Smiths case . Plus, americans in iran, out of prison and now under house arrest. The rare move marking a bright spot in u. S. Iran relations. The new details were learning about the tentative deal to free them and what iran is getting in return. And senator joe manchin says hes seriously thinking about leaving his party as he weighs his own political future. Why manchin might be stepping away from the democrats and what it could mean for the Balance Of Power on capitol hill. Good morning and welcome to Way Too Early on this friday, august 11th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And well begin with breaking and tragic news out of hawaii where wildfires continue to ravage the Island Of Maui. At least 55 people are now confirmed dead, and that number is only expected to rise. Four major fires are currently burning across the island. Theyre being fueled by dry conditions and strong winds caused by a passing hurricane. The fires have destroyed Historic Buildings and homes and reduced much of the town of lahaina to ruins. Officials estimate it will take years and cost potentially billions of dollars to rebuild. Governor josh green is calling this the worst Natural Disaster in state history. What weve seen today has been catastrophic, but we tell you theres going to be a team effort to bring our state back. What we saw was the utter devastation of lahaina. President biden has approved a federal disaster declaration and ordered federal aid to affected areas. We will have much more on this story a little later in the show. We turn now to the latest indictment of donald trump where prosecutors have proposed a start date for his trial on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. In a filing yesterday Special Counsel jack smiths office asked judge Tanya Chutkan to order the trial for january 2, 2024, to, quote, vindicate the publics strong interest in a speedy trial, an interest guaranteed by the constitution. Trumps lawyers, however, have argued that its the defendant who is guaranteed the right to a speedy trial. And in this case one of those would not benefit their client. They now have until next thursday to propose their own start date, which we all assume will be likely to hit after the 2024 election. Judge chutkan is expected to make her final decision before a hearing currently scheduled for august 28th. If the january 2nd date is granted the trial would pull trump off the Campaign Trail shortly before the iowa caucuses, which are set to be held not even two weeks later. Their date, january 15th. Thats the same day a separate trump trial is set to begin where he is accused of defaming the writer e. Jean carroll. On social media last night trump blasted smith writing this. Only On Out Of Touch Lunatic would ask for such a date one day into the new year. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. Before a trial date is set, however, both sides are due back in court today for a hearing on a protective order requested by prosecutors. At 10 00 this morning attorneys from both sides will appear before judge chutkan to discuss what evidence trump is given access to. Last week smiths office asked the judge to implement the order over concerns that the former president could influence the case by sharing sensitive evidence across social media. Trumps attorneys have since sought to narrow the orders scope, claiming that the doj is trying to strip their client of his First Amendment rights. Since charges were announced, trump has regularly attacked smith, potential witnesses, and even judge chutkan herself on social media and in a series of campaign speeches. As result of her assignment to the case the judges Security Detail has expanded. Yesterday nbc news saw her being flanked by thr marshals inside the d. C. Court house as she went to get a cup of coffee. Joining us now former litigator and now an msnbc legal analyst, lisa rubin. Lisa, great to see you again this morning. You will be in that courtroom for the 10 00 hearing. What are you expecting . Im expecting, john, that judge chutkan is really going to make clear that this is her courtroom and that she has the right to make decisions about how this trial is conducted from start to finish. You have to ask yourself why is judge chutkan having this hearing at . She could have decided a protective order on the papers, and there are copious submissions from both sides indicating which way they want this protective order to go. I think judge chutkan has asked them to come in because she wants to make a few things clear on the record. One, this is not a silencing mechanism of donald trump with respect to his First Amendment rights. This is just about evidence in the case and what about that evidence he can talk about. And then she also wants to make clear to his lawyers if he violates the terms of the order she is going to impose today, what those consequences are going to be. Those are the sorts of things that might not leap off a page but certainly will be heard Around The World when she says them in her courtroom today, john. And lisa, lets go back to the trial date now that was proposed by the Department Of Justice, that january 2nd date, not even two weeks before the iowa caucus. Whats your read the judge will grant prosecutors that date, or is she willing to take the prosecutions arguments in mind . You know, john, i probably think that not unlike judge Aileen Cannon in the Southern District of florida, shes going to try to meet the parties in the middle, but it might not be the middle exactly. And in particular here the Department Of Justice wants to start trial on january 2nd. That doesnt mean select a jury on january 2nd. They actually want to do Jury Selection before christmas starting on december 11th. My guess is shell look for a time in the spring. Manhattan d. A. Alvin bragg earlier this month has signaled a willingness to forfeit his own march trial date in the manhattan d. A. s Hush Money Case in the event that the Department Of Justice or others need a sooner trial date for crimes alleged against donald trump that are more serious. And we just showed that packed calender of trumps court dates. Lisa rubin, thank you so much. Well speak to you again on morning joe and youll be at that 10 00 hearing today. Much more ahead. Meanwhile, we turn to this major headline. Five americans imprisoned in iran have been placed under house arrest in the first planned steps that includes 6 billion of iranian assets currently blocked under sanctions. If the proposed agreement goes through iran will only be able to use those funds for humanitarian purposes. The new deal has been under negotiation for months with qatar and other governments acting as intermediaries. Lets bring in nbc news Senior Executive director for National Security david rhodes. He joins us here on set at 30 rock. This of course comes at a moment of what has been real tension between washington and iran. Give us your sense as to how this deal came to be, and is it some sort of break through . Protracted secret talks of brad mcgurk whos a diplomat had private talks in oman, and this is hopefully an effort that will decrease tensions. Thats the positive side. The negative side is this 6 billion. It is restricted. This is iranian money thats been held in south korea that will be moved to the middle east, and it will only be used to buy food and medical supplies and other humanitarian things. There are restrictions on it, but critics have already said this is essentially a gigantic ransom payment, and the broader dynamic here is state hostage taking. That is governments iran, but russia, venezuela, and others essentially kidnapping Innocent Americans and holding them for years and years. And david, you of course have your own experience of being held. Theres been some criticism as you say this is ransom payment. Others in favor of this deal note it comes perhaps as a signal of an informal agreement between the two nation about Irans Nuclear deal. Donald trump when he was president he pulled out of that deal. The Biden Administration has not put it back together, but theres been some hopes tehran would cool their activities. Whats your read of The Big Picture . Thats a step forward, maybe less threats to shipping in the Strait Of Hormuz which could affect oil prices. Theres even reports iran isnt giving russia all the drones it wants to fight its war in ukraine. A key ethos of the Hard Liner Regime is fighting the United States. Its part of their whole identity and their political future, i think. So i dont want to over you know, sound overly optimistic. And i want to speak again. Yes, im biased as many years ago it was the taliban that took me, but theres got to be a coordinated attempt to shun worldwide any government that uses this practice. Theres been a change under the Trump Administration and Biden Administration where a majority of americans essentially kidnapped and held hostage abroad it was extremist groups five or six years ago. Now the majority is governments. That has to stop. This is just totally unacceptable. One of the released american has been held for nearly seven years in iranch its been absolute torture for the families of these Five Americans, and this practice has to stop by these governments. That cannot be said enough. And of course there are other americans held Around The World including Wall Street Journal reporter evan gergs vch. What Senator Manchin is saying about possibly leaving the democratic party. Well get into that. Plus 2024 white house hopeful nikki haley signs the rncs loyalty pledge but she made one small edit. Those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Orts and weather when we come right back christina wanna know the secret ingredient to running my business . tina her. christina being all over, all at once. tina all the time. christina but my old network wasnt cutting it. And thats not good for baking. Or judging. Or writing. So, we switched to verizon, the Network Businesses rely on. With Verizon Business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. So, no matter what, im running this kitchen. vo make the switch. Its your business. Its your verizon. Remember the things you loved. Before asthma got in the way . 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The rnc is requiring all president ial candidates to sign the pledge as well as meet a certain donor and polling threshold in order to qualify for the first debate, which is scheduled to take place on august 23rd. Out of all the candidates that qualify haley, ron desantis and Vivek Ramaswamy are the only ones to have signed the pledge. Donald trump has said he wont sign it, and it remains unclear hell take part in the debate. Hes hinted that he wont. Meanwhile senator joe manchin says hes thinking seriously about leaving the democratic party. Take a look at what manchin said during an interview with a West VirginiaRadio Station yesterday. I just cant i cant accept either party to be honest with you. So why dont you become an independent . Why dont you say you say youve said many times youre not like the democrats today or the National Democratic party. Youre not like the National Republican party. Why not just say you know what, im going to be an independent . You thought about that . Absolutely. Absolutely. Are you going to do it . Well, im thinking seriously whats the best for me, i have to have Peace Of Mind basically. The brand has become so brand. The d brand, and our brand. So youre thinking seriously about becoming an independent . I would think very seriously about that. Ive been thinking about that for quite some time. I havent made any decisions whatsoever on any of my political direction. I want to make sure my voice is truly an independent voice. Of course the margins in the senate are razor thin and manchins defection could change the Balance Of Power and lets Recall Manchin likely the only democrat who can could win that state, one of the deepest red in the country. Well keep you posted as he continues to get attention for himself. Still ahead in sports a shaky debut for the number 2 overall pick from this past years nfl draft. Well have the highlights from last years preseason action. Were back in just a moment. Pren were back in just a moment. 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