if they're having an interview with jake tapper >> back-to-back premieres tonight at nine on cnn all right, that's the news reporting from washington. i'm jim acosta, a quick programming note. i'll be moving to weekdays at 10:00 a.m. starting on february 26. that's a week from tomorrow. so stay tuned for that. and the meantime, keep right on watching this program brought to you by the terrific team here i'm so thankful to all of them and thank you so much for spending part of your weekends with me these last few years. i will see you soon and i'm going to shan who brought this earlier to thank me for having them on the show. thanks to shannon, everybody came on this week and had a lot of the regulars that we have on every weekend this weekend, and it was a lot to me. thanks so much for tuning in. in the meantime, up next is the whole story with anderson cooper unpacking the federal election interference case against former president donald trump. again, thanks to all of you for watching on the weekends. casb in the mornings coming very soon right here on cnn, have a good night, everybody

>> welcome to the whole story. i'm anderson cooper. last week, former president donald trump asked the supreme court to take up the issue of presidential immunity. the further delaying his federal criminal trial related to the 2020 election in the january 6 attack on the capitol. now the claim was already heard and rejected by a federal appeals court. it's now up to the highest court to decide to take the case or to let the ruling stand and clear the way for this trial to begin. now the timing is crucial because the former president is likely to become the republican nominee. and he wants to delay the trial until after voters head to the polls in november. he's charged with four counts of obstruction and conspiracy. but what exactly is he accused of doing too? subvert the election? and is it his actions that matter or his intent over the next hour, cnn anchor and chief legal analyst, laura coats will lay out the facts. the federal indictment most which are undisputed by the former president and his attorneys, and examine the strengths and weaknesses of the

case against him >> today an indictment was unsealed, charging donald j. trump with conspiring to defraud the united states conspiring to disenfranchise voters and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding tack on our nation's capital on january 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault in the seat of american democracy it was fueled by lies >> in august 2023, less than a year after attorney general merrick garland appointed jack smith as special counsel to investigate donald trump the former president, was indicted on federal felony charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential

election. >> if you count the legal votes by easily win. numerous times, we found glitches and every single time that glitch went 100% said to the biden trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. >> this indictment told a very cohesive story that former president trump was responsible for the conspiracy to tell american public that the election had been stolen. >> big difference between losing and winning and having it install it, and that he used various mechanisms to push forward that big lie and that it led to the attack on the capital out of the gate. >> page, one of the federal criminal indictment begins with a statement that donald trump has spent the past three years denying the very first thing they said, donald trump lost the election. that's the first statement. >> and even before outlining the criminal charges, the special counsel chose to address trump's claim that the government has infringed on his

first amendment right to free speech. >> the cases is a ridiculous case. it's a first amendment case. >> a special counsel makes it very clear that the words that former president trump said, he is allowed to say them, but they can be used as evidenced to show intent. they can be used in court trump is charged with four felonies emanating from one set of facts established in the criminal indictment. >> the first one is a conspiracy to defraud the united states essentially a conspiracy to steal the election from the united states and from the voters. the second end, the third charges are obstruction and conspiracy to commit obstruction and the just there is that donald trump's goal was to try to block or delay the counting of the electoral votes in congress. then the fourth charge is a conspiracy against rights, which specifically means a conspiracy to deprive the american voters of their right to vote because he tried to steal an election that he actually lost we fight, we

fight like hell. >> one crime. trump has not been charged with. >> we will stop the steal insurrection i think jack smith wanted to keep his charges as straightforward and plain as possible. i think he realized that insurrection is harder to prove then obstruction or conspiracy you'd have to approve this intent to overthrow the united states government >> jack smith's indictment has only four counts. >> what's behind that? >> straight to the heart, like a cannonball and the heart here is donald trump, not the people around him, not the people in the states, which may explain why the indictment includes six unnamed unindicted coconspirators from trump's orbit. even though the coconspirators are not named, the descriptors are specific enough to clearly reveal most, if not all, of their identities there are other reasons why jack smith may have declined to

pursue indictments against the coconspirators. >> i do think one of the goals that jack smith had in charging the case, the way he did is to try to flip people others like tim parlatore, one of trump's former attorneys, point to speed. >> jack smith clearly wants to get this case tried before the election. there's no way that jack smith is going to add a co-defendant to this case because that will definitely push the trial out past the election. >> with this trial times of the essence donald trump is the leading republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election in november >> jack smith for all the pushing his done to try this case as quickly as possible. he has never and i believe will never acknowledge that he wants to try trump specifically before the election. i think he doesn't want that appearance of anything that might be interpreted as being political >> the 45 page indictment alleges in stunning detail exactly what donald trump did to remain in power much of

which the american public is familiar with from the january 6 committee's investigation, president trump relentlessly pursued multiple the department of justice was able to take what we did and they had some more tools, they add some more ways to compel witnesses and i think they have a lot more information. everything we've been learning has been in sort of dribs and drabs and reports with the exception of when jack smith file things special counsel, jack smith plans to present evidence filings have tipped the public off to previously unknown aspects of the case, like allegations that a >> trump campaign employee sought to start a riot to quote, obstruct the vote count in detroit is it safe to say that the indictment is the tip of an iceberg? and what they're really preparing to present at trial. >> i think it is safe to say that the indictment is exactly that that it gives us a little bit of a vantage point. he

wanted to tell a story, but i think at juncture, after juncture, smith has earned on the side of staying sphinx like and not revealing which tracks with the special counsel's reputation. >> i've never seen a prosecutor who hates the cameras as much as jack smith. and i mean, that as a compliment, the platonic ideal of the prosecutor would be somebody who has no interest in public profile, who just wants to keep his head down and do the job. i think jack smith is that he certainly projecting that jack smith by reputation as a hard prosecutor, you, ryan goodman is a former special counsel at the department of defense, and a professor at nyu. >> he has gone after political corruption on both let's sides of the aisle, democrats and republicans, he's also somebody who served as a war crimes prosecutor and has indicted a sitting president and kosovo. so he's that kind of an individual that moves fast and moves aggressively at the same time that also might come with some risks why is there some

criticism that he overreaches? >> well, if you look at jack smith's history, his three highest profile cases before this, all of them have failed either at the trial level or the appellate level. and so the criticism is while he's overeager, he's over anxious >> what is going to be one of the toughest hurdles for jack smith's team to overcome everything in this case will turn on what donald trump's state of mind is and whether there was corrupt content. all the facts they play down on national television. >> the speeches >> have been played millions of times >> erin, georgia, there were tens of thousands of illegal votes cast. >> so there's not going to be that much in the way of disputed issues of fact, but it's more of an interval our lecture was so corrupt that in the history of this country, we've never seen anything like he ultimately the way that this case is going to have to be framed to a jury is the difference between trying to fraudulently overturn the will of the people versus trying to

do everything thing in your power to ensure that the will of the people was accurately counted >> we know there was massive fraud. >> the prosecution alleges that trump's spread prolific lies about the election. lies they say he knew were false. >> the indictments cites an >> exhaustive list of those surrounding the former president who told trump that his claims were untrue. even mike pence, trump's loyal vice president, told the then president he had seen no evidence of outcome determinative fraud. why is that so important? >> it's important to lay out that the former president was told that he had lost the election because it goes back to that intent peace. it's important for the special counsel to establish that former president trump knew or that are reasonable person would have known that they lost the election we're going to the capitol >> it is central because the fact that he knew means that

all these things that happened leading up to january 6, and on january 6 hadn't intended goal hadn't intended purpose, hadn't intended outcome. that purpose was frankly the overthrow of the federal the government, and the invalidation of a legitimate election by the people, the united states of america >> that's chilling coming up, in the legislature gets to do what it wants. >> had this rogue legal theory, there's overwhelming proof of fraud. >> the pressure campaign hits the swing thank states. >> it was a total ambush and i was livid >> did you know turbotax now offers a lifetime guarantee when you file your taxes i'm here with tax expert diana to tell us more turbotax guarantees your tax return for its full lifetime of seven years does that apply to all turbotax personal tax products and services? >> yes

>> whether you're doing your taxes yourself or having one of our experts do them for you. the lifetime guarantee covers 100% accurate calculations, audit, support, and maximum refund visit turbotax.com to get started we're building a better postal service. all parts working in sync to move your business poleward. with the streamlined shipping network and new high-speed processing and delivery centers for more value more of a liability, and more on time liveries. the united states postal service is built for how you business and how you business is with simple, affordable, and reliable shipping. usps ground advantage only at banned guard, you're more than just an investor. you're an owner. >> that >> means your priorities are ours to our retirement tools and advice can help you leave a legacy for the ones you love that's the value of ownership >> from need the dot didn't

