the first warning signs for the trump campaign. hanging above the first three indictments trump's team waiting for another shoe to drop in georgia where fulton d.a. fani willis says she has a duty to prosecute. >> i took an oath and the oath requires i follow the law. also sharing see the questions. the shocking news from the justice department tied to two u.s. navy sailors arrested for spying. the sensitive national secrets at the heart of the case. we begin with former president trump's next big day in criminal court. such five days after republican candidates take the stage for the first primary debates later this month. the former president on truth social bemoaning the high cost of his court battles, quote, my political opponent has hit me with a barrage of weak lawsuits which require massive amounts of my time and money to adjudicate. resources that would have gone into ads and rallies will have to be spent fighting these radical left thugs in numerous courts throughout the country. a new reuters poll signals the impact on his campaign may be widening. take a look at these numbers. if he's convicted of a felony 45shgs% of republican voters would not vote for him. 35% say they would. 20% are unsure. it mimics conversations our own nbc news team is having with voters on the ground. >> i have really mixed feelings on that. definitely think that he has broken the law, at the same time i think there are elements of a witch hunt in there, so i have mixed feelings on it. >> i want to bring in nbc news justice correspondent ken dilanian, security reporter desk devlin barrett and legal analyst barba ra mcquay. recommend to all. you reported donald trump and jack smith didn't make eye contact yesterday, even when trump first walked into the courtroom, smith stared straight ahead. as you look ahead down the road how do you see the case of the u.s. versus donald trump first and foremost, how does it look? >> yeah. the observation of jack smith, i had that vantage point of looking at his face because i was watching on video, it's a reminder at the end of the day, the justice system is made up of human beings and we are where we are today because merrick garland chose to appoint jack smith and jack smith pushed this case forward, a case that a lot of people didn't think would end up being brought. and where it stands now is that it's clear interest yesterday's hearing that one of donald trump's foremost legal strategies is to delay because his attorney john lauro made it very clear that he thinks it's a fool's errand to have a speedy trial in this case and thinks there's going to be a lot of documents to go through and legal defenses and he's going to avail himself of every possible defense. we have a new analysis about what some of the defenses are that include, of course, that donald trump was relying on the advice of his lawyers, that he legitimately believed that he won the election, and there's some issues with some of the statutes involved. all of these defenses have flaws, but they all could end up taking time, and it remains to be seen how quickly this case can get to trial. >> devlin, the court exchange yesterday is really instructive to the point we were just making with ken, because your team at the "post" reports the magistrate judge proposed three days. august 21st, for 2023, for clarity, august 22nd and august 28th. the prosecutor says the government is available for all three days but would like the first one. lauro, trump's lawyer, says august 28th. is that a foreshading of how they're going to play this? >> exactly. and it's also a great microcosm of what this fight is going to be about. even when it comes to days within a week, you know, the government wants to go early and the defense wants to take as much time as they can. they're arguing about the clock because everyone understand how important the clock is to what happens here. >> so barbara, judge chutkan who will preside, sent a message she is going to set a trial date during the next hearing, but again, trump's lawyer says he's not going to be rushed. let's take a listen to what he said last night. >> they want to deny president trump his due process rights to look at documents, to get witnesses, to use our subpoena power. they want to deny him those rights in a rush to judgment for one political purpose, and that's to uphold the biden administration. this is a fast-moving railroad without any concern for justice. >> so there are a couple of types of delays. correct me if i'm wrong legitimate delays written into the constitution that you want to have your client well defended. there are also delays that we have seen judges, not just push back on, but i would say get pretty pointed about to some lawyers. what's the difference? >> the speedy trial act governs everything here. the idea he's being denied due process and other things is premature at best. the court will make a decision based on that speedy trial act about when there should be a trial. the presumption is within 70 days of arraignment, but delays can be granted for particular reasons. for example, if the defendant wants to file motions that can stop the clock for a period of time up until the judge holds a hearing and then an additional 30 days to decide that motion. the speedy trial clock builds