both those figures, judge tanya chutkan and jack smith, also happen to be the latest victims of swattingice and fire trucks showed up at judge chutkan's home. swatting is the term for filing false reports to the police to set off a threatening or potentially dangerous response by officers. incidents of swatting have become more common in recent years. special counsel jack smith who has overseen the prosecution of trump in two federal cases was also the target of an attempted swatting at his maryland residence on christmas day. according to law enforcement sources, someone called 911 and claimed that smith had shot his wife. luckily, police were waved off by smith's protective detail. last week, attorney general merrick garland raised the very issue of dangerous rhetoric and its consequences. >> just yesterday, we arrested and charged an individual with threatening to kill a member of congress and his children. this is just a small snapshot of a larger trend that has included threats of violence against those who administer our elections, insure our safe travel, teach our children, report

now it's up to judge tanya chutkan to figure out what to do here.ll this pencil council to knock it off? does she let them continue filing? she's not making any decisions they are to sort of stacking up. they previously expressed a desire not to delay the case. it's something you rarely hear with federal judges. they usually say it's going to trial. i'm curious to see what she does. here obviously there's no love lost between the trump lawyers in the special counsel team, but filing a motion to argue about filing a motion, that is where we're at right now, guys. i don't know how it's going to resolve. >> it's like arguing about how to argue. >> arguing that it's all political. that is like the crux of the trump legitimate legal defense. it's that, you know, he's a target of political persecution. saying that the other side is being political, look, it's part for the course for these two. >> paula, thank you for that. before they take cnn stage tonight, they are taking some serious swings. it is underway. here's ron desantis and nikki haley lobbing a

district judge tanya chutkan after the former president demanded her recusal last week. prosecutors say the 43-year-old defendant left a threatening voice mail message for chicken, saying, quote, if trump doesn't get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you. >> that was from this part past august. keep in mind, we just began this week with trump's lawyer in federal court making the argument that he could send seal team six to assassinate a political rival and face zero sanctions or accountability are legal consequences as long as he held on to 34 loyal votes in the senate. that is the most extreme version of trump's openly fascist stick vision of politics and power. but what i want to stress to you tonight, on a day that began with the dame bomb threat at the house of a judge, the no daily version of those politics is here already. it's not a hypothetical. that version is, people that crossed donald trump in pursuit of holding account accountable to, life is constant threats of violence and intimidation and harassment, and sometimes actual violence. most obvious exampl

which is that judge tanya chutkan schedule a likely trial in april.and what that means is, she understands that despite the fact that ostensibly, it is still slated for march 4th for donald trump's trial on his federal charges for overturning the election, that is not going to happen then. and so, she has got a trial in april. again, all of this stuff is in the micro, it's like what's another week, here what's another week there? but my point is there are 284 days, and you add up enough numbers, and you get to 284, that is how the math works. >> for sure, and you are right that in general, the court system works, say by the hour hand, and the political system by the secondhand. but i do not think that is what is going on here, chris. i think the d. c. circuit set a very quick oral argument schedule, and they were prepared, and people anticipated they would issue a decision in warp speed for them, very much on the second hand kind of pace. and that's been held up. we are not sure exactly why, but i think we have every expectation it might have been say

. >> and the two top figures in this case, special counsel jack smith and judge tanya chutkan have now both been victims of swatting. what does that mean for the safety of public officials as we head into a busy 2024? plus, the pentagon's investigation into secretary of to hide his hospitalization from even the white house as more lawmakers on capitol hill call for his resignation. i want to begin inside that d.c. courthouse where we heard a bit more than about an hour's worth of debate that could have massive implications for donald trump's future and that of the power of the presidency. at the heart of it, the former president's claim that he is immune from prosecution, tied to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. it is now in the hands of a three-judge panel. for the u.s. court of appeals who are up against the clock of an upcoming election and three other criminal court cases, the former president is facing. lawyers on both sides made it clear today that the stakes could not be higher. >> to authorize the prosecution of a president for his official acts would open a pandora's

