books including his latest, pursuit of happiness, how classical writers on virtue inspired lives of the founders and defined america. president biden will be meeting with members of his family today to discuss the future of his presidential campaign. this after his debate performance spark calls for him to step aside. the other candidate, the convicted felon who has actively tried to overturn democracy who is not facing calls to step aside is awaiting a supreme court opinion on whether he is immune from he prosecution in his federal prosecution case. i will talk about all of that with jamie raskin. another hour of velshi begins right now. good morning. sunday, good morning. sunday, june 30th. breaking news regarding the uncertainty of president biden's re-election bid following his election performance that has sent many democrats into panic mode. after new york and new jersey in the past couple of days, arrived in camp david last night were members of their family awaited them. nbc news is reporting that the bidens will huddle together to discuss the path forward for the president ■ças questions persist about his ability to take on donald trump this november, let alone handle the toughest job in the world for another four years. the biden campaign leaders held a virtual call with members of the democratic national committee yesterday. in the days since the debate, many have voiced an urgent need to reconsider biden as the democratic nominee this november. they've already called for the president to step aside and give another democrat a chance. last night, the editorial board of the constitution, one of the largest publications in the swing state of georgia, called for an op-ed to pass the torch to a new nominee. biden has pledged to do all he can from preventing trump to return to the white house. if he truly hopes to defeat trump, you must pass the torch ç to the next generation of democratic leaders and urge them to nominate another candidate in august,". joining me now is senior politics reporter jonathan allen. good morning to you. what do we know about this meeting? who's going to be a this family meeting? was it preplanned, or was this a result of what happened thursday night? what are they discussing? >> the president was going to be campaigning with his family members, which the white house has reiterated today. what was not preplanned is that they would be talking about the performance. obviously, they didn't know until thursday that that was going to happen. i reporting saw that in the graphic there. five of us on that byline are reporting that ■çhis family is going to discuss with him, you know, what the future of his campaign looks like. that is sort of a broad category, as you pointed out. there are people calling for him to get out of the campaign. longtime senior adviser to biden saying that what he is looking at is what he needs to do next in order to sort of stabilize after thursday's debate. but obviously the democratic party is, you know, is taking a long look in the mirror right now. >> john, keep us posted, please. this is, of course, a remarkably important story. john allen is msnbc senior news politics reporter. joining me now is jamie raskin. he previously served as ■çthis leading impeachment manager for the second impeachment of donald trump. he was a member of the january 6th committee. he is also the writer of the book, unthinkable: trauma, truth, and the trials of american democracy. congressman, it is good to have you here. we have two major issues on our hands. the discussions around the future of the democratic party with joe biden as a presidential candidate. you are a thinker. our viewers respect you as such. tell me your thinking. >> i mean, this is what a real political party looks like and this is what a real political party does. obviously, there was a big problem with ■çjoe biden's deba performance, and there is also just a tremendous reservoir of love for joe biden in our party . so this makes it a difficult situation for everybody, but there are very honest and serious and rigorous conversations happening at every level of our party, because it is a political party and we have differences in point of view. you compare that to the nonexistent dialogue and conversation that took place in the republican party after donald trump's criminal conviction on 34 counts. it is remarkable. and so we are having a serious conversation about what to do. one thing i can tell you is that regardless of what president biden decides, our party is going to be unified. and our party also needs him at of deliberations in our campaign. so whether he is a candidate or someone else is the candidate, he is going to be the keynote beaker at our convention. he will be the figure that we rally around to move forward. and beat the forces of authoritarianism and reaction in the country. >> let's move onto the thing in which you are also an ex -- constitutional law. within 24 hours, it's very unusual, because he could have had this decision and this opinion a long time ago about donald trump's immunity. very interesting conversation that i had an hour ago with judge michael dudek and lawrence strive. i want to say something that judge lueck said. the conversation goes around "jáhe fact that even if donald trump is not given immunity, it's too late to hold a trial. he is what he said. >> i would urge jack smith, in the strongest possible terms today, not to yield to that cynical partisan politics and to bring this case on for trial, even in september or october. >> wow. >> in the name of and for the sake of american democracy, the constitution, and rule of law. >> i would love your take on that. you're saying jack smith should go ahead with this if he's at all permitted to by the ■çsupre court tomorrow question mark >> well, you know, i think that in deference to jack smith and the executive branch, we got to let them make their own decisions the way the supreme court did not. the way the majority of the court repeatedly interfered and through wrenches in that process . i am smiling only because judge ludovic, of course, was an extremely conservative republican judge. and what i'm hearing from a lot of people in this situation, essentially, refugees and exiles from trump land like liz cheney or michael cohen, these people who are now distinguished patriots standing up for democracy, they are the people fighting hardest to try to turn things around and make sure that trump and the forces of maga ■ç don't run roughshod over our constitutional democracy and everything we believe in. i suppose as a professional hazard, he places a little bit more stock in everything that goes on in the courts than i do. i mean, i am not now either in the prognostication business about what courts will do or the adjudication business. i am in the political mobilization business. for me, this campaign is all about galvanizing millions and millions of people across the country, including disenchanted independence to come and join democracy. that's what is going to save us. not any particular courtroom in the land. >> then that is full-circle to our first question about what happens with joe biden. ■ç there are lots of sound arguments that i fully subscribe to the 90 minutes does not a presidency make, and that there's no comparison between joe biden and donald trump. but there is this issue, if you're talking about somebody who wants to win this election, that there are 100 million eligible voters who sat out the last election. is a lot of disenchantment. thursday may have contributed to yet more of that. what is the best way for democrats or people who are concerned, whether it's liz cheney, you, or every other democrat in this country, to make sure the donald trump is not the president of the united states? you didn't rule out the possibility the joe biden steps out of the race. what do you think the right thing to do is? >> we've got a lot of faith in president biden. ■ç he will have to make the decision about whether or not what happened at the debate was one bad night. and president obama had one bad night, you remember, and debating written mitt romney. he came back roaring in north carolina. i thought that that was a very sharp and hard-hitting speech when he was in north carolina. and so that gave me some comfort. i know that there are still a lot of concerns out there, and those are not concerns that are ill motivated in any way. we love joe biden. he has been a magnificent president. you think about the infrastructure plan, 1,000,000,000,000 1/2 dollar investment in bridges and roads and highways, you think about inflation reduction act, dramatic reductions in ñó)ú'c prescription drug prices in the medicare program ■çi constituen spending $500 a month on insulin shot. now that's down to $35. he has done extraordinary stuff, but now the question is, can we recover from the hit that we took during that debate? there is real soul-searching going on, but ultimately, president biden is going to have to make that call. he's the one who has a super majority of delegates. the party and convention are still behind him, but he's going to have to make that judgment. this is what a real political party looks like. it's on a colt of authoritarian personality where one person calls all the shots. it is president biden, his advisers, its mayors, its representatives, it's the family. it's a myriad of things involved in this decision. president bid) to america, i alone can do this. i alone will do all of these decisions for you. we know who is on that path. >> your argument, which i think is intriguing, is this moment that the democratic party is going through, or anybody who likes democracy in this country is going through, this angst is healthy. it's not that everybody's got unified messaging on this. i am sort of with you on this. good to see you as always. jenny raskin of maryland. go ahead. >> thank you very much. i think all of us, regardless of what happens with this particular imbruglia, all of us need to be engaged in the selection, and that's of the selection is all about. >> much agreed. jamie raakin, also author of the book unthinkable:,, truth, and the trials of american democracy. it is a very, very meaningful and important book. we will be right back. (♪♪) try dietary supplements from voltaren, for healthy joints. >> >> back in april, donald trump held a private dinner at his mar-a-lago resort with a group of oil executives and pitched a quid pro quo partnership. according to the washington post and the new york times, trump asked for $1 billion in donations from ■çthe oil magnet promising that in return, he would roll back some of president biden's environmental rules that threaten their industry. at the same time, reporting revealed that the same oil companies are literally writing policy proposals and drafting executive orders to give to trump if he is elected. within weeks, separate reporting revealed that trump had raised more than $40 million in donations from texas fossil fuel companies in just a matter of days. that same week, the finance and budget committees announced they were launching an investigation into the proposition. fast forward to this past week9 and other group, citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington, also known as crewlç filed a criminal by rhe complaint, asking the department of justice to investigate whether trump broke the law by promising political favors to the oil and gas industry. favors like rolling back environmental action laws, and drilling and export permits and exchange for donations to his campaign. the complaint reads, quote, the facts to date establish a startling pattern of events were a candidate for the presidency gathered up oil and gas executives at a private meeting, requested a massive influx of campaign contributions from them, and promised certain official act in their favor on day one of his presidency. and two, associates of those contributors appear to everest bonded by both increasing their contributions to mr. trump and drafting, quote, ready to sign executive orders that have, quote, exactly what we want -- actually spoon feeding the administration that can ■çbe given the force of law on the first day of trump's administration. noah bookbinder, the president of crew, said it is crucial that we have a quick and thorough investigation to determine whether his conduct violates court corruption laws, which are meant to protect the government from undue influence and corruption. the trouble is, this is playing out at a time where the highest court in the land appears to welcome corruption and keeps taking a sledgehammer to those anticorruption laws. just last week in a 6-3 vote divided along ideological lines, the supreme court essentially ruled that bribery is okay. it struck down part of an anticorruption law that prevented state and local officials from receiving gifts from donors who had received contract or some other benefit from ■çthat official. so now it's totally legal to give politicians and lawmakers gift and money for doing something that you want them to do. you can give a politician a gift or a wad of cash as long as the gift is delivered after the service