need it. now so many ways to save life, ready, wallet, happy about 365, whole foods market. >> why choose asleep numbers, smart bet can keep me warm when i'm cold. >> wait, no, i'm always hot. >> sleep number doesn't match can i make my side softer? >> i think my side farmers number does that can help us sleep better and better, please speak number does that 94% of smart sleepers report better sleep? now say 50% on the sleep number limited edition smartphone plus free home delivery. when you add any base ends, president staying >> there was a ton of pressure on my colleagues on the republican side of the aisle

too. start in motion. something that would lead to donald trump being able to overturn the election >> by the time georgia state senator alayna parent attended a meeting at the state capitol on december 3, 2020 joe biden had already been declared the winner. she wondered why her peers across the aisle had hastily convened this meeting. >> i feared that we were going to be walking into an amplification of disinformation and conspiracy theories. >> and the >> day feature boat called the subcommittee of the judiciary to order a sensibly the meeting was called to address allegations of fraud presidential election the reality was much darker >> were you expecting to see >> members of trump's legal team at that meeting >> not at all. it was a total ambush and i was livid >> the election must be vacated and cannot be allowed to stand. >> members of the president's

legal team pushed wild unsubstantiated claims. some of the most shocking were shown in a video. trump's team falsely claimed that video was evidence of fraud from election night ballot counting at the state farm arena in atlanta. >> once everyone is gone, coast is clear. they are going to pull ballots out from underneath a table >> and former new york city mayor rudy giuliani was there supporting the claims well, i don't don't have to be a genius to figure out what happened >> as the meeting unfolded, trump tweeted about the hearing amplifying the lies to his tens of millions of followers and then another member of the trump legal team pushed a theory that took the meeting into dangerous new territory >> my name is john eastman. i'm a professor of

constitutional law and former dean he had this rogue legal theory that if the legislature felt odd about the >> results of the election, it was argued to seize the decision on who georgia's electoral votes should go to, correct me if i'm wrong here, your argument is that essentially we have a failed election that would require the legislature to step in and assign electors. am i correct? >> yes. >> and that's when the purpose of the meeting became clear. >> they thought that they could get officials there to call a special session through their electors. and appoint a on alternate set of electors or fake electors >> urine attorney? >> yes. >> what did you make about legal argument >> i thought it was totally bogus because it was very clear under georgia law that we had no such power >> during the hearing. parent

tweeted about being forced to listen to the trump team's consent spirit. see theories. >> all of a sudden, i was going viral in these right-wing segments of twitter >> you would bring threatened. >> oh yeah, right away. right away. death threats, right away? >> state senator parent wasn't alone defending georgia's free and fair election other georgia officials like governor brian kemp and attorney general chris carr fielded in treaties from the president audio from secretary of state brad raffensperger's hour long phone call with the president was leaked? >> i want to do is this i just want to find 11,700 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state you got to see a window into donald trump's heart. he was willing to just push without facts or

figures, an elected official to do something illegal >> according to the indictment, georgia wasn't the only state targeted by trump and his allies across other crucial swing states. similar effort to overturn the election were occurring time and time again. trump and his cohort were stymied by local politicians. many times, fellow republicans like former arizona house speaker rusty bowers, who got a call from trump, and giuliani. >> you said that there is a legal theory or a legal ability in arizona that you can remove the electors of president biden and replace them. and i said, i've never heard of any such thing. >> trump also invited michigan republicans to the white house where he raised already debunked theories about fraud in their state can you make the point to the president that you

were not going to do anything that violated michigan law? >> i believe we did. i think that the words that i would have more likely used is we are going to follow the law when it became clear, the pressure on the state and local officials was going to be unsuccessful trump and his allies set their sights on a new goal replacing the biden electors with those who would vote for trump at some stage the fake electors plot might have actually been somewhat legitimate >> well, assisting with trump campaign's legal efforts in wisconsin an attorney by the name of kenneth cheseboro wrote a memo. the memo advocated electors for trump should meet and cast votes for the then president, while the legitimate electors we're doing the same for biden. >> they wanted to file these documents on the idea that in case donald trump were to

prevail in litigation then they could submit those certificates to congress. the problem is that it's switched at a certain point from contingent electors to false electors. >> state and federal judges dismissed more than 50 lawsuits presented by trump's team challenging the election. instead of the trump electors voting as a contingency should court cases prevail. court cases became the cover to organize the electors it was a farce, it was just to keep the image up of the idea that this is being litigated >> in court, and therefore, it's legitimate and it was not legitimate. they knew that they weren't going to win the campaign was central to this effort because you can't pull this off without the apparatus of the political campaign four days before the electors were scheduled to vote kenneth

