This vote made it official. Donald trumps Big Lie has fully enveloped the republican party. Trumps Big Lie is now the defining principle of what was once the party of lincoln. We all know whats Going On here. Senate republicans chose to defend the Big Lie because they believe anything that might upset Donald Trump could hurt them politically. Shame on the republican party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because theyre afraid of Donald Trump. Senator mcconnell working in what the Washington Post describes as a relentless effort to kill the legislation before bipartisan commission could be established. The Senate Gop Leader functioning the same way as Kevin Mccarthy. The gop now loud and proud in its objection to Fact Finding about the deadly insurrection and the underlying threat it revealed. Namely that radicalized white supremacists and trump supporters pose a threat to the United States homeland. That threat the focus of two Homeland Security bulletins this year and a third one issued today of violent domestic extremists seizing on the anniversary of the tulsa attack. This threat is real. It is grave according to fbi director wray. And it is ongoing according to the department of Homeland Security. And the gop is awol. Heres Republican Senator Murkowski last night on the gop obstruction. Its important that there be a focus on the facts, and on The Truth, and that may be unsettling. But we need to understand that. We just Cant Pretend that nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excitable. Something bad happened. And its important to lay that out. I think theres more to be learned. I want to know more and im i want to know and i dont want to know. I dont want to know but i need to know. Something bad happened for sure but mcconnell was diabolical to make sure that the allies in the gop failed. Politico reports, quote, collins kept trying to whip up ten votes to break a filibuster on thursday and said in an interview that she wouldnt give up but mcconnell didnt Let Her Go Unrebutted and collins resigned to the failure of the efforts at compromise. It is not just legislative failure. Mcconnells calculation is that awesome politics in the gop to align yourself with the insurrectionists. Thats what Defense Lawyers are for, mitch. Four former Homeland Secretaries warned of the Security Risk of yielding to the politics of the moment and reacting to todays developments this afternoon to Nbc News saying this. The Senates Decision to not seek The Truth about what happened during the insurrection against the u. S. Government, one of the most dangerous and violent attacks on our democracy in modern memory, is deeply alarging. We have gravely concerned about the Mess Ablg this sends to the american people. The duty of public officials to uphold the democratic institutions that protect All Of Us. After 9 11 our country grieved together. We were united in the determination to seek The Truth and the 9 11 commission was established to do just that. The department of Homeland Security which All Of Us served, was created to protect the nation based on what was learned from the 9 11 commission. Likewise, we must understand how the violent insurrection at the capitol came together to ensure that the peaceful transfer of power in our country is never threatened again. Our representatives owe this much to the american people. Gop obstruction of a bipartisan investigation into the insurrection is the feature and not the bug of the gop is where we start. Congresswoman dean of pennsylvania is here. She served as a houseman irin Donald Trumps second impeachment trial. Also joining us former Congresswoman Comstock is here. She yesterday accompanied officer Sicknicks Family on the meetings and visits to republican senators offices. Olivia troy is here. Now director of the republican accountability project. Boy, do we need that. Barbara, i want to first hear about how officer Sicknicks Family doing and what the case was that they made and how did those senators vote no after hearing it . Well, it was a tough day for them but we did start with Senator Romney who of course was supportive and very helpful and ended the day with Senator Murkowski who really talked to Gladys Sicknick Mother to mother and really apologized to her saying im sorry that you have to come to do this, what should be done anyway. And Gladys Sicknick said she is not the kind of person to want to come forward. She is usually in the background but she just felt she couldnt be quiet anymore. But so she was very strong in those meetings. It was tough. As was brian Sicknicks Partner Sandra Gomez and then two of the officers who were there that day on January 6, officer don who knew brian well and then Officer Michael and made strong cases why it should be done for the officers and for everything they went through on the front lines that continues to be minimized, but also, for the country and for history as Officer Dunn said so i agree with my friends tom Ridge And Michael chernoff and the other bipartisan efforts that say we need the commission and as Susan Collins said, she is going to keep working on this. There were seven republican votes if Senator Toomey was able to be there and i would expect that members of congress will start i dont know why they didnt start to subpoena things right now. I said on January 7 subpoena Donald Trumps phone records. All the people that were involved. Think about all of the texts and the messages back and forth to the White House on that day to do something. We need a distinct Time Line and can start today with existing committees with the effort to turn it over to a commission down the road. You seem to have putt your finger on what i think had adds much to do with the Rupture Of Mccarthy and cheney. She included mccarthy subpoenaed to share what he knows and it was at that point he seemed to pull the rug out from her and Senator Katko who he sent with a mission to negotiate a bill. The democrats yielded to everything and seemed like the dog caught the car. Mccarthy panicked and then whipped votes against the legislation he said to negotiate. Is Kevin Mccarthy scared . Listen. John katko was a great colleague of mine. He was a prosecutor. I knew him in the Justice Department days. And he did negotiate a very good bipartisan agreement there. Thats why he got 35 republicans under the difficult circumstances. But the issue here is The Truth is going to come out eventually. It would be better for Everyone to participate in the process. There are going to be records that are there that whether the Justice Department starts Doing It or other investigative bodies, it will come out and for the sake of the country and the safety and the threats that still exist that are out there you have State Officials threatened, officers are getting Death Threats just for speaking out and talking about what happened to them. Officer fanone, some Members Yesterday didnt realize that his assailant that tased him in the back of the neck 12 times had been already arrested and he was a wellknown Trump Activist who had been active since 2016. His name is daniel rodriguez. There were three others also arrested in connection with the brutal attack on Officer Fanone that almost killed him. He had a Heart Attack and still has so they were not familiar with that. They didnt know that this was a Trump Activist from california. He was someone talked about the deep state. He had been really in all of these dark on the internet talking about all of these conspiracy theories. Had really strongly took hold and why he was here with other friends and has to be looked at and how that connects to this rally on January 6. And all the people communicating back and forth and those facts exist and those records exist and theres going to be nothing to do about getting rid of them and might as well know sooner. Theyre still out there attacking Everyone republicans and i should point out Michael Fanone and Brian Sicknick are republicans. And that is something that brian Sicknicks Partner said yesterday. She said he loved you guys. He voted for Donald Trump and yet we leave them on the field and instead of getting The Truth as Lisa Murkowski said. Congresswoman dean, can you do what Barbara Comstock is suggesting . Can you subpoena records from the White House, the Phone Call records, at least get the times . At least start to put the pieces of evidence in place while we wait for some sort of commission to be formed by the Speaker Pelosi if the bipartisan efforts fall apart. I guess Theres History of a Watergate Select Committee in the senate. Is there more investigative work that can be done in the interim . Yes. We can. And we will. Of course we have an administration that will not do what the previous administration did which was block every subpoena, every attempt at oversight. Let me thank Congresswoman Comstock for her role and escorting Gladys Sicknick around yesterday in the senate. How is it her words draped in grief fell on the deaf ears of senators . We needed ten. We got six. Too bad Senator Toomey wasnt there to vote yes. Why were three more and the ores . Where were they in search for The Truth . Im furious for the senate to require her to come to the senate and then not heeding her words. So yes here In The House we will do everything we can. Well subpoena those who need to be subpoenaed. But the independent commission was the way to go. We dont need this to fall into party lines and narratives that become so poisonous. We need not politically tied to look at January 6. I was there as you know. But for those that were not there, theyre at fault. I have staff members furious today. They werent there but they actually say we have to learn The Truth. I think a lot of Martin Luther kings words from the letter from Birmingham Jail which i used to teach in Writing Course i thought over ten years and he said we have to repent in this generation, not merely for the hateful words and actions of bad people for the silence of good people. Mitch mcconnell, kchb mccarthy, the appalling silence of The Truth is shameful. Congresswoman, the reporting suggests more than the silence. They didnt stay silent and say listen vote your conscience. They aggressively whipped support to kill it. This was killed by Mccarthy And Mcconnell. What do you think theyre hiding . What exactly . What are afraid of . Are they complicit . Well get to The Truth. The facts will be revealed. The truth will be revealed. Theyre afraid of The Truth. Theyre defending nonsense and we know that. So what i hope is that the american public rejects their alternative facts or their silence. I was thinking back to the very first set of Press