Grabien

Reporter: “Harrison Butker made some comments recently that have drawn a lot of attention. And I’m wondering, do you when it comes to political stances do you encourage your players to talk about that stuff amongst themselves, or do you tell them leave that stuff out of the building? How do you handle the politics in general in the locker room?” MCDANIEL: “Well, I’m glad you asked.” (Laughter)

BURNETT: “And in this case, which has been laid out so clearly, were you surprised with what Evan was just saying, what Judge Cannon said today, that she thought that it would be hard for a jury to understand this case? Do you think, there’s anything to that?” COBB: “I think most jurors will have a triple-digit IQ, and that’s probably not familiar territory for Judge Cannon, but I don’t — I don’t think they’ll have the difficulty that she perceives. And frankly, anybody who struggles to understand it should read Judge Howell’s 87-page opinion with regard to the crime fraud exception where she makes it very clear that the evidence is really overwhelming, the commission of the crimes and Trump’s attempt to use his own lawyer as an instrumentality of the crimes by hiding documents from him and removing documents out of the storage facility, so that when he searched it, he would not find the classified documents.” BURNETT: “So, Ty, this was the first time we heard from Judge Cannon since she indefinitely postponed the trial. First hearing devolved into a shouting match, as we were just saying. Do you think there’s any possibility that this case moves at all? I mean, there’s no trial date now. She’s made that formal.” COBB: “No, I don’t think this case will move at all. And I think the fact that she’s scheduling hearings, multiple hearings, you know, sort of one or two motions at a time, is compelling evidence of that. Most federal judges would have long ago ruled on all the pending motions. And frankly, this is a case. That should have started trial yesterday, or two days ago, when the original trial date was set. This case could have easily gotten to trial. Only her incompetence and perceived bias has prevented that.” BURNETT: “All right, Ty, thank you very much. I appreciate it.”

Goldman: “And there’s no question that Donald Trump has visions, as we saw from his video with the ‘unified Reich,’ which was a completely knowing an intentional inclusion in that video, let’s be real here, he is paving the way to become a Vladimir Putin or to become an Adolf Hitler or a Kim Jong-un. That’s what he wants to be. And all of this is in the lead-up to paving the way for him to win this election and then to take over this country and literally to eliminate the democracy that we know.”

Reid: “And so you — you were brought into the case and you came November 1st. This was after, you know, the — there was — the investigation, there’s a special grand jury that then gets impaneled in May of 2022. That’s just the basic timeline. And because this is really what became an issue in attempting to remove D.A. Willis and yourself from the case, at the time that you were brought on to the case, from then through the time of the grand jury, before you were brought on, did you have a personal relationship with or a personal intimate relationship with D.A. Willis?” Wade: “Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Our relationship was professional. Our relationship grew organically over time. It was something that was not deliberate or intentional. I made the statement earlier that workplace romances are as American as apple pie, right? That was not to make light of the situation. That was just to say that it could happen to anyone. Of course, we’re not speaking in extremes. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s a thing that happens. It’s a thing that happened to us. I felt like we dealt with it in a manner that was professional. We kept our personal lives personal and private. And I still believe that it had no place in the courtroom. Not now and not then.” Reid: “Now this issue became an issue in your divorce. You filed for divorce literally the day after you were brought on as special prosecutor. And this became an issue to the point where your former wife tried to subpoena and drag D.A. Willis into the case. And so, you know, the contention that she was making was that this was an on going relationship that began before. So you say that absolutely it did not begin before you became special prosecutor.” Wade: “Absolutely not. And I think the contention that she was making at the time was not that it began before then, was that there was some funds that were used — marital funds that were used in order to entertain her.” Reid: “Okay. And now let’s talk about this, because the case to try to remove D.A. Willis and to remove yourself, it involved — I mean, to me this is not anyone’s business. Everyone’s personal life, as you said, workplace romances happen, but can you tell me when it the timeline of this case — because you had a grand jury that was impaneled later in 2022— about when did the relationship take place?” Wade: “So, let me say this. I needed to be clear that when the relationship began, my then-wife was not in the home. She had moved to Texas and we had been separated for a period of time. We did not have a relationship. She knew and I knew, by agreement, that as soon as our youngest child graduated high school and matriculated into college, that we would then formally file the divorce.”

