Special counsel scrutinizing February 2020 meeting where Trump praised U.S. election security protections

Anderson Cooper 360

CNN

News

4.1 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

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Summary

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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Transcript

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0:00.0	Good evening tonight at 360.
0:03.2	Did the former president want to actually praise election security?
0:06.5	New reporting on what he said weeks before he began attacking it in the run up to the
0:10.4	2020 election.
0:11.4	Also tonight, Mitt Romney issuing a warning and a timeline for low polling presidential
0:15.6	candidates to get out of the race to save the party from a third Trump nomination.
0:20.8	And the latest on the alleged Gilgobie killer meet the woman who says she went on a date
0:24.9	with him and survived.
0:27.0	Good evening.
0:27.6	We begin with new information about special counsel Jack Smith's keen interest in a 2020
0:31.9	Oval Office meeting that has not been previously reported on.
0:35.3	The meeting took place in February 2020.
0:38.0	In attendance were the former president, senior U.S. officials and White House staff.
0:42.4	Sources tell CNN that Smith is focused on comments the former president major in this
0:46.7	meeting about the state of U.S. election security and how those private remarks may differ
0:51.1	from the baseless lies he would start publicly spreading about election fraud in the coming
0:55.7	weeks.
0:56.7	Legal analysts suggest that one hurdle Smith has to overcome in any potential indictment
1:01.0	of the former president on charges related to attempts to overturn the election is whether
1:05.1	he can prove the former president actually knew he'd lost.
1:08.9	It's been eight days since the former president was informed he was a target in the January
1:12.7	6th investigation.
	...

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