new york times. special counsel jack smith has been defeat donald trump s son-in-law and former top white house aide jared kushner. the times reports that in an interview last month, the special counsel focused on whether trump had privately acknowledged that he had lost the 2020 election. in other words, when trump claimed the election was rigged, did he know he was lying? did trump have corrupt intent when he allegedly tried to subvert the election? also today, checks myths senior assistant special counsel, a lawyer named tom wyndham, was let ventral courthouse for the second time this week. mr. wyndham is one of the top prosecutors working on the general sixth probe. that was a role he played before jack smith was appointed special counsel. this afternoon, mister wyndham was back in court, indicating that the current jury is amazing. with all of these new details, it really does seem like jack smith might be getting that much closer to potentially and i think trump over hi
him love. if he ends up running against donald trump, how accurate will the so-called approval numbers be. because it still looks like it will be donald trump as the republican nominee. he just raised gobs of cash. polls show him trouncing ron desantis, who is by far his nearest competitor, and despite the indictments, the alleged carelessness around classified documents, and the potentially criminal carelessness for this country s democratic process, republican voters are clearly still on his side. but is anyone else? or to put a finer point on it, will any general election that includes donald trump be anything more than voting for or voting against donald trump? joining me now is nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake. punch bowl news cofounder and msnbc political contributor, jake sherman, and former rnc chairman and msnbc political analyst, michael steele. jake, as somebody who knows mccarthy best, can you give us a sense of why he has not endorsed the
hello again and welcome. it s time to get together with some smart people to break down the week s big stories. today we re asking, with all the polls showing donald trump with a huge lead going into monday s iowa caucuses, what happens if he doesn t live up to those expectations? then, speaker mike johnson under pressure for trying to make a deal with democrats. how long will he last? and the stanley cup praise that has nothing to do with hockey. our panel gives its yay or nay or the newest merch mania. the gang is all here and ready to go, so sit back, relax and let s talk about it. up first, after months of campaigning, the iowa gop caucuses are finally here. monday night, in frigid conditions, iowans will gather at locations across the state, from church basements to school cafeterias to discuss the republican candidates and vote. and the results could dramatically reshape or solidify the landscape of the presidential race. in the final hours, three big questi
hello again, and welcome. it s time to get together with smart people to break down the week s big stories. we re asking with all the polls showing donald trump with a huge lead going into monday s iowa caucuses, what happens if he doesn t live up to those expectations? then speaker mike johnson under pressure for trying to make a deal with democrats. how long will they last? and the stanley cup craze that has nothing to do with hockey. our panel gives its yay or nay on the newest merch mania. the grang s here and ready to g. sit back, relax, and let s talk about it. up first, after months of campaigning, the iowa gop caucuses are finally here. monday night in frigid conditions, iowans will gather at locations across the state from church basements to school cafeterias to discuss the republican candidates and vote. and the results could dramatically reshape or solidify the landscape of the presidential race. in the final hours, three big questions for the three leading
its closing arguments in donald trump s civil fraud trial after a dramatic scene in which the former president himself addressed the court. the judge had only allowed trump to speak on the condition that he focus on the facts but the president quickly veered into other territory claiming he is an innocent man being persecuted d the judge telling defense counsel please control your client. th former president has already been found liable for inflating properties to get loan deals. the judge will attempt to issue his ruling by the end of the month. yasmin vossoughian is reporting for us outside the courtroom in new york. vaughn hillyard is urbandale, iowa, also with us, renato, former federal prosecutor. somebody might argue at least in terms of drama donald trump s a tough act to follow. reporter: yeah, i think that person would likely win that argument. nonetheless, i think lee tee james has a lot in store. she is not likely to offer closing arguments to other attorneys.