>> this tweeting thing, that's the worst thing you can give donald trump. >> trump goes on a twitter tirade against fox news. he said he had a hard time watching the network and took aim at bill o'reilly. >> this is just theatre right now. >> anybody who buys that mularkey probably deserves what they get. >> donald trump, still formidable, dropped slightly in the polls. >> huh. it must have been something he said or did or is. >> turning his attention to fiorina. >> if you turn to her for a long time, you get a big, fat, beautiful headache. >> i like it, i like it, i like it. >> historic day. >> ho, ho, hey, hey, welcome to the usa! >> or as donald trump put it, obama is letting yet another hispanic guy in. the republican war on the republican front-runner for the party's nomination intensified today, the day after scott walker dropped oit of the presidential race and encouraged other low polling candidates to follow his lead and unite in opposition to donald trump. >> i will suspend my campaign immediately. >> i encourage other republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who ask offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner. >> today, donald trump's lawyers did what they always do when donald trump is criticized. they threatened to sue. this time, trump's legal threat is aimed at the conservative anti-tax group club for growth who created this attack ad against donald trump. >> which presidential candidate supports higher taxes, national health care and the wall street bailout? it's donald trump. >> in many cases, i probably identify more as a democrat. >> trump wants us to think he's mr. tell it like he is. but he has a record, and it's very liberal. he's really just playing us for chumps. trump, just another politician. >> in many cases, i probably identify more as a democrat. >> trump's lawyers rushed to protect their candidate from the truth by sending a letter to club for growth saying that the ad contains libellous statements and is defamatory. the letter demanded that club for growth immediately stop running attack ads or face, quote, a costly litigation process. this afternoon, club for growth president david mcintosh responded. tough guy donald trump starts whining when his liberal record is revealed. trump has advocated higher taxes numerous times over many year, just like he's advocated for universal health care, the wall street bailout and expanded government powers to take private property. trump's own statements prove our ad is accurate. they will continue to run. we suggest that donald grow up, stop whining and try to defend his liberal record. donald trump whined on twitter for 12 hours, starting last night when he began criticizing bill o'reilly's trump discussion on his fox news show. trump tweeted, o'reilly factor, why don't you have some knowledgeable talking heads on your show for a change instead of the same old trump haters. boring. donald trump then continued dweeting about it well into this morning after bill o'reilly appeared on "the today show." >> i've known trump a long time. he wants people to like him. when people criticize him, he takes it personally. and then, you know this machine, this tweeting thing, that's like the worst thing you could give donald trump is his tweeting thing. so i just think this is just an extension of his reality show, "the apprentice." this is just theatre right now. he gets a lot of attention from the theatre. >> joining us now, washington editor of "the national review" one of our oldest conservative journals, sam stein, senior politics editor and white house correspondent at "huffington post." one of our newest journals. he's also an nbc political analyst and joy reid, an msnbc national correspondent. donald trump's lawyer, i hope he's not paying them by an hour. i hope he has them on an annual retainer for all the frivolous lawsuits, because this one might be the funniest threatened lawsuit of all time, which, of course, he will not do. absolutely no conceivable legal grounds for suing over that ad. >> my plan though is, lawrence, you and i should form the law offices of o'donnell and reid and really take that contract. i think we're finding out what happens when it stops being fun for donald trump. he doesn't like the idea that he's being questioned, but i have to say, the most ironic word in that ad by the club for growth is us. who is us? the club for growth represents the very donor class that the trumpistas are rebelled against. and the problem with that ad is that the club for growth has stood for nothing other than the proposition that very rich people should continue into perpetuity to get deeper and deeper tax cuts while the social safety net is unnecessary as our most government services. well, you know what, trump's core base of white working class voters use those government services, want to continue social security and medicare, which the club for growth would like to get rid of. and they don't care if donald trump used to identify as a democrat. they honestly do not care what the donor class of the republican party thinks, says or puts in their asds. and they're not us. >> let's look at another from the club for growth, which they will continue to run since donald trump's lawyers, of course, don't know what they're talking about. let's watch this. >> the supreme court decision gave massive power to take private property and give corporations. conservatives have fought this disaster. what does donald trump say about the decision? >> i happen to agree with it 100%. >> trump supports imminent domain abuse because he can make millions, while we lose our property rights. trump, the worst kind of politician. >> elian johnson, apparently no one told trump and trump's lawyers that the frivolous lawsuits are something the republican party has been complaining about for a long time. >> i think what's most traumatic for trump is the two lawsuits that came new the course of the campaign is when they wanted to use his words against them. one wanted to talk about claim of spousal rape, which many of your viewers will remember, his lawyers came back and said defended spousal rape doesn't exist, and then threatened to ruin the reporter's reputation. and now the club for growth is using trump's own words against him, and again, he's being threatened by trump's lawyers. so he might want to perhaps -- i'm not sure if he's getting the most effective legal representation. >> just to clarify how that went, the book in question included information about trump's first wife, claiming of some form of violence between them at a certain point. and trump threatened to sue over that, and then, of course, didn't. but sam stein, the idea that the front-runner for the republican nomination thinks you get to sue over attack ads is yet another revelation of just how ignorant donald trump is about how this works. >> you don't get to sue? is that what you're saying? this is funny. i was thinking about this today. for a while, donald trump was in many respects a bizarre hero for the campaign finance reform movement, which said that he was calling out on these other republicans for being on the line with special interest donors, having to take lobbiest money. he was exposing the system because he had been part of that donor class and he was telling all the secrets. and there was one person who talked to us and said we shouldn't go and reward him hero status because he's going to start throwing around his money in ways that any other average person would be unable to do. what we're seeing right now is the case in which a very entitled, very rich person running for president thinks his money entitles him to do things that are totally illogical and without legal merit. so the whole idea of donald trump as the campaign reform advocate is funny now that he's theretoening lawsuits against republican public interest groups. >> yeah. but he's not going to do this lawsuit -- >> of course, but he threatens to do its, whereas -- >> and this war he's getting himself in with fox news continues tonight. i've just been handed a tweet he did about megyn kelly. some probably within the last hour during her show. he said, do you ever notice that lightweight megyn kelly con sfantly goes after me, but when i hit back, it is totally sexist? she is highly overrated. >> can i make the point that he watches so much tv? doesn't he have other things to do? >> no, no. he's home in his pajamas eating ice cream. >> that's a lot of tv. >> and joy, the fox dynamic here is fashion nating. -- fascinating. greta van susteren came out and said cut it out. he had a soft interview on her show. >> donald trump seems like the commenter on every youtube video. he is obsessed. i hate to agree with bill o'reilly, but he does seem to be obsessed with anything he sees as an infraction or someone being mean to him or someone just not being nice to them. he literally is almost threatening fox news that they better give him positive, glowing media coverage or else he's going to tweet nasty things at them, i guess? it doesn't make any sense, but it does give you a window into his character. his character is 6 years old. >> he's a guy who desperately, desperately wants to be liked and/or loved. when he doesn't feel that, he is outraged. >> you know, i actually think the most interesting lieng in that club for growth ad, and the one that you have to imagine really gets under his skin is that he's just another politician. because that undermines his entire campaign. and as sam pointed out, he's now throwing his money around to combat the ad. and that's exactly what he's accused other politicians of doing, and what he's waging his campaign against. he's acting very much like the sort of establishment candidates that he has been against on the campaign trail. >> his latest whack on megyn kelly came at 10:07 p.m. on twitter. i think megyn kelly should take another 11-day unscheduled vacation. >> sam stein, no one predicted this that the front-runner for the republican nomination would be in a recurring twitter war with fox news. >> it is a little bit bizarre. it's very bizarre. you would not have predicted this one. but this whole election season has been quite bizarre. we have two prominent republican governors be the first two people to drop out. keep in mind, the republican party reveres its governors. you would never have predicted that head into this election, despite all the problems that rick perry had in the last go. so, you know, there's no way to really qualify or quantity fie this. i will say trump is defying gravity a lot and we will see if he continues attacking the meg phone of the republican party and still do it. >> well, we have seen