Good evening from new york, im chris hayes. We have new revelations tonight about the ex president s coup plotting that contain some of the most incriminating evidence yet, ill explain. So in the weeks following the election with his defeat appearing one more certain trumps scheme to sustain power, as we have chronicled on the show, became increasingly desperate. And his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, had been spreading all sorts of conspiratorial nonsense about the Voting Machines for weeks. Falsely claiming that the Voting Machines rig the election for biden. Its way beyond what people think. Including a very very dangerous Foreign Company that says thats not american, thats far. A company that has close ties with venezuela and therefore china. And they were using venezuelans Company Software that was used to steal elections and other countries. I dont think people have an idea of the dimension of the National Security problem this dominion creates this Dominion Company is a radical left company, one of the people there is a big supporter of antifa. Just be clear, thats orderly false. Essentially invented. Its so false that giuliani got sued by dominion for defamation. But the Voting Machines, the idea that inside the black box there was some magical for and subversion coach, if that was something that giuliani was going off, we know this, because shortly after the election, the times reported that giuliani reached out to the Acting Deputy Security about seizing the machines to overturn the results of the election. And mr. Cuccinelli said that there is no authority that could assert control over the Voting Machines in the states. At the time, the New York Times reported since it was unclear whether mr. Trump facilitated the phone call. Well, a year later, we know the answer. As a new report in the New York Times details, six weeks after election day, trump wanted the department of Homeland Security to seize the Voting Machines. According to the paper, quote, trump directed his lawyer, rudolph giuliani, to make a remarkable call. Mr. Trump wanted to ask the department of Homeland Security if it could legally take control of Voting Machines in key swing states. Okay. Just step back and think about this. Because theres something important in all of this. Dumps president of the United States, he has a question about a matter of law. What he as the Chief Executive of the country is in charge of. The department of Homeland Security reports to him, hes the president. But he did want to make the call himself. How. His we are despite the sense about what could be in line with criminal liability appears to there is a concept called the errand boy. Someone who runs the money. So the bus can keep his hands clean. And trump appears to have realized that he needed a fall guy to do his dirty work for him. So he turned to Rudy Giuliani, the same bag man he used in ukraine. The guy who got him impeached the first time while he was trying to dig up dirt on the bidens. This little detail to me is profoundly revealing. Why doesnt the president call the guy a dhs . Why doesnt he go through normal liaisons at the white house . Because he knows its wrong. Hes gotta get his dirty tricks to do it. Because its evidence of Guilty Conscience and Corrupt Intent. If the president , ex president , thought when he was doing was legit, he couldve called the dhs himself, he was the president , but he knew, he knew seizing the Voting Machines was lawless possibly criminal. Something had no authority to, so he sent rudy. Go safe he can take care of that . His personal lawyer to take care of the dirty work. And while giuliani made the call even giuliani had his limits short of what trump swear. Quote, mr. Giuliani was vehemently opposed to the idea of the military taking part in the seizing seizure of machines. Yeah. I think that sounds like a bad idea to. You see some of the more conspiracy adult allies hatched a scheme by which the army would be the ones to, i dont know, rolled up to Voting Centers and roll up the supposedly corrupt Voting Machines which, that wouldve been great. In other words, full authoritarian rule in which the military in camo and their weapons go and grab Voting Machines. And the last bulwark of democracy was apparently Rudy Giuliani, of all people . At least in this one tiny incense . The man who is not particularly known for his Sound Judgment these days. And that thought is i salute the terrifying. I should just tell you in the past hour, the New York Times also reported that the Committee Investigating january six is looking into trumps role into the proposal to seize those machines. We also got an interesting revelation from the Washington Post today. I think its also kind of evidence of Corrupt Intent, a guilty mindset. And its about a particular habit of donald trump weve known for years that trump had the practice of hand shredding his documents. In fact, the government had employees on payroll taping trumps documents back together. You see, there is such a thing as the president s records act. And it requires that all the men must be preserved. And i can tell you people take this very seriously. Very seriously. And yet, apparently, in flagrant and in continuous violation of the law he would tear up the documents. The String Evidence is second nature. Well today we learned that some of trumps documents to the coup, the documents that he wanted to block the committee from accessing, included papers that had been shredded and needed to be taped back together. We dont know what specific documents were destroyed. That has not been made public, but as the Washington Post reports quote, legal records indicate that the documents over which trump sought to assert privilege included president ial diaries, appointments. Handwritten notes concerning the events of january six from white house chief stuff mark meadows, speeches, and more. But the specifics are not quite as important i think as just the general practice. Which speaks to the same thing that you can see in that instruction to dhs. The Corrupt Intent that is inherent in Donald Trumps actions. He did not want to make the call himself, he didnt want to leave a paper trail. As one staff told political, quote, he would rip up anything that happen to be on his desk that he was done with. He was always told doing so was illegal and its worth keeping in mind when it comes to the attempted coup, there are almost no contested facts here, okay . Think about this, we know all these things. A lot of it happened in the open. Rudy giuliani went on tv to talk about the Voting Machines, as i just played you. There are multiple written memos from trump allies outlining the strategy. We conclude this way, we could coup that way. Trump said that he wanted pence to do was overturn the election. That is trumps own phrase. So at some level, we all agree on what happened but. Trumps only remaining defense for his actions to drive a stake at the heart of but a mare can democracy, is that he was diluted, so fundamentally out of touch of reality that he sincerely believe the utterly ludicrous incoherent theory of injustice, that the election was somehow stolen from him from his byzantine, internally entered contradictory set of actions. So we acted out of good faith to rectify this injustice that he truly believed. But this evidence completely of this rates that notion, which of course was never that possible to begin with. If trump really believed he was not doing anything wrong, why did he not called the department of himself . But why is he ripping up pieces of paper to hide the trail . I think the answers pretty obvious. Is because he knew he was doing something wrong. And he wanted to keep his hands clean. Jacqueline alemany is the congressional correspondent, one of the early authors of the tutu newspaper. It is part of the team that broke the story that the documents had been ripped and taped back together. She joins me now. Would you like to tell me more about the state of these documents that were transmitted to the committee . Yeah, chris, were still trying to figure out more about these documents exactly because as you noted, the committee has not officially detail what was in this trench of 700 pages worth of records that was transmitted from the National Archives to the january six Committee Investigating the insurrection. So were not quite sure how valuable some of them had been shredded up and then taped back together might be, but we do have a number of clues including a review of Court Records which materials former President Trump sought to assert privilege in his unsuccessful efforts to prevent the transmission of these documents. And these potentially included some of the president ial findings concerning the seizure and security of the 2020 election and these Voting Machines. Were not quite sure if that included the memos that you just showed that the New York Times and politico has unearthed. And we dont know if those were specifically turnip and pissed back together, but the National Archives also told us that some of the documents today received from this past white house were shredded apart and not put back together. Its also unclear whether or not its possible for those to be recreated and once again decipherable. So there are still a number of unknown questions but i think this unusual became public in 2018, were now seeing the real world consequences why the president ial acts exist so that if there are serious investigations taking place, these interiors that really big long to the American Public are easily available and ready. And we should know the committee has been moving on a bunch of fronts and theyve been getting a lot of cooperation. They won this court case that got these documents. They also have been talking to some expensive people and i want to get your sense of this from the reporting youve been doing. We have two key figures in pence world. Marc short, last week spoke to the committee, of course hes someone who is very prominent in mike pences world. He was also there with pence string everything in january six. And today greg jacobs former Chief Counsel to for Vice President mike pence, was spotted leaving the committee after many, many hours of testimony. I think that Benny Thompson called immigrate patriot. Whats the significance of the extensive cooperation of those two individuals intense world . These are highly significant interviews and depositions that these two players who were around the former Vice President during the time when this Pressure Campaign to overturn these results of the election was taking place. We reported a few months ago, i believe, and november, that greg jacobs, in particular, was having a number of exchanges with john eastman while they were even under siege in the capital in hiding as insurrectionists had breached the Capitol Security and were shouting and chanting, hang mike pence. That, mike pence had time and the chance to do the right thing. Those emails extended even as late as 8 pm i believe, i might have to refresh our reporting, of john eastman emailing craig jacobs that mike pence could employ some constitutional loophole that pences legal team have already found pretty questionable in order to ultimately send the slate of electors back to the states. But mark short and greg jacobs were, again, key witnesses to all of these different players and these outside legal teams that were trying to convince the former Vice President to go along with President Trumps plan to overturn the election. All right jacqueline alemany, thank you very much, i appreciate it. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is a democrat from rhode island. He is a member of the Judiciary Committee and he joins me now. Senator, i wanted to get your thoughts as someone who has been around the law, most of your adult life, and your former prosecutor. The significance of the revelation that you have Rudy Giuliani being asked by the president as a kind of cut out to call his own sub cabinet officials of the department of Homeland Security to investigate the seizure of machines. What that says to you deep down . I think it would certainly add color to any prosecution, the hand ripping of documents and the weird giuliani election machine errand. But i suspect that at the heart of any case will likely be down in georgia. Where the effort by the Fulton County grandeur really will be proceeded. And to which the jeffrey clark, the doj guy who wrote the letter to georgia, whatever is being looked at or suspected up points down to georgia. And you have these electors who fall filed false electoral ballots which is a pretty straightforward, i think, 18 usc false statement violation. So you have a lot of people who might quickly become cooperators once the presented with whether chances are in that criminal proceeding. And all of that adds together, i think, into a pretty rich mix of evidence and witnesses who are a lot more credible than Rudy Giuliani. I want to ask you about Mitch Mcconnell who is i think, attempting to sort of straddle the line between a forthright defense of American Democratic institutions and a party that is controlled by donald trump. He was asked about trump floating the notion of pardons over the weekend for some of the folks that engaged in the insurrection. And this was his response. Take a listen. Well we saw here on January The 6th was an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another. 165 have pleaded guilty to criminal behavior. My view is, i will not be in favor of shortening any of the sentences for any other people who pleaded guilty to crimes when you think of that . I think hes right. And i think hes trying to create some distance between himself and trump. Mitch tends to play the long game and i dont think he wants to bind himself to trump. In such a way that when, as, and if trump collapses, mitch goes down with him. And its pretty clear from the film and from what we all experienced on that day that these lies and this behavior out of trump with pardons and all that is simply unacceptable. And you can be as partisan and cynical as Mitch Mcconnell and still feel that way. So thats a pretty strong benchmark. We kind of are in a process of discovering where the lines are. I thought that giuliani saying you cant send in the military while trump sort of ideding on it is an interesting example of finding where peoples lines are. One of the channels through which they pursued this was in the courts where they had zero success. And i think thats you know, thats a point in favor not zero success. They had clyde burn laughed out of court and in some cases lost law license isnt were sanctioned for their behavior. So its as bad as it gets. Of course, there is a pending there will be a pending vacancy in the Judiciary Committee. The president is now considering of various nominees. What is your expectation about this process . Its interesting, so far in all of the contested Supreme Court proceedings, mitch is going to the mattresses to make sure that the federalists i. D. S was able to pick out the judges and they got through come hell or high water. The whole garland episode, all of that. Its interesting though, now hes packed a 6 to 3 court. And its not clear to me what Mitch Mcconnell wants is a lot of controversy and attention around the court. Hes got the court he wanted. Its a 6 to 3 Federalists Society a majority. Its already starting to just walk deliver for the donors. So creating a raucous around it is like drawing attention to the house in which youve got your burglars operating. Its not clear [laughs] that might not be in your best interest. A court brought to you by the holy trinity of Mitch Mcconnell and leonard leo and donald trump together in wielding their power. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, thank you very much. Thank you. Ken Members Of Congress be barred from running for office again if they had any part and what happened in january six . Thats the question at the heart of a legal fight unfolding around madison prefers unless cawthorn can prove that he had no part in the attempted insurrection, he must be taken off the ballot. So what will this mean for other january six republicans or even for donald trump . Thats next. Its our ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. It senses your movements and automatically adjusts to relieve pressure points. And its Temperature Balancing so you both sleep just right. And now, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. The democrats, with all the plus, 0 interest for 24 months. Only for a limited time. Fraud they have done in this election, the republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice make no mistake about it, they do not want you to be heard there is a significant portion of our party that says we should just sit idly by and sit on our hands. They have no