cheseboro sent the targeted states a >> streamlined version of the fake electors memo, instructions and bogus electors there's certificates. he had drafted. >> a lot of these false electors at the state level were duped. they were told that it was contingent on litigation, but they were being lied to facilitate the voting when legitimate electors in each state gathered on december 14, 2020, all 16 electors cast their ballots for joseph r. biden fake electors met in seven swing states to falsify votes for trump from the state of arizona. >> here >> certify the file this is an organized effort to do something illegal to change the outcome of reality. if somebody would have produced one ounce of legitimate proof that the election was rigged. all this is let's just call melt away in a heartbeat. but they haven't >> cheseboro has since pleaded

guilty to one felony in georgia for his role in the fake elector scheme. and is cooperating in another case in nevada up next, the justice department under siege. >> donald trump was so desperate to hold onto power but he, didn't care about the rules >> we're here to get your side of the store a >> fares bribery, prostitution. why do we keep ending up here? >> you can't write this stuff. >> united states of scandal with jake tapper, back-to-back premieres tonight at nine on cnn >> morning's cough, congestion. i'm feeling >> better all in one and done with new mucinex kickstarter headaches that are now used? >> the next kickstart gives only one and done relief with a morning jolted instance, cooling sensation, combat season. >> jorge is always put the >> ones he loves first when it comes to kids hearing for his teeth, when he's led his own

maintenance, take a backseat. well, maybe it's time to shift gears on that because aspen dental has the latest technology and equipment with a staff that goes out of their way to provide exceptional care. plus free exams and x-rays for new patients without insurance in 20% off treatment plants making it easier to get started with quality care. >> it's one more way. aspen dental is in your corner >> this should do. want you >> i work hard and i want my money the work hard to so i use my freeman limiting car or, you know, my favorite soup

>> got it >> rmb would chase freedom and limited. how do you cash? jayce, make more of what's yours? >> my name is cody archie and i'm erica. and were first-generation ranchers from central texas. >> and because it tiktok were able to show people from all over the world where their food and fiber come from. >> we have door per sheep and we have beef cattle for the sole purpose of going into the food chain we use tiktok as a tool to inform people of what we do and why we do it. there's just a plethora of knowledge and i've information swapping going on there. tiktok is helping us protect this way of life for future sure generation >> during the genesis signature

events, select eligible owners can receive $2,000 a month gv at exclusively at your local genesis retailers businesses further with 5g solutions, that's why they choose t-mobile for business. >> pga of america >> in t-mobile, more partnering on 5g powered analytics to help improve player performance. >> t-mobile's >> network helps aaa stay connected nationwide. you give their members back on the road and las vegas grand prix joe's t-mobile hello, fuel operations for one of the world's largest racing events now is the

life >> vegas the story of sin city next, and the attend on cnn. closed captioning brought to you by meso book.com >> we have offered a free book about missile filial motto for ten years call 1808724901 got a meso book.com at the department

of justice, civil servants work to follow the law wherever it may lead without prejudice. or improper influence. but according to jack smith's indictment of donald trump, attempted to wield that influence in an effort to hold onto the presidency how do you view the level of pressure that trump placed on the department of justice does ever been anything like it because donald trump was so desperate bid to hold onto power that he didn't care about the rules but leadership at the department of justice did care about the rules and was not bending to the pressure. >> leaders in the department of justice told the former president that there was no outcome determinative fraud for them to launch an investigation to overturn the election. so as part of the pressure campaign and department of justice, this

is where mr. jeffrey clark kind of rose to prominence >> jeffrey clark is environmental lawyer lower-level person at the department. he was a completely unremarkable figure >> at a january 6 committee hearing, former acting attorney general, jeffrey rosen, testified about president trump's call to him on christmas eve 2020 did he mention our jeff clark's name? >> yes. >> was something about did i know jeff clark or did i know who he was or something like that? i was quizzical as to how does the president even know mr. clark >> rosen confronted clark, directing him to immediately stop having unauthorized contact with the white house but very next morning, clark spoke on the phone again with donald trump hours later, trump phoned rosen, who eventually asked then acting deputy

