trump's efforts to steal the election a year ago today. when all in starts right now. good evening from new york, i'm chris hayes. the congressional select committee investigating the conspiracy to overthrow american self governance and the attack on the capital, have just made another huge move tonight. releasing private text messages sent from a fox news personality to the chief of staff of the former president of united states and others in the day before and during the january 6th insurrection. the texts were released in a letter to sean hannity asking that he cooperate with their investigation. you will probably remember this is not the first time hannity was featured in the investigation surrounding january six. much of that is thanks to donald trump's former chief of staff, mark meadows. back in november, meadows turned over a trove about 9000 documents. a combination of texts and emails. things that he said were not privileged. and then right before it was time to appear before the committee he backed out. but here's a thing, he had already turned over thousands and thousands of documents. so on the night the committee voted to hold mark meadows in contempt for refusing to answer the questions, members from the committee one through just some of the material that they pulled from the documents he willingly passed along. they included texts sent to mark meadows in the middle of the violent insurrection. the vice chair of the committee, republican woman liz cheney of wyoming, read many of them out loud. texas like, quote, protesters are storming the capital and breaking windows and doors and rushing in. is trump going to say something? she read text from the presidents own son, don jr., who apparently had to text the chief of staff and then read. he's got to condemn this schitt asap. the capital police tweet is not enough. and text from multiple forks news personalities like laura ingraham and brian kilmeade and of course -- >> according to the records, multiple fox news host knew the president needed to act immediately. they texted mr. meadows. and he has turned over those text. quote, can he make a statement. ask people to leave the capitol? sean hannity urged. >> after she read those truly explosive techs, sean hannity sat in silence. ignoring what just happened. in, fact even went on to have mark meadows on his show that night. the guy who passed a law on the -- committee. and asked him nothing about it. nothing to see here. just to burrows burrowing about. and in the following day, he issued this rebuttal. >> where is the outrage in the media over my private text message being released again publicly? do we believe in privacy in this country? apparently not. i am an honest straightforward person. i say the same thing in private that i say to all of you. liz cheney knows this. she doesn't seem to care. she is interested in one thing and one thing only, swearing trump and purging him from the party. >> i am on a straightforward person, i say the same thing in private that they say to you. but clearly you didn't. that is the whole point. and that's all they have to say. well tonight, there are more texts. as i said at the top of the show, they come in the form of a letter. this letter was sent to sean hannity today, from the january six committee, asking him to cooperate in their investigation. i'm going to read you big chunks of the southern because the contents are really something. and you'll see. why quote, the select committee has no information in its possession. indicating that you had advance knowledge regarding president trump and his legal team planning for january six. it also appears that you are expressing concern and providing advice to the president answered and white house stuff regarding that planning. you also had relevant communications while the riot was underway. and in the days thereafter. the committee has dozens of text between hannity, meadows and notably other unnamed people about trump's efforts to contest the outcome of the election. including, one hannity sent to meadows on december 31st. that is less than a week before the insurrection. reading, quote, we can't lose the entire white house counsel 's office. i do not see january six happening the way he is being told. after the six, he should announce that he will lead the nationwide effort to reform voting integrity. go to florida and watch joe mess of daily. staying gauged. when he speaks people listen. >> go get him slugger. now that is sean hannity warning mark meadows, one week before the insurrection, that january six is not going to go the way that trump thinks it will. and is being told it will. and that trump should step aside. which, i got a few things to say about that. he is right. you go sean. but also prompts the question, what did hannity know about the plan? we can't lose the white house counsel's office? someone is losing and rubbing him in. according to that, the night before the rain, and indecent a series of taxing. i am very worried about the next 48 hours. and referencing the electoral votes. and pence pressure. why does council will leave. again, man. he is well sourced this sean hannity. that indicates that for some reason the white house thought the white house counsel will leave. and we have reporting indicating the white house counsel had threatened to do just that. so what did sean hannity know? committee also writes, quote, it also appears from other text messages that you may have had a conversation directly with president trump on the evening of january 5th and perhaps at other times regarding his planning for january six. sean hannity even talk to donald trump about a january six