and nbc news is reporting judge tanya chutkan, and special counsel jack smith have also fallen victim to fake swatting calls on their homes. joining us now, nbc news justice reporter, ryan reilly, we want to talk to you about this because you cover so much of these threats, you cover so much of what happened in the fallout of january 6th, tell us what the sources you have and the justice department and the national security apparatus are telling you about when they are concerned about as we kick off this election year. >> yeah, i mean, it's a real worry. the justice department has sort of focused some of their attention on setting up the task force to deal with threats against election workers, but really just dealing, i think, with the scope of this, and the constant flow of these threats is really difficult, i think, for any bureaucracy, really to handle. and really, if you boil this down, the core of this goes back to the idea that a lot of americans believe a bizarre conspiracy theory about the 2020 election. they continue to believe that donald trump should be president, right, t

people like special counsel jack smith, judge tanya chutkan, maine secretary of state shenna bellows, others. the perpetrators of these swatting calls may be lone wolves, but their actions fit a disturbing pattern. their choice of targets, as well as the prevalence, sophistication even at times, and timing of their attacks all suggests they're picking their cues from donald trump. and their actions are consistent with the culture of intimidation that trump is deliberately trying to foster as he wages a retribution campaign to recapture the white house. joining me now is our in-house law firm, we have -- the former acting u.s. solicitor general, andrew weissmann is the former general counsel of the fbi and a senior member of special counsel robert mueller's team. so andrew, let me start with you. because even though trump is not directly responsible for these swatting attacks, that we've seen, of course, this is a culture he's created. and as a person who served in law enforcement for a long time, i want to ask you about what law enforcement can actually do? because it feels like it's

claim that he has immunity because he was president at the time the judge overseaing this case, tanya chutkan was the target of a swatting attack. two law enforcement sources tell nbc news that a similar incident happened to the special counsel on christmas day >>>united airlines says it's found loose bolts in itse bo37 max-nine flights the ntsb says on three previous flights, pressurization warnings lit up in the same plane, raising questions about why it wasn't grounded. >> it should have been a warning sign to them just in safety overall. but i think in this case, what alaska will say is that they took measures to ensure safety we have to see whether those actions were responsive or, enough >> they have recovered the door plug from the alaska aircraft. it will undergo inspection to see why the plane suffered a depressurization at 16,000 feet. >>> blizzard conditions stretch from texas to the dakotas, causing chaos on the road. and, as the system sweeps east, new england now lit up with flood alerts kathy park is in massachusetts with the latest there. >> completely zero visibility. >> repo

tanya chutkan was the target of a swatting attack. attack. police confirm they responded to reports of a shooting. and it was chutkan's home. no one was injured two law enforcement sources also tell nb tell nbc news that jack smith was the target of a swatting attack on christmas day. now this is all happening with less than a week to go until the iowa caucuses. nikki haley and ron desantis have started to increase interest attacks on donald trump, trying to cut into his 30-point lead in the polls trump will be back for a town hall, while haley and desantis will participate in another debate without the former president. >>> donald trump is facing a separate election interference case in georgia, and one of his co-defendants is trying to get the case thrown out. the fulton county d.a.'s office should be disqualified, they say, because of a romantic relationship between fani willis and nathan wade. it only cites unnamed sources. nbc news has not been able to independently verify the claims. roman's lawyer says there is evidence they cannot sha

against former president trump accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, also, judge tanya chutkan, who is overseeing the case. maine's secretary of state, shenna bellows, who barred mr. trump from the state's ballot also swatted, so was congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, florida senator rick scott, and boston mayor michelle wu, a trend that has the justice department on high alert. >> a deeply disturbing spike in threats against those who serve the public >> reporter: the fbi has launched a national database to track these incidents and says that swatters use what's known as spoofing mechanisms to hide their identity and their location. as for congressman williams of new york, he believes he was targeted because of his pro-israel views no arrests so far. the sheriff investigating the case stresses the calls are more than pranks they're illegal and can be dangerous and lead to violent encounters with police who might believe they're responding to a threat >> people that are doing this are trying to create chaos. they're trying to intimidate the individuals who are the subject of

