but most republicans would not acknowledge reality, not wanting to poke the bear. that's partly because there were georgia senate runoff elections on january 5th that they needed trump to help them win. >> david fights for me. that i can tell you. >> and partly because they had giant spending bills they needed him to sign then. >> breaking news, biden has received the majority of electoral votes needed to win the presidency. >> on december 14th, 2020 the electoral college voted in all 50 states formalizing trump's loss. >> on january the 20th. >> on the 15th, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell finally publicly embraced the truth. >> today i want to congratulate president elect joe biden. >> republicans who had spent the previous weeks trying to placate donald trump found that the vacuum their silence left had been filled by trump's lies. trump lashed out at the few republicans that acknowledged his defeat tweeting too soon to give up, republican party must finally learn to fight. privately the president was entertaining concerning paths forward. >> i got a tip from someone that there had been a really intense, bizarre oval office meeting. sydney powell had been having a conservation about being made special counsel within the white house to investigate election fraud. i also found out that mike flynn, the former lieutenant general of national security advisor who was fired very early on in the trump administration was talking about seizing the voting machines and rerunning the election. it was incredibly jarring that there was a conversation in the oval office with a former military leader talking about a seizure of voting machines. >> and flynn publicly spoke about this. >> he said a version of it on "news max" the night before this meeting. >> there are people talking about martial law like something we have never done. we did -- martial law has been instituted 64 times. >> he was told by officials, this isn't legal. we don't have the authority to do this. >> trump was eventually convinced but became fixated on new one, derailing the certification of votes. >> once trump realizes that the fraud claims are going nowhere, he now has a new plan, which is for there to be enough doubt that he could maybe persuade some of these states, conservative states to send a separate set of electors. >> on december 19th, trump sent the first tweet encouraging supporters to come to washington d.c. on january 6th to protest the election results at a rally organized by a group called women for america first. with ties to controversial characters such as roger stone and steve bannon, that organization was the de facto force even taking a bus to try to persuade members of congress. while women for america first pushed conspiracy theories around the country. >> the attorney general of the united states bill barr is leaving administration. >> thus began a daily pressure campaign on the department of justice. according to a sweeping report from the democrats on the senate judiciary committee, based on interviews with trump's top officials, jeffrey rosen and richard donohue, trump directly asked the doj to undermine the outcome of the election. he did so nine times. and as chief of staff mark meadows broke with long standing policy and pressured the doj to look into election fraud claims. >> the wildest theory was this thing called italy gate. mark meadows sent an email to the acting attorney general at the time asking him to look into this theory that there was some italian contractor who was using satellites to change vote tallies on mans, voting machines in the united states. >> on a december 27th call with the new acting attorney general jeffrey rosen, trump pushed him to quote just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the republican congressman. >> trump knows that if the justice department goes out and raises questions about corruption or fraud, just saying that they're investigating it or looking into it, that allows republican congressmen to go out there and do the work and put pressure on the states to start audits and again, gives him room to operate between then and january 6th. >> the whole notion behind it was trump and his supporters saying don't worry about it, we'll make it up. don't pay attention to the facts. don't pay attention to the law. we're just going to make it up and forge ahead. >> trump continued to press rosen on the call saying quote, this was an illegal corrupt election and according to acting deputy attorney general richard donohue's notes from the conversation, trump told rosen the doj was failing to respond to reports of crime. >> rosen stood firm on this call saying there is not much the justice department could do. >> trump also plotted with another justice department official jeffrey clark to oust the acting attorney general after his refusals to go along with trump's fraudulent allegations but that exploded on january 3rd. >> this was a scene straight out of "apprentice." trump has rosen and clark vie for the job of attorney general of the united states and the president is told that if he replaces rosen with clark, there are going to be huge consequences. number of top officials at the justice department would resign. there were probably going to be hundreds of other resignations of political appointees across the country as a result of this. it was a murder suicide pact is the way this was described during this meeting. >> trump decided that the effort would not be worth the embarrassment of mass resignations and abandoned the plot. he then pinned hopes to overturn the election on mike pence based of a legal memo written by conservative attorney john eastman. >> let's talk about the john eastman memo. what was your reaction? >> just breathtaking that you would have laid out such a clear game plan that so clearly violated the constitution. >> the eastman memo detailed a six-step plan for pence to throw the election to trump during the january 6th certification. it also called for pence to throw out all electors from seven states. he tried to down play the memo and role during a coup but told a different story in recent undercover video from a progressive activist. >> giuliani and me met with 300 legislators on january 2nd via zoom conference call and they all wouldn't do anything. >> and in appearances in past right wing media. >> are we to assume that this is going to be a clamactic battle that will take place this week? >> it depends on the spine of those involved. >> that would be a nice way to say a guy named vice president mike pence? >> yes. >> this level or corruption can't be allowed to stand and i think that makes the exercise of the vice president's power here very compelling. >> it's quite dangerous. it is a blueprint for how to ignore the vote of the people. that would have cast aside all the legal foundations upon which the country and the democracy is based. >> the foundations are laid out in the u.s. constitution specifically section 1 of article 2 it's very clear about how the u.s. president is chosen. state electors make a list of who they voted for. the list is signed, certified and sealed and sent to the seat of government. once there, the president of the senate who is the vice president opens all the certificates in front of the house and the senate. the results are counted and the person with the most votes is president. nowhere does it say that the vice president can reverse the will of the people because of some made up story about widespread election fraud and yet, that is what president trump wanted to occur. publicly pence raised the hopes of trump supporters telling one georgia rally -- >> we'll have our day in congress. we'll hear the objections. we'll hear the evidence. >> pence reached out to others to see if there was someway he could carry out this unconstitutional move according to bob woodward and rob costa dan quail who convinced pence he had no constitutional power to throw out the election and steve bannon's role in pushing the plan on a phone call with the president bannon said quote, you've got to call pence and get him back here today. we're going to bury biden on january 6th, f-ing bury him. >> pence said he talked to all of the lawyers that he can talk to and he has decided that he can't, he doesn't have the power that the president says he has, and trump turns on him. he says that essentially he's betrayed him and the meeting doesn't end very well between the two men. >> but that did not stop the president from publicly pressuring the vice president of twitter ahead of the certification. up next. >> we were on a conference call and i told kevin mccarthy when people are convinced that the election was stolen and there is a route out, there will be violence. his response was simply, operator, next caller. if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement 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certify the election for president joe biden. >> usa! >> thousands of people descent the on our nation's capitol. >> biden did not win this election. >> what do you think happened? >> fraud. it's not made off. >> angry at what they falsely believed had been a stolen election. >> unquestionable that our votes