plan the night before it happened. what did they discuss? there was this other part of the leather that also just make my head turn. it appears that sean hannity may also be talking to members of trump's cabinet about possibly removing him from office. quoting the letter again. later on january six, you texted to meadows press coverage relating to a potential effort by members of president trump's cabinet to remove him from office under the 25th amendment. as you may recall, secretaries devos and child both reside following the presidents conduct on january six, ousted members of the presidents white house staff. we would like to question you regarding any conversation to had with mr. meadows or others about any effort to remove the president under the 25th amendment. men. let that sink in for a second. sean hannity was having discussions with trump's chief of staff and maybe others about removing trump? boy. you think you know a guy. as bad as all of that is, as word as sean hannity seems to have been about donald trump, this last texan gonna redo indicates he was worried that trump was not done. this is really interesting. the letter says the hannity spoke to trump on january 10th. before sending this message to mark meadows and republican, jim jordan of ohio, quote, guys we have a clear path to land the plane in nine days. he can't mention the election. again ever. i did not have a good call with him today. and worse, i'm not sure what is left to do or say, and i don't like not knowing if it's truly understood. ideas? wow. the idea that sean hannity was truly appropriately worried about what trump would do should scare all of us. because it sure looks like he knew more about the plot than any of us. and the thing, is this is really just the beginning. the letter reads very much like a kind of warning. it is explosive, obviously, but it's really just a preview of the stuff that he has. sean hannity knows what else they have, presumably, and without leverage the committee is asking nicely for sean hannity to cooperate with the investigation. congressman adam schiff and democratic california who serves on the committee investigating january six of the committees hoping to get con -- to cooperate. and he joins me now. cooperate what do you make of this? >> well, that he knows a great deal that should be shared with the committee. that should be shared with american people about planning before the six about conversations or text messages on the six about things after the six of january. that he was plainly concerned that he may be concerned about other things that the white house counsel's office would potentially -- and leave office if trump persisted. whatever they were plotting. clearly, he has very relevant information. we are not interested in his political commentary. we are not interested in what he does on fox. we are interested in the communications he had around the six. and shed light on this effort to overturn the election and he knows a great deal. >> well, let me just follow up on that. there is a big preamble in the letter saying that we respect the person amendment and journalism. you're right to free expression. we're not asking you for any of that. i'm glad you said that. but one could argue you are slicing the salami pretty thin. if some government body got a hold of my texan sources and said, well, in this one you're being an adviser and this when you're being a reporter. which by the way, my text on some like that. i'm not telling anyone have to land their plane. but that said, there is an argument to be made here that this is the kind of stuff that the press should be able to protect from the prime eyes of government. >> first of all, we are asking him to come in voluntarily. and of course, there is nothing about his responsibilities with a show that would preclude him from coming in and saying i can certainly answer these questions. this goes to my role as an advocate and someone who the president would rely on for advice and nothing to do with anything journalistic. so there's nothing protruding him from coming in. except, maybe he doesn't want to share with the country what he knows. but beyond that we are very careful to say what we are interested in. we are interested in what he can seen as a fact witness. we are not interested in anything that is covered by the first amendment. we appreciate what you are saying. but we are very careful about that as well. >> it's striking, the tone here. i think one of the things that we have learned and has been useful in some ways that the committee is releasing the tidbits that it has, is just reminding everyone that everyone, aside from trump, were freaked out by all of this. including, it appears, sean hannity. i have to note the, this is how he -- this is january six. he is texting, that he's worried about the next 24 hours. and as far as not reported for the next. time -- if you pulled off this crazy plan as attorney general. here is the opening on the night of january 5th. the day before the big day. take a listen. >> later will preview tomorrow's massive pro trump march. it will hear from senator ted cruz leading an effort to force an election audit for ten days prior to the electoral votes being confirmed by congress. a big day tomorrow, big crowds apparently showed up to the point where the west wing could hear the music and the chanting of the people that were there already. and this all kicks off in the morning tomorrow. >> well, sean that's right. and tomorrow it is an important day. we have an obligation, i believe to protect the integrity of the election. and to protect the integrity of the democratic system. >> i, mean it is striking how many people are facilitating this in public as they are privately ringing the alarm bells about where it's headed. >> that's exactly right. it is quite shocking but you have seen the conscious of what has been said publicly and privately. but even more striking is that you see the alarm from some of the former presidents closest most conservative allies striking alarm in and around january six. and you conscious that now with what you hear on that same network that he appears on. which is trying to whitewash the whole thing. that committee is also quite shocking. yeah, let me just re-read this. because this is after january six happened. >> again, there is widespread all's most unanimous contestants that it was an abomination and a dark, dark day. and you've got the two members saying, there is a clear plan to land the plane. you can't mention the election. never i did not have a good call with him today. i don't like knowing if it's truly understood. ideas? well guess what, trump won that battle. because their plan was that you cannot talk about this ever again. because this is so toxic and so aber in and so offensive to american democracy. but trump ignored them. kept talking. and everyone is back in the boat. >> you are absolutely, right and it's not just the fox personalities like kennedy and maybe others. but look at the legislative leadership in congress. mccarthy putting his finger to the win the day after the six and the attack of that day. i'm blaming trump that you have a vigorous statement of condemnation by mitch mcconnell and both of them coming up within a matter of days down in mar-a-lago. kissing the ring. begging forgiveness. but similarly, others like kennedy and carlson and others were singing a very different tune. now, trump did show that if he couldn't shoot someone in the street, he could lead an insurrection and still get people to follow them. all right, i imagine we'll see more of this, or public testimony, when will we see it pollutants money? >> i think within a matter of weeks. we're planning a series of hearings, several series of hearings. we want to bring the public along. you can tell from these text messages that we have learned a great deal. we want to share that with the american people, we want to make sure that we do that inappropriate manner, so that we can tell the story of what happened. but, also where we, don't compromise further fact finding. i would imagine -- excuse me. i imagine those hearings will start in a few weeks. >> congressman adam's, thank you very. much >> thank you. >> now, i want to bring in angela khorasan, president of media matters. erin mcquade, former u.s. attorney, the eastern district. angela, i want to star on the theme here, which i think is really, sort of, i think unintentionally funny. that is, the big embarrassing, revelation for hannity in ingram, is that they were correctly opposed to the coup, and tried to do what they could behind the scenes to make it not happen. they were prematurely anti coup. being anti coup is no longer an ideological acceptable position, the reason this causing barest meant, is precisely because they were behind the scenes, in private, correct on one of the key moral ethical questions on democracy in america. >> sorry. they simultaneously were facilitating the coup, and then immediately afterwards started to read con all of the circumstances around it. on the same day, for the on the fifth for example, on his radio show, peter navarro called in to hannity's radio show. hannity had him on. navarro was talking about how the sixth will be one of the biggest is in history, and he likened it to washington crossing in delaware, which if you remember, it was a surprise attack. there's a lot of context, for what hannity may have been hearing off air, that would've given some alarm on why we're seeing these text messages leak out. no >> yeah, that's a good point. the amount of playing with fire that is happy injuring this period, is off the charts. oh gosh, it looks like stuff is burning. desperate techs behind the scenes. and then that, night lighting off the fireworks. barbara, as somebody who has overseen investigations, fact finding, enterprises in the roles as u.s. attorney, what do you think the significance here is in terms of the development of this investigation? >> well, i think documents can be an absolute gold mine, because people will tell you one, thing but the documents will show you what was in their minds, and what was happening at the time. so, looking at these text messages that they apparently received for mark meadows, can really bring in these other players, and show the level of alarm that they had. some of the things that they identified in these messages -- it appears they were talking to donald trump. it appears from these text messages that you were aware that white house council members were preparing to resign en masse. it appears that you had advanced knowledge is on this attack on january 6th. please come talk to us about. that we want to learn more. it makes a very difficult for people to wiggle away, when you've got documents that show what was happening in realtime. it's a very important key to any red collar investigation. in this one, i guess there's a bit of one caller, and a lot of street crime involved. >> the call on the fifth, the mention of the white house counsel is very interesting to me, angela. we didn't know about that at the time, so we subsequently learned, that there was huge showdown, that is essentially a coup within the coup, with the department of justice, and jeffrey clark basically teaming up with donald trump decapitate -- install himself, to send out these letters, at least the georgia, basically saying, the election is tainted, if you guys want to send trump electors, have at it. the only thing that stops that, is the threat of that brexit nation, no one knew that in the time, except apparently it had gotten out to sean. >> that's right. that's where a significant. aside from the subsequent part of, this it also totally obliterates his idea that some higher he was engaging in journalism, or if it was a part of his job, it absolutely exposes him, as essentially a part of this. as an operative, the type of advisor -- people use the tongue-in-cheek -- this is exactly the kind of information that a chief of staff would hold close to their chest, while they proceed in the media would put out there, because it's this -- i think that's the real big part about this. it obliterates his claim that somehow this, undermines job, or his role as an investigative journalist. >> yeah, i mean it was a pretty big scoop that he sat. on i bet he's bummed that he didn't get on that scoop. i think the big question here is, what the public portion of this might look like as schiff talked about it. when he said that we have learned a lot, i have really come to believe that they have. every subsequent interview that i've done with them, it's been clearer and clearer to me, whatever stonewalling that people have done, a lot of people talk to them. >> yeah, it sounds like they've been talking to many of the members of pence's team, who were his chief of staff, and some of his key aides. they may want to talk to pence himself, but even if, not pence is in blocking their testimony. so, it sounds like they're telling them a lot. i think what congressman schiff is saying, they want to put together some public hearings to show the highlights of what they've been hearing, and bring the public along with the committee, where they are today. whenever you conduct an interview with somebody like mike pence's chief of staff, you'll probably sent to 8 to 15 hours talking to him, but they only got like an hour of it that's value. and these public, hearings they can present that key testimony, instead of getting it lost in the mass of all the details. >> angela cortisone, barbara mcquade, thank you both. one year ago today, donald trump's desperate efforts to overturn the election remain in office, against the will of voters, who's already, as you just saw, well underway. there's a lot going on that we didn't know, that is only now coming to light, -- next, what we know now about the pressure campaign, that extending from local election workers, all the way to the vice president, after this. one year ago, today, genuine forest, 2021, was a monday, it was the first business day after holidays. we were just over two weeks from inauguration day -- there was one big story driving the news on that monday, i remember a well. here is a headline blaring across the front page are. times on tape, trump pushes georgia to find votes. everyone was, talking about the recorded phone call of, then president donald trump trying to pull off a coup. trying to steal the election in georgia, by bullying the secretary of state. washington post had obtained a copy of the recording in published it on, the previous day -- of course the key moments in that call, was when donald trump asked to find him enough votes to win, to flip the outcome of the race in georgia. >> i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state. so what are we going to do here, folks? i only need 11,000 votes. fellas, i need 11,000 votes, give me a break. >> this time last year, we know about that. it was everywhere. but, there was so much more clear related planning going on. here's a headline from lash anywhere fourth, that went a bit under the radar, and it's from the associated press. trump appointed u.s. attorney resigns in georgia. vijay park, then the top thorough prosecutor, abruptly left his job, in the wake of the call. one day before the runoff, georgia senate elections. quoting, the statement announcing this resignation did not say why pack was leaving or when he plans to do next. which seemed pretty odd, at the time, we don't know why. it was when it looked like, the white house had forced him to resign. because as, the wall street journal reported, president trump was upset that he wasn't doing enough to investigate the presidents unproven frames of fraud. a senior justice department official, at the behest of the white house, called trump appointed u.s. attorney -- in that call the officials said mr. trump's fury said there was no investigation related to election fraud, and the president wanted to fire mr. park. bjp rock confirmed that story, reportedly, in closed-door testimony, to this's -- in august. now, there is something even fishy are going down, in georgia, on january 4th. all on the same day. we did not know about the time, and we didn't find it bowed about it and so just a few weeks. go on january 4th, an emissary from the trump campaign a -- georgia woman who works in the fulton county election office, who had become the target of a slew, an avalanche of false argue is a shuns of fraud. in fact, donald trump brought up her name, no listen 18 times during his phone call to brad raffensperger, we're offering to her as a professional vote scammer. a hustler, known political operative, who stuff the ballot boxes. on the fourth, that campaign emissary who was the one time -- showed up freeman's home, and threatened her. she said, according to freeman, their freeman confessed to trump's voter fraud allegations, where people would come to your home in 48 hours, and she will go to jail. this was all part