in the appropriate amount of delay necessary in a particular case. sometimes a judge may decide a case is so complex that it needs to be extended even beyond those deadlines, but one important thing to remember, is the speedy trial act applies not just to the defendant but guarantees the public a speedy trial. the public has an interest in bringing offenders to justice. >> we know very clearly that jack smith thinks a speedy is as soon as possible. have we heard anything from the trump side, again having said that they think it's absurd for prosecutors to want to keep a fast timeline, what would be an appropriate timeline in their eyes? only after the election? >> right. so they've already said in the florida case about classified documents, they've argued essentially that the trial -- that trial shouldn't happen until after the election. i expect to see a similar demand for time here, and part of their demand, part of what they're already arguing about in this case, the january 6th case, is that the evidence, the discovery so vast, that they just need a lot of time to digest it and understand it. i think that's an understandable argument for a defense lawyer to make but everything understand the clock and within the next year and a half there are few fwhoes a calendar to put a trial precisely because of his own cases. >> yeah. that is the trick, right. let's talk about the case itself, barbara. "the new york times" writes about tony schwartz, be that's the guy that was trump's ghost writer on the art of the deal. bewildered by more than 30 years ago, he came up with a formulation that tried to put mr. trump's rhetoric flights from earth in the context of a salesman savvy. if you took him at his word you are the fool and yet perhaps even more to the point, he succeeded because he comes to believe himself making him the ultimate fool as well as the ultimate salesman. some wonderful word smithing there, but can that strategy translate to court, that this is a guy who has always and in this case did believe what he said over and over again? i won. >> yeah. i don't think so. you know, might work in the court of public opinion which is why i think his lawyer is being aggressive in trying to sound reasonable and throw out these things about first amendment rights and reliance on his lawyer's advice, because if he can convince the public this was reasonable and delay the trial he can win the election and that's his best defense. at trial it is just not going to fly because the jury will be instructed about the law, be able to hear evidence of the facts and they will also be instructed about the concept of willful blindness and that is, a person cannot ignore a high probability that a fact is true just by wishing it is not. and this idea that i convince myself that the lie was true, is not going to hold up if there was so much evidence to the contrary, and so as alleged in the indictment, trump heard from many, many different sources there was no fraud in the election and for him to maintain i'll believe it until the day i die is not good enough with the willful blindness legal instruction. >> the next hearing, give us a thumbnail sketch beyond setting a trial date. what else could happen there? >> i think that's what's likely to happen, but i think in the course of that we're going to hear a foreshadowing of some of those defenses because to ask for more time trump's lawyers are going to have to justify those delays. the judge's job is to make sure the defendant gets time to prepare but honors the public's tried a speedy trial. they're going to have to lay out what exactly it is you think will take so long and probably hear about the volume of discovery which is probably substantial here, but about the motions that they might choose to file. i think we can anticipate based on some of the things we're hearing already, first amendment, prosecutorial misconduct, reliance of advice of counsel, but maybe there will be more and something i'll be looking for, what are the specific reasons that trump team wants delay in this trial date and that may be a bit more about their defense plans. >> there was so much written and it was fascinating, devlin n your paper and others, by ken, about what actually happened in court, looking at the players here. i thought one of the most interesting things was it was watched by district court judge who presided over -- judges who presided over trials of january 6th rioters, including and this is again from the "times," judge amy berman jackson who called out mr. trump's irresponsible and knowingly false claims that the election was stolen when she imposed a harsh sentence on a rioter who had bludgeoned a capitol police officer into unconsciousness. trump now the latest person to be charged for actions related to january 6th. and i just wonder what sort of abuzz was, and make of the fact that the judges wanted to be there? >> yeah. i think that's a really important point, chris, because i think that is very rare to see in courts. there is a dynamic that we sometimes jokingly call the law olympics if there's a big case going on, all the clerks and all the, you know, eager beavers want to look at it and see, but having judges come is different and that doesn't happen very often. and i think that speaks