What it means for Donald Trumps former lawyer. Seemingly not moving the needle for 2024. How this will all play out on the Campaign Trail as The 11th Hour gets underway on this tuesday night good evening once again, i am stephanie ruhle. Former president Donald J Trump now has ten days to surrender to face allegations he and 18 other people were behind a Criminal Racketeering Enterprise to reverse the 2020 Election Results in the State Of Georgia. I am giving the defendants the opportunity to voluntarily surrender no later than noon on friday, the 25th day of august, 2023. Tonight, georgia officials said its expected that trump and his codefendants will be booked at the Fulton County jail. The 41 count indictment, unsealed late, late last night, describes a wide ranging plot that went beyond the infamous find me 11,000 votes phone call. According to da fani willis, it also included the appointment of fake electors, efforts to access voting machines, harassment of an election worker, and attempts to try to reverse the results in other battleground states. Tonight, a former Trump White House lawyer commented on the indictment. I think it was important to georgia and, certainly important to her, to have trump as a defendant. The court is against trump and the significant defendants is very, very strong case. Very, very strong case. Those are the words of trumps old lawyer. One of trumps codefendants has already taken steps to separate himself from the case. Former Trump White HouseChief Of Staff mark meadows has filed to have the charges against him moved to Federal Court. Meanwhile, some legal experts think that the georgia case could take a long time, because a number of the defendants and the complex racketeering charges. Thats where donald trump himself, this, of course, is his fourth indictment since april. He is now facing a total of 91 felony charges. With that, lets get smarter, with the help of our Leadoff Panel tonight greg bluestein, who, i assure you, has been working overtime, a political reporter reporter for the atlanta journalconstitution, an msnbc legal contributor. Former missouri senator and msnbc political analyst claire mccaskill, and kristy greenberg, a former federal prosecutor and former sdny Criminal Division deputy chief. Claire, i turn to you first. You are also a former prosecutor. You know the law. Mark meadows is now saying he wants a federal trial, because he was acting as a white house official. This guy gave up a safe and a very influential seat in the house to briefly become Donald TrumpsChief Of Staff. And now he finds himself criminally indicted. What do you think of his entire situation . Well, its interesting. Because there was a lot of speculation that he was cooperating, that he had flipped. But clearly, him being unnamed indictment, it doesnt appear that thats the case, at least in georgia. Him asking for removal is not a surprise, stephanie. I think we see that motion from him, from trump, and also jeffrey clark. And they are using a law that allows someone who has a coverable claim they were acting in their official capacity as a federal officeholder, or as a federal employee. Now, is it going to make it complicated . Is it going to drag this thing out because we are going to have litigation over the removal . Yeah. Its going to do that. But at the end of the day, remember, even if he gets a federal removal, he is still going to be tried on georgia charges, with georgia prosecutors. The only difference is the jury pool will be slightly more favorable. It is still overwhelmingly a Biden Victory even in the Northern District of georgia. So, i dont think this is going to get him home free, even if he succeeds in this motion. And there is a lot of argument whether the motion even has merit. Its a coverable claim, probably. At least there is a stronger claim then what trump had in manhattan where he paid off Appoints Arbery for he even got elected president they said, no, you dont get the protection of going to Federal Court when you pay off a porn star before you are president. But, in this case, this is going to get litigated. Its going to take some time. Kristy, what do you think . Does he have any real shot of getting this thing moved to Federal Court . Or is this just a delay tactic . So, the way meadows attorney puts it in his papers well, the thing that these hes alleged to have done, like setting up a meeting, setting up a call, those are things that would be within his official duties as a Chief Of Staff. But you need to look a little bit further. What was the call he set up . Well, he set up the socalled perfect call with the georgia secretary of state. And what did meadows do in that call . Well, he was trying to get the secretary of states data, to basically try to shore up claims of election fraud. They were very clear parts of that call where meadows is trying to that has nothing to do with being a Chief Of Staff. That is him being Donald Trumps henchmen, and trying to get data that was protected by law that he was not entitled to. There was also another part of the indictment, where meadows is alleged to have participated in meeting with donald trump to request a memo from a john mcatee on how to disrupt and delay the certification of the vote on january six before congress. How in the world are they going to argue that that would have been within his official cheugys duties as a Chief Of Staff . So, it seems like a loser to me. But we will see what happens. The one thing i would note is that even if it does get removed Federal Court im not sure that he would necessarily fare much better there. Greg bluestein, we keep reading about georgia officials are now preparing for booking. Tell us what we know about that. Because we sort of prepared for it in florida, and in d. C. And trump got really special treatment. Yeah, we got word from Fulton County officials, just a few hours ago, that they expect all the bookings to be done at the Fulton County jail, which is a facility that most folks here in atlanta would never wish even on their worst enemies. It is plagued by problems. It is constantly overcrowded. It is facing civil rights complaints. Its now subject to a Justice Department civil rights investigation. And the county paid out a 4 Million Dollar settlement to a family of a 35yearold cheney who died last year in a Mental Health cell. So, the facility is plagued with all sorts of pressure that came, at least, from the Fulton County officials said, it is open 24 7, and they expect the defendants to surrender at any moment over the next week and a half. Kristy, as a former prosecutor, does it surprise you when we have seen donald trump show up in the last two, he is not showing up with his wife, or any Family Members . No allies by his side just his lawyers you know, its hard to say. I think most criminal defendants, when they are facing criminal charges, you do expect to see someone they are in their corner, particularly if they are needed to, perhaps, cosign a bond, or for bail purposes. Usually there is someone there to provide support. But maybe donald trump is making a political calculation that he doesnt want to give this make it seem more important than it is, and he can just write it off as, this is a witch hunt. And so thats why i dont want to make it seem like this is Something Worthy of me trotting out my family for this. But i would anticipate it being very different if there is a trial, particularly in georgia, where a trial would be televised. I think then, you probably would see many Family Members, if nothing else, to try to influence a jury. Claire, this one surprised me. Chris christie, who has been going after donald trump harder than almost anybody in the last few months, who clearly thinks trump has no business returning to the white house, is actually taking issue with the indictment, saying its unnecessary because jack smith basically has all this covered. What do you think about that . First of all, i had to laugh out loud. I spit coffee when i read what he said, because he said, well, clearly, fani willis is just exercising her ego. And im going lately, by the . Youve got one of the biggest egos that have has ever walk the halls of government. So, it is just ironic that Chris Christie is doing that. And i think Chris Christie is also and i will say this with some bias, as a State Prosecutor i think he has got federal bias. I think that once you have been in the federal system, no offense to my fellow panel member, but there is a little bit of a rub between State Prosecutors and federal prosecutors. With the State Prosecutors always assuming the federal prosecutors think they are better and smarter, and while the State Prosecutors think they do all the hard work. So, it might be a little biased towards the federal system here that Chris Christie is talking about. And ive got to jump in on your previous question. Im going to tell you the truth. I dont think this family wants to be anywhere near him right now, unless its don junior and his girlfriend and eric. I think the rest of them have said, i think junior Jared Kushner has got his money from the saudis, i think ivanka brand and i think melania has had her fill of it ever since ridiculous stuff he refused to do on the day that people were attacking Police Officers in our capitol. I love that claire is like, im going to need to weigh in on this one. Kristy, what is your view on how this case has laid out . Does it seem to strong . Or too broad . Because the clock is ticking. And this thing is expansive, to say the least. It is. But i think it reflects real thought and careful work over two and a half years have an investigation. Remember, doj didnt start investigating until april of 2022, 15 months after january 6th. Fani willis was rolling up her sleeves and getting to work immediately after the events of january 6th. So, she has had some time, where she has built a case, not just against donald trump, but against his allies. And i think it is really important, not just for the State Interests that i agree with claire, there are real State Interests at issue here. Those election workers, Georgia State officials, who have been subjected to treatment that they shouldnt have been under the charge of the indictment but more than that, it is about showing the enablers of Criminal Conduct that, if you are within Donald Trumps inner circle, if you are within his orbit, that does not make you immune from the consequences of the law. And i think its a really Important Message and, again, 98 pages of dense charges in very clear detail i think she seems to have her ducks in a row. And we will see what happens, literally. Because this will be televised. Greg, what can you tell us about the Lead Prosecutor and the judge here . Well, the Lead Prosecutor is nathan wade, who is a longtime friend of fani willis, and a veteran prosecutor. And fani willis might end up trying key parts of this case as well. The judge is relatively new. Its been just a few months since he was appointed by brian or governor brian kemp, a republican. To the post hes a former prosecutor. Hes a former Inspector General of the State Of Georgia as well, a longtime prosecutor background and not much is known, though, about how he can handle such a complex case. Frankly, not much is known about how any judge can handle hes got his work cut out for him. Of course, we expect donald trump to file the same motion motion that donald mark meadows did we could see a new judge depending on how that looks. Right now it is looking like this relatively new judge on the bench will be handling those complex cases that you have ever seen in the State Of Georgia. Claire, as long as we are talking about you spitting out your coffee, i want to share what had me choking on mine. We have spent the last year and a half listening to donald trump, his allies, and rightwing media attack smartmatic, dominion voting machines. Go after these Voting Machine Companies relentlessly to the point where they have got these multi soon to be potentially billion dollar settlements, potentially, pending. And now he have got charges that it was these guys, trump and his allies, potentially trying to access these very machines. What is your take on that . I think the idea that they would find an election official and a political operative in a county 200 miles away from atlanta to cooperate and give them access to machines that should never be accessed by anyone outside of those who legitimately are authorized to deal with them it just shows you how far they went. And this is where meadows is going to have trouble. Because that part of the conspiracy really shows that they would go to Great Lengths to try to make up stuff to backup their big lie. And thats why this whole narrative is important. It is going to i get a headache as a Prosecutor Thinking about one of my witness is being crossexamined 19 times in one courtroom, at one time. That will be something to watch. It will be a drama. And by the way, this is not only one of the biggest cases georgia has ever seen. This is one of the biggest cases the world has ever seen. So, this will be a trial that, i think, when it is televised, it will be some of the highest ratings that we have probably ever seen in this country. It will make the oj trial look like a mere footnote compared to the circus that will be surrounding this particular trial. And my heart goes out to all of the lawyers and all of the Court Officials who are going to try to keep order under the circumstances. It will be major, no doubt. Kristy, give us a reality check. Because fani willis may have her ducks in a row. But there are a whole lot of ducks here. Is there any chance even one of these for trials is resolved before November 2024 . And the fact that there are four separate cases does that make it even less likely that they get results before election day . I think it depends on what you mean by resolved. So, i dont think a case will be completely done, meaning that there is a sentencing, and the appeal has been exhausted. But in terms of whether we can see a trial before the 2024 election, i think the answer is absolutely yes. I would expect that the January 6th Trial that goes forward first will be jack smiths and not fani willis is. Why . Both clearly have a strong Public Interest in happening, because you are talking about a former president , and a current president ial candidate being charged with overturning the results of the election. Theres a strong Public Interest in having that happen before voters have to cast their vote. But fani willis has charged 19 people. That is going to take some time. Discovery will take time. Lots of motions from lots of different defendants i dont see that happening within six months, which is what he said last night during her press conference. Whereas jack smith has one defendant, and he does have a judge in d. C. Who has indicated a willingness to move things along. So, i do think that will be the first trial to go. They have asked the special the Special Counsel has asked for january 2024. That seems a little ambitious. I think you are probably looking more at march or april. But i do think it will be within the first half of 2024 that we will see the i think it will be the first one. 19 defendants with one clear winner. Lawyers. Can you imagine the legal bills that will be racked up over the next year . Massive. It will rival campaign fundraising. Greg bluestein, claire mccaskill, and kristy greenberg, thank you all for starting us off on a really important night. When we come back decades ago, Rudy Giuliani made his name in new york. He led the way using Racketeering Laws as a prosecutor. Now, he himself is facing his own rico charge in georgia. Neal katyal well break down exactly what he is up against, and what is next for fani willis. And later, republicans responding to the fourth indictment of trump conor lamb and Stuart Stev