Putting out new songs at 74 that the whole world wants to hear. Thanks so much for joining us. Ac 360 starts right now. Tonight on 360, two breaking developments. An Appeals Court tells donald trump the trial that already threatens his company will not be delayed, and the former president decides not to fight to make his georgia trial a federal case. Also tonight, President Bidens warning that democracy is in danger, and he says not just from trump and his supporters. Later, a 360 exclusive. My conversation with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich six months into his captivity in russia. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with Breaking News in two fronts in the former president s Multifront Legal Battle To Stay Out of prison and keep the company his father began. Cnns Jessica Schneider starts us off on the stay out of prison part on the move not to move to Federal Court. Why did they decide to make that decision . The official reasoning tonight is they trust the judge in state court to give the former president a fair trial. So this is what theyre saying in their notice to the court tonight. Theyre saying President Trump now notifies the court that he will not be seeking to remove his case to Federal Court. This decision is based on his wellfounded confidence that this Honorable Court intends to fully and completely protect his constitutional Right To A Fair Trial and guarantee him Due Process Of Law throughout the prosecution of his case in the Superior Court of Fulton County, georgia. But really, whats more likely here, anderson, is that trumps lawyers really could see that they would face a significant uphill battle if they tried to get this case moved to Federal Court. They had a deadline to decide which was tomorrow, to decide if they wanted to try to move it. But of course, mark meadows, we saw his bid to move his case to Federal Court. It was rejected. Trump lawyers closely watched those proceedings. Plus, in addition to those uphill battles, its really possible, anderson, that if trump had asked for removal to Federal Court, and if he was successful, his case might have actually gone before a federal judge that was appointed by president obama. His name is judge steven jones, and he has actually been handling some of the offshoot cases from the Fulton County indictment. So there really was a bit of a gamble here if trumps team went the removal route, which obviously tonight theyve decided not to and theyre sticking to state court. Whats the latest on when the former president s trial in Fulton County will begin and how many codefendants he would be tried with. We dont know when it will be begin. We know when it wont begin. It will not begin with the first trial that is saided for october 23rd. Thats the trial with Sidney Powell and kenneth chesebro. Donald trump and the other codefendants will not with part of that trial. So its likely well see maybe a trial with donald trump and some of those other 19 codefendants some time in 2024. But it wont be any time soon. But we do one thing, that because this case wont be removed now to Federal Court, well be seeing those proceedings play out on camera. You know, there is no recording allowed in Federal Court. But as weve seen in state court, those proceedings will be broadcast. So we will be seeing, presumably, a trial of the former president on our tv screens. Jessica schneider, thanks. More mao now on the Appeals Court decision paving the way for the trial to proceed this sunday what did the Appellate Court rule today . Its a quick twopage decision. They said theyre denying trumps motion to stay the start of this trial. This comes on the heels of this ruling earlier this week, which you said that trump committed fraud and that held him liable for ten years of the fraudulent Financial Statement, also canceling the business certificates, which we still dont know how thats going the shake out. Now the trial is expected to start on monday. The ags office has other claims than just the fraudulent Financial Statement claim. The trial will focus on whether the individuals of the trump family committed Insurance Fraud and whether they falsified Business Records and some other claims. There is still a lot at stake at this trial. And will donny jr. And eric trump and the former president be testifying . So they are all three of them are on the witness list for the Attorney General and for the former president s team. So its possible that the Attorney Generals office, theyve got 28 people on their list. They have listed donald trump, donald trump jr. , eric trump, ivanka trump, and michael cohen, among many of their witnesses. And trumps side, they saying trump wants to testify, that he is going to testify many this case. Of course, that always is a Trial Decision so, we wont really know until we get there. But the ags office indicates they want to call them. So we might see them walk through the doors and take the witness stand. Cara, stay with us. I want to bring in two attorneys. Two former federal prosecutors from the Southern District of new york, jessica roth and elie honig. First of all, are you surprised the former president is not going to try to get this georgia case moved to Federal Court . I was surprised initially. But then when