apologies to matt damon, we ran out of time for him. "nightline" is next. thanks for watching, and god bless america. [ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, trump back in court. the defiant former president returns to washington. >> this is a persecution of a political opponent.

this was never supposed to happen in america. >> juju: appearing in a federal courtroom about a half mile from where the extraordinary events of january 6th unfolded. >> hold the line, hold the line! >> juju: the dramatic face-off inside the courtroom. trump inches away from special counsel jack smith. >> you could almost hear a pin drop when he was in there. we were looking over at trump looking over at jack smith. >> juju: pleading not guilty to historic charges. >> this indictment against former president trump is really about the heart of democracy. >> juju: plus the fallout. former vice president pence now potentially a key witness. >> anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the united states. >> juju: trump's gop rivals looking to chip away at his stronghold. >> people are frustrated with the chaos that surrounds donald trump. >> juju: constitute trial come before the election? my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day

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>> reporter: former president donald trump returned to washington, this time under federal indictment for allegedly trying to steal an election. his motorcade going through the city that symbolizes american democracy. arrive fog his third arraignment in less than five months. the courthouse just blocks away from where the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol unfolded. >> where trump's appearance took place as at the d.c. district court. significant, a lot of symbolism, you could say he's returning to the scene of the crime to plead not guilty to these four charges that he's facing for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. >> we have seen former president trump indicted on other charges before. but this one is super significant. it is indicting him for trying to basically overthrow the results of an election. and we have never seen an american president try to do that before. >> reporter: special counsel jack smith asserted the former

president was at the center of a criminal scheme built on lies. that culminated in the violence that exploded at the capitol on january 6th. today there were detractors and supporters outside the courthouse. >> when he entered the courthouse, he went to get processed. there was no mugshot. he was fingerprinted. then entered the courtroom before a magistrate judge. he sat there for about 25 minutes. this is a man who doesn't wait for anything except for in a courtroom. >> reporter: the former president pleaded not guilty to four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the united states. >> it was fueled by lies. lies by the defendant, targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the u.s. government, the nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. >> reporter: special counsel jack smith insists trump knew he'd lost the election but tried to overturn the results anyway. determined to remain in power,

claiming that he spread lies about fraud, though he knew they were false. >> this is not just the most significant indictment to date against donald trump, it's one of the most significant indictments from the department of justice maybe ever. >> reporter: as the charges were read today in the same courthouse where many of the watergate cases were tried, trump sat flanked by his lawyers. special counsel jack smith was there in the room looking on at the man he indicted. >> you could almost hear a pin drop when he was in there. we were looking over at trump looking over at jack smith. trump always wants to know who's in the room. he was observing him. would quickly look away at times. i don't know if that's because smith would then look back at him, it was unclear. again, both looking in each other's direction in that courtroom. >> reporter: trump could face up to 55 years in prison if found guilty on all the charges he faced today. the hearing was 30 minutes, but

a spectacle nonetheless as the former president's every move outside the courthouse was followed by cameras. >> so this wasn't just a legal event today. it was a political event. donald trump is using these indictments not just to raise money, but he hopes that they're going to be politically unpopular. >> reporter: trump is facing 40 federal counts over the retention of classified documents and has been charged in new york related to the alleged hush money payments to adult film star stormy daniels, a georgia inquiry into election interference also looming. after it was over, at reagan national airport trump taking an umbrella from his personal assistant, walt nauta, before addressing the press. nauta himself faces criminal charges in the classified documents case. >> this is a persecution of a political opponent. this was never supposed to happen in america. if you can't beat him, you

persecute him or prosecute him. >> reporter: the lead attorney has been on television saying trump's actions are protected under the first amendment. >> this is an attack on free speech and political advocacy. there's nothing that's more protected under the first amendment. >> the free speech argument is a tough one. because any kind of fraud involves speech. words being used. but the idea that there is some first amendment right to use words that can be criminal doesn't really make a lot of sense. >> reporter: the indictment also details trump's pressure campaign to then vice president mike pence to alter the 2020 election results on january 6th, including a phone call on january 1st where pence said he didn't have the authority to do what trump was asking him to do. trump responding, "you're too honest." pence now running against trump for the republican presidential nomination turning trump's legal