backbone that was 26yearold North Carolina republican congressman madison cawthorn, riling up the crowd, on the morning of january 6th, 2021. Just three and a half hours after what you just heard, the first rioters, smashed a window at the capitol. Hunter walker, who said cawthorn was one of the republicans in congress who participated in or had top staffers joining conversations about the event. Now a group of North Carolina voters have launched a suit with the state elections board alleging that congressman cawthorn, who is seeking a second term this fall, does not meet the constitutional requirements for a member of the House Of Representatives and is therefore ineligible to be a candidate. And it cites the 14th amendments disqualification clause, which reads, no person shall be a representative in congress who, having previously taken an oath as a member of congress to support the constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. State law requires the board to hold a hearing on the challenge. That has clearly spooked cawthorn, who yesterday filed a federal suit against the North Carolina election board to block the hearing, saying that running for office is a quintessential First Amendment activity and afforded great protection. Robert orr is a former Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court and a lawyer for the voters challenging congressman cawthorns eligibility and he joins me now. Mr. Orr, i follow this case because it is fascinating and somewhat legally novel, i think at least in the modern era. Sketch out the legal theory behind the claims in your suit. Well, under the 14th amendment, section three, which was put into our constitution shortly after the civil war, there is a disqualifier for anyone who does three things. One, to have taken an oath to support the constitution of the United States. Secondly, there is an insurrection or rebellion against the constitutional authorities of the country. And three, engage in or aid and support insurrection and rebellion. And that is a disqualifier from Holding Public office in this country. And in North Carolina, we have a Candidate Challenge Statute and a group of voters utilizing that statute that filed a challenge, alleging that madison cawthorn, who has filed for reelection in a different congressional district, is disqualified under the 14th amendment, section three. So you have a state law that provides the sort of means of redress here, which is that you can use that state law to challenge candidates for a variety of reasons. Is that right . Yes, thats correct. There are any number of disqualifiers, qualifications in the u. S. Constitution and also in the North Carolina constitution. And this is a statute that has been used on a number of occasions to address those kinds of challenges. Yes, its an interesting case. Because on some level, the First Amendment equities on the other side loom large. You dont necessarily want some board saying who can and who cannot run for office, willynilly. Thats a profound power to wield. At the same time, if someone said, i am 14 years old and im running for congress, you would need someone to say, well, you cannot do that. [laughs] you are not qualified. That is exactly right. There has to be a winnowing of anybody and everybody that may want to file for office. But i think the important thing to emphasize here is that this is a Disqualification Set forth specifically in the United States constitution. Yep. A disqualification to address the kind of situation that we saw on january 6th. And granted, it was enacted originally after the civil war. But what we saw on january 6th and surrounding it, including the activities of mr. Cawthorn, they clearly fall within the purview of this amendment. That is the question, right . You would have to establish that what his activities were constituted engaging in that insurrection and that those activities themselves, speaking on the ellipse, were not protected First Amendment political activity. And the argument that people make about the Ellipse Rally is that it is is distinguishable from the criminal assault on the capitol, from people just expressing their protected views. Well, what we are finding out and your prior segment certainly addressed a good portion of it is that it is more than just a physical assault on the capitol. It was, as Mitch Mcconnell just said, an effort to undermine the constitutional, peaceful transfer of power to the newly elected president. And so the insurrection just isnt the violent assault on the capitol but it is this broader activity in which the constitutional principles that our democracy relies on were subverted by a wide range of people, including, as we allege in this challenge, congressman madison cawthorn. And his lawyers have filed suit in Federal Court, raising a number of issues, trying to block this challenge. But we are prepared, on behalf of voters and our entire legal team, to go into Federal Court, asked to intervene and participate and intervene with the Attorney Generals from the attorneys office, representing the state board of election, and get that thrown out in Federal Court and perceive as quickly as possible, improving our case before the panel appointed by the state board of elections, which can be reviewed by the state board and ultimately the North Carolina courts. Robert orr, i would love to have you back on the program some time to explain how an individual who spent decades as a prominent republican lawyer in the state now finds himself in this position. So please come back again soon mister orr. Whenever you invite me, i will be back. Thanks chris. Coming up, as