his first down in the polls on that cnn poll. elian johnson, thank you very much for joining us tonight on this. coming up in "tonight's rewrite" ted cruz matches wits with stephen colbert. how do you think that turned out? and republican senator kelly ayotte said she's tired of the games her party is playing. and something no other president ever chose to do. it's more than the cloud. it's security - and flexibility. it's where great ideas and vital data are stored. with centurylink you get advanced technology solutions from a trusted it partner. including cloud and hosting services - all backed by an industry leading broadband network and people committed to helping you grow your business. you get a company that's more than just the sum of it's parts. centurylink. your link to what's next. hey babe, last one home cooks? ♪ ♪ ♪ another tie. order in? next time i drive. the right-sized nissan rogue. ♪ republican senator kelly ayotte sees another disaster coming for republicans in the senate if they try to shut down the government over funding for planned parenthood. >> i'm tired of the people on my side of the aisle who are pushing this strategy even though they know they don't have the votes to pass the united states senate, and they certainly don't have the votes to override a presidential veto. we saw the movie in 2013, and i don't think we should relive that movie. let's remember what happened. when you shut the government down and you reopen it, it actually costs you more money. so if you care about the fiscal state of the country, let's not waste money. shutting the government down with no results. >> congress has until thursday of next week to avoid a government shutdown. and there is no plan in sight. up next, what happens when the price of a pill goes from $13 per pill to $750 per pill. it's intelligent enough to warn of danger from virtually anywhere. it's been smashed, dropped and driven. it's perceptive enough to detect other vehicles on the road. it's been shaken, rattled and pummeled. it's innovative enough to brake by itself, park itself and help you steer. it's been in the rain... the cold... and dragged through the mud. introducing the all-new mercedes-benz gle. it's where brains meet brawn. you haven't seen your bedike... in days. no, like you haven't seen a bed in weeks! zzzquil. the non habit-forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily, and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ethey have smart online tools, which saves money. they settle claims quickly, which saves money. they drive an all-hybrid claims fleet, which saves money. they were born online, and built to save money, which means when they save, you save. click or call. >> we're certainly not the first company to raise drug prices. >> in response to all of this atings, they can't access this >> after spending 24 hours as the poster boy of outrageous pharmaceutical prices, martin screlli announced this evening that he would lower the price. >> we've agreed the lower the price to a point that's more affordable and able to allow the company and to make a profit, but a very small profit, and we think the changes will be welcomed. >> tonight, senator bernie sanders said this. >> obviously, what these guys did was so outrageous that when it gets into the public eye and people perceive these huge, huge incruises in medicine that people desperately need, these guys have got to back down. >> joining us now vox's ezra klein, this story illustrates a big hole in the last round of health care reform which is no real controls on pharmaceutical prices. >> almost none at all. i think people really don't realize how unique america is in how we treat pharmaceuticals. we allow companies to set their own prices. other countries like canada, england or japan believe that because these drugs are life saving, and because the patient really doesn't have the ability to say no, often it's say yes or literally die, there needs to be some level of regulation. government needs to be the sort of prime negotiator. you have other countries where these drugs are on offer. you can get them there. to use a different example, celebrex which is a painkiller you can get in america, on average it costs about $250 for a round of it. in canada, the exact same drug made by the same people, it costs $50. it's this huge disparity and we are the only country who pays it. >> let's take a look at the polling on this. 76% say they want to make sure -- in polling, 76% say they want to make sure the high cost of drugs are affordable. and also in polling, a 60% saying that government action to lower prescription drug costs, they support that. 68% of democrats do. sam stein, i don't think we're going to hear anything from a republican candidate about loring prescription drug costs. >> you might hear something about it -- >> it's all right, ezra. keep in mind that in some respects, it's the obama administration who is to blame for a little bit of this. they're cutting in large part health care back in 2009 and 2010 was the pharmaceutical lobby. what they did was in exchange for promising not to let medicare negotiate its own prescription drug prices, they said pharma would support health care reform. now we're living with that consequence. you can argue that was a necessary deal to be had, but we are living with those consequences. and