were stolen. >> the supreme court isn't helping us. nobody is helping us. >> we're taking this country back. >> i wake up at 4:30. buses were everywhere. you couldn't get a clear path into the office from where i was. >> this line wraps around the washington monument. >> and there is all kinds of traffic at 4:30 in the morning, 5:00 in the morning and strobe lights already on the national mall and couple thousand people milling around at that hour just felt like something was off. >> fight for america! fight for america! >> when did you start becoming worried as january 6th as a day? >> a couple days before january 6th we were on a conference call, all the house republicans. kevin mccarthy who at this point we did not know how he would go on certification. he said he's going to object. i say kevin, you have to understand there will be violence. when people are convinced that the election was stolen and there is a root out, there is going to be violence. his response was simply, operator next caller. so on january 6th, it was obvious what was going to happen. >> fight for trump! fight for trump! >> they thought they could steal this election. >> the crowd had been told lies about the election not just by trump but by his supporters on capitol hill and in maga media. they were encouraged to take action. >> i don't know how this is going to end but if they want to fight, they better believe they got one! >> and told how to think about those republicans who acknowledge joe biden won. those who were grounded in reality. >> this is about as mindless as i've ever seen these republican rhino establishment hacks behave. >> we're coming for you. >> many of famous faces peddling the big lie were there. >> we are going to take our country back. >> but not just to rev up the crowd at the rally, according to the book "peril" by bobwood ward and robert costa, on the days surrounding january 6th, steve bannon, eastman, rudy giuliani and others gathered at a hotel two blocks from the white house discussing plans to delay the certification. >> it's not going to happen the way you think. >> the day before on january 5th. bannon teased what was to come on his podcast "war room". >> it's going to be quite extraordinary different. you've made this happen and tomorrow it's game day, so strap in. let's get ready. >> everything points to bannon was very closely associated with anything the campaign was doing. >> i think an overwhelming majority of the crowd was there to try to overturn democracy at that point or the democratic process. >> bull! bull! >> i knew i was kind of the face of so-called the deep state and the republican party so i didn't want to be out in public too much so i never bring my gun into the capitol complex. i brought it that day. >> i was sort of nervous for the morning. i was curious to see what the rally was. i was hoping not to hear some of the speeches that i ultimately heard. some of the more inflammatory ones. >> speakers at the rally included john eastman, the author of the memo details how pence could violate the constitution and keep trump in office. as well as many other republican officials who saw opportunity in joining in on the big lie. >> are you willing to do what it takes to fight for america? start taking down names and kicking ass. >> let's have trial by combat. >> but as he preferred it -- >> fight for trump! fight for trump! >> the marquee speaker was the president himself. >> donald j. trump. [ cheers ] >> meanwhile inside the chambers of congress, the certification of the votes paused. >> i want to object to further reading. >> with objections from republican senators and some republican house members. >> i rise today to object -- >> i rise to support the objection. >> i rise to support the objection. >> earlier that day vice president pence put out a statement saying he would not follow trump's instructions. >> usa! >> which upset the president as he conveyed to the massive crowd. >> mike pence, i hope you're going to stand up for the good of our constitution and for the good of our country and if you're not, i'm going to be very disappointed in you. >> trump continued to rile up the crowd demanding they take action. >> you'll never take back our country with weakness. you have to show strength and you have to be strong. >> many at the rally took his words literally. and we all watched as the effort to overturn the election. >> it's over! >> came to a violent, bloody scene. >> it was so unimaginable. that you would have a mob having broken into the capitol and attacked police officers. >> treason! treason! treason! >> attempting to break into the floor of the chamber of the house of representatives. you just couldn't compute that was happening because it so fund mentally unamerican. >> unamerican yet very close to happening in america. this video shows utah republican senator mitt romney, someone the angry mob considered an enemy unknowingly walking towards the rioters. capitol police officer eugene goodman tells romney to get out of harm's way and runs to confront the insurrectionists. leading them from the senate chamber. vice president pence. >> president and vice president -- >> the man many rioters called to be hanged that day. >> hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> was inside the chamber and had to be rushed to safety with his family to the senate floor. minutes after rioters breached the capitol. according to reporting from "the washington post", one of the vice president's aides greg jacob who was with pence during the insurrection sent an email to john eastman after they were escorted off the senate floor. >> he said in the email thanks to your bullshit we're now under siege. >> eastman fired back blaming the rites on the vice president and his staff. >> he's been responded by saying that it was actually the vice president's fault and mr. jacob's fault for the quote unquote siege. he said if you would have done what you needed to be done and been transparent and have a debate and go forward like we asked you to go, it wouldn't be happening right now. >> the conversation you had with your wife, you've been off to war before having conversations with loved ones. was it like that? >> this was different, you know. i never really had a sense i might not survive this. there was a real sense that if they're in the capitol complex and they've already over run two or three lines of police barricades, there is nothing to stop them from the rest of the complex. yeah, it was an emotional conversation. it was nothing i ever had before. i hope to never have to have that conversation again. >> we have two young kids and i didn't want to alarm my wife. at the time, it felt like anything was possible. because you're seeing the bomb threats. you're tracking it on twitter. i'm seeing messages on telegram and some of these other platforms come through about organized militia groups will storm the capitol and some folks saying they're going to kill whoever they find and all these sorts of this things so you don't know how it will end. >> at the white house trump remained isolated watching the events unfold on television. >> when he found out about what was going on, the violence, his supporters attacking policemen, beating policemen, members of congress hiding, running for their lives, what was his response? >> kevin mccarthy had a conversation with him telling him how bad it was, people breaking into my office and trump's response was i guess they're more upset about the election than you are. >> there was roughly an hour that day some on the biden team were worried there would be no transition sources tell cnn, that trump and his mob had successfully disrupted the counting of electors and might find a way to cling to power. >> stop the steal! stop the steal! >> thank god that there weren't more people killed. at the time you don't know that. at the time you know there is an angry violent mob who believes the election was stolen in the quite of america. you're seeing even members of congress saying this is our 1776 moment, which as a reminder, that's a bloody violent revolution. well, of course you're going to have violence and of course you're going to have a riot at the capitol. >> and that's what all this was about, not just an attack on our symbols of democracy. it was an actual attack on the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. >> after the insurrection was over, hundreds had been injured. five dead. and the capitol had been breached for the first time in more than 200 years. >> let's take this [ bleep ]. this is ours. coming up, will trump try to steal the election again? >> you think he will try to impose some form of autocracy? >> i think he absolutely would. ♪ ♪ ♪ finding your new favorite spot? piece of no-you-really-have-to-try-this cake. get exclusive access to sought after restaurants. one of the many reasons you're with amex platinum. spray, lift, skip, step. swipe, lift, spin, dry. slam, pan, still...fresh move, move, move, move aaaaand still fresh. degree. ultimate freshness activated when you move. as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? you got it. ♪ liberty, liberty - liberty, liberty ♪ uh, i'll settle for something i can dance to. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ [uplifting music playing] ♪ i had a dream that someday ♪ ♪ i would just fly, fly away ♪ hours after the last rioters had been pushed out of the capitol while there was still glass on the floors and blood on the stairs, congress tried to get back to the business of democracy. >> let's get back to work. >> they had a presidential election to certify. >> we reconvened that night. there was an opportunity for leadership from kevin mccarthy, an opportunity for him to stand up and say it's time for us to recognize that the election is over. it's over. and we need to come together and heal. >> i rise to address what happened in this chamber today. >> as i sat on the floor and listened to his remarks, they began like that but then it became clear he was urging continued objection to the electoral votes, which i can't understand. >> hearing valid concerns about election integrity. >> by the end of the night, two-thirds of republicans in the house of representatives including the current republican leadership voted not to certify the state of arizona. >> i object to the electoral votes. >> and not to certify the commonwealth of pennsylvania. >> do you think kevin mccarthy and steve scalise all of whom voted to not count electors after blood had been shed, after this attack, do you think they actually believe this cause they've taken up? >> not a word of it. i don't think they believe any of it. i think you can convince yourself if you're determined to that i'll just play the game a little longer so that i'll be here to lead to a new direction. or i'll play the game because i don't have the power and influence to change the ship. when you think about the heroics on flight 93 on 9/11 all those passengers rushing the cockpit and saving the plane, had todd beamer and those alone charged the cockpit, we would have a rebuilt capitol today and casualties but they all decided to do it together and when you only have a few people speaking out, it's no doubt that won't turn the ship. everyone has to particularly. >> the lie continued on maga media. >> these are not conspiracy theories motivated by lies. that's a bunch of non-sense people want to tell us. these are people that understand first principles and free markets. >> the house voted to impeach president trump for willingful incitement of the january 6th insurrection. >> my vote to impeach the sitting president isn't fear based. >> there is no excuse for president trump's actions. >> while some republicans spoke in favor, the majority of house republicans sided with trump refusing to vote for impeachment. >> the is are 232. the nays are 197. >> ten republicans breaking ranks. >> three of them you've heard from tonight. >> i voted to impeach him because i think it's very clear as has been public that he provoked the violence that day. >> i felt like i had no choice in the matter. as conservative republicans, we're constitutionalists and believe in the rule of law. >> were you surprised on ten republicans voted to impeach? >> it was a point a couple days before the vote maybe a day before i thought we hit 25. i looked at the people that i thought would vote for impeachment and recognized every one of them that voted that way. they mentioned a concern of what it meant for the reelection. >> congresswoman liz cheney was the third ranking republican in the house when she voted for impeachment. because she was so concerned about where trump's big lie was leading the nation. >> you had local officials who were getting death threats. you had members of congress who said to me that they believed that the president should be impeached after the 6th but that they were afraid to cast a vote that way because of their security, the security of their families. you know, that is a place that we haven't been certainly since the civil war and never when that threat of violence comes from a sitting president. >> we'll have to fight much harder. >> this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic. >> cheney has become a leading critic of those who engaged in the big lie and attempted to subvert democracy including house republican leader kevin mccarthy who said this two days after the election. >> president trump won this election so everyone listening, do not be quiet. [ applause ] >> in may, republican new york congresswoman elise stefanik challenged cheney. cheney is more conservative than stefanik. cheney voted for policies more often than stefanik but stefanik supports trump's election lies and stefanik defeated cheney for the leadership position. >> it became increasingly clear to stay in house republican leadership, i would have to be willing to perpetuate the big lie and i just simply wasn't comfortable with that. >> how many of your republican colleagues that perpetuate the big lie with comments and votes, how many of them do you actually think believe it? >> very few. very few. too many are putting their political future and fortunes ahead of doing their duty and so i think that, you know, in some instances, there is fear, physical fear about what trump would do or the threats that might come, but in other cases, i think it's a political calculations. >> what is the danger to elected officials that might know better winking and nodding about the big lie? >> the danger is that once you do it on this issue what's to stop -- why wouldn't you do it on any other issue? this isn't about right and left but right and wrong. >> the institutions don't hold themselves in the moments of truth you need the right people to pass the post difficult tests. we had just enough people on january 6th pass the test. we have to make sure we have equal number of people to continue to pass the test going forward. >> one of your colleagues said the guard rails held but barely and only because there were specific individuals at great risk to themselves professionally and personally that stood by the rails, people like the maricopa county. do you think that ultimately a dozen of these people replaced by other people, trump people and the guard rails don't hold and democracy falls under? >> i certainly think that's a real threat and, you know, any time you're driving on the highway and see a guard rail that's been hit and mangled and held, it wouldn't with stand a second impact. coming up next, that second impact led by former president trump may becoming. >> he either wins legitimately, which he may do or loses again, just try to steal it. that's why cisco is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040. and we believe our smart buildings solutions can help. providing power to reduce emissions, intelligence to eliminate waste, and collaboration tools that help the workplace and the planet. between meeting human needs and a sustainable future, there's a bridge. cisco, the bridge to possible. i earn 3% cash back at drugstores with chase freedom unlimited. so i got cards for birthdays, holidays, graduations, i'm covered for everything. which reminds me, thank you for driving me to the drugstore. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. every single day, we're all getting a little bit better. we're better cooks... better neighbors... hi. i've got this until you get back. better parents... and better friends. no! no! that's why comcast works around the clock constantly improving america's largest gig-speed broadband network. and just doubled the capacity here. how do things look on your end? -perfect! because we're building a better network every single day. we are now about a year away from the midterm elections, which typically tests the strength of an incumbent president. >> liz cheney, how about that? >> there is now growing evidence the midterms will also test the strength of former president trump. >> her poll numbers have dropped faster than any human being i've ever seen. >> who has been working to turn elected officials into loyalists or get them voted from office. >> get rid of them all. >> trump attorney john eastman made that clear while talking about state legislators in an undercover investigation done by a progressive activist. >> these guys are spineless. if we take a bunch out of the primary in 2022 the precondition, right now i don't see it. >> donald trump's behavior has anthony gonzalez worried. >> it looks like he evaluated what went wrong on january 6th. why he wasn't able to steal the election. who stood in his way and he's going methodically state by state. it races from state senate races all the way down to county commissioner races trying to get the people who the republicans the rhinos in his words who stopped him from stealing the election, he's trying to get them removed. >> what scares me is that the secretary of state roles because those are extremely powerful in terms of dealing with elections. >> the focus for our office. >> in georgia the secretary of state that refused to quote find the votes trump needed to win georgia is facing a challenge from republican congressman jody heist. heist has been all in on trump's election lie and endorsed by donald trump. in arizona, a state representative named mark finchim wants the job. that seat is being vacated by a democrat. >> arizona state representative mark is with us tonight and what a job he's done. mark. >> he's already received the endorsement of donald trump. he has said over and over again that this was a fraudulent election. he's called for decertification. he's got a descent chance to win this primary. if we have people like that in these key positions moving forward, i think we are in danger. >> eight of the ten house republicans who voted for impeachment are facing primary challenges from republicans endorsed by trump or energized by him including lids cheney. >> donald trump is very vocally supporting your defeat. are you worried? >> no. i intend to win. >> you could lose. you're saying you won't but anything is possible. if you lose your career because of this position you're taking, will it have been worth it? >> well, i will no matter what happens never stop fighting for the constitution, never stop fighting for the rule of law. to me, there is not even really a choice or calculations. what is the right thing here and what has to be done? >> two of the ten decided not to run for reelection. one of them is congressman gonzalez. he's retiring after two terms. >> this lifestyle, the constant travel, the constant fund raising, it was clear now is the time to get out of this. >> the other one is adam kinzinger without saying trump's name announced he wanted to fight against the politics of division instead of for reelection. the exits are happening at the state level, too. jeff dun kin. >> i don't want to say and do the things to win a primary with donald trump playing the games he's playing. >> dunkin begun speaking about the republican party after trump and wrote a book called "gop 2.0." and it's not just elected officials stepping out of or being pushed from public view. remember chris the fox political editor that correct recalled the state of arizona for biden? he was fired in january. fox blamed restructuring. his boss retired. >> a source told "the washington post" that i was fired because my ratings weren't as good as dan bonginos and audiences weren't responding to me the same that made me really laugh because i -- that's not my job. right? my job is not to tell you what >> bongino is a conservative pundit, not a reporter. on top of all this a number of states are ushering so-called election integrity loss that tighten access to the ballot to prevent voter fraud, you know, the kind that didn't happen. 19 states have new laws. >> trying to solve a problem that dunce actually exist. some people say voter fraud never occurs. it does occur. it occurs infrequently. >> but besides efforts making it more difficult to vote are efforts to undo the results of an election. eight states have enacted 11 laws that strengthen the role partisan politicians have in determining election outcomes. for instance, in georgia some of the power that used to belong to secretary of state brad raffensperger, someone who was com mifted to upholding the rule of law, now lies with the republican-controlled state legislature. >> a number of states have tried to take running of elections away from professionals and giving it to politicians. so in state legislatures like georgia give power to the state legislature to potentially overturn results, that's very worrisome. >> this past year there has been no better example of a politicized counting process than the so-called audit of ballots in maricopa county, arizona. this past spring and summer by a group calling themselves the cyber ninjas. >> they have no experience at all in election audits. they're headed by doug logan who has been in that trump orbit ever since the election. >> people saw images of these cyber ninjas looking at ballots through ultraviolet lights. what were they looking for with the ultraviolet light in the ballot box? >> they were actually looking for bamboo on the ballots because there was one of these conspiracy theories that thousands of ballots had been sent in nefariously from somewhere in asia and if there was bamboo that would indicate that these were in fact those ballots. >> if you buy into conspiracy theories or believe the falsehood that the election was stolen from donald trump, the so-called audit made you more suspicious of the ballot counting process. in the end the ninjas concluded biden did win maricopa county, arizona, which is what the county had certified. still, now pennsylvania may be on the verge of conduct a similarly partisan audit as well. >> do you think these republicans actually believe that there was fraud, or is this just look how pro trump i am? >> i think because their primaries are right around the corner i think that's a big motivator for what they're doing. >> all of this has been happening in the aftermath of the 2020 election, a planned attempt to undo the will of the american people with dozens of events, maneuvering, pressure campaigns, threats of violence, actual violence, carried out over months and continuing to this day. do you think that what president trump and his minions were attempting was a coup? >> well, when you're trying to not count voters' votes, when you're trying to overturn the will of the people, i wouldn't know how else to describe that. it's hard for me to even attach the words coup and america. that sounds like such a third-world notion. i don't know what you could call it other than a coup. >> i think there are a number of different things you could call it. but no president in history has ever done it before, and we need to make sure no president ever does it again. >> but if donald trump manages to replace enough opponents with loyalists, and enough laws are changed, it could happen again but this time it might work. >> if we re-run the scenario with people holding the most powerful positions in key institutions being more beholden to him than their oath, i think it's all pushing toward one of two outcomes. he either wins legitimately, which he may do, or if he loses again he'll just try to steal it. should he be the nominee or should he run again, i'll do everything i can to stop him. i believe as a citizen of this country who loves the country and respects the constitution that's my responsibility. >> the nightmare scenario is this. and it's not too far out of the realm of possibility. which is donald trump's running for president again. he will likely be the nominee of the republican party, assuming nobody attempts to challenge him credibly. joe biden will be 82 years old by 2024. many around him don't think he's going to run again. there's very much a scenario where donald trump could be president again. and this is a man who has challenged our institutions near to the breaking point. >> and for those who have worked with trump the fear is not just his undermining american democracy but once back in the white house also undoing the american experiment. you think he will try to impose some form of autocracy. >> i think that he he absolutely would. there were things he wanted to do when he was in power the first time that were well beyond the scope of what the u.s. president should be able to do. oftentimes it was simply the motivation of hoping to win re-election that kept him from doing things. it's very different in the second term, and i think that's what scares me the most. >> can you give me an example? >> you know, whether it's weaponizing the justice department against political opponents, whether it's, you know, going after the free press. he would certainly be open to using the military for political reasons as well. >> that's terrifying. >> mm-hmm. >> it is a warning we are bringing you from conservative republicans. you might have noticed that other than a few journalists, the voices you've heard tonight have been exclusively gop. because there's nothing partisan, nothing liberal about supporting democracy. the american experiment is an experiment. it's not guaranteed. when ben franklin said a republic, if you can keep it, h. he meant this democracy has to be fought for. how worried are you? >> i have real concerns about the future of this democracy. and i never thought that i would. i didn't think we had this sort of pull towards authoritarianism in our democracy. >> i'm deeply afraid for our country. yeah, i'm afraid that the kind of political violence, the kind of abandonment of the rule of law, the kind of abandonment of the constitution that we watched does threaten the foundations of democracy. the foundations of our system. and the fact that so many in my party are willing to be silent or complicit, are enabling it, adds very much to the peril, because it's a very dangerous place for the country to be in. >> i was discussing with an older friend of mine the subject of our documentary tonight, the erosion of american democracy, the continued undermining of basic rule of law and respect for facts. stay sane, he said to me. and then alluding to that famous quote that shamed demagogic republican senator joe mccarthy in 1954, my friend said, somebody has to sit up and say at long last, have you no decency? on the other hand, my friend said, somebody has to be listening when he says it. the thing is, a bunch of folks have been saying this. journalists, politicians, conservative republicans that you heard from tonight. terrified about the end of the american experiment. they have been shouting, have you no decency at trump. and the problem is trump has answered and the answer is no. he does not. and his supporters do not seem to care. and if the vast majority of republican elected officials do care, as they should, well, they're not acting that way. ♪ why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of eczema. and that means long-lasting clearer skin... and fast itch relief for adults. hide my skin? not me. by helping to control eczema with dupixent, you can show more with less eczema. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within, you can change how your skin looks and feels. and that's the kind of change you notice. talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. this is don lemon tonight. thanks for joining. you just saw "trumping democracy: an american coup." republican after republican telling the truth about the then president's attempts to overturn our democracy and hold on to power. but the threat is far from over. and every one of us needs to step up if we want to protect our democracy. and we'll discuss that in a minute. but first we've got some breaking news. i want to turn now to cnn's jessica dean on capitol hill. >> reporter: well, don, after months and months and hours and hours of negotiations the bottom line is the bipartisan infrastructure bill is now headed to president biden's desk for his signature. so half of his major legislative agenda has been accomplished, and it is headed to the president's desk. house democrats voting that through joined by 13 house republicans, which was more than really frankly was expected. we did see six house democrats really holdout progressives vote against this bill but in the end it was enough to send it to president biden's desk. now, it was a long and winding road to get here. we started out this morning and there were supposed to be quick votes on this and people were supposed to get out of town, and it certainly went on and on and on. what was at issue is that a handful of moderate democrats were holding out. they wanted a cbo score on the build back better act and didn't want to vote for it until they could get that. in the meantime the congressional black caucus came up with an idea to go ahead and vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and also vote on a procedural vote for the build back better, kind of trying to do as much as they could there. well, there was a question for a while there. would progressives go for that? they kind of balked at it at the beginning and then really just with moments -- they had already gotten ready to open the vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill and just moments before that opened the moderates issued a statement committing to a vote for the build back better act by november 15th. and then shortly thereafter the chair of the progressive caucus congresswoman jayapal saying she was willing to move forward with that plan, that progressives would support it. and again it's important to note not all progressives supported it. there were six who voted against it. but you have in of them were willing to vote for this that it made it over the finish line. so what happens next? the build back better act, once it gets voted on here, which again could be in a few weeks, well, then will head over to the senate. it's going to be a long winding road there as well. don? >> jessica, thank you very much for that. i want to get right now to the ongoing assault on our democracy. joining me now cnn contributor and former white house counsel john dean. he is a former u.s. attorney. gentlemen, good evening. thank you for joining. i appreciate it. preet, i'm going to start with you. we just heard multiple republicans detail just how close this country came to losing our democracy, many of them telling jake tapper that they're worried it could happen again. do you share those fears, preet? >> i do. i think we should be talking about it more and more. i think there was a little bit of relief when biden was declared the winner by the press and then he was declared the winner under very bizarre and upsetting circumstances when the vote was certified on january 6th. and then when he was sworn in on january 20th. but you see things are coming full circle. and more and more people believe the election was stolen even though it was not from donald trump. and i echo the words of bill maher who made a lot of news a couple weeks ago when he predicted that donald trump will run, that donald trump will get the nomination if he runs, and that whatever happens on election day in 2024 he will claim that he won even if he did not. the playbook is there. he understands the kinds of people he needs around him. he was stymied a little bit because some people were prepared to go part of the way but not all of the way. and basically saved democracy. those people aren't going to be around the next time. >> john, i want to bring you in because former trump white house communications director alyssa farah says that her fear is that trump will win in 2024 and try to impose some type of autocracy. she thinks without the constraints of running for re-election that he could use the military for politics, go after the free press. i mean, it's terrifying. >> well, if there are more programs like that i don't think he's going to win re-election. that was a powerful collection of information. nobody's really kind of put it together that way. we've all seen slices of it appearing as we've learned about them. this makes the case. and it really, jake starts out asking the question was it a coup? and it certainly was a coup d'etat, which is a blow against the state. now, preet would know the law of sedition better than i from his experience but if this doesn't hit all of the bells on the sedition statute where it's use of force to prevent, hinder or delay the execution of any law of the united states, i don't know what does. then it would certainly fall into a general conspiracy statute where you're defrauding the united states. why nthere isn't a grand jury ot that's looking at that and we're reporting about that and talking about that, it baffles me. >> preet? >> well, you know, i do know about the law of seditious conspiracy. it might not surprise you to learn it didn't come up that often in the southern district of new york when i was the u.s. attorney. and i think john makes a good point. we don't know exactly what's going on. we're aware of dozens and dozens and dozens of lower-level folks who stormed the capitol where there have been grand juries empaneled and indictments issued and people have been charged and some people have been convicted. but those cases go on. i think part of what needs to happen, whether or not there's a grand jury indictment of some of the high-level folks, and i don't know that there won't be, the 1-6 commission needs to be able to do it work. >> i want to talk about that. this may help you make your point because let me just put up this video. because cnn captured this exclusive video of the former doj official jeffrey clark who pushed trump's bogus election fraud claims ariefrg to meet with the january 6th select committee. but sources say he didn't answer any questions during his half -- his hour and a half deposition claiming attorney-client privilege. chairman bennie thompson saying he has a very short time to reconsider and cooperate. so again, you're talking about the committee. and go on as you were explaining this. i just want to get that video up because it was relating to what you were talking about. >> absolutely. jeffrey clark is to my mind neck and neck with another figure we learned more about recently, john eastman, who was an outside lawyer, who engaged in really abhorrent conduct to try to turn the election to donald trump. these invocations of privilege as far as i can tell are completely silly. there are other cases in which donald trump has asserted privilege which don't carry a lot of weight and a win the has been able to -- steve bannon has been able to argue or has argued that because donald trump has asserted privilege he gets the cover of that privilege. in the jeffrey clark situation donald trump and his lawyers themselves have not asserted privilege, attorney-client privilege with respect to jeffrey clark. and jeffrey clark's superiors up to and including the acting attorney general jeffrey rosen did not invoke privilege, have testified before this very committee. so it's a stalling tactic because he and the others know that there's another election in about 12 months and that election could go badly for the democrats and on the day after the new house is sworn in this whole investigation gets shut down. so they know there's a clock and they're trying to run out the clock. >> let's talk more about steve bannon, john. because preet brought him up. it's been two weeks since the house referred steve bannon to the doj for criminal complaint after ignoring the select committee subpoena. so what is attorney general garland doing? why haven't we heard his decision yet on what he's going to do about this? >> well, the only thing i can think of, don, is they may be waiting to hear what the judge's