>> good evening from new york, and the end of yet another day. good evening from washington, anderson, and yesterday was yet another first. courtesy of the first president ever to be impeached twice. the first ever to be found liable after leaving office for sexual abuse, and the first president ever to face state felony charges. today, donald trump -- i have a new, one donald trump

while speaking in the first ever to be arraigned in federal court on felony charges. >> 37, in all i know i put them on the, screen think lou 31 counts of willful national -- three of withholding or concealing documents in a federal investigation, plus false statements and conspiracy to obstruct justice for showing up, because of all the spectacle. this is what they will be remembered for years from now. donald trump made the short trip today by motorcade from has miami golf resort, to the federal courthouse downtown. where a small crowd greeted him. >> inside, after being booked and electronically fingerprinted, mr. trump was arraigned and his attorney pleaded him not guilty to all 37 charges. his codefendant walt entered no plea, the former president let left the courthouse in a slow speed procession, not unlike

what we saw in the oj case, slow-speed. he was under orders not to speak with nada about the, case other who could speak about other things. not to speak to potential witnesses to be named later by prosecutors. >> nada however was by the president side on the way to the airport, where a group of clergy gathered around the former president and prayed for him. the source telling cnn, the location was chosen because the cuban community knows, quote all too well about political prosecution. the former president clearly trying to learn himself to people who have actually been persecuted in cuba. a short time ago, he landed at newark airport heading for new jersey golf club where he is expected to make his first formal remarks sometime within the hour. we are not going to take a speech live, but we will of course monitor them as they come in and bring you anything that is actually newsworthy. >> in the meantime, as we wait for the next development in the, story we will talk about what

just happened. the historical moment, and all that we are expecting to come next. cnn's kaitlan collins will start us off from outside the house along with cnn's evan perez who witnessed the arraignment today. caitlin, what are your impressions of what have been today? what sticks out to you? >> jake, i think one thing reflecting on, this just the split screen of what actually happened in the courtroom according to what we know, and what trump looked like after when he was at that restaurant here in miami. because as evan and others who are actually in the room today told, us they said he came in, was shoulders slumped, had his arm crossed during those proceedings, as was his attorney todd blanche who was the one who pleaded not guilty on his behalf. he did not say much of course as he was in that room for just under an hour, the first time that he came face to face with a special counsel jack smith as he is facing what even those closest to him will admit is potentially the most perilous legal trouble he has ever been

in. but to compare that with the bravado that he is shown just a short time later with his codefendant walt by his side, who i should know has been talking to trump allies since trump left this were saying they were shocked that trump went in there with -- who is the person who move the boxes at mar-a-lago on his behalf, it did not have a florida-based attorney there to represent, him meaning he's going to have to come back to plead not guilty, just that split screen of what was going on inside the courtroom, to what he was projecting when he was no longer in the courtroom. >> and, evan, you were in the overflow room, today what more can you tell us about donald trump's demeanor which you've got to see from the overflow room? >> yes, that is, right jake. listen, as you know, he does have a lot of bravado, he is a performer, he plays to the crowd.

and, the room was not his crowd. you have a obviously very serious occasion of a former president being arraigned on these charges, these federal charges. you know, i think even for him, it is a meaningful thing, and one of the things i noticed as he sat there waiting for the judge, he made his way into the room, the former president had his arms folded for a period, turning his thumbs. when some of the members of the prosecution, in particular -- when they were sitting, there once in a while glanced at that, but by and large he just looked forward. and because this was an arraignment, normally the defendants get to -- they get told what we hear what the charges, are they understand the charges, in this

case they often wave the charges. donald trump did not have to do any of that. he sat there, and said, certainly plead not guilty. so, that was sort of like, as kaitlan, poinsett is split screen moment. he is the former president, so -- >> that it is a sad day, to have a former president of the united states arrested and arraigned, kaitlin, the judge told prosecutors, to make a list of possible witnesses to whom donald trump cannot speak about the case, unless the conversation goes through a lawyer. did that surprise you? >> i don't think it is surprising, but this was born amount because initially the judge had suggested this idea of trump not being able to speak to any of the witnesses here, which as you know, jake, evan, would be very difficult

given everyone around him. it is technically a witness in this case. they have all been called before the grand jury to talk about this, the people who are maintenance workers at mar-a-lago,'s own secret service protection, basically everyone around him has gone in and spoken about this. so obviously his attorney said, they don't believe that is workable given the fact that some secret service members went, obviously people who work for trump and rely on him for his livelihoods. so what they worked out is this idea of prosecutors, the government submitting a list of witnesses that he -- didn't want him to be able to speak, to accept through attorneys. obviously with nauta not to discuss this case either with attorneys -- that is something whether he follows through on. >> all right, caitlin, evan, thank you so much. >> -- political commentators elizabeth, griffin david, earth and cnn legal analyst and former prosecutor lower quotes,

and sean miller cnn chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. laura, today's arraignment, did it go as you expected? i want to hear your opinion on the judges decision to limit the communications with certain witnesses. >> it did go as expected in terms of the brevity, of it and not having any evidentiary motions resolved. obviously any motion severed to not have a joint, trial that was never going to happen today. what was surprising though was the fact that the codefendant we have known about since at least last week from the indictment did not have local council president to actually -- >> house this possible, well, there's two explanations, one lack of planning and preparation, or two, lack of inventory of willing attorneys to do so. as a prosecutor, certainly, i support the department of justice. might your softer reconcile the fact that every defendant needs to have counsel. they need to have great counsel. >> but the former presidents quarters are in line with -- paid for the council for mr.

nauta. >> they are paying forecasts, what we have to have somebody who's local, who's able to be in that courtroom in particular in florida more broadly. that is a reason, because you won't have the nuance of jury selection, the rules that might be likely to be unique to the florida court, and that judgment, particular you want, that you want robust counsel, it is no small thing to have your name on the other side of the united states versus. also, this notion of not communicating with one another, about the nature of, the case that can be advised, one of the reasons to do so is that you do not explode a power dynamic of one person over the other, another reason is because you do not want to be maybe conspiring to do something that might further obstruct or at charges. but, it is unlikely they are going to be able to outside the joint defense which is essentially when you say to acknowledge, look, we have a shared interest, here when i'm looking for is to figure out in the future, whether nauta the codefendant remains a codefendant that is jointly

with the former president of the united states. the power here, is really leveraged in favor of trump. >> david, you know the former president, well do you think you learned a lesson from michael cohen and that lesson being people go testify against you incredibly close? >> believe it or not, i think the president likes -- it is just, he is a laughable, guy and he spent a great deal of time in the presidents, company and i think he actually -- >> he has an incentive though. >> now he has a great incentive. he has a potential witness. but i do believe that he actually, they get along, and if you ever see the dynamics, he is fixing has, color hoping his -- they are inextricably linked for some years, now and kind of the most moments, the brushes, and when the president's most vulnerable behind the stage -- >> more linked in an internment environment. >> absolutely. but i do believe this is not a

matter of convenience at this, point they were fence before, that and now maybe more so. >> john, we learn today, the fulton county sheriff has sent teams to both mr. trump down in new york, but also today in miami, they were there to assess certain security situations intent -- in georgia. >> so they are doing their homework, which is one of the crowds like, what are the wildcards? what is the experience like? and comparing notes with the intelligence partners. they are also planning partners in, new york and in florida, because you know we have this traffic jam of cases. you have the district attorney in new york who has the hush money case, michael cohen as the witness. you have the documents case at mar-a-lago which was dealt with today, and in the early stages. you have the e. jean carroll case which he lost, and now possibly going into round two as she seeks further damages.

you have the new york state attorney general dish james with a very complex civil case about trump over valuing and under evaluating properties and assets for his own advantage allegedly. you have all of these things with the january 6th case, the georgia case, the voting case which is part of the special prosecutor brief. that is a lot to manage and schedule. so, the question, is which one of these cases is going to assume -- which of these judges will become the driver? there is a good likelihood, because this is a mandatory arraignment, that it may be this, case it may be judge cannon. then, it is a question of who is going to set that aggressive schedule. as you have already framed, there is also -- codefendant which has other dynamics. >> alyssa, giving him knowledge of the former president, what you saw today in him, and also what today things, what does

this tell about the next year? >> so i think that donald trump is very struck by the words to low courts this point, the united states versus donald trump. i think that carries a weight that is more significant, frankly, to him in his, mind then the case an indictment in new york was. that is a federal, charge that is a government he used to oversee that is now being prosecuted by. i have to imagine that we just hitting him. i've said it before, i will say it, again i think he's going to be very -- he will be in -- when he speaks to his audience and donors, but something interesting is happening in the republican field. this is the best political gift you can get when you are 30 points behind, is for your chief appointed to get indicted. there is a bit of time turning, nikki haley has changed her remarks and said it is serious. tim scott has internet. former vice president mike pence sat down with the wall street journal editorial board and said these are very serious charges. i have family who are in the military, this puts them at risk. so i think the gravity of the

actual details is starting to set in. to chris sununu's point who was on the previous hour, this is the moment. they don't wait for the third indictment to take on donald trump, this is the moment if you are pulling down and double digits to take him up. >> well, i don't doubt that the former president definitely understands the weight of the united states versus trump, but i also find him very performative. the moment he left the courthouse, he went right back into character. pretending like nothing happened, and you often stay in character when you continue to have an audience, at some point the audience has to start throwing rotten tomatoes at, him because the show is so terrible. we want to turn the channel. i don't think it is just enough -- i've been critical as well that people in the republican primaries feel should be coming out, but elected officials at every level in the senate, the house, the governor, state legislators, we have to build a course for republican and democrats condemning these

behaviors. because, you listed all the indictments, and the potential indictments, his rap sheet will be longer than his accomplishments as president. at one point when is enough enough? >> to that, i think it is hard to understand how the divided the country's. all of my friends on the left see a very clear narrative, which is what you just said, we have a dangerous -- who stole documents that contain precious secrets that people risked their lives to get, and left them in the toilet for anybody to look at, and wants to get away with it. that is a threat to the country. then my friends on the right say, this guy is at least a martyr, if not a hero, because this system is coming down on him, he standing up for himself. so you have a flip split screen moment, we have the same image in a split screen, moment and i think trying to get people to understand, if there is a two tier system, it is benefiting

trump. even today, no veil, no mugshot, he can go where he wants, to what person stealing stuff from the government ever got treated like this? it is two tiered, it is benefiting him. a whole section of the country does not see that we are. all >> the arguments for many republicans have been making, we have heard a lot today as well, all the different channels, is essentially that donald trump is being treated differently, but in a negative way, few of them are willing to talk about the actual charges in the indictment. they are talking about hillary clinton's emails, they're talking about investigations of hunter biden, anything but what is in the indictment. >> i think about my time working on the oversight committee, some of these members of congress, if this came down that barack obama did, this the calls for impeachment that would have been ringing across the halls of congress. this is as clear cut as it comes. i would no, because cnn's own reporting, walt nauta did get a mugshot, he did get people in treatment that a normal u.s. citizen gets.

donald trump is actually benefiting from a system that favors a former president. >> i mean what other federal accused, alleged felon is allowed to keep his passport and declare not a flight risk when he owns his own plane. >> by the way -- >> it is not like he's hiding. >> at some point, how many now defendants get to say, you know what, i might get a job one day, so can i not have a trial scheduled that is going to accommodate that. i can't have a trial that will last 21 days, because i might get a job at some point in time. that is why when you talk about the rnc hopefuls, they will have to look at, this and say wait a, second he could be off the campaign trail. unlike the eeg carroll state civil trial, he has to be their president off the campaign trail for three weeks. nobody else will get the benefit of saying, let's take that in consideration. >> he does happen to be the leading candidate for president on the republican ticket, and right now i think ahead in the average ahead of joe biden. so, it is not just like he has

applied for an internship. >> next, reaction from republican, defenders and democratic -- adam schiff, his thoughts on the day and potential payback from republicans for his former russian probe, and later elect reports from bedminster new jersey where the former president is heading, unexpected to make his first formal remarks tonight as a federal felony defendant. ii was too expensive so i brought it here. you know with priceline you could actually take that trip for less than all this. i made a horrible mistake. ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ a third kid. what if she likes playing golf? it's expensive. we're outlawing golf. wait. can i still play? since we work with emower, we don't have to worry about planning for a third kid. you can still play golf... sometimes. take control of your financial future to empower what's next.

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>> the former president is back in new jersey on the way to bedminster where he is expected to make comments shortly asked the wall street journal from -- he tells the journal, the indictment includes,, quote very serious allegations, and that he, quote, can't defend what is alleged. meanwhile, in the last several days since the indictment was unsealed, we have seen quite a few republican lawmakers tie themselves in knots in support of the former president, some even defending his story of lug

documents and in mar-a-lago bathroom, saying there's no making this, up that it is okay because the bathroom doors lock. never mind that most bathroom doors only locked from the inside. i digress. key house republicans in the meantime are planning to take their defense beyond just rhetoric, multiple gop sources telling us judiciary chairman jordan is exploring ways of making special counsel jack smith testify, or otherwise divulge information about the probe. congresswoman marjorie taylor greene is proposing congress defend the special counsel's the fence -- that says it is not a united front, there is senator murkowski. >> pretty comprehensive i would say, condemnation of the presidents actions here. leaving classified documents and from what we understand from the indictment out there, the types of documents that

were retained, and then further to the point that when this came to his attention, he chose to not return it. >> over on the house side, republican congresswoman -- offered support for the special counsel. >> i think the allegations are very serious, i think that there were national security implications i'm having a document in an unsecured area. i think that the prosecutor really went into a lot of detail to explain to the american public why it was necessary to indict a former president. >> joining us, now california democratic congressman adam schiff who is facing -- in the investigation. congressman schiff, appreciate you joining us. first of, all just big, picture what you make of this historic arraignment? >> well, when you read the allegations and the, indictment they are so serious, the allegations are so premeditated,

in terms of donald trump's deliberate effort to hide these materials, his willingness to use his own lawyers to mislead the justice department. you couldn't fail to bring this indictment if rule of law applying equally to everyone was to mean something to the justice department. so it had to be done, nonetheless, it is a sad day when a president is again indicted, and what so many republicans are doing to defend him, by attacking the justice department, by an effort to sow disbelief and discredit the fbi, this is another way they are damaging the country, damaging our national security, besides the risk that was already taken by having these documents in an unsecured place. >> i wonder what you make of the arguments that many of your republican colleagues in the house are making, whataboutism, what about hillary clinton's emails server, what about hunter biden investigation of

him? >> well, there is all of this false argument made by republicans, with those cases never presented was evidence of a delivered intent to misuse classified information, or to put it somewhere it was not supposed to belong, or to obstruct an investigation. all things that are very much present in the trump investigation, who trump returned the documents, how do you made no effort to hide, them had he not lied through his lawyers to investigators, he would not be in this situation. it is that malicious conduct that distinguishes it from any kind of incidental use of classified information, or materials back after the presidency, this was anything but incidental and trump's case. >> that is what makes it different in your, mind but between that and former vice president pence and biden having national security documents in various locations, and attempted to obstruct.

>> well, absolutely, the first to have the president in the case of trump, the decision to bring these documents home, when he knew he was not supposed to do, so then you have the effort to hide, them to deceive investigators, about them all of the efforts to mislead, and obstruct the investigation. none of those circumstances are present in the case of pants, or, biden or clinton, there was never any evidence of ill intent on any of their parts. this is really what distinguishes donald trump, and you, know this is someone in donald trump who always believed, certainly most evident when he was president that he was above the law. the law did not apply to, him he could do what he wanted. and, you know, i think what this indictment and the arrangements show, actually you can be held accountable, and you will be held accountable. >> a handful of republican senators got so far as to, say

it could be a drag on republican candidates in 2020, for you think there could be some truth to that? >> well, you know, i think if they are defending the indefensible, then moderate republicans and independents are going to be disillusioned with the gop. this was supposed to be a party of law and order, and the party of national security. and they are anything but now. they are a party that cozies up to dictators-ing the kremlin. they are party that thinks it is perfectly fine if your party leader as classified information in their bathroom. they will excuse anything, including a inciting violence act on the capitol. yes, that will track their party down, what is amazing is that donald trump still has any support whatsoever. you would think with the lengthy and growing list of scandals, abuses of power, violations of law, not he would be certainly discredited from

running for anything. nonetheless, he retains a strong base of support with him. one of america's great political parties. >> do you think this would go to trial before the election? >> you know, that is really hard to tell. it is even more difficult now that we see the judge who has been assigned this case, who made some very questionable rulings in donald trump's favor earlier on regarding this investigation. i have to think that any judge would probably bend over backwards to make sure they were being fair to the president in every way, the judge may take it even beyond that. so it is hard to say, trump says he wants to go to trial quickly, but he often says things that are at odds with the truth. they are contradicted by his own lawyers, i wouldn't be surprised if they try to draw this out. he has a way of trying to heighten the argument of political, when it would be the trump defense team trying to make this political. >> house republicans as you well know planned a resolution

that would censure and find new -- as soon as tomorrow, is it clear to you what your being accused of, and what your response to the allegation? >> well, it is clear to me that this is the extreme maga house members who want to distract attention from the president. they want to go after his perceived enemy, the one who investigated, him impeached him. this is political payback, but it is also, i, think frankly, quite flattering, they must view as very effective, and they want to go after to gratify the former president. but, it will do harm to the house, to bring this kind of frivolous resolution that would find $16 million, it is an absurdity. part of the goal is to try and intimidate, me silence me, others it would stand up to the president. but, it certainly will not silence, me or stop me. it is just further impetus for me to do my, job and hold them accountable. >> adam schiff, appreciate your

time, appreciate it. >> anderson, talking more now about the intersection of politics and, law a place where the former president nelson seems to own yet another trump property. i'm joined by cnn's john king, dana bash, and elie honig, senior law enforcement analyst andrew mccabe, and conservative lawyer george conway. abby, let me start with you. we begun to see some of the republicans running for president. some of them offer some criticism of the former president. obviously, chris christie, isa hutchinson have been pretty strong, but we have seen nikki haley, and today we saw something of criticism from vice president pence. >> yes, i think republicans are realizing that this is a problem. it is a pretty easy case for regular voters to understand. we have been, i think, as a country, talking about the significance of classified documents, having to be kept secret, the importance for national security. for most americans, and natural lives, they have been hearing

about that concept. and, i think all spin aside, what we are seeing coming from many republicans now, including many i should note on capitol hill, especially the ones with national security backgrounds, is a recognition that you cannot spin these facts away. the courts will decide what they, will that the american public understands these details, and you know, they might still support trump by the way. i don't think that you should take this as republicans necessarily walking away from trump fully. but, they are finding it difficult to defend him on these particular charges. and, that also i think speaks to not so much primary problem for trump, but a general election problem for him. i think this broad middle independent voters who are persuadable, who are looking at this, it is going to be an issue for him, i think that is why we are seeing this shift over the last couple of days. >> as we have been talking about the reality that donald trump believes, all evidence

supports this, he is being helped in the short term, during the primary process but what is happening to him legally. it is still baffling when you stop and take a breath, and think about it, that all of the candidates are not saying what chris christie said last night, which is, never mind on the basics of the law, but just if you look at the politics, why wouldn't they be just kicking him as much as they can metaphorically speaking? because, he is in trouble, and why wouldn't they be trying to take him down? they are running against him. it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you think about these other candidates, and their goal is supposedly to be the nominee. they have to beat him. >> because they have been fed this from the conservative ecosystem, that the fbi and justice department are corrupt organization, and up to get republicans. >> and their voters believe that, so that is the hard part for quoting leaders of the

republican party who are trying to beat donald trump, which is hard enough in the republican base, within the republican base. whether it is 35, percent 40 to, percent 50% still board, if you go but state-by-state, it is early polling, but trump has a hold. especially when you have nine other candidates in the race. through the question is, i talked to senior officials and several other campaigns tonight, i'm not saying they -- they were impressed with a case he made last, night that is one, thing where he is at, it even if you do not trust the fbi, even if you think hillary clinton -- is a double standard of justice in this country, does donald trump have the judgment in character to go back inside the oval office? that is the argument christy was making. be mad by the other things if you so choose, but look at donald, trump look at those boxes in the, shower look at the boxes on the, stage look at what he did as president as, well kristie tried to make the argument. does that person have the judgment and character you want back in the oval office? a lot of the campaigns are impressed, i'm not saying they will copy that, but they are all trying to figure out what to do.

they are all trying to figure, what do you do when you know so many of the voters are loyal to trump? when you know even beyond the percentage of loyal to trump, have doubts about the fbi. why is that? some of it is before donald trump, but donald trump is everything on steroids. that is why he tax institutions every day, to either solidify that. he has been successful in growing, it more than half of republicans in the late 90s that they have a positive view of the fbi. it is less than 20% now. so this hearts all to make, but christie tried to make, it the others are trying to find their place. >> george, what are you hearing from your fellow conservative lawyers, is there any belief that this is different from previous campaigns against donald trump? >> absolutely, i don't think there's any doubt in the line of any intelligent lawyer that he is in deep due to a former presidents word. he is in trouble, he doesn't have a, defense we listen to this now, and you know, he has said a lot of things.

he had his lawyers say a lot of things. a lot of the things his lawyer said right here, sitting in this chair, and we haven't heard a valid, factual, or legal defense. what is a factual defense? if you put the charges together, just boil it down to what it takes to put him away on all 37 counts, you just have to show that he had the documents, there is no dispute in the universe on that. he knew he had them, he is on tape waving them around, talking about, them looking through the boxes themself one by one. the government asked for them back, that is documented, multiple, times issued a subpoena, he did not give them back as shown by the fact that ultimately in the end, when the fbi went into mar-a-lago with a search warrant, lo and behold there were hundreds of them. then, he lied about, them he had lawyers lie about them. there's no dispute about that. that certification issued after

the subpoena, that was false. then, he was moving the boxes around. and, with time, stamp we have time stamp video showing that he moved the buses around in anticipation of the governments visits. there is no factual defense, we have not heard it in a legal defense, the only legal defense we heard something about the presidential records act, which basically in its first provisions as the opposite of what donald trump says. it says, these documents belong to the united states of america. so we haven't heard anything, as for the political implications, after, say if i were a half shameless, or three quarters shameless as a republican candidate president, i would say something like, wow, i just read this indictment, now donald, trump we love donald, trump he has done such great things for our party and country, and -- tragic human out of trouble, but he gets carried away. he got carried away, he is a good question, man but he gets carried away.

and, what we have to do, the deep state, is the fake news, fake tapper, there are other, get him in his right, they are lying about him, democrats -- they are out to get him, and the woke mob absolutely hates him. but, he makes it too easy for them. so, god bless donald trump, i know he's going to get mad at me for saying all this, but you know, i love him, i hope before guess me for saying this, but we need to move on, and we need to not make it so easy for the left. i don't know why -- >> i think lindsey graham said, all that you, said except for that last part about we need to move on. i think that is the last piece, that is where they don't want to go. many of them are saying that he is making it too easy for the other side. >> what are you expecting to hear as a defense in courts not on truth social? >> so i read this indictment

the first time, i was very impressed, it is one of the best kraken supported in placement i've ever seen, then i read it, again i did what good prosecutors do which is what does the other guy say, and i came up blank, similar to jordan i can't think about it, that said let's not assume that the lawyers on this case in particular who are work without the southern district are very good lawyers, they in fairness have only just been added to the case and here's the best defense of this case. do not have to defend this case, meaning to delay it and to me watch that, watch if donald trump and his team can get -- which is not certain, but a very good, chance and he wins, it is over. if you lose this -- >> not just if he wins, andy mccabe, because also, what we have here is a lot of pressure on republican presidential candidates to say no matter

what they think, even if they do bless his heart speech that you just did, george, that they will pardon him for the good of the country. they won't preventive gerald ford. >> absolutely, there is no question, for all those, reasons time is on her side. that is his number one tactic. i think we have also seen some signals of arguments that heat will make, i don't mean to suggest any of these will be particularly effective defenses, but we expect to see a motion regarding prosecutorial misconduct. this claim that one of the doj lawyers made that inappropriate or improper comment to walt nauta during his course of trying to cooperate -- >> saying i hear, you but you are up for -- >> that is right, it is highly unlikely that even if those comments are deemed to have been you know, improper, what have you, it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would get the entire case, thrown out simply because it was a comment on his lawyer, not walt nauta who never actually agreed to cooperate, so it seems a little

attenuated. but, in addition to, that i think we can expect to see, a full-throated attack on the use of evan corcoran's notes, some very powerful evidence against donald trump in the words of his own attorney, that relationship that they, had the attorney client relationship is that as we know pierced by the justice department's motion. i suspect they will go right at that decision, and try to give all that evidence. >> this is, why these conversations are why the campaigns are all trying to rethink as they go every, our what are we going to do? because, they all do understand that the iowa caucus is a date not set, yet but by the time we get to, march you either stop donald trump or you don't. iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, if donald trump wins any of those three elected in 2016, he might have 40%, that is noble is down the hill. so they are all trying to figure, out when is this going to be? and they will not know for a long time. >> yes, very very interesting. the former president has just arrived at his bedminster property, and we are waiting