investigating former president trump's handling of classified information, and dc federal judge tanya chutkano's overseeing trump's election subversion case, were also victims of swatting. and representative marjorie taylor greene posting on x that she was swatted eight times with her family targeted, saying she is introducing legislation to track down and prosecute perpetrators. these latest swatting incidents join a growing list of officials on both sides of the aisle targeted the fbi is also investigating recent fake bomb threats to secretaries of state and capitol buildings nationwide , from maine to south carolina. law enforcement sources saying some of those threats originated overseas. rhiannon andrew lionel , thank you. >> the parent company of facebook and instagram has announced plans to do more to protect young people. meta will begin hiding content that it deems inappropriate for teenagers. that includes posts about suicide, self-harm and also eating disorders, and a new study finds bottled water may contain up to 100 times more microscopic plastic particles than previously though

legal, we also heard the statements of the regional district judge of the united states of america tanya chutkann this matter, she said that even the former president of the united states does not have such a card to get out of prison. and regardless of what decision will actually be made by the court in washington, regardless , the losing party will obviously appeal to the us supreme court, and it will be the decision of the us supreme court whether or not to hear the matter if the us supreme court upholds the decision of the federal court in washington, then this will mean that the case will continue, and let me remind you that the first... hearings on this case, they were already scheduled for the beginning of march. oleksiy, thank you for clarifying all the details of these cases, this was a journalist of the ukrainian service voice of america, oleksiy kovalenko. despite the constant danger of shelling, more than 220,000 residents of donetsk region, who were evacuated since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of russia into ukraine, have returned to their homes. in particular, almost 13

the federal judge overseeing the election subversion case, judge tanya chutkan, her home with swatted. when trump turns on people, judges, public officials, the consequences can be serious. now the question is whether kai is going to push the issue of trump participating. i'm sure he would prefer trump not participate in clothsing arguments. this is what trump wants to do. >> part of the restrictions the judge tried to set was don't talk about me or my courtroom staff because of what we have seen in terms of death threats and this morning an actual bomb threat called into his house. that's part of the issue here. that's what they're asking them to redisstrict. donald trump is saying, you cannot restrict what i'll say in my closing remarks. it seems unlike that, even if kai gets up there, donald trump is not going to agree to restrictions. part of his argument when it comes to the campaign is, yes, it's political and they're trying to silence me. they don't want me the talk about how it's political. >> at the end of the day it's the judge's courtroom. we have our first update. chris ka

we know, of course, that this is something that judge tanya chutkan has already reviewed. she said the former president does not enjoy this privilege of immunity from any criminal prosecution because of what he was doing in his capacity as president, but obviously tomorrow will be a very, very important day constitutionally, a very important moment for the form ever president, especially as he tries to push this potential trial beyond the election season, wolf. we'll see what the appeals court says and whether this ends up back at the supreme court. >> we'll see. evan, thank you very much. >>> i want to get more analysis from our legal experts. eli honig, how do you think that holds up? >> i think a long shot and probably a losing argument in the court of appeals and perhaps beyond. it's important to understand what he is arguing here. he is not arguing he is immune from prosecution for everything he did during every minute of his four-year presidency. what his team is arguing is he's immune from prosecution for anything he did within the outer scope of his job as presiden

should jack smith be held in contempt and will judge tanya chutkan actually do it?well let's first talk about whether or not he has violated the court order her order, stay order. he clearly has when he filed his motion in limine. her order basically says we are not going to do anything to impose new discovery obligations on or about e. on any ever the litigants. when do you that the other side has to respond. it's a clear violation of the order. i do not believe she is going to hold jack smith into contempt. she has gone out of her way. she has done everything possible to grant the government's motions in this case. so i don't think that's going to happen. i think at most what she will do is say that that motion must be withdrawn right now. >> judge jeanine: okay. mike davis, i will go with you, and i want you to take a listener of this sound from cnn saying it's not a given that the supreme court is going to take the trump immunity case. >> i don't know that it's a given, the supreme court takes it. on the one hand, it's a big issue, constitutional issue. we don't

sources say special counsel jack smith and dc federal judge tanya chutkan were also victims of swatting. the fbi is also investigating recent fake bomb threats to secretaries of state and capitol buildings across the country. law enforcement sources say some of those threats originated overseas. swease stephanie gloria, thank you. >> the mother of former first lady melania trump has died. trump confirmed her 78 year old mother, amalia novis, died yesterday after a long health battle. she called her a strong woman who carried herself with grace, warmth and dignity. trump's parents spent time living in the upper floors of the white house during the trump presidency. she says. they had a very close relationship with donald trump and their grandson, barron. well, still, to come, the locally based streaming company set to lay off hundreds of workers. >> and a live look right now at the big board, the new york stock exchange, up by about 125 points. another update on the markets next and who can forget this wild video we're now hearing from the clerk who jumped into the help this judge and st