i thought it true, i thought it made sense as a strategic decision on his lawyers part. They probably saw the Writing On The Wall that they were unlikely to prevail to move the case to Federal Court. They were following the meadows case. Meadows obviously lost and trump had a weaker claim than meadows did. They clearly decided it was better to conserve their time and resources and focus that on other matters where it could perhaps be a better payoff. Plus, he likely would have had to testify to have a chance to prevail, and carried significant risks for him first him not being a credible witness, but his statements being potentially used against him in the case in georgia if it proceeded. And also in the federal case involving january 6th. Elie, it was fascinating to hear in his lawyers statement to the court them saying he has full confidence in the judge in the georgia case. Thats not usually something you hear coming out of the trump camp. Do you agree thats the reason why he looked at what happened to meadows and thought way nguyen do that . I was genuinely stunned. I did a double take. You thought they would go for it . I thought they would move to Federal Court. There is a lot of reasons to do that. Starting with a jury pool. Like jessica, on reflection, i the see reasons to stay in state court. This is young judge, judge mcphee. He is 34 years eld o, but he has been very calm, in control. He has been giving rulings that both sides like. They laid it on a little thick. Your honorable, we have full faith in you. But i do think thats one motivating factor. I think the other one is theyre in a good position tactically in georgia in the state court because theyre going to get to sit back and watch the chesebro and powell trial, and their trial is way down the line. Theyre going to get to see the entire d. A. s case laid out. And thats a good position. If they move into Federal Court, they might compromise that. They might be forced to trial much quicker. I understand the reasoning. How much of an advantage it is to see what the evidence is in the chesebro and Sidney Powell case . I think its a great advantage. The state has said theyre going to call all the same witnesses, essentially, in that sort of mini version of the trial. But its not going to be that mini because the state is going to be calling all the same witnesses to establish the rico conspiracy. And chesebro and powell were actually part of different components of the rico conspiracy. So the witnesses who are necessary to address both defendants are pretty comprehensive. So really, trump is going to get quite a comprehensive preview of the case against him. And i also just want to add, he can raise the same defense that ultimately he wanted to raise in Federal Court of immunity under the supremacy clause. He can raise that in state court as well. So he is not losing out on any of the substantive defenses he wanted to assert potentially in Federal Court. And cara, in the fraud case in new york, does the former president have any options in terms of delaying things . I mean, there is a possibility he could file some kind of Emergency Appeal to appeal this Appellate Courts ruling. I reached out to his lawyers today to see if theyre any indication of what theyre going to do because the clock is ticking here. But we havent heard back yet. Its not really clear if theyre going have that much time to do something if they dont act immediately. And that is a bench trial. What does that mean . It means the judge is going to make the ultimate decision on the verdict whether its the plaintiff or the defendant. And on the amount of damages, its interesting. Thats another surprise, by the way. Cara and i were talking about it. Both partied opted for the judge, not a jury. If im trumps team, i want a jury. Juries are more dynamic, theyre more unpredictable. This judge, we just saw his ruling two days ago. It is very heavily against donald trump. I would be very nervous if i was trumps team leaving it all up to this judge. Trumps lawyer said in court today hes not even sure while were still going to trial since the main decision has been made. The ags office said they want to hold individuals accountable. Thats part of the reason they want to push forward. But holding individuals accountable, that doesnt mean thats obviously not criminally. This is financial penalties. It actually bears noting part of what remains to be decided are the counts in the complaint brought by the ag that incorporate by reference new york criminal statutes. It may be what the Attorney General wants is a judicial finding at the end of the case that actually crimes were committed by these individuals and the entities, even though that doesnt have criminal consequences because the counts essentially incorporate by reference these statutes there would be symbolic power and impact on ultimate remedies if the judge made those determine faces. Jessica roth, thank you. Kara scannell, thank you. Coming up, more live News Reporting within the last few minutes with the race to head off the Government Shutdown and President Biden warning about the threat he sees to democracy. And a former cnn contributor is waging a bipartisan fight against. Breaking news now on the possible Government Shutdown. Tensions as high