It is good to be back with you in this second hour of chris jansing reports. At this hour, Breaking News, Hunter Biden stuns the Special Counsel. His last Minute Offer to change his plea just as Jury Selection was set to start in his tax case. Will the president s son be able to avoid a highly public trial. Were live at the courthouse as proceedings get back underway. Also developing, Donald Trumps indictment in the federal election case. It was back before a judge, but completely upended. The Courtroom Battle Today and the big decisions looming after the Supreme Courts immunity ruling. And major news in the Campaign Money wars. The massive new haul from Kamala Harriss Team and how it compares to Donald Trumps fundraising numbers. And could a School Shooting in georgia have been avoided. What were learning about the fbis past encounter with a 14yearold whos now accused of murdering 4 people. Our Nbc News reporters are following the latest developments. Lets begin with David Noriega whos live, where Hunter Biden is returning to the courtroom after a recess. Did they have any idea what was coming . Reporter chris, no. They had no idea. This was a shocking, dramatic moment just minutes into the opening of proceedings, this morning, when abbe lowell, the lawyer representing Hunter Biden. After the judge explained how the proceedings for Jury Selection said there is no reason to proceed with Jury Selection as mr. Biden intends to change his pleas. In response, Special Counsel said this is the first weve heard of this. That means theres no plea agreement. The government has not agreed to any kind of conditions for this plea, which means that a lot still hangs in the air. It is not clear whether this gambit exists. An Alford Plea, although they are accepting a conviction and sentence, they are not factually admitting guilt as per the alleged criminal activity in the indictment. That is a very sort ofin the Weeds Plea that needs approval from high ranking officials inside the Department Of Justice. Thats what were going to find out in the next couple of hours, as all parties file back into the courtroom. This is why the judge for now is holding the 125 or so potential jurors here in the courthouse because its not clear whether theyre going to be dismissed or whether the court is going to proceed with Jury Selection as planned, chris. Keep us posted on that, David Noriega, Thank You. On the other side of the country, a judge is deciding how to move forward on Donald Trumps Election Interference Case following the Supreme Courts immunity ruling. I want to bring in msnbc legal continue, lisa rubin, who was inside the courthouse, and there was a debate about what allegations in the indictment can stay. What can you tell us . Chris, the Debate Today Wasnt just about what allegations in the indictment should stay or go, but the process for determining that was really the Name Of The Game today. The Special Counsels office saying that they want to present Judge Chutkan with the brief that defending their Superseding Indictment under the Supreme Courts Immunity Decision that gives her the evidence they relied upon. President trumps lawyers, on the other hand, saying none of this should be briefed now. They want to first deal with the question of whether the allegations about former Vice President Mike Pence belong until the indictment. They say if you take out of the indictment the stuff about the conversations between trump and pence, that the entire indictment has to fall because it is so heavily reliant on those conversations which they believe qualify for immunity. Lisa rubin, Thank You for that. Now to a new nbc exclusive. We just got our hands on Chairss Kamala harriss massive fundraising for august. How much did she raise, and how does it compare to Donald Trump . Reporter this is an eye popping moment, from my colleagues, that the harris political operation, not just the campaign but the affiliated entities brought in 300 Million total during the month of august. We wont get into the break down of who raised what and how until september 20th. Its significant when you look at the numbers that the Donald Trump political operation brought in in august. Thats 130 Million for that team, for the republican operation, and then 300 Million for the democrats, and so theyre talking about clearly all of these key moments that we just saw in august, and remember that since becoming the De Facto democratic nominee. When she took over the reigns of everything in late july, following President Bidens exit from the race. If you take that amount of time plus august, the entire political operation has raised more than 540 Million in that short time, and so theyre point to go that kind of momentum as one of the reasons why because then in august, you had the announcement of her running mate, governor tim walz. You also had the Democratic National Convention in chicago, and those events brought in really high numbers and sums that contributed to this. They were also saying that the fundraising has still looked strong after that. Now into september. And so they only anticipate this will grow. Thats why you saw the Harris Campaign make decisions about giving money to down Ballot Races and making some of that strategic realignment as well. We will likely expect to see more of that. But in the Fundraising Game in its totality, these are things we need for the advantage in terms of trying to do paid Media Blitzes and opening more offices if they feel they need them in certain Battleground States and all of those kinds of things. With nine weeks to go, this really just shows you what democrats are touting as an Enthusiasm Moment for Vice President harris and one they hope will continue in the weeks to come, and i think you can expect, chris, the debate will likely be another moment that both candidates will probably bring in pretty big hauls. Monica alba, Thank You. Were learning more details about the 14yearold Suspect in a deadly School Shooting, including an encounter he had with Law Enforcement a year before this tragedy. Nbcs Jesse Kirsch is on the ground in winder, georgia. What more do we know . Reporter chris, we just learned a short time ago, our colleague, tom winter, now able to report that according to two Law Enforcement sources, the suspect in this shooting appears to have been looking into having an interest in previous mass shootings. Thats new information that we have just learned and able to report in the last few minutes. We are also learning more about the suspects past, according to the fbi. They had previously investigated his potential connection with possible threats of violence against schools in the past. However, authorities have said there was no probable cause for an arrest in that incident in 2023. Fast forward to today, the Georgia Bureau of investigation says the suspect has been charged with four counts of felony murder. He has made a virtual court appearance. Heres part of what the sheriff told us in the community about the suspects past. We later found out in our investigation to the gbi that because the federal authorities showed up and said, hey, we had a tip, somewhat, if you will on this, where he got on to a web site, and i think the tip was id like to shoot up a school somewhere in the future. We felt like hes idolized some school shooters. Reporter so, again, thats more of what were learning about what has gone on in the past with this shooter, the suspected shooter, who were told, according to authorities, according to the sheriff was two days into being a part of this School District. He had transferred to the School District in the last couple of weeks, after school started and this was his second day in the School Yesterday when it deadly rampage unfolded, according to officials. Chris. Jesse kirsch, Thank You. When were back in 90 seconds. More on our top story, Hunter Bidens offer to change his plea. Will the federal government go along with it . Our legal experts are standing by. Our legal experts are stanng by ah, these bills are crazy. She has no idea shes sitting on a goldmine. Well she doesnt know that if she owns a Life Insurance Policy of 100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. Even a Term Policy. Even a Term Policy . Even a Term Policy find out if youre sitting on a goldmine. Call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect. Com. We are back with that Breaking News from california where Hunter Bidens last Minute Offer to change his plea stopped Jury Selection cold and sent the key players Behind Closed Doors. Im joined by nbcs mike memoli, msnbc legal analyst, and former Manhattan Assistant d. A. Catherine christian and Glenn Kirschner, former District Attorney for d. C. We understand, just to update people, that just a few minutes before 2 00, we know that the Special Counsel, Bidens Lawyer went back into the courtroom. We dont know if theyve started the proceedings yet, because strategywise, what do you make of this move . Well, it looks like Hunter Biden and his lawyers think maybe it will go better for him if hes permitted to plead guilty pursuant to an Al Ford plea. They are disfavored in the criminal Justice System. The case that gave rise to this kind of a plea, you know, was decided by the Supreme Court more than 50 years ago, someone named Henry Alford wanted to plead guilty to Seconddegree Murder when he was charged to Firstdegree Murder and potentially could have received the death penalty, he wanted to plead guilty, but he wanted to maintain his innocence. That case went all the way up to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court ruled a defendant, together with their counsel can decide its in their best interest to plead guilty, even if they are maintaining their innocence. However, the legitimacy of the criminal Justice System is dependent on people who plead guilty being guilty, admitting guilt and accepting their responsibility. Thats why courtesy of your earlier piece, it has to be run up the bureaucratic chain at the Department Of Justice. I had to do this when i was a federal prosecutor in washington, d. C. if somebody wanted to try to enter an Alford Plea. Its an open question where the higher ups at the Department Of Justice will give the field Prosecutors Authority to enter this kind of a plea. Let me ask you, based on your experience, how often did it happen, and how complicated was it to run it up that Chain Of Command . You know, we can get approval from doj higherups very quickly when we need to. I suspect were going to hear something, if not today, perhaps in the coming days, and, you know, Alford Pleas are not ordinarily used in federal court, but they have been. The judge will have to be satisfied that there is ample evidence that Hunter Biden is, in fact, guilty, even though he maintains his innocence, if the judge is going to be willing to accept this kind of a plea. Catherine, what do you imagine has been going on Behind Closed Doors over the last couple of hours since they put everything on hold . First, the judge probably admonishing the defense attorney, why are you doing this now when i have a jury sitting there. What a judge typically says is are you pleading guilty because you are guilty . As glenn says, the criminal Justice System relies on convicting the guilty, not the innocent. Msnbc as reported that the Biden Family was hoping to avoid a trial obviously. Hes no longer the candidate, but this is very much a personal thing for this family that has been through a lot of ups and downs in 2024. What can you tell us . Reporter i was in and out of delaware on the Gun Related Charges in june. You can see how emotionally wrenching this was not just for Hunter Biden but the Biden Family members that were there to support him. I remember speaking with Jill Biden days after the verdict, she talked about how tough a week it was for the family, that they had to relive the difficult times, remember the emotional greeting that Hunter Biden had with his father just before his father traveled overseas. If the family could lift this legal burden off Hunter Biden, they would, but they have also supported him throughout the entire process to pursue the legal strategy as it was. As difficult as the trial was on the gun charges, it scratched the surface in terms of forcing the family to have to relive difficult moments. We saw testimony from his exwife, brothers widow, former girlfriend, his own daughter. There would have been new testimony on a far broader period of time, a far broader subject matter. Salacious details would have surfaced. Every step that could be taken to avoid the trial is one the family would welcome, even as they have supported his legal Teams Ability to set their own strategy that they believe is in hunters best interest. Politics is not supposed to be part of any case. Right . So what kind of argument should Hunter Bidens lawyer, whats his strongest argument to get this done . One, just last year, your honor, they offered my client two misdemeanors and no jail time. What has changed in this past year, and the prosecutor will say, we had to go to the grand jury, so what. And also the other argument is my client is being targeted because he is the son of the president. Thats also probably part of the argument. I think its going to hang on. Just last year, they were offering two misdemeanors, were prepared to do that now. Lets say the judge doesnt accept it. What happens then . Then they continue with Jury Selection, and i have a feeling ordinarily judges will defer to both the defense, if the defense wants to plead guilty and the prosecutors if they say we have ample evidence to convict Hunter Biden, if we proceed with the trial. But the real risk is Hunter Biden is facing more than 15 years in prison. Those are the statutory maximums, and i think most folks know that the voluntary Sentencing Guidelines come in well below that. These would be probation eligible offenses. When you just plead like this with no deal at all with the prosecutor to cap your exposure or your sentence. It will represent a real risk for Hunter Biden. Considering that risk, mike, is the White House saying anything more about whether the president would consider pardoning his son if it came down to it . He was asked that question repeatedly when he was expected to be the nominee for the democratic nominee for president. Thats not the case anymore. But do we know anything more contemporaneously . The president is currently travel to go where i am in Southwest Wisconsin for an official event. During the flight on Air Force one, the white House Press Secretary was asked by reporters, does the president revisit considering pardoning her son. No was the answer to the question. She was asked about consideration of a commutation, that may spare him a sentence. Hes awaiting sentencing on the gun related charge. Karine jeanpierre ruling that out. There have been so many people speculating once the election is over, yes, hes not a candidate but the political fallout for him to issue a pardon at this point would be politically explosive, potentially that would change, but every time the White House has been asked about it, every time i have talked about this with close officials to the president , they flatly rule this out. Well have to wait and see once the time comes. Mike memoli, catherine christian, Glenn Kirschner, Thank You. 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