GOP Senators Go After Dr. Anthony Fauci at Hearing

With Instagram teen accounts, protections are turned on by default. Yo, look at this real. Okay, the secret is in the timing. Don't rush it. Built in content settings limit what teens can see. Messages from strangers just don't show up. And automatic nudges tell them when it's time to get off their phone. Sometimes the best way to think about safety is to not have to think about it at all. Instagram teen accounts. Nothing to turn on, safer from the start. Hi, I'm Daniel, founder of pretty litter. Cats and cat owners deserve better than any old-fashioned litter. That's why I teamed up with scientists and veterinarians to create pretty litter. Its innovative crystal formula has superior odor control and weighs up to 80% less than clay litter. Just one bag lasts up to a month, meaning fewer refills and less scooping. Pretty litter even monitors health by changing colors to help detect early signs of potential illness. It's the world's smartest kitty litter. Go to pretty litter.com and use code Pandora for 20% off your first order. Welcome to the beat, everyone. We have a lot to cover tonight what we consider a pretty momentous newsworthy day in Washington and a big show for you. I can tell you one of our top guests coming up is someone that this show, Nicole's show, Rachel's show, we've all relied on for reporting. And he's my guest tonight, White House. reporter Jonathan Swan from the New York Times, of course, known from that book regime change, which has so rocked and upset the president in the Trump White House. Well, he's going to tell us about his reporting from inside the White House, some of it in the book, some of it more recent and new. So that is a special beat interview coming up, John Swan, tonight. So we will have that, including a look at how the president is struggling to deal with the Iran War timeline and the sagging midterm approval numbers. We begin with the story out of Washington, the Senate holding fiery and at times farcical hearings today, questioning Dr. Anthony Fauci. And he pled the fifth. which itself is unusual for such a senior government official. He hasn't done that, of course, in the past. He's testified to many different Congresses under both parties. He did it today in protest of what he views as Republicans' unlawful demands that he be sent to jail and a forum that he and his lawyer say is completely rigged. So why engage with it? Now, Anthony Fauci spent, of course, decades as the federal government's infectious disease expert, he was central to the COVID response we all lived through, and he drew strong reactions ranging from at times a hero's praise to the extreme demonization on the right, which has continued for years. Now, I'm going to show you everything you need to know about this tonight. I can tell you, first of all, having lived through this, covered it, I could remember how we switched from a normal newsroom to the remote work that everyone else did in that era, and we did it while trying to put on the news every night. I can tell you that over the years, the politics of COVID have been, of course, intense, but also strange.

First, Democrats led a very strong response during the pandemic. They were out front. They were pushing for action and rules and change faster than the Trump administration. And it's pretty clear that Trump struggles to face that crisis really dragged down his losing 2020 campaign. That's where the politics started. And while many moved on, indeed, it's pretty common to say, You don't want to talk about COVID. You don't want to look at pictures from that area. You don't want to go back to that time as a human. Of course, in journalism and politics and government, not everyone should have that luxury. And so, while it's understandable that personally people moved on, in the politics here, I can tell you that in the years since COVID, it is Republicans who have hammered COVID policy, sometimes on legitimate policy questions about lockdowns or vaccine mandates. but also on really more extreme plots, including villainizing once obscure agencies like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, which is not an agency most people could name, let alone have a bunch of beef with until COVID, and also pushing outright lies and unhinged conspiracy theories, some of which are dangerous in themselves. Now, today's hearing was dominated by angry Republican theater. But I also want to report for you that pursuant to this investigation, there is new evidence and reviews of that time period that also raise really valid questions about the government response, as well as some of Anthony Fauci's own priorities. So here's what we're going to do. Tonight, we are going to report out on both of those topics. First, today's hearing. which was a newsworthy clash, which also kind of strangely vindicated President Biden's own warnings against what he worried was Republicans criminalizing the public service of Anthony Fauci and other individuals in government. And he noted that in his pardon for Anthony Fauci, which itself was an unprecedented, extraordinary act of an outgoing president. Well, today shows exactly what Biden was talking about. Second, basically in a few moments from now, I'm also going to report on the newly released writings from Anthony Fauci's diary. We're going to sift that evidence to objectively assess the record, including what in any review, journalistic, legal, or otherwise is really important evidence when you get firsthand primary source evidence. We're going to look at that, not just say the glowing or political accounts of Anthony Fauci. Now, beginning today, Republican Senator Paul, a doctor, was hammering Dr. Anthony Fauci for the COVID response for how Anthony Fauci and others may have approached different theories of the pandemic's origin. And then, as I mentioned, they were pushing the McCarthyite calls to jail this distinguished and elderly doctor for years on these far-fetched claims that he misled Congress. Anthony Fauci critic Laura Ingram attended the hearing in some sort of... solidarity of people who have been hammering Anthony Fauci? Republicans went after him as if at times it seemed like he was the one who caused COVID's death toll, or that they argued Anthony Fauci maybe had no concern for the victims, which is a very odd line of attack. If you all remember what we lived through, the way they talked about Anthony Fauci almost felt like a lifted projection.