of the coordinated campaign to keep president trump in power, against the will of the american people. some of his allies, -- over on fox news, senator josh hawley of missouri, alluded to more behind the scenes plotting going on. >> pin you down on what you're trying to do. are you trying to say, that as of january 20th, that president trump will be president? >> that depends on what happens on wednesday. this is why we have the debate. >> no it doesn't, by the state and, the constitution say they certify the election, they'd certify >> congress does have the right to. . private, at the white house, we now know that donald trump was meeting with this vice president. attempting to convince pence to >> -- the law and steal the election for. him nbc news reported that he make clear to pence privately that he expected to use his role as the president or the senate to deny biden the presidency. that evening, at a rally in georgia, trump put the pressure on pence again. >> i hope mike pence comes through for us, i have to tell you. i hope that our vice president, our great vice president comes through for us. he's a great guy. of, course if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. [laughs] >> mike is a great guy. >> we heard that at this time one year ago. i don't think it quite sunken. donald trump was planning a coup out in the open. he was deadly serious about retaining power. but we do not have that excuse anymore. anymore. who's on it with jardiance? we're 25 million prescriptions strong. we're managing type 2 diabetes... ...and heart risk. we're working up a sweat before coffee. and saying, “no thanks...” ...to a boston cream. jardiance is a once-daily pill that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and jardiance lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including... ...dehydration, genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare, but life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your 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things. >> i hope that our great vice the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. only from sleep number. president, our great vice president comes through for us. he's a great guy. of course, if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. >> of course, pence didn't come true in the end. but the electoral count wasn't the only way trump was trying to stay in power. a detailed in the excellent new book, the steele, had efforts to steal in multiple states. it only because an ordinary state, election workers that democracy managed to -- >> mark bowden and matthew teague join me now. i sort of go to each of you because there's a lot in here and a sort of ground eye of this. we sort of did a version of it up in washington, d.c.. in the white house and also on the capital. mark bowden and then matthew teague maybe. what did you uncover about what was happening in these various states? mark bowden, wanted to go first. >> i was surprised, chris, about how concerted the effort was. basically the trump organization sent lawyers and activists to do the six swing states where the vote was close. so this was a very concerted effort that filed 60 something lawsuits and demonstration prep or campaigns. trump was on the phone with local and state elected officials. so it was not as slapdash as would happen on january six. and i think that i was also very pleasantly surprised to learn that the state and local officials, many of them are republicans. many of them are trump's. they refused to be believed and controlled into falsifying the results of the election. that was a heartening thing to discover. >> yes, i want to talk about a few of those examples. but matthew, going to you about the level of coordination here. you've got receptive voices of the local level pressure coming. sometimes people traveling to the states to try and make this happen. not just in washington but at the state level as well. >> yes. you mentioned ruby freeman, the election worker there in georgia who is approached by a publicist who is working at some capacity with con u.s.. that was something we found out and a story that we broke in the book. it was just a level of harassment. it was poured out on these election workers who are not in it for a lot of money. they were just there to do their duty. and there was coordination internationally to heat the peak on these peoples lives. >> this sort of mob mentality and the way that these people are delusional, i think that they are diluted with the death threats. you've got gabe, who worked for brad raffensperger coming out and saying, you need to cool it. someone's going to get hurt here. and someone did get hurt on january six. that came to flourish and. but the other part of this was, ultimately we think while the guardrails were that mike pence wouldn't go along with it. the white house counsel threatened to resign but you guys document some of the guardrails at a local level. including, like you said, mark trump supporting republicans who just, you know, when faced with doing the wrong thing or the right thing, do the right thing and stick by. >> yes chris, for better or worse than america, elections are not conducted by federal agencies in washington d.c.. they are conducted by your neighbors. and my neighbors. and every community all across the country. and these folks, take it very seriously. they take the responsibility seriously. and i think that a lot of the pressure is being put on them was coming from people, including at the very highest levels, who had very little understanding of how elections are run in the united states. so i really think that the most significant effort that was made to overturn the election had to have been made in the states. it had to be made with local and state officials. with whom was the responsibility for a certified election in their state. and to a men and women, this pretty much help. they refused to falsify the results of the election. i think that speaks well. the american people are not as dishonest as donald trump would like them to be. >> i want to play an example of that. michigan republican, a man by the name of ban -- came under enormous pressure to not certify in michigan. and it did. i want to play what he said on november 23rd, 2020. because it sort of embodies this kind of spur that ended up i think saving the day. take a listen. >> we have a clear legal duty to certify the results of the election as by the overturn and given leaders. it cannot and should not go beyond that. john adams once said that we are government at laws not men. and this forward is to it here to that principle here today. this board must do its part to uphold the rule of law and comply with our legal duty to certify this election. i will be supporting the motion. >> now, matt, aaron van langevelde, it is one of a number of officials who have essentially been turfed out because they did the right thing. by the local gop. he's been removed from that canvassing board. you've got raffensperger facing a primary challenge. there has been a lot of motion to go after precisely the people who held the line last time and make sure that they are not there next time. >> yes. they are in michigan and there's a longtime county clerk who made a mistake on election day. she accidentally shifted about 3000 votes from trump to biden. it wasn't very a computer savvy -- she quickly corrected the mistake within a few hours. but by the time she did there were private jets on the way, teams that were working with trump were coming to her office. they really turned her life inside. out and she, as a result, did not run again to be county clerk. because people, very versatile because that she had, sign accused her of being anti patriotic and anti-american. so there is a cost of telling the truth. >> mark bowden and matthew teague, who's excellent new book, "the steal: the attempt to overturn the 2020 election and the people who stopped it". is out now. many thanks to you both gentlemen. next, trump's endorsement of his authoritarian role model reveals how the mongols party vision of america's. after this. a's. after this we have talked at length about fox news 9 pm acre, and his role in donald trump's coup. now we want to take a look at their 8 pm host, and their work to undermine democracy. first, in context, it is not uncommon for cable news show to take a show on the road every now and then, broadcasting live from swing states, that happened election, for example, or the side of a natural disaster, in the news event. in fact, before the pandemic they, would do it on the lot of time. back in august, fox news host, tucker carlson, went outside the usual scope, he spent an entire week anchoring show from budapest, hungary. it was not to cover a specific story, per se, but rather just to be like, hungary is awesome. offer a glowing endorsement of life and, under its authoritarian government. we've mentioned him on the show several times, or barn has ruled hungry for over a decade, worries work to transform the country into what he calls an illiberal democracy. he is sharply cut democracy -- rewritten election laws, in his favor. he has transform hungry from a thriving democracy, to one bordering on, one party rule. he has been routinely criticized for undermining the rule of law. it should come as no surprise that he is something of a hero on the motion right, who harbored their own authoritarian dreams. in respect, he has been subverting liberal democracy, with a bigoted brand of conservatism, just listen to what's occurred to say about him. >> of the nearly 200 different countries on the face of the earth, precisely one of them, has an elected leader, who publicly identified the western style conservative. his name is viktor orban, the prime minister of hungry. what does viktor orban believe. his views would've seen moderate, a few years ago, unconventional, he thinks families are more important than banks. he thinks his country needs borders. for saying these things out loud, or bond has been vilified. >> i mean, literally every -- that's clearly not what's going on. tucker carlson is not his only fanboy. yesterday, donald trump, former president united states, took it in extraordinary step of endorsing him. viktor orban, of hungry, once a few forest people, i'm laughing because this, is the best he can work. he wants a power -- stopping immigration, stopping jobs, trade and should be allowed to do so in the upcoming election. he is a strong leader and respected by all. he has my complete, support and endorsement for reelection's prime minister. it's our take awaiting the vision of london and of american rule democracy, by endorsing a guy who is doing it, in another country. when conservatives like truck on ben carlson say they want to use the power of the state to defang liberal society, believe them. i'll talk to an expert on the danger there finding presents here on the u.s., next. , next this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. who spent got literally wrote the book on -- she tracks a history, and demigods, in the ways in which they dismantle the norms of liberal democracy to keep themselves in power. she then yet discusses people like vladimir putin, in or bon, -- who admire his willingness to subvert democratic convictions, in order to pursuit of political agenda. she also pursues -- specifically donald trump than his political movement and how they mirror those far-right groups who are working to dismantle democracy. one year ago, just as williston to learn more about launches behind the scenes attempt, she wrote oppression article where she wrote of donald trump's desperate attempt to cling to power. trump has followed an authoritarian, rather than a democratic, playbook as president. it is fitting he would end up like some of -- surrounded by his latest crop, trying politically to escape the reality of his defeat. she now joins me now. ruth, i thought maybe we would start with the significance of war bond. he is very important figure, in europe, to the european, right in the context of the european union, and oppose liberal world, if that's where we're headed. especially for, american liberals. what should we know about when he is done in hungary? >> viktor orban is the poster boy of the new global right. he is trying very hard to make budapest and hungry, access to point oh. his policies have kind of been like a checklist avoided gop aspires to. homophobic, transphobia, he banned gender studies -- you can't be -- if you're not a man or woman. he has domesticated the media. we don't hear about people being poisoned or falling out of windows, so he's more palatable than putin, but he uses a huge amount of pressure, and economic, and promises to make peoples lives difficult, economically. for example, hundreds of media companies quote, donated their assets to a foundation run by one of his -- lesson example of what is pressure tactic. some of, all his pioneer this kind of, electoral democracy -- autocracy. where you hold -- were you -- you control the judiciary, you control the electoral apparatus, the ones you need to say in. power all that sounds very familiar, if you follow where the gop wants to do. >> what is your reaction to trump coming out and endorsing him, from his weird exile, and sort of nowhere? it's not surprising, but it's fourth right in terms of what is aspirations are. >> so, trump -- it's interesting that trump identifies with him. orban was voted out of power, this was a much longer timeframe. orban's of opportunist, just like trump. he was a centrist, he was voted out of power. and then he spent time making his way into the right. he saw where the wind was blowing, ending up back in. he determined that he would never leave again. so, he's proceeded to severely damaged democracy. he's also a climate of putin. so, in endorsing or, bond he sending a message to putin. there is that going on as well. it goes with the gop's embrace of hungry. the gop really sees hungary's president, as america's future. that's why cpac will be there, that's why pence, who is not the biggest global traveler, when you tried it over to, budapest talk about how he hoped abortion rights will be taken away in america, that is. -- broadcasting. so trump to nourishment is in line with this republican admiration for orban. >> i will say, i don't know why he went to budapest, but i death we have thought, maybe we need a week of theme shows about why this south of spain as an autumn spate for the future of democracy, on nbc's dime. you know, it's nice work if you can get it. what are the lessons, i guess, from more bonds rise, in terms of how institutions i've been molded or shaped, or subverted by? >> well, he's been able to use pressure, in a very effective way. he's got this crony capitalism, what was so maddening about what tucker carlson's whitewashing -- orban has found himself as a defender of white christianity, so he's anti-migrant, he's antisemitic, with his obsession of george soros. he's the defender of christiana tv. all the way back to medieval kristen times. all these things will statues, and saints, but tucker carlson did not say that orban has persecuted hundreds of churches that are not in line not -- run buys loyalists. he's is classic autocrat in that regard. the other thing we're not hearing about is praying on business. now, he does it do this to the extent that putin does, but many people who have a profitable business the, state has come calling, or are ones quotas have come calling, and our pressure to sell your asset, just like i talked about the media properties and put pressure to be, quote, donated. the state is a predator. some people call it a mafia state. for that exact reason. >> ruth, thank you so much for your time. >> pleasure. >> that is all it, on this tuesday night, good evening rachel. >> once again, we're having a weird one. that is in terms of a news. night tonight, the january six investigation has written to a cable news host, to ask him to preserve his communications related to the january 6th attack on the capital, including his communications with former president trump, and others at the trump white house. they are asking him to come in for a transcribed interview, asking him to commit a transcri interviewed. they are not subpoenaing him, nor are they raising that prospect, of course, that kind of prospect looms in an investigation in which lots of other people have been subpoenaed. in this letter to the cable news host, they released a series of his texts. his communications with trump white house chief of staff mark meadows in particular. the reason they have released those texts it appears is to make the case both to him and the public. that he is an important fact witness for the investigation. and they need to ask him asks about what he knows. he may know stuff other people don't. now the tv host in question is a man named sean hannitity. he's a prime time week night host at the fox news channel.