call for a shooting at the home of a federal judge in donald trump selection interference case, tanya chutkane police report says once units arrived, they realized the judge was not injured and there was no one in her home. last month, jack smith, the justice department special council overseeing two federal cases against donald trump was spotted, a law enforcement source tells cnn. so was maine's secretary of state after she ruled trump eligible to appear on the state ballot. and just hours before thursday's closing arguments, a bomb threat at the home of the judge presiding over trumps civil trial. >> these threats of violence are unacceptable. they threaten the fabric of our democracy. >> reporter: in may, the fbi set up a database to track swatting cases for the first time. since then, the agency has received more than 500 reports, but finding the perpetrators who often mask their caller i.d. data can be difficult, and that's why political figures who have fallen victim to the crime are urging congress to act. asked if there was a federal law in the books, given that this person is callin

today the judge in the federal election interference case, judge tanya chutkan signaled in a filing that trump's claims of presidential immunity may actually push back his trial date. we already knew the case was on hold until trump's question of immunity made its way through the appeals court and supreme court, but today judge chutkan signaled when the appeals process is done she may set a new schedule, one that takes into account the delays. meaning trump's march 4, federal election interference trial, the big date as r as trump's potential criminal accountability, is now for the first time being questioned by the judge presiding over it. joining me now are melissa murray, professor of law at nyu and michael schmidt, investigator for "the new york times" covering washington. it's great to see you both of you. thank you for being on set with me. melissa, let me just first get your reaction to these legal filings both on trump's behalf and a number of representatives in the upper and lower chambers of it u.s. congress. trump did not engage in insurrection. this is from trump's lawyers. i

prevailing today is because we've heard from other courts, other judges, the trial court level, judge tanya chutkan said look, we can't give presidents a get of jail free pass. his works. no one is above the law. and also there's been other decisions, similar unrelated issues in this court of appeals that found he is not immune from civil liability. and this question of what he was up to around january 6th, whether it was an official duty or something outside of that, it's also something the former white house chief of staff has lost that argument that what they were doing was related to their official work and should be protected. most people agree, the presidency, yes, you should be entitled to certain protections. but it's likely not going to be blanket. >> the other aspect of this that i found fascinating is that the defense is simultaneously arguing that prosecuting trump would amount to double jeopardy. because of his impeachment. >> right. and weirdness of the argument, it just got absurd to a point where what they're saying is, because he was acquitted by the senate that therefore he can't

the district judge tanya chutkan ruled against that. there is no divine right of kings.hen we go into court today, these will be the judges who are sitting. judge henderson was put on the bench by george h.w. bush in 1990. judges childs and pan were put on the bench by president biden. there's no tv broadcast of what's going to happen, but there will be a live audio feed, so we'll be able to hear the questioning and oftentimes having done a bunch of these arguments in a three-judge panel, you can tell pretty strongly where they're leaning by the number and the tone of the questions that they're asking. >> so talk to us about the argument here because trump's team is trying to essentially extend one of the nixon rulings and say, no, that immunity extends to criminal prosecution, and then what's the other side of it? >> so this originates as many things in this area do with richard nixon. nothing to do with watergate. in 1982 a guy who had been a federal employee under nixon named fitzgerald sued the federal government and nixon for him being fired, and the courts ruled, n

last month donald trump lost his first appeal of a partial gag order issued by a federal judge tanya chutkandge in what will be the criminal trial of donald trump for crimes leading up to and on january six, according to special prosecutor jack smith indictment. that first round of donald trump's appeal was handled by a three judge panel, of the circuit court of appeals which has a full bench membership of 11 judges, including the three who heard donald trump's appeal. the three judge panel denied donald trump's appeal, and then donald trump's lawyers exercise their right to appeal the case to the full court, asking for what they call a re-hearing on balk with all 11 judges, sitting and hearing the arguments again. yesterday, all 11 judges, including three, who were appointed by donald trump rejected donald trump's appeal. that means, that for the last 24 hours judge chutkan's gag order on donald trump is back in force, and donald trump's next move if he wants to try to continue in argument that has been rejected, by all 11 members, of the appeals court, is to appeal to the united states sup