of Trump's cold and meager response during that time. You force people to watch their loved ones die alone over the phone. It's disgusting. Who the, do you think you were for doing that? Loss of trust. Maybe your most damaging legacy. During the pandemic, you got rich, didn't you? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country. You got rich. While people were dying, hundreds of thousands of Americans over a million in the end. You lied to hundreds of millions of people amid the worst public health crisis in a citry. COVID lockdown, however, could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime. This has destroyed decades of progress and lifetimes of work because you wanted to fuel your own ego and be the center of attention. It went on and on like that. Dr. Anthony Fauci rebutted Senator Paul and saying the center is obsessed with him. Anthony Fauci and his team argued the hearing was rigged that it was aiming for that perjury trap I mentioned so that he would invoke those rights, which by the way everyone has a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself, although I will note for you that is unusual for federal officials, most of whom don't invoke it and tend to testify, which he has in the past. And add to that that Anthony Fauci already has federal immunity. for his time in office from that Biden pardon, which was a move to preempt exactly what Republicans tried today. Now, they're trying to say that they might find new conduct legally. It took place after Biden left office, which is the duration of that pardon, as some sort of hook to then get the Trump DOJ to potentially indict Anthony Fauci. Now, that sounds like quite a far-fetched bank shot and a legal abuse of power, but it's, of course, possible given how many other Republican and Trump foes are already being probed or charged under this discredited DOJ since the second term began. And so what we saw today was both the ultimate proof of why Joe Biden did what he said he did. He didn't give a bunch of far-fetched reasons. He very clearly said at the time, because of the criminalization of public service, he was going to take that unusual step and pardon Anthony Fauci. Some criticized at the time as extreme or paranoid. Today shows it was certainly not that. And so we're really seeing a criminalization of public service that builds on that enemy's list. I showed you. That also doesn't mean that Anthony Fauci is perfect and that the records and evidence that have come out vindicate everything he did. I told you we will get to that, and we will. I have a part two of our report tonight. I wanted to try to give you all the information and what matters out of today. Beginning with what I'm calling part one, I want to bring in Howard Dean, who is, of course, a doctor and a former governor and presidential candidate chair of the DNC. Dr. Dean, you know your way around the intersection of science, medicine, and politics. I want to do both parts. So save any...

Part two for me, I'm going to show some of that. As for part one, how do you view what looks like an effort to badger, harass, or even criminalize this doctor's service and government? Well, I got such a chuckle out of the people at the hearing. First of all, Senator Scott from Florida, I believe was one of them. His company was indicted for over a billion dollars with the Medicare of Medicaid and Medicare fraud before he got to be governor and senator. I guess that's what they do in Florida as elect crooks. Josh Hawley was seen to be saluting all the January 5th. or January 6th rioters that try to upset overturn the election. So it's kind of a crew of wackos there criticizing and yelling and screaming. A guy who has an extraordinary reputation internationally as being one of the best infectious disease countries, disease doctors in the world. You know, the Republicans are sort of pathetic, really, and there's a lot of screaming and yelling and insulting. But none of those people that were asking those questions have standing really to do it. Yeah. I mentioned to folks the Anthony Fauci response, which at times was using his legal rights. This was him pleading the fit. The committee will have to consider, after this hearing, what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so. It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today.

