the political neutrality of the justice department his goal. despite garland's attempts to divorce the justice department from politically charged prosecutions, it is increasingly clear that investigating trump is forcing garland to decide whether to prosecute a former president. attorney general garland based his speech today continues to believe that the majority of americans still support the principle that all people should be treated fairly under the law including donald trump, and that the majority will reject political violence and trust the judicial system. at the moment that belief for garland and all americans is an enormous political gamble. david rohde writing today at "the new yorker." joining us now is david rohde, executive editor at newyorker.com. thanks for making time to be here tonight. >> thank you for having me, rachel. >> tell me about this bold contention that you're making, that the question of whether or not to prosecute trump is the defining issue of garland's tenure. why do you see it that way? >> i think, and you've

in the justice department this is 30 minutes. [background noises] [background noises] [background noises] good afternoon. it is nice to see some of you here in the great hall and to be able to connect with all of you virtually today. my first day as attorney general i spoke with all of you more than 115,000 employees of the department of justice for the first time. today i've brought us all together again for two reasons. first and foremost, to thank you. thank you for the work you yhave done. not just over the last ten months over the past several years. work that you have done in the face of unprecedented challenges ranging from an unprecedented deadly pandemic to an unprecedented attack on our democracy. thank you for your service, for your sacrifice, for your dedication. i am honored to serveal alongside you. and second, as we begin a new year end prepared to mark a solemn anniversary tomorrow, it is a fitting time to reaffirm that we, at the department of justice, will do everything in our power to defend the american people

but, the justice department cannot do it alone. the responsibility to bring an end to violence and threats of violence against those who serve the public is one that all americans share. such conduct disrupts the piece of public spaces and undermines our democracy -- the peace of public spaces and undermines our democracy. we are all americans. we must protect each other. the obligation to keep americans and american democracy safe is part of the historical inheritance of this department. as i have noted several times before, a founding purpose of the justice department was to battle violent extremists attacks on our credit institutions. in the midst of reconstruction following the civil war, the department's first task was here the civil rights, promised by the 13, 14th, and 15th amendments. this meant protecting black americans seeking to exercise their right to vote from acts and threats of violence by white supremacists. the framers of the civil war amendments recognized that access to the ballot is a fundamental aspect of citi

the justice department thejustice department began its work on in the aftermath of the attack the justice department thejustice department began its work on what in the aftermath of the attack the justice department thejustice department began its work on what has in the aftermath of the attack the justice department thejustice department began its work on what has become in the aftermath of the attack the justice department thejustice department began its work on what has become one of the largest and most complex, most resource intensive investigations in our history. only a small number of perpetrators were arrested in the tumbled of january six itself. every day since we have worked to identify, investigate and apprehend defendants from across the country. the people who broke into capitol hill onjanuary 6th of last year were made up of a coalition of extremist groups, but the qanon conspiracy played a vital role in spreading the election lie that rallied them. bbc reporter stephanie hegarty, first reported on the rise of qanon during the pandemic, and now she's been back to the us to

from the justice department, this is 30 minutes. in the water industry is two elements -- first is how much -- attorney general garland: good afternoon. it is nice to see some of you here in the great hall and be able to connect with all of you virtually. on diving first day as attorney general, i spoke with all of you for the first time. today, i have brought us all together again. first to thank you. thank you for the work you have done, not just over the last 10 months, but over the past several years -- work you have done in the face of unprecedented challenges, ranging from a pandemic to an attack on our democracy. thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and for your dedication. i am honored to serve alongside you. second, as we prepare to mark a solemn anniversary tomorrow, it is a fitting time to reaffirm that we at the department of justice will do everything in our power to defend the american people and american democracy. we will defend our democratic institutions from attack, we will protect those who serve the publi

faith with the political neutrality of the justice -- despite the attempts to divert the justice department from politically-charged prosecution. it is increasingly clear that investigating trump is becoming the defining issue of his tenure. the continued defiance with trump and his allies is forcing garland to make a decision based on his predecessors. whether to prosecute a former president who tried to subvert an election and appears ready to do so again. attorney general garland, based on a speech today, continues to believe that he can restore normal order. he continues to believe that the majority of americans still supports the principle that all people should be treated fairly under the law including donald trump. and that the majority will reject political violence and trust the judicial system. at the moment, that belief, for garland and all americans is an enormous political gamble. david road writing today at the new yorker. joining us now is david rohde, pulitzer prize-winning at the new york reporter. thanks for making time tonight. >> thank you for having me rachel. >> tell m

but the justice department cannot do it alone. the responsibility to bring an end to violence and threats of violence against those who serve the public is one that all americans share. such conduct disrupts the peace of our public spaces and undermines our democracy. we are all americans. we must protect each other. the obligation to keep americans and american democracy safe is part of historical inheritance of this department. as i've noted several times before, a founding purpose of the justice department was to battle violence extremist attacks on our democratic institutions. in the midst of reconstruction following the civil war, the department's first principal task was to secure the civil rights, promised by the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. this meant protecting black americans, seeking to exercise their right to vote from acts and threats of violence by white supremacists. the framers of the civil war amendments recognized that access to the ballot is a fundamental aspect of citizenship and self government. the voting

justice department behind it. so it's first in the states. second at the u.s. justice department. and then there was the third level, which was the pressure on the vice president. they put enormous pressure on vice president mike pence to throw the count. to sabotage the actual count of the electoral college votes. refused to count the real electors from states where republicans say the result there is consent tested there for some reason in any of the states where they sent and forged, fake electors alongside the real ones. they'll say, that's enough of a dispute from the states that you can discern where the real electors are. so therefore, that station have its electors counted at all or maybe the fake electors for trump should be counted instead. or maybe there should be a delay and we should put off the inauguration for a while while we look into these competing slates a little longer. that's basically how i have organized this in my head in order to try to keep in mind the different ways at which this was operating. i confess, we -- i can see that we will learn more in the d

the answer from the department of justice was shameful. you said, the department is dedicating resources commensurate with the significance of these events. i guess significance means the a political benefit to the biden white house. there are a great many americans who are deeply concerned about the politicization of the department of justice under president joe biden. it has been 218 days since we sent you that letter. doj refused to answer the letter. when senator lee and i ask you about it, your answer to every damn question is i don't know. you may believe that the department of justice you are unaccountable to the american people, but that is not the case. the widely disparate standards are unacceptable. ms. sanborn, i want to turn to the fbi. how many fbi agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of january 6? ms. sanborn: i'm sure you can appreciate i can't go into the specifics -- sen. cruz: did any fbi agents or confidential informants actively participate, yes or no? ms. sanborn: i cannot answer that.

and i think the justice department wanted to ensure that they had the evidence that was airtight. when we first spoke about this, i didn't have the language of the statute in front of me. it had just broken. here's the actual language where two or more persons, and that is key, so you have to have some form of agreement between two individuals, conspire by force to prevent, hinder or delay the execution of any law of the united states. now, that, again, it may seem obvious, because you had lots of people, but for making these charges here, the justice department has to establish that this individual was communicating with people on the day, directing them to engage in acts of force against the united states, and that just -- they just needed to make sure they had an airtight case. who knows if they do? we'll see what evidence they come forward with, but as we said earlier in the segment, this has been building for a long time. the evidence is out there. and we know at least of the signal messages telling people from him to go into the building. >> jeffrey toobin, welcome to the co

so far the justice department, "washington post" review of all charges the justice department has brought, and there have been hundreds of them, found most of those being charged are jut low-level kind of one-off people. not a part of any kind of grand conspiracy. garland is under pressure to charge people like that. we'll see what tea leaves we can read into what he says and if we can get hints how the justice department is viewing those questions but we know he woend head-on address hey, we're coming after former president trump. >> what are you hearing behind the scenes relating to that pressure? now you have including one democrat member of congress recently raised real questions about attorney general garland's ability it essentially meet the moment and pursue an aggressive investigation, and some feel needs to be pursued? how are folks in the justice department dealing with that pressure and criticism? >> frankly, the justice department tries to ignore that. another form you've seen take the criminal referrals from the house committee which uncovered a lot of information about what

justice department to go to georgia and other states. and because the rest of the justice department wouldn't sign off on it and do it, trump tried to install jeff clark as attorney general so jeff clark could send that letter and sign it attorney general. now, had that happened, think about it, had the u.s. justice department jumped in the way trump wanted to, the way jeff clark proposed, had the u.s. justice department told republican-led states in formal letters don't send in biden electors on advice from the u.s. justice department you better not do that, how do you think republican legislatures in those states would have acted? it's one thing to get, you know, an off the wall call from trump berating you. right? it's another thing for the u.s. justice department to formally advise you over the signature of the united states attorney general that you must not send in your electors because there's real problems with the vote in your state. how would republican legislatures have responded? we would be living in a different country righ

the congressional body that oversees the justice department. that is running the investigation into possible -- committed by matt gates. this is something that lawyers should avoid. but again, he has had professional -- like in 2019, when a bar called him, unprofessional, reckless, and insensitive. for tweeting not so veiled threats at former trump -- michael cohen. they say gates needs to be removed from the panel in this investigation. one of the real chances of that happening? and what does it say about this whole mess in terms of our political situation right now? joining me now is that democrats, ted lieu of florida. and the current member of the house just stationary committee. congressman, you've tweeted just this week multiple times that he is entitled to innocence, but he is not entitled to sit on a house judiciary committee that is overseeing the department investigating him for these improprieties. do you worry that the selected member of the house might use this position to interfere in his own criminal probe? >> i thank you katie f

i've said all along to please give the department of justice some time. this is is such a huge investigation involving so many people, hundreds of people, historical from the ground up with those that are in the capitol assaulting police officers, and you move up, and you charge the charges that you can do early, and they get more serious as you get up to those that are doing the planning. i think this is the next step. i applaud the justice department for taking this step. it's a bold move. these are not easy charges to make, but they have methodically gone about it, they've efficiently gone about it, and i think it's going to be real interesting to see going forward. >> the indictment clearly indicates that the justice department already has an awful lot of information on the communication that these defendants exchanged with each other and with others, and at the top of it all was the leader of this group who has -- they already know some of the most condemning things that he said in the lead-up in this conspiracy. >> yeah, and it's a really important

justice department letter gotten out. i'm not sure all of us would be even living in the same country had a letter got out. that was just insanity. that would have been as radical as trump's other reported idea, to send the national guard out to seize the voting machines, and we won the election. it would've been just that radical, had the u.s. justice department intervened to stop the administration of the election. here's the thing, that insane draft letter, written by jeff clark, which made trump want to install image to tierney general, that insane letter, was created let last general -- that letter, explicitly describes these forged slates of electors, from multiple states. it says in the middle of the letter, the department believes that in georgia and several other states, both as a slate of electors supporting joseph biden, and a separate slate of electors supporting trump gathered on december 14th at the proper location to cast their ballots. both sets of those ballots have been transmitted to washington d.c. to

he spoke from the justice department's great hall. >> the justice department remains committed to holding all january 6 perpetrators at any level accountable under law, whether they work present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. we will follow the facts wherever they lead. because january 6 was an unprecedented attack on the seat of our democracy, we understand there is broad public interest in our investigation. we understand there are questions about how long the investigation will take an about what exactly we are doing. our answer is and will continue to be the same answer we would give to with respect to any ongoing investigation, "as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done consistent with the facts and the law." i understand that this may not be the answer some are looking for, but we will and we must speak to our work. anything else jeopardizes the viability of our investigations and the civil liberties. of our citizens. amy: for more, we're joined by elie mystal, the nation's justice correspondent who asks in

but the justice department cannot do it alone. the responsibility to bring an end to violence and threats of violence against those who serve the public is one that all americans share. such conduct disrupts the peace of our public spaces and undermines our democracy. we are all americans. we must protect each other. the obligation to keep americans and american democracy safe is part of the historical inheritance of this department. as i have noted several times before, justice department was to battle violent extremist attacks on our democratic institutions. in the midst of reconstruction following the civil war, the department's first principle task was secure the civil rights promised by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. this meant protecting black americans seeking to exercise their right to vote from acts and threats of violence by white supremacists. the framers of the civil war amendments recognized that access to the ballot is a fundamental aspect of citizenship and self-government. the voting rights act of 1965 sought

the justice department is now investigating fake electoral college certifications that falsely declared former president trump the winner of seven swing states that he lost in 2020. the boeigus certificates were st by top officials representing the republican party in each state. we'll have more on where the investigation stands straight ahead. >>> plus, tensions and threats heat up as talks stall and worries grow over a possible second russian invasion of ukraine. president biden and his administration telling cnn this morning that a written response to russian security demands could be presented as soon as today. the kremlin warned it will take what it calls an appropriate response if it deems the u.s. response not constructive. and if the west continues what russia describes even as it mounts forces on the border as an aggressive line. >>> we begin this morning with the doj investigating the fake electoral college certifications. cnn's senior justice correspondent evan perez sat down for an exclusive interview with deputy attorney general lisa monaco, an extraordinary interview. what

cnn's paula reid has details on the justice department's investigation. >> reporter: the justice department today escalating its efforts to prosecute those responsible for january 6th, charging oath keepers leader stewart rhodes with seditious conspiracy. it's the first time prosecutors have used the sedition charge after bringing more than 700 cases related to the insurrection. prosecutors have said they were considering using the rarely applied section of federal law. rhodes is the most high profile in the investigation so far. court documents lay out a wide-ranging plot to storm the capitol and disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. two days after election day, rhodes allegedly urged his followers to refuse to accept the election results writing in a signal message, we aren't getting through this without a civil war. according to federal prosecutors on his way to d.c. on january 3rd, rhodes allegedly bought an ar platform rifle and sights, mounts, triggers, slings and other firearms attachments in texas. the next day he allegedly bought more supplies in mississippi. rhodes who e

and i'm glad that the justice department is doing theirs. like i said, i just urge them to do their job while i continue to do mine. >> all right, officer harry dunn. i really appreciate you making time tonight. be well. thank you very much. >> thank you for having me, have a good day. >> you too. next, he was a reporter in the gallery as the violent mob tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power. tonight, he's got a gripping new report about how shocking little has changed when year later. and while the real tragedy of that day is still not over. matt fuller of the daily beast joins me next. joins me next. why choose proven quality sleep from sleep number? because my sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so i stay cool. and senses my movement and effortlessly adjusts to help keep me comfortable. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. only from sleep number. learned a lesson in anyway. they are very much committed to this course of action, even more so today. >> i'm part of the reason for that, to show the favorabilit

justice department. >> reporter: today the justice department escalating its efforts to prosecute those responsible for january 6th, charging oathkeepers leader stewart rhodes along with ten others with seditious conspiracy related to the attack on the capitol. it's the first time federal prosecutors have used the sedition charge after bringing more than 700 cases related to the insurrection. but prosecutors have long signaled that they were considering using the rarely applied section of federal law. rhodes is the most high profile individual charged in the investigation so far. court documents filed today lay out a wide ranging plot to storm the capitol and disrupt the certification of the election. on november 5th rhodes allegedly urged his followers to refuse to accept the election results, writing in a signal message, we aren't getting through this without a civil war. too late for that. prepare your mind, body, and spirit. in december, rhodes wrote of the electoral college certification, there is no standard political or legal way out of this. according to federal prosecutors, on

to learn more about the justice department's investigation into one of the worst attacks in years, the january 6 insurrection on the capital. i would like to start with a video on the aftermath of january 6 and the threat of domestic terrorism in america. >> there are throwing metal poles at us. >> law enforcement injuries. >> january 6 was a disgrace. there is no question. president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events. >> violence is never a legitimate form of protest. the president bears a responsibility for wednesday's attack. two a year after january 6, are the guardrails that protect democracy real or illusionary? >> january 6 laid bare the threat of white nationalism. >> january 6 is a symptom of a deeper problem. >> across the country, election officials and election workers, airline flight crews, journalists, u.s. senators and representatives and judges, prosecutors and police officers have been threatened or attacked. >> a charged member of the boogaloo boys. >> fired 13 rounds into the third precinct building. >> according to an unsought -- a

. >> next officials from the justice department and fbi testified the threat of domestic terrorism. one year after the january 6th attacks on the u.s. u.s. c. the senate judiciary hearing is two hours. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> discerning of the senate judiciary committee will come to order. i first held a hearing on domestic terrorism threat in 2012, ten years ago, after white supremacist murdered seven seek worshipers in wisconsin. today ten years later the threat is worse. that's why convene the senate judiciary committee first hearing of this year to consider this subject. the american people have an opportunity to learn more about the justice department's investigation into one of the worst domestic terrorism attacks in years, the january 6th insurrection on the capitol. i would like to start with a video on the aftermath of january 6th and the threat of domestic terrorism in america. >> multiple possible entries. >> they are throwing metal poles at us. [shouting] >> january 6th was a disgrace. there's no question. presiden

he's been very clear he wants to be independent of the department of justice's investigation. but we can expect that tomorrow on the anniversary of this terrible day where we saw white supremacists and all sorts of hate groups and all sorts of people fueled by the lie fed to them by the former president trump that he is going to -- president biden is going to be very forceful in his words and very much marking the moment and marking the solemnness of this moment in our history. this is a moment where american democracy was almost brought to its knees. and this is a white house that has been very clear not only in words but in action those people need to be held accountable. we, of course, know president biden has waived executive privilege for much of the documents being sought by the january 6th investigation and committee. and that's going to be something he's going to be i think absolutely clear-eyed about tomorrow. tomorrow is going to be an emotional speech i'm told. but also marking the day and reminding people this was not a tourist visit, not a sort of protest gone wro

but the justice department cannot do it alone. the responsibility to bring an end to violence and threats of violence against those that serve is public is one that all americans share. such conduct disrupts the peace of our public spaces and undermines our democracy. we are all americans. we must protect each other. the obligation to keep americans and american democracy safe is part of the historical inheritance of this department. as i noted several times before, a founding purpose of the justice department was to battle violent extremist attacks on our democratic institutions. in the midst of reconstruction following the civil war, the department's first principle task was secure the civil rights promised by the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. this meant protecting black americans seeking to exercise their right to vote from acts and threats of violence by white supremacists. the framers of the civil war recognized that access to the ballot is a fundamental access of citizenship and self-government. the voting rights act of 19

so i'm willing to give the justice department a little bit more runway. because you're talking about bringing heavy level charges against some heavy level individuals. we've never been in this space before to go you know legally after a former president, chief of staff, members of congress, some former, some currently serving. so there are a lot of pieces here that i think the justice department is gun shy maybe strong, but certainly a little bit more hesitant to go after if it were just you know, you or me or some other citizen, if you will, that didn't have title and position and a connection to the government the way some of these potential individuals who are under investigation have. >> i mean, let me just stipulate. the perception of a criminal investigation of the highest member of the other party is a banana republic. that's bad. and what the right has successfully done is made this administration, and i believe this justice department, so afraid of anything that approximates that, that it's not clear they're looking at what seem to be clearly cri

evan perez is at the justice department. what do we expect to hear from the attorney general? >> well, you know, i think one of the things you're going to hear from the attorney general is about this extraordinary law enforcement operation that has gone on for the last year, a dragnet across the country. one of the unusual things about the crime scene on january 6th was that almost nobody, very few people were arrested that day and the fbi has had to go hunt down all these people and you know, they've done, they've had a lot of success, but there's you know, from the fbi's perspective, there's one big investigation that they have not been able to make much progress on and that is the search for the person who left behind two bombs. one at the rnc and dnc buildings just a couple of blocks from the u.s. capitol. i sat down with the top fbi official overseeing this investigation and we talked about some of the challenges of this investigation. take a listen. >> in prior covid times, any neighborhood in the country, if you saw an individual hooded, masked, glasses, gloves on, it w

we're not sure if he's going to get prosecuted by the justice department. that's an announcement we're expecting to come imminently. in the next week, potentially, or coming weeks, but without meadows actually cooperating with the committee, these are conversations that the committee cannot get more information on, hence why you're going to see them start moving out to figures like sean hannity to glean as much information as possible prior to them pivoting to this public phase of the investigation. >> matt, i want to bring you into this. it's clear from the lines of investigation that they reveal their letters, in their invitations to sean hannity to meet voluntarily with them, that the investigation has moved directly to donald trump. what he did and did not do, leading up to the insurrection and as it unfurled, and this interest in understanding why sean hannity was concerned the night before, how he knew that the entire counsel's office would quit. he said, you can't lose the entire white house counsel's office. so, obviously, he's had some firsthand kn

the justice department and those u.s. attorneys did kick into year, rounding up, chargen hundreds who stormed the capitol. >> the justice department began its work on what has been become one of the largest, mo are most complex and most resource-intensive investigations in our history. >> doj and the fbi have opened up 170 cases related to last wednesday's insurrection. they expect that number to grow into the hundreds. >> various charges including unlawful entry, assault, theft. eight people face gun charges. >> the charges are adding up. now indictments of 700 people out of the an estimated 2,000 that stormed the capitol. our reports now, over 150 have pled guilty. 71 have been sentenced. that's part of this process. legal experts say the doj is now pursuing this somewhat more assertively than the trump doj had taken in comparable cases. but lean a little closer, and it gets worse. many arrests were for fairly minor offenses. while there were literally hundreds of crimes, there's very little punishment to date, as polit

>> it depends on your view of what the justice department should do. i don't see merrick garland trying donald trump for other crimes, for financial crimes. you know, the mueller investigation, mueller famously no made decision on obstruction of justice. so i'll just be honest, i don't see that happening. i think this is the most important issue of merrick garland's tenure. he is an institutionalist. he believes that the justice department should prosecute people equally based on the facts. that might not apply in this political atmosphere. i talked to again to one of his aides and they said, you won't see merrick garland becoming a performtive attorney general. he doesn't give many speeches or go out there and talk much to the public. and the question is, does that work in this political era. you have a false narrative being put out by a former president that the 2020 election was stolen and does the justice department need to confront him with his personal role in that? again, i just want to be frank, i don't see any chance of garland prosecuting tru

he did re-establish the independence of the justice department. he instituted new policy about contacts between the white house and the department of justice, but he never made a statement about it. i don't think move people know that he re-established that norm very clearly, you know, within the department of justice as a policy so i think that he can go a long way by just giving the public a window into steps that are being taken, how things work, you know. his -- his -- what interest he is balancing as he approaches, you know, these cases like when he's thinking about whether to charge somebody with contempt of congress. i think that that would reassure the public much more than what they are feeling now. >> we'll all be watching, right, to see how much that have we actually do hear and what ultimately is said tomorrow. always good to have you here. thank you. >> thank you. >>> up next, he once argued an accusation of sexual assault against him couldn't possibly be true because he's not a sweater. well, now, prince andrew's attorneys are in cou

justice department. and then there was the third level which was the pressure on the vice president. it put enormous pressure on vice president mike pence to throw the count. to sabotage the actual count of the electoral votes. refuse to count the real electors of republicans in states where the vote was contested. any state they sent in forged electors against the real ones, that's enough of a dispute in the states that you can't discern who the real electors are. so for that state, you shouldn't have the state counted at all. maybe there should be a delay. or put off the inauguration a little while while we look into the competing slates a little longer. that's basically how i have argued this in my head in order to try to keep in mind the different ways in which this was operating. and i confess -- i concede, that we will learn more in the days ahead. i can almost guarantee you as long as the january 6th investigation keeps doing its work, we will find out more. in terms what we know now, those are th

justice department. what's your reaction when you hear about all this evidence the committee has gathered about what trump was doing while his supporters attacked the capitol? >> well, one thing i think that's important, jake, is that it sounds that people are actually cooperating. so up until now we've heard a lot about those who are not cooperating with the committee but the example that jamie gave of keith kellogg shows there are individuals close to the former president who are voluntarily cooperating and providing the committee with information. that's a really important development. i think the question that the committee has to look at, if they're exploring potential criminal referral or criminal charges is the actual conduct. so i think it will be a harder case for the committee to look at the absence of activity on behalf of the former president versus what did he affirmatively do instead of what he didn't do? because then you're looking at the actions of a president in his presidential capacity

it took a while but the justice department did bring that case. the chairman of the committee says down the road there could be even higher business, you might say, higher priority business referred to the justice department. listen. >> if there's anything that we come upon as a committee that we think will warrant a referral to the department of justice, we'll do that. and that's our oath as members of congress. >> so they're bringing in the whole trump inner circle. many of the committee members say they believe president trump is culpable here. is that a referral that could come down the road? >> yeah, i think it's a question a lot of democrats have. those comments right there just the tip of the iceberg. democrats, a lot of them, want to see merrick garland do something to investigate donald trump, the top. what was he doing in all of this? we'll have to see if the committee has a criminal referral to the justice department for the former president. look, that would not be an easy case to win, but i think what it speaks to is democrats still t

justice department. it is entirely possible that there is a lot going on at the justice department we don't know about. but it concerns me that really well connected reporters aren't getting leaks and hints and whifs of grand juries that could be impaneled and could be moving ahead on an investigation and potential prosecution that i think is really needed. >> let's listen to what the jury will be listening to if donald trump is charged with a crime in that phone call. they will take, in the jury room they will be considering exactly these words. let's listen. >> so, look, all i want to do is this. i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. >> and, eugene, if you are in that jury room you will have had a prosecutor fani willis or assistant district attorney stressing to you i think this portion of what he said. all i want to do is this. and all he wants to do is to magically create those numbers. he doesn't say here is what i want to do. i want you to go back in. conduct a very fai

and they can come under one big umbrella in the justice department. they do not need a referral to get there. >> it is 6:15 am on the eastern border of ukraine and russian border right now. the sun is not up yet. and the world is on alert for possible invasion. the general said this earlier on the air and i wanted to get your take on it. >> i think we are basically, just on the cusp of war. i think it is all but certain in my mind that there is going to be a large european war on the magnitude of -- with air power, sea power, massive forces in offenses. my concern now is making sure that the united states is postured for that outcome. there is little to be done to avoid that. general, what do you make of that? >> well -- don't tell me about enemy intentions, talk about their capabilities. clearly, putin has put together a package capable of seizing ukraine, from the north in the east, on a nine-day campaign. if he was willing to go all out, fight street to street in kyiv, i don't think he is. i do think he's trying to divide nato, run the u.s. out of

it strains the department of justice. it strains the courts. and so the prosecutors have to look at every case in isolation, not as part of some big angry mob, and say, what does this person deserve, does this person deserve to go to prison, does this person deserve probation? these are really difficult calls to make. but when merrick garland said you should expect to see lower sentences early on, the sentences will rachet up as we tackle the more serious cases, and his quote was, this is purposeful. they're building from the ground up, which it is way we make these cases. >> and to zoe's point, we'll see that trial and we'll be looking ahead to that, we'll have you back on to talk about that as we get closer. zoe tillman, glenn kirchner, thank you both. >>> that's "all in" this wednesday night. "the rachel maddow show" starts right now. good evening, rachel. >> good evening, chris, much appreciated. >>> thanks to all of you for joining fours this shower. senate majority leader chuck schumer is our guest live in just a moment, very much looking

he has been very clear that he wants to be independent of the department of justice's investigation. but we can expect that tomorrow on the anniversary of this terrible day where we saw white supremacists and all sorts of hate groups and all sorts of people who were fueled by the lies fell to them by the former president trump, that he is going to president biden i'm going to be forceful with this words. he is going to be marking the moments and marking the cinemas of this moment in our history. this is a moment where american democracy was almost brought to its knees. and this, is a white house where it is not clear not only inwards but inaction where people need to be held accountable. we of course know that president biden has waived executive privilege by many of the documents sought out by the january six investigation committee. that is going to be something that he is absolutely going to be clear about tomorrow. tomorrow's gonna be an emotional speech. i am told there's also gonna be a speech where he's marking the day and reminding people that this is not sort of a tourist vi

of course, they didn't go out and talk to the department of justice. they didn't go out to talk to the media. they didn't blow the whistle publicly, but at least they were doing what they could behind the scenes to try to stop it. it tells us a lot about what was taken place there. and about how we might be able to avoid a situation like this in the future. of course, that's the charge of the january 6th committee to tell the truth in a comprehensive and painstaking and fine grain way about what took place. to make recommendations legislative and policy. recommendations about how to avoid a future attack on american democracy. >> congressman, one last question about the investigation. again you're the only constitutional law professor in congress. and it's comes in handy way more often than it's comfortable to come in handy these da. but given your unique perspective on it, i wonder whether or not you have a view on congress has the power to subpoena its own members for the an investigation like this. congressman jordan, perry of pennsylvania. both ref

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that is the justice department on the policing side. on the security side, particularly on capitol hill, the capitol police getting plenty of scrutiny and issuing a report this past week on security upgrades at the capitol in the past year. they released this to members of congress and the public, talking about the various upgrades. some interesting parts of that report, just to read through a few, one of them is the new gear and response material to riots in the future. the capitol police saying they have obtained new hard riot gear, including ballistic helmets, high-impact and splash droplet eye protection, fire retardant suits, respiratory -- respirators with voice protection, impact protective gloves, portable decontamination kegs, and expanded oxygen supply kids. and they increased equipment orders to include new shields of various sizes to be at various locations throughout the capitol grounds. more long-range acoustical devices, launchers for crowd control devices. a dedicated response vehicle, electronic control devices, and a n