Transcripts For CNNW The 20240703

His pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as the Federal Judge who imposed the sentence said he had no indication of remorse. Plus, the worlds two biggest pariahs, Vladimir Putin and kim jong un, soon to meet for an exclusive summit for dictators. What u. S. Intelligence says that they believe theyre plotting. And also today, Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell returned to capitol hill as some of his fellow republicans even are raising concerns about his health. What he could say Behind Closed Doors to them tomorrow. Im kaitlan collins, and this is the source. He pleaded for leniency and he ended up with the longest sentence of anyone who has been charged in the deadly attack that happened on the capitol. 22 years for former proud boys leader Enrique Tarrio. And it could end up remaining the longest sentence of all of those. During the hearing today the Federal Judge, timothy kelly, who i should note was appointed by former president donald trump, Scolded Tarrio and said he was, quote, Motivated By Revolutionary Zeal while slandering the father of our country, referring to george washington. He called Tarrio The Ultimate Leader of a Seditious Conspiracy to overthrow the u. S. Government by force. I should note that tarrio was not actually even in washington on january 6th. But thats because he had been arrested two days before the attack and was ordered by a judge to leave the city. Prosecutors say that he did help create a command structure, that he was in touch with codefendants on the ground that day as the attack unfolded. He is now the final proud boys leader convicted of Seditious Conspiracy to receive his punishment. For more on this lets go to cnns senior justice correspondent evan perez. Evan, obviously one of the longest sentences of anyone who has been charged in the attack. And the judge clearly seemed to think that a stiff punishment was necessary to deter future political violence. Thats right, kaitlan. He mentioned the idea of dete deterrence, that the importance of the sentence was one of deterrence so that the next time the next attempt at a peaceful transfer of power, which is something that was broken by the january 6th attack, at least we could try to rebuild that. And as you noted, Enrique Tarrio wasnt even here on january 6th. As a matter of fact, he was arrested for some previous alleged offenses. And the fbi, the u. S. Attorney did that on purpose because they were hoping to try to get him out of town and try to prevent any mass gathering of proud boys. Of course we now know that that didnt work. And one of the things that his lawyer said today in speaking to the judge was he wasnt there, he wasnt in control of this crowd of proud boys. And he said that tarrio was not a terrorist, he is a misguided patriot. And of course the judge said look, this is something that you argued to the jury and the jury did not buy it. So in the end thats one reason why you saw such a stiff sentence for Enrique Tarrio, longer than any of the other proud boys, the other four proud boys that were sentenced in the last few days. He had that enhanced terrorism penalty here. As we were talking about the others whove been charged with Seditious Conspiracy and already got their sentences, Dominic Pezzola is one of those. He cried to the judge last week and after he was sentenced walked out and declared trump won as he was leaving the courtroom. But it seemed to be a very different scene today, evan, as tarrio was speaking and essentially asking the judge to take it easy on him. Oh, absolutely. Look, they all cried. They all cried in the previous sentences. In this case tarrio kept his composure except for when his mother spoke to the judge. And she tearfully cried. She said that she wanted her son to have another chance. She said this is not the person that we know he is. Of course the judge also said that he did not detect any indication that tarrio had any remorse. I will note that tarrio made a reference to Dominic Pezzola and the fact that he stood up after the judge had exited the room and said with his fist raised that trump had won. Tarrio said, you know, after this is all over im going to leave behind politics, im not going to be involved in politics. And judge, once you leave the room, youre not going to hear anything else from me. I think that was a clear indication, or at least an effort by tarrio to try to undo whatever damage or whatever influence from what pezzola had pulled last week from having an influence on this judge and his sentence today. Yeah. And yet he still got 22 years. Evan fperez, thank you. Sure. For more on this i want to bring in New York Times senior Political Correspondent and trump biographer maggie haberman. I mean, trumps tarrios attorney, maggie, who was arguing today for that lighter sentencing when he was making his Closing Arguments not that long ago before he was convicted he was basically saying dont blame my client, blame the former president , its his actions and his words that were the reason what happened on that day. Clearly, the judge disagreed. The judge clearly disagreed because these are cases where people have to take responsibility for their own actions when they are convict sxid dont think thats a surprise. I think were going to see Courts Of Law Uphold Rule of law. But it is not the first time we have heard any defendants related to january 6th or their lawyers suggest that trump is behind what they did that day. And i think you are going to continue to hear that and that is where, kaitlan, and im not saying this is specific to this case but just more broadly, this is where there is an issue for trump facing liability