so now you see the democratic primary field, hillary clinton and bernie sanders saying okay, we want to keep obama care in place but we want to build off of it in fundamental ways. the most fundamental is to find a way to keep costs model. >> and let's listen to hillary clinton say it about a $250 month cap that she wants to put. >> also under my plan, i will cap out of pocket drug costs for working families. you won't have to pay more than $250 a month for covered medications. >> but that won't actually control the prices. that will be built into your health insurance, and that provision conceivably could end up raising premiums. >> you're talking about subsidizing the cost as opposed to using the power of the federal government to regulate drug prices by essentially making the federal government the biggest buyer who can force the prices down. and i think that it is true, the two times with eeve had major health care overhauls -- remember, when george w. bush passed their prescription drug plan, they had a huge dougnut hole in it that caused your prices to spike when you received a threshold. you didn't catch up with your subsidies again until $5,001. big pharma is so power, but i can tell you, the republicans who fought health care reform tooth and nail fought on the basis that ultimately it remaned in place it would be expanded and that things like this would come back. in hillary clinton can wrap her arms around and popularize a fix to the affordable care act that gets at the problem, unlike what she's saying now, she and bernie sanders might have something that republican and independent voters could be for. >> raising the price of one pill to $750, is the perfect political launching pad for the candidate who wants to come out with a really effective plan on controlling drug prices. what do you think the best approach of controlling affordability of pharmaceuticals is. >> there are two things that are a little bit different to keep in mind simultaneously. how much does the government pay for a pill that is already out there. bernie sanders is arguing that medicare should be able to use its tremendous size and market power. medicare should in effect become a huge buyer and use its market weight to bring down drug costs. but then you have this other issue which i think is more important about how do the drugs get developed. because a really important piece of this is we do want new drugs being developed and we want real incentives to do it. once they're developed, how are profits made off of them. and here's where someone like bernie sanders for years before the presidential campaign has had really one of the most innovative ideas in american politic where is he's been arguing to create alongside the current patent system where a drug company creates a drug, gets an exclusive monopoly over it, he wants to create a prize system where the government would have prizes for drugs created on certain diseases and they would not be under patent when they came out. so they would be much more affordable. >> ezra klein gets the last word tonight. thanks for joining us tonight. coming up, president obama's visit to a prison. in that visit, you will see the first video of it tonight, president obama is able to connect with the prisoners who he's talking to in a way that no president before him ever could. proud of you, son. ge! a manufacturer. well that's why i dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other. i'll be changing the way the world works. (interrupting) you can't pick it up, can you? go ahead. he can't lift the hammer. it's okay though! you're going to change the world. >> how you all doing? >> how you doing, sir? >> what's going on? what's your name, man? good to see you. nice to meet you. good to see you. >> timothy jordan. >> tyrone. >> good to see you, man. >> darnell stewart. >> jesus chavez. >> david shaw. >> david, very nice to meet you. everybody have a seat. gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. this is the first time this has ever happened. >> the first visit of to the a prison by the president of the united states. all the presidents before barack obama have paid no political price for ignoring the prison population. now we have the highest prison population per capita of any country in the world and we have a president who would like to see that change. >> i didn't know my dad and too many of our young people don't know their dads. and i would say for them to be able to see you in a strong, positive way, you know, that's going to have an impact. i met my dad for one month when i was 10 years old. that's the only time i met him my whole life. that one month ended up having an impact on me. kids are paying attention even when they act like they're not. >> i have a teenage boy that's out there. i have a 15-year-old, 17-year-old. and i got a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old that's coming up. my main thing is they need to be busy. when i was growing up i didn't have nothing to do at all. >> the president wants to break the cycle of imitation and expectation that can lead some kids down a road that ends in prison. >> you can't raise kids in an environment where this is all they know and they're surrounded by it. and then think somehow they are going to be immune from the influences that they're seeing every day. >> right. >> part of the concern that i've had is that as a society we seem to be okay with certain communities just being locked in this cycle where kids are being raised around drug crime, they naturally gravitate towards drug crime. they then get involved in the criminal justice system, and it just churns and everybody thinks that's normal. what you were saying about your brother. my big bro, he's going to prison. then he starts thinking i'll probably end up at some point going to prison and i'll be okay. your dad was in prison. >> he died in prison. >> died in prison. now your kids start looking, you're in prison. they start thinking that's normal. we can't have our kids thinking that way. part of it is everybody here has got to take responsibility to try to break that cycle. >> that's right. >> you can watch that vice special report "fixing the system" this sunday at 9:00 p.m. on hbo. joining us now, bruce western, a professor of criminal justice and the director of the malcolm weiner center for social policy at the harvard kennedy school of government. professor western, the president was talking about environmental factors, neighborhood factors, the old fashioned idea and real idea about kids falling under some bad influences. what are the larger dynamics out there that government has created that have led to this dramatic increase in our prison population? >> yeah. that's a pretty fundamental question, lawrence. if we go back to the early 1970s, our prisons held about 100,000 people on any given day that were locked up. that was 0.1 of 1% of the population were locked up back in the 1970s. these days if we look at the prison population, it's about 500 per 100,000. so we're five times larger than we were 40 years ago or so. and this has largely been driven by tougher sentencing policy, longer sentences. people are going to prison for, particularly for drug crimes that they never used to do prison time for. and for violent offenses, people are serving much longer than they used to. it's all driven by changes in criminal justice policy. >> let's listen to the way the president put that in his riz visit to the prison. >> a primary driver of this mass incarceration phenomenon is our drug laws are mandatory minimum sentencing around drug laws. and we have to consider whether this is the smartest way for us to both control crime and rehabilitate individuals. this is costing taxpayers across america $80 billion a year. >> we've also seen a privatization in the prison business, we can now call it, since it's no longer completely government run. over these decades, when the populations have increased, are there profit incentives in this system now? are there profiteers in this system that are, in effect, lobbies for increased prison populations? >> yeah. i mean, you know, anytime you're spening -- the government is spending $80 billion, they are going to be private interests who are going to have a real interesting capturing a share of that money. but there have been a lot of voices that have been driving up the prison population, turning policy in a much more punitive direction. and so as well as the private vendors, perhaps even more important than the private vendors, groups historically on the conservative side of politics, ultimately by the 199 the 0s, there was bipartisan consensus around tough on crime policy and special constituencies like law enforcement, prosecutors and so on. they were also very strong advocates for tough on crime policy. >> excuse me. i know in california, it is well known in california politics that the most influential special interest group is the prison guards union in california that always seems to get its way. and they have at various times taken positions on policy, on increasing sentences, on ballot measures that would increase sentences and so forth. >> yeah. very much so. and in california in particular, the correctional officers union were very, very strong political voice for very tough sentences. and they had a direct stake in that. >> professor bruce western, thank you very much for joining us tonig. really appreciate it. coming up in the "rewrite" tonight, ted cruz attacks the supreme court on stephen colbert's show. but he forgot to mention that he used to work at the supreme court. a place that he thinks is now so illegitimate. of red for many years. it's time to change it up! hello, golden blonde. shift a shade with nice'n easy. for natural looking color i don't know if blonde has more fun, but i plan to find out now that's a full weekend. ♪ join in and guess the five stops they made by tweeting #altimaweekendcontest for a chance to win your own weekend adventure! car radio: with our monday morning traffic report... rheumatoid arthritis like me... and you're talking to a rheumatologist about a biologic, this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira helping me reach for more. doctors have been prescribing humira for more than 10 years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contrubutes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work. 