On Thursday Special Counsel Jack Smith formally requested to begin Donald Trump’s trial for election interference on Jan. 2. Naturally, Trump’s legal team is fighting that and trying to delay trial as much as possible, but MSNBC’s Chris Hayes argued on Friday night that for the good of the country it needs to begin as soon as possible.
“It’s just obviously in the best interest of the American voter and American democracy to have this trial play out as soon as possible,” Hayes said. You can watch the clip at the bottom of the page now.
“When you look at how the proposed calendar this trial is going to unfold, it is clear to me — and I think should be clear to everyone,” Hayes said as he kicked the commentary off, “the earlier this whole ordeal unfolds, the better and more fair it is for everyone involved, both the defendant and the public, both of whom have interests.”
Hayes noted that the Jan. 2 start date is “less than two weeks before the Iowa caucus,” which as he sees it is perfect timing.
“I would hope that reasonable people can agree — not folks inside the MAGA cult, but everyone else — that Donald Trump should be tried before the general election in November,” Hayes said.
“I mean, the whole point of elections, including primary elections, is to judge a candidate’s fitness for Office. And the public has a right to know whether Donald Trump the current Republican front runner is guilty, or innocent, before the go to polls to vote for a guy who was accused of these extremely serious, grave crimes” Hayes said.
For those who might have forgotten, Hayes was referring to the charges, backed by volumes of damning evidence, that Trump, with the help of several unindicted accomplices, conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election — effectively a coup d’etat — by various means, culminating in his incitement of the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol.
“And if Trump is innocent, as he claims, he should want to be vindicated as soon as possible. Take this shadow away, right? This thing looming over him,” Hayes said.
Hayes noted that the trial will either start just as the GOP primary is beginning, or at some other, later date. And the latter would be “too late for Republicans to consider a verdict at all, because they already cast their [primary] votes.”
“Think about it this way: If you’re the Republican National Committee, do you want this verdict sooner rather than later?” Let’s just say” Hayes explained. “Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, Donald Trump will be found guilty in this trial. Would the RNC rather have that happen, while there is still time for voters to choose someone else? Or, you know, at the end of the primary process, when it’s all wrapped up?”
“Is that when you want” Does party chair Ronna Romney McDaniel really want to deal with, hypothetically, a Republican convention getting overshadowed by their nominee getting a felony conviction during it? Or if you keep pushing it, right?” Hayes continued. “You want it in the fall, after he secured the nomination, when the general election?”
“Should it happen in September, the weeks leading up to the general election of November 2024? Assuming Donald Trump does not succeed in a Hail Mary pass to get the Supreme Court to somehow you know, press pause on all this until after the election. It’s just obviously in the best interest of the American voter and American democracy to have this trial play out as soon as possible,” Hayes concluded.
Watch the clip below: