In the United States. The america i grew up in is a place where we dont put our political opponents in prison. We let the Voters Decide who is best to lead the nation. Nor did we criminalize political differences because thats what they do in repressive regimes. Russian opposition activist sinced to 19 years. Russian court finding him guilty of founding and funding an extremist organization. Laura now, after i read through this latest indictment of trump, i found myself asking how can we now really say that were any better than what were seeing in the old former soviet union . We will get to the legal farce that is this indictment in a few moment. But, right now all of you need to know something very important about this liberal Fulton County d. A. Fani willis. Now, after her unconscionablably dragging out her investigation of donald trump for about two and a half years, she was suddenly, last night, in this huge rush, desperate to get the indictment out there. So much so that she took the relatively rare step of keeping a new grand jury after regular business hours. Now, she did this for one reason and one reason only, for maximum p. R. Effect in prime time, no less. I cannot believe this. [laughter] yeah. This is not the circumstances in which i expected to be talking to you. Nor me, rachel. Its always good to talk to you but, honestly, i didnt think that it would be under these circumstances. Yet another set of indictments. Nightmare, trump wants to be the only arbiter of truth and reality. Instead of maybe coasting back in over a very weak incumbent, is he now facing jail time and a whole bunch of different places. Crazy. It may be the very first indictment that carries anything resembling a mandatory minimum sentence. [laughter] laura lawyers all of them i know. Now, we all know and they all know that the goal here isnt justice. The goal here is to take donald trump out of political contention in an attempt to throw the 2024 election to biden. To a man who is deteriorating in real time before our eyes. Now, if donald trump, lets say had announce that he had had problems with the election but he is retiring from politics, i dont know, in 2021, none of these indictments would have happened at all. Instead, they would be focusing on investigating ron desantis on some bogus ground. There is literally no description to adequately capture what a pandoras box of horrors the democrats have opened up here. Because, when political prosecutors across four jurisdictions, four are on a Wild Eyed Hunt for a former president and his top advisers, an incendiary precedent has been set. With the dirty work done by alvin bragg, to fani willis, there is no stepping back from this precipice now. Now, the case basically boils down to the criminalizing of a aggressive lawyering. Because people like john eastman and other experienced legal minds offered the president a novel and, yeah, a controversial approach to challenging the electoral process. And because President Trump agreed to follow their advice. Well, because he agreed to do that, willis charged them all with an array of state crimes. So the regime media, of course, helped in the lead up to this over the last two years with their clever branding of the trump teams post election legal conclusions. Tentacles from former President Trumps big lie about the election continuing to squeeze american society. This all started with the big lie. Trumps lie about massive voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trumps big lie damaging our democracy and now its embedded in the g. O. P. Party platform. That hearing is supposed to center on trumps big lie about the election and the people who helped foster it and peddle it. How do you think trumps big lie continues to live on . Laura but no matter what your view on the election cowk the ultimate big lie is that you can seek to criminalize Strong Political opposition and not create a really painful boomerang effect. That willis chose to charge trump and 18 others under ricco statutes originally used to take the mob down is another tell. Because it sounds so dramatic. A Fulton County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment. Charging 19 individuals with violations of georgia law arising from a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 president ial election. In this state. Laura she is prime time of course she going to get hair and makeup. You are prime time. Now, even if you dont agree with the legal analysis of the trump team post election, the idea that requests a new slate of electors can amount to criminal conduct is obscene. Ditto for President Trumps georgia georgia official find me 11,000 votsz thats criminal . As if similar lines are werent uttered across multiple states by Democrat Party officials who were watching some of the protrump early election returns on november 3rd, 2020. Find thee those early votes. And if aggressively challenging the outcome of an election is now somehow a state or federal crime, i have a question tonight, where is the indictment against this woman . This is not a speech of concession. It was not a free and fair elections. Of the machinery had broken. Thousands of georgians had their voices stolen. If it looks like its rigged it probably is. I didnt lose. I quote the votes. We wont know exactly how many because of how they cheated. I do have one very affirmative statement to make, we won. [applause] and if an organized effort to challenge Ballot Counting can amount do a criminal conspiracy to subvert democracy, i mean, could you make the argument that, what, george w. Bush and al gores teams should be slapped or should have been slapped with some type of indictment after the 2,000 recount . Now, what does fullcourt press against trump virtually guarantees is that during every election cycle for the foreseeable future, there will be soninlaw urging the party in power to seek dimes against the leading candidate of the other party. Its excessive and i think its also dangerous. It essentially criminalizes, challenges to elections. Theres no sos sort of limiting principle in this document. We often if not always have these challenges. Some are more supported than others. But they are not crimes. They are seeking Judicial Review and that assures the public that there is someone watching over these elections. Laura now, how can it be that an untested application of laws by prosecutors against a political opponent are celebrated even when the impact to future election as this could in 2024 but when a republican lawyer is working for trump advanced aggressive, maybe novel legal theories. They are all indicted. Now, i know a lot of people say this a lot. They say it to me. They wonder why good people or better people dont go into politics. Well, with all of this you are seeing the reason why. They dont want anyone to work for a republican in the future let alone run for office. I mean, we know politicians stretch the truth all the time. Lawyers are aggressive with their advice and also their theories while representing clients. This happens regularly. Thats the way its always been. I mean, we know bill clinton committed perjury while he was president. But he wasnt indicted. Even though he didnt need a novel legal theory to pursue it. Comey chose not to indict Hillary Clinton even though he had ample evidence that she directed that her Computer Servers be wiped clean. The sense was you dont dry to remove a political candidate by indictment in the middle of an election fight. You let the Voters Decide. Plus all the rhetoric from the left about how these indictments are all efforts to protect democracy, why cant trumps team have legitimately believed that it was they in seeking to have a State Challenge to some of these outcomes, they were protecting democracy. Want to make sure that every vote was actually counted and fraudulent ones they believe fraudulent werent. Now, recall all the alleged problems that took place in some states where the Election Laws were changed in the 11th hour to help democrats. With lawyers by the way advancing the novel and untested legal view that because of the covid pandemic, every voter needed to have access to mailin ballots, drop boxes, extended voting hours, et cetera. Was that novel and unusual . You bet it was. Now, lets be clear. This may be the last indictment of trump. But it wont be the last indictment of its type. Expect to see this scenario repeat itself any time a conservative who rattles the Establishment Cage gets too close to winning this should be a wakeup call to all serious republicans. You are will be in the crosshairs next. We are going to ask Governor Desantis about this later in the hour. I know some of you might be saying the following well, okay, laura, if they get away with this witchhunt, we will just do the same thing to them next time to get power. We get power. Well, again, sorry, the truth is even if a Republican Attorney general wanted to play these corrosive games against a powerful opposition candidate, the fbi and the career staff of the doj would resist them and would make it impossible virtually. So this dynamic will always and only work one way, to disenfranchise voters across america who would like to vote for the conservative candidate of their choosing. Its the ultimate in Election Interference through corrupt, politically venal indictments. And who are the real defenders of democracy again . And thats the angle. Laura joining me now is missouri senator and member of the Senate Judiciary committee josh hawley. Senator, this sets us on a precipice for, i think, a very, very dangerous period in our society and our electoral processes. At this point, the fulton d. A. Has indicated that they will seek higher bonds against any of these defendants who are convicted. And, of Course Processing would include mug shots. What does that tell you here . Well, what this tells me is that this is the latest effort to keep the ruling party in power, laura. Thats what this is about. This is indictment like, what, number 200. I mean, who knows . There may be more indictments to come. What is clear about this is, this is an effort by the ruling party, the Democrat Party across states in the federal government to make sure that anybody who criticizes them get indicted its not just trump though they are focused on trump. Also catholics who have had their parishes infiltrated. Swat teams sent to their doors. Those protested peacefully that the fbi show up and knock at their doors. Parents who have gone School Board Meetings and now been labeled domestic terrorists by the biden administration. I never thought we would see any of this in American History we have seen all of it in just the last couple of years, the Common Thread is, if you challenge them, if you challenge the ruling party, the ruling elites, they will use the force of laugh against you and, yeah, this is crossing the rubicon, laura. We have got to beat this back. We have got to defeat this attempt to rig an election in real time. Because thats what they are trying to do. Trying to make sure there is only one outcome to the election in 2024 and its the democrat winning. Laura well, i dont think they would have much of a problem with a different type of republican, like