right here on cnn, our own jake tapper and dana bash will all right. you can watch it live next thursday at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on cnn and streaming on max. the news continues on cnn with wolf blitzer in the situation room happening now extreme weather, a heat wave is intensifying in the mostly densely populated areas of the united states, more than there are 100 million people are under heat advisories right now, we're watching all of this also happening now the preps and the posturing, there are underway right down our huge, huge debate coming up next week also tonight, we're watching very significant legal developments unfolding, right now. >> the judge in the trump class despite documents, case just wrapped up a hearing on whether special counsel jack smith was legally appointed after pushing trump's lawyer defend an argument she called ominous plus, the united states supreme court upholds a federal gun law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence. we're breaking all this down. it's a significant new ruling and how it tested the conservative majority on the supreme court. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i will pulitzer a you're in the situation room we begin with the pre-game warm up before the high-stakes presidential so the bait here on cnn, just six days from now president joe biden is getting deeply personal in rehearsal mode behind closed doors while former president donald trump has publicly trying to raise expectations for his opponent, are correspondents are here with boron, both candidates and their strategies that are unfolding. first, let's go to cnn's kayla tausche is just covering the biden camp, campaign for us. so how is biden campaigning right? preparing for his debate, bullies at camp david right now, huddling with his advisors. it's de, one of what's expected to be as much as six days of preparation with aids, reserving the possibility that it travels right to atlanta from camp david depending on how much practice he still needs to do. now they're workshopping policy items, zingers, punches, counter punches, trying to refine exactly what his argument will be all with the goal of trying to highlight some of the wildest trump isms of recent years if they believe and the biden campaign's theory of the case that voters have just been disengaged for. now. they also believed that having the mics muted is a productive way for president biden to be able to make that case without being interrupted as he was in the first debate of the 2020 cycle. now, there is expected to trump's standard and when they evolve into the formal mock debate portion of the prep, which is going to be in a couple of days. sources tell me that that's expected to be bombed. bauer, the personal attorney to the president who also served in that role in 2020, and he has a book out where he describes some of that 2020 prep and here's how he described the character study of sorts earlier today do you do trump at pressure? >> do you sound like donalds rob, are you talking about normal whenever whenever whenever you do this, you want to strike a balance between trying to approximate the experience but it's not an opportunity for theatrical that's a distraction. so you want to find some balance between recreating the experience and not attempting to, if you will, audition for saturday so it's more of a character study where the content reflects what trump would say he doesn't try to look the part of trump when he does that, but it's safe to say wolf, the stakes were high for the debate before, but they're especially high now that we've got those new fundraising numbers that show for two straight months trump the outraised biden. >> certainly he's going to be making that appeal to not only is his longtime donors, but also a new class and voters as well. >> yeah, lots of steck right now, kayla, stay with us. i want to turn to cnn's alayna treene. she's covering the trump campaign for us or what are you hearing about trump's take on what's going on and how he's preparing well, there's a few things. >> one, he's not doing what president joe biden is doing and what kayla just laid out. >> he will not be engaging in mock debates even though he has done that in past years. but one thing i found really interesting in my conversations with trump's team and we heard trump talk about this a little bit yesterday. is that they're really trying to raise the exponent patients for joe biden. so we know over the past several months, donald trump as well as all of his senior advisers, have really been trying to paint. biden adds this old and feeble man, someone who cannot stand up for the 90 minutes that is allotted in this debate that he's trouble with his mental and physical activity. >> now, they're trying trying to raise the bar. they recognize that maybe that's setting the expectations too low for joe biden. take a listen to what trump said on the all-in podcast yesterday people ryan pretty badly and i assume he's gonna be somebody that will be a worthy debater i would say, i think i don't want to underestimate him i don't want to underestimate him. i think he's a worthy debater that is a far cry from what we have heard donald trump's say repeatedly on the campaign trail for the last several months, but luck. i mean what they're trying to do here again, is raised the expectations. and really, i think from my conversations with trump's campaign behind the scenes, they are trying to figure out, okay. we recognize that joe biden is going into this intense prep what can we do to sharpen our own rhetoric, our own messaging? now we know that donald trump has met with a series of vice president it's an actual contenders senators policy experts, people from his previous administration like caelian, kellyanne conway, stephen miller, rick renelle to sharpen some of those attack lines. i'm also told that he's been really working to rein in some of his aggression and kind of what kayla talked about with him talking over joe biden repeatedly in that 2020 debate. they don't want him to do this time. of course, there will be the microphone's cut off, so that'll handle some of that problem for him. >> see how that all unfolds, kayla. thank you very much. alaina. thanks to you as well. let's bring in our political experts, right now, and i'll start with david chelyan. david, what does trump? i'm trying to what is trump trying to do to raise expectations for biden just ahead of the debate what does that tell you? >> it tells me that trump and his team did not like the way the expectations game went around. the president biden, state of the union address and that they're trying to learn from that as alaina said and i think we should caution here all this expectations setting that both sides tend to do in advance of debates it all goes out the window once the two men take the stage and the american people are able to see for themselves what their debate performances are. wolf, but there is no doubt that this narrative of trying to paint joe biden as this feeble old man wandering in fields and all the like, would lower expectations that all joe biden would need to be able to do sort of complete a sentence and it's deemed a victory for him. and i think the trump team and the former president himself are keenly aware of that after his more energetic state of the union speech. and they're trying trying to avoid falling into that trap this time i see a cup is with us as well as he despite what he's saying now to trump make a major mistake lowering expectations for biden for so long well, yeah, they've been running the tape of every biden gaffe and end exacerbating, exaggerating biden gaps. >> they're trying to tell their base that biden's completely out of it and competent that could backfire when as david says biden luck looks okay during the debate then, then it looks like sleight of hand and sort of optical illusions and tricks that the trump campaign is trying to play on voters. and actually joe biden looks just fine. we don't know how the debate is going to go, but trump's expectation setting tends to go from very, very high to very, very low. >> he doesn't have a sort of moderating voice. >> so it'll be interesting to see how his voters and how all voters react to the two on stage on thursday, it's certainly will be meghan hayes is with us as well, megan, how important is it for? as it biden to have a really, really strong debate performance i think we've got a technical problem. meghan, let me ask david that question. how important is it for the president to have a very strong debate performance? david wolfe, i think for both candidates it is important for them to have strong debate performance as you know, this has been a remarkably stable race. these two a men are in this historic moment, having never had something like it's in american history before, a sitting president debating a former president and this is a high-stakes moment, perhaps not as high stakes as it would be if we were talking about this debate in october. but i think one of the reasons certainly that the biden campaign appeared desiring an earlier debate was perhaps to in case it doesn't go so well to have some time to recover. but given the fact of the concerns around joe biden's performance, his age, that voters have expressed, and that he's asking for a renewal of his contract for four years. there is no doubt that just like we were talking before the state of the union, this is going to be a big moment for joe biden to demonstrate to the american people that he's ready for that contract renewal for four years or let me try to reconnect with mega and if you can hear me okay. megan, which can campaign, do you think has more at stake right now in the cnn? upcoming debate? >> i think both men have a lot at stake here. i think they both need to show up strong. the optics are more important than a substance and a lot of ways here, they both need to come across strong. they both need to talk about the issues that are important to the american people. i think that both camps have a lot to gain for their momentum. i also think that nothing is really moving the needle one way or the other. and this is an opportunity for one camp or the other. have that happen? so i do think that both both parties have a lot here to gain and to lose, frankly, and specifically, i see what kind of impact do you think debating without a live audience in the room will have on trump? well i think? we've seen the kind of impact that having a live audience can have on a beta debate. it gives an audience at home the perception that, donald trump or someone else might be doing really well when in fact you know that? that candidate might be telling some myths, truths, or, or messing up. so i think i think removing that factor is important for viewers at home to just get a very clear one-to-one interaction. >> with both of these candidates. >> and these candidates have to remember they are speaking to viewers at home, not the room, but at home. and specifically in a state like georgia, they are speaking to swing state voters. they both have their fans, their supporters who aren't going anywhere. what they need to do is grow their base. they need independence undeclared moderates all in these swing states, that's the kind of thing they should both be thinking about as they head into this debate, not solidifying their base, but reaching those independent voters. and we know there will be a huge audience, tens and tens of millions of people will be watching this the upcoming debate. >> david, i understand we have some new fund raising numbers from the campaign's and i want to put them up on the screen for us take a look at this trump with a massive hall taking in 141 million. while the president biden is behind with $85 million. biden had been enjoying, as you well know, david a major fundraising advantage. how is this, these new numbers likely to impact the race? >> yeah, this is the second month in a row now that trump in the rnc has outraised biden the dnc. >> this is not about those outside super pac to yet there latest filings come a little bit later this summer wolf, but i will note here it is it significant development, obviously that trump has completely nearly entirely washed away the fundraising advantage that you noted that biden had. the question is, what is he going to do with that? because biden has been on the air for months pressing that fundraising advantage with advertising dollars and as megan was saying, the needle hasn't really moved here, this has been a stable race. >> i think watching how joe donald trump now spends this money that he has. >> both of these candidates will be well-funded in the fall. how trump now spend this money now that he has raised it? and what he puts on the air since he has not been largely on the error, nearly at all at the same levels of biden will be a key thing to watch. and the other thing to remember here is what fueled all of that fundraising was his felony conviction. i know that sounds nuts, but the president was convicted 34 times of felonies in a manhattan trial and that's super charged. his fundraising and david, just to be precise, a lot of that money is going to go for legal fees