Conferences under the previous administration and do you remember the person who came forward and said maybe there are Ale Alternative Facts . Kellyanne conway. Your colleague asked her those questions. Chuck todd, yeah. Todd, yes. It was literally about the crowd size. Remember how long ago that was and nonsensical this seemed to argue alternative facts as to that which is discoverable and known . It was bizarre. Sadly, guess what. Five years later we see those seeds were sown and we sadly are reaping the seeds of falsehoods, alternative facts of people that cant face The Truth. If we dont get to the bottom of this we suffer and risk this repeating itself and perhaps even worse fashion. This was the interruption of what is precious to us. The peaceful transfer of power. Imagine those there hunted on that day could have been killed but for the acts of Officer Sicknick and every other Capitol Police Officer dont want do get to The Truth. Shame on them. Olivia, the congresswoman makes an interesting point. This was all previewed for us by Sean Spicer who argued on the first day in an Illfitting Suit that the crowd was larger than gathered for former President Obama and i think conway went on chuck todds Show And talked about alternative facts. The sad truth is that a lot of the republican base believes that those are the real facts. That shows like this are not the real facts and with the republican party seems to have cosigned is they seem to have made official the break with reality. What they did not just by staying silent. Silence would have been egregious approach to attack by them but mike pences own brother voted against the commission. I wonder what you do to sort of break through again with reality. Right. The absence of the republicans in the Senate Today are shameful and dangerous because what theyre doing is not going to allow The Truth to be told to americans. Thats whats needed a the this moment where you see the threat of domestic Terrorism Rise across the country. You are seeing the groups. You saw the groups at the u. S. Capitol. Like these people are still out there, talking to each other and radicalizing not within themselves but the leaders of our country are feeding them the narratives over and over. It is shameful and horrifying to see the actions of Mccarthy And Mcconnell where they stand by and allow this to happen because what theyre doing is saying that theyre okay with it. Doing the seal of approval. The disinformation that they spread that led to this event on January 6 theyre going to continue to push. They will continue to push it for months to come and try to sweep it under the rug and makes an investigation still critical. It needs to happen. We need to get to the facts and push out The Truth that led to this. Whatever Dereliction Of Duty happened which we saw in the Oval Office and also with others involved. Thats what is critical in whatever form and unfortunate its not bipartisan to be more effective to diffuse what we have which is a pandemic of disinformation across the country on lies about an election that are just not true and lies that will continue to go on and embolden the Terrorist Groups across the country. Barbara comstock, i want to come back to mccarthys leadership. He couldnt get rid of Liz Cheney fast enough. He had to leak a hot mic tape to make sure thats his mission before he got to washington to do it but this guy is a member in good standing. Matt gaetz. Last night ill read what he said. He said we have a second amendment in this country and i think we have an obligation to use it. To which Chris Krebs who i believe you have worked with, the Homeland Security official in charge of making sure that 2020 was the most secure election in our country ice history, achieved that aim and fired by Donald Trump for doing so. Also a lifelong republican. He said i void commenting on members of congress and the inane remarks but this clear call to violence by a member of congress is beyond the pale. Disqualifying and unamerican. Youre part of the problem. Mccarthy is associated with this because we know he knows how to cut someone loose. Why is Gaetz And Greene members in good standing and Liz Cheney is not . I certainly dont think they should be and maybe people within the Cause Kus who will take action on that. I said in january, february and certainly as the investigations into Matt Gaetz started by Donald Trumps Justice Department as they went on i said why is he on the Judiciary Committee . Why is he even in the caucus . I think Marjorie Greene will be kicked out of the caucus. Theyll drag it out. When things will happen anyway you should just turn the page, get it done and move on. They are dragging out the painful, ugly face of the party with the Gaetz Greene Grift tour Going On now thats not just a Clown Car Show but a dangerous thing that they are doing. Theyre continuing to spread disinformation. Were ill served to have them in the caucus and more and more members will want them out. People tell them what an embarrassment they are. Greene started to attack Mccarthy And Stefanik that replaced cheney so nobody is going to be odious enough for those two. So they are a cancer on the party like Donald Trump has been and we need an independent, outside investigation that looks at all of these things and gets it out of the political sphere. But as i was mentioning earlier that doesnt mean in prior live i was chief counsel on a House Committee with investigations so when you get the documents they and the records themselves arent political. It is going to be the interpretation and how they are tied together so if you get them now i think that will accelerate the acceptance ultimately hopefully sooner rather than late irof an independent commission. Congresswoman Barbara Comstock was very good at what she did and that is a pathway that might be the thing that makes republicans say we dont want that. Do you think theres a way to call part of me thinks that i wish democrats had done this yeah. I wish they had done it back in january. You will remember in January Everybody was saying have this independent commission so it is unfortunate we lost the five months but still move forward. Get records. Congresswoman dean, do you think that maybe democrats sort of win by losing . I only mean that in the spirit that Speaker Pelosi wanted a bipartisan commission so much that she conceded all of these basically Everything Mccarthy wanted. Is it time to just do this with a democratled . Obviously still bipartisan. I think we should start correcting any republican saying that thats not bipartisan. It would still be a bipartisan committee In The House. Is that something that may yield a faster and better result . Im not certain it will yield a better one. You know how poisoned it will be. But failing an independent commission we have to do it. We have an obligation to do it to protect the precious democracy. If we turn a blind eye on this we actually risk losing our democracy. I wont do that. Im certain that Speaker Pelosi will move forward but i hope that Everyone notes negotiations took place between Benny Thompson and representative katko and got to equal number of representatives. And they would be independent not political. Not electeds. Equal Subpoena Power which is critically important measure. I want to go back to the point of mrs. Sicknick. Gladys talked about her son and said, she boasted of the work ethic, only there to serve our country. Republicans who denied this independent commission are the ones that speak very loudly that theyre pro police. They worry about Liberal Democrats trying to defund the police. We want to find out what happened rs to find out exactly how that these police officers, this protectionary force that i know now much better before impeachment they are servants to us and the country. How is it that the republican party does not want to protect those who protect us . Does not want to find out The Truth. And then the reason is what it might expose about them. We are left with No Other rational conclusion to draw. Congresswoman dean, thank you. Former Congresswoman Comstock, it is a privilege to talk to you both. Olivia is sticking around. President biden is set to cap off a weekend of commemoration in tulsa, oklahoma, to mark 100 years since one of the most heinous attacks on Black Americans in this countrys history. The government warned that the weekend could be a target for white supremacists. Vladimir putin upping the stakes for the Face To Face Meeting next month with President Biden. With this latest escalation means. Later white House Chief of Staff Klain will join us on all of the above. Plus, the progress thats been made in fighting the pandemic that allows us to go out and enjoy the holiDay Weekend. All those stories and more when we continue after a quick break. Ok Everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. [sfx kids laughing] [sfx bikes passing] [sfx fire truck siren] onstar, we see them. Okay. Mother and child in vehicle. Mother is unable to exit the vehicle. Injuries are unknown. Thank you, onstar. My son, is he okay . Your sons fine. Thank you. There was something in the road. Its okay. Youre safe now. Tonight, ill be eating a Pork Banh mi with extra jalapenos. [doorbell rings] thanks, baby. Yeah, we bout to get spicy for this virtual date. Spicy like them pajama pants. Hey, the camera is staying up here. This is not the second date. I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home. I still see black men being shot, black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history but i cannot. I will not. And other survivors do not and our descendants do not. Wow. That was 107yearold Viola Fletcher Remembering and sharing the memories of one of the worst acts of racial violence in american history. A century ago an angry white mob attacked the Greenwood District known as black Wall Street. They burned businesses to the ground and murdered as many as 300 black people. Marking a significant milestone in the cubs lock overdue racial reckoning President Biden will travel to tulsa on tuesday and emphasizing the push to recognize some of the most difficult moments in the History And Help advance social justice. Yet concerns remain today. Today department of Homeland Security warned that the commemoration could be targets for attack why is while the warning is not based on a specific or credible threat they say that the events quote probably are attractive targets for some racially motivated violent extreme itselfwhite supremacists to commit violence. Joining us now is reverend Al Sharpton and Olivia Troy is back with us. You and i think were on together when the last president used a trip to tulsa in a very different way. This trip seems to be punk waited now by this Homeland Security warning of a heightened risk of domestic violent extremism. Yes. We were on together. In fact, it was last year when Donald Trump was going to tulsa to have a rally at the beginning of what is juneteenth where they celebrate when people in texas finally freed of slavery. I wept in to speak the night before trumps rally. That was the rally many believe later caused covid19 to take Herman Kaine from us because they famously did not socially distance. Now this president going to salute and commemorate those that Sur Vooied In Tulsa and those that died in the worst Race Riot in history. That wiped out the richest community of blacks in the history of the country at that time so the difference between a year ago and now and the difference between how one deals with racism and the policies around racism, President Biden is going a week after meeting with george Floyds Family and i spoke with him at length on the phone about some of the kind of legislation we need. You couldnt have a more clear contrast between President S and presidency than if you gauge last june and this june in terms of where a president deals with tulsa, oklahoma. It was mentioned on the occasion that President Biden met with the Floyd Family theres a cultural backlash around not reeducating people but looking clearly at the most heinous racial violence which is obviously where tulsa stands in the history books. President biden seems undeterred and maybe unaware of what is Going On. What do you make of sort of his leadership On The Issues and where would you like to see him spend more attention and time . I think that his leadership has shown so far a sensitivity and a hands on kind of approach. I think that what we would like to see is to move forward in a way where we understand he wants to reach out. We understand the desire for bipartisanship but some point i think we have to move the George Floyd Bill and other bills forward by dealing with this filibuster because we cannot allow this to stand in the way of progress and i hope to see the president get to the point where he can say the filibuster can no longer be durable because we have to deal with policing, we have to deal with the Voting Rights, whether it is Senate Bill 1 or the John Lewis Bill coming through the house. I think that there has to be a time that were saying that reaching out is gone long enough. It seems interesting to me some republicans that took shots at the President Meeting with the Floyd Family are the same kinds of republicans that rejected hearing from the families of Capitol Police that were killed during the insurrection. When you deal with people that want to see the families of Police Victims treated humanely and ignore the police killings by a mob you have to wonder where the moral Come Pass is. The political compass is dialed in with what they now see as a part of the coalition they cant defend and i was chilled to see this Homeland Security warning today. That these one of the events canceled. The commemoration of the massacre in tulsa is a possible target but when you see a Party Failing to do anything about the conduct on 1 6 i guess they feel emboldened. Do you expect more warnings like the one we got today . I do. Im grateful that we have leadership in place in the department of Homeland Security and national Security Apparatus and the White House to allow The Truthful warnings to come out like this that call it for what it is and say white Sy Prem Sy because i know that this was something that we struggled with in the last four years where this was not allowed. They need to. Because its important. People need to be vigilant. For them to put out a Threat Bulletin means we need to pay attention and working with state and local Law Enforcement because it is a partnership with citizens and with them. It is appalling that we have people in the republican Party Leadership and elected office and talked about this earlier but the Matt Gaetz of the World And Marjorie Taylor Greene have the power and dangerous because they speak with rhetoric that promotes violence and attacks like this and i am concerned about what will happen in the next few days and hope theres by Law Enforcement and security. Which under President Biden i will say this. Thank goodness that he is in office because the right Security Parameters will be in place. Its just almost more unbelievable as a commentary on the expresident. Thank you for spending time with us. The reverend is sticking around. Texas trying to make it harder to vote particularly you guessed it people of color there. The Governors Signature is the nengs step. The latest assault on democracy is our next story. Well explain it all next. Since you hung around but those dreams have remained and theyve turned around whod have thought theyd lead you whod have thought theyd lead you back here where we need you back here where we need you yeah, we tease him a lot. Welcome back, america. It sure is good to see you. Some say this is my greatest challenge. Governments in record debt; inflation rising, currencies falling. But ive seen centuries of this. With one companion that hedges the risks you choose and those that choose you. The physical seam of a digital world, traded with a touch. My strongest and closest asset. The gold standard, so to speak ; people call my future uncertain. But theres one thing i am sure of. I brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. Those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks Sighs Wearily here, ill take that Excited Yell woohoo ensure max protein. With thirty grams of protein, onegram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune Health Abbot sonic limu emu. And doug. And nutrients to support immune health so then i said to him, you oughta customize your Car Insurance with liberty mutual, so you only pay for what you need. Oh um, doug can we talk about something other than work, its the weekend. Yeah, yeah. [ squawk ] hot dog or. Chicken . [ squawk ] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. This is all taking place under The Guise Of Quote Unquote Standardizing our elections. Who can be against that . We might have asked the same Question Of ourselves 100 years ago on the poll tax. Doesnt that apply to Everyone . Or a literacy test. Or how many gumballs are in the jar. What we know is these are all efforts to suppress the votes not of all texans in this state but certain texans. We are on the verge of an extremely consequential development and what he was describing there. The republican effort to restrict Voting Rights particularly among Nonwhite Americans across this country. The bill passed in the Texas State House to among other things put limits on absentee ballots. Ban drive through voting and empower partisan poll watchers. Both chambers of the States Legislature had different versions of the bill and assembling a final verse to send to the governors desk. And then it would spark developments that would quickly make those restrictions the law of the land. Joining us is Nick Campasori and the reverend Al Sharpton is back with us. I want to read you something from the Texas Tribune Coverage of this today. A comparison of the Election Day Polling locations used for the 2020 General Election and what would happen under the Senate Proposal shows a starkly different distribution. In harris the formula would mean fewer Polling Places in the county and all currently represented by democrats. Every district held by a republican would see a gain in Polling Places or see no change. In most cases the districts that would lose Polling Places the represented by people of color with a far higher share of potential voters of color than the districts to gain voting sides. I know Mark Elias is bringing lawsuits against the bills but this seems flagrantly racial in the tactics and didnt try to hide the Punch Line here why what can be done in the short term . I think that it is clearly racial. When you look at Harris County and theres an Office And Board members there in harris, a predominantly black county and other counties impacted and it is racial and i think what must be done is that the Justice Department needs to come in under civil Rights Legislation civil rights lawsuits to try and stop this process. I remember when texas tried to start instituting the voter i. D. Laws in texas that Attorney General holder came in and sued and i would hope that Attorney General garland and his new head of the civil Rights Division come in and try to intervene. This is another reason why we need the John Lewis Voting bill passed as well as Senate Bill 1 because they would have had to preclear this had the Voting Rights act still be in force the way it was but taken out section 4 and 5 texas doesnt have to preclear the changes so we have to be proactive and need that legislation back in to deal with preclearance and the State Legislature Couldnt try to pull the antics to disenfranchise black voters. Nick, its my understanding that the federal legislation would actually invalidate all bills and there are a lot of them now. From the brennan center of justice. As of May 14 legislators introduced 389 bills with restrictive provisions in 48 states. 22 bills with restrictive provisions already enacted. 61 bills with restrictive provisions in 18 states moving through legislatures. 31 passed at least 1 chamber and another 30 had some sort of committee action. The laws based on the lie of Voter Fraud and republicans in georgia, lutd Governor Duncan and i believe raffensberger acknowledged that the bills are predicated on a law about fraud, are hard at work and enacting Voter Suppression laws across the country. Pulling out the allstar game from georgia didnt do anything to slow this push in statewide legislatures. What is sort of an option for maintaining access to the right to vote . Look. For republicans these actions are existential. Different party might conclude if they lose in purple states and losing ground in texas over time to compete for the votes of people not voting for them and we see efforts to make it harder to vote. I was struck by the new formula debated in texas that just happens to disadvantage democrats and voters in black areas so i think well see more of an effort from the Justice Department. The question is how aggressively is the biden administration going to move behind the legislation in congress . The Democracy Reform bills from the left. The John Lewis act. All these are different kind of Touch And Contact Point Os ten democratic system. We havent seen a real effort from the biden administration which is working on a lot of new things right now to get behind one and push it forward super aggressively. That causes some consternation. Nick, reverend, thank you both President Biden has said he did not seek any escalation with Russia But Kremlin backed hackers struck again indicating an escalation is whats happening. Well explain. [ Suspenseful Music ] hey, you wanna get out of here . Ah ha. Weve got you. During expedia travel week, save 20 or more on thousands of hotels. 