for that day. It was something that his own aides warned him about in real time, that this could be an issue. And i think you are going to continue to see that going forward. And what evan was just noting there about the terrorism aspect of this, the judge essentially was ruling that basically that is something that could be applied here. He agreed with prosecutors that could be part of the sentencing here because of what Enrique Tarrio and others did on that day, what they were ultimately trying to achieve. Trump has said he would leave open the door to pardoning a lot of the people who were convicted that day. Does that does the fact that domestic terror is now a part of this change that calculus, do you think . I dont think its going to stop trump from saying what hes been saying. Hes been fundraising to try to help some of the defendants in january 6threlated cases. I dont think that this will have him adjust anything. Im sure his lawyers would like it if he would adjust some of what hes saying and doing. But i dont think for what he is saying himself, he sees political advantage in continuing to say that he might pardon people. He thinks it rallies his supporters. What about the fact that his attorney is blaming trump . Do you think that could factor into whether or not trump would ever this is all hypothetical. But whether or not hed pardon him . I dont think it helps in that specific case. But as you and i know very well, what donald trump sees as beneficial to donald trump can change moment to moment. Other thing we saw happen today was jack smiths team has issued this new filing. Posting links about the judge in his case in washington in the same courtroom or same courthouse where Enrique Tarrio was sentenced today. Hes calling jack smith deranged. He said he has unchecked and insane aggression. And the reason were highlighting that is because the special counsel today is arguing that those comments, which are happening on a daily basis, multiple times a day, could taint the jury pool. What is your sense of whether or not trumps attorneys are concerned about testing prosecutors patience here about maybe seeing sanctions from the judge for trump on what hes saying . Theyre certainly aware that this is a possibility, that there is going to be a request for sanctions and that judges could take action. Now, what theyll argue is this is infringing on trumps free speech rights, that hes a political candidate and he has to be allowed to say what he wants to say in that context and also that hes a defendant whos entitled to say things about his case. But to your point, that is a different measure. That is not just saying im an innocent person. That is really attacking prosecutors. And as hes attacked other people connected to these cases over and over again. As weve said many times, he will test the limits of what he can get away with up until the point he cant do it anymore. Hes attacking the judge repeatedly. I think jack smith, thats kind of been a near constant. But the judge who makes these decisions and has such control over this trial, he attacks her basically on a daily basis. And shes warned him about not tainting the jury pool. So he is looking to see how far he can take this and how far he can get away with it. And were going to find out what the answer is. But weve talked about this before, that typically in cases like this when defendants are given a warning about what they say, what they post on social media, what they say in public interviews, they tend to be much more circumspect than donald trump is being. He is just sort of letting it all fly. Yeah. Tomorrows going to get interesting in georgia because weve now seen all 19 codefendants there plead not guilty. That means none of them will be showing up for their Arraignment Hearings tomorrow. Theyve all waived their right to the appearances. But we will see the judge there, scott mcafee, hold a hearing for Sidney Powell and Kenneth Cheseboro essentially on their arguments about severing the case and whatnot. But whats notable is its going to be televised. Tomorrow we will see what is going to happen. Do you think people being able to actually watch that will affect how they view this . I think it might, kaitlan. So much of this has been Behind Closed Doors or in a way you that cant see in real time and its being relayed Tlohrough Usn the media. And i think for the public to be able to see this is important. I am very pro cameras in courtrooms in general. I think journalists generally are. But i do think this is an important moment in terms of people understanding whats taking place and forming their own opinions. Its going to be a lot harder for defendants in these cases to say this is going through a filter and this is somehow tainted in terms of public understanding when its televised. And these are people who trump is not paying their legal fees. Like in the other cases that we see. What is your sense of the calculus inside his world over of course its really expensive if he was going to cover for all of them. But if he doesnt, they could be more encouraged to make a deal with prosecutors, to cooperate, to try to get their sentences potentially reduced if they were convicted. I think theres a couple of things that have gone into this. We have seen georgia be a little different in terms of how they have handled that case in his world compared to the federal cases and compared to the manhattan case. So its not totally surprising. Bluntly, i dont know what money there is to pay for all of these folks defenses at this point. Save america doesnt really have a ton of money left. How much money have they spent . Ballpark. A lot. I dont want to get the figure wrong off the top of my head. But its millions and millions. Its tens of millions of dollars. On his legal fees and on and the reason im just delaying is there was an error put out by folks around him in terms of how much was spent at one point. They actually overestimated it. But its still a lot of money. These trials are costing him i shouldnt say him. These trials are costing a lot of money for whoever is paying his legal fees. And the fees of people around him. He doesnt even like paying his own legal fees much less that of other peoples. Correct. In certain cases they have paid peoples legal fees as weve discussed here. The fact that theyre not paying giulianis legal fees has been an ongoing source of frustration, except for one very small tranche. I say very small. 350,000 or so. Thats not small. Its just small comparatively. Its a lot of money in normal circumstances. But you know, this is a source of consternation about not having these fees paid for a the lo of people. Jenna ellis whos one of the codefendants in georgia has been very vocal about it. We will see whether that ends up becoming a problem for trump. But the flip side is if hes paying peoples legal fees in a conspiracy case i think that takes on a different patina. What do you make of cnns latest reporting of how jack smiths investigation seems to be continuing . We know they have the grand jury till september 15th. Well see if it gets extended. But Sidney Powell specifically and these efforts to breach voting machines, to essentially the involvement in the efforts that they had not just in georgia but michigan and other states as well. I mean, the sense of just the investigation is still continuing past, you know, the charges that weve seen so far. Look, we know that jack smith has continued to drill down aggressively in the documents case, the maralago case, and the January 6th Case. And the January 6th Case among other things there were six unindicted coconspirators. Then there was this issue of looking at the fundraising with save america. What this tells me is hes looking at a broader range of fundraising, not just save america, and other efforts that were taking place. That seems to be a bit of a new ev er avenue. And hes been asking people about the hugo chavez comments she made. Very public she made those. Maggie haberman, thank you very much. Up next, two of the most dangerous dictators in the world may soon be meeting together in person. Vladimir putin seeking kim jong uns help with his invasion of ukraine. And also the senates Top Republican back on capitol hill today but now members of his own party are asking questions about Mitch Mcconnells health and transparency. Tomorrow hell speak with them Behind Closed Doors. N personal advisors. Hey david. Connnnect with an advisor to create your personalilized plan. Lets find the right investments for your g goals okay, great. J. P. Morgan wealth managagemen. Wake up, gotta go cmon, cmon. Gracie, cmon. Lets go guys, cmon mom, cmon mia [ Engine Revving ] my favorite color is. Because, its like a family thing [ Engine Revving ] made it mom leave running behind, behind. The new turbocharged volkswagen atlas. Does life beautifully. Tonight u. S. Officials say that the north Korean Leader kim jong un is in advanced talks to travel to russia to meet with president Vladimir Putin this month over a major weapons deal potentially. The New York Times, which was the first to report on this meeting, said that the deal could involve moscow getting Artillery Shells and antitank missiles in exchange for north korea getting satellites, nuclearpowered submarines and Food Supplies for their impoverished nation. Officials say that the meeting could take place this month with kim traveling by armored train from pyongyang across the border to southeastern russia. It would be a rare journey for the north Korean Leader but one that he has taken before, back in 2019, as you see here. Despite warnings from the pentagon, the National Security council says they do believe negotiations between those two nations are, quote, actively advancing. Joining me now to discuss, former cia officer will hurd, who is also a 2024 republican president ial candidate. Thank you for being here. U. S. Officials that weve talked to believe that if they disclose this intelligence that it could potentially Deter North Korea from actually following through on this. I mean, youre a former cia officer. What do you make of that strategy and what would you do if you were president . Well, first off, this is not deterring kim jong un. I would never have thought that i would say that two former president s, trump and the current president , biden, would be doing the same thing that Vladimir Putin is doing, and thats emboldening a nuclear terrorist. The fact that trump sat down with kim jong un, biden a couple of weeks ago saying he would be willing to sit down with him without preconditions, i think that all plays into kim jong uns willingness to engage with the russians. This is also a sign that things in russia arent going to Vladimir Putins liking. And what i would be doing under my administration is all the equipment and weapons that we have promised the ukrainians, that the rest of our western allies have promised them, get them to the ukrainians as quickly as possible. For them to continue their counteroffensive. Because this is a sign that Vladimir Putin cant do this himself. This relationship has usually been the other way around, where the north koreans are getting weapons from the russians. And this is a statement of how bad the situation is and that we should be helping the ukrainians to double down. And i would even say letting them have the equipment where they can continue