Anderson Cooper 360

Sources tell CNN that special counsel Jack Smith and his team of investigators are looking closely at a February 2020 meeting in the Oval Office where then-President Trump praised improvements to the security of U.S. elections, including his administration’s work to expand the use of paper ballots and support security audits of vote tallies. These details contradict the voter-fraud conspiracy theories Trump spread publicly. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig tells Anderson Cooper why this meeting would interest Smith and how it could help his case against the former President. Plus, CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten joins AC360 to break down one of the biggest weekends at the box office and declares who the winner was, “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer.”

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The federal judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified documents case has scheduled his trial for May 2024. That’s months after the December request by special counsel Jack Smith. If that May timeline holds, the trial would fall deep in the 2024 race for the White House and would be during multiple Republican presidential primaries. Journalists and authors Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein join AC360 to discuss the effect a trial during an election year could have on the race and the other ongoing Trump investigations. Plus, singer, songwriter, and actor Josh Groban tells AC360 about working with the legendary Tony Bennett, who died at the age of 96.

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Investigators with special counsel Jack Smith’s team are expected to talk to additional witnesses over the next several weeks in their election interference probe as a potential third indictment for the former President Trump looms. One of those witnesses is expected to be a former attorney for Trump. The former president was told by the special counsel that he is a target in the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. CNN Chief Correspondent Kaitlan Collins tells Anderson Cooper who testified today and why they are an important witness. Plus, a source tells CNN that authorities in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case are working with the theory that the suspect, 59-year-old Rex Heuermann, murdered the victims inside his Long Island home. John Miller is the former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism. He joins AC360 to discuss the investigation and the continued search for evidence.

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Sources tell CNN that former President Trump’s team of lawyers and advisers are trying to find out if there is any evidence or witnesses they don’t know about that are bolstering special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president said he received a target letter from Smith over the weekend. CNN Chief Correspondent Kaitlan Collins tells Anderson Cooper if the Trump team has responded to the target letter yet. Plus, former Arkansas governor and current candidate for the Republican presidential nomination Asa Hutchinson joins AC360 to discuss whether he thinks the Justice Department has been weaponized against the former President with another potential indictment possible.

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Former President Trump says he’s been informed by special counsel Jack Smith’s office that he is the target of the criminal investigation into the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, a sign he could be charged soon. The former President has already been indicted twice, in a New York hush money case and in Smith's probe into Trump's mishandling of classified documents. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe tells Anderson Cooper whether he thinks the special counsel or the Department of Justice would send a target letter if they didn’t believe they had a strong case. Plus, state prosecutors in Michigan charged the 16 Republicans who served as fake electors in 2020. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins AC360 to react to the charges.

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West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin defended his flirtation with a third-party presidential campaign saying he had no plans to play “spoiler” in the 2024 election. Manchin spoke at a No Labels forum in New Hampshire with former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican, who told reporters after that any talk of a Manchin-Huntsman ticket was premature and a distraction. Cornel West is running for President as a Green Party candidate. He tells Anderson Cooper if he’s concerned about a third-party candidate siphoning votes away and potentially leading to another four years of former President Trump in the White House. Plus, CNN’s Alex Marquardt joins AC360 from Odesa, Ukraine where Russia is retaliating for the naval drone attack on its bridge to Crimea 24 hours earlier. 

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Rex Heuermann, a New York architect, pleaded not guilty Friday to six counts of murder in connection with the deaths of three of the four women known as the "Gilgo Four". The charges relate to the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. A fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, was found in the same spot, alongside the other victims, and authorities say Heuermann is also the prime suspect in her death. Their bodies were all found near Gilgo Beach on Long Island’s South Shore back in December 2010. After Heuermann’s court appearance, he was remanded without bail. He has been charged with three counts of murder in the first degree and three counts of murder in the second degree, according to an indictment filed in the case. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney talks with Anderson about the investigation and former FBI Senior profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole shares what stands out about this suspect. 

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Special counsel Jack Smith told a federal judge Thursday that there was no reason to postpone scheduling a trial date in the classified documents case against Donald Trump, in a court filing that aggressively rejected the reasons the former president and his co-defendant gave for why the trial should be delayed. Tim Parlatore, a former member of the former president's legal team, joins Anderson. 

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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former Trump ally who launched his presidential bid in June, has made it his mission to sharply attack Trump. Christie told Anderson he has reached the number of donors that the Republican National Committee requires candidates to meet in order to make the first GOP primary debate stage in August. Christie also weighed in on how FBI Director Christopher Wray, who he recommended for the job, did at a congressional hearing today.

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Former Pres. Trump is trying to run out the clock in the classified documents case. A court filing shows attorneys for him and his co-defendant Walt Nauta are asking a federal judge to delay the case. They argue the former president can’t be tried until after the 2024 election. Special counsel Jack Smith wants a December trial. Anderson talks to Rep. Daniel Goldman, who before running for office was part of the Democratic counsel during the former president’s impeachment inquiry. And Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama finally condemned White nationalists, telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that “White nationalists are racists,” after previously refusing to denounce them. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a wounded combat veteran and Democratic senator from Illinois, discusses Tuberville's comments and how he has been blocking military nominations in the Senate as part of a protest of Pentagon reproductive health policies.

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