Happening now in the newsroom, a heartbreaking loss for u. S. Womens soccer. Off the post sweden can win on this kick. Plus one on one with Donald Trumps lawyer who claims trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election were aspirational, not criminal. And lost at sea for two days in a boat only 12 feet long. Well show you the incredible rescue. Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this sunday, im fredricka whitfield. Donald trumps lawyer doubling down that trump was within his First Amendment rights when he told former Vice President mike pence not to certify the election results. The Attorney Says it all boils down to the way he asked. And all of this played out in the open. Its all free speech. There was a Supreme Court decision that says when youre exercising free speech, youre not engaging in a fraud on the government. Unfortunately most people dont understand thats just one example of the actions. Its very political. Thats just one
all sorts of overacts, at least is alleged to have that if proven could subject him to criminal liable notwithstanding the first amendment. debating free speech on television is one thing but how would this argument hold up in court? it would fall flat. this argument is total nonsense. every charge always spch connected to it. there is always a question of whether that person lied and whether that lie is in furtherance of something that person tried to steal. every case where i was a fraud case, i would tell the jury this case is about lying and stealing. here it was lying about the election, lying about a rigged election and then trying to steal the election from joe biden. simple as that. and jamil, last hour i spoke
sure i ll get grief for that. maybe i ll start with this one. you ve never seen it? i don t even know. how is that possible? how can you cover national security without having seen fast and furious. it s like you tried not watch it. i saw megaladon. it s a great film. what if there are national security issues that involve high-speed car chases and improbable carjackings. i ve got nine movies to watch this weekend, then. yeah, you do. we re going to check in on monday and see if that happened. new day continues right now. i m john berman alongside brianna keilar on this new day. could the former president himself be indicted? plus, donald trump s lawyer claims the constitution gives the former president absolute immunity from a capitol riot lawsuit. will that argument hold up in
will hear them when they gather in new york next week. dara? thank you, matt bradley reporting from london. now to new developments this week in president trump s legal battle to keep his financial footprint hidden after filing a lawsuit against new york s district attorney to block subpoenas issued to the president s accounting firm for eight years worth of tax returns. the lawsuit argues that president trump cannot be subject to the criminal process while in office. they also call the move a quote blatantly unconstitutional path. joining me now is msnbc legal contributor katie fang. what is your take now on this defense s position? how will that argument hold up in court in. well it s not supported by the constitution, dara, it doesn t have a any prior legal precedent. i doubt it s going to prevail for donald trump. like you said the donald trump position in this case, the argument being advanced in a lawsuit against mazar s, the accounting firm that s served
down with mueller s team and give a voluntary interview. and that sort of wipes away the issue of sort of the boundaries of a criminal subpoena. and also, all that time spent back and forth dealing with this. but regarding the special counsel interviewing the president, the new york times writes, mr. mueller, the president s attorneys argued, needs to prove that the president is the only person who can give him the information he seeks and that he has exhausted all other avenues for getting it. would this type of argument hold up in court? you know, i don t think it would. i mean, clearly, the president s duties are waity and all-consuming. that s the argument made time and again by the office of legal counsel in the opinion memos that olc put out in both 1973 and in 2000. now, it s important to remember that the office of legal counsel is an organization within the department of justice. so the president is ultimately