and do strikes inside russia. And we the hurd administration would be very clear what we consider to be preconditions for success, and that is the removal of all the russians from all of ukraine to include crimea and the donbas. . Do you think thats realistic . It absolutely is realistic. The fact that the ukrainians are seeing some success in crimea, right . And unfortunately the Biden Administration is trying to Behind Closed Doors say that they dont think the ukrainians should be focused on that. One of the reasons i believe that theyre doing that is because they want to have a Negotiating Position potentially with the russians and let them keep crimea. Thats a bad move to make. The fact that tony blinken has said that he with want to get back to the february 22 lines in ukraine. That means that the russians get to keep donbas and crimea. To me thats unacceptable. A true victory is helping them push out. But to you arr first point y were making, you were saying the Trump Administration and Biden Administrations have handled north korea are equally doing it wrong. You about theyre taking very different approaches. Trump and putin and kim are exchanging letters in the leadup to the summit. Trump and kim did the same thing before their historic facetoface summit. Biden has never spoken to kim jong un since being president. They have had basically no communications because the north koreans dont answer the phone. But hes also undermining his recent steps by engaging with the South Koreans and japanese. We should be having these negotiations together. We should be including the australians in any conversation. And this is one area where the United States and china could actually cooperate when it comes to north korea, because the chinese do not want a nuclear war on the korean subcontinent because thats going to lead to millions of refugees, north korean refugees, on the chinese border and the chinese cant handle that. So this is how we should be looking at this area. Look, kim jong un wants to stay in power. He wants to be fat, drunk and happy and die being a rich man. And we need to make sure we contain him with all of or allies in that region. But what does biden need to be doing differently on north korea specifically . Just saying hed sit down with him, theres no sign thats even close to happening. I wouldnt be talking about no preconditions. You would have preconditions. Like what . You would have preconditions. Number one, youve got stop the nuclear theres a Nuclear Program as is. Were not going to have any kind of conversations if you continue to do testing. The number of tests that weve seen kim jong un do over the last year has been pretty significant. There would have to be a period of saying that we can trust that youre not going to be doing the tests. Those are two simple steps that i would take before having before having any kind of engagement. Speaking of putin, there is one thing that a lot of your fellow 2024 contenders are happy to stierks label him as, which is a war criminal. There is one who noticeably is not. This is an exchange that happened over the weekend. Yes or no, do you view putin as a war criminal . I think that putin is a dictator and i think there are open questions that need to be adjudicated by the icc. We have an iccj for a reason. My job as the u. S. President is to advance american interests. So i think putins actions have been craven. That much i will say. And ive said it all along. But do you believe hes a war criminal . We have to get the facts before we get to the bottom of that. What facts do you think hes talking about there . Well, the facts are clear. There are Tens Of Thousands of documented cases of the russians killing and raping innocents, blowing up whether its grain storage facilities, apartment complexes, nonmilitary equipment, nonmilitary targets. So this is very clear that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. And unfortunately, vivek has said it himself. Hes only been paying attention to Foreign Policy for the last six months. And it shows. His policies are ignorant. He acts like he knows everything, but hes always wrong when it comes to when it comes to Foreign Policy. And its dangerous to have someone whos running to be the president of the free world whos willing to kiss the butt of a war criminal like Vladimir Putin. Its not hard to call it what it is and its unfortunate theres people in that race, and if other folks if people are afraid, your viewers are worried about that and they want to support someone who is not going to kiss the butt of dictators like that, go to hurdforamerica. Com. What about the numbers . He has gone up. In our polling today that was done after that first debate Vivek Ramaswamy went from 1 to 6 . I mean, your poll number your polls have not changed. Sure. In that way. Are you out of step with where your voters are today . I wouldnt say that im out of step. But 15 million goes a long way in moving those poll numbers. Im not going to discount the fact that hes smooth. But theres also a lot of people that are turned off by him. I was recently in New Hampshire, and i dont think hes going to be growing those numbers with College Women that live in suburbs. Theyre turned off by some of the ways he acts and the things that he communicates. We have 9 11 coming up here. The conversation that you all had. You know, this guy is i i this running to try to be the chief gaslighter of the United States where he just says one thing and then changes direction in the same interview. To me thats just thats just unacceptable. And again, the poll numbers are the poll numbers. But thats not something that we should be having in the leader of the free world. But what about the who could be the leader of the free world again soon, trump potential liv if hes the nominee. Sure. In this Poll Republicans and republicanleaning independents say if true the charges he is facing across four criminal charges they dont think are relevant to his fitness for the office. Thats what Republican Voters think. People youre trying to get to make you the nominee. How do you make the argument to make you the nominee if thats where they stand . If this poll is true, then the Republican Party is going to continue a 20year trajectory of losing the public the popular public vote. If donald trump is our nominee, he is a proven loser. He lost in 2018. Hes lost the white house and the senate in 2020. He prevented a red wave from coming to power. And heres what i believe. If people are worried about those numbers, then guess what. We need you to vote. If youre worried about that rematch from hell between donald trump and joe biden, then those people that only vote in general elections, we need you to vote in primaries. We need you to vote in the republican primary. Only 23 of americans vote in a primary. So if you want Better Options in november, then we need you to start getting engaged now to prevent Something Like this from happening because again, america deserves better than donald trump and joe biden. Thats one of the reasons why im running and were taking the message to places like New Hampshire and iowa. Will hurd, thank you for being here tonight. Always a pleasure. It has happened again. A Federal Court has thrown out alabamas congressional map after republican lawmakers there pretty much ignored a Supreme Court order to create a second majorityblack district. So what now . The only democrat who represents alabama in the house will join us right after this. I need it cool at night. You trying to ice me out of the bed . Baby, only on game nights. You know you are retired right . Am i . Ya the queen sleep number c2 smt bed is now only 999. Plus free Home Delivery when u add an adjustable base. Shop now only at sleep number. [clicking] when occasional heartburn wont let you sleep. [clicking] get fast relief with new tums heartburn sleep support. Love food back and fall asleep faster. Tum, tum tum tum, tums Fisher Investments its easy to think that all Money Managers are pretty much the same, but at Fisher Investments were clearly different. other Money Manager different how . You sell High Commission investment products, right . Fisher Investments nope. Fisher avoids them. other Money Manager well, you must earn commissions on trades. Fisher Investments never at Fisher Investments. other Money Manager ok, then you probably sneak in some hidden and layered fees. Fisher Investments no. We structure our fees so we do better when clients do better. That might be why most of our clients come from other Money Managers. At Fisher Investments, were clearly different. Heres why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your Devie Duckduckgo comes with a builtn engine like google, but its pi and doesnt spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. And theres no catch. Its fre. We make money from ads, but they dont follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. A Federal Court has struck down a newly drawn congressional map in alabama for the second time after State Lawmakers ignored a ruling from the Supreme Court and refused to create a second blackmajority district in the state. White voters make up the majority of six out of the seven congressional districts in alabama, where more than a quarter of the states population is black. The three judge panel, two of them who i should note were appointed by former president trump, wrote in their unanimous decision today that they were, quote, disturbed by the republicancontrolled State Legislatures actions. The newly drawn map created one majorityblack district and boosted the share of black voters in a Second District from roughly 30 to 40 but reduced it in another one. Alabamas Attorney General says he is going to appeal and the case could end up, full circle, at the Supreme Court. Joining me now is alabama congressman terri sewell. Congressman, thank you so much for being here. Courtappointed experts, i should note, are now going to be the ones who are drawing these three proposed maps. Thats what theyll then decide on. Its not the state Legislature Like before. Do you have confidence theyll be able to draw a fair map that accurately represents the state of alabama . I do. I have to say i was more than just disappointed that the State Legislature didnt even try to adhere to the Supreme Courts ruling. The Supreme Court was pretty clear. They said draw two majorityminority districts or something quite close to it. And as you said, it was one district, my district, they took from 55 to 50 . And then they created another district that was around 39. 