Summary:
- Federal judge Tanya Chutkin warns against a carnival atmosphere in the courtroom during Trump's election interference trial.
- Chutkin's rulings in the protective order battle affect Trump's ability to discuss evidence related to the trial.
- Trump's legal team represents him in the DC courthouse, while he pleads not guilty to charges in Florida.
- Potential legal trouble in Georgia looms as charges related to pressuring election officials are expected.
- Trump's participation in the upcoming Republican debate remains uncertain.
- Trump's campaign continues in Iowa amidst discussions about debating and his rivals' campaigning efforts.
The judge presiding over former president Donald Trump's election interference trial laid down the law in an historic first hearing. Federal judge Tanya Chutkin warned Friday that she would not allow a carnival atmosphere in the courtroom. Chutkin delivered mixed rulings in a protective order battle as the GOP frontrunner campaigns for a second presidential term.
Christina Raffini is in our nation's capital and joins us now. A big part of Trump's legal strategy so far has been to try to delay these proceedings as much as possible. But the judge made clear to his legal team yesterday that the more inflammatory things the former president says about the case, the faster it will go to trial. So far, the former president has made more campaign appearances than court appearances as the indictments pile up. Trump's legal team represented him in the DC courthouse Friday, where U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin adopted the Department of Justice's request for protective order, limiting what the former president can say about evidence in the trial. Trump was also not present in a courtroom in Florida this week, where he and personal valet Walton Nada pleaded not guilty to new charges in the federal documents case. More legal trouble could be coming before the end of the month in Georgia, where the Fulton County District Attorney is expected to file charges that Trump tried to pressure officials there into changing the state's election results. Those charges are expected right about the same time as the first Republican debate.
Trump still hasn't said if he'll participate. But in Iowa this week, the topic has come up. Trump also heads to Iowa today where his GOP rivals have been spending a lot more time campaigning. It's an early voting state. It's also the Iowa State Fair, so Michelle, prepare for a lot of images of grown men and women eating corn dogs. Always interesting to watch.