MS NOW's special report on the Jack Smith testimony: Prime Time recap Part 2
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What are the implications of Jack Smith's testimony on Donald Trump's legal challenges?
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The American people are basically telling the president that they are not okay with any of this.
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Welcome back to our special primetime recap of today's historic hearing with Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two indictments against Donald Trump and who says he was prepared to prove Trump's guilt on dozens of felony counts beyond a reasonable doubt. As you know, there was a lot to this hearing today. Republicans came loaded for bear. They left without any bearskins. But there was a really interesting moment in today's proceedings, one I certainly did not anticipate, when Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson, very colorful congressman who always comes at things from a different direction, I think, than all of his colleagues. He's always got a very original take on things. He asked Jack Smith whether the cases he brought against Trump, cases which were dismissed once Trump was elected president, he asked whether those cases could ever come back.
We followed the facts and we followed the law. Where that led us was to an indictment of an unprecedented criminal scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power. And those indictments have been dismissed. Can they be re-brought or resurrected after this, after Trump leaves office?
How did Congressman Hank Johnson's question impact the hearing's direction?
They were dismissed without prejudice. So they can be refiled. And he can be prosecuted after he leaves office. Is that correct? I'm not going to speak to that. I can only speak to what we did, which was dismiss the case without prejudice.
Dismissed without prejudice. This is all he would say. Jack Smith, very reticent today before the House Judiciary Committee when he's asked whether the indictments he brought against Trump might someday be brought back, whether those trials effectively could go ahead against Trump. In just a moment, we're gonna be joined live by the top Democrat on that committee, Jamie Raskin. We're gonna see if Congressman Raskin might be any less reticent on that point. I will say it's no small thing that the Democrats have Congressman Raskin as their leader on the Judiciary Committee. That's the committee that oversees DOJ. It makes it possibly the most important oversight body in Congress right now, given that Trump has turned DOJ into his own personal machine for attacking his enemies and pardoning his allies.
There really is pretty much no one better suited and better prepared for a hearing with Jack Smith than a congressman like Jamie Raskin.
What role does Congressman Jamie Raskin play in the House Judiciary Committee?
Congressman Raskin was the lead impeachment manager during Trump's second impeachment trial, the one where he was charged with incitement of insurrection for his role in the January 6th attack. That prosecution that Raskin led got 57 senators to vote for Trump's conviction, including seven Republicans. That's the largest bipartisan impeachment conviction vote in the history of the United States. Congressman Raskin also served as part of the January 6th investigation in Congress. And before any of that, before he was in Congress, Jamie Raskin was a constitutional law professor for more than 25 years. In fact, there was a great moment in today's hearing where Congressman Raskin kind of scolded one of his Republican colleagues, Kevin Kiley, for a particular line of questioning he pursued.
In scolding him, he pointed out that Kevin Kiley used to be his student. and therefore should certainly have known better. Having a constitutional law professor in a hearing like today's turns out to be a really useful thing when you're talking about the criminal indictment of a United States president.
They've been saying that there's some kind of First Amendment defense that Donald Trump would have had to the crimes you indicted him for. Is there a valid First Amendment defense to defrauding the public?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the implications of Jack Smith's testimony on Donald Trump's legal challenges?
0:01–1:59
2
How did Congressman Hank Johnson's question impact the hearing's direction?
1:59–3:09
3
What role does Congressman Jamie Raskin play in the House Judiciary Committee?
3:09–4:58
4
Is there a valid First Amendment defense for Trump regarding his actions?
4:58–5:55
5
What are the Democrats' strategies for handling the hearing's outcomes?
5:55–7:24
6
How do Republicans perceive the January 6th events during the hearing?
7:24–9:37
7
What distractions are Republicans using to shift focus from the Epstein files?
9:37–10:50
8
What humorous moment highlighted the contradictions in the hearing?
10:50–45:26
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