ruling is on trump's effort to invoke executive privilege. you know, that wouldn't be a very good reason because he certainly has no power to invoke executive privilege. he has defied the committee. he didn't even go before the committee to suggest he had a privilege. he just was a no-show. i'm one who happens to hope that the u.s. attorney's office just starts marching him right off and indicts him and gets him in front of a grand jury and have him explain there what in the world's going on. i happen to believe -- i know grand juries are much better at getting information than congressional committees, and i don't think we're going to get to the bottom of this until we have one or more grand juries out digging this stuff up. pree much. now i want to turn to charlie dent, former republican congressman, still a republican but former congressman. thank you, sir. good to see you, charlie. >> great to be with you, don. >> so retiring republican congressman anthony gonzalez has a warning for his party about donald trump. here's what he said to jake tapper in that documentary tonight. >> i think it's all pushing toward one of two outcomes. he either wins legitimately, which he may do, or if he loses again he could just try to steal it. >> is he right? >> yeah, of course he's right. anthony gonzalez is a stand-up guy as is adam kinzinger and liz cheney who was just on the show. look, don, i don't understand how any member of congress could not be horrified by the fact that the former president of the united states sicced a violent mob on the congress to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. this is the greatest threat to the constitutional order we've seen probably since the civil war. and it's stunning to me that so many don't recognize that this man is attempting again to seek the republican nomination. i don't think he'll ever be president again but he'll seek the nomination and will continue to push these horrible lies and narratives about a stolen election. >> you don't think he's going to -- you don't think he would win if he ran? >> no. because look what happened just the other day. a lot of people who voted for biden turned around and voted for glenn youngkin and jack ciattarelli in new jersey. this is a rejection of donald trump again. he was rejected in 2020 even though republicans below him were affirmed. just in 2021 we've seen republicans do quite well. so i think that donald trump is -- he's a dangerous figure but i don't think he can win a general election because he speaks to too narrow of an audience. he is shrinking the base. he doesn't have the capacity to grow. and in politics that's what you need to do to win. >> addition. and that's what youngkin and quite frankly ciattarelli didn't win but what it seems to be doing because they got support from the suburbs. donald trump did not do that. jake spoke to several republicans who say that none of the lawmakers pushing trump's election fraud claims believe his lies but they still just go along with it. i mean, you used to work with a lot of these people. how do they explain this unwavering fealty? >> well, look, i wish we could get some of those private conversations on the record because i think most recognize how destructive the president is, former president is. so i think it's about power. congress -- i loved being a member of the congress. it's a great job. and a lot of people don't want to give up power. they like their positions. and i think that's all there is to it. it's about holding on to power and basically donald trump has the ability to take them out in the primary and that's their fear. see, most of them -- most members weren't like me. i had to represent a swing district and it used to stun some of my colleagues. and i told them i need to win nearly 90% of the republican vote, over half the independents and nearly 30% of the democrats to win an election. and i said i couldn't ever get elected if i carried on like some of these guys, you know, just pandering to a base. i mean, i would get 43%, 44% of the vote. that's called losing. but that's not the reality for most members. they have to stay close to their bases and that's how they survive. >> charlie dent, always a pleasure. thank you, sir. >> thank you, don. great to be with you. >> you as well. this is a day that started out with great economic news. more than 530,000 jobs added. so why aren't americans feig better about all this? 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>> absolutely. look, watching this it it just reminds me of what we saw in the final months of 1994 before democrats lost control of the house for the first time in 40 years. the struggles over the biden agenda are really reminiscent of what happened above all not only on the clinton budget plan and the clinton healthcare plan but the crime bill that became such an issue again 20 years later. they were torn between the left and the right. they didn't trust each other. they couldn't get over the finish line. and they came up to a critical vote in august 1994 and dick gephardt who was then the house majority leader in the caucus meeting before they went onto the floor said if we can't pass the rule for this vote maybe we don't deserve to be in the majority anymore. well, they didn't pass the rule, and then three months later they lost the majority for the first time in 40 years. and it does feel like we are watching some version of that as the distrust between left and center are leading each to create fundamentally incompatible demands that are leaving them all in a weaker position as the months and months of stalemate go on. >> catherine rampell, put this into context for us. 531,000 new jobs in october. the unemployment rate is at 4.6%. the lowest level since the covid economic recovery started in may of 2020. the stock market continues to reach new highs. is president biden right to say the economy is on the moon? >> well, it is certainly the case that we got good news today. as you point out, the jobs report was better than expected. unemployment rate fell. hiring was strong. you know, it wasn't like a perfect report but it was a very strong report. and a lot of these other metrics about the economy also look pretty good. if you ask american voters how do you view the job market right now, is it a good time to get a job? a bad time to get a job? a record high say it's a good time to get a job. the overall size of the economy is greater than it was pre-pandemic. stock markets are at record highs. a previous administration presumably would have been trumpeting all of these numbers. and in claiming all the superlatives, right? it's difficult for biden to do that basically for two reasons. one is inflation. so it's not all roses out there. and consumers are really upset about the fact that they're paying rising prices for groceries and gas and other goods. and it's really risky for biden to just sort of dismiss that. and i think a lot of democrats are wrestling with how do they message around inflation? and the other issue of course is in the obama years obama kind of took a hit for being a little too optimistic about progress in the economy when so many people felt they had been left behind. hillary clinton when she was running for president same deal. so biden has to thread this needle where he can brag about the good points of the economy but still acknowledge that there are challenges ahead and of course passing his agenda, that's the way to solve it. >> it's interesting everything that you said, and yes, you're right. but the previous person, administration wouldn't have cared. greatest economy ever. >> of course not. >> inflation is temporary. that's why it should pass. because the sooner all -- my agenda passes then we will get the inflation and everything else in order, we're waiting on democrats, do-nothing. you know what i'm saying. it's interesting. the messaging is quite different. and especially the way the bully pulpit is used. and a lot of the way i believe people felt about the economy and where they were is because the former president quite frankly kept touting and telling his supporters at least that it was all good, it was all great, it was all good, even when it wasn't necessarily so. >> right. >> so ron, listen to the house minority leader. it was all about feel, right? it wasn't necessarily true. the house minority leader kevin mccarthy today talked about today's job numbers and the biden agenda. >> that's great for america. well, to the bidens, i don't know. they've been utilizing their poor job numbers to say why they need build back better. so if this was the case today, why would you need the bill? >> okay. making my point, right? go for it. >> heads i win, tails you lose. well, look, it is interesting. the build back better agenda, the reconciliation bill that has just been hung up predominantly by the resistance from joe manchin and kyrsten sinema and also a handful of house moderates, you know, that is really about the long-term economic competitiveness of the country and is the long-term financial stability of kind of middle income and working families. it really -- the infrastructure bill might have more to do with kind of the near-term job market, but really the