9 . And definitely thats not quite close to it. But you know what, kaitlan . Today was a victory for black alabamians but also all alabamians because what were fighting for is fairness, right . We want to make sure that irrespective of your race or your zip code that every voter has an equal opportunity for their voice to be heard in this democracy. Theres nothing more fundamental than that. The state is now responding with the Attorney General. Theyre basically trying toes clait the issue up to the Supreme Court. They hope there is a stay on this decision today. How do you expect or how do you hope the justices will respond to that . Obviously, someone like Justice Kavanagh is going to be a key person to this decision that is going to be made. Well, you know, the Supreme Court decision was pretty tight, 54. And kavanagh was pretty clear in his position as well. I really hope that they will reject the stay immediately so we can continue with the process. I know that it is going to go on concurrently with the drawing of the maps. The Special Master has until September 25th to come up with three different maps. And you know, kaitlan, the problem is it was possible to draw two majorityminority districts. In fact, the Supreme Court had in its evidence by the plaintiffs attorneys 11 maps that showed that there was a way that you could have two majorityminority districts. And so the blatant disregard for the Supreme Courts edict as well as this threejudge panel was just really unacceptable. And when i think about it, its also an insult to those of us who know that they could do better. They could have done better. Were both from alabama, we both love alabama, but this is not just a story about alabama, its a National Story really because we see similar legal battles playing out in other states. Half a dozen of them. Florida, georgia, north carolina. Do you see this as a republican strategy to hang on to their razorthin majority in the house . How high do you see the stakes here . Well, you know, it was Frederick Douglass who said that power concedes nothing without a struggle. This is a fight going on now because if we can get more congressional seats by fair maps, by fairer maps, that will affect the change in balance in the house, in the house of representatives. And thats pretty important. But for me when i look at just the bare bone of what this is about we know that our state has a long storied history in racism and segregation and voter disenfranchisement. But we also come from a state of wonderful people, black and white, who gathered around and tried to do the right thing. They marched in order to desegregate. They also, you know, Marched Irrespective of what happened on that bridge, john lewis and those marchers marched and defied and really helped democracy get to where it is. They say that justice that the arc of the moral Universe Bends Toward justice but it doesnt get there by itself. It gets there by courageous people like those plaintiffs that filed this lawsuit. And i think incrementally well get there because this is really about political power. African americans make up 27 of the votingage population in alabama, and yet we only have one of the seven seats. Thats 14 representation. That is not what we need. But what do you make of the fact given that storied and ugly history of courts having to intervene for Voting Rights in places like alabama that its 2023 and this is still a fight that youre having . Yeah. But you know, as john lewis said, you can never give up and never give in. We know that the pendulum swings right to left, that progress is elusive and that every generation has to fight to hold on to the progress that weve made and to try to extend it. And so i see this as a further step towards progress in our state. If alabama can have two districts where African American voters in alabama have the opportunity to choose a candidate of their choosing, that to me is progress. And i know that it will affect not only alabama but were waiting on louisiana and georgia. And it will have a ripple effect. And not just in congressional seats. Because what this case says is that the Voting Rights act of 1965 is alive, well, and enforceable, section 2. And so section 2 is about voter dilution. Even in jefferson county, where we have five commission seats, i think that youll see a lawsuit to try to see whether or not that violates the vra section 2 because there are so many African American voters in that county. It has a big effect all around. And you know, i know that john had some incomplete business before he left this great earth, but he left us a wonderful road map. He and those foot soldiers. And what he said is we have to be bold enough, encouraged enough to do the right thing no matter what and to get into some good trouble. And frankly, kaitlan, were in some good trouble right now. And im really hoping the Supreme Court will quickly, you know, overturn the stay, this motion for a stay, so that we can get on with the business of creating two majorityminority districts in our home state of alabama. Congresswoman terri sewell, thank you for your time tonight, for joining me. Thank you. Speaking of capitol hill, Mitch Mcconnell was on the Senate Floor Today speaking. Many were watching very closely. This is the first time that we have seen him on the senate floor since he publicly froze up last week for the second time. But what is happening tomorrow in washington . Maybe more telling about the minority leaders future in congress. Sell to your customers anywhere, with shopify, the Commerce Platform designed for entrepreneurs. Online, on social, in person and on the go. Get the tools you need to sell the way you want, powered by shopify. Tomorrow in washington Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell is expected to talk to his caucus Behind Closed Doors about his health. Some of his fellow republican senators have been raising questions about what is going on and what hes saying publicly. I think if you go halfway and you reveal stuff that doesnt make any sense it just leads to more questions. Im concerned on the last on the first one and the last freezeup. But since he fell now, hes struggled. And i hope he can continue. Im sure its still going to be up to him most of the way. Theres going to have to be some conversation. Senator mcconnell is back on capitol hill today for the First Time Since freezing for that second time on camera in his Home State Of Kentucky last week. He did mention his health only in