woes into a campaign opportunity, selling "too honest" merchandise. >> i really do believe that anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the united states. and anyone who has someone else put themselves over the constitution should never be president of the united states again. >> reporter: the former vice president, who was mentioned more than 100 times in the indictment, touched on it yesterday. offering his strongest criticism of trump yet. >> sadly, the president was surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear. and while i made my case to him of what i understood my oath to the constitution to require, the president ultimately -- ultimately, you know, continued to demand that i choose him over the constitution. >> once that indictment was out, mike pence said flatly, anyone who stands accused of what donald trump is accused of is not someone who should ever be president again. >> reporter: pence says he would be open to testifying at trial

if called upon. >> when it comes to the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, in other words trying to make the certification not happen, mike pence becomes the critical witness. he's the one who donald trump tried to convince not to certify. >> reporter: yet for all his legal troubles, the former president is dominating his rivals and remains the clear front-runner for the republican presidential nomination. he's turned the criminal cases into the cornerstone of his campaign. >> he's are ridiculous indictments, and all they're doing is hoping for massive election interference. that's all they want to do. >> reporter: the political calendar is now on a collision course with trump's legal calendar. >> the dates are approaching fast and furious. august 23rd, the first republican debate. august 28th, the next court appearance for donald trump. everything that's happening in these courts is going to impact what's happening on the campaign

trail. >> reporter: the former president gearing up to face multiple juries. those in courtrooms and those in voting booths. >> if this case happens before the election, it will be a jury deciding donald trump's fate. if it happens after the election, it may be the american people deciding donald trump's fate when it comes to the federal charges, because if he wins, he can likely make these cases go away. >> this indictment against former president trump is really about the heart of democracy. it will go down as a central point in american history. >> juju: our thanks to jon karl. abc news executive editorial producer john santucci, who's covering this former president nearly a decade. today, after the court appearance, president trump gave a terse statement saying she's being persecuted and prosecuted. a lot of sharp emotion.

how badly does he need his reporters like now? >> like you and i need a glass of water, it's central to donald trump right now. he need is to get re-elected in this situation because these are federal charges. think about the counts. the way the judge outlined them. five, ten, 20 years. donald trump can do math. these are severe consequences. that is sticking with donald trump tonight. those people, supporters, folks he said "i could shoot someone on fifth avenue and they won't leave me," he needs them by his side because he's got to get this nomination, got to get re-elected, otherwise there is no pardon coming to donald trump. >> the pardon power is all supreme. you know this president so well. you spoke to him this week. there have been two indictments already, and yet you say this time it feels different? >> it was a striking cough say, because he was so subdued. and something somebody head to me, that he's resigned to it at this point, like another day in the office.

but it's not, right? it doesn't matter. these all come with consequences. and donald trump knows that. the thing that's different about this one for donald trump is that he did not see this coming. he saw manhattan coming, he saw documents. this all his advisers were saying, don't worry about january 6th, that's not going to hit you. look where we find ourselves. >> juju: outwardly, a lot of anger? >> outwardly towards anybody. fire, fury, screaming, yelling. all of that -- "stupefied" is one somebody said to this, he could not believe this happened. >> juju: fascinating. john santucci, thank you. >> thank you. >> juju: coming up, fallout. president trump's rivals for the nomination react. we'll speak with governor asa hutchinson. nks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪

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welcome back. we're joined by former arkansas governor asa hutchinson, now running for president against donald trump in the republican primary. thank you for joining from us iowa. >> glad to be with you, having a good time in iowa today. >> juju: i can see that. i know you're a former federal prosecutor yourself. president trump areas former attorney general, bill barr, has said this is a legitimate case, but it's an uphill climb. would you agree? >> i think there's challenges in it. i think it is a fair indictment. it's going to be a hard-fought case because you're dealing with what is easy to perceive as political speech. that's obviously the defense strategy, and it has some resonance out there because they want to give a lot of latitude

in our country for political speech. so the prosecution is going to have to overcome that challenge with specific evidence of actions that donald trump did. >> juju: you've called this a defining moment for your party. some in your primary have publicly said they would pardon the former president. you've said that's inappropriate during your campaign. would you pardon president trump? >> it's wrong to even talk about it during the presidential campaign. that undermines the jury that's got to make a decision on guilt or innocence. it is inappropriate to talk about in a campaign as if you're trying to win votes by promising pardons. so we're not touching that. that should not be part of the conversation in this 2024 campaign. >> juju: the former president is facing three separate criminal indictments now, but republican voters seem to overwhelmingly be sticking with him. why do you think voters should care about these charges? >> first, the reason that their