core of the reconciliation bill are making investments in the long-term productivity of the society, which is crucial to accelerating economic growth over time and also creating the wage gains that will allow us to keep funding social security and medicare when there are fewer workers per retiree. but also providing immediate relief to families on things like health care costs, childcare costs, the child tax credit and potentially prescription drug costs. that message obviously has gotten completely lost in all of the wrangling within the democratic party about the top line number, which is what republicans like to focus on and make the case this is simply just too much big government. and you do kind of have the feeling that even if they can pass this they're going to have to dig out of a big hole in terms of public perceptions about this bill largely created by the public criticism of it by many of their own members, particularly joe manchin. >> yeah. well, thank you both. i appreciate it. it's good to see you. thanks. aaron rodgers speaking out about his covid diagnosis today, confirming that he is unvaccinated and taking health tips from a podcaster, joe rogan. that's next. when my brother passed away. and a couple of years later, my mother passed away. after taking care of them, i knew that i really wanted to become a nurse. amazon helped me with training and tuition. today, i'm a medical assistant and i'm studying to become a registered nurse. in filipino: you'll always be in my heart. what if you could have the perspective to see more? 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i can't see it any other way. >> no. no. it's all on him. and he did, by the way, get a follow-up question but the reporter was asking based on him saying he was immunized. he could have immediately corrected the record back then. he did not do it. he let this lie go on for months. and for a guy -- aaron rodgers is an interesting guy, don. he is 37 years old. he tried out to host "jeopardy," as many people know. he is really playing to the double and triple-vaxed crowd for his future. the smart, the intelligent. he's been looking to go that way with his life after football, to kind of cross over into our culture in that way. most athletes don't have that opportunity. he does. or maybe i should say he did. because this is disgusting. these last three days he has done such damage to his reputation. that reputation of being "jeopardy" host. that's the kind of thing that is just mind-boggling because you know, lots of athletes can go and just do whatever. but aaron rodgers had a special gift it looked like and instead the disappointment is extraordinary. just own up to it back in the summer in training camp, just say you're not vaccinated. but he couldn't -- apparently couldn't handle that. didn't want to go that way. so there's been this deception, which by the way he's been unmasked and he's been with reporters every day. obviously, that's been wrong. and think of what possibly could have happened to some of those reporters taking something home to a family member. so it's egregious all the way around. >> yeah, christine. the reporters, team members, staff, you know, fans, on and on and on. i'm so glad you said that. thank you. dr. wen, let's talk facts, right? because so many people base this on emotion, right? and what they hear from people who are not experts. the quarterback talking about how he consulted with podcast host joe rogan. listen to this. >> i consulted with a now good friend of mine, joe rogan, after he got covid and i've been doing a lot of the stuff that he recommended in his podcasts and, you know, on the phone to me. i'm thankful for people like joe stepping up and using their voice. i'm thankful for my medical squad. and i'm thankful for all the love and support i've gotten. but i've been taking monoclonal antibodies, ivermectin, zinc, vitamin c and d, hcq, and i feel pretty incredible. >> okay. look, i'd have the same attitude if he consulted with me. i'd say you need to talk to a doctor. right? aaron rodgers is a professional athlete. he's got some of the best doctors in the world around him. yet he is taking advice from someone with zero medical background, doctor. >> right. and there are a lot of people watching what he's saying, taking advice from him. and this is the reason why his words are so dangerous in this moment. what i take the most problem with is the fact that he wasn't vaccinated and somehow is making it sound like that was a good decision because now he says he has this, quote, natural immunity and he's even better protected than if he were vaccinated. that's just not true. you are better protected if you're vaccinated. and also, if you decide that you're going to get infected just so that you get immunity, i mean, the price to pay is just too big because what happens if you don't have access to all the medical care in the world? what happens if you end up hospitalized or die? that's what i really worry about, that other people are going to be listening to him, thinking there's some kind of magic cure if he ends up getting ill. and you know what? there just isn't. >> yeah. christine, rodgers -- another. rodgers citing dr. martin luther king jr. while trying to explain his stance, talking about standing up to unjust rules. he says that he thinks that the current testing rules are in place to shame unvaccinated people. i mean, christine -- >> i know, don. and what dr. wen was saying about the danger for this. i mean, we can shake our heads and say this is just unbelievable that this guy we thought we knew could be saying these things and doing these things, a man who's got all the advantages in the world. and of course the martin luther king thing you immediately think of colin kaepernick and aaron rodgers going there -- >> so is aaron rodgers now going to be banned from the league like colin kaepernick because he's being -- just wondering. >> no, they'll let him back as quickly as possible. but that's football fans. but the danger here, there i'm sure are packer fans right now on the fence about the vaccine. their grandchildren are trying to tell their grandmother or grandfather get the vaccine or something like that. and they're listening to this guy. and aaron rodgers could be doing harm in a way that would have been unimaginable even a few days ago. but not only we're talking about him and his reputation and what he's doing and how bad it is but how many other lives is he going to affect in a negative way. what a legacy that could be for the man that we thought so highly of, aaron rodgers. >> yeah. insult to injury. putting his team members in jeopardy and then considering the makeup of the league, how many people are african-americans, invoking the name of dr. martin luther king jr. is i'm sure insulting not only to the fans but also to the people he plays with. thank you both. i appreciate it. thanks so much. >> thank you, don. the trial begins. opening arguments in the murder trial of the three men who killed ahmaud arbery starting today. we're going to fill you in after this. when you get a great offer in seconds... 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(tiger) this is the dimension of imagination. ♪ ♪ the last day of vacation is still vacation. with guaranteed 4pm checkout at fine hotels + resorts properties. one of the many reasons you're with amex platinum. moving is a handful. no kidding! fortunately, xfinity makes moving easy. easy? -easy? switch your xfinity services to your new address online in about a minute. that was easy. i know, right? and even save with special offers just for movers. really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. opening arguments under way in the murder trial of three white men in the shooting death of ahmaud arbery. the 25-year-old black man was shot in february of 2020 while he was out jogging. an emotional day in court today. ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones, crying when she saw the full video of her son's shooting and again as police body cam showed her son's body on the ground. joining me now to discuss, criminal defense attorney paige pate. paige, thank you for joining us. wow. it's -- i can't even imagine. i don't think any of us can imagine. i appreciate you helping us out with this. the prosecution, though, laying out their case today outlining what led up to the shooting and why arbery was running away from the defendants. listen. >> how do you know mr. ahmaud arbery was under attack by strangers with intent to kill him? because greg mcmichael told the police this. stop or i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off. that's what he said to mr. arbery knew because he wanted to make sure mr. arbery knew greg mcmichael was not playing. >> so the defense is arguing that the defendants thought they were protecting their neighborhood and acting in self-defense. which side made the better argument today, do you think? >> well, don, i will have to admit that i think both sides started out with very strong opening statements. i mean, we knew coming into this trial what the prosecution would say. they would focus on the video. they would focus on the fact that there's absolutely no evidence that ahmaud arbery was committing any crime. they would focus on what the mcmichaels said there at the scene. all to support the prosecution's case that this was cold-blooded murder. but what we heard today really for the first time from the defense was a very different narrative of what happened. they tried to create some doubt that hey, mr. arbery was in the neighborhood before, maybe at least from the mcmichaels' standpoint he was committing a crime. so they were trying to present at least some alternative to suggest that their clients were justified not just in chasing him down but then approaching him, confronting him and ultimately shooting him. >> i mean, there's so much to unpack here. i mean, number one, they're not law enforcement. and number two, what gives them the right to do it? they could have just called police. but anyway, i digress. i think it's important to mention the judge ruling on two key motions in this trial today. ruling that the defense will not be allowed to discuss arbery's probation status and that the prosecution can show the photos of travis mcmichael's truck with that confederate flag vanity plate on it. how could this potentially impact this case, page? >> well, i think the probation issue is very important, especially the way it turned out this jury was selected and seated. i mean, as you know, we've got 11 white people on this jury, one african-american. i think the idea from the defense side of showing that mr. arbery was on probation, maybe that gave him a reason to try to run through the neighborhood. i don't completely understand the argument, but i know the defense wanted it. on the other side, i don't know with this jury that this confederate flag license plate is going to be all that significant. again, we're talking about a majority almost exclusively white jury in glynn county. and look, there are confederate flags on cars in glynn county. this isn't the only one. so i don't know how strong that evidence will be for the state. i don't know if it will change the dynamic, again, given this jury. it is all about the jury in these cases, especially this one. >> but all about the video too, page, in this case. i mean, that is -- that's probably the key thing here. other than the jury. let's talk about the mom. we saw the mom, you know, breaking down when she saw that video for the first time and saw her son laying there on the ground. the mother, her name is wanda cooper jones, explaining to reporters today why she stayed in the room while video of the shooting was being played. listen. >> i decided to remain in so i could get familiar with what happened to ahmaud the last minutes of his life. i've avoided the video for the last 18 months and i thought it was time to get familiar with what happened to ahmaud. in the last minutes of his life. so i'm glad i was able to stay strong and stay in there. that's the first time i saw the video in the entirety. >> yeah. so we saw with the family of george floyd how these trials can affect families who have to watch the evidence play out over and over, right? and now she's going through a very similar thing. >> it's incredibly difficult. and it's hard to imagine. and not only is she going through it personally and with her family, his father has also been at the trial, it's playing out in front of the community and it's playing out across the world. and i can't imagine the pain. but i think the family must appreciate at least in some way that there is a video because don, you and i wouldn't be talking about this case if there was no video. >> right. >> these people would have never been prosecuted if there was no video. so it's painful, it's disturbing, but it's necessary if these cases are going to be prosecuted. >> yeah. very well stated. in the kyle rittenhouse trial we are hearing from more witnesses like journalist richie mcguinness about what he saw before rittenhouse shot and killed joseph rosenbaum. listen to this, page. >> did you ever see a weapon on mr. rosenbaum? >> i did not. >> you never saw a gun on mr. rosenbaum? >> i did not. >> never saw him have a knife? >> no. >> never saw him have a club or a bat or a chain or anything like that? >> i just saw the bag that was thrown. that was it. >> so another witness testifying that rosenbaum was belligerent that night. what stands out to you from what you heard today? >> well, belligerent but not a threat. i think that was very important that came across in that witness's testimony, that he was there. he was also there for the same reason that kyle rittenhouse says he was there, to protect businesses and the community. and even though this person may have been acting out, may have seemed to be odd and strange, he did not present a threat. certainly not a threat that justified the use of deadly force. >> yeah. well, page, we'll be watching both of these trials. very interesting ones. and you'll be here to help us out. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you, don. they have never elected a woman of color to statewide office. until now. we're going to take a look at virginia's next lieutenant governor, winsome sears. that's next. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ if a computer can replace a truck driver or a cashier, ultimately won't a computer code itself? do we actually see a society that moves back to emphasizing, prioritizing and putting great value on the arts? as we start to manage our technology usage, we could see somewhat of a renaissance era in society that moves back to prioritizing music and ballet and fine arts. the creativity of thinking out of the box, how you can take basic things in the world and create something that's highly productive... when i think about my children, i think about creativity. i'm less focused on technical skills, than i am in terms of making sure that the mind remains open. i am katy huberty. we are morgan stanley. glenn youngkin's big win in the race for governor of virginia this week overshadowing another decisive victory in the commonwealth. and one for the history books. fellow republican winsome sears winning election as virginia's next lieutenant governor. the first woman, and the first woman of color to hold the office. as joe johns reports, sears is a fierce conservative, and proudly so. >> reporter: winsome sears victory this week was nothing short of historic. >> i didn't run to make history. i just wanted to leave it better than i found it. >> reporter: with her win in the virginia lieutenant governor's race, sears became the first woman of color elected to statewide office in the commonwealth. >> are you ready to rumble? >> reporter: the 57-year-old sears was part of a republican sweep of statewide races in virginia. running alongside governor-elect glenn youngkin. >> we're going to have parental school choice now. we're not defunding the police. not now. let me tell you about me. >> reporter: sears, a conservative firebrand, has pointedly criticized critical-race theory even though it's not part of virginia's standards of learning and voiced fierce opposition to covid vaccine mandates, even refusing to publicly disclose her own vaccination status. >> we are not going to care what the media says because the media doesn't like us. >> reporter: born in jamaica, sears first came to the u.s. as a child. >> my father brought me here when i was 6 years old. and here i am, running for the second-highest office in virginia. only in america. >> reporter: on the campaign trail, she often recounted her immigrant story. touting her family's bootstrap success, and blasting a so-called victim mentality. >> and so, i say to you, i am not a victim. my father is not a victim. this is not 1963. we can live where we want. we can eat where we want. >> reporter: sears served in the marine corps, before graduating from virginia's old dominion university. she is also been director of a homeless shelter and ran a bible study ministry in a prison. in 2001, sears became the first black woman republican in the virginia state assembly. after serving just one term, she ran for congress and lost. >> as my name says, you win some. >> reporter: after that defeat, she went on to start up a small business. and last year, sears led an effort to re-elect president donald trump. while youngkin kept trump at arm's length during the campaign, sears did not shy away from her embrace of the former president. >> i became the national chairman of black americans to re-elect president trump. >> reporter: but that loyalty to trump did not cost sears in tuesday's election. emerging as a leading voice of the republican party in virginia. >> and they say someone like me should not be a republican. i'm destroying their narrative. because, you know, they say republicans are racist. well, i've been black all my life. >> reporter: and that is winsome sears. she did not respond to several interview requests from cnn. as lieutenant governor starting in january, she is going to have the responsibility to cast tie-breaking votes in the virginia state senate. don. >> all right, joe johns, thank you very much. appreciate that. and thank you for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. 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