Coverage right now. Good morning, 11 00 a. M. Eastern. 8 00 a. M. Pacific. Im Jose Diazbalart. And we begin on the Breaking News on the legal drama surrounding former president Donald Trump. A judge is holding an election in trumps federal election hearing case. The first hearing in nearly a year. Trump is not at or attending Todays Hearing. His lawyers entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to a revised version of the indictment filed last week. Now Todays Hearing comes just over two months after the supreme Courts Landmark ruling that former president s have broad immunity for prosecution for official acts. Judge chutkan is expected to lay out a schedule for how the proceedings will take shape over the next couple of months. With us now, nbc News Justice and Intelligence Correspondent ken dilanian, Katie Fein, the Katie Fein show. And maya wiley, former assistant district attorney. Ken, what has been happening in that courtroom over to . Reporter well, jose, first, ill tell you about the Atmosphere And Tone which is important then ill tell you about the substance. In terms of tone, this hearing could not be more different than the ones weve been covering for a year down in florida in that now dismissed case on classified documents from Judge Cannon. Judge chutkan has no patience on any argument from Donald Trumps lawyers that hes special because he was a president. And running for president. And Judge Chutkan responded im not talking about a president ial election. Im talking about a fourcount criminal indictment. She said what youre trying to do is prevent evidence from being presented because it might be impinge On Trumps election argument. It goes where we go from here in this case and what evidence will be put before the election, thats one of the most consequential things on what can be included and what must be excluded. And where we are right now, Judge Chutkan said she will rule on the Scheduling Matter by The End of today which is another contrast to Judge Cannon down in florida who took months at times to rule on these motions. What the Special Counsel wants to do, for both sides to file detailed evidentiary briefs making their arguments what should be considered immune and included based on the new Superseding Indictment. And that could include grand Jury Evidence that they have not seen. Before voters go to the Ballot Box in november, theyre going to learn very serious things in the criminal case of Donald Trump which accuses him of trying to defraud the united states of america. So trumps team wants to delay this thing. They want to argue when the Special Counsel was appointed inappropriately before they get to this question of immunity. Judge chutkan seems to be moving very quickly. So well know probably by The End of today how this case is going to shape up over the next few months, jose. Katie, what do you make of whats happened so far . I think its predictable. If you watch Judge Chutkan, shes efficient and she does not suffer fools. The brakes were kind of hit on this because everything went to the Supreme Court. We saw her moving at a pace remember, this was set for trial in march of this year, jose. Right. Shes basically putting everyones feet to the fire, in fairness to both sides, saying, hey, whats the delay here. Critically, what were seeing happen right now is important, one, trump wants to have the issue dealt with preliminarily. We saw that was the basis for Judge Cannon to dismiss that in florida. Judge chutkan said to john lauro, the lawyer for trump, saying theres d. C. Precedent that says the special Counsel Isnt presented in that. She also making a dig at Judge Cannon, she said thats another District Court and i do not find that to be binding on me. She said, look, im going to allow you the following which is not a green light. She says to trumps counsel ill allow you to file a motion for leave to file a motion. Explain that one. Okay. Normally, you can file a motion if you are within the time frame to do so. In this instance, they said, trump, you had time to do it, you didnt do it before, im going to allow you to ask me for permission to file that. Youre going to have to explain why that d. C. Binding presa sent that i have that tells me that special Counsel Jack Smith can be your Special Counsel, why that doesnt bar the motion you want to bring. This is important because trump wanted to delay the immunity exception to way into december, almost january of 2025. So if this is dealt with cleanly and quickly, we can get to the Immunity Issues very quickly. So the issue of the special Counsel Jack Smith legality has already been dealt with . Already been dealt with in Judge Chutkans circuit. She said theres a higher court, called the Appeals Court, that has told me that special Counsel Jack Smith can continue and be the Special Counsel. It hasnt been dealt with in the case, why, because trump was asleep at the wiehl. Maya, what are you looking at for Todays Hearing . Rationality. Katie just laid it out quite well that Judge Chutkan is being very rational about managing her courtroom. I feel the real Mic Drop which will we just talked about which ken named is the fact that she said im not looking at this as an election. Im looking at this as a fourcount indictment, meaning shes doing her job. And on the Special Counsel question, this is exactly to the point of her doing her job. Shes saying, yeah, defendants get the right to map legitimate offenses. But you dont get to do it any way you want to in order to delay this so potentially you can just delay it out of existence. Shes saying there is an indictment here. My job is to address it. And, by the way, the Immunity Questions here are historymaking. I do want to say that you know, you if really want to get to the meat of the questions here, it is the question of whether Mike Pence, as a candidate, talking to his ticket mate, is or is not, engaging in official acts in those conversations. In terms of what the president is doing. And i think that is both historymaking. This is going to be the first court in the land that will be looking at and applying this very radical new Supreme Court precedent. And the whole special Prosecutor Discussion really is a distraction. And it also serves a political end for Donald Trump, the candidate, which is to continue to lay a foundation that says, our elections arent free and fair. This is Election Interference, and that is not true. And her job is to get to what this case is really about. And i think thats what were seeing. Yeah. And katie, just wondering what both of you just mentioned about the whole issue of smith and the legality behind it. There is no, legally speaking, requirement for one Courthouse Or Judge to accept another Judges Decision on something like this. Because of jurisdiction . Or is there . Yeah, thats an important kind of distinction with a difference here. I kind of look at Trial Courts and Appellate Courts ultimately, the Supreme Court is over everyone. When it comes to federal courts there are different jurisdictions as you know. Because a Trial Court decided with Judge Cannon that it couldnt go forward with special Counsel Jack Smith being Special Counsel, chutkan said i have an Appellate Court above him called the d. C. Court of appeals that has ruled that Jack Smith could proceed. And Jack Smith has been deemed to proceed. And shes like, i appreciate that, but it doesnt move the needle for me. Im more focused on whether or not the immunity can be dealt with in an expeditious manner. And shes telling the lawyer for trump, i dont care if theres a president ial election. This case has to move forward. Its been on the Back Burner for a year and some change and we need to have some speed. You have to appreciate the reality thats going on here, she made it clear at the beginning of this case with Donald Trump she was going to treat him like any other defendant. No special dispensation, no favors, and making it clear because of an election that doesnt require her to be worried about that. She has a mission and job, and thats what shes going to do. Maya, if you would describe to us that arent so seemed in the legal world, the whole issue of what you were talking about, the historic nature, right, of what this case is looking at. And i just wonder when you talk about immunity and not immunity, the Scotus Case that narrowed one of the issues On Trump on immunity. How is the issue of immunity, to use your words, historically different . And what are the implications there . Just remember, historically speaking, during watergate, there was no question to the Special Counsel in the Watergate Case that Richard Nixon could be prosecuted. The decision not to prosecute him wasnt that it wasnt constitutional. It was the embedded assumption in our legal system and generally accepted that, of course, a sitting president is not immune from criminal prosecution. Particularly, after office, after leaving office. And if you notice what Jack Smith did in his Superseding Indictment and in his revised indictment, he used the language very clearly. This is about citizen trump, this is about candidate trump. And if you are having a conversation with your Vice President because you are the president , the Vice President is the president , and youre doing the peoples business, that is one thing. But the historic nature of saying you actually have to decide if a conversation between a candidate for office and his running mate, about whether or not theyre going to use the powers of the office to thwart an election count, that is embedded in the constitution in terms of power of congress. And of which there is a federal statute. And of which, even Mike Pence as both a Vice President candidate thought, no, i cant do this. This is the question. A question that none of us in the legal i wont say none. But the vast majority in the legal profession would have never understood it to even be a question. Thats what were looking at. Thats what Judge Chutkan is looking at. And this is going to be the first federal court in the land to take up the question in this case, or any case, now that this is Binding Precedent on every single election, every single president , and what every single president does from here on out, as long as this is a supreme Court Case that is not overruled. Monumental is what this really is all about. And, ken, with all of these issues that have to be decided and handled by the judge, right now, theyre saying two discoveryrelated motions that you filed, the judge is telling the defense, those are awaiting reply briefs from the defense. Ken, whats the process going forward today . And how long will this possibly last . Reporter thats a big question, jose. So the defense is obviously trying to delay. They want Judge Chutkan to rule on these other motions including separate motions to dismiss the indictment before she gets to the heart of the motor which is which conducts can stay in the indictment and which can be excluded based on the supreme Court Decision. The Special Counsel wants to take that first because thats the super bowl. Thats everything. Once you decide that, you shape how this case goes forward. Just so folks understand whatever Judge Chutkan decides that can be appealed to the Supreme Court. Its Interlocutory Appeal before the trial. And its also the reason theres not a trial anytime soon even if Donald Trump losing the election. If he wins the election in january, hes going to order his Justice Department to make this case go away. If he loses the election, it will be that he stands trial but not for some time. Thank you all three for being with us. Well keep monitoring whats happening in court and bring you, of course, updates throughout this hour. Still ahead, were just five days away from the first president ial debate, what we know about the Rules Trump and Vice President harris have just agreed on. Plus, another community in mourning after a deadly School Shooting. What were learning about the victims and text messages shared between a mom and her son during the shooting. Well speak with her about what she calls her worst nightmare. Were back in 90 seconds. Youre watching Jose Diazbalart reports on msnbc. Hi, My Name is damian clark. 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This morning, a Georgia Community in mourning and searching for answers after a gunman opened fire at a High School Outside of atlanta on wednesday, killing two students and two teachers. Nine others were injured. All of them expected to recover. The suspect, a 14yearold student, who Officials Say was previously investigated in connection with threats to carry out a School Shooting. Hes expected to appear in court tomorrow. Two students who were killed were 14 year olds. Mason schermerhorn and christian angulo. Mason always had an upbeat attitude and loved playing Video Games and disney. And Christians Family said he was sweet and loved by so many. Richard aspinwall was a teacher and worked with the football team. As a Husband And Father to his two daughters. Christina irrimmie was a teacher. Making everyone feel loved in the class. Jesse, i know you were at Last Nights vigil. What was it like, and how is the community doing today . Reporter yeah, jose, that vigil was almost entirely silent. I could hear the grass moving under foot. Thats how quiet it was in that crowd. There were dozens of people gathered. There were candles being lit, balloons being released. You could see people wiping away tears, clearly a visceral moment for this community. It was largely focused around prayer that vigil. One of the moments that stood out to me, someone at the podium, leading the group in prayer, asked for prayers as well for the suspect accused of four people and injuring nine more in this mass shooting. And just speaks to the conflicting moments of emotion. And prayer. In a time like this. I was able to speak with a young woman who says shes a 15yearold Student at the school and described hearing and seeing this horror unfolding. Heres part of what she shared with me. Our teacher tells us to go behind his desk. All we could hear is boom, boom, boom. And like the shots stopped for a good ten seconds. All i heard was bloody murder screams and saying help me please, why are you doing this, stop this, please. And it just the shots continued. And then whenever they said that we were all clear, we were walking out and i had like the smell, distinct, of the gunpowder and just seeing blood all over the floor. It was just really traumatic. Reporter and that teen told me, jose, that she feels no matter what you do, you cannot be safe. And i just think, such a stark thing to hear from a young american student. Really, really is, jesse. Meanwhile, jesse, whats the latest on the investigation . Reporter so, were learning more about whats unfolding now, as well as some old information, jose. The fbi has confirmed that last year, the suspect from this shooting who was 13 at that time, was looked into for potential threats of violence against schools back then. But authorities say there was not probable cause for arrest. Meanwhile, a short time ago, our Team Set to do an interview with the sheriff in this community in winder. We were told yesterday was effectively the real first day for this suspect. He enrolled two weeks ago. School was in session, august 1. He just enrolled in the district, second day in school. Yesterday was described as the first real day. The suspect colt gray, 14 years old, is expected in a virtual court appearance tomorrow. And we are told he is going to be tried as an adult, jose, in this case. Jesse kirsch in winder, thank you very much. And were going back to washington where that hearing in Donald Trumps federal Election Interference case has just wrapped up. I want to bring in nbc News And Justice correspondent ken dilanian, ken, exactly what happened . Reporter a remarkably efficient hearing from Judge Tonya Chutkan, jose. It adjourned around 11 15, about an Hour And Quarter of argument. Essentially what Judge Chutkan said at The End, she is going to issue a Scheduling Order in this case, probably by The End of today. But shes not going to set a Trial Date because she knows any Trial Date she would set would not hold. Because whatever she decides in