Tonight on The Readout, how is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities,

that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?

In the midst of these atrocities, that there was some benefit.

Vice President Kamala Harris in Florida today with a blistering rebuke of Republicans

for new standards requiring students to be taught about the positive aspects of slavery.

Also tonight, Donald Trump learns when his classified documents trial will begin,

and it could make for a very interesting start to the general election campaign.

Plus, the DeSantis reboot, and Hollywood, they reboot shows and movies if they were really popular the first time.

The problem for DeSantis is, he's not popular, and the reboot looks a lot like the original failed sitcom.

But we begin tonight with major developments in the many criminal cases against Donald Trump.

Earlier today, Florida judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the trial in the classified documents case will begin on May 20th, 2024,

in between the December start date that the Justice Department asked for, and a post-election date which Trump's lawyers wanted.

But even though Cannon didn't immediately cave to Trump's request, her timeframe could still prove complicated, given the political calendar.

On May 20th, all but six states will have had their primary elections, meaning we will probably already know who the Republican nominee for president is.

And if that nominee is Trump, which is very likely, then having a May trial will no doubt lead to cries of election interference and calls for further delays.

But even as the twice impeached, twice indicted former president is clearly counting on that friendly judge and the friendly Florida district to help him avoid conviction.

He's not exactly out of the woods, especially as another indictment from Jack Smith's office could come at any moment, this one relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

And today we're learning new details about what exactly the special counsel wanted to know from William Russell, Trump's personal aide who testified before the grand jury yesterday.

NBC News has learned that prosecutors questioned Russell about Trump's state of mind during and after the 2020 election period, which Russell probably knows the thing or two about.

A source tells NBC that he would often informally engage in conversations with Trump and other key staff, including Mark Meadows in the West Wing and in the Oval Office, not to mention he was with Trump for much of the day on January 6th.

You can see him here with the former president at the ellipse.

And while Russell has previously testified before the grand jury, notably he never testified before the House select January 6th committee, meaning he could potentially have key information about Trump's thinking on and leading up to that day that we have not yet heard.

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