as weve seen them between Kevin Mccarthy and hardliners in his caucus. Now the embattled republican leader is leaving open the door to a deal that would certainly anger them even further. Manu raju joins us from capitol hill with the latest. I know you just spoke to Speaker Mccarthy. What did he tell you about whats going on . I asked him what will happen next. The expectation is on the floor of the house, he will bring up a bill tomorrow to keep the government open for a short period of time. But that bill will collapse under opposition from not just democrats who oppose the spending cuts in there, but conservative hard liners who oppose his Spending Plans as well. And then the question is what will Kevin Mccarthy do . Will he cut a deal with democrats . Which seems to be the only way out of this jam that he is in right now, with very little room for maneuver. Mccarthy simply would not say, would not rule it out, would not rule it in. He said i have time to figure this out. Well, what is plan b here . He said there are plans. Im always gaming out my different plans. Ive got plan a, b, c, d, and e for everything here. He would not detail exactly what that is. But the real threat for Speaker Mccarthy is that if he were to cut a deal with democrats, that can open him up to a challenge from the right. Members threatening to call for a vote, seeking his ouster as speaker of the house, and would only require five republicans to essentially vote to kick him out along with all democrats. If that were to happen, the house would be in chaos in an unprecedented event, and theyre warning, the hardliners will actually go that route if he cuts a deal. Perhaps one reason why mccarthy is Still Holding out some hope that he can pass a bill along party lines tomorrow to keep the government open. But there is a problem, anderson. Even if he were to have the votes in the house on his republican plan, it would not pass the Democraticled Senate or get signed into law by the white house, which is why there are real concerns about a shutdown at this point as mccarthy is not indicating if he is willing to cut a deal with democrats to get out of this mess, but also not ruling it out, anderson. I understand there was Aette Hood Exchange between Speaker Mccarthy and matt gaetz today. Yeah, that happened Behind Closed Doors this morning. Matt gaetz has been the ringleader of the effort to potentially oust mccarthy, threatening for weeks that he could actually be the one call for that vote to kick mccarthy out of the speakership. Gaetz contends that mccarthys allies have been bashing him on social media, paying for conservative influencers to post negative posts about gaetz. Gaetz confronted mccarthy about this Behind Closed Doors at a republican meeting. Mccarthy dismissed it, said he had nothing to do with it, said he wouldnt waste his time or money on gaetz, and says he is raising money to help preserve the House Republican majority. That led to some members in the room essentially cursing about gaetz as well. He has caused a lot of tension among mccarthy allies at this point. Gaetz has also said it is mccarthys fault if there is a Government Shutdown. Gaetz opposed shortterm Spending Plans but says he could have kept the government open for some time if he acted earlier. I asked mccarthy about that. He said matt gaetz is blaming me even though he opposed a shortterm resolution . Okay. The first public Impeachment Hearing to President Biden. In the days leading up to it, republicans promised they had a mountain of evidence connecting the president to his son hunters business dealings. Then the evidence the senior biden abused his Public Office for financial gain was, quote, overwhelm, so said some republicans. Instead, none of the witnesses they called were witnesses to any of these allegation, and two of those witnesses undercut this alleged overwhelming evidence. One senior republican aide told cnn, quote, this is an unmitigated disaster, unquote. The white house called the whole thing a flop. Oversight Committee Chairman james comer said the hearing wasnt supposed to be about fireworks. Sara murray has more. Reporter House Republicans putting forth plenty of bombast. If we had a box of all the foreign money the bidens took, it would have reached to the ceiling. Reporter but as democrats noted, no new evidence. Whats missing, despite years of investigation is the smoking gun that connects joe biden to his never do well sons corruption. Reporter as the gop convened its first hearing in the Impeachment Inquiry into president joe biden. Even as republicans tried to drive home claims of Biden Family Corruption hunter biden referred to access to his father as the keys to his familys only asset. Those words are going to come back and haunt hunter biden. And his family forever. Reporter their own witnesses failed to back them up. Noting that republicans are currently operating on allegations rather than hard facts. I do not believe that the Current Evidence would support articles of impeachment. That is something that an inquiry has to establish. Im not here today to even suggest there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing. In my opinion, more information needs to be gathered and assessed before i would make such an assessment. Repo