to the degree to which this courthouse in particular has been completely inundated and at times overwhelmed with the sheer volume of january 6th cases. donald trump was the 1,078 january 6th defendant to come through that courthouse and i think having the judges show up, speaks to the degree that this issue has consumed this courthouse for more than two years. and, so i think that will probably feed into trump's arguments to try to move the trial, but i do think it speaks to how important this issue and this case is to not just the people of washington, d.c., but to the judges of washington, d.c. >> devlin, ken, your reporting has been fantastic and we thank you for it sharing it. barbara, you're going to be sticking with us. the fulton county d.a. fani willis readying a potential fourth indictment of donald trump. how she could be using the rico act more familiar to crime families than politicians to make that case. we have that coming up in 60 seconds. astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go! this is american infrastructure, a prime target for cyberattacks. but the same ai-powered security that protects all of google also defends these services for everyone who lives here. ♪ sometimes jonah wrestles with falling asleep... ...so he takes zzzquil. the world's #1 sleep aid brand for a better night sleep. so now, he wakes up feeling like himself. the reigning family room middle-weight champion. better days start with zzzquil nights. (vo) verizon small business days are coming. from august 7th to the 13th. now is the time to partner with our experts. get started today with verizon business. it's your business. it's your verizon. today former president donald trump now has three criminal cases to fight while under strict orderers from the d.c. court, no intimidate or retaliation against any potential witnesses, and a fourth case is expected soon in georgia. fulton county d.a. fani willis is reportedly building a case against trump under the georgia rico act, used commonly in the prosecution of organized crime. given trump's indictments willis was asked yesterday whether a fourth is worth the trouble? >> i took an oath and the oath requires i follow the law and if someone broke the law in fulton county, georgia, that i have a duty to prosecute. that's exactly what i plan it to do. >> barbara mcquade is back with me, dasha burns as well. this morning we learned that trump's attorneys have voluntarily dismissed their attempt to disqualify d.a. willis saying it's moot after two promotions that were put out earlier were denied. what do we know about the timing and preparations for this fourth indictment? >> we don't know exactly when it's going to drop, but we have a couple of clues that give us and indication. we know that fulton county sheriff's office has shut down an area around the courthouse and that street closure plans to begin on monday and last until august 18th. again, we don't know the exact timing but that kind of gives you an indication. we know from the fulton county d.a. she says the decision on whether or not to charge the former president would be made no later than september 1st. she said that work is accomplished and, quote, we're ready to go. now, the indictment that we have now reviewed from the special counsel has five pages or so that detail trump's attempt to overturn georgia's election in 2020, and the d.a. fani willis was asked about that and how that might impact what she's doing. it has no bearing on her case, and she's going to focus on what happened in fulton county. one other interesting note, in the last three indictments, one state and two federal, the former president, he was processed and fingerprinted. a mugshot was not taken. the fulton county sheriff says in fulton county if he is indicted and arraigned he will be treated just like anybody else and would be fingerprinted, mugshot, the whole deal. we don't know exactly when it's dropping, but that street closure, the folks are working from home in fulton county, again, until august 18th, starting monday, so looking like the next couple weeks here, chris. >> thanks for that. let's talk about this potential use of racketeering law to build a case against trump. the atlanta journal stugs writes georgia's version of the rico act is written more broadly. under the georgia law it's easier to prove a pattern of racketeering. if willis moves forward with rico charges as she is expected to, she's likely to indict a group of people and not follow jack smith's approach of just indicting trump at the outset. what do you make of it as the potential strategy? >> i think a rico indictment here would be absolutely appropriate. you know, rico originated with the idea of the mafia organized crime. it can apply to any organized activity. i used it myself in public corruption cases. it provides an umbrella under which you can put what might otherwise be separate schemes and might be open itself up to a motion for severance and allows one jury to hear the entire scope of all the criminal conduct. so in georgia, for example, we know that there was trump's call with brad raffensperger, false slates of lectors, activity with tampering with voting machines in kauffman county. this would allow fani willis to bring under one case all those. >> in the indictment that came out now, jack smith listed seven state where there were attempts to overturn the election, he says. why is georgia so important? why does it seem to be the one where it's getting so much attention? what makes this case different? >> i don't know. each state has different facts and different laws, but i imagine one of the reasons in georgia is because we have the very best evidence in georgia of any other place because it's the only place i'm aware of where there is a recording of donald trump pressuring an election official to throw the election. that call where he demands brad raffensperger find him 11,780 votes that's the clip we hear but the entire call lasts for about an hour. he is repeatedly pushing brad raffensperger, if you don't do this there could be criminal consequences for you. raffensperger constantly pushes back, no, mr. president, we looked at that and the other thing. because of the strength of that piece of evidence, not the entire case, there will have to be more evidence to prove the case, but the strength of that evidence that likely sent fani willis down this path early and she has built it appears a case around that. i'm not aware evidence in any other state is as strong as that. >> raffensperger one of many people who have talked about the pressure campaign against them, about follower, supporters of donald trump who have made threats. yesterday fani willis outlined some of the threats in the offensive messages she's gotten and i want to play that. >> all the typical racial slurs that you can imagine. they're very grotesque things. we're on family television. i don't know that i like to say all of them, slave whore is one. i've been probably called the n word more than most people combined. >> being a prosecutor has never been for the faint of heart, but this level of ongoing threats, this level of harassment, is new, i think. do you worry it will make, smart talented people, think twice before taking on public service? >> i do, and i think that's part of what this is about is to drive people away. we've seen an effort to reduce the number of irs agents, now going after prosecutors, the fbi and i worry about that. when i was a prosecutor, sometimes my decisions were second guessed and, you know, reasonable minds can disagree about what a charging decision might be or a sentencing position ought to be, but going after a person personally and threatening to harm them personally is a very different thing and dangerous in this country. it's something you see in countries that are -- have unstable democracies where corruption is a matter of course and so i think that's something we as former prosecutors need to push back strongly against. >> barbara mcquade, always good to have you on the program. thank you so much. new information that undermining pressure, supreme court justices have been talking about a possible ethics code. justice elena kagan declaring her support for a supreme court code but says the justices were divided on how to proceed. justin kagan told a conference, quote, it won't be surprise to know the nine of us have a variety of views about this. the high court has been under scrutiny of for its lack of official code of conduct after reporting that some have used their positions for personal gain, including accepting lavish gifts. still ahead, the president of niger has been taken hostage and calling on the u.s. to help rescue the african nation from the military coup. what's next for the u.s. sailors charged with spying in? 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>> yeah. we've been seeing this all week. for the last couple months we've been seeing drones over moscow, really kyiv, taking the war not to russia's doorstep but right inside their home and that should be something that should be rattling a lot of folks in the kremlin, the architects of this war. this is the first time they've hit a russian port. this is the first time they've hit a port on the russian mainland. they've hit ships around crimea, that russia annexed in 2014. despite that asterisk here, this is an important step because that port that was struck in the city, is a huge facility, and it actually -- russia had seen it as a backup to ports the crimea getting attacked by the same types of maritime drones you're seeing in the videos that are playing on your screen now. the russians had been moving ships to this port in order to keep them safe. this goes to show that the ukrainians are capable of striking targets not just those primary front line targets like the ports in crimea, but the ones further afield, the one that russians had meant as a safe haven to guard their boats. those shows that ukraine is once again taking the war beyond the front lines. asking about implication, another big thing. this port is one of the largest exporters of oil for russia, which means it's one of the largest ports exporting oil in the world. remember that russia just backed out of the black sea grain deal that would allow grain to be shipped around the world. now, we're starting to see a new vital resource being targeted or at least the ports being targeted and that could bring the war to a new economic dimension of the kind we haven't seen before and we've seen quite a few. >> thank you. now to a spy scandal involving two u.s. flee sailors in custody accused of selling sensitive military intelligence to china. correspondent miguel almaguer is following this story from california. miguel? >> reporter: this is the naval base where one of those accused spies was serving before he was arrested. he faces up to 20 years in prison. the second sailor faces up to life in prison. authorities say as of right now, there's no clear indication they were working together. this morning, two american sailors charged with passing sensitive intelligence to china in exchange for money. the department of justice and fbi announcing their arrests. >> when a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, we have to be ready to act. >> reporter: 22-year-old jinchao wei a naturalized u.s. citizen was a sailor on the am bib shus ship the "uss essex."" >> wei sent national defense information to china including documents, photos, videos, and technical manuals in exchange, his intelligence officer paid wei thousands of dollars. >> reporter: wei has been charged under the espionage act which carries a life sentence. his attorney entering a not guilty plea on his behalf. also arrested in a separate case of espionage, 26-year-old wenheng zhao, the petty officer working at a naval base in ventura county, california, pleading not guilty in federal court. officials say zhao gave nonpublic intel to a chinese intelligence officer for almost two years, passing along operational plans for military exercises, photographs, and blueprints of a radar system on a u.s. military base in okinawa, japan, and details about the navy's operations at his home base and on san clemente island. in exchange they allege a chinese operative paid zhao about $15,000. >> mr. zhao chose a path of corruption. >> reporter: officials say the charges were part of a broader strategy by the u.s. to counter china's criminal efforts to steal its sensitive information. >> the scheme alleged here is just one more example of the people republic of china's ongoing and brazen campaign to target u.s. officials with access to sensitive military secrets. >> reporter: both sailors remain in custody and are expected back in court in the coming weeks. shortly after that, in federal court, their trials are expected to begin. back to you. >> miguel, thank you. in a statement to the "wall street journal" a spokesperson for china's embassy in washington said the u.s. government and media have behind up cases of espionage related to china and china opposes the u.s.'s sides groundless slander and smear of china. the president of niger is calling on the u.s. and the international community to help restore constitutional order in his country just after a military junta seized power last week. in a washington postop ed president mohamed bazoum says he has been taken hostage and his country is under attack by a military faction that is looking to overthrow niger's democracy. two years ago bazoum became niger's democratically elect the leader since gaining independence from france in 1960 a rarity in that region. he argues if the coup is successful the country could become a staging ground for terrorist groups and warns it could come under russian influence as well, via the infamous wagner group which operates nearby. coming up, the chorus of republican defenses of donald trump. only growing louder. but are voters moving? 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>> chris, you can certainly foresee that republican primary voters would grow tired of donald trump and all of his scandals and controversies, especially if they think that it would make it harder for him to win the 2024 election, the prospect of joe biden getting re-elected because trump isn't strong enough or is being dragged down too much, could certainly start motivating republican primary voters as we move closer to the election and there's a wide open lane in the republican primary for someone who is an alternative to donald trump. that used to be ron desantis for a while. too early to count him out. he has too many resources at his disposal and he's still someone who has high name i.d. but there is an opportunity for someone new, someone different, to jump into this race and make a splash and try to garner some of that support that donald trump could start to lose. >> yeah. with the -- what many people saw as an implosion of the campaign by ron desantis and the fact that nobody else has caught fire, we already reported that last month, fox network's owner rupert murdoch was hoping youngen would get in the race and the poll out of youngkin's state of virginia they will prefer their governor over president biden by seven points. where do you put the over-under on him getting in and what do you think the cutoff is legitimately for him or anybody else to decide to get in? >> i think every day with the current dynamics in the race it's more likely that glenn youngkin or someone like him jumps into this race. he can wait a little longer but sometime by the end of september he would have to be in. otherwise we'll have a couple debates that are going to be held before then, and it could give someone else the opportunity to break out at one of these debates and capture the support of some of these republican primary voters. i think it's likely that glenn youngkin or someone like him gets in. they have to get in in the month of september. any time after that will be too late. >> carlos car bellow, thank you for that. up next, how texas officials are responding after the discovery of a migrant's body in those spiked buoys floating in the rio grande. bearing witness, parkland's parents have urged lawmakers to see the devastating aftermath of the marjory stoneman douglas shooting with their eyes. i'm going to talk to one congressman who led a visit to the school today. you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc. sing reports" only on msnbc super slam starting at $7.99. hungry for all your breakfast favorites? 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( ♪♪ ) ( ♪♪ ) can't stop adding stuff to your cart? get the bank of america customized cash rewards card, choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourists taking photos that are analyzed by ai. so researchers can help life underwater flourish. ♪ trying vapes to quit smoking so resea might feelhelp life un like progress,sh. 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. tragic news at the southern border where mexican officials found a body in the buoy river barrier installed by the state of texas. the mexican government not mincing words in their latest statement saying the buoys are a violation of their sovereignty. i want to bring in jay david goodman, bureau chief for the "new york times" reporting on this story. what more do we know about this and how else are officials in mexico as well as texas responding? >> well, what we know is that this body that was unfortunately discovered in the buoy barrier appears to have been a man who had died of drowning some time earlier. he didn't die in the barrier itself, but drowned up the river and what this really highlights is just the danger that crossing this rio grande has posed, you know, for a long time to migrants. you have dozens of migrants who have died in recent years crossing the river. but it also really underscores the way in which this buoy barrier has created a diplomatic issue for the biden administration and, you know, and for texas. this is something that texas put into the river without federal approval and has become something that -- something of an eye sore and also a diplomatic sticking point. the mexican government want this out and has said so to the biden administration and right now, they're in court to try to get texas to remove it. >> what is the status of that legal fight, david? >> we're expecting something to happen next week. there's a deadline for filings in the case from the state of texas for them to explain why they're not in violation of a federal law that says essentially you can't just put whatever you want in a waterway in the united states. so texas has to explain itself and, you know, they may lose in the initial, you know, court fights but this is something that governor greg abbott has been sort of seeking is a direct confrontation with the federal government over policies at the border. in recent months he's stepped up his sort of harsh tactics to try to repel and deter migrants in a way that really runs up to the line and in some cases possibly over it in terms of what a state can legally do with regard to immigration, and he seems to be looking for a court fight. he's possibly hoping that a more conservative supreme court may side with him on immigration issues in the future, and so that's sort of what we're waiting to see. the next real date is in the next week we'll see filings and possibly a ruling on the request from the federal government to have texas immediately remove this barrier. >> you've reported that texas officials started arresting parents who cross in family units, even when they have children. that had been largely avoided up until now. so when did it start and what's the status of that? what do we know? >> that's right. what appears to be happening in the last month, this happened in the middle of july, the orders given to state troopers changed and they had not been arresting fathers who came over with children under 18. previously, you know, father came over with, you know, a child and a mother, the texas dps would not arrest them for trespassing, which is something they had been doing but send them to the border patrol. they started to treat men coming with their spouses and children, essentially the same as they've been treating men coming alone arresting them and charging them with criminal trespassing for being on land they, you know, were not allowed to be on, under state law and throwing them in a state jail and separating them from their families. this is highly contentious in texas. the arrests challenged and going through the court system but extended to families and has been resulting in dozens if not more families separated and the children are going with their mothers. not being taken away as was done under trump but this is something that's new in texas. >> thank you so much for being on the program. we appreciate it. the lawyer for the man accused of killing four university of idaho students says her client has an unconventional alibi. what are the chances it could hold up in court? 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