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(vo) go national. go like a pro. ♪ >> that was the crowd celebrating outside the pope's residence in washington today. the pope begins his day in washington tomorrow with a visit to the white house. joining us now from outside the pope's residence tonight, luke russert, nbc news capital correspondent. with all the streets closed down in washington tomorrow, how difficult is it going to be to get around for people? >> oh, it certainly is going to be difficult, lawrence. there has been advisories throughout the city to use public transportation if possible. tomorrow, the pope is going to be at three locations. he's going to be at the white house in the morning, and he's going to be at st. matthews. that's, of course, the famous church where john f. kennedy fun ram took place. and then he's going to be in the basilica, the largest catholic church in the country near catholic university. so three very different sites in three different areas of the city, which will take a lot of manpower to move the pope between all of them. hence you're going to see real road closures that will affect how people get to and from work. also, there's been a severe power outage at one of the metro stations that's actually servicinthe basilica event. there's also a transformer blowout on a separate line. so metro, which has long had a shabby track record in terms of working and being efficient seems to be not working at a very inopportune time. it remains to be seen whether they'll get that up and running tomorrow. this has been as a life-long resident, it's been quite incredible to see. people were so panicked about the street closures there is a run on the grocery store last night. i made the mistake of going last night and the lines, what i would like to say, hurricane-esque, or snow blizzardesque. it was really quite an event. >> luke russert, thank you very much for joining us tonight. appreciate it. up next in "the rewrite" ted cruz tells stephen colbert that the supreme court is an illegitimate institution when he doesn't like their decisions. take zzzquil and sleep like... the kids went to nana's house... for the whole weekend. zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid that helps you sleep easily, and wake refreshed. because sleep is a beautiful thing. if you have moderate to severe ...isn't it time to let the... ...real you shine... ...through? introducing otezla, apremilast. otezla is not an injection, or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. some people who took otezla saw 75% clearer skin after 4 months. and otezla's prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't take otezla if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. otezla may increase... ...the risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression... ...or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. side effects may include diarrhea, nausea, upper respiratory tract infection, and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ask your doctor about otezla today. otezla. show more of you. try phillips' fiber good gummies plus energy support. it's a new fiber supplement that helps support regularity and includes b vitamins to help convert food to energy. mmmmm, these are good! nice work, phillips! the tasty side of fiber, from phillips'. bill's got a very tough 13lie here...... looks like we have some sort of sea monster in the water hazard here. i believe that's a "kraken", bruce. it looks like he's going to go with a nine iron. that may not be enough club... well he's definitely going to lose a stroke on this hole. if you're a golf commentator, you whisper. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. this golf course is electric... tonight, harvard law school graduate, former supreme court clerk and current presidential candidate ted cruz matched wits with the wittiest political analyst on tv. >> what i'm fighting for are simple principles -- live within our means, stop bankrupting our kids and grand kids, follow the constitution, and no gay marriage. and no gay marriage. well, actually, let's be precise. under the constitution is a question for the states. >> it doesn't mention marriage in the constitution. [ applause ] >> we've had a country for 200 years. >> you may be right. it doesn't mention marriage in the constitution. >> that's exactly why it's a question for the states. in the tenth amendment, it says everything not mentioned is left to the states. if you want to change the marriage laws -- >> i'm asking what you want. >> i believe in democracy. i believe in democracy and i don't think we should -- >> guys, guys, however you feel, he's my guest so please don't boo him. >> i don't think we should entrust governing our society to five unelected lawyers in washington. why would you possibly hand over the rights of 320 million americans to five lawyers in washington to say we're going to decide the rules that govern you. if you want to win an issue, go to the ballot box and win at the ballot box. that's the way the constitution was designed. >> so former supreme court clerk ted cruz now regards the supreme court as just five unelected lawyers in washington who have somehow seized the power to govern. it is a mystery to him, how did that happen? of course, the supreme court is really nine unelected lawyers and they're not really lawyers anymore. they're judges. they are judges whose jobs were created by the founding fathers in the constitution of the united states, which requires that the judges not be elected, that they be chosen by the president and confirmed by the senate. which