passing in his speech on the senate floor. One particular moment of my time back home has received its fair share of attention in the press over the past week. But i assure you august was a busy and productive month for me and my staff back in the commonwealth. Joining me now, jamal simmons, former Communications Director for Vice President harris, and alyssa farah griffin, former Communications Director for the trump white house. Alyssa, the capitol physician, they put out a note saying there was no evidence of a stroke or seizure disorder. But clearly even members of his own party have questions about whats going on and if he is being transparent enough. Yeah, i think the leader needs to speak to his caucus, and i think heres the reality. Weve got a gerontocracy in washington, d. C. Weve got a lot of folks who are living frankly beyond the median age of most men in this country who are in high positions of governing. I think as far Mitch Mcconnell was voted in by the voters of kentucky. I think a conversation about how long hes going to stay on as leader is important to have. And i think to Start Talking about what a Transition Plan would look like. Mitch mcconnell, love him or hate him, is probably the most effective republican legislator of my lifetime. So i think they need to think about who is ready to replace him and step in if hes going to pass off the reins the way we saw nancy pelosi do in the house. And so far those who would be the most likely to replace him have said theyre stull fully behind him. But when he does go Behind Closed Doors at his lunch tomorrow, what does he say to them to alleviate their concerns . I kind of could care less what he says to those senators when he goes Behind Closed Doors because i think the bigger challenge is one that faces the entire country. There are so Many Americans whove lost faith in our government. Theyve lost faith in our leaders. Young people especially feel this way. I think that senator mcconnells missing an opportunity to shore up trust in government and trust in our institutions by not going out in public and talking about what hes really facing. We saw what happened on video. You cant just put out a letter. One of the lessons of communications is you respond in the way the attack came. And what we saw from him is a video of him not performing well. Earlier on Anderson Cooper sanjay gupta, dr. Gupta was on. He didnt seem convinced about the answer the mcconnell people are giving. And i think most people in america arent convinced about it either. What do you make of that . Given he will also have his Weekly Press Conference tomorrow. Thats still scheduled. He doesnt speak to reporters in the hallways but he does talk at these press conferences. That was actually where we saw him freeze up the first time. I mean, i would argue that these ailments, and i wish The Very Best to the leader, have not technically gotten in the way of him doing his job. I use Dianne Feinstein as somebody who ive said should step down as somebody who seems actually confused when voting and had to be like guided by an aide on how she should be voting. Meant that it was holding up nominations in the judiciary committee. That to me is somebody who needs to probably immediately resign, especially when you represent the most populous state in the country. Mitch mcconnell, i think needs to be very transparent. He needs to answer questions for his voters, for his constituents, but also the American Public as the leader of the senate. Lets remember what happened when senator John Fetterman had his health challenges. He went out in public and told people what he really was dealing with. And people rooted for him. They wanted him to be successful. They wanted him to get healthy. No everyones sitting around waiting for the next shoe to drop on senator mcconnell. Its a bad place to be. The other person we heard from today was senator tuberville, you heard from him there, but he is someone who is facing criticism when it comes to his hold on Military Nominations in protest of the pentagons abortion policy. He said today hes not budging on that. I mean, were hearing in the secretaries of the army and the navy and the air force who you were speaking to jake tapper earlier saying this is a National Security risk in their view. Its a readiness crisis. It is a shame that for the first time in over 100 years the marine corps, for example, is without a permanent commandant. Listen, i strongly support the hyde amendment, meaning Taxpayer Dollars should not fund abortion. That is not what this d. O. D. Policy does. It simply gives paid travel to people who may go and seek an abortion. I think it is a misreading of the policy by senator tuberville. And i think his republican colleagues need to rally around him and say we as republicans are the promilitary party, you are actually affecting National Security readiness. But he did make the point that Chuck Schumer could bring these up one by one if he needed to. That is not something that the Majority Leader has taken the step of. They say it is essentially giving in to him. But it is something he technically could do. Im sure Chuck Schumer could technically do that and how long will that take. This week so Many Americans like my family, were taking our kids back to school. People are paying attention to it. You know whos not able to do that, is having trouble . A bunch of military families whose kids dont know where theyre going to be, if theyre going to be in the base where they are currently or the base where their parent is getting promoted to. Weve got to figure this out. This is not a way we can govern our american military. Jamal simmons, alyssa farah griffin, thank you both