attorney general, richard donoghue to join the call. >> so during this conversation, did did you take handwritten notes directly quoting the president? >> i did. >> so let's now put up the notes. where were you quote the president, just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest of me in the republican congressmen >> he wanted them to plant a seed. >> he wanted them to at least leave the door open >> they told the president, as long as they were in charge, they would not publicly back his false election fraud claims. so trump tried to ensure that they were no longer in charge he began to unveil his plan to appoint a new acting attorney general people tell me jeff clark is great. >> i should put him in >> the rest of the dangerous scheme would be revealed to rosen and donoghue. the very next day. in an email sent to them by trump's alleged coconspirator for jeffrey clark

that included this proposed letter this is a letter that he wanted them to send to the elected officials in georgia. the idea was to raise questions about the election results in georgia. and suggest to the governor there to call a special session, >> how did rosen and donoghue respond to that letter? >> there were shocked these were individuals who are actually responsible for looking into election security or election fraud, or crimes of this nature. so for mr. clark, as an environmental lawyer to be willing to say this in a letter. i believe that special counsel probably has evidenced directly on point just like we collected them the january 6 committee, that he knowingly knew them to not be true. >> what do you think the effect of that letter would have been in your legislative branch? it >> would have been another breaking the dam or another domino falling and the question i have is what breaking the dam

or domino that falls over, which is the one that's going to make the rest of them go disturbed by the letter. donoghue immediately responded to clark writing, quote, this would be a grave step for the department to take it could have tremendous constitutional, political, and social ramifications for the country. >> jewel, imagine as a local elected official or local official getting a official letter from the department of justice stressing that there were accusations and frankly evidence of corruption or evidence of votes being stolen. it would lead into an utter panic >> a new year's eve, trump summoned rosen donoghue, and others to the oval office. again, he raised claims of election fraud once again, those justice department officials told him those claims were false. trump didn't hide

his anger toward the end of the meeting. the president again, was getting very agitated and he said, people tell me i should just get rid of both of you. i should just remove you and make a change in leadership. put jeff clark in maybe something will finally get done >> it wasn't long before trump did offer clark the position vision of attorney general. and that's when clark tried one more time to get rosen and donoghue to sign the draft letter. he wanted sent to the georgia state officials a letter full of lies so you still refused to sign and send that letter. i take it? >> that's right. i think mr. donoghue and i were both very consistent that there was no way we were going to sign that letter >> undeterred clark, move forward with the scheme to keep trump in office? he accepted the president's offer to become acting attorney general on january 3. according to the

indictment of donald trump later that same afternoon, the deputy white house counsel warned clark that there was no evidence of election fraud and if trump remained in office, nonetheless, there would be, quote, riots in every major city in the united states to its clark responded, quote well, that's why there's an insurrection act that evening. there was a contentious three-hour meeting with president trump in the oval office. attendees included white house lawyers clark donoghue, and rosen so after some preliminaries the president turned to me and he said, well, one thing we know is you >> rosen, you aren't gonna do anything. you don't even agree with the claims of election fraud? and this other guy at least might do something. the conversation this point was really about whether the president should remove jeff rosen and replace him with jeff

clark and everyone in the room. i think understood that that meant that letter would go out. >> then trump asked, >> suppose i replace him jeff rosen with him, jeff clark. what would you do? and i said, mr. president, we resign immediately and i said mr. president within 24, 72 hours, you could have hundreds and hundreds of resignations of the leadership of your entire justice department because of your actions? >> the whole plan here was to put enough doubt in people's minds to give credence to possibly overturning the election when all of the department of justice officials basically threatened to resign. the former president realized that backed off of that plan and then turned his attention to january 6, up next, donald trump lied to gin up his people. >> you don't fight like hell. you're not going to have a country anymore. >> he knew when you're surprised and upset, you're much more likely to come violence

>> year headline or las vegas as forte. i want to do >> it's unlike anywhere else in the world. >> vegas, the story of sin city next sunday at ten on cnn hi morning's cough, congestion, i'm feeling better all in one and done with new mucinex kickstarted >> that are now use the next kickstarter but given all in one and done relief with our morning jolted instance, cooling sensation come back season to advance the future of golf, pga of america chose t-mobile for business with a 5g powered innovation hub to analyze player performance and expand coaching tools. take your business further with america's largest 5g network >> next next, stop, we got no, keep going and get next if you

