is hard to tell because they are mostly under seal. So we dont know what hes referring to. But donald trump has created these short videos on this truth social where hes on a daily basis talking about cases ant the issues and what is going on in these four prosecutions. So i do think there is a possibility and a risk that he could taint the jury pool for sure. All right thanks to both of you. And then donald trump said today he would absolutely take the stand in one of his trials. Given the 91 charges against him. Is that such a wise choice . Im going to talk to one of his former lawyers. Plus what Mitch Mcconnell said just moments ago. About his future in the senate after those recent bouts of freezing in front of cameras. Plus, incredible new video from Inside Of A Pennsylvania Prison showing just how that ruthless brutal inmate escaped, scaling a wall and what authorities are saying now, seven days into the manhunt. For freeee. Thats what im talking about. Order in the subway app today. Try killing bugs the worryfree way. Not the other way. Zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no ss. They work continuously, ze. Peoplefriendly. Bugdeadly. Being mile class right now, its tough making ends meet for sure. Republicans in congress say if we just cut taxes even more for the biggest corporations the money will eventually someday trickle trickle down to you. Right. Joe biden would rather just stop those corporations from charging so damn much. Capping the cost of drugs like insulin. Cracking down on Surprise Medical Bills and all those crazy junk fees. Theres more work to do. Tell the president to keep lowering costs for middle class families. Sometimes Jonah Wrestles with falling asleep. So he takes zzzquil. The worlds 1 Sleep Aid Brand for a better night sleep. So now, he wakes up feeling like himself. The reigning family room middleweight champion. Better days start with zzzquil nights. When i was diagnosed with hiv, i didnt know who i would be. But here i am. Being me. Keep being you. And ask your Healthcare Provider about the number one prescribed hiv treatment, biktarvy. Biktarvy is a complete, onepill, onceaday treatment used for hiv in many people whether youre 18 or 80. With one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to undetectable and stay there whether youre just starting or replacing your current treatment. Research shows that taking hiv treatment as prescribed and getting to and staying undetectable prevents transmitting hiv through sex. Serious side effects can occur, including Kidney Problems and kidney failure. Rare, lifethreatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. Do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. Tell your Healthcare Provider about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. If you have hepatitis b do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your Healthcare Provider. Common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. No matter where life takes you, biktarvy can go with you. Talk to your Healthcare Provider today. Hey all, so i just downloaded the experian app because i wanted to check my fico® score, but it does so much more. This thing shows you your fico® score, you can get your credit card recommendations, and it shows you ways to save money. Do so much more than get your fico® score. Download the experian app now. And were back with more on our Law And Justice lead. Donald trump wants to take the stand in his own defense, at least that is what he told hugh hewitt today. Take a listen. If you have to go to trial, will you testify in your own defense . Oh, yes. Absolutely. Youll take the stand . That i look forward to. Former trump attorney tim parlatore. And as trumps former attorney, do you think him taking the stand at a trial would he about a good idea . Personally, i do nt like of any clients taking the stand in a criminal case. This is not something theyre required to do. And i have not generally had any clients take the stand unless they first undergo a very rigorous crossexamination by me. And pass. And i dont believe myself, im not testifying. So, i cant see it being a good idea here. I cant help but think about the last time that he kind of testified in his own defense. It was when he was deposed in the e. Jean carroll civil case and it was a videotaped deposition and one woman he confused the woman suing him with his second wife marla maples and then there was this moment when he was asked about the quote about grabbing women by their genitals. Take a listen. They could grab women by the [ bleep ]. If you look over the last million years, i guess that is been largely true. Not always. But largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately. Unfortunately or fortunately. I mean, it seems like putting him on the stand would be risky . It is. And that is kind of an illustration of why it is an uncontrolled environment. You dont know necessarily what the client is going to say. Even a very well practiced client could say things that they would regret after the fact. So, you try to you true i to remember a trial is a presentation for the jury where youre going to try and control it as much as you can and that is an uncontrollable risk. And to say the least, hes not the most disciplined on message individual ive ever met. Today on maralago at the same time yeah, go ahead. At the same time, a defendant has the rielg to do it and if the lawyer said it is the worst idea in the world, the client could do it any way. Oh, yeah. And it is televised, of course. Yes. Today a maralago Worker Employee has agreed to testify to avoid prosecution. How nervous do you think this makes donald trump and this is in the classified documents case, and could we begin to see more people flip, cooperating with prosecutors as these cases intensify . It is a common theme in any one of these cases. Where you have somebody who is being threatened with prosecution and they see their coworkers being arrested and charged and told, hey, if you just come in and tell us the story that we want to hear, you could avoid being charged yourself. So, yeah, i do think that it is something to be concerned about. At the same time, what is he going to say . Is it soming that could be backed up or crossexamined on. I dont know that it will significantly change the case any more so than the surveillance video, i think is the biggest hurdle they have to over come. Well i suppose it would be more testimony if somebody if there is testimony that donald trump instructed somebody to destroy evidence, that is Obstruction Of Justice. Not that it was destroyed but if he told someb