Federal gun charges. And in just an hour, the judge has already ruled on four motions. Our crew at the courthouse will tell us about the ground rules hes laying for this trial. Plus, donald trump trying to win over black and hispanic voters as he rallies in the deep blue south bronx. His many controversial messages and the response from one of the most diverse crowds at any of his rallies. And take a look at this, a massive tornado caught on Camera Carving A Path Of Destruction through parts of oklahoma. This Terrifying Scene just one of hundreds that have already touched down this year, and now even more danger could be on the horizon. Whats causing tornados to be more threatening and what can be done about it. Lots to get to on this Holiday Weekend, but we begin with the next Big Courtroom Legal Drama thats hanging over the 2024 election. This time with hunter biden at its center. Right now the president s son is in court for a Pretrial Hearing on felony gun charges. That trial set to begin on june 3rd. Hunter biden pled not guilty last october to those federal charges involving the alleged possession of a gun while using narcotics. Just last night, biden was a guest of honor at the white house state dinner. Nbcs ken dilanian reports from outside the courthouse in wilmington. Also with us, former republican congressman david jolly. Here with me msnbc legal analyst and criminal Defense Attorney danny cevallos. So ken, i know that weve got some updates now. Its moving pretty fast. Tell us whats been going on inside that courtroom. Reporter thats right, chris. At issue in this final Pretrial Hearing before the june 3rd start of the trial were a series of motions arguing about what could and cannot be included as evidence in front of this jury. And it seems like the judge basically gave each side most of what they wanted here, for example, the prosecution is allowed to use portions of Hunter Bidens memoir as long as they keep it in context. The defense is not allowed to argue that he wasnt charged in this crime in 2018 back when it allegedly occurred. And remember, hes accused of lying on a federal form while buying a gun and saying that he was not addicted to drugs when the prosecution says, in fact, he was. And another ruling in this case is that they dont have to show that he used drugs, the prosecution doesnt, on the day that he filled out that form, only that he was addicted to drugs, and theres a lot of evidence and Text Messages and other things that show, in fact, he was using drugs, including in his memoir. The defense the judge says cannot argue that this is a malicious prosecution, grounded in part of russian disinformation. Thats completely excluded from the trial, and the prosecution is allowed to talk about his extravagant lifestyle, only as it relates to his drug activity, not in general about the large sums of money he was making in his Business World and how he was spending it. But in terms of his use of drugs and some of the activity that stems from that, they are allowed to talk about it. So the judge setting the parameters of how this trial is going to unfold. Hunter biden in the courtroom, im told actively engaged and paying attention. Special counsel david weiss also sitting with the Prosecution Team active and engaged. This is a big hearing, and it sets the stage for a very important trial that could cost hunter biden his freedom, chris. All right, danny, so far nine separate motions here. They also include pending tax charges, proceedings in california, they want to exclude the defense does, references to Child Support proceedings in arkansas, any he made on a particular hearing in the matter. As ken said his extravagant lifestyle. Extravagant lifestyle. Is this pretty much pro forma . This is very common. This is motions in llimine. Youre basically saying to the judge in advance, some of these issues we want to resolve before we get to trial so we dont waste time with me standing up and objecting. For example, this extravagant lifestyle, lets deal with this in advance. Let me stop you there, i think a lot of people can understand thats something thats pretty, you know, straightforward. Did he have an extravagant lifestyle. The judge granted the motion in part, denied it in part. He is granting this motion saying prosecutors are prevented from phrasing the evidence as having an extravagant lifestyle, but also saying that he denies any drugrelated Activity Biden may have been partaking in would be relevant to this case. It might be relevant to the case. How do we even read that . Like solomon, judges often need to split the difference, and thats what they try to do because each side has a decent argument, and every motion in limine when it comes to specific acts of evidence like this is really a casebycase basis. In another case an extravagant lifestyle may be very relevant and another case an extravagant lifestyle may have nothing to do with the case, as may Child Support, as may some of the other issues biden is looking to exclude. The judge will often try to allow some in but with a cautionary type instruction. And of course sometimes hell just have to make a decision right there in the moment during trial. So motions in limine are very common. It does seem like they are a lot, but i looked at the motions, some of them are only a page long, which among lawyers that might as well be a haiku. That is very short for lawyers who often draft motions in the dozens and dozens of pages. No surprise. Theyre generally something the judge can dispense with relatively quickly. Were going to keep our eye on this document. I want to ask you about a couple of other things. We talked about the drug use situation. Many americans know what it is like to have someone in our family have an addiction problem. It is unfortunately ubiquitous in this country, drugs and other substances. Can that play into how Jury Selection goes and what the defense is looking for . Yes, of course. Youre going to want to look for people who might be sympathetic to drug use, but at the same time, that is not as huge an issue to sympathy than you might think. All they need to find is that he was either a habitual drug user or addicted to controlled substances. The statute in this case, and i have cases under this statute. This is a very often prosecuted statute. However, this particular subsection, the unlawful addict or user of unlawful drugs is much more rarely prosecuted. So in other words, the overall statutes prosecuted every day. This particular one, not often prosecuted, and the defense has a pretty good argument, and i cant believe im going to say this, but im going to go back to a famous phrase, it depends what the meaning of the word is is. Because the statute says anyone who is a user or an addict of drugs. At the time, the defense argues he had just completed an 11day stint in rehab. In that moment, someone 11 days out of rehab means im clean. Its an interesting argument by the defense and a statute that suffers from somewhat vaguely worded language. Without any proof at all, congressman, as you know, the president and many of his supporters have tried to take what is going on in court right now, the case against hunter biden and tie the president to it that theres some sort of big criminal enterprise, they have absolutely no proof for the kinds of allegations that they are making. Do you think any of that sticks with the people who really matter, and by really matter, i say im referencing the 2024 voters who truly are undecided in who theyre going to vote for. Look, i think the voters, i think the Hunter Biden Issue is largely baked in. I think voters, their minds are captivated by kind of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, not the minutia of what will occur in a court in wilmington. I think part of the reason voters minds are set the way they are is actually a compliment to President Joe Biden himself. The contrast here between how President Biden and his family are staying arms length from the prosecution of his son and how Donald Trumps likes to whip up Conspiracy Theories about his own his criminality and the trials hes facing, the contrast here is the real story. I mean, what i presume the president agrees with and the Defense Attorney does here as well for hunter, is this is a case thats rarely brought. As danny said, usually theres an underlying crime, a violent crime, a use of the firearm. Thats not this case. This is simply did he lie on the form, and you have someone who just got out of rehab and is going to make a sympathetic case that was i or was i not, i dont know, are you really going to hold me accountable for that. The important part here is the distance that joe biden is keeping, a father president who certainly, his heart breaks for his son, but he is not using the levers of government, nor is he lying to the American People about the consequences his son now faces where i think we absolutely could suggest that donald trump engages in that. I should say for full disclosure, congressman, you were involved in some discussions about a Legal Defense fund for hunter biden, nothing formal came of it, you werent paid so i think its important to say that. One of the things we have heard from the president and the first lady for that matter when they are asked about hunter biden, commonly part of the response is i love my son, and is that where it makes sense from a messaging standpoint, from a political standpoint to leave it . It does. First of all, everybody understands Drug Addiction. Everybody is probably one or two degrees of separation from somebody that they know wrecked their lives, and the important part of Hunter Bidens story is that he has been honest about the consequences he now faces based on the decisions he made as it relates to his addiction. And so in the first family, you see a president and first lady simply saying to the American People we love and support our son. The only other option, chris, is what donald trump does, which is to try to lie and manipulate the American Voters around a Justice System that is arguably just following its due course. Ken mentioned that there was a Settlement Agreement a year ago that i think Hunter Bidens team wish really had worked out. Ever since then the two sides have been really averse to each other. You can see the prosecution saying were going for the win here, and the defense is saying, okay, the fights on. Again, over a matter that would rarely be brought, and i think that is where it is really important to see that the president of the United States is saying im not going to interfere in my sons case. All right, i want to go back to the court and, ken, i understand theres some back and forth going on involving records and a laptop . Reporter yeah, chris, the judge is allowing the prosecution to use a summary chart that includes some of the evidence from the infamous lab top, Text Messages and other kinds of things in a limited way because a lot of that goes to the very heart of this case, which is to what extent was he using drugs, when was he using drugs. Hes in communication with apparent drug dealers. Hes been talking to friends and family about his drug use. Its really important to remember that we got here because a plea deal collapsed that would have called for no jail time. Now hes facing two separate felony cases that could land him in federal prison. Its perplexing why these cases are going forward, why his lawyers, you know, walked away from that deal. I know they said they were afraid of his future exposure, but guess what, none of those problems have been solved, and these cases are going forward, and hes at real risk here. These are particularly this gun case, its seen as largely a fairly easy case for the prosecution to win. The burden of proof, what they have to prove is not complicated. Its just kind of a mystery as to why this is all unfolding this way, chris. Let me ask you one more thing, danny. Hunter bidens attorney, Abbe Lowell Has said hes having some trouble getting expert witnesses, particularly in the area of Drug Addiction and drug forensics. Heres how politico put it, his lawyer abbe lowell says the Current Situation is unlike anything he has found himself in before. Abbey lowell is a pretty experienced attorney. He told the judge, people are reluctant to become involved in this case, he added, citing the noise surrounding his high profile client. Its a concern he also raised regarding findings tax experts in another case. Does this surprise you at all . Do you think its a real concern, its about the world we live in now, or is it a delay tactic . Not at all. Im not surprised. First of all, there are lots of drug experts. You can find drug experts. Theyre out there. You can find an expert on virtually any topic you can imagine, and not only that, chris, you can find one expert to take one position and you can bet the other sides going to find another expert to take the Polar Opposite position on the same subject. So theres no question that there are experts throughout on this topic, but also in a high profile case like this, experts are into selfpreservation. They have a business to run, and thats why theyre always very careful about at least trying to be evenhanded, at least trying to be evenhanded. Some of them try to work for prosecution and plaintiffs and equally for defense. Some of them they only work for one side get a reputation as, oh, thats the guy who only does defense cases. He always finds in favor of a Defense Theory of the case, and so its no surprise that if its something thats high profile and something that could be damaging to their business that experts who make A Living From Testifying In Court and a good living generally. Boy, do they make a good living, chris, i cant tell you, they may be reluctant to threaten that business because you dont want to turn the spigot off by alienating your client pool. Danny cevallos, please dont leave us and become an expert witness. Ken dilanian keep us updated. David jolly youre going to stay with me. In 90 seconds, former President Trump attacking migrants at a rally in democratic territory, how will that play with the minority voters hes looking to win over . . But sometimes i cant help due to burning and stabbing pain in my hands, so i use nervive. Nervives clinical dose of ala reduces nerve discomfort in as little as seven days. Now i can help again feel the difference with nervive. [introspective music] recipes. Recipes that are more than their ingredients. [smoke alarm] recipes written by hand and lost to time. Can now be analyzed and restored using the power of dell ai. Preserving memories and helping to write new ones. Donald trump is escalating fear tactics ing migrants to a whole new level. Before one of the most diverse crowds hes had at any rally last night in the bronx, he tried to tie the Immigration Surge in new york to the economic and social concerns of black and hispanic voters. Theyre coming from so many places. We dont have any idea, in many cases, we dont even know what their language. You know, you have languages that people dont even know about. We have languages where theres nobody in our country that speaks these languages. Theyre coming from places we have no idea whats happening with our country. The flood of migrants is putting crippling burdens on our communities, your schools, hospitals, parks, and public resources. Right now you dont have public spaces. Theyre occupied by migrants. Joining us now ashley parker, Washington PostSenior National political correspondent, and an msnbc political analyst. Back with us david jolly, also joining us nbc ease dasha burns here in the studio. You were there. Im going to pull back the curtain a little. You were telling me you were flying in from florida, you were tired. Youve done a lot of trump rallies, but it was really interesting and youre glad you went. I am glad i went. Working that crowd and talking to the people that showed up was really illuminating, chris. Those comments on immigration, i met a lot of immigrants, a lot of folks from the Dominican Republic who themselves agree with trumps Hard Line Stance on immigration. They said things to me like, look, i came here, quote, the right way, and im frustrated by what i see at the border. Im frustrated by what i see in New York City in terms of how those migrants are getting taken care of when i feel like i havent been taken care of in this city, and number one, for all of these voters, black, hispanic, white, jewish, all were there in that crowd. Not surprising a reflection of what were seeing in the polling, the economy, those pocketbook issues number one. Take a listen to some of my conversations. Now were becoming the bronx second class citizens. We have this influx of migrants that are coming in, and theyre getting everything. And everyone in the bronx in the city of new york is forgotten. The bronx has a lot of crime, a lot of migrants are here. Its just getting out of control. When i came and he was the president , the gas was a lot cheaper than it is right now. I used to work in a supermarket. I was a manager. I saw the prices in food go up as soon as he left the presidency, so i w