pick one i have time. am i keeping you from your job >> next? >> i don't even know where i am anymore. >> step dewey finally have it. >> let's go back to the beginning. >> if you are electric future customized, the fully electric audi q4 e-tron with the freestyle libre three system, know your glucose levels. no finger sticks needed. >> all with the world's smallest thinnest sensor manage your diabetes with more confidence and lower your a1c, try it for free at freestyle libre.us >> if you try vaping the quit smoking, it might feel like progress, but with three times more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes it's increased craig trapping you and i was craving loop nuclear. it reduces cravings until they're gone for good >> kinda riva support your brain health. >> mary janet, hey, eddie, know, fraser, frank, frank bred. how are you? >> fred fuel up to seven brain health indicators, including

your memory, joined the new riva brain health challenge. >> if you have chronic kidney disease, you can reduce the risk of kidney failure with bar sega because their places you'd rather be for cyclic can cause serious side effects, including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, urinary tract, or genital yeast infection clinton low blood sugar. a rare life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur, stopped taking for sika and call your dr. right away of you have symptoms of disinfection and allergic reaction or ketone acidosis >> from starting strong >> two, it's been a week so many ways to save life ready, wallet, happy, that 365 by whole foods market my money should work as hard as that do. that's why i use my freedom unlimited card every time i get gas a little slack, hold up through. >> our big with checks friedman

limited a uk shakes make more of what your rsv can seriously impact breathing even for the best performance. protect yourself with pfizer's of burisma, a vaccine to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsp in people 60 years it's not for everyone and may not protect all who receiving don't get a bridgeville if you've had an allergic reaction to its ingredients, a weakened immune system may decrease your response. most common side effects or tiredness, headache, injection site the economy is simply not working for millions of hard working families. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message. this election is about who shares your values.

let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values. absolutely. free text dra w. to 369369. today, united states of >> scandal with jake tapper next on cnn the. >> evidence said the fraud is monumental and more is coming out just after weeks of spreading lies at the election was stolen i'm creating anger and resentment among his supporters. trump sent this tweet in december, big protest in dc on january 6. be there

will be wild now we know there was more meaning behind those words that he used. there was a very meticulous planning that was happening behind the scenes leading up to january 6 four days later, trump retweeted and later deleted a memo titled operation pence card john eastman drafted a similar plan to have mike pence reject the election results on january 6, the de congress was set to certify biden's electoral college victory. >> john eastman came up with a really kinda crazy legal theory where he tried to convince the vice president that he had the authority to basically declare which slate of electors is accurate or to not accept a slate of electors. the constitution is very clear that he doesn't have that authority >> but for trump, it was the last day desperate attempt to

stay in the white house >> there were multiple steps here. i mean, part of it was to declare that there was fraud and then if you didn't do that too send it back to the states where he felt republican legislators would appoint new electors. >> that would then vote for him if not all that work. he knew that he was going to have supporters coming into town to try to pressure pence to do one of these things? >> but the president began his pressure campaign immediately trump tried to coerce pants on several private phone calls, even on christmas day and then there was the public pressure on pants. >> she's a great guy if he doesn't come through, i won't like what as much on january 5th, trump tweeted the vice president has the power to

reject >> fraudulently chosen electors and he released a knowingly false public statement that the vice president and i are in total agreement donald trump lied to gin up his people because he knew what mike pence was going to do and he wanted them >> to be surprised and upset >> because when you're surprised and upset, your much more likely to commit violence or to do extreme things >> trump increased his pressure on pence with tweets starting at 01:00 a.m. on january 6 if vice president mike pence comes through for us, we will win the presidency based on, for years have seen mike pence being very loyal. i think donald trump believed that in the end, he could get my pens to fold we're taking this country back as his supporters gathered for the

rally >> trump repeated he did these dangerous lies. >> all vice president pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people >> then mike pence puts out his statement that says he does not have the authority to do anything the statement came out while the president was onstage urging his supporters to march to the capitol. >> we fight like hell. and if you don't fight like hell, you're not good to have a country anymore >> he knows that these people were his most loyal followers. the hang on every word of his. and he told them to march to the capitol after his speech. trump returned to the white house. >> he was watching the television coverage. he was

impressed with how big this crowd why is would rioters breached the capitol? >> trump's advisers told him to send out a message to calm the cloud >> he refused. sarah matthews was trump's deputy press secretary at the time. >> at what point did you to begin to realize how dangerous this has become >> we started seeing those initial interactions between some of the people arrived i think to the capital. and that was the first sign of, okay, wait, this could really escalate and this could escalate quickly >> at 02:24 or trump tweeted. mike pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country >> he was putting a target on his own vice president's back we thought that. >> was pouring gasoline on the fire. right. we already had a situation that was getting out

of control. and the president's tweet just really inflamed it even more. >> we can pinpoint the second that came out in the violence massively accelerated one minute later at 02:25 the secret service was forced to evacuate pence >> to a secure location. >> he did not care about his safety. and the thing that kills me is that the vice president's family was there at one point, the crush of the mob was only filled feet away from mike pence and his small entourage not only did he just put out that tweet, he also so told a witness who testified to us that in fact, donald trump said, well, maybe he should be hung for more than three hours. >> trump refused to tell rioters to leave the capital despite repeated pleas from his senior advisors

>> what did he do absolutely. nothing. he didn't do anything for 187 minutes until he knew he couldn't when we had an election, that was stolen from us, it was the president finally relented at for 17:00 p.m. when he released a video telling the rioters to go home this was a fraudulent election. but we can't play into the hands of these people we have to have peace >> so go home we love you. you're very special >> former president trump was responsible for the big lie versus responsible for the conspiracy, which led to the violence on january 6, even in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the capitol, trump and his coconspirators were still trying to >> convince lawmakers to overturn the election i think that they were using the violence and chaos to their advantage to have more time to

make calls to >> lawmakers and try to get them to go along with their scheme >> coming up the rule of law is it sake the american democracy is at stake. we have never played at higher stakes yes corruption lies prison. governor rod blagojevich went down in a blaze of infamy. >> i've done a lot wrong, criminal, none. okay. >> i'm back there. >> united states of scandal with jake tapper, back-to-back fermions next on cnn

>> one barbus was the terrible tax >> i wrote for generations of family tradition with five little words i want to make perfume getting my business off the ground was a full-time job. >> so i made bbs new psyche count a guaranteeing 100% accurate filing in a maximum refund make your moves will make them count into its turbotax 100% accuracy guaranteed if you tried vaping to quit smoking, it might feel like progress but with three times more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes, apes increased craig trapping you and in and his craving loop. nuclear, it reduces cravings until they're gone for good >> the whole breed ready to swore, ready to stay the defiant, power-packed all new hybrid electric dod hornet rt

performance electrified >> greetings happen >> the best night of >> the week, cabin. yeah. and having password night dance parties happened yeah. that's not good >> hey, what that down big moments happened happened be ththere with ring >> learn more at rnc.com >> purpose to find a place to rent. i know renters when i see him, who is this guy? >> it's the top priority when you move to a new city or galaxy apartments we can help you get into it in lovely while bedroom two bedroom, i don't want to presume anything like

i'm daniel lurie and i've spent my career fighting poverty, helping people right here in san francisco. i'm also a father raising two kids in the city. deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e. universe. experienced the

difference at moon when pod.co >> vegas the story of sin city next sunday at ten on cnn, closed captioning bronchi you by meso book.com we've offered a free book about missile filial mosque for ten years, call 1808, >> are going to meso book tom >> when you look at where we are i mean, we're standing in front of the white house. >> the >> stakes in this trial are enormously consequential. >> the rule of law is at stake the american democracy is at stake. we have never played at higher stakes. >> and john dean would know there was a cancer growing on the presidency. the >> former white house counsel, turner and cooperating witness and the watergate scandal is remembered as the man who brought down former president

richard nixon at the time. it was arguably the biggest scandal the presidency had ever faced you said ones that you thought at the darkest days were behind us after the nixon watergate scandal. >> is that still true? >> it is not true. >> i didn't think we would ever go back to work kirsten watergate, but we are there today. we have never been more threatened how strong is this case? >> i think this is a good case. a strong case, but not necessarily an overwhelming case. the way these laws are being applied is novel and it's not jack smith's fault. it's because we've never seen anything like this in this trial. >> most of the facts aren't up for debate. >> whenever you're doing any criminal case, intent is always a big part of it, proving intent is always difficult in the indictment rises and falls on whether the jury believes that donald trump honestly thought there might have been

election fraud or some election irregularity, knowing him as well as i do. and in talking to him many times i believed that he firmly believed that there were election irregularities that made a difference in the election what jack smith is going to have to show is that trump knew he lost the way you have to do that is primarily in this case with testimony from people around him. i think we're going to see a parade of witnesses this trial taking the stand, saying, i told donald trump no unequivocal terms. he had lost this election. >> is it going to be difficult to meet this burden of proof >> i never tried a case that wasn't difficult and that's the way our system was meant to be. taking away somebody's liberty. >> it >> should be hard and then beyond a reasonable doubt is a tough burden to reach. >> what do you think is trump's strongest defense? >> i think that a lake user-focused defense on he believed that there was fraud. >> you know, i've had two elections. i want both of them. it's amazing. >> and that every action he took it was based on what he