black History Month begins, policies targeting socalled quote Critical Race Theory now impact one third of students in the nation. Jelani cobb on after this. Im Jonathan Lawson here to tell you about Life Insurance through the Colonial Penn program. If youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80, whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed Lifetime Rate Lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information and youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours free just for calling. So call now for free information. The roots of black History Month, as we have just entered as of today, was centered in the 20s by carter g. Woodson. He was born in virginia, the son of slaces, he received a doctorate from harvard and devoted his career to the study of African American history. All the way back in february, 1926, he launched Negro History Week as an initiative to encourage the teaching of black history in public schools. Over the following decades, the idea gained popularity, students at kent state thought of expanding it to a full month in 1970. And president gerald ford officially recognized black History Month six years later urging americans, to, quote sees the opportunity to honor the two often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area and govern history. Today, since the first Negro History Week, we mark the first day of black History Month. And its feels like we are moving backwards. Confronting things that we felt we left in the rearview mirror. Of course, over the years, we have seen a new push to tell the full bloody unvarnished truth about race in american history. Racial hierarchy, racial pressure. That endeavor is under assault. Its led to a backlash equally as forceful with more and more efforts to stop the truth about black history from being taught in american schools. A third of American Kids are not being affected by new laws and policies that impose restrictions on teaching, socalled, Critical Race Theory that imposes restrictions on how teachers can discuss things like racism and systemic inequality. In montana, a legally binding prevent schools from asking students to reflect on privilege. A Texas Law Ban schools from requiring teachers to discuss controversial issues. And idaho law 0. 2 point 5 million to remove support from Social Justice program. New hampshire has a new law that ben divisive concepts which is enforced by citizens who can report teachers and sued the school district. They are using that same concept in virginia where newly elected governor, youngkin has a tip line for in quote, was theres a recent removing the classic the bluest eye, and a North Carolina High School Just pulled dear martin about a black High School Writing letters to dr. Martin luther king junior. The way that is society teaches and learns history is always going to be in his capably political because it is bound up in the conflicts and Power Relations of the president. What we are seeing across the country when it comes to teaching black history is no different. I will ask Jelani Cobb What that tells us about where we are as a nation, next. N, next. Hey, do you know if i work sunday . Sure do clover does that. Who are you . Hes from clover. Clover does that so i can do this. I like that green. Chef, can we hire another hostess . Umm. Psst. Yeah. I was gonna add an exclamation point. And one chicken salad. Anything else . Yeah, do you also take orders online . Yeah, we do that. Yeah, we do. Thank you. Clover does that. This is really good. Secure payments, the tools you need, people who can help, we do that. Talk to a clover Business Consultant today on this first day of black History Month, a time and for celebrating black stories and reflecting on past injustices, we saw an awful situation in historically black colleges and universities. At least ten schools received bomb threats which prompted lockdowns. That followed seven threats yet from yesterday. No explosions occurred and no bombs were found. If they are like working with Law Enforcement to see the region of this. A stark reminder of this first day of black History Month. Jelani cobb at the new yorker and he is on staff at columbia university. And he joins me now. Jelani, i cannot remember a time in my life really where i felt like the true radical vision of what black History Month was conceived as has felt more important and more under assault than this one this year. No, and to the point that you made about doctor blitz in and, im probably a member, a life member of the organization he founded, the association of the study of African American life in history. But to the point that you made about it, he was deeply involved, throughout the course of his lifetime, in the work of making the knowledge of black history ask accessible to teachers. That was one of his motivations and creating Negro History Week, as you pointed out. He had an going dialogue, he created a negro history bulletin. He was trying to translate Academic Work into lesson plans that could be used by teachers. So a very explicit and specific purpose which was this was meant to be a brief for negro citizenship. In full quality. And to see the heartbreaking element of this is i mean the inspirational part of it is called visionary. Doctor woodson was. But the heartbreaking part of it was we are 96 past year the initial effort and we still have the necessity to do exactly what he did. And the thing i keep returning to amidst all of this fighting, and i want to get into some of these laws is that you know, i had an incredible history education. In the very lucky. In the top, top percentile. I