And we want to see Anthony Fauci invoking the Fifth Amendment. Let's see if we have that as well. Did you literally lie to your own diary? On the advice of counsel, I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Do you feel like you're in deep... On the advice of counsel, I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Your view on how he handled this, what was a difficult day? I think it's the only way he could handle it. You've got a bunch of jackals who, frankly, have pretty dark shadows in their own closets, screaming and yelling at them. How are you supposed to do this? Look, Anthony Fauci is one of the most respected infectious disease doctors in the country. None of those people up, I would not classify any of the senators as well respected at all. It's not to say all Republicans can't, you know, they're all Republicans are like that, but this was a particularly awful group who are grandstanding and hoping to get who knows what. Look, these are the people that brought us off the measles, put us back on the big measles problem, I mean, the list. These are the people that have screwed up public health care. These are the people that are bringing us this diarrhea epidemic that's going over the country. These are the people that gutted FDA and the CDC. They have no standing at all. They're just a bunch of gas bags trying to make a point here. And I think it's terrific that Anthony Fauci has lawyers that are smart enough to tell him to do what he did. This is, I mean, I am not a lawyer, but I'm, you are. I'd be very surprised if this got anywhere in a court. Yeah, well, that's our read. I mean, they don't have a strong case on the post-pardon period. And then we showed those, a lot of those enemies list cases are solved. Dr. Dean, I want you to stay with me. Our part two involves the fact that doctors aren't perfect. I don't know how you're going to handle that. Dr. Dean, though, will be with us. I want to turn to the new evidence from Anthony Fauci's own diary. Now, this is only released through the new probe, and it harkens back to that strange COVID period when Anthony Fauci became. America's doctor, quite literally, as the New Yorker put it, even played on SNL by Brad Pitt. Good evening. I'm Dr. Anthony Fauci. First, I'd like to thank all the older women in America who have sent me supportive, inspiring, and sometimes graphic emails. And to the real, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Thank you for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time. That kind of sums it up, having such a big star play you, but then also step back into himself to say how great Anthony Fauci was. And when Trump failed to handle COVID well, many did flock to Dr. Anthony Fauci as the kind of alternative federal government leader. This Senate probe released a thousand pages, brand new.

of Anthony Fauci's records from that time as well as his diary. And it does cast a different light on, for example, his approach to the media, embracing his star power, sometimes as the public health messenger that's part of the job, but really clearly other times it also looks like he was facing a kind of tempting personal conflict because he became fixated. on aspects of his fame, even by the standards of Washington. Early in the crisis, when hundreds of thousands were sick or dying, Anthony Fauci wrote in his diary that his national, international fame was explosive and unimaginable. It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country, and one of the most recognizable persons in the world, he wrote in May. That claim, is false. It does read like hyperbole. More Americans know and talk about Taylor Swift or LeBron James or Leonardo DiCaprio and many other people before talking about Anthony Fauci, even as he did dominate the attention of Americans who follow news or medicine and politics. Anthony Fauci wrote that his friends were saying he was a national hero. And he showed an interest in his rising star access, citing his invite from Joan Baez to the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center. Another night he recounted conversations with Julia John Roberts, Sean Penn, Matt Damon. And a great call with Barbara Streisand, where he added, I brought the phone over to Alexa, asked to play songs by Streisand. When the song came on loud and clear, she started laughing and absolutely loved it. He noted that he would be swamped all night by people wanting to say hello and shake my hand and take pictures with me. I couldn't get away from it, he recounted at one event. There was almost a glee evidenced in the diary. Dr. Anthony Fauci at Tom sounding a bit more like a New York Post gossip column and rating the highest level of triple A list you could imagine in Washington at one of his events. Now, it's also true that anyone in his shoes might find that sudden shift quite dizzying. Anthony Fauci did become a cultural sensation. There was merchandise. There were shirts people wore around saying in Anthony Fauci we trust. The New York Times had a column about, thank God the doctor's in. And it's not just Anthony Fauci's view. We should note even independent outlets like the Guardian said he did become a superstar. There were the cover stories. There was Time magazine naming him the Guardian of the Year. There was a National Geographic doc. and press was, of course, part of his job. The diary also includes him noting that Trump, quote, POTUS seems to be enamored of me, even though I'm taking the spotlight away from him. And, even as we hear all these right-wing critiques, it's worth remembering Trump himself awarded Anthony Fauci a presidential commendation on his last full day in office back when the president, Donald Trump, was touting vaccines and the Warp Speed Project. The diary also shows that Anthony Fauci was skeptical of the lab theory. He claimed he was open to it. Some government agencies, including DOE and the CIA, now favor the lab leak theory, is something he noted in private.

Critics say that the diary shows that he was basically more charitable to alternative views in science in private than he was in public, where Anthony Fauci and he wasn't alone in this, was very quick to kind of attack certain things that were disagreed with as somehow fringe theories, including what was then the China Lab League theory. Now, in fairness, the diary also has all kinds of notes about work and meetings and new data and conference calls with scientists and all of the normal push and pull of life in the federal government. And we're reporting this out so you can see what the evidence shows. Lord knows if you get a diary of any politician or public figure or Trump, it would be newsworthy. I will state for the record that his pretty intense fixation on PR does not suggest any dereliction of duty on the job. I want to bring back Dr. Dean. As mentioned, the probe may be suspect, but the evidence is real. Again, you've done medicine and politics, including at the DNC in Washington. I mention all this because he seemed really into it, even beyond some of the folks we've dealt with. How do you view this aspect of the story, apart from whether it is fruit of the poisonous Rand Paul tree? Well, maybe the senators are all jealous. He got a lot more press than they did, and he did a lot more for the country that they have. So, you know, I mean, whether this is vanity or surprise or whatever it is, look, I view Anthony Fauci as having contributed a tremendous amount to stabilizing the fears that were going on in this epidemic that nobody knew anything about. I am totally perplexed why these senators think this is a good idea. They look bad. I mean, this is the first time I've seen the clips. And I wouldn't have a hard time voting for those guys. And some of them I like. I think Rand Paul has been great on some of the Trump scandals and standing up for doing the right thing. But these, I mean, I look at these guys. Don't you think a lot of these public sees this portrayal of senators and think, don't they have anything better to do? Well, the hearing, I mean, we showed the little bit we showed, the hearing doesn't commend itself well. Do you think, though, on the evidence that it looks like Anthony Fauci got also too enamored with the press role? I mean, time is finite, and now we see that he was really into that. Or do you view that as kind of just a very strange moment in our history and he was reacting to it. I'm not sure. I mean, I've never met Anthony Fauci, but what I saw is a guy who was sort of amazed at what had happened to him. I mean, I don't think that was particularly evidence of getting a swelled head. Maybe he just thought, here I am this guy, who's this physician, a very well-known ID physician, and now I've got all this fame, and he's sort of marveling at it is what I got. But, you know, so what? I mean... This is a nothing burger concocted by senators who would like to divert the fact that they've gotten us into a war, that they don't have the, you know what, to stand up to a guy who's making a mess of our economy that are responsible for gasoline being over $4 a gallon and that some of whom are going to go down and not be in the Senate in about.

in about 20 weeks. So I think there's a lot more with that than it does with Anthony Fauci. If you eat the wrong Nothing Burger, you can end up getting measles. Yeah, especially since the Republicans don't seem to believe in vaccines anymore, which is costing a lot of kids their lives. Well, we wanted your views on this, and like I told viewers. You're going to find out what happened. And the diary is part of what happened because it's out. It's newsworthy. But you've given us a lot of food for thought to extend the nutritious metaphor and being laser focused on the substance here. As you said, voters will look at things like today and make up their own minds. Dr. Governor Dean, thank you, sir. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Appreciate it. We've got a lot more in the show. I mentioned there is intrigue in Washington as the Trump Attorney General pick is in doubt with tomorrow's scheduled vote. But as promised, Jonathan Swan, the heavyweight reporter, chaos in the Trump White House next. With Instagram teen accounts, protections are turned on by default. Yo, look at this real. Okay, the secret is in the... Built in content settings limit what teens can see. Messages from strangers just don't show up. And automatic nudges tell them when it's time to get off their phone. Mom, dad, heading out back. Sometimes the best way to think about safety is to not have to think about it at all. Instagram teen accounts. Nothing to turn on, safer from the start. You know those tiny back-to-school emergencies that somehow become your problem? That's why I love Uber Eats. You can order school supplies, snacks, and lunchbox essentials for $5 or less. So when your kid casually drops, I don't like peanut butter anymore. Or I need five green highlighters for a project due tomorrow. Uber Eats has you covered. Get everything you need for back to school today from your favorite brands like Albion Staples on Uber Eats. Order now. Ends 97. $5 or less before taxes and fees. Select items only. Availability varies. See app for details. Choice hotels get you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day. Don't you wish you were getting away? Pack your bags and come on through Texas, Ohio, Alaska, we're up there too. Comfort Inn, it's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim. Well, I hope you like my little song, book direct at storeshills.com.

Turning now to reporting from Jonathan Swan of the New York Times and a lot of the environment as Trump's war hits the sixth month. New escalations. More countries drawn into the conflict. Iran launched a surprise missile attack on the U.S. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen going after a Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The hostility is spreading with no end in sight. Trump knows the war is deeply unpopular. This came up on Fox. So the World Cup was with all the Trump people. Yeah. So Jared, talked to everybody. So I was asking, I'm kind of like the idiot that asks real questions when people should be hanging out. They said, I realize the war is not that popular. I also realized it's necessary. The ripple effects of the war are clear. Most Americans now disapprove of Trump's job performance. It's gotten worse during the war. Three quarters say he's focused on the wrong priorities. And we hear so much about the MAGA base, but that narrative has crashed. Fewer than 20% of Republicans are enthusiastic about the rest of Trump's term. He simply does not have the hardcore MAGA support, which would put up with almost anything he did that existed in the first term. And then there's a decline in Trump's key voting blocks. Remember, over half of Gen X voters went for Trump in 24. 54% crashing now to 33. That's a warning sign because Republicans would need those voters to hold Congress or at least stem their losses. When you look at places like Texas, Trump's base is angry. This is a disaster. We are facing tyranny. It is kind of crazy, dude, how mainstream, how unpopular Trump is. The big, beautiful bill, which Trump is talking about on the stump, has a terrible reputation. People don't like it. Even Trump's base doesn't like it. And we're talking about, like, hardcore Republicans. And even these guys are like, I just, I can't do anymore. Trump. I just, like, I feel betrayed. I'm calling for it right now. 25th Amendment. impeachment, whatever needs to happen. When Alex Jay Jones sounds like the liberal might as touch, well, we're in some kind of topsy-turvy plays heading into the midterms. And there's fewer than 100 days left for Republicans and Trump to turn it around. The aforementioned Jonathan Swan, the heavyweight New York Times reporter with the big Trump bookout, is our special guest next.

We're back with New York Times, White House reporter Jonathan Swan, co-author of that newsworthy bestselling book that's been discussed on this and many news channels, regime change inside the imperial presidency of Donald Trump. Welcome, Jonathan. I mentioned some of your new reporting, which I want to just get right to. Trump holds off on a major Iran escalation. You wrote that him and his aides are uneasy. about a widening war, the alienation of Key Gulf Allies, a global economic crunch, and growing energy and refugee crises. As always, interesting to get a view from inside and what your sources say, you can imagine many foreign policy experts and critics would say the list of things you report from them. were reasons to be more dubious about starting the war. Do you detect a shift in sort of realism or skepticism about what they're doing over there? Well, the other thing which is really important and has become a huge issue internally. I mean, they're arguing publicly that it's not an issue. They're saying it's all lies, but we know from our reporting it's absolutely the issue, is they're running out of weapons. really profound problem with the supply of interceptors, patriots. We have depleted our supply. It was already pretty bad before the start of the Iran War, and it's just gotten substantially worse throughout the war. We've hugely drained America's stockpiles of long-range weapons. These are the kinds of weapons that, God forbid, if we ever got into a conflict with China, we would potentially need them. they're facing real constraints as well. And last week, Trump's team presented him with a plan for what would have been a major escalation against Iran, very substantial escalation, huge increase in the amount of bombs and missiles they would be firing off throughout Iran. You obviously saw some of what they were doing. They were starting to hit civilian infrastructure, bridges, the potential later on for energy infrastructure. Look, Trump hit a point based on our reporting last week where he wasn't willing to tolerate that level of risk that it would have entailed. Because... Well... Well, he said this many times privately and a few times publicly. He doesn't want to be Herbert Hoover. He said that many times. And the CIA and other intelligence estimates predict that if they do go ahead with such a massive escalation, that Iran will retaliate, will hit, potentially hit American affiliated businesses in the Gulf, tech companies, financial institutions, not to mention...

attacking Gulf energy infrastructure, Saudi oil infrastructure. You could have a global economic calamity on Trump's watch. And that's before you even get to what I just started talking about, which is the very real weapons constraint. So that's the landscape he's facing. And he's in a really difficult position because, again, you said it in the setup to your question. All of this was not just predictable, but predicted. Actually. He was warned about the munition supply. He was warned about the potential for the state straight of Hormuz to be shut down. What happened was Donald Trump believed at a very core gut level that none of these things would happen because the war would be over quickly, because that he believed that the U.S. and Israeli militaries would crush around so quickly that none of these things would come to bear. But of course, that was a miscalculation. you know, that we're now seeing play out five months later. And when you talk to people, what is the actual learned reaction to all this? Because the irony is that Trump politically understood why these Mideast adventures were unpopular and ran against them. And then he had to move all the way to launching one. And the people around him, you and I have observed this, reported it, dealt with them. You know, they have all kinds of... The most diplomatic way to put it is creativity for explaining him. But bottom line, 2024 Trump was right. 2026 Trump, by the measures you mentioned, was wrong about starting the war. And now you got people around him trying to get him back to where we started, but with an open-ended war and a problem in the strait. Yeah, I mean, the problem they face is there's just no easy answer to right now. They're in this situation. And Iran, as the horrible cliche goes, has a vote. You keep in it. But they do. I mean, they're firing off missiles. They're not. And by the way, the other issue, which seems obvious, but I don't hear it get talked about nearly enough, is... How do you negotiate anything with a party where, you know, I'll talk to advisors of Donald Trump and they'll say, you know, the problem is we'll pass on a message and, you know, they're all in bunkers. They're using couriers. The Ayatollah will take a while to get the message back. It's like, yeah, because you killed a whole layer of leadership. I mean, both previous rounds of negotiations were interrupted by American and Israeli strikes. So yeah. It turns out when you kill the people that you were supposedly going to be negotiating with, it does take longer. It is more complicated to negotiate with the next group of people. Yeah.

I wanted to get your reporting in view of how the White House and the Trump team understands his slide that, as one guest put it this week, he's not cool anymore. A lot of MAGA podcasters, big names, Megan and Tucker Carlson, others who fill that space hitting him for this war and other things. And one thing that people have underestimated about Trump is one of his political skills is when something's hot, he wants to get near it. I just showed earlier in the program that when Anthony Fauci was hot, Trump was commending him. Zohran Mamdani's hot. Trump is way nicer to him than less popular Democrats. And so there's this real kind of awareness around him about heat, PR, and ratings that he must know, and we saw it at the White House Correspondence Center, that he doesn't have it the same way. How is that being interpreted or viewed in the sources you talk to? Well. They're aware of it, of course, and they're aware of the fact that... You know, during the campaign, they lived on these podcasts and all of these hosts, not all of them, but to a large extent, they've turned on Trump. I do think that this narrative can be slightly overstated. He's still very well approved. Eight out of ten Republicans approve of him. What's drained out is the enthusiasm. That's what's drained out. The intensity and the enthusiasm. That's a big problem. It's a big problem, especially for a midterm election, a midterm turnout election. So they're very well aware of it. There's not a particularly easy fix because, look, as we've reported in our book and subsequently, Many of Trump's advisors wish he was more invested in the outcome of the mid-term elections. They wish he cared more about the outcome. It's not totally black and white. It's not to say he doesn't care at all, but he cares less about it than many of the people around him. So what do you do from their perspective? The biggest problem is the economy. His numbers on the economy, even among Republican voters, are the worst they've ever been, managing of inflation, caring. empathizing with voters caring about their issues, their life affordability, all of those things. The only way to change that is for Trump to, I mean, it's not like you could put out some ad or some digital campaign that's going to fundamentally change that when every day he's talking on camera, you know, about his ballroom or about whatever it is that's, you know, the Iran war, anything but the bread and butter cost of living issues that voters care about. Yeah. Makes sense. Appreciate you sharing your reporting with us. As always, John Swan, co-author, regime change. Hope to see you again. Thanks, Your Honor. Appreciate it. We have a new report on evidence that weakens the DOJ case against James Comey, but next, some Republican senators are still complicating the scheduled vote for Trump's AG tomorrow. Signs they might not get the vote. Next.

If they don't get John Cornyn, then what happens tomorrow? Well, it depends on how or if he votes at that juncture, and I'm not going to presume anything. I'll let him speak for himself, but it's a 12-10 committee, and if one Republican senator votes against Mr. Todd Blanche, then it's a tie vote, and he is not reported out of the committee. And then what happens? Well, I assume that the White House will try to resolve its problems at that point. I don't know. This White House, when it came to this nominee, even held back on whether he would meet with Epstein survivors. That went on for days, for goodness sakes. These are survivors of criminal acts who wanted to tell the Department of Justice what happened to him. Not an unreasonable request. They played that along for days. I just don't understand their strategy. The Attorney