for trump, right? yes. as well as some of the money from his aligned super packs where super wealthy people write a very big check and we have seen time and again that, that's super pac money has been utilized for india his lecture in the stakes couldn't be president president live on cnn. >> and streaming the go daddy arrow helps you get your business online in minutes with the power bi, with the perfect name great little and a beautiful website to start with a domain, a few clicks and your business make now to feature at godaddy.com slash arrow. sure, i'm a paid actor and this isn't a real company, but there's no way to fake upwork can help your business. such talent all over the world with over 10,000 skills, you may not have house more than 30% of the fortune 500 use upward because this is how we work now lumina whitening strips, no brock side, no pain i can use them every day if i wanted. >> what i want drink what i want probably luminosity shrimp and l0 my smell is back on point easy her appointment. >> i don't want to wait for hip surgery for my duty for trends contraction. i want to non-surgical treatment and if non-surgical treatment is an opera i'll get a second opinion. >> take charge of your treatment if you can't lay your hand flat, visit, find a hand specialist.com get started i know priceline helps families. >> they 60% on family-friendly hotels. so many great trips we might just leave here with another vacation baby i'll take it easy. >> harris and u2 for motor to help. >> lisa wasn't toledo earlier habe priceline, whether tech products are designed and manufactured in america using only america can raw materials most competitors make things 7,000 miles away. and then wonder why they don't fit with whether tech in your vehicle, you may hear angels singing as you've marvel how did they do it? simple american technology and american workers deliver quality, not imported junk for a few blocks less. get the world's best floor liners and support america find your fit at wt.com luck and good guys situations are better with the credit god's on your side i'm comin rewards once available to the few are now accessible to the many earn points for travel with credit one bank and liz large have you ever thought of getting a walk-in tub for you or someone you love now is a great time to take a look at giddiness safe step, walk-in tub. was safe step standard heated seat, and new fast fill faucet. you can enjoy a nice warm bath up to 20% faster which step walk in tubs are built to maximize safety. so you can stay in your home and enjoy the comforts of bathing again, go now to receive 15%. oh that's a free shower package billions while boosting medication adherence helping plan sponsors and their members. >> b. if they're best. >> that's wonder, may possible ever north health services, the cabinets to go bind moore, save more sale is going on now, hurrian, for your free 3d design and save a to 40% starting chewing your newton dream kitchen for just 139 per month, get more wow, for last aed cabinets to go. i'm melies nonna in washington and this is cnn closed captioning brought to you by meso book.com her firm only represents mesothelial most victims and their families. >> if you or a loved one who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma collis now a key hearing in the trump classified documents case ended just a little while ago without repeat without a ruling on the defense's bid to invalidate the appointment of the special counsel, jack smith cnn's katelyn polantz, working their story for us. >> caitlin, what unfolded inside a judge cannon's courtroom? >> well, if it was hours and hours of arguments today over a special counsel, jack smith, and whether it's constitutional for him as a prosecutor at the justice department to bring a case against donald trump or anyone? on really trump's team and his co-defendants, they're challenging the legality of the special counsel's office on a couple of different fronts that they're trying to argue to judge cannon that he wasn't a pointed lawfully he was brought in from outside the government, the attorney general didn't do it, right? they're gonna be arguing a little bit more on monday about the funding underneath that office underpinning it allowing that office to continue to do its work if it was appropriated correctly by congress. and then the third thing, the part that donald trump's team really dragged the arguments it's toward today in the courthouse in fort pierce, florida before judge cannon they were arguing about how it actually might work between attorney general merrick aitlin, i want you to stay with us as what a brigands cnn legal analysts jennifer rodgers and elie honig. >> jennifer, what are the chances you believe that this challenge from trump's team to jack smith's appointment could actually succeed i think it's unlikely. >> ultimately succeeds. will if we don't have anything that's exactly on all fours here, but in the past, this has been challenged before the appointment of special counsels has been challenged before. those challenges have all failed. so while factually, they're not exactly the same just to give you one example actually came from inside government, not from outside government. so they're not exactly the same, but they have failed in the past. i do think the government has the better of this argument, but you never know what a judge and especially judge cannon will do elie honig got what would likely happen likely happened to this criminal case against trump. >> if judge cannon ruled against the special counsel, jack smith. >> well, what's the first thing that would happen is jack smith would appeal and i believe successfully i agree with jennifer. i think there are prior cases that are similar to this where defendant dance tried to get robert muller remove where a defendant tried to get the special counsel on the hunter biden case removed. so i think if judge cannon rules against jack smith hill appeal and he will probably be able to get her reversed in that scenario. now, if this somehow comes to pass, that, it's upheld. the jack smith was improperly appointed, then i think the indictment gets disk smith's because the argument that donald trump is making here is that jack smith has been given essentially the same powers as a us attorney to indict and try federal cases. but us attorneys have to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate, neither of which applies to jack smith. that said, what prior courts have said is the power that jack smith has given is legally given to him through the attorney general. there's a lot of discretion there. so