believed his obligations as the chief executive to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed. to ensure that the world of people was accurately counted i think that if he keeps a laser-focus on that, that is where the case is winnable at trial. >> i think the advice of counsel is an important defense in the case. i can assure you he had many people, lawyers, and investigators, and otherwise telling him they absolutely could prove that there was election fraud. and i think he was entitled to trust those people whose counsel he chose to trust >> they don't think that's going to end up working for him. why many other lawyers that he would point to are his coconspirators if your lawyers involved in the conspiracy that's not going to work for you as a legal defense, the law is very specific about this. if that's what you want to say advice of counsel, you need to show everything you learned. that means not just eastman, but there were lawyer after lawyer within his inner circle

who told him there's nothing here. you can't go forward and all the evidence suggests that the trump just kept going and going and going until he could get the answer he wanted. >> there has been a sprint by the prosecution to have this trial heard as soon as possible. >> i think jack smith probably believes that the american public deserves an answer before they go to the ballots and decide who they're voting for. >> and while there is an argument for the public to know the verdict before they cast a ballot. there's also the issue of what happens if the trial is delayed and trump is re-elected. >> the president can simply command the department of justice. close down this case. i don't need to give you a reason. >> so if a trial is going on and donald trump is inaugurated the department of justice, because simply dismissed the case. >> even in the middle of trial, not only could they they would

be ordered to the plug is pulled all power goes down. it's over >> even at the trial moves forward. trump can still be found guilty and win reelection. and as president, he may still have one gala jail free card he might try to pardon himself. that's ever happened before. we don't actually know whether a president can or cannot do that. pardon, power doesn't have any specific limitation. >> what happens if donald trump loses? >> and he's convicted >> it's a great question and in a way, the ultimate question in theory he's a normal citizen is there a world where an american president can go to prison >> there is a world in which that could happen. i think it'd be a horrible, horrible mistake in this country, even if he were convicted. >> i don't know how they would do it every aspect of this case is messy because our system was not built with the

>> anticipation of a president being criminal normally charged, which is left a number of legal theories which have never been tested one major point of contention the issue of presidential immunity, which trump is currently appealing >> donald trump's claim here is that he cannot be prosecuted because what he did was within the scope of his job as president. >> i firmly believe the president trump is entitled to munity. i believe that his conduct with respect to the election was within the official duties of a president >> a federal appeals court disagreed. the three-judge panel ruled unanimously that trump is not immune from prosecution. for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency. to reverse the 2020 election results. >> the argument that trump is totally immune is absurd. i mean, it is so contrary to american law.

>> and if you can't prosecute a president for crimes, you don't have a fully functioning thank democracy based on the rule of law, trump has taken his appeal directly to the supreme court. if the court decides to hear the case, it would first hear oral arguments at a future date and even then, it could be weeks or months before a decision is made. the court could decline to hear the case, which would have the effect of letting the lower court ruling stand. and sidestepping a politically charged case at a time when the supreme court has been plagued by ethical inquiries and accusations of partisanship certainly the chief justice wants in the worst way for the american people not to perceive that the court somehow decided in this election that would be a kind of catastrophe >> if you were donald trump's attorney defending him in this case?

>> what would worry you the most dc jury, the political tenor against donald trump is so strong and overwhelming in dc in that pocket of the country. that it's very difficult for him to get a fair trial. there, especially with all of the publicity, cases are won and lost at the stage of jury selection because if you don't conduct that carefully to make sure you have a fair and objective jury you're dead before you've even started. >> well, goal is to find 12 people who can be fair and neutral. and how many people? have no particular view on donald trump? let's >> pause it for example, that a hung jury that's not a loss, but guess what? in the system with all the buildup we've had, i think it will play as a loss and we'll occasion real reflection. the doj, whether to go again >> and all it takes is one

juror and i think that's the the hope to trump hangs onto that he at least reaches somebody who ends up city in that jury. >> do you think that he will be found guilty in this trial? >> i shutter if he doesn't get found guilty because i think that sends a message that if you're in power, you can try anything to stay in power this federal case is one of four criminal trials. the former president has been seeking to delay, but just days ago, manhattan judge, threw out a motion to dismiss the charges in the case involving thank hush. money payments during the 2016 campaign, that trial is now set to begin march 25. thanks for watching the whole story