a mitt romney style republican. Right . Because he maybe wouldnt rattle the cage like someone like a trump or desantis maybe even Glenn Youngkin would down the road or vivek ramaswamy, someone like that. But, this is a message to anyone who would even think of working for a conservative administration Going Forward. Dont you agree lawyer giving untested hasnt been taken before post election but is a theory that a number of people agree with, some dont. Now all bets are off. Why would you go into Government Service . Absolutely. This is a message they are trying to send a message loud and clear and the message is dont mess with us. Why are they going after trump . Because he messed with them. He challenged them across the board. He challenged their prowar policies. He challenged them on ukraine. He challenged their globalist agenda thats ripped off our Working Class for years. Hollowed out the Industrial Base of this country and made our workers of the country slaves impaired to china and these other nations that have taken away our jobs. Taken away our technology. Trump challenged all of that and the message is, if you challenge them on this stuff, if you challenge them on these policies they hold dear, they will come after you. If they if you challenge them on their proabortion religion, they will come after you. So i think the message is real clear. Dont challenge us. Dont go to work for anybody who will challenge us. Dont vote for donald trump or anybody like him or well treat you as a domestic terrorist. I will tell you what, laura, this is a recipe for one party rule in this country. If thats the case, this isnt the United States of america anymore our constitutional democracy doesnt exist anymore. Laura senator, thank you. Now as the angle noted Fulton County d. A. Fani willis indicted a handful of lawyers working for trump for offering legal argument to the president. How dangerous a precedent does this set . Here now in the former deputy independent council sol wisenberg. Sol, you heard the angle. Couldnt this ultimately just chill the future any aspect of Service Going forward given people like Jeffrey Clark. Jeffrey clark is indicted here . He is one of the most respected 3wreu8 yent mind. John eastman clerked for a Supreme Court justice . People might disagree with their theories but i mean, what . Well, its interesting that you mentioned Jeffrey Clark and i know this from sources i absolutely trust high inside the Justice Department during this period after the election Jaffery Clark absolutely believed the election was stolen. Why is that important . Its important because you have to have a certain level of intent. Throughout this indictment there are allegations that people knowingly stated lies, stated falsehoods. But, more importantly, in terms of the charges against President Trump, you have got Jeffrey Clark. Hes president ially appointed. He is confirmed by the senate. He is head of the Civil Division of doj. He went to harvard undergrad. He went to Georgetown Law School and he is telling the president that the election has been stolen and that the department of justice can do something about that. And there are other lawyers there who agreed with him equal prominent lawyers. On the other side, there were lawyers telling the president you cant do that. Are we to say as a matter of law that the president for picking one set of lawyers over the other is a criminal . I think he has got at least on this part of the indictment the former president has very good potential Reliance Defense as to your other point, thats the problem with this indictment and the jack smith indictment in d. C. Now, there are very narrow allegations and discreet allegations in the georgia indictment that are potentially very dangerous for certain defendants. But what is so disturbing about these two indictments, d. C. And georgia is how much traditionally protected political speech is referenced in these indictments and is considered to be part of Criminal Activity . Thats what i find very, very disturbing. Mark meadows, of course, was not mentioned in the jack smith indictment. In the atlanta federal indictment. But he is mentioned as one of the codefendants in the Ricco Conspiracy by fani willis. He is now moved to change the venue to Federal District court out of Fulton County is that a legitimate claim that he has here given the very parallel tracks that they are moving in with smith and willis . I think its a very viable claim. Its certainly not frivolous. Its legitimate its based on a federal statute that says if you sue or indict at the state level, somebody based upon their actions, in federal office that that can be a grounds for removal. Thats a very valid point to raise. And it can be raised by President Trump as well and, if you will notice. I think thats one of the reasons that willis added some charges from September Of 2021 so she can say this goes beyond when he was president i have clearly, the bulk of the activity alleged against the former president in this indictment is while he was in office and based on activities in office so i think its quite possible. Laura sol, you can indict president s for lying and lawyers for giving aggressive advice. Wow, we have a new world in politics on the law i guess. Sol, great to see you. Coming up, Governor Ron Desantis, as i said, is going to join us live at the end of the show with his thoughts on this and a lot more. First, what do we need to know about this d. A. , fanny willis . Well, two georgia reps, Marjorie Taylor greene and buddy carter are here next. They have a lot to say. upbeat music [narrator]