Reporter: “I’d like to hear you about the preparation for the role. And the second question, I don’t know if you could use the word ‘honor’ related to Trump, but do you believe that he has a code of honor. What is this code?” STAN: “Preparation, right? Well, it was sort of a 24/7 kind of immersion process of basically, I guess, living with him, to some extent, in my headphones and on my phone and YouTube and everywhere I was going and walking, whatever I was doing. If I was in the bathroom, I was listening to him. So, I don’t know how else to do it, you know, except one hundred percent, and that’s what I tried to do in the limited time that we had. And, you know, he is a human being like everybody else, so I guess we all have certain codes and certain principles. It just depends on what they are. I guess it’s relative to everybody.” Reporter: “Thank you.”

ALEXANDER: “You opened today’s briefing by talking about the latest student loan cancellations for I think we said — what did we say, in total, 4.75 million Americans now, I think there’s 160.000 in this latest round. Mike Johnson, the Republican House Speaker, today described this as a massive wealth transfer from Americans who did not attend college to those who did, and he described it as a shameful play to buy more votes six months before an election.” Jean-Pierre: “I will say to congressional member Mike Johnson, obviously the speaker, is that what is shameful is that Republicans continue to get in the way of helping us deliver a little bit of breathing room for Americans who deserve that opportunity, who deserve — you heard me talk about about Tiffany, the young woman who — who — one of the things that people should know, and if you don’t, is that when folks are receiving these — these debt relief announcements from the president, they have an opportunity to tell their story. They have an opportunity to — to say why this matters to them. And we’re talking about millions of Americans who now have an opportunity to start a life, have an opportunity to move forward in a way that — where they can reach that American dream or reach whatever it is that they wanted to do, not just for themselves, but for their families. So we believe, and the president is not going to walk away from doing that. He believes this is an important commitment that he made to Americans. It is a broken system. It is a broken system.” ALEXANDER: “I guess the question, though, what then is the White House’s message to those Americans who did not attend college for a variety of reasons, perhaps, including perhaps that they didn’t want to take on all the debt that went with it, right now, that they feel like in some form they are responsible for allowing those who did not to pay their fair share?” Jean-Pierre: “So, look, here’s the thing. This is a president who has been very clear about breed making sure that he’s building an economy that leaves no one behind, right, making sure that — “ ALEXANDER: “Are the people who have been left behind the ones who didn’t get support because they didn’t go to college?” Jean-Pierre: “I hear your question, but this is — if you look at what the president has done holistically, over the past three and a half years, he has tried to build an economy for everyone. This is one part of his economic policy. When you think about creating — creating 15 million jobs, many of those jobs, if you think about the different legislation that he’s obviously passed into law, where there’s the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, Chips and Science Act, it’s creating jobs that are good union-paying jobs where you don’t need a college education, right, where you can make six figures and actually have that opportunity to start your family. He is creating an economy from the bottom up, middle out, making sure that the millionaires — the billionaires and corporations are paying their fair share — fair share, right? Not like Republicans in Congress who want to give them a tax giveaway. So he’s trying to make sure — this is one part of his economic policy, but as he’s thinking forward, as he’s looking at all Americans, all communities, he wants to make sure that there isn’t economy that doesn’t leave — again, doesn’t leave anybody behind and, as historically, that trickle-down economics does not work, and he does not want to see that. So we have given opportunities and we want to continue to give opportunities for folks who feel like they need a little bit more help.” ALEXANDER: “And I guess just to put a fine point on it, right now, for the 4.7 million Americans who have received this debt relief, the average, as you said at the start of this, is $35,000 their relief has been for. So, I guess, why don’t those individuals who didn’t receive $35,000 in debt cancellations deserve a $35,000 check from other Americans for whatever means they would want to use it?” Jean-Pierre: “You’re talking about the — “ ALEXANDER: “They didn’t go to college so they’re not getting that relief, the $35,000 they don’t get because they didn’t go.” Jean-Pierre: “I mean, we’re talking about folks who are in debt, who are literally being crushed, literally being crushed because they took — they took — they took — “ Reporter: “Literally being crushed? Let’s be — “ Jean-Pierre: “Financially. Okay? Is that okay with you? I know, but crushed financially. And so, they’re trying to get their lives back on track, right? They’re to get into a place, because they took they took a bet on themselves in a different way, right, they bet on themselves in going to college, and some of them, it is difficult to do that, right? They did that, financially it’s hurt them, and we want to give them that breathing room. But it’s not just folks who have debt because of colleges. We’re trying to help people in different — in different communities as well. Folks who don’t have to get that college degree and can make six-figure salary, that is one of the things that the president was very proud of when he passed a bipartisan infrastructure legislation, when he signed the Chips and Science Act. Those are really important components of what he’s trying to do as well. Let’s do — if you think about making sure — healthcare, healthcare is more affordable, getting that prescription drug, many for diabetes, for cancer, making sure that those costs are lower, insulin. So there are many ways that the president has made sure that Americans have what they need to move forward with their lives, create and build a family where there — they feel like they’re going after their dreams as well. And so, look, you know, we want to make sure that, again, the student loan piece is one part, one part of the president’s economic policy, and the president’s not gonna step away from it, he’s not going to back down, because he believes it’s the right thing to do.” ALEXANDER: “Thank you.”

Haley: “As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border — no more excuses. A president who would support capitalism and freedom, a president who understands we need less debt, not more debt. Trump has not been perfect on these policies, I have made that clear many, many times, but Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will be voting for Trump.”

RUHLE: “Now a new report from the Fed shows people are still struggling to cover day-to-day expenses, even as inflation has slowed. But some big consumer brands are beginning to take action. Target says it is cutting prices on 5,000 essential items, things like milk, butter, pet food. Wendy’s is now offering a $3 breakfast deal. And rivals like McDonald’s are offering new lower priced value meals. Here to discuss an old friend of mine, Austan Goolsbee President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. We need an economic explainer. People are confused, they’re exhausted, but they’re also doing quite well. So I want to start with prices. They’ve been an issue for everyone. What is your take when you hear about big consumer brands actually cutting prices.” GOOLSBEE: “Good. But you’ve had — you’ve had inflation that got way too high in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. Incomes didn’t keep up with that. Now inflation slowed, in 2023 actually quite a lot. Inflation came down almost as much as it’s ever come down.”

Ocasio-Cortez: “And by the way he’s doing it in the South Bronx not to make a point but because he’s got court and the man practically has the legal version of an ankle bracelet around him and he can’t leave the five boroughs because he always has to be in court. And so it is truly an embarrassment to him.”

McCaskill: “Yeah, and don’t forget, we have Senate candidates in those states too. And they are doing remarkably well. If this is all about changing parties, somebody needs to let the folks that are responding to polls in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, let them know that those Senate candidates support the same policies that President Biden has embraced. And you know, last night, Joe, I was looking really carefully, it’s really interesting to see which party is going to be more extreme, because typically, the party that is most extreme has the most difficulty in these states that swing back and forth. You look at what happened in Oregon last night, where you had a very progressive candidates from local DA in Portland, all the way to two open congressional seats. And the moderates won. They swept the table.” SCARBOROUGH: “Wow!” McCaskill: “So I think that what you’re seeing here is a coming home to understanding that Joe Biden is a decent man with loads of integrity. And for those swing voters, that’s going to matter. And the more Donald Trump talks, he is way more extreme today than he was ever in 2016 or 2020. He is saying things that he didn’t even think about saying back in those elections.” BRZEZINSKI: “Oh, that’s right.” McCaskill: “And the more he’s out there, the more it’s going to help Joe Biden.” SCARBOROUGH: “Far more extreme, again, Joe Biden, you know, it’s never going to look like Beatlemania when Joe Biden steps off a plane going to an event. Joe Biden’s — Joe Biden’s about normalcy. And by the way, if you don’t think that’s a winning message in ‘24 you’re not talking to the right voters, who even if they voted for Trump in ‘16 are exhausted now. I do want to say, Mika, following up on what Claire said, let’s compare what happened in Oregon last night which thank God, they voted in some moderate DAs. Thank God after the chaos in Oregon over the past eight years maybe they’re — they’re returning to the middle. I mean, they’re already like, you know, handing out, you know, heroin and gum machines up there. You know, it’s just absolute lunacy, lunacy. And so thank God, the voters said enough of that. And we want moderate DAs. We want a moderate approach. We actually want to hold criminals, you know, responsible for crimes. So that’s important. But we can go from Oregon on this extremism to North Carolina. I never thought I would say this. But the extremism of the Republican Party in North Carolina and the gubernatorial candidate, and I think their candidates for commissioner of education, I don’t know if I have that title right are so extreme.” BRZEZINSKI: “Yeah.” SCARBOROUGH: “They actually have put North Carolina into play, which I would have told you three months ago was not possible.”

WAGNER: “When you think about a second Trump Administration, what do you think the implications would be for the FBI?” COMEY: “Oh, serious, for the Justice Department and FBI, because Trump is coming for those institutions. He knows their power and I think he has regrets that he didn’t work hard enough to corrupt them the last time. So he’s coming for them and that’s a danger for all Americans. He will put people in positions in those organizations. He didn’t have all-stars the last time. He will have the bottom of the barrel this time, but people who will want to do his will. And that should worry every American. This election matters because of a reason like that. People have to participate. You cannot sit on the sideline. I don’t care how you feel about Joe Biden, you must vote for him because the consequences on the other side are too severe.”

COLLINS: “You said that you will vote ‘no’ on this bill, even though, of course, we all know about the efforts that you put into it. Why are you voting ‘no’ on Thursday?” LANKFORD: “It’s no longer a bill, now it‘s a prop. We spent four months sitting down in a bipartisan way to be able to work out what do we think we can actually get passed. Obviously, I was not successful in getting something that can actually get passed. The problem still remains. Everyone knows that this bill is not going to pass, and Senator Schumer is bringing back up to try to bludgeon people. But what will be interesting on it is, you‘re not going to have Republicans that are going to vote for it, the same Republicans who didn‘t vote for it last time, but I expect there‘ll be more Democrats that will vote against it this time as well when it’s standalone. There were some Democrats that said, ‘I‘m not going to vote for it if it doesn‘t have DACA, if it doesn‘t have amnesty,’ if it doesn‘t have all those things they wanted. They were willing to vote for it if it had Ukraine and Israel funding in it, but not willing to vote for it on a standalone. So it‘d be interesting to see how many votes it gets total. My challenge to the Senate, and as you played the clip from earlier today was, let‘s actually sit down like grown-ups. If the whole thing wouldn‘t work and we couldn‘t pass the Republican proposal, which is H.R. 2, we couldn‘t pass this particular bipartisan proposal, which was my bill I worked on with Senator Sinema and Senator Murphy, if that couldn‘t pass, let‘s at least sit down and figure out what will pass. Let‘s not just keep pulling the same bills up over and over again that we know we‘re not going to pass and pretend we’re doing something. We‘re not getting it solved. Let‘s sit down. Let‘s actually work this out and let‘s get it done, because yesterday, with more than 5,000 people, again, that illegally crossed the border yesterday, this has got to stop.” COLLINS: “But, senator, you knew the first time that you voted for it, that it also wasn‘t going to pass then and you still did vote for it then?” LANKFORD: “Yeah. That was actually when we‘re in the heat of trying to be able to get the moment out, and my challenge to my colleagues was, let‘s actually see if we can actually pass this. That was when we brought the bill up. Obviously, the week before, I felt like we were going to pass it, and over about 72 hours I had quite a few folks have walked away and said, ‘Nope, not going to vote for it this time.’ My challenge was to my colleagues, let‘s step up and do it. That‘s now several months ago. We know it‘s not going to pass again. Senator Schumer‘s just bringing this up for a political reason on it. And I‘ve said, ‘Hey, Senator Schumer, if you want to actually pass something, let‘s sit down and actually work this out.’ But this is not a bipartisan attempt to be able to solve something. This is a partisan attempt for fundraising or for whatever attempt they‘re trying to do. And honestly, I don‘t think most of the American people are paying attention to this at this point because we‘ve already voted over this. You wouldn‘t run into anyone on the street today that said that bill is going to pass this week, because everyone already knows the outcome, just like we do in the Senate.”

BEHAR: “So but I’m — I’m nervous about saying anything against Biden, because I feel you know, not that I have so much power and you have some more than — than I do, obviously.” MAHER: “Oh, I don’t know about that.” BEHAR: “But are you afraid that you might, you know, influence people who are on the fence?” MAHER: “I think you lose all credibility. I do. My bond with my audience has always been I don’t pull a punch.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “My bond with my audience is you not going to like everything I say —“ BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “— but you know I’m saying what I really think is true.”

NEHLS: “Fantastic job, fantastic job. Troy Nehls, from the great state of Texas. I tell you what I saw today, this is nothing more, and the American people see it, this is election interference. First time to the courtroom. I’ve sat in there for an hour, and I said, we’ve got a compromised judge. No question about it. We’ve already highlighted to you all about the daughter, big megadonor for all the Democrats. They don’t want Donald Trump off the ballot. They don’t want him on the ballot. They don’t want Donald Trump holding rallies because what happens at his rallies? This is five weeks sitting in a courtroom when he should be out reaching the American people and telling the American people what he would like to do for this country. And who shows up? Tens of thousands of people show up at Donald Trump’s rallies. The Democrats hate it. There’s not another person on the planet that can do that other than the Pope. The Pope. And when do people go, they visit the Pope, what do they say? Pope, what can you do? Would you bless me and my family? That’s what they want. They want blessings for their family when they go see the Pope. When people come to Donald Trump’s rallies, they’re saying, Donald Trump, we need you more than ever before. Our country is burning. The world’s on fire. We need leadership. The American people are begging for leadership. And they’re asking Donald J. Trump, stay strong. Continue to fight for the American people and the Make America Great movement. That’s what this is all about. And all the dishonest media, all of you out there, you don’t want to talk about it. You don’t want to talk about it. But I can guarantee damn well to you this. Donald Trump is going to be the 47th president. Donald Trump is going to be the 47th president, and he’s going to make America great again again.”

PFEIFFER: “Think about the stakes in the Supreme Court. If Donald Trump wins, he will almost certainly get two more appointments. By the end of Trump’s term, second term, were he to win, Thomas will be 82, Alito will be 78.” UNKNOWN MALE: “They’re definitely retiring —“ PFEIFFER: “They’re definitely retiring.” UNKNOWN MALE: “— if Trump wins again. And it could be just KBJ like, holding down the fort.” PFEIFFER: “And Justice Sotomayor will be 72 at the end of Trump’s term. So he will definitely get two appointments. If he has two appointments, that means he will have appointed five Supreme Court justices, all of whom will be around or below the age of 60 when he leaves office. That is a court majority — a MAGA court majority that will rule for decades. We can win the next however many presidential elections, and absent something sort of extraordinary happening, Trump’s fingerprints will be all over the Supreme Court. And so, I think we should make this a big issue. And we know this works because in 2016, that vacant Justice Scalia seat then McConnell held open was one reason — and you’ve heard this in a lot of focus groups and post-election surveys — that Republicans who did not like Trump at the last minute, were willing to hold their nose and vote for Trump because they — they cared about Supreme Court. So I think we can do that in reverse.”

CAVUTO: “Bottom line is, you are in charge of keeping us safe, and do you think we are safe with how porous the border has become? That’s not saying it’s all your fault. I’m just saying that, are we safer now than we were before 9/11?” MAYORKAS: “I would say three things, Neil. One, I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of the United States Border Patrol that risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe and secure. Number one. (crosstalk)” CAVUTO: “No, I’m sure you are. But are we safe — are we are safe for now?” MAYORKAS: “Number two, our screening and vetting capabilities are stronger than they ever have been. And three, the reality is, Neil, that we, and not just the United States alone, but Western countries are in a heightened threat environment, especially after the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel that has only elevated the threat environment in Western countries and that is why we are as vigilant as we are 24/7 in keeping our country safe.”

Biden: “Let me close with this. After I signed the Packandpackanlactact into law.”

BEHAR: “So you have this new book out. And you know, I watch his show all the time. So I know that you have been — you’re a comic, but you basically go after Trump and Biden, you know, both of them. And a lot of people are not happy with you about that. So — and I’m — I —“ MAHER: “Well, not equally. BEHAR: “Well, not because, you know, that Trump is more dangerous.” MAHER: “Of course. I mean, I don’t think anybody was more outfront on that danger than I was.” BEHAR: “That’s true.” MAHER: “I was talking about how he was never going to give up power. Long ago when everybody was laughing at me —“ BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “— and said, ‘You smoke too much pot.’ And he said, ‘I smoke just the right amount of pot,’ because —“ (Laughter) BEHAR: “You also —“ [crosstalk] MAHER: “You know, I was using the term slow moving coup before he was elected the first that’s fine.” BEHAR: “Exactly. That’s right.” MAHER: “I said this guy is never going to concede power. It’s impossible to imagine him going, ‘Oh, I lost.” HOSTIN: “Yeah, can’t do it.” MAHER: “He just — that’s just not in his nature.” BEHAR: “So but I’m — I’m nervous about saying anything against Biden, because I feel you know, not that I have so much power and you have some more than — than I do, obviously.” MAHER: “Oh, I don’t know about that.” BEHAR: “But are you afraid that you might, you know, influence people who are on the fence?” MAHER: “I think you lose all credibility. I do. My bond with my audience has always been I don’t pull a punch.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “My bond with my audience is you not going to like everything I say —“ BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “— but you know I’m saying what I really think is true.” BEHAR: “Right?” MAHER: “That’s — and that’s it.” (Cheering and Applause) Biden just presents as old. It’s not really fair.” BEHAR: “No.” MAHER: “Because he’s almost the same age — Trump is almost the same age as him.” BEHAR: “Yeah, I know.” MAHER: “But Trump doesn’t present that way. You know, you look at somebody right away. You can kind of just sum them up. I mean, we are not young, but we don’t present as old.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “Biden does. I saw him yesterday making that speech.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “I mean, I’m sorry, he’s cadaver like.” BEHAR: “But his brain is good. He’s still great.” MAHER: “Well, here’s what I said, like when I came back after the strike in September, I said he should get out, because he’s just lost the faith people. It’s not fair. He’s actually done a pretty good job.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “But I said he’s going to be Ruth Bader Biden, it’s the term I used, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she stayed too long at the fair.” HOSTIN: “Yeah.” BEHAR: “Yeah.” MAHER: “Remember Obama had her over to the White House like in 2013 to hint, you know, ‘Hey, spend more time with the grandkids. Would that not be a good idea, Ruth?’ And she didn’t take the hint, and she was not in good health and she stayed too long. And she ruined her legacy and got the Supreme Court —“ BEHAR: “Mm-hmm.” MAHER: “— now to be a pretty right-wing organization.” BEHAR: “Right.” MAHER: “I said, Biden shouldn’t do that. But you know, ego — he is — he’s Dracula. He has crossed oceans of time to be here.” HOSTIN: “Yeah.” MAHER: “And he’s not going to give it up now.”

BEHAR: “And but the way that hat that you keep wearing, that red hat that says ‘Make America Great Again,’ that tells people that you go along with this, so you might as well just put a swastika on the hat.” HAINES: “Don’t do that.” BEHAR: “Because we see it anyway.” Goldberg: “The bottom line is, this isn’t good for any of us. I mean, this is what it comes down to. It’s not good for any American. This is not the American way. This is not the promise of America. She doesn’t always get it right. But we know we can fight to make it better. When you have someone who says I’m going to get rid of all criticism, I’m going to get rid of anything that’s dissenting. This should make everybody really scared. One of the great things about this country is that you can stand here and say, ‘You know what? I don’t like how the country is being run.’ And you know, that nobody’s going to come and snatch you up for saying that. You want to keep it that way. That’s why it’s important. We’ll be right back.” (Applause)

MADDOW: “This strikes me very close to my heart because I feel like this is one of the first times I have seen people standing up for you on this point. I wanted to ask how it strikes you. Do you agree with their assessment of what’s going on?” WILLIS: “Well, as you know, let’s start with the federal government and Jim Jordan. Jim Jordan has, time after time after time, attacked my office with no legitimate purpose. Anyone who knows Jim Jordan’s history knows that he only has the purpose of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation. He has now turned his tricks to he’s going to look at grant programs, which I invite him to do, and we have complied with his subpoenas, but yet he continues his attacks to try to interfere in a criminal investigation, all while his jurisdiction has one of the worst crime rates, has poverty issues, and not one time has he used his position to try to investigate people who are attacking me and attacking others legitimately doing their jobs — making him illegitimate in his position, and it’s disgusting. So I bring that up at the federal level because now, at the state level, they have decided to follow this clown’s lead and they want to now try to interfere in an investigation. And it’s not legitimate either, so it shall fail, and it’s not going to go anywhere. But they are trying to attack me at every level. As you know, today is an exciting day for me because I’m on a ballot tomorrow. I have a Democratic challenger and I plan to win and win big tomorrow. But I also have a Republican challenger coming up in November, who’s unqualified, been practicing law for less than four years, has never practiced criminal law, but has already got PACs supporting her, already has the national Democratic — excuse me, the national Republican Party, as well as the local Republican Party, supporting her. And so, I am thankful to those three Democrats who stood up for what is right, but I am at a point where I need Fulton County voters to get out and vote. I need people around the country to support me, big and small, to say that we are going to be a country that still believes in the rule of law. We are not going to allow people to be attacked while they do their job. Having prosecutors that are free from interference and are allowed to just look at cases, look at the facts, and if people broke the law, to bring charges, has to go on for us to live in a free society. The sad part, though, for all of them, Ms. Maddow, is it doesn’t matter how many times they attack me. I am not going to be broken and I’m still going to be standing here, doing my job lawfully.” MADDOW: “Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, I know it’s a very busy time with the primary tomorrow and with everything going on in your life, and the slings and arrows that you’re dealing with. Thank you for being willing to talk with me and my audience tonight about this, and good luck to you. Stay safe.” WILLIS: “Thank you.” MADDOW: “Thank you.”

McCaskill: “I am still at the point, when I walk into the grocery store, people come up to me and grab my hand and say, ‘We’re going to be okay, aren’t we? He won’t win, will he?’ You know, ‘They won’t let him back in the Oval Office, will they?’ So I do think there is a level of panic out there because some people who look at all the facts and circumstances go, ‘Wait a minute, how could this be tied?’ Right? How could this be tied after everything that has occurred?”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT: They would let Brad Smith, federal election law year, on to say that this is a crime, this payment. It is not an illegal campaign contribution. This is the former president of the United States. Not only are you gagging him, you are not letting him put on an expert witness. What the hell is this? You have cohen admitting that he had $4 million on anti-Trump books and podcasts. He is shopping a third anti-Trump book. He shopping a netflix deal. He is considering running for Congress. Michael Cohen is considering running for Congress. >> Greg: he’s got the cv. He is already committing crimes. He is following the footsteps of menendez.

[Clip starts] P.DIDDY: “I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then, when I did it, I’m disgusted now. I’m truly sorry.” [Clip ends] PHILLIP: “Joining me now is Cam’Ron Giles, better known as the rapper Cam’Ron. He’s also the co-host of the podcast, ‘It Is What It Is.’ Thanks for being here. First, when you saw that video of Diddy, Cassie, in that hotel, did you recognize that Sean Combs?” CAM’Ron: “What I want to say, first of all, when I seen the video, everything in the video is egregious, I’m against, I don’t support all the charges that’s alleged against him. I don’t support any of that trafficking, minors, domestic violence. I’m totally against it. So, when I seen the video, yeah, I was kind of upset with it. Being that I know him, he’s not necessarily a friend, but yeah, I was upset when I seen it.” PHILLIP: “Did you recognize him? Did you recognize that kind of anger at all, from your experiences?” CAM’Ron: “I don’t know him like that. What do you mean, do I recognize him? I seen him. What do you mean, my experiences? I seen him and I thought it was disgusting. I didn’t do a zoom in to see if it was really him or nothing, but he admitted it was him, so yeah, it was him.” PHILLIP: “What did you think about the apology that he gave in that other video?” CAM’Ron: “The apology ain’t for me to decide. It’s for Cassie. What I think about it don’t matter. He ain’t do nothing to me. Cassie need to — need to ask Cassie if she accept the apology. I told you how I feel, I said what I said.” PHILLIP: “I want to play a conversation that you had on your podcast back in September with Mase. Listen.” CAM’Ron: “Yeah.” [Clip starts] CAM’Ron: “When you had your record deal, why did you take me to Biggie Smalls and not Bad Boy?” MASE: “Man, it’s almost going to bring me to tears to say this. I just — being that I saw you as such a good friend, I wanted to put you with somebody I knew.” CAM’Ron: “Thank you, man. I really appreciate that. A lot of people ask me that on Instagram. That’s why I’m here crying and sh*t, man. I don’t want to get emotional in here, man.” MASE: “Instantly, I knew Biggie would do right by you.” [Clip ends] PHILLIP: “Can you tell us a little bit more about that? I mean, is there something known in the industry about how Diddy treated his artists?” CAM’Ron: “Sorry, I’m going to get some cheeks after this horsepower drink. I’m just going over what Mase said — Mase took me to Biggie. I don’t really know Puffers like Mase know Puff. So, I appreciate what Mase said and, of course, that’s my brother, so if he felt that way, then he felt that way. I can’t really tell you how Puff moves or anything like that. Mase may know better than me because he was signed to Puff. I wasn’t. But my show does come on at 8 A.M. Eastern on YouTube. It’s called ‘It Is What It Is.’ Make sure y’all check it out. I might get some more information out of Mase from there. But for me to tell you how Puff acted and all that, I don’t know. I never was signed to him.” PHILLIP: “Yeah. What about the industry in general? I mean, so many people have pointed out that Diddy couldn’t get away with this stuff if there weren’t a lot of people protecting him. Do you think that’s the case?” CAM’Ron: “Who the talent agent for this joint? Like, you think I’d be sitting around watching what Diddy do and all this? I didn’t know this was a Diddy joint y’all invited me to. Who booked me for this joint? I don’t wildin’. I don’t be sitting around watching Diddy and all that.” PHILLIP: All right, Cam’Ron, thanks for joining us. Thank you for your time tonight.” GILES: “Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me. You enjoy.”

Biden: “My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and still — he is not here with us, but he’s still being held by Hamas. And Rachel and John, they’re here with us. Stand up guys.”

JANSING: “Let me bring in MSNBC Lawrence O’Donnell, host of the ‘Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,’ who has been inside the courtroom, even there almost every day, you have the strength of beyond mortal men. But what was — what was worth it to you today? What did you see? What did you hear?” O’DONNELL: “Well, you know, the courtroom is where I began as a writer and a Reporter a long time ago. So this is a homecoming for me in terms of the — a workplace. The — the shocking thing at the end of that cross-examination, and I — I just can’t tell you how — just how stunning it was. Because it’s the thing that I was waiting for. I saw everything Todd Blanche — I’ve seen every minute of cross-examination, seen every single question he’s asked. And he sat down and — and ended his cross-examination without asking a single question about the $130,000 that appears on the Allen Weisselberg notes, about how they were structuring the payments to Michael Cohen. He asked about the $50,000. That’s irrelevant to the $130,000. And that’s where he very effectively got Michael Cohen to say — to agree that yes, he stole $30,000. Later, when Cohen was asked about that on redirect by the prosecution, it didn’t really sound like stealing $30,000. It sounded a lot like Michael Cohen, doing the little that he could within that calculation to rebalance the bonus he thought he was deserved and it still came out as less than the bonus he thought he deserved and the bonus he’d gotten a year before.”