makes ted cruz one of the 101 democratically elected officials who have a say in who gets on the supreme court. and still he plays the ignoramus on tv about how the supreme court ever became the supreme court. >> why would you possibly hand over the rights of 320 million americans to five lawyers in washington to say we're going to decide the rules that govern you. >> ted cruz knows that the constitution gives the supreme court the judicial power to decide constitutional disputes, which means yes, the supreme court has the power to decide what the law of the land really is. now, it's okay to disagree with the supreme court, but if you claim it is an illegitimate institution, as he just did, then all of its decisions are illegitimate, including the decisions ted cruz helped write when he was a clerk for chief justice william rehnquist. in the hobby lobby case last year, four supreme court justices disagreed with the supreme court's decision. but ted cruz said this about that decision. today the supreme court handed our nation a landmark victory for religious liberty. many americans disagreed with the court's decision on campaign finance in the citizens united case, including four members of the court. but ted cruz applauded that decision by those five unelected lawyers. and, of course, many americans disagreed with the court's decision in bush v gore in 2000. four members of the supreme court disagreed with that decision. but ted cruz loved that decision. ted cruz was working for the bush campaign in 2000 when the supreme court in effect decided who would be the next president of the united states. not a peep out of ted cruz then about that decision being issued by five unelected lawyers, including ted cruz's former boss, who then, of course, had the honor of swearing in the new president. >> i george walker bush do solemnly swear. >> i, george walker bush, do solemn my swear. >> that i will faithfully execute the office of the president of the united states. hey babe, last one home cooks? 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his administration has not decided what the position is on keystone. how does he get out in front of the president on it? >> the only viable position is to the left of hillary clinton on base clu everything. i think that might be another part of her thinking is that she's trying to close all doors. if they would -- them love to clear the field to joe biden. he can't get to her left on this now. >> we have a report in bloomberg today about secretary clinton's e-mails when she was secretary of state. the reports saying that the fbi has recovered fernl and work-related e-mails from the private computer server used by hillary clinton during her time as secretary of state, according to a person familiar with the investigation. and so, sam stein, the drip drip continues on the e-mails. it turns out that the server does have recoverable material on it. >> yeah, i mean, this story isn't going away. there will be developments however incremental or large they may be in the months ahead. as this fbi investigation goes on, it could go on for a couple of months, we should expect to see more stories like this. on the flip side i'm not sure on the substantive matters how much this changes things. as much as i would love to see these personal e-mails as a report e, i think on legal grounds there is no apparent obligation for hillary clinton to make the determination that she has to turn over personal e-mails. some may say it's a public interest, you made an overly sensitive determination that it was private. but i don't think that changes that dynamic. it does go to show you, as you reference, this is a drip, drip, drip type of story. >> the report indicates the fbi also found work related e-mails in addition to the -- >> that changes things. >> and the other complicating factor is the department of justice has already made a finding that hillary clinton was well within her rights to have delete whatever e-mails she wanted whether she deemed them to be private or otherwise. because there's no other underlying story -- >> she's only within her legal rights to delete personal e-mails. not within her legal writes to delete any work-related e-mails. >> but she was also able to determine on her own what e-mails were personal and what were not. so i think it's an area until you find that she did something that's demonstrably wrong, right now it just seems like a swirling story for people who dislike hillary clinton than there is an underlying scandal here. >> that's one of the challenges of the this for hillary clinton, is defenning against it is extremely difficult because of basically of the complexity of description of what's involved here. >> yeah. i totally agree with that. it's very arcane. it's tough to follow for me sometimes, and i'm the smartest person ever. there is an element of self-inflicted wound here, too, right? she made some decisions that have come back to look relatively wrong head ed, i want to say in retrospect. she's kind of created her own bad narrative. once again, sam stein, self-described smartest person ever gets tonight's last word. >> it's meant to be. >> thanks very much, guys. i'm steve kornacki. "hardball" starts right now. pope francis arrives in historic scene just outside of washington, just hours ago at joint base andrews, formerly