had incredible history teachers. And there was so much i didnt know. Theres so much i didnt know about the nature of reconstruction particularly, and the res assertion of jim crow. There are huge swaths of americans history of Racial Hierarchy and racialized violence that even people with very good educations just dont know. Its a factual matter of things that happened in this world and the winnowing of what you do and dont learn is inherently going to be guided by some social and ideological consensus. Sure, it also has a diagnostic purpose. If you examine these histories to better understand the context in which these catastrophes arose, you could hopefully navigate around those things in the present and in the future. And with these obstructions that are being thrown in the paths of teachers, bear in mind as a sidebar, i thought that the conservative right was very much interested in local control. And all we keep sayings statewide intervention into what people can teach in the local and county level. But when you look at what cannot be taught now, you cant talk to students about why we ultimately had the biggest war in american history. What led to it, why we have a 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment. One reconstruction was. How texas left mexico and the fact that racism, white supremacy, and slavery were at the corner store enough that. How florida came into the union and andrew can jacksons concerns about black slaves escaping into what was then spanish territory in the 18 teens. How missouri came into the union. Were not talking about the history of california in the compromise that created a federal bureaucracy to track down fugitive slaves in order to allow california to come in as a free state. The fundamental history of the countrys illegible if we exceed to the ridiculous demands that are imposed upon schools and teachers by republican legislatures. All of that is so, so well said and so important. And what im also struck by and this you touch a little bit on this in your piece in the new yorker, the sort of narrowing that happens. Its so well to find ourselves 180 degrees where the notion of comfort or divisiveness are the operating principle, this is all cloaked in and not make people feel not making kits feel uncomfortable. And obviously, you have a third grader, youre gonna talk to them in certain ways. You know. You do want to stress him out too much, you know, about the horrors of slavery. But the idea that comfort is this sort of Operating Pedagogical Principle now imposed by the right to courted off what can and cannot be no is a remarkable irony given the space of the Snowflake Stuff we were subjected to over the decade. Short, and i think the ideas that we want to terrorize children, of course, we believe in teaching things that are ageappropriate. You scale according to the complexity the children can grasp in at any point in time. But its very dangerous to impose the standard of comfort because you cannot really teach anything that the history of this country to the extent that we can say that theres greatness in this country is about people overcoming circumstances that we decidedly uncomfortable. So thats the actual tradition that we should be keeping up. Instead, we needed history in order to serve outside of a lesson. It cant even serve as an inspiration, in this context. Yeah, we jelani cobb, who carries on proudly the tradition of dr. Woodson. Who i had never heard of before, incredible man. Thank you jelani. Thank. You next, nearly one year after Winter Storm Path toppled the power grid in texas. The grid is still not fixed. Orourke joins me, next. Its time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. What if i sleep hot . Or cold . No problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is Temperature Balancing so you both sleep just right. And it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. So, you can really promise better sleep . Yes youll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. We take care of the science. All you have to do is sleep. And now, during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. There is another big winter plus, 0 interest for 24 months on all smart beds. Only for a limited time storm heading towards texas tomorrow nearly one year after a brutal winter storm and cold wave left texans desperate for health. Remember, 11 Million People risks left. Texas says the 246 people died in the storm but a Buzzfeed News analysis estimated more than 750 people were killed. And while texans were freezing without heat or running water, ted cruz flew to cancun before he was shamed and defamed until he returned the next day. It was very clear at the time that greg abbott said that it was the power grids entire infrastructure especially the Fossil Fuel Infrastructure that failed. Advocating for miss challenges for the governorship on both the left and the right. So as temperatures started to dip, once again across texas, he promised the power grid wasnt better ship this time. Im very confident about the great and i can tell you why, and thats for one, i signed almost a dozen laws that make the power grid more effective. I can guarantee the lights will stay on. You heard that last line, i can guarantee the lights will stay on. Thats a Pretty Unhinge statement. I can guarantee that the lights will stay on. Thats what he promised months ago. The texans will not lose power this winter. But now, with another serious storm done in texas, greg abbott is locking back his guarantee. We have a very substantial winter storm coming in the next few days, it will be in the state of texas for the remainder of the week. No one can guarantee that there will be a quote, load should event. Amazing wording there. To translate there, a quote load shed event, is a planned blackout which would mean texans losing power, just like they did last year. Orourke has been campaigning as governor. He just drove across he joins me now. Its good to have you. Let me sort of offer a defense to begin with and get your response to it which is that the texas grid is its own grid, its one of three grids in the entire country. Texas has its own, its called ercot. Its complicated, its different cold, you cant fix it in a year, and this is a very bad storm. You cant really blame the governor if things go sideways. Chris, this is the Energy Capital of the world. And you have far worse weather in other parts of america. You dont see these kinds of outages, you dont see this many millions whos in power, and you certainly dont see americans freezing to death in their own homes or dying of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, or starting fires in their apartment to keep warm and then burning to death as a result. The fact is, the governor was warned for years before 2021 when the storm happened that we had vulnerabilities in the grid, and did nothing. And add insult to injury after this great failure, as you pointed out, he has done nothing to fix the major culprit in the power outage last year, which was the lack of winterization of a gas supply. That might have something to do with the fact that those in that industry have given him millions of dollars since the february freeze including Kelsey Warren whose company made 2. 4 Billion Dollars in february off the suffering of our fellow texans, and road greg abbott of 1 Million Dollar Campaign Contribution check. That would explain the other wise inexplicably as to why we havent fixed the grid as we head into another winter. This is slightly wed see, but bear with me here. My understanding is that some of the recommendations around winterization for texas would be one of the sort of costly insurance. You have to winterize at a certain amount of capital cause so that your insulated ensured out into the worst kind of events. And generally, the industry doesnt want to do that because we make them spend a lot of money to upgrade the grid. Whatever they spend, and ive seen estimates that its one to 3 of their Operating Costs for these gas supply companies, its a hell of a lot less expensive than losing a life or more than 700 lives. Or the more than 100 Billion Dollars it has cost the state of texas so far, or the tens of billions of dollars in insurance claims because, as you mentioned earlier, when it froze, the pipes froze as well, and then the leader burst, and it created damage all across the state in texas. And, if it cant go worse, it has and thats because our utility beer bills have also gone up. Its the abbott tax in texas 20 to 50 a month per utility pair, whether they live in an apartment, a home across the state of texas. And not just this month, and not just for this year, before the next 20 years to pay back the mess that abbott and those in the Gas Apply Industry made in texas in the first place. So weve got to make sure that we have regulation and oversight and protect the people of the state. We literally cannot survive in other extreme or Severe Weather event like we saw last february. Quickly, the governor has been at the forefront of some of the Legislation Executive Actions to restrict education and curriculum in texas schools. Do you think that the laws are the palace are justified . Do you think that they should be left in place . What i love everything that jelani cobb just said in your interview. We have an extraordinarily rich history here in texas. In el paso, the first person to start the chapter of the naacp also fought ending in the 1944 smith versus all right decision. You have thelma white who integrated Higher Education here in 1954, right here in el paso, texas. If she has a 18 year old woman could face an allwhite Education System and defeated, then the young people of texas are Strong Enough to learn a story today. So when make sure that we learn and understand the full rich history of texas. As a governor, ill make it a priority. All right, beto were orourke running for governor in el paso, texas. Thanks chris. That is all in on this tuesday night. With the Rachel Maddow show starts now, good evening rachel. Thanks to a home for joining us this hour. As you can see im still here and my home studio, that is because i was exposed to somebody with covid. Im still testing negative. I am fine. I am vaccinated and boosted, but i was definitely exposed. Because i cannot wear a mask while im doing the show in the studio, i have to broadcast from home so i dont risk exposing any of my coworkers by going into the studio. So that is the only reason i am home. Other than me trying to do this myself while having absolutely no skills as an audio engineer, a lighting engineer, and makeup artist, or camera operator, other than that, everything art operator, other than that, everything should be fine. Ahem. Forgive me for everything that may go wrong. Im happy to be here. Thank you for being here. Weve got a lot to get to tonight. So, he was a late hire in the trump administration. They didnt hire him until year four in the trump administration. He hired him in march 20. The administration hired a new lawyer to work in Vice President pences office. En a man named gregory jacob. Now, this was not gregory is jacobs first stint in the federal government, he had worked before in the george w. Bush administration. He