for being here tonight. Speaking of an Impeachment Trial, not one on capitol hill but it is under way for one of Donald Trumps most ardent supporters. It is pitting republicans versus republicans over allegations of abuse, corruption, extramarital affairs. More of the drama playing out in texas on camera, next. Wake up, gotta go cmon, cmon. Gracie, cmon. Lets go guys, cmon mom, cmon mia [ Engine Revving ] my favorite color is. Because, its like a family thing [ Engine Revving ] made it mom leave running behind, behind. The new turbocharged volkswagen atlas. Does life beautifully. Let me be direct. Youre watching football wrong what do you call a guy in face paint that cant get the game . A clown sorry, what app was it again . No, no. Just give me a second. Amateurs. Ohhh sorry, everybody. Directv sports central gives you access to every game. So you never have to compromise on gameday. Eh. Was that necessary . I was just illustrating a point. Access nfl sunday ticket on us, get a 400 reward card. Okay. Meet the team. Behind the team. The coach. The manager. And the snack dad. All using chase to keep up with their finances. The coach helps save goals here, because she saved for soccer camp there. Anddd check this out. The manager deposited a check. Magic. And the snack dad . Hes getting paid back. Orange slicesss. Because this team all has chase. Smart bankers. Convenient tools. One bank with the power of both. Chase. Make more of whats yours. sometimes, all the tenacity and grit in the world. Cant overcome the boundaries we face. so Morgan Stanley is partnering with the Womens Tennis Association to remove them. because this game is for everyone. the Republican Attorney general in the state not guilty today in his own Impeachment Trial. Ken paxson stands accused him using his office to help the wealthy Real Estate Investor and donor. An exchange the donor gave paxson 20,000 worth of free modeling materials and paid for a mistrust for the states Attorney General. Our Reporter Reports said 12 of his republicans agreed he should face impeachment on the allegations that he abused his power. Just before ken paxson faced Impeachment Proceedings which includes misconduct and alleged affair, paxson smiled and hugged his wife who happens to be a State Senator and will be listening to the charges involving bribery abuse of power and retaliating against whistleblowers. But she will not be allowed to vote. This is very significant and serious occasion that will be in the history books. Paxton stood with his hands cross as his attorney said the suspended Attorney General was innocent of all of the impeachment charges. The allegations are flat out false. Attorney general pleads not guilty. The lawyers went out to st. Opening statements that paxton is a victim of a political witch hunt and that his political fate should not be in the hands of State Senators. Texans shows who they wanted their Attorney General to be. Only 30 people out of almost 30 million will decide whether ken paxson is decided to serve in the office he was voted into. Thats not how it supposed to work thats not democratic. The lead House Impeachment Manager said paxson has committed crimes that make him unfit to serve as Attorney General. Mr. Paxton should be removed to office because he failed to protect the state and instead use the power of his elected office for his own benefit. The Impeachment Trial has disposed a bitter paxson has the support of donald trump and the extreme right wing of conservatives in the state. One pro paxton group known as the defend Texas Liberty packed said it will pump millions of dollars to go after republicans who voted to impeach or convict him. This is a political witch hunt against ken paxton anybody that votes against him in this impeachment is risking their entire political career and we will make sure that that is the case. As a political pressure mounts against republican State Senators manatee are watching senator Angela Paxton who has long stood by her husband as she climbed the texas political ladder. Even performing musical numbers at his campaign. Despite the leeward allegations against ken paxton in the Impeachment Trial. Angela paxton is publicly showing full support for her husband calling him the love of her life. In the Impeachment Trial she will be closely watching the republicans who will decide her husbands political faith. Were looking for clues as to which way these republican senators might be leaning. It might have got time early on before the Impeachment Trial started there is a wave of emotions where they could have dismissed the emotions by a majority. Where paxson didnt get enough votes he had 68 republicans voting in his favor. But he needs ten to be able to survive this Impeachment Trial. The longer this goes on the amount of political pressure on many these republicans to switch their vote will only continue to grow. So its gonna be a really intense few weeks here in austin for republican lawmakers. Itll be fascinating to see what it means for the Republican Party and texas. Thank you for that report objects there is new fallout from the unwanted kiss that happened at the world cup and a big firing. However you see fit. Rosie used part of her refundd to buildld an outdoor patio. Clink dr. Marshall used part ofof his refund to g give his practice a facelift. Emily used part of her refund to buy. I run a wax museum. Let Innovation Refunds help you get started on your erc tax refund. Stop waiting. Go to innovationrefunds. Com you really got the brows. My cholesterol is borderline. So i take garlique to help maintain healthy cholesterol safely and naturally. And its odor free. Im taking charge of my cholesterol with garlique