is performed. if there is plausible deniability, then apparently, it is fine. after a quick break, i will discuss the complaint with donald sherman. why use 10 buckets of water when you can use 1 fire extinguisher. and to fight heartburn, why take 10 antacids throughout the day when you can take 1 prilosec. for easier heartburn relief, one beats ten. prilosec otc. one pill. 24 hours. zero heartburn. power outages can be unpredictable, inconvenient, and disruptive to your life, posing a real threat to your family's comfort and safety. when the power goes out, you have no lights, no refrigeration, no heating or air conditioning. the winds are not letting up at all here. we're going to see some power outages. number one thing to prepare for is extended power outages. are you prepared? you can be with a generac home standby generator. when a power outage occurs, your generac home standby generator automatically powers up, using your home's existing natural gas or propane, so your life goes on without disruption. you and your family are comfortable, safe, and secure. stay tuned, to get over a $500 value free on the most popular home standby generator in the world. with the generac, we don't have to worry about whether we lose power or not. if the utility company does not come through, our generac does. having a generac takes a lot of the anxiety out of, there's going to be a storm. after the hurricane happened, we just want to be prepared for anything. generac generators are designed, engineered and built in the usa. 8 out of 10 home generators are generac, and have thousands of satisfied customers. how many times have you heard people say, i never want to go through that again? well, the next time you go through it, don't make it so hard on yourself. have a generac home standby generator. call or go online now to request your free quote with one of generac's nationwide dealers. special financing and low monthly payment options are available, and if you call now, you will also receive a free 5 year warranty valued at over $500. the call is free, the quote is free, and there's no obligation to buy. call or go online now, so the next time there's a power outage, your home powers up. power your life with generac. call or go online to request your free quote today. >> i told you >> i told you about a new criminal bribery complaint filed by the group citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington, asking the investigate whether trump broke the law by promising political favors to oil and gas executives. i'm joined by donald sherman, chief counsel.■ç right after donald trump did this, i actually had a bookbinder on the show, and then asked hand comment, i said it's probably not illegal but donald trump did this and his response to me was, i'm not sure it's not illegal that donald trump did this. first of all, notwithstanding the supreme court ruling last week, is it illegal for somebody running for office who is promising to do things that you know they are going to do to ask for money for their campaign, while in the same sentence, saying i'm going to do the things you want me to do. tell me about what donald trump said to these oil executives and whether that would be on the face of it illegal. you apparently think so, because he filed the court case. >> one of the reasons why we filed this complaint is becauseç we believe there needs to be an investigation to figure out exactly what donald trump said and what he promised. now, of course, under our last campaign finance laws, politicians all the time meet with donors and make promises or talk about their political platform. what's it illegal under the bribery statute, which bars the use of making promises in exchange for political activity, is an exquisite quid pro quo. an explicit promise to take particular government action in exchange for benefit, in this case, political donations. and so sending this complaint to the fbi and the department of justice will hopefully launch an investigation that will unpack what donald ■çtrump promised, and what specifically happened as a result of that promise. and that will give us insight into whether he broke the law or whether, as he often does, sort of skates the line of legal and illegal activity. >> okay. let's go to 50,000 feet and help think this one up here. he's given rallies and speeches were he's said i'd like to be dictator just for one day. and in addition to building the wall, he will drill, drill, drill. you would say, wow, that is fantastic. i should give him some money. is that different from what you are asking for the investigation were, at a specific private meeting with oil executives at mar-a-lago,■ç he said, i need $1 billion. and by the way, i'm going to roll back environmental protections. is there a distinction in your mind? between a public speech and a private conversation where he says and what implement specific policies? >> there is, and the devil is in the details. two specific ones that you noted in your intro are important here. one is that the oil and gas industry was unhappy with donald trump's administration and the steps that it took in support of industry during this administration. his donations from that center lagged in 2020, and were lagging in 2024 before this meeting. and then as you noted, after this private meeting, were allegedly an explicit promise was made,■ç he went to texas an raise millions of dollars in one day, but also, industry insiders were drafting specific executive orders with their perspective in mind that apparently the president would sign on day one. and so this is not just sort of a general policy perspective. but specific executive orders and specific polity asks. it's not just of the detriment of the environment, but also, two folks within industry that weren't at that meeting. >> i want to talk about this bribery opinion from the supreme court. it was called snyder versus united states, where they struck down an existing anticorruption law, which i interpret is basically allowing bribery in the form of gift if the gift is given after dh service. it seems to be following a pattern of a court loosening up and corruption laws, which is pretty odd, considering judges should be, in theory, of the utmost integrity. does this case pair any relationship to what you're trying to achieve with respect to this donald trump meeting at mar-a-lago ? >> absolutely. this case, snyder is consistent with what we've seen from the conservative court into dark money, which is that there are wins for corruption, for corporations, and insurrectionist, and losses for democracy, acco