for former president trump to make his first formal remarks since the indictment. plus, what john dean and carl bernstein who have been a part of, or reported on so much history themselves, make of this historic and historically sad day. narrator: the man with the troublesome hemorrhoid enters the room. phil: excuse me? hillary: that wasn't me. narrator: said hillary, who's only taken 347 steps today. hillary: i cycled here. narrator: speaking of cycles, mary's period is due to start in three days. mary: how do they know so much about us? narrator: your all sharing health data without realizing it. that's how i know about kevin's rash. who's next? wait... what's that in your hand? no, no, stop! oh you're no fun. [lock clicks shut] we definitely have ants in here. not for long. [irish music plays] nice. what's going on here? i said get a pro. i did get a pro. ...an orkin pro. i got you. got ants? don't call any pro, call the orkin pro. orkin. the best in pests.

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>> the former president has

just arrived at his club in bedminster, new jersey as you, mentioned he is expected to speak shortly. we will not take it, live but we will monitor and when anything that might be newsworthy for. you and spurs pricing, leahy will be adjusting a fund-raiser, also, surprising the campaign has already sent out a massive email, it fundraising on the indictment. kristen holmes a bedminster force, so what do you expect from the former president? it sounds like a raucous crowd. >> yes, anderson, i think the former president is walking out, right now you can see him right, there but we expect this crowd to be -- it is not only as staunch as -- some of his highest donors, one of the things we have been reporting is that -- a lot of high-profile donors, so he really needs this, crowd he needs to be talking to this group. and we expect him to make this as extremely political as we have seen, if this is election interference, because he is the owner in the 2024 republican nomination. it remains to be seen if he will say anything about his experience in court

today. now, i will note just a moment ago, right before trump came out, we saw a number of his staffers who had flown on the plane with him, that included his top campaign advisers, notably not there was walt nauta. now, there are other people in this crowd that i have seen who testified in front of the grand jury, so, there are a lot of questions as to whether or not these people are going to be on that witness list that he can't communicate with about the case. and it just became very clear when i was here today that this there is going to be very, very difficult for the former president because he has such a tight inner circle since he left office. so, a lot of questions as to how exactly that will work. and one person, one source pointed out to me that many of these people are lower level staffers. it's complicated to have them try to not talk about the case if donald trump were to bring it up, for example. a lot of questions about how exactly this will work. but of course, we will be keeping our ear to

the ground to see how this speech plays out as well. >> kristen holmes, appreciate, it thanks always for monitoring -- if they are newsworthy. thanks so much. >> anderson, as we have mentioned, the former president once again made history today, becoming the very first former president of the united states of america to ever be arrested and arraigned in a federal court, and the first to face federal charges before cutting into court today, mr. trump wrote on his social media site, quote, one of the saddest days in the history of the country, unquote. i think that that is true, although probably not in the way he intended it. joining me, to people who know about another sad and historic moment, the watergate scandal. legendary investigative journalist and author of chasing history, a kid in the newsroom, carl bernstein. also with me, cnn contributor and former counsel for the nixon white house, john dean. carl, i, i just want to get your reaction to what happened today, these historic images out of miami. donald trump arriving at the courthouse. what went through your mind watching it all? >> we are being tested in this country in a way that we never have been before. in our political institutions are being tested, the republican party is being tested, the judicial system is being

tested. all of the elements of who we are as a people are being tested as a result of one man's recklessness, one man's not caring about what he does as president of the united states and the country, but rather, his own interest throughout his presidency, and the recklessness and disregard for truth, for established procedure, and what is so stunning to me today is to hear from the republican party, and this is one of the great differences with watergate, where the republican party eventually coalesced against richard nixon and nixon and set of permanent -- had to leave office. we don't see that happening now. rather, what we see is this indictment, trump's fellow republicans are saying, yeah, he did it. there's evidence from the indictment, he did it, he did those things. it is incontrovertible and yet, they are trying to make the issue the judiciary, the president of the united states, hunter biden, hillary clinton, what about the criminal acts that are incontrovertible? in this document and made so clear in that courtroom.

