we ve got brand-new reporting that reveals special counsel jack smith is taking a very close look at what donald trump was saying to his circle the days after the 2020 election defeat. it comes after prosecutors questioned multiple witnesses about whether trump privately acknowledging the days after the election that he lost. according to four people briefed on the matter, the times says that one of those witnesses was trump s son-in-law, and senior adviser, jared kushner, who testified to the grand jury last month. precautionary, he s not the only person who knows what trump was saying in 2020. here is just a reminder of what we learned in the january 6th committee hearings. i remember maybe a week after the election was called, i popped into the oval just to give the president the headlines and see how he was doing. and he was looking at the tv, and he said, can you believe i lost to this [bleep] guy? as they investigate trump s efforts to overturn biden s when, the pro
the fbi director on defense. the lead starts right now. are you protecting the bidens? absolutely not. the fbi does not hold on. you won t answer the question. the fbi, christopher wray on the hill questioned by some of his harshest republican critic. calling for a culture shift at the fbi. and more promises for ukraine but president zelenskyy is not getting the thing he really wanted, entry into nato. why not? plus, taxpayer beware. it s not just uncle sam getting your data, the report out today on who else can see your most sensitive tax information. welcome to the lead i m jake tapper. we start with that explosive battle on capitol hill. republicans released a tsunami of accusations and attacks against the fbi and its trump-appointed director christopher wray accusing wray of weaponizing the bureau against conservatives, lambasting the bureau s participation in last year s search of trump s florida home. american speech is censored, parents are call t
another official who prosecutors in the special counsel s election probe have spoken to, details and what it could suggest. republican lawmakers grill the republican appointed registered republican fbi director, is there evidence for their allegations? i will ask the republican former us attorney who recommended them for the job, chris christie joins us. later, ray epis, january 6th protester in hiding after right wing media painted him as a plant. the lawsuit they just filed against fox news. good evening, the breaking news, new word another top state election official has spoken with prosecutors in connection with the former president s efforts to overturn the eleck. she is joselyn benson, michigan secretary of state, she joins her georgia counterpart, brad raffensperger, former arizona republican lawmakerer rusty bowers and two republican officials in talking to jack smith s team. what have you learned about secretary of state benson s interview with jack smith? well
a clear-cut exemption for raped children. plus, the u.s. military is the latest target of the right wing culture wars with senator tommy tubervillle blocking military promotions and now a school district is banning the military memoir jarhead, author anthony swafford joins me tonight. but we begin tonight with the on going efforts by donald trump s maga minions in congress to go to bat for their dear leader, acting not as representatives of the american people but as an extension of the defense team for the twice-impeached, twice-indicted former president. you may remember that one of trump s most loyal followers in the house, jim jordan, made it very clear last summer that defending trump was going to be their top priority. with just one goal in mind if they took the house in the midterms all those things need to be investigated just so you have the truth. plus, that will help frame up the 2024 race when i hope and i think president trump is going to run again. we
illegal arms dealer and lied to authorities about all of those things and now is actually on the run after being indicted? that s who james comer and the republican party is defending? that is. this so-called whistle-blower is now facing charges on all of that. that s interesting. we ll have more on that. interesting tact for any party. republican senator tommy tubberville of alabama is backing up on comments about white nationalists serving in the military wait. i m confused here. you have the republicans in the house who are supporting a guy who like funnels illegally iranian oil to the communist chinese and is an illegal arms trafficker and illegal agent for the communist chinese and then on the senate side, you have a 57, 58-year-old guy from alabama who refuses to call white nationalists racists? is this i guess i don t know, is this their 2024 strategy? and senator tuberville had been to be dragged kicking and screaming to that position. he said i de