we've seen him attack, you know, whether it's the federal election subversion case with judge tanya chutkanhere in new york with judge arthur he think ron, he frequently makes these types of arguments. look, rahel, this is not just a maine issue, not just a colorado issue, this is quickly becoming a real federal issue that the supreme court is going to take up, has to take up, unlike the presidential immunity question where i think they might not actually answer that question. this obviously is something that the supreme court is going to want to weigh in on. looming large, you know, behind -- in their minds obviously is the bush v. gore decision, they don't want to answer political questions but they really have no choice at this point. they are going to decide one way or another with respect to all 50 states, whether or not trump can be on the ballot in all 50 states. it's not going to be a state by state issue. and, you know, i personally don't feel that they're going to answer this question we are all asking whether or not trump engaged in an insurrection for the purposes of the 14th am

the appeals court has set an expedited schedule for trump's appeal of trial judge tanya chutkan's ruling that there is no form of immunity that protects a president from criminal prosecution after he has left office. today the appeals court issued a notice to donald trump's lawyers and special prosecutor jack smith and the lawyers for each side should be prepared for questions next week in oral argument by the judges about amicus briefs filed in the case by third parties, including one that says donald trump has no right to appeal judge chutkan's denial of immunity until after the trial. so it is possible that donald trump's appeal of this absolute immunity claim could be short-circuited by the appeals court if they agree with that amicus brief, which they find important enough to have warned the lawyers that they are going to discuss it in oral argument next tuesday. here is the immunitylaim. that donald trump's lawyers have made in their written brief to the appeals court. no president, current or former, may be criminally prosecuted for his official act unless he is first impeached an

if there's a possibility that judge tanya chutkan can try that case in march, april or may, doesn't want to be in a position to try that case. >> we appreciate you doing double duty as a legal analyst and breaking down for us the magic 8 ball, greatly appreciate it. take care. we have one more story for you tonight. what president biden doing in a last ditch effort to rescue a peace for hostages deal between israel and hamas. more on that after the break. israel and hamas more on that after the break until they're gone for good. attention hearing loss sufferers! do you struggle to hear loved ones? do you have trouble keeping up with conversations? do you listen to tv on max volume? hearing loss affects your life. you miss out on important moments... you feel alone. start hearing better today with rca's all new, advanced hearing aids. these aren't cheap amplifiers that don't really work, and you'll never have to pay thousands again. the fda now allows us to bring true, high-quality hearing aids direct to you. through rca's hearing america program, you can get your choice of two, state-of-

in december, judge tanya chutkan rejected the claims, saying that quote, former presidents don't possessute criminal immunity for any of the acts committed while in office. trump appealed the ruling, and just paused the proceedings. concerned about a majordelay, jack smith asked the united states in court to intervene. the supreme court denied fast-tracking, it and instead sent the issue back to the u.s. court of appeals. that's where we are now. it is important to note that there was at the high court refused to quickly rule on the issue, and the justices themselves might as well been taking up the case sooner than later anyways. that is because if the appeals court turns down trump's immunity claims this week, he is likely going to be appealing to the supreme court again. we've seen another version of this movie before. it's because we have. everything about where we are right now, it's the revisiting of trump's hallmark legal strategy. delay, delay, delay, delay and some more. he's nothing if he's not consistent. with the election looming, this is to put it mildly, deeply problematic.

the prosecution of donald trump, the judge overseeing his federal election interference case, tanya chutkanpecial counsel jack smith, have been targets of this slaughter. on sunday night, police and fire trucks showed up at the home of judge chutkan in response to a false rert of a shooting that was called. on christmas day, it happened to jack smith, when someone called 9-1-1 and said he had shot his wife. police were on their way to smith home when u.s. marshals protecting smith's family told police that it was a false alarm, that everyone inside the home was safe. so luckily, no one was hurt in either incident. but even if everyone is safe, this type of targeting results in a certainty of intense disruption to the lives of not only the individuals involved, but their entire families. and that's the point, that's the point. the maga movement has used threats of violence in the possibility of danger as a key tool of anti-democratic coercion. dolores kordell served as a judge for 19, years including 13 on the severe court of california. she joins us now. judge kordell, first, your reaction

this of course happened a lot, judge tanya chutkan, secretary of state in maine, even marjorie taylor greene. what do you make of what's happening with these officials and the frequency of this at such a high-level? >> jen, this is the pandora's box that trump opened. we know from the january 6th hearings about the kinds of threats that election officials were receiving, rusty bowers in arizona. we know about shaye moss and ruby freeman. and we know about many others around the country who feared for their lives. i remember that day when gabe sterling from georgia went to the front of the mic and said, you're gonna get somebody killed. people have asked whether if trump is reelected, we will see political violence. we are already seeing political violence. these threats are very, very serious indeed. swatting had a result in really terrible, accidental killings. and we need to be aware that this is part of trump's brand, the menace, the threat of violence. and his followers, this is why what he has done is so irresponsible, his followers are taking up that mantle. and this is very, ve

the criminal defense lawyers for the 77 year old criminal defendant donald trump asked judge tanya chutkan to hold special prosecutor jack smith in contempt of court for legal filings that the prosecutors have entered in the court docket after judge chutkan stopped all proceedings in the case while awaiting the outcome in the appeals court, which will issue issue an expedited decision at some point after next tuesday's oral arguments in donald trump's appeal. leading off our discussion, andrew weissmann, former fbi general counsel and former chief of the criminal vision in the eastern district of new york, an msnbc legal analyst, and the co-host of msnbc podcast prosecuted on trump. and andrew, i want to begin with where i ended in that introduction, which is something i have never seen before. you have seen everything. i've seen a lot but you've seen everything. every contempt issue that i have seen raised court has always been raised or threatened from the bench, by the judge. i have never seen a party ask a judge to hold the other party in contempt. >> it happens. it is rare. you are to

judge tanya chutkan, who will get this case back if the appeals court rules that donald trump does not in fact have some magical immunity, she's been swatted and there have been a number of democratic politicians and others swatted. she's now faced that too. that's of course when somebody calls the police and say something horrible is happening at your home. they give your address so the police will come and maybe shoot you. she's a black woman, so we know the risk of that is real. have there been beyond financial consequences at fox for them supporting this behavior, other than obviously, they paid a crap ton of money to dominion and probably smartmatic. i changed been made? >> only around the interview, sometimes interviewing trump on tape instead of live. they're getting under the covers nice and cozy in the gop debate in iowa. trump isn't going, he's going to stay on fox instead. that relationship is getting back together and ultimately there have not been severe consequences, other than the financial penalties fox had to pay. those are real and serious and the company does not wan

a really written by trial judge tanya chutkan, who is presiding over the case of the united states of america versus donald j trump, in which donald trump is indicted for crimes leading up to and on january 6th. the appeals court decision could be issued anytime now, and it was very clear, during the oral arguments of that case to the appeals court, that the three judge panel does not agree with donald trump's lawyers that a president can only be criminally prosecuted after being convicted in a senate impeachment trial and removed from office. the trump lawyers were surely appeal the appeals courts likely denial of donald trump's immunity claim to the united states supreme court. and today donald trump got a head start on his lawyers in appealing directly to the united states supreme court on social media, where he said, a president of elated states must have full immunity, without which would be impossible for him her to properly function, any mistake even if well intended would be met with almost certain indictment by the opposing party at turn and. donald trump did not explain why

well, today we got a big clue.ll today the judge in that case, judge tanya chutkan scheduled an april 2nd trial date for a different defendant. given that trump's trial is expected to last around three months, thato suggests that chutkan sees it as unlikely that trump's trial will start at any time before mid-april at best. thel wheels of justice turn slowly, and that reality is running smack into the political reality we are facing as a country, a potentially critical number of american voters are sayingot that a conviction woul really, ely matter to them as far as electing the next president, but the way things are going here between the courts and the defendant's endless delay tactics, will a conviction come too late? joining me now is former attorney general eric holder. mr. attorney general, thank you so much for joining me tonight. i'm sure you saw the same numbers i s saw about americans and a fairly strong belief on the part of a not insignificant number of voters that the convictions t matter. i got to ask you as a former top justice department a official, e top, do you think

judge tanya chutkan, the federal judge assigned to this case, denied a motion to dismiss the case based on that argument last month. she has stayed court proceedings while the appeal of her decision plays out. if the appeals court upholds judge chutkan's decision, the trump team is expected to appeal to the supreme court. meanwhile, trump's legal team is arguing the 13-count indictment against him in fulton county, georgia election interference rico case should also be dismissed because trump allegedly did not know trying to overturn an election was illegal. he'll make that oral argument in a new court , quote, our couny has a long-standing tradition of regarding allegations of fraud and irlegterities in a long list of presidential elections throughout our history. therefore, president trump lacked fair notice that his advackacy in the instance of the 2020 election could be criminalized. trump's legal team also filed two other motions to dismiss the georgia case yesterday echoing arguments they have made in the federal election interference case. one argues presidential immunity and the

. >>> breaking news, tanya chutkan, the judge overseeing donald trump's election interference case appears to be the victim of an attempting swatting attack. ryan, what happened? >> essentially last night police and firefighters showed up to what turned out to be a false -- seen of a false report of a shooting that ended up being judge chutkan's home. we're obviously not saying the exact address, but it is in d.c. the law enforcement source confirmed that judge chutkan was, in fact, home when this incident took place. this is kind of a little bit of a pre disabilitiable circumstance here. you have so many of these attacks on the judge and obviously it's happened to prominent figures before who are targeted by supporters of donald trump. you have incidents happen like this again and again. judge chutkan has already faced threats. a woman is being prosecuted for making threats to her chambers. she's gotten a lot of attention in connection with this ongoing case. this case could ultimately go back to her. stroe the appeals court is taking up the hearing on presidential immunity. if the judges

tanya chutkan, the judge below, did not really go into details about whether or not the conduct that over part of trump's official actions as president. she really just said that there was no presidential immunity in these circumstances. so, the appellate court could simply tell her to go back and determine whether or not these actions can actually do more. and so, that will run out the clock. it could be the case that they issue a decision here and then it goes on bunk, and the entire d.c. circuit has to hear it. that will put time on the clock, and then it goes to the supreme court, which will add more time to the clock. basically, just the fact that we are in this intermediate appellate face gives trump a tactical advantage of making sure this case never gets to the trial in march that has been in plain. >> and that answer, you anticipated my follow-up question, which is for the non lawyers out there. what's gonna happen in washington is before a three judge panel. and then, depending on how they rule, there's a possibility that whatever they decide, it's appealed to the overall a

that has happened to the judge in the federal election interference case, tanya chutkan, as well as jack smith, the special counsel. so, this is happening over and over again. people who come before donald trump, and i thank you, now that advice is coming in the interest of the jurors. it's frustrating. i think that is for as journalists, because you'd like to be able to talk to these people, have them explain the background here. it's created a situation where we're probably not going to end up hearing a lot from these jurors afterwards, just because of the world are living in the states. >> tristan, a quick answer for our quick question about this ming week, because we're expecting a ruling from judge arthur engoron by wednesday and at new york hd 70 million dollar civil fudrial. tish james citing a new appeal court ruling appealing a lifetime ban for martin squarely. that's for her lifetime ban on trump are doing business on the state. what do you expect in judge engoron's ruling? >> i'm expecting a very big number. for a long time, the record they lost, legal loss against donald trum

judge tanya chutkan, who is the judge overseeing the election interference case, initially rejected then the trial while the trump team moves forward with an appeal. last week trump's team said special counsel jack smith and federal prosecutors should be held in contempt because they continued working while the case is on hold. e special counsel's office responded to that request with a lengthy filing of its own. i'll readro a little of it here. the government has not violated and never intentionally would violate an order of the court, and the daytona's recycled allegations of partisanship and prosecutorial misconduct remain baseless. the question of presidential immunity is expected to eventually reach the supreme court. joining us now, msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos. you can tell from his sweatshirt he's got a rooting interest in tonight's championship game. give us ten seconds on the blue. >> listen, this happens once in a generation, jonathan. i know i'm out of uniform. i know i'm unprofessional. but, look, if you wanted fwrav as the, you would have gotten joyce vance or chuck