>> john dean, the former presidents codefendant, walt natale, is an interesting figure in all of this. he did not enter a plea today. he did not have an attorney from florida. his arraignment will be later this month. what do you make of that? don trump shows up with attorneys, they are codefendants. walt nauta does not have an attorney. >> well, i remember when there was another group of coconspirators who, after watergate, certainly went their own direction and did not hang out together. so, it's kind of surprising. i think if he had a good lawyer, he would be telling him that he ought to be doing his own thing and strike his own pose. so, it was a little bit confusing that he is hanging in tight. i guess he is still employed by mr. trump, he still is his valet, and he doesn't seem to appreciate that mr. trump is the one who got him in the whole, the trouble he is in. and he is in a heap of trouble. so, it was unusual today. >> a member of the sing, the -- no man is a hero to his valet, but that might not be true when the case of mr. nauta. you might actually still be quite enamored of mr. trump. john, who do you think the

obstruction case is more clear cut against? walt nauta or donald trump? >> well, with a conspiracy, all you have to do is show that there is a mutual agreement either openly or by passively, to commit a criminal act. i think that the evidence is pretty strong, they both agreed to undertake these activities, and did the first step, in fact, they did many steps, to implement the conspiracy. so, i think that charge is going to be very easy. it's a favorite of the federal prosecutors. they use 18 usc 371 regularly and that's the one they are charged under. so, i think that the conspiracy count is probably equal. i think the obstruction count is certainly stronger against mr. trump. >> carl, immediately after his arrest and arraignment, donald trump stopped at a cuban american café in miami, where

he was greeted by supporters, greeted by religious leaders, they had a little prayer circle for him. then he flew to new jersey, he's holding a fund-raiser in bedminster this evening. does this behavior surprise you at all? >> not in the least. if there is every bit of evidence that this event, these indictments, plural, and others, in all likelihood to come, work to his advantage. so far, in terms of who republican voters are, there was just some comment a couple moments ago about when iowa, the primary, the caucuses and primaries there in new hampshire occur. everybody i've talked to, republicans, and have spoken to more republicans today than i have democrats, see that this is working to trump's advantage, electorally. but there are some subtle shifts. we heard chris sununu tonight on this earlier broadcast and he makes great sense. but our fellow republicans going to go along and he dump trump? we don't see much evidence of that and the really horrible thing is, what does the republican party stand for today? if this law and order party is willing to go along with a president who has broken the law throughout his presidency, who is being indicted in multiple cases, with incontrovertible evidence of what he did, might he be acquitted by a jury? sure. but is the evidence there? has it been there? in terms of what he

did, let's look at january 6th. we know what he did. republicans know what he did. so, the question becomes, what about the rule of law in this country and is one party ready to scuttle the principle of the rule of law being paramount in our culture and in our politics? >> john dean, the former president is quoted in the indictment saying, quote, i don't want anybody looking through my boxes, unquote. also, quote, wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here? if these are coming to me to his attorneys. there's also apparently an audio recording of him telling mark meadows auto biographers that the document he is showing them is secret, that he could, when he was president, he could declassify it. but since he's no longer president, he had no ability to do so. do you see any parallels to the watergate tape, where nixon's heard plotting with this chief of staff? >> well, of course, almost virtually every conversation that nixon had, he had over 1000 conversations that were recorded. some of them, the shortest, five minutes. some of

them, eight hours, one of them. where he's talking about watergate. so, the volume certainly is much faster with nixon, but these are quite incriminating and very powerful evidence. the ones that they've got. some of those, the tapes are mr. corcoran himself giving his recollection of meetings and apparently simultaneously with the events or relatively close, based on notes. those are going to be contested, i'm sure, in this criminal trial. they will probably try to get those thrown out, as george conway was suggesting. i think that's one of their strategies, to eliminate those. so, anyway,

tapes are always very powerful forgeries and about 12 of them are -- the trial of holloman -- who were nixon's closest aides and they were very persuasive to the jury. >> john dean, carl bernstein, thank you so much. cnn's coverage on this historic day and the historic arraignment of the former president continues. that's right up next. kaitlan collins and jake tapper will have more reaction on this on president today from new york. congresswoman, alexandria

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>> in the nearly 234 years of the american presidency, no former president has ever had to answer to anything more daunting then a verdict of history. tonight, former president trump returned to his club in new jersey having made history. by becoming the first former president to ever face federal charges. good evening from miami, i'm kaitlan collins along with jake tapper in washington. they're in the federal chorus behind you, trump answer to 37 counts all connected with keeping federal documents. some highly classified. conspiring to construct federal documents to one of the. back all of firsts. first federal pres