poll numbers are still high for trump is that the iowa voters are skeptical about the charges and the role of government, and they don't trust the department of justice. and so you've got to overcome that skepticism. i think over time, people will see the seriousness of it, and they are frustrated with the chaos that surrounds donald trump and the need to get back to serious issues. and they see that as very difficult with the challenges that donald trump faces with three different indictments. >> juju: you and former vice president mike pence have yet to qualify for the debate stage three weeks from now. what's your plan to make the cut? >> work very hard, pull out the stops. we've got 10,000 increase in donors over the last week. you could be the deciding factor whether i get on the debate. >> juju: that sounds like a pitch to me. thank you for joining us. >> good to be with you. >> juju: now two contributors, former republican congresswoman barbara comstock and former

democratic senator heidi heitkamp. barbara, let me start with you. you've been quoted as saying the republican party shouldn't hitch their wagon to someone who is trying to stay out of jail, but he's leading in the gop primary polls. what does this mean for republicans? >> it is sad, gut i am happy that there are people like governor asa hutchinson, governor chris christie, will hurd, who are out there explaining to republican voters the consequences of having somebody who's been indicted for all these felonies. i would even point out that bill barr was saying what a serious case this is and what a problem it is to have him be the nominee again. so i certainly hope he'll have more outspoken v.o.i.c.e. voices. i this it's notable that people like bill barr and most of the people who served in trump's administration have not endorsed him. and in fact, in his trials, you'll have all these republicans who -- from vice

president pence who down, white house staff, white house counsel, who will be testifying about his illegal activity. >> juju: heidi, you talked about the fact that these prosecutions of the january 6th insurrectionists and his indictment has had a certain effect on protests and the mood of people. but what do you think its impact is on voters as well? >> i think donald trump has this idea that there are thousands of people out there who will walk over cut glass, but yet we have seen three arraignments with very little activity on the part of maga to defend him in the streets. i think that's a good indicator that maybe there is something turning for the former president. >> juju: as we know, the polls this week showed president trump virtually tied with president biden. what does this tell you about the impact of these indictments? >> i think we don't quite know what the impact is yet. and it's going to take, as

barbara said, people like governor asa hutchinson and chris christie and will hurd to be out there withstanding the boos action with standing the slings and arrows, but talking to the voters about what this means for the republican party's chances. so we don't know yet. i think it's way premature to evaluate the electoral impact of these indictments. >> juju: barbara, many of his republican rivals are saying that the doj has been weaponized, especially compared to charges against hunter biden. would you agree with that assessment? >> not at all. i'm a former justice department official as well as former congresswoman. i think, if anything, the justice department took longer else, and fortunately the good work of the january 6th committee got the justice department sort of spurred into action and doing what -- you know, you cannot have a former

president or anybody be above the law. and if these cases were not brought, i think it would be a sad day for the justice system. so i think it is working. and i think it's sad that republicans aren't realizing how damaging this is going to be. all they have to do is look at last year's elections to see all these states that they thought they were going to win, and even the polls showed they were close, they ended up pretty much losing in all those swing states with trump-like nominees. i think it will be even worse with trump, regardless of what the polls might show now. >> juju: heidi, in terms of strategy, president biden has remained largely silent about all of these indictments. is that a mistake? would he be better off going on the offense? >> absolutely not. when the narrative is going your way, you get out of the narrative. you don't inject yourself. then it becomes political. i think he's played and responded to the indictments perfectly from a political

standpoint. but also from a standpoint of somebody who serves as the president of the united states. justice will be served. we'll find out whether convictions happen. i think the white house respond response to this has been enormously appropriate. >> juju: senator, thank you. congresswoman comstock, thank you both. we'll be right back. how do i do it all? with a little help. and to support my family's immune health, i choose airborne. it has an unbeatable amount of vitamin c, plus a unique blend of immune focused ingredients to turn up our immune support.

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♪ that's "nightline." we'll have much more on the trump arraignment with complete coverage overnight and on "good morning america" tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.