trump's legal team appealed an earlier ruling by federal judge tanya chutkan that election interference charges could not be dismissed on the basis of presidential immunity. the appeals court panel seems skeptical of the trump team's claims, epeppering them with hypotheticals on how far immunity would go under trump's theory. take a listen. >> can a president order seal team six to assassinate a political rival as an official act in order to seal seal team six? there would be no criminal prosecution, no criminal liability for that? >> the chief justice's opinion were against madison and our constitution and the play language of the impeachment judgment clause all clearly resuppose what the founders were concerned about -- >> i asked you a yes or no question. could a president who ordered seal team six to assassinate a political rival who was not impeached, could he be subject to criminal prosecution? >> if he were impeached and convicted first. >> so your answer is no? >> now, the judges could rule several different ways. they could issue a ruling that covers the entirety of the immunit

honest, michael, can you file motions, continue to file motions as jack smith has done when judge tanya chutkanssentially put this case on hold until a decision from the d.c. circuit? >> yes, i think so. i think what smith is doing is continuing his investigation, marshaling his evidence, putting it forward into the court docket so that it is available should donald trump lose his appeal in the case goes to trial. what they are not asking trump do is respond to any of this, so it is really sort of a sand box in a sense, they're putting the stuff in there and when the kids are allowed to play again, the stuff will be all there and ready to go. smith is not buying into the notion that i have to put everything on hold until this is all done. i can get everything ready to go so that if the case is ready to go, it is ready to go. >> so, you don't think the judge is going to grant this motion from the former president and his attorneys? >> i think it is political theater this motion. i think these lawyers know better than this, but they're trying to poison the public perception of jack smith further

judge tanya chutkan to, was overseeing the election interference case against donald trump, as well as special counsel jack smith, the prosecutor in that case, were both targeted and swatting incidents over the last three weeks. similar incidents occurred against the maine secretary of state, whose office address, donald trump posted on his website after he was removed from the 2024 primary ballot in the state. against the colorado supreme court, which ruled trump ineligible for his states presidential ballot last month. these acts are not just a threat to the individuals they target, they are a threat to democracy itself. take a look at this january six antidote for 2021 profile of then representative peter meijer, whwaousted from congress after voting to impeach trump. meyer approached remember who appeared on the rgof a breakdown. he asked his new colleague if he was okay the member responded he was not, that no maer his belief in legitimacy of the election, he could no longer vote to certify the results, because he feared for his family's safety. it is that fear, folks, and in some

. >> and tonight, donald trump's criminal defense team is renewing its requests for judge tanya chutkan to hold special counsel jack smith in contempt of court. with the election interference case currently on hold while trump's immunity claims get worked out in a federal appeals court, trump's lawyers lot of activity in the case halted, even the routine filing of documents which jacks mitt's team has said is permissible because it does not require the trump team to do anything. the motion to punish a jack smith for something that he is not prohibitive from even doing is yet another example of how donald trump has always referred to live in the world of alternative facts. with that strategy, it's on a collision course with the courtroom reality. that's what we saw this week as the disgraced former presidents that up for just a few minutes, in his own defense and the new york attorney generals civil fraud trial, when trump rambled, dissembled and presented himself as usual, as a victim, which did not appear to impress the judge, who ultimately will decide the outcome of this case. . trum

earlier today, nbc news reported that federal judge tanya chutkan who was presiding over the now paused case of the united states of america versus donald j trump in which jack smith is accusing donald j trump of crimes leading up to and on january 6th, was also the victim of a similar swatting incident. today in a campaign speech in south carolina, president biden talked about the violence provoked by donald trump on january 6th, and said that donald trump is not going to stop provoking violence. we will bring you more of what president biden said today later in this hour. tomorrow is the most important day yet in the life of donald trump since he became a criminal defendant donald trump, because tomorrow, at 9:30 a. m., as rachel said, the federal appeals court in washington, d. c. will consider an appeal by trump's criminal defense lawyers arguing that donald trump cannot be charged with a crime of any kind that was committed during donald trump's presidency. if the appeals court agrees with donald trump and his lawyers when they issue an expedited opinion within the next few weeks,