'Very Bad News' For Trump: Lawrence O'Donnell Says Ruling Could Backfire Quickly

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday predicted that the Supreme Court decision granting Donald Trump complete immunity for “official” acts while in office could backfire in a matter of weeks.

“The very bad news for Donald Trump in this decision today, and for candidate Trump ― very, very bad ― is that Mike Pence is going to walk into a federal courtroom, raise his right hand, take an oath to tell the truth and testify against Donald Trump in this case in September,” he predicted.

O’Donnell said the court granted Trump absolute immunity on a single paragraph (his conversation with the attorney general) in his indictment in the case regarding Jan. 6, 2021. The court ordered an evidentiary hearing for the rest of the case to determine if those other acts are official or unofficial, and therefore protected by immunity or not.

He said Judge Tanya Chutkan will oversee that hearing, which will be “exactly like a prosecution” as special counsel Jack Smith calls witnesses and lays out his evidence.

“You’re gonna see this incredible Jan. 6 hearing on steroids, possibly for six, eight weeks, September [to] October, maybe,” he said.

See the full discussion below: