Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Stephanie Ruhle 20180222

Momentum for an effort forcing the president and even the nra to take notice possibly action. I have a great team here to break all of it down this morning. First, i want to walk through some of what we heard over last 24 hours. Gutwrenching stories from survivors as well as students and parents terrified by what gun violence is doing to this country, from the president on down, the sentiment was clear. We hear you. But judging by the protests in washington, the walkouts at school also across this country and the emotional town hall we saw in florida last night, words, theyre just not enough this time. Senator marco rubio showed up and he learned it firsthand. Your comments this week and those of our president have been pathetically weak. Can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the nra . The influence of these groups comes not from money. The influence comes from the millions of people that agree with the agenda. That did not sit well with the crowd. Neither did an nra spokespersons assertation that she stands with the survivors of gun violence. Im not just fighting for my kids, im fighting for you, im fighting for you, im fighting for all of you. Because i dont want anyone to ever be in this position again. You just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. Youre not standing up for them until we say i want less weapons. All of this comes on the heels of the president s listening session. During which he brought together families friends of shooting victims in parkland, sandy hook and columbine. These people literally begged the president to take action. Lets never let this happen again. Please. Please. Im never going to see my kid again. I want you all to know that. Never, ever will i see my kid. I want it to sink in. Turn it. My beautiful daughter im never going to see again. Its simple. Its not we can fix. This is america. This is every student and every city and everywhere. Consider your own children. You dont want to be me. No parent does. To his credit, for more than an hour, the president sat there in the middle of that room and listened more than he spoke. The card he held in his hand reminded him to ask about survivor survivor experiences, to tell them, quote, hear you. In the end, he talked about background checks and age limits but never mentioned any kind of broader weapons ban. There are many different ideas. Some i guess are good. Some arent good. All i can say is were fighting hard for you and we will not stop. Well, heres the issue. He said were fighting hard for you. We will not stop. There is a Movement Today thats going to hold him accountable. I want to bring in Nbcs Kristen Welker live at the white house. Kristen, i mentioned it before, you got to give the president credit for that listening session. Putting himself in that room, survivors, family members, came at him. Now, hes still talking, though, about gun control this morning, or hes tweeting about it. Ive got to say, hes almost incoherent. Well, he is stressing the next steps hed like to see, and youre right, a series of tweets that he is unleashing this morning. Let me direct you to the one that i think gives us the best indication. Do you mean the one where he references weapons teachers, which i dont even know what weapons teachers are. Well, in that tweet, hes clarifying a discussion that took place during that listening session yesterday when one parent floated the idea of arming some teachers. This is an idea that President Trump has indicated support for in the past. He reiterated that yesterday. This morning, hes really clarifying his stance and what he meant by that. Essentially saying look, hes talking about concealed guns. And hes saying that it should only apply to gunadept teachers with military or special training experience. He says it would be a great deterrent. He says if a potential sickco shooter knows that a school has a large number of teachers who are armed, that sicko will never attack that school, attacks will end. This is a very controversial idea. I was talking to a number of parents who have been directly impacted by these shootings. Including the shooting at sandy hook. Who say that idea gives them great concern because what they dont want to see is a shootout in a school. There was broad support for some of the other measured legislative changes the president seems to be backing. He says, i will be strongly pushing comprehensive background checks with an emphasis on mental health, raise age to 21 and end sale of bump stocks. Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue i hope. We now how intractable congress has been in the past on this issue. A large part of that has to do with the nra and nra funding. The president indicating he may be willing to break with the nra son some of these key issues. Well have to see what the nra has to say specifically about some of these proposals. This is a debate that is just getting revived once again here. We can talk all day long about the fact that President Trump was born in queens. He used to be a democrat. Hes given to democrats, sure, thats President Trump in the past. But in the last year and a half, the nra has stood with him, helped him get elected and we certainly havent seen him break with them in terms of any policy. But if theres one thing we know, he talks a good game. Joining me now is a team of msnbc analysts, Washington Post National Political Robert Robert costa. Also the moderateor of washingtn week. On pbs. Eddie glod, at princeton university. And elise jordan, a time columnist. Robert, did you get the sense what happened yesterday is forcing people in power, im talking the president , other members of the gop like marco rubio, to reconsider where they stand . Credit to rubio for showing up last night. But the heat is on. The heat is certainly on. You see these protests in tallahassee and in places across the country marching out of schools, students across the country are really taking up this movement as their own. But the question really is, is there going to be pressure on lawmakers in washington and in state capitals to actually act. To move forward with firearm restrictions . So far, most republicans in power in congress are talking about background checks. Theyre talking about more modest proposals. Not the kind of sweeping reforms that many of these survivors and families are talking about. All right, ashley, i need to have an understanding. Maybe you can help me with what the president s actual position is. Because hes tweeting about arming teachers. The idea that more guns is the solution, not less. Yet he tweeted back in may of 2016 crooked hillary said that i want guns brought into the school classroom. Wrong. So which exactly is it . Well, its fair to point out those contradictions and thats a good question. With this president. As we know, its often not what he says because hell say a number of Different Things on a number of different sides of the same issue, often in a single day or a week. Its what he does. So this is what hes saying now. I would put a little more emphasis or credence on what hes saying. He seems serious about thinking that potentially arming some number of teachers who have military training or experience might be a good idea. He sees something on tv or hes persuaded by another adviser or he talks to his allies on the hill and he changes his mind. Until he gets behind legislation and potential executive action on his part, i dont think well truly know what his policy is. Eddie, it is a trump move. You know, he was talking yesterday about age limits which is something the nra doesnt support. He may have gotten some blow back on that, we dont know. Now hes talking about a certain percentage of teachers having guns in schools. Having more guns in schools is straight out of the nra talking points. Is that what hes doing here . Hes now realigning with the nra . I think so. Its a mark of his own confusion i think around this issue. Its a difficult nut to crack. I think this whole debate reveals something very disturbing. And that is the outsized influence of the nra. And thats just a kind of an example of the outsized influence of big money on our politics. And so if you see where the American People stand on the question of guns, the majority of folk, im not the south, guns are a part of our culture, but theyre reasonable. Youve got guys like Mike Bloomberg giving a ton of dough. Lots of people giving a ton of dough. The power of the nra is the single issue voters. Its the voting base. You said 100. There are 100 million americans who own guns in this country. So i think that is part of what has to happen with this debate is impressing on everyone how the Current System is just not working. You know, universal background checks have to become part of the legislation in this country. We cannot have loopholes where you have no background check of all, where person to person transfer of gun, that guns are unregistered. Its easier to buy an ar15 than it is to buy a car and theres not title whatsoever. Those 100 million americans who own guns. Rand paul who you used to work for, marco rubio, defendants of the Second Amendment. But to that father who lost his daughter last week, he said, i support the Second Amendment, but being able to buy assault rifles is a bastardized interpretation of the Second Amendment. Is there room here to redefine what the Second Amendment means . Well, i think that the nra has taken it further than perhaps even a lot of their membership would even want. And by being so absolutist and not being willing to concede, that is the nra mantra. You do not give an inch. Because then its a slippery slope and theyll have more rights taken away, but that is not going to work in this era of technological innovation where you have a bump stock and highcapacity magazines that allow military grade weapons to hurt the rights of responsible gun owners who just want a gun to protect themselves. All right, robert costa, i want to ask you about this card we saw in the president s hand during the listening session. Hes getting a lot of heat for it. One of the bullet points read, quote, it was number five, i hear you, and i want to share what one of the students that was there told Brian Williams about that last night. The president did his thing, played his game. He had his questions already ready. He already had it written that he hears us. That was kind of something. All right, robert costa, what do you make of that . Just as an aside, sure, is it absurd that the president of the United States had some handwritten cards that say i hear you . But listen, it was a highpressure situation. I have cards. We all have cards. But what that young man was saying is the president played a game, hes a performer, it doesnt mean anything. Well, he said to the students that he hears them, but the question is, when will that hearing become action, if ever. Elite mentioned highcapacity magazines. Senator rubio signaled last night he was open to a discussion on banning high capacity magazines. The president has talked about the age being raised for gun purchases. The nra of course came out a few hours later, said it would oppose those kind of measures. When you look at a politician and he says he hears peoples concern, thats a common refrain. The challenge for President Trump is how much is he going to perhaps oppose his own party, oppose the nra . How much is he going to try to make policy out of some of his own concerns hes outlined already . Hes missing part two and three. This is what i heard. This is what i think. This is what im going to do. Were waiting for number two and three. Ashley, Washington Post has an editorial out today calling on trump to prove he actually means business on gun control. Usa today editorial says it would be a hugely popular move. President trump if he did anything, he could even do something with a winkwink nodnod from the nra, he would get massive support. Youre right, and President Trump is one of these people who some of his supporters and even his detractors believe sort of has the credibility to move his base to a place where theyre not comfortable going. So for instance there was a thought that he could do that on immigration. That he could get his base to agree to some concessions. And theres a thought that he may be able to do that on guns. Now, we havent seen that yet. Its an open question. And i would also add that the sort of rub here is that often when President Trump does try to go in that direction, does go to a place where he is maybe not purely comfortable with and certainly that his base is not comfortable with, what weve seen at least on immigration, and we can see on guns, is that he often gets dragged back. When it seems like hes losing his support, when conservatives come out against him, he often retreats to his initial position. I think the editorials theyre tapping into something that he could do and will he do it, a, and b, not retreat . Nobody knows yet. Remember, this is the deal maker president. To wise up and play ball here. Most americans agree with some form of gun control. 97 support universal background checks. 83 support mandatory waiting periods. 67 support an assault weapons ban. Elise, to you, being an absolute purist, only keeps you with a very small base. Shouldnt the president and even his base realize lets give a little because we could get a lot . I think President Trump is going to come down to how much loyalty he really has to the nra. They pitched in early with his campaign and gave him more money than any other president ial contender in the history of american politics. From their organization. Well, the nra, that is just not who they are. That is not their strategy. Are they going to realize their current strategy is politically untenable at this moment . It would be a genius move for the nra to say lets give a crumb, we all have made a decision about what the nra is. If they gave something, the rest of the world would sort of be dumfounded. They say okay, we support a bump stock ban, after vegas. That is a concession. This is about money. Its about the gun lobby, gun manufacturers. Let me be very clear. This is a tragic moment. Weve seen i mean, its a massacre. Another tragic moment. Another tragic moment. But there are folks in communities that i know who have been burying their kids for a long time. Because guns have been in their communities. Parents have been grieving because theyve been putting their babies in grounds. When kids were organizing to because their children, their friends have been put in the ground. They have been experiencing ptsd because theyve had to bury their friends, right . This is not start small. Its an outsized influence of a small group of people who want to keep their guns, while people are having to bury their children. So donald trump can perform. Politicians can try to stay elected. At the end of the day, those children organizing, those children walking, marching down the street, this is a new moment. Were going to push it. And it took some certain kinds of people to die for us to get this question on the table. You mean white people . But there have been a lot of people dying because of guns, stephanie, a lot of folk getting killed because of guns. This conversation isnt going anywhere. And we have to keep having it. I applaud those young people. You know, i keep hearing these young people going through this emotional stress, why should they be asked these questions . Why should they be on tv . These young people, while theyre in emotional distress, they can walk into a store and buy a gun. You okay with that . Okay what a conversation. Eddie, i really appreciate that. Coming up, special Counsel Robert Mueller files new charges against rick gates and Paul Manafort but these ones are sealed from the public. A former u. S. Attorney who investigated whitewater explains why these charges are being kept hidden. But first, as mentioned yesterday, the Florida Statehouse declined to open debate on gun control legislation as survivors of parkland shooting looked on. You will not believe what they debated on instead. So what legislation did they focus on instead . A bill that declares porn dangerous. What do you have against teenagers . First, you wont do anything about guns. Now youre taking away their porn. What are you doing in there . You better be loading a gun, young man. Oh, thats lovely. So graceful. The corkscrew spin, flawless. His signature move, the flying dutchman. Poetry in motion. And there it is, the baby bird. Breathtaking. A sumo wrestler figure skating . Surprising. Whats not surprising . How much money heather saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Now that we have your attention. Capri sun has four updated drinks. Now with only the good stuff. Do you know how to use those . Nope. Get those kids some new capri sun was a success for lastchoicehotels. Comign badda book. Badda boom. This year, were taking it up a notch. So in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Nobody glows. He gets it. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com welcome back. Im stephanie ruhle. New charges have been filed in special Counsel Robert Muellers criminal case against Paul Manafort and Paul Manaforts aide rick gates. We dont know exactly what those charges are. Why . Because they have been put under seal by the court. Politico points out, quote, the new charging document filed in federal court in washington could be a superseding indictment adding new charges or even new defendants to these charges filed against manafort and gates last october. Joining me now, Professor University of Baltimore School of law kim whalely. What is behind door number one . It could be a superseding indictment. The original indictment against manafort and gates had unnamed accomplices mentioned in the indictment. They had entities known as company a, company b in the indictment. So the prosecutors the first round let some stuff open. They mentioned tax evasion and wrongdoing without actually charging those crimes. We could see from the original indictment there was space to make changes. We also heard perhaps mr. Gates might be entering into some kind of plea deal thats been reported. We dont know if its accurate or not. If thats the situation then with respect to him, it could look very different if the mueller team agreed to drop some charges in exchange for his cooperation. Also knowing who person a is in that indictment we saw earlier this week, a source tells msnbcs katie ter that the guy who penned build the wall, one of trumps earlier campaign advisers, hes scheduled to meet with muellers team today in d. C. This is the guy who was fired in august 2015 over a racially charged facebook post. Later sued trump for 10 million bucks for breaching a confidentiality agreement. What does him talking to mueller tell you about the direction of this investigation . I think it just shows, and this is consistent with my experience in the whitewater investigation with ken starr, that these are professional prosecutors who are going to follow the facts where they lead. They are not leaving any stone unturned. I think, you know, the expectation that theyre out to sort of build a case against x, y or z, is probably not as accurate as just the idea that theyre doing this extremely carefully and professionally. So thats my expectation. They want to see what this person has to say. All right, careful and professional would not be words to describe Paul Manafort after you read the nbc news exclusive where federal investigators are looking into whether manafort promised a banker in chicago, a guy named steven caulk, a job in the Trump White House in return for forgiving 60 million buckings in home runs. Caulk of course was renounced as a member of candidate trumps council of economic advisers back in august of 2016. What does that tell you about how things are looking for Paul Manafort . Listen, i feel like, you know, every time i click on the news, i see some other issue with respect to manafort. We know that a Russian Oligarch that he used to work for is also suing him for 25 million for allegedly stealing money when he was in employment from this person and has used the indictment as part of his complaint. So, i mean, mr. Manafort, i think, you know, the shady dealings that he was involved in or allegedly involved in go back well over a decade. I think whats important here is he was he was charged with helping proputin ukrainians win elections, and he quit that job and joined the trump campaign. You know, i do think that his testimony and looking into him is going to be critical to this and central to this investigation. Yes, that russian is the aluminum king siberian. Paul manaforts got some tough enemies right now, possibly Robert Mueller and oligar, its a tough one. Up next, in less than 30 minutes, the head of the nra, juan la pierre jr. , speaks at cpac. Wayne, youre always invited to come here. Were hearing from him for the First Time Since the School Shooting in parkland, florida. How will he address the ongoing gun debate . Credit to matt schlach, he said we need to discuss this, and we do. I accept i dont conquer the mountain like i used to. I even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. But whatever trail i take, i go for my best. So if theres Something Better than warfarin, ill go for that too. Eliquis. Eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis had both. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Im still going for my best. And for eliquis ask your doctor about eliquis. I we worked with pg eof to save energy because wenie. Wanted to help the school. They would put these signs on the door to let the teacher know you didnt cut off the light. The teachers, they would call us the energy patrol. So they would be like, here they come, turn off your lights those three young ladies were teaching the whole school about energy efficiency. We actually saved 50,000. And thats just one school, two semesters, three girls. Together, were building a better california. Welcome back. Im stephanie rule. It is time now for your morning primer. We begin in the midwest where four people have died as a result of the worst floods in the area that theyve seen in the last 45 years. Residents are being evacuated. A combination of rain storms and melting stone are being blamed for these dramatic floods. And police in montenegro are investigating after an unidentified man threw what is believed to have been a hand grenade at the u. S. Embassy last night. Police say the man then committed suicide. The fcc is expected to public its order repealing obamaera Net Neutrality rules later today. This will allow state attorneys general and advocacy groups to sue in an attempt to block the order from going into effect. Actress meryl streep is speaking out after comments she made regarding Sexual Misconduct allegations against producer harvey weinstein. Who used in his defense. Streep says although weinstein was not sexually inappropriate in their business relationship, to imply he was not abusive to other women is, quote, pathetic and exploitive. This guy is receiving 15 grand a month. 15 grand a month. You know what this is over a year . A lot of dough. From the Republican National committee front. Who runs the rnc, the president. The rnc says theyve paid him 75,000 bucks so far for, quote, Security Services for planning the 2020 convention. Please note, ill be going back to that story because its a strange one. After leaving his name off the official speakers list, were now hearing the head of the nra will be speaking at the annual meeting of conservatives in less than 30 minutes. Vice president pence is scheduled to speak there in about an hour and President Trump will speak there tomorrow. Joining me now, hugh hewitt. Nationally syndicated radio host and, one other thing, todays birthday boy, hugh hewitt. First, happy birthday, hugh. Thank you very much. George washington and ted kennedy, we share the date. Well, you share the date with some Extraordinary People in history. Now we have to talk about something else. The nra has always been an important part of cpac. This is the first time were hearing rain la pierre speak since last weeks School Shooting in florida. A what do you expect him to say . How important is it . I think matt schlap was saying its important to hear from him. He has turned it into a much appear event. La pierre represents 5 million members in the nra and earlier today they announced they were opposed to the 21 year old limitation on the purchase of rifles that President Trump endorsed via tweet this morning. Which seems about a 90 issue in america even among nra members i talked with. There are some people that want 18yearolds to be able to buy rifles. Ill bet you hear mike pence talk about that later today at 21. What he has to say today will tell us whether we have a real fight open our hands or another wait and see slow roll the issue down the hill. Why does that make sense for the nra, given, to your point, its a 90 issue, why wouldnt they play ball even a little bit . Age requirements to buy a rifle doesnt seem like a huge give and it would be a great gift. If im wayne la pierre and i say we support you, lets up the age limit, the president would get huge support for that. Why wouldnt wayne lee pierre wouldnt give the president that . Its a head scratcher to me. Earlier today i asked people who called in who are opposed to this. They say, i want to buy a gun and learn how to shoot. It doesnt prevent a family from lending its weapons an end teaching children how to learn. Another person said i can join the military at 18. Yes, then you get trained in weaponry. Its a head scratcher. Donald trump, the populist president , is going to lead an effort to get federal legislation through the spending clause to get states to raise their age limit to 21. The nra is very organized, very vocal. Off in the forefront in a way against gun issues. Whats President Trump going to do . He held that listening session yesterday and some are saying big deal, who knows what hes going to do. You got to give him credit he sat there in the room. He didnt need to do that. Hows he going to play this . Legislation requires persuasion. That was the first thing we saw yesterday in the white house. Very unusual event. Michael shear and chuck both agreed its a very unique thing he did yesterday and it will have an impact on him. Will it . Legislation requires persuasion of a lot of people in the house who come from district like pennsylvania 18 where the special election is being held. The democrat came out and said there wont be any changes to gun laws. Why . Because the 18th is deeply nra country. Its hunting country. Mike gallagher, congressman from wisconsin, came on my show just before you did yesterday and said in wisconsin 500,000 people go out in the woods on the first day of deer hunting. Theres a culture that is deeply attached to their rifles. You can hunt a deer. You dont need to do it with an assault weapon. I want to talk for a moment about marco rubio, whos been a proponent of the Second Amendment. He did show up last night at that town hall event. I give him credit for that. It may have been his job, but we also know there are a lot of government leaders who hide from their own town halls, who dont want to speak to constituents and he went there and showed up and had to face a father. I want to share what that father said to him. Were going to have that in a second. Its basically a father who was a supporter of the Second Amendment who said a month ago his son went out shooting with his grandfather but he said to him weve got it here. If i believed that law would have prevented that from happening, i would support it. But i want to explain to you why it would not. Senator rubio, my daughter, running down the hallway at marriagery Stoneman Douglas was shot in the back with an assault weapon, the weapon of choice. Yes, sir. Okay. It is too easy to get. It is a weapon of war. The fact that you cant stand with everybody in this building and say that, im sorry. What do you think of that moment . Theres a difference between hunting and assault weapons. There is. But what senator rubio was attempting to convey, and its very difficult in that setting to do so, is theres 2,000 different varieties of rifles and the question of definition comes in. What the father was convoying, he didnt care about definitions, his daughter was murdered with an ar15. When ar15 came to the floor, they couldnt even get majority support. First they have to start to persuade the democratic party. Then the independents. Then the republicans that ar15s ought to be banned. Even when there was a super majority with president obama in the first term, they didnt attempt to do it because persuasion requires not moments like that but moments of quiet situation rubios and the democrats who voted against the ar15 ban. I dont own an ar15 but some people do and they consider it essential to their home defense. The rifle issue, the 21yearold issue, thats a different issue. In this discussion going forward, we should stay in lanes. Like the president was arguing today. A lot of teachers dont want that. Some do. Thats a separate discussion from age 21. Its a separate discussion from armed guards at schools. Theyre all separate conversations that each need to proceed but they shouldnt cross over. Emotion doesnt drive legislation, persuasion does. All right, well, persuasion and emotion are tied to one another. And when youre marco rubio and youre in a room like that, it might impact you. It might impact the president that he could have been persuaded. Because that was definitely an Emotional Experience just to watch. I cant imagine what it was like being in that room. You bring up a great point. There are many different conversations to be had here. If you wonder why the needle hasnt moved, its because the nra has one conversation. Second amendment and were not moving. And the other side has so many issues and those lines get blurred. We have to take this moment if they want to address those issues. They have to stop blurring the lines and address them. One at a time. If theyre going to make a difference. I know so Many Americans want a difference to be made now. 100 agree with that. I think it would start with congressional hearings. Ive been pushing for that, as have a number of people on left and right. Let the congress sit down and take a lot of input on each of those different lanes so we can get to some resolution on some of them as opposed to the demonstrations will be real. Theyll be passion nad. Theyll be full of energy. And the young people are coming. But legislation is so painstakingly long to achieve. Theyve got to be in it for the long haul one by one. Hugh hewitt, thank you for joining me. Were still nine months away from the midterms but less than three weeks away from the First Special election of this year. Thats a tongue twister. Try to say it five times fast. What are Voting Technology vendors doing to protect the vote . For 100 years, heritage and innovation have made gillette the 1 shave in america. Now get gillette quality at lower prices every day. Brought to you by more than a thousand workers in boston. Were proud of giving you our best. Gillette the best a man can get. For her compassion and care. He spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. But to help others, they first had to protect themselves. I have afib. Even for a nurse, its complicated. And it puts me at higher risk of stroke. That would be devastating. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. Once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. Xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration blood thinner. Significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. It has similar effectiveness to warfarin. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your bodys natural bloodclotting function. For afib patients wellmanaged on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. And before starting xarelto®about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Its important to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know™. Was a success for lastchoicehotels. Comign badda book. Badda boom. This year, were taking it up a notch. So in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Nobody glows. He gets it. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com stay with me, mr. Parker. When a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. Stay with me, mr. Parker. The at t network is helping First Responders connect with medical teams in near real time. Stay with me, mr. Parker. Saving time when it matters most. Stay with me, mrs. Parker. Thats the power of and. Welcome back. The 2018 midterms are just around the corner and Voting Technology vendors have recently been hit with scrutiny over the security of the Voting Machines and software used across the country. Eric gellar is a cybersecurity reporter for politico. Eric, when i think back to, you know, going voting with my mom as a kid, voter Booth Technology almost seemed like an oxymoron. These antiquated machines with little old ladies and phone books. Youve been digging into the actual security measures. What are they doing . The biggest thing theyre doing is saying dont worry, weve got everything under control. Okay, thats not working. After the 2000 election, there was a rush to buy these electronic machines. You remember the hanging chad issues in that election. In the times since, there hasnt been a focus on security. Theres been a focus on acce accessibili accessibility, using electronic machines. Theres been a lot of cybersecurity experts just recently saying there are all kinds of ways you could tamper with the official or unofficial results if you can exploit some of these flaws. You go to the companies and ask them to talk about this and they dont want to talk about it. I reached out to several of the Major Companies for a story i wrote recently and they got together and sent mie a statemet that said we take security very seriously. When you talk to the people who examine these machines, because every state has the companies submit the machines for testing, the experts say we cant believe what were finding. This has been the story for ten years. They find these flaws over and over again. They go to the companies and the Companies Say, dont worry about it, this could never be exploited in practice. We reached out to all Nine Companies that you named for their response to the story and they all essentially echo three main points from the joint statement signed by clear ballot, dominion Voting System, election systems and software hart and unison saying, quote, Voting Systems were not hacked or compromised in the 2016 election. And Voting System manufacturers are doing our part to keep elections transparent and secure. Okay so these Companies Say their machines are accurately tested. So wheres the disconnect . So a couple of things. First, when the testing happens, its often in a setting where if there was an issue with the machine, if theres a flaw in the machine, you wouldnt necessarily know that it had been exploited. So with electronic machines as a popular type of machine called a dre machine, its used in a lot of states, and you can add on a feature to produce a paper record. If you dont have that feature, and the software is tampered with, theres essentially no way to know that happened. Think about it, a hacker if they tamper with the software, theyre going to tamper with the log that says what happened on the machine. The other thing is when researchers want to do independent testing, so testing outside of the state mandated testing, theyre often told, well, you have a signed confidentiality agreements. Youve got to do it in these conditions. You cant see particular data. You cant take particular data with you. What they told me for the story is the more people you can have looking at a system, the more likely you have to find a flaw. When you reduce the number of people who can look at a system, the level of confidence you have that there are no problems decreases. So those are the two kind of main concerns that the experts told me when i sort of read them that statement, that i was given. Theres concerns and these companies arent talking. Companies dont talk. Theyve got lawyers. Those lawyers are risk managers. They dont answer any questions. So the answer could be regulation. If youre regulated, you got no choice. Its certainly a discussion many states are having. There is some interest in the legislation to say heres what you ought to do if you want federal money, you know, saying to the states if you want federal money to upgrade your Voting Machines. You have to require companies to meet these standards. And to your point earlier, about companies having lawyers and everything like that, you know this is a very small industry. Its hard to make a profit because you and i might buy a new iphone every other year. Every year. States are not buying voting equipment very regularly. Voting vendors want to make expensive products. That often means electronic products. They want to include a lot of licensing deals so you have to keep licensing the software. Theyre trying really hard to make a profit as every private company does and its very difficult in the space. Thanks for joining us. We tell people to vote, they should trust the system or be able to. Any minute now, were expecting to hear from the head of the nra, wayne la pierre jr. To take the stage at cpap. Actually, were going to listen in now. This is dana loesch, the spokeswoman for the nra. In charleston, this murderer was able to pass a background check because as former fbi director james comey said, they made a mistake. It was a paperwork error. Sunderland springs, this mass murderer was able to go and mow down a church because, why, the air force did not report his conviction. The fact that he was mentally unstable to the nik system whice organization that i represent, 5 million plus members average everyday americans, moms and dads, they do the school run, they go to the Grocery Stores, theyre students, hunters, theyre people like me who simply dont want to be assaulted in the parking lot if i go to the Grocery Store and get a gallon of milk at night, they are People Like Us and we will not be gas lighted into thinking that were responsible for a tragedy that we had nothing to do with. It is not our job to follow up on red flags. It is not our job to make sure that states are reporting to the background check system. It is not our job, a failure of Law Enforcement is not a failure of the law. It is a failure of enforcement. Now, if all of those in the legacy media are arguing for the nra to give us the authority and the resources to go and followup on these red flag events, ill volunteer right here and now to do it. We have Resources Available at any ones disposal if they want to reinforce their schools but ill say it again loud and clear, were parents too and i believe as the millions of members that make up the nra and millions of people just in the United States in general, dont you think our kids deserve the same protection as our celebrities . Dont you all think that our kids deserve the same protection as our athletes . As our banks . As our businesses . But yet we leave them the most unprotected. My condemnation is for those at the fbi. I know theres some good agents there, but for those at the fbi who dropped the ball eight separate times with catastrophic consequences. James comey when he wasnt busy taking directions from Loretta Lynch lynch as to what to call Hillary Clintons investigation or writing hiself a grandizing memoirs, they said they made a mistake. Maybe if you politicized your agency less and did your job more we wouldnt have these problems . I want to make this super obvious point. The government has proven that they cannot keep you safe. And yet, some people want all of us to disarm. You heard that town hall last night. They cheered the confiscation of firearms. It was over 5,000 people. I had to have a security detail to get out. There were people rushing the stage and screaming burn her. And i came there to Talk Solutions and i still am going to continue that conversation on solutions as the nra has been doing since before i was alive. But the government cant keep you safe and some people want us to give up our firearms and rely solely on the government to keep us safe and then they also call trump a tyrant but say they want the president to also confiscate our firearms . Try to figure that one out. After the parkland tragedy, media was rushing to identify who this person was and politico ran a headline that said a White Nationalists that one of us. Heres a message for people in the legacy, media, many of you, dont trust White Nationalists. Dont use them as sources. Dont trust them. Senator byrds legacy lives on i guess. If you take anything from my remarks to you today and i say this to the reporters in the media, i say this to the people at slate and the salon and think progress and media matters and the people who we keep clothed and fed because theyre beats are us, right, thats job creation. I want you to all ask yourselves where are the stories about how only 38 states submit less than 80 of criminal convictions to the background check system. Its only as good as whats submitted to it. How many of you knew that . No. Wasnt isnt Dianne Feinstein calling for that . I have to question whether or not they want those systems to fail. Where are those headlines . Where are those headlines . By the way, do you realize that thats those are millions of people who have been adjudicated mentally unfit or criminally dangerous that are able right now to go and purchase a firearm because the politicians who are given the most lip service about it have done the least about this. They could change this tomorrow. They could change it today. But they oent. Because theyre exploiting a tragedy for an agenda. Shame on you. We call b. S. Where are the stories about how heres a stat for you, from 1950 to july of 2016, 98. 4 of Mass Shootings have taken place in gunfree zones. Thats a fact. You guys are welcomed to go. Its all online. Theres this thing called google. It may be the same place you had the White Nationalist to quote for your political headlines. Fake news and all. Be careful. One of the things you saw in this video before i came out because a lot of people have been asking what im going to do next. God bless america that i can stay in dallas, texas. And God Bless America that im able to join a group of people at the nra and nratv to bring you an hour long tv every day beginning in march no commercial breaks. None. Were going to show the media how fisking is done and fisk those in the legacy media that insist on ignoring the real headlines, that insist on ignoring what is the cause of tragedy. I was sitting on that stage with a Broward County sheriff and the toughest question i was asking this man, how did you fail 39 times . They had a Law Enforcement go to this murderers house 39 times. He was caught taking bullets and knives in a backpack to his school. He had threatened repeatedly to shoot up his school. He was out there in plain site using his name on social media accounts sending messages to schools that violated a Florida State sheriff that meant that that sheriff could have gone to his house that night and had him committed . Why didnt you sheriff . Thats not the nras jobs. Thats yours. Im joining nra tv and im really excited about bringing you stories that matter. And, by the way, if anybody at slate or the New York Times or anyone else needs a refresher on what fisk means, ill be at the nra tv booth later on this afternoon and, by the way, we can also explain to you what anglosaxon heritage also means in the discussion of Law Enforcement and sheriffs and all of that. That was a big obstacle for a lot of people in media too. All right. So i do not want to cut into the Vice President s time. Im going to leave you with a couple points of advice here. Always remember, always, and forever especially for you younger awesome activists. Politics is down stream from pop culture. Its going to happen in culture first before it happens in policy. Remember that. A very good friend of mine said that. Never, ever, ever compromise your principals ever. It is your job to change hearts and minds, not the government. A free people have the right to criticize and hold accountable our free press. We are free. We are conservative. Our principals are proven and to anybody out there who says that conservatism is dead, i declare here and now that we are just Getting Started and it will be you who is left in the dust bin of history. God bless you all. God bless the Second Amendment. Have a great week. Walking out to alicia keys. I cant imagine alicias pumped about that. To our viewers who tweeted us angrily for airing dana loesh. The nra has a huge amount of power in this country and we can bury our heads in the sand and ignore what they have sotosay or listen to it. You may not like what she has to say. Dana, your many in the legacy media love Mass Shootings. I can only speak for myself. I absolutely dont. Your comment im not saying that you love the tragedy, but you love the ratings, crying white mothers are ratings gold. No. No one thinks that is ratings gold. No one is celebrating it. Probably you dont celebrate the boost in gun sales after a shooting. Its just a reality. A reality that were addressing. We are out of time. I have to turn now to my colleague and friend, Halle Jackson for our next hour. I know you dont celebrate covering Mass Shootings. Lets just call that what it is. Its disgusting and untrue and its ridiculous. Complete gorgeous. Its total trash. Let me talk to casey hunt because she is live at cpac. No surprise perhaps that the nra is going after the media. And i can hear the room behind you reporter im going to stop you because wane is about to tail the stage here at cpac. Hes walking out as we speak and you heard from the spokeswoman of the nra just a minute ago saying the media loves Mass Shootings. Well listen in to wayne here. Thank you very much. I