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The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a Resume Data Base claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo russian hackers at it again. Microsoft sounding the alarm that the russianbacked group behind the Solarwinds Hack has launched a new campaign targeting more than 150 government agencies, think tanks, and nongovernmental organizations in 24 countries. Groups that have been critical of, you guessed it, vladimir putin. Last month, President Biden announced several new sanctions on russia for the solarwinds attack. However, the response from russia seems to be an escalation. Our next guest says his latest move indicates putin is looking for a showdown with President Biden ahead of their scheduled meeting in three weeks. Lets bring into our conversation, our friend, Frank Figliuzzi, former Assistant Director for counterintelligence at the fbi and lucky for us an Msnbc National Security analyst. Frank figliuzzi, Twopart Question to start with. You have No Doubt that this is russia and you have No Doubt that this is putins windup to the facetoface with the new president , President Biden. Yeah. All indicators are that the signature of this is exactly the russian external Intelligence Service, the svr, and thats one and the same as the solarwinds attack, yes. And what is putins objective here . Is it to is it to convince President Biden that he is still the biggest geopolitical threat to the United States of america . Is it to is it sort of like a dog trying to show his dominance at the Dog Park . I mean, what is putin doing . Yeah, couple things, real quick. First, its not remarkable that russia is doing this and is still Doing It. Whats remarkable is they didnt stop Doing It on the eve of a summit, a meeting between biden and putin. That thats noteworthy, that its business as usual, and heres im going to take a slightly different perspective than some commentators on this. Im talking to a couple of russian intelligence experts who arent entirely sure that putin is in total control of his Intelligence Services at all times. Number one. Number two, hes increasingly in trouble and desperate at home. Number three, weve got to stop acting like russia is our Strength And Power equal, because they are not. And so, this may be all that they have. Now, its significant. A cyber capability like this is significant. But if my expert friends are true and putins not entirely in a stable place, then this may be all hes got and maybe people are actually acting out, looking like its him, within his Intelligence Services, to try and destabilize him even further. The first question i would ask, if i were Joe Biden sitting across this from him is, hey, vlad, are you sure youre in total control of your Intelligence Services . Because were not. So, if you are, show us that you can stop this because were not sure that you can. Well, if youre putin, dont you look back at the american president and say, are you sure youve done all you can to secure the federal Governments Infrastructure . Isnt it troubling that now under two President S, russia has successfully hacked executive Branch Government agencies . Yeah, were not look, we just had four years of and beyond, right of money being poured into the pentagon for traditional munitions, armaments, planes, tanks, you name it. We are not spending enough and investing enough resources in the new battlefield. Its time to move on. The rest of the worlds got it. Its cyber, cyber, cyber. Weve got to be pouring investment and resources into that, shoring up our firewalls, all of our defenses, all of the Supply Chain across the government. We cant be stove piped across this. We need a czar in charge of cyber protection, just like we have a secretary of defense. A czar, oh, thats a good one. Frank figliuzzi is sticking around, and that question about a czar is one just one of the Security Threats looming over President Bidens administration. Well get to all of them with white House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who is our guest, when the next hour of deadline White House starts after a quick break. Dont go anywhere. Were just getting started. Ere. Were just sbegetting started. Ooo. You gonna eat that at lesliepalooza . What . Whos coming to that . Everyones coming, everybody. You, her, me, All Of Us. This past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. Everyones coming, everybody. But eventually, with spring comes rebirth. Everything begins anew. And many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other likeminded people. Welcome back to the world. Viking. Exploring the world in comfort. Once again. Are you managing your diabetes. Using fingersticks . 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You know, in fredericksburg, fans are heading back to the minor league ballparks. Pools and parks are opening up across the state. Families are heading down to spend memorial Day Weekend at virginia beach, and all over the country, weve gone from Pain And Stagnation of a long Dark Winter to an economy on the move growing faster than it has in nearly 40 years. Hi again, Everyone, its 5 00 in the east. Just ahead of memorial day, a memorial Day Weekend that will look normal to close to normal in much of the country. President biden in Virginia Today taking a bit of a Victory Lap in the countrys fight against covid. An historic crisis that now shows clear signs of receding thanks to the President S speedy Vaccine Rollout with more than 290 Million doses administered nationwide. All this while grappling with a country still in turmoil and threats at home and abroad. On the covid front, a new poll shows that the countrys on track to vaccinate 70 of all adults with big increases in Vaccination Rates among latinos and people without college degrees. Thats 70 benchmark is not just a symbolic goal of the biden administrations as dr. Fauci says, its the level at which the u. S. Could avoid future covid surges. Already ten states have hit that 70 mark. With 70 of their residents vaccinated, 10 other states approaching that goal. Of course the covid crisis, just one of the many Fires Team Biden is tasked with putting out every day. Just today, a stark reminder of the domestic Extremist Threat that lurks all across this country. The department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin this Morning Warning that white supremacists might target the Centennial Commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre and from abroad, a new reminder that vladimir putin remains an active adversary of ours with the discovery of another breach. All this as the President S sweeping and potentially transformative domestic agenda, which commands significant support in all recent polls from republican voters comes up against a wall of opposition from a political party that still all too often refuses to recognize President Bidens legitimacy. According to a new poll, 66 of republican voters do not believe that President Biden was legitimately elected. And republicans in the senate have buried their heads in the sand by blocking an independent 9 11 Style Commission into the capitol insurrection. An attack on the heart of our democracy, a blatant attempt to derail the transfer of power to the new president. Despite all that, President Bidens efforts at negotiating with the gop Show A president determined to walk the walk and not just talk the talk when it comes to bipartisanship. Negotiations are still under way on key issues like Infrastructure And Police reform. With so much happening, we can only wonder what a day in the life of the biden white House Chief of staff is like and lucky for us, white House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is here. Hi there, my friend. Hi, nicole, thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. Let me start with what the President S talking about today. A country nearing this 70 vaccination level, which isnt just the Goal Youve set out for yourselves and the speech to the nation but has an important sort of scientific effect. Explain what that will mean if we reach that. Well, look, i think that we know that the more americans are vaccinated, the fewer that will get covid, the fewer that will get sick from covid and of course, most importantly, the fewer that will die from covid so weve seen this tremendous progress in four months in getting the country vaccinated. When Joe Biden became president , less than 4 of the country had been vaccinated. Now were up to over 60 of adults and in many states, over 70 . One state, were over 80 , particularly among those who are most at risk from covid, older americans. Were at over 85 with one shot. And in fact, overall in the country, more than 70 of every person 40 and up has had their first shot. So, were making tremendous progress. And what does it mean . Look, were seeing what it means. The president was in Virginia Today where they were able to lift their Mask Mandate. Same Thing Today in maryland, same Thing Today in new jersey, so as americans head into memorial Day Weekend, theyre heading back to a more normal way of life thanks to the really unprecedented Success Weve had with the speed of this Vaccination Program and the reach of the Vaccination Program to help so many americans kind of go back to the things they want to do on memorial Day Weekend. President biden seemed to make a bet in the earliest stages of his candidacy that taking the pandemic seriously and letting that be revealed through the way he ran for the office, the way he ran his convention, the way he did everything he did, that that would be part of conveying the seriousness with which he took securing the countrys, all of our ails, economic and otherwise wound its way through curing the pandemic. His opponent took a very different approach. He was just going to ignore it, among other things. The fact that youre seeing sort of clearing all these hurdles and, i guess the most recent one was lifting the Mask Mandate indoors, this notion that that would be confusing. I saw Evidence Today that that incentivized Vaccine Participation among hesitant folks. You guys like what you see in the economy, i understand, but how do you sort of sustain this payoff from the bet he made many, many, many months ago . Look, i think that he was elected to deliver results, and you know, the day the week before he took office, 4,000 people a day were dying from covid. A million people that week filed new claims for unemployment the week before he took office. Thats now down 60 . And deaths are down 85 . And so, i think that the results kind of speak for themselves. But were not, obviously, going to rest on our laurels. First of all, we still have to vaccinate about 20 Million more people between now and July 4th to hit that nationwide goal of 70 by July 4th thats a lot of work left to do. And we have to continue to create jobs, grow the economy, and take the next steps. The budget we released today is part of the next steps on the economy, moving forward on infrastructure is part of that. The Families Plan is part of that. So, were we couldnt be prouder of the Progress Weve made and the successes weve had in these first four months, but we are nowhere near finished on the job that has to be done here. Does that job include conversations in the West Wing about the attack on democracy that is now not an undercover one from republicans but pretty loud and proud on the part of Kevin Mccarthy and Mitch Mcconnell and killing the commission to investigate the insurrection . Yeah, look, theres no question that the president talks regularly about the need to protect, preserve our democracy, and what happened on January 6th was a direct assault on our democracy. It was a direct attack on the effort to ratify the election. January 6th wasnt a random date where an attack came on the capitol. It was a date chosen when the congress was going through the procedures to certify the outcome of the election. And so, this attack was a fundamental attack on the seat of our government and on the exercise of government, and Thats Something we take very, very seriously. But i think that, you know, even as we go to strengthen the Democracy And Deal with that, nicole, one other test of our democracy is our ability to deliver for the men and women this country, for the people of this country, who want us to make sure that were making progress in washington, that were showing that democracy can deliver, can deliver here and can deliver around the world. Thats why its important for us not only to fight covid here but to lead the democracies in Fighting Covid in other countries. Its why its important for us to be the engine of economic growth here and around the world. So, democracy is being tested now, its being tested on many fronts. The Frontal Assault that happened on January 6th and then a Question Of, can we prove that democracy can deliver for the voters of this country . Matthew dowd, one of my old buddies from politics but also a frequent guest on this show, has a different view. I want to show you something he said this week. Well talk about it on the other side. I think Joe Biden ought to appoint a Cabinet Level Person on democracy. Its the most important he ought to say, this is the most important issue facing america and the world today. Its not the pandemic. Its not infrastructure. Its not redoing taxes. Its not anything else. This is the most important issue. And democrats related to that. The third point is, they need to start making the argument. Democrats need to start making the argument that we cant do any of these things unless we fix democracy. What do you think . Well, i think we do have a democracy czar, its Joe Biden. Hes the president of the United States. He was elected to heal this country. He ran on a campaign when many people thought it was mistaken to fix the soul of this country, to try to bring this country together, to try to repair the horrible division that his predecessor has sown in this country. So this is a duty that he takes. Its not i dont think its a duty he can delegate to some other person or assign some czar to do it. I think its something that is central to his presidency, central to his leadership, and i think hes making progress on that. I think he obviously, you know, has an agenda here on democracy, an agenda on leadership, and thats what hes doing, and so i think, you know, i think that you cant separate these things, though, because i also think its important for voters to see that leadership can deliver. Look, i think one thing about the Trump Presidency was that it assaulted democratic norms, but it also fed cynicism through its incompetence, through its inability to address the pandemic, its ability to address the economic issues. And so, i think that the President Bidens success on showing people that, yes, we actually can beat this pandemic, and yes, we can create jobs and we can create growth in a more fair and equitable way, i think those things are vital to the case hes making about what democracy means to the american people. When you see these Voter Suppression bills racing through mostly republicancontrolled legislatures, do you toss around getting involved, getting more involved . Well, i think, you know, were going to have more to say about that in the weeks ahead. I think that the president certainly is concerned about that. Hes spoken to it many times. I think youll hear him speak to it again next week in tulsa. And i think we know the dnc is launching a big effort. We know there are progressive legal groups that are fighting these laws, so this is definitely you know, its a very important issue for us and defending the democracy, defending the right to vote is a fundamental thing that we are fighting for at the White House. Do you plan to announce a policy, or do you plan to announce sort of pushing for support of the federal legislation that would actually go a long way toward undoing all of these bills . Can you tell us what bucket it is in . Yeah, well, no, the President S spoken quite strongly, strong support for the for the people act. Leader schumer thats going to come to the Senate Floor in late june. Thats something that we are very focused on trying to round up the votes and the strategy to help get passed when it comes to the floor in the senate. Obviously, its already passed the house, and so, you know, this is a major piece of legislation that we are looking forward to fighting for in this coming month, and again, looking forward to it coming to the Senate Floor at The End of the month. What is bipartisanship was successfully redefined in the push for the covid relief bill, and i we played the president with the list of all the republicans touting pieces of the covid Relief Package that none of them voted for. No republicans supported it. And there was a notion that maybe defining bipartisanship as the policies that are supported by Bipartisan Americans might become a new operating principle. Is that is that the theory of the case there, or are you trying to do an Infrastructure Deal that might be smaller and less ambitious, but is it the priority to have republicans on it . Look, our priority is to get the Infrastructure Bill passed, and obviously, its easier to get it passed if we can get more votes for it. And not have to rely on the narrow margin we just have among democrats. But we have some key things that have to be in it. Im pleased that Senator Capito in her group moved in our direction this week, raised the overall level of funding in the bill, raised the funding for particular things. I think its all steps in the right direction. We look forward to continuing to work with her and her group on that and others in both parties who want to move forward on that. But the president also said yesterday, very clearly, that that process is going to have to come to an end, either reach on agreement or it wont. The only real Red Line the only two Red Lines hes drawn on infrastructure is Hes Noit going to raise taxes on people who make less than 400,000 a year and hes not going to accept inaction, so we are going to continue to look for the votes, look for the support to put together a strong Infrastructure Package that can create jobs in this country, that can get this country on the path to a clean energy future. Were going to try to get the most number of votes we can for that. Thats the best way to pass legislation. And but were going to proceed. I want to turn to a meeting on your calendar between the president and vladimir putin, and i wonder what you hope to achieve and if theres a model of an example between an american president and vladimir putin that achieved something that is the model for this president. Well, look, i think the model, in some ways, is President Biden as Vice President , his prior exchanges with President Putin. Theyve always been frank. Theyve always been candid. Theyve always been direct. We know these are the two great you dont have a soul, right . Well, look, President Biden, as he likes to say, shoots straight from the shoulder and hes going to tell it like it is but these are the two leaders of great Nuclear Powers in the world and its important they meet facetoFace To find areas of agreement if they exist and certainly to be candid about the sharp areas of disagreement. Its what bush did, President Obama. Its important for biden to do the same thing. Were meeting with vladimir putin not because we agree with him or some reward for good behavior, far from it. Were meeting with him because it is the president of the other great Nuclear Power on this planet. Its important for these two leaders to sit down and try to find ways in which they can work together in some areas and ways in which they can exchange views honestly and directly, Eye To eye, facetoface, about the disagreements, the sharp disagreements and concerns we have about President Putins leadership. What is the sort of read internally of this latest hack . I mean, you inherited one of the most egregious hacks of the executive branch. I believe it took place in your shortened transition. But theres another one today of usaid. Is it viewed as an escalation or an ongoing threat, or how do you and what is being done to sort of secure u. S. Government Computer Systems from russian hacks . Well, first of all, nicole, i need to be careful here because the u. S. Intelligence community has not attributed this latest hack to any particular foreign government. Were waiting for that report from the Intelligence Community. One thing we like to try to do is to have the facts before we proceed here. But as you noted, there was the Solarwinds Hack before Joe Biden took office. We issued a series of sanctions against russia, against many of the relevant players in that hack, against a lot of the capabilities in that hack. We said there would be consequences. The president announced those consequences in april. We said some would be seen, some would be unseen so well go through the process here of first of all making an appropriate assessment of Responsibility And Accountability and taking appropriate action. Weve also done steps in the four months weve been here to try to increase our cybersecurity. The President S named the first ever White House cybersecurity director, senate confirmed position. The President S issued a cybersecurity executive order. Were beginning to implement that. So, were very well aware of the threats from cyberattacks. Again, i want to be careful here, not referring to this latest one because we dont have attribution on that but to be clear, we know there was a threat to the country and were taking actions to protect the country from that threat. Another area where i know the Intelligence Picture is still coming into focus for all of you and is far from being declassified for public consumption but is around the origins of the coronavirus itself. What precipitated was it the new reporting in the Wall Street journal or new intelligence that you all recently reviewed . Is it that it was so politicized . I mean, what was behind the announcement this week that another look would be taken at the origins of covid . Well, the president had the national Security Advisor Launch a Review Back in march, shortly after he took office, and he got a report the first report back on that review earlier this month and asked some followup questions and it was finally this week where the Intelligence Community came back and was prepared to declassify its conclusion that it really had no firm conclusion. Two agencies in the Intelligence Community believe it was a natural occurring event. One agency believes it might have been a lab leak, but the bulk of the Intelligence Community still was uncertain about the origins, and so with that report ready to become public, the president thought it was the right time to make a public statement and to direct the agencies to look into whatever other information they have on this to try to gather more information on it and to use scientific tools to really study the virus, to see if Theres Something more we could learn about the origin. You know, as the President Said in his statement, nicole, the real shame here is that when this happened, in early 2020, the u. S. Government didnt press hard enough to get people on the ground in china when really we could have been hot on the trail of the origins of this virus to really press to get the information we needed to really understand what had happened here. So, were playing catchup on trying to figure this all out. But we are going to make the best efforts to figure this out. The american people deserve answers. The world deserves answers, and were going to use every tool at our disposal to find those answers. The worlds problems end up on the desk of any american president , but about ten times that many problems end up on the desk of a white House Chief of staff, so i thank you very much for spending some time with us today. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Thank you for starting us off this hour. Thanks for having me, nicole. Its always great to be back on your show. Thanks, ron. When we return, federal prosecutors are investigating another instance of election meddling, this time whether prorussian officials in ukraine interfered in the 2020 election by funneling disinformation through Rudy Giuliani to help Donald Trump. Well talk to one of the reporters who broke that bombshell new story in The New York Times next. Plus, now that republicans have blocked a commission to investigate the capitol insurrection, questions are growing about why so many of the rioters have ties to the u. S. Military. And more legal trouble for the Trump Organization. Well look at the Criminal Charge the manhattan d. A. Could be considering as his Investigation Moves forward. Deadline White House continues after a quick break. Dont go anywhere. Continues after a quick break. Dot ngo anywhere. Tonight, ill be eating a Pork Banh mi with extra jalapenos. [doorbell rings] thanks, baby. Yeah, we bout to get spicy for this virtual date. Spicy like them pajama pants. Hey, the camera is staying up here. This is not the second date. [ Suspenseful Music ] hey, the camera is staying up here. Hey, you wanna get out of here . Ah ha. Weve got you. During expedia travel week, save 20 or more on thousands of hotels. Expedia. It matters who you travel with. Oh dont burn down the duplex. Terminix. New projects means new project managers. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. When you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. Visit indeed. Com hire and get started today. When youre born and raised in San Francisco, you grow up wanting to make a difference. Whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. Thats why, at recology, were proud to be 100 employee owned with local workers as diverse as San Francisco. We built the citys Recycling System from the ground up, helping to make San Francisco the greenest Big City In America but we couldnt do it without you. Thank you, San Francisco. Gracias, San Francisco. Thank you. [ speaks native language ] lets keep Making A Differene together. Did you ask the ukraine to investigate Joe Biden . No. Actually, i didnt. I asked the ukraine to investigate the allegations that there was interference in the election of 2016 by the ukrainians for the benefit of Hillary Clinton for which there already is a you never asked anything about hunter biden, anything about Joe Biden . The only thing i asked about Joe Biden is to get to the bottom of how it was that lutsenko, who was appointed, dismissed the case so you did ask ukraine to look into Joe Biden. Of course i did. You just said you didnt. Of course i did. Comments like that from Rudy Giuliani where hes a no and then a yes and then a no and then a yes again, a 180 on whether or not he worked with the ukrainians, he gave that answer in less than a minute. Under intense scrutiny as we learn of another federal investigation into foreign interference in u. S. Elections. An investigation that was previously not known, a criminal one. The New York times is now reporting, quotes, federal prosecutors in brooklyn have been investigating whether several ukrainian officials helped orchestrate a wideranging plan to meddle in the president Ial Campaign, including using Rudy Giuliani. The New York times adds this. The investigation is unfolding separately from a longrunning federal inquiry in manhattan that is aimed at mr. Giuliani. While the two investigations have a similar cast of characters and overlap in some ways, mr. Giuliani is not a subject of the brooklyn investigation, the people said. And while he may not be a target or subject, what we have here is yet another federal investigation involving the campaign by the exPresident S personal attorney to undermine his opponent, an effort that culminated in the former guys first impeachment. Joining our conversation is ken vogel, reporter for The New York Times whose byline is on this new piece of times reporting. Also joining us, andrew weissmann, senior member of the mueller probe, now an Nyu Law Professor and msnbc legal analyst and Frank Figliuzzi is back, former Assistant Director for counterintelligence at the Fbi And Host of The Bureau podcast. Ken vogel, take us through what this Criminal Investigation looks like from the Eastern District. Well, in some ways, nicole, this is the opposite side of the investigation of Rudy Giuliani being conducted by the southern district of New York. In that case, theyre looking into whether he may have violated the foreign agent registration act, essentially the foreign lobbying laws, by advocating for things that some of these ukrainians with whom he was working wanted from the u. S. Government. Well, this investigation out of brooklyn, out of the Eastern District of New York, is looking at what these ukrainians were sort of using him for, not what he was using them for as much, although clearly their interests did converge in this case, its looking at whether these ukrainian officials with whom Rudy Giuliani met in December Of 2019 in kiev and also in budapest and in an earlier leg of that trip were essentially funneling disinformation through him and potentially others, other americans, in an effort to hurt Joe Bidens president Ial Campaign and to help Donald Trumps president Ial Campaign. And ken vogel, dont we already know thats what was happening from the United States Intelligence Community, who told us that that was happening and they named the individual Doing It, andre durkoc. We did know that. Whats interesting is that this is Counterintelligence Investigation but its also a Criminal Investigation, looking at whether there could be criminal implications to some of what he and his associates were doing and there are possible implications where they may be conspiring to not disclose information but theres also weve seen in the past, including in the mueller investigation, where some of the charges that were looked out with regard to the foreigners who actually interfered in the u. S. Election, in that case the 2016 election, were related to defrauding the United States and that has to do with essentially trying to trick people, Trick Voters or trick people who they are funneling disinformation through to disseminate this false information and youre right that we know a lot about some of this stuff because the Treasury Department has sanctioned a number of the folks with whom Rudy Giuliani met during this trip to europe and subsequently, in some cases before as well, and also from the Intelligence Community coming out and saying that this guy, andre, the Treasury Community the Treasury Department and its sanctions against and announcing the sanctions against him called him an active russian agent for more than a decade. Now, Rudy Giuliani says that he was not briefed on that. He was not warned about that. In our story, we reveal that one of the folks who was working with Rudy Giuliani, who also was subsequently sanctioned, another ukrainian named andre says he did warn Rudy Giuliani and said, hey, this guy is bad new hes prorussian. Giuliani, nonetheless, met with him and subsequently even after the sanctions defended the meeting, defended working with him, saying he had no reason to believe that he was a russian agent and then added in a very Rudy Giuliani way, how the hell would i know . So indeed, how the hell would he know . Here we are again, andrew weissmann. I mean, Rudy Giuliani is sort of the axis around which another now Criminal Investigation turns and i pulled out that old Dni Report that said this. We assess President Putin and other senior russian officials were aware of and probably directed russias influence operations against the 2020 u. S. President ial election. For example, we assess that putin had purview over the activities of andre derkach, a ukrainian legislator. Derkach has ties to russian officials as well as russias Intelligence Services. You spent many months of your life investigating Paul Manafort and others and their trump campaigns ties to russia and here we go again. Absolutely. I think its important for your viewers to when they i think its important for the viewers, when they think about ukraine, they really need to be thinking about russia because ukraine, for decades, is torn between the east and the west and the influence of the East And Russia is because they have essentially ukraine by the energy stranglehold, so they have enormous kmuns there. So, Rudy Giuliani really cant credibly say that he didnt have any idea who he was dealing with, and it makes sense that there would certainly be russian faction in ukraine who would be trying to influence the election in the same way that there were russians who were directly trying to do that and have been shown by bipartisan reports in the senate as well as by the Special Counsel report. And andrew, what are we to make of the fact that The End users of this information include the expresident . I mean, and again, in this investigation, Rudy Giuliani is not a subject of the probe, but they are examining what he did with the information. Well, Donald Trump consumed it, disseminated it as well. I believe Ron Johnson did too. Well, absolutely, and we saw that was Going On in the 2016 campaign as well as the 2020 campaign, which is they were perfectly happy to have information, and lets just remind ourselves what the first impeachment was about. It was essentially about buying an investigation of his political opponent by using 400 Million of Taxpayer Money as a way to dangle a carrot to get ukraine to open that investigation. And all of that by Defrauding The American public because its all about disseminating false information, disseminating what they hoped would be a false investigation into bidens son, and this is really so antidemocratic, its nice to see, though, that the Justice Department is taking this seriously. I suspect this is more of a national Security Investigation than a criminal one. Given the unlikelihood of somebody standing trial here in the United States, but it doesnt matter. Its still very good to get to the bottom of it. Yeah, i mean, Frank Figliuzzi, that was my question. Does this come out of the national Security Division and is this just meant to sort of put these individuals on alert that they if they come here, theyll be indicted or what is the purpose of an investigation like this one . Yeah, it certainly started as a Counterintelligence Investigation and its likely continuing as such parallel to what is now the criminal prosecution and this violation, the foreign agents registration act, is within the fbi worked by the counterintelligence division. Now, there may be partnered prosecutors and agents from public corruption, and we should pay close attention to that, because one of the angles im sure investigates are focused on like a laser is whether any of these characters will offer that rudy told them that he had the ear of the president , that he was convinced that the sitting u. S. Ambassador to ukraine could be removed. Why . Because maybe trump told him so. That would be Bombshell Information that would be very much a part of any national security inquiry, and answering that seminal question, was the president compromised . Was he in on all of this . But andrews got this exactly right. When you hear ukraine and these guys names . Just cross out ukraine and write russia. What does that mean . It means that rudy was essentially acting, as they say in russian Intelligence Service parlance, as the useful idiot. He was willing to be the conduit of russian disinformation to help his friend, donald, and essentially, rudy became the 2020 poorly produced sequel to the 2016 Paul Manafort, who was the russian connection back then. Thats what were talking about. Russian influence, disinformation. The question, how high did this go . How much did the former president know . Well, frank, we have some reporting that the White House was briefed, even if Rudy Giuliani wasnt briefed, and i understand thats sort of our understanding at this point. The White House was made aware that Rudy Giuliani was being used by, i believe, derkach or other ukrainians as part of sort of the instrument for funneling russian disinformation. Will this be is a criminal Investigation Or Prosecution the way well find out what they knew and when they knew it . Yeah, youre on the money there. Derkach was mentioned by name in the White House briefing as someone they needed to be aware of that rudy was engaged with, so now the question becomes did anybody at the White House warn rudy of that in any official capacity . Hey, watch it. Theyre on to you. Maybe you need to lay low here with this guy. If that happened, that would come out during this investigation, and it would add to the Intent And Knowledge and motivation of rudy who then could no longer say, well, i had no way of knowing this guy was a conduit of russian information. Prosecutors would be looking at that. Its an unbelievable new piece of our understanding of all of this. Ken vogel, thank you for your reporting on all of it and for joining us. Frank figliuzzi and andrew weissmann, thank you both for spending time with us on this friday. When we return, the staggering number of Capitol Rioters with ties to the United States military. Deadline White House back after a quick break. Deadline white hoeus back after a quick break. L music ] hey, you wanna get out of here . Ah ha. Weve got you. During expedia travel week, save 20 or more on thousands of hotels. Expedia. It matters who you travel with. Ok Everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. Great tasting ensure with 9 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, and nutrients to support immune health. Im so glad youre ok, sgt. Houston. This is sam with usaa. Do you see the Tow Truck . Yes, thank you, that was fast. Sgt. Houston never expected this to happen. Or that her Grandpas Dog tags would be left behind. But that one call got her a tow and rental. Paid her claim. And we even pulled a few strings. Making it easy to make things right thats what were made for. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Get a quote today. Keeping your Oyster Business growing has you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. When you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. Visit indeed. Com hire and get started today. Na na na na na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye. Na na na na na na na na. The worlds first sixfunction multipro tailgate. Available on the gmc sierra. Im greg, im 68 years old. I do motivational speaking the worlds first sixfunction multipro tailgate. In addition to the substitute teaching. I honestly feel that thats my calling to give back to younger people. I think most adults will start realizing that they dont recall things as quickly as they used to or they dont remember things as vividly as they once did. Ive been taking prevagen for about three years now. People say to me periodically, man, youve got a memory like an elephant. Its really, really helped me tremendously. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. This academic year has been, um, challenging. But i think theres so much success to celebrate. Woman its been a year like No Other. Man yet, for educators across california, the care, compassion, and teaching has never stopped. Woman addressing their unique needs. Man . And providing a safe Learning Environment students could count on. Woman join us in honoring the work of educators. Together, we will build a better california for All Of Us. Now that senate republicans have blocked the formation of a commission to investigate the January 6th capitol riot, many questions about that fateful day will go unanswered, at least for now. One of the more pressing problems and one that weve covered on this show many times is how to root out extremism in the military and Law Enforcement. One of the more alarming things weve learned since January 6th is the large number of former Military Members who participated in the 1 6 insurrection. According to the Washington Post, as of last month, at least 40 of the over 400 people charged in the January 6th riot came from a military background. One in ten. With no commission to investigate further, the question about why extremism has flourished among those with military ties may have just gotten a little more difficult to answer. Joining us now, jeremy butler, veteran of the united States Navy and ceo of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. Thank you so much for spending time with us today. First, your thoughts about the senate republicans voting down a commission where this surely would have been one of the issues probed. Yeah, its disappointing. I mean, any time youve got an incident like January 6th, you want to have a congressionally mandated commission that looks into what happened, why, who was involved, and how to make sure it doesnt happen again, so its one of those things where, you know, theres a lot of negative, obviously, around it. You know, in the beginning, right after we knew there was a lot of veterans involved, you mentioned about 10 of those that are being charged were veterans, right after it happened, some of us were sort of like, oh boy, lets not talk too much about that. But the reality is, we have to talk about that because thats the only way were going to fix things. We need to talk about it not only within the military and Veteran Community but the problem of Nationalism And Extremism within the greater american community because thats where were pulling our military and our veterans from, and so its certainly part of the problem and it is disappointing that the senate is not going to look deeper into this issue. I want to press you on that. Lets not talk about it. First reaction. But i want to do it in the context of some new reporting in the Associated Press today. In new interviews with the a. P. , current and former enlisatys and officers in nearly every branch of the Armed Services describe add deeprooted culture of racism and discrimination that stubbornly festers. Theres no explicit category for hate crimes. The Defense Department also has no way to track the number of troops ousted for Extremist Views, despite its repeated plengs to root them out. More than 20 people linked to the January 6th siege were found to have military ties. Why, even given the extraordinary step that this new Defense Secretary took of a standdown, are there still not ways to either identify it or deal with it . Absolutely. Were far from a solution here. Ive been in the navy for over 21 years. I served six years on active duty and still serve in the Reserve Community now. So, you know, the findings that you just cited there are by no means a surprise to me. The standdown was great. Its a first step but i think as anyone will tell you in the military, solutions to problems like this dont come from the top down. They dont come from general military training, which are the types of things that we have to go through annually. They happen and they occur when the Deck Plate soldiers, the Deck Plate sailors are the ones that are embracing this. So thats why i say that if were going to solve this, a big part of it does start with the military taking an honest assessment of whats Going On, but it really has to extend to america taking an honest assessment of whats Going On because anyone that is coming into the military with these Extremist Views probably got them from the civilian world before they came in. They certainly can be exacerbated within the military but we Cant Look at only one microcosm of the u. S. Society if were going to try and solve this. So, the things that are Going On within the Department Of Defense are a good first step but just like with sexual assault, sexual harassment, this is a much bigger problem that extends outside the Department Of Defense. I take your point that its a whole of society problem. I guess my only hope is that the military is better. Is that misplaced . No, its not. You know, i mean, i think we thats why going back to the beginning, when i think, you know, myself and some others kind of had that reaction as we were watching the events of January 6th, we were like, oh boy, lets not talk about the fact that theres obviously a lot of veterans involved in here. You know, for the last 20plus years, the Veteran Community, the Military Community has really been celebrated within this country and rightfully so, and its incidents like this that begin to peel back the layer of reality. You know . The vast majority of the military, the vast majority of veterans served honorably and continue to serve honorably when they hang up the uniform and thats why we have groups like iava team, rubicon, the mission continues. But the reality is, every problem that we have within society exists within the military. We hold up stats like 40 of the military come from minority communities and things like that. But when you look in the details, that breaks down when you get a lot closer. Im an officer in the military, and theres certainly not 40 of my peers that are minorities. When you look at even different ratings within the enlisted branches, that 40 certainly doesnt hold up. So, there is a lot of work that has to happen within the Department Of Defense, so please dont take my comments as anything other than, you know, very much acknowledging the fact that the Department Of Defense, we, you know, myself being a part of that, have a lot of work still to do. No, no, no. Im just admitting that i had, you know i think people, to your first point, people hold the military up as better than the rest of society. I think thats why its such a story, and i really appreciate your candor, and i hope this is a conversation we can continue week after week after week. Theres nothing more important. Jeremy butler, thank you so much. And thank you for your service and for spending some time here talking about it. When we return, what we know so far about the Criminal Charges manhattan d. A. Cy vance just might be considering against the Trump Organization. Back with that story after a quick break. Back with that Story Aerft a quick break. As your business changes, the United States postal service is changing with it. With ecommerce that runs at the speed of now. Next Day And Twoday shipping nationwide, and returns right from the doorstep. Its a whole New World out there. Lets not keep it waiting. Never run dry of. Itkiller attitude. Rld or hydration. 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When owning a Small Business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. And im gonna eh, eh, eh. Donny, no. Oh. And im gonna eh, eh, eh. I want to see you Stand Up i want to feel you be proud i want to hear your Beating Heart live out loud you can do it on your own Stand Up now be proud, yeah Stand Up now live out loud, oh were learning more today about Manhattan District attorney Cy Vance and the Criminal Charges he may be considering against Donald Trump and his business empire. Former prosecutors and defense attorneys Tell Politico that vance could bring charges under a new York Law known as little rico that resembles the federal racketeering statute. The law carries the penalty for severe penalties that, quote, can be applied to moneymaking businesses alleged to have repeatedly engaged in criminal activity as a way to boost their bottom line. It can carry a Prison Term of up to 25 years. At this point, no charges have been filed against trump, the Trump Organization, or any current Trump Org officials, and a spokesman for Vances Office declined to comment to politico on whether prosecutors are considering charges under the corruption law. Lets bring into our conversation, Harry Litman, former u. S. Attorney. This morning, when we talked about the story, i said i need Harry Litman to take me to school, explain what a rico prosecution looks like and what does little rico mean . Little rico just means its new Yorks Version of big rico, which is the feds. Whats it look like . It looks like the focus is really the enterprise that the Trump Organization has sort of rocked to its core. If you hear the sort of accounts of jennifer weisselberg, michael cohen, mary trump, they all say its not just trump, not just weisselberg. It was a way of doing business, an m. O. That was corrupt. Thats how they did things there andbusiness. An m. O. That was corrupt. That makes for a corrupt enterprise and thats why were considering it, which by the way, would be no surprise to anyone who knows the new York Law. Well, and it would be no surprise to anyone who sort of casually aligned with trump who described how he rolled in his family office. What do you think when you hear this theory of a potential prosecution under a little rico. I think, yep, this is what we have heard. This is the way he does things. It is not isolated crimes. Little rico is taking over of a regular business and making it dirty. It could be the mafia, but they have done it for construction companies or unions. And thats the account we have heard from insiders of the Trump Organization. They took this regular business and made a way of doing business of just being dirty, valuation, fraud, all kinds of things like that. Thats why the focus would be on the business. Also a lot of evidentiary means you get more stuff in. You make the vantage point. Be the enterprise, which really fits what we have heard, at least from the main critics of the Trump Organization who saw it from the inside. And would it include or could it ensnare Donald Trump himself, harry . It could, but it neednt. Weisselberg is high enough. Theoretically, you could have this prosecution with only weisselberg, but, yes, it naturally follows. It is the same kind of pressure on trump. It is just with a bigger frame and the possibility of more higher penalties and more evidence. So it wouldnt have to go to trump. It would be enough. But it easily could. And of course thats what Everyone has told us, the michael cohens, the jennifer weisselbergs, the mary trump. It all does go to trump. Hes the continuity of purpose. Thats the legal term that they look for. And we certainly heard him described as involved in all of minutia. Its an unbelievable turn of events if thats where this is heading. Thank you for spending time with us. 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Taking rybelsus® with a Sulfonylurea Or Insulin increases low Blood Sugar risk. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration which may worsen kidney problems. Wake up to whats possible with rybelsus®. Please dont take my sunshine away you may pay as little as 10 per prescription. Ask your Healthcare Provider about rybelsus® today. Tonight. Ill be eating Chicken Tikka Masala with garlic naan. [doorbell chimes] cheers. I win again, patrick. Thats siiir patrick. Oooooow. Sir. Keeping your Oysters Business growing has you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a Resume Data Base claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo to the yun of 70,000 cookies a year. Thats a lot of cookies. A lot of cookies makes a lot of friends. Seven, Eight Thousand cookies every season. Shirley was so well known around the texas Rangers Ballpark that there was a small Name Plate marking her seat in section 135. It said the Cookie Lady. It was a nickname quite well earned according to Nbc Dallas Fort worth. Back in the late 90s she sent one of the players a batch of cookies as a thank you gift. The cookies were a hit. Then she made more. And eventually there were cookies for anyone who wanted them, fans included. He was a legend in those fans for decades. So kind. So enthusiastic. But recently she got sick. The Cookie Lady passed away two weeks ago from complications of covid19 at the age of 82. The texas rangers and that i know fans honored her memory at a game with a moment of silence. We will echo by extending our deepest sympathies to the family. Thank you for letting us into your homes during these truly extraordinary times. The beat with Ari Melber starts after a quick break. Dont go anywhere. We made Usaa Insurance for members like martin. An Air Force Veteran made of doing whats right, not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa [sfx kids laughing] [sfx bikes passing] [sfx fire truck siren] onstar, we see them. Okay. Mother and child in vehicle. Mother is unable to exit the vehicle. Injuries are unknown. Thank you, onstar. My son, is he okay . Your sons fine. Thank you. There was something in the road. Its okay. Youre safe now. Welcome to the beat. We begin with these new clues in the ongoing Trump Organization criminal probe in New York. We have clues that expand the scope of what has been publically known in a fast moving and recently accelerating probe. It implicates Donald Trumps holdings. Tonight for the first time