john santucci, our thanks to you. i want to bring in our chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, who was there at the capitol on january sixth. and, martha, you could hear really in jack smith's voice there as he presented his short statement to the american people, the weight of this, though, trying to distance himself from the politics of it all, say presumed innocent until proven guilty, but asked the american people to read this and to remember. january 6th and saying that the men and women in law enforcement were heroes that day. >> and indeed they were. and what the american people also need to think about is the effect that day had on them. you've talked to them before, david, and interviewed them and the wounds, the injuries, the looking back on that day, they will never be the same. um, and that day for me up on the hill and talking to people who said they were there because donald trump was outed them to quote stop the steal that was the whole idea of the speech that donald trump gave that day. i

. >> juju: joining me now is abc news executive editorial producer john santucci. a sweeping indictment. mark meadows, his former chief of staff, rudy giuliani, sidney powell. when he was briefed on the names and rudy came up, it hit different. >> rudy struck him more than anybody else. donald trump and personal relationships, he doesn't have many. he doesn't have friends, associates that he's close to. but rudy giuliani is different. he's someone he's had a relationship for nearly 30 years. he's a new yorker, through and through, like donald trump. to look at that relationship, to think the two are on an indictment together. the prospect of it, it really stuck him. >> juju: and yet, fani willis said this evening, she may try all 19 coconspirators together. do you think donald trump is concerned that any of them might flip? >> i think donald trump is freaking out about it. donald trump knows that nobody wants to go to jail. he knows he cannot give anybody an apartment. he is not president. but if he did become president, this is a state case. this is incredibly dif

john santucci, thank you. >> thank you. >> juju: >>> coming up, fallout.sident trump's rivals for the nomination react. we'll speak with governor asa hutchinson. nks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪ ♪nothing is everything♪ i'm celebrating my clearer skin... my way. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. in another study, most people had 90% clearer skin, even at 5 years. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. thanks to clearer skin with skyrizi - this is my moment. there's nothing on my skin and that means everything! ♪nothing is everything♪ now's the time. ask your doctor about skyrizi, the #1 dermatologist-prescribed biologic in psoriasis. learn how abbvie could help you save. [♪] learn how abbvie could did you know, unless you treat dandruff regularly, it will keep coming back. try head & shoulders shampoo. dandruff i

>> david: john santucci with us here. john, thank you. i want to bring until our chief legal analyst. two questions for you, dan abrams. first of all, this is what we would expect from donald trump, the public facing, to say this is pile on. it will be part of the political message moving forward. surely his legal team understands the weight of this. and if you were -- listen, this classified documents case is a heavy case in and of itself, but this case is far more serious. >> yeah, it's far more serious based on the facts, based on the allegations, and based on the law. i mean, yes, the documents case is at its heart an obstruction of justice case, which is serious stuff, but here, you're talking about the fundamental functioning of our democracy. and donald trump's effort, according to the special counsel, to undermine that. i will say, though, that there are maybe more legal defenses that he may have here than in the documents case. so, while this one may be more serious, it is also likely that he'll have more legal avenues to defend

and for more, i want to bring in abc news executive editorial producer john santucci, who is covering trump for years. and john, you had the phone conversation and phone conversations today. you actually spoke to the president, former president on the phone not long after these indictments were made public. what did he say? >> you know, byron, just minutes after he called news of now, another indictment pile on by special counsel jack smith. and, you know, i said to him at one point, mr. president, how do you look at all of these charges, the totality of them between manhattan, the two now from special counsel jack smith, and potentially another one coming in, fulton county, georgia. he said to me, it's all ridiculous, said the charges are election interference. and, byron, what's fascinating to me is that he maintains that not only is he going to fight, he's going to win and win, not just these cases in donald trump's mind, but also the 2024 election. >> now, you know him as well as anyone who i know. you heard his words. yeah what do you think is going on inside, though? where do yo

the same process and let's bring in john santucci, who has learned from at least one source. hn, you believe a mugshot was, in fact, taken? >> david, i have been in touch with team trump, and i'm told by at least one senior adviser to the former president that is their understanding that a mugshot was taken of donald trump moments after he entered that fulton county jailhouse. david, i'm also told and we're showing on screen right now the details from the jail that to speed up the process. david, it's my understanding that some of the keyetails that most people are going through the process, the height, the weight, some of thatre reported by donald trump's aides to the jail. so it does not aear that anybody physically took the president's height or w that those details were provided on the president's behalf to speed up thecess that he could getd out as quickly as possible. david yk about those details and i don't share them now to be frivolous here. >> i share them because of the surreal nature of all ts you look at this, some of the details, john, that eak of, describe the f

let's bring in john santucci, who has covered donald trump the candidate, the president, and now the candidate again. john, what was his reaction? >> reporter: i just hung up the phone moments ago with donald trump. he called this news pile-on, david. he said, yet again, this is election interference. when i asked him about all of the mounting charges against him. he mentioned manhattan, documents, this case, he called all of the charges ridiculous. i then said to donald trump, you know, how does this move forward, how do you go from here? donald trump telling me tonight, david, we will fight, and we will win. but david, i have to tell you, all throughout this afternoon, hearing from former white house aides to donald trump, they all believe this was avoidable. david? >> david: john, thank you. i want to bring until our chief legal analyst. two questions for you, dan abrams. this is what we would expect from donald trump, to say this is pile-on. part of the political message moving forward. surely his legal team understands the weight of this. and if you were -- the classified documen

let's bring in abc's editorial executive producer, john santucci, who's covered former president trumpor a decade now. good to see you. >> good morning. >> stephanie: we were on the air for quite some time on thursday. >> wanted to come back for more. >> stephanie: when the former president surrendered. good to see you. walk us through this strategy. why is mark meadows trying to take his case to the federal court, and how does that impact the other defendants and the former president? >> so let's start with mark meadows. our understanding, stephanie, is that right now this case is in fulton county, georgia. deep, deep, deep blue. very democratic community down there. if meadows is successful, think of it like a pebble in a pond. the jury pool down there, liberal. if that pebble goes in, goes federal, it opens up the waves. it opens up to a potential jury pool that is far more republican-friendly, far better for donald trump and his allies. now as far as team trump and the other 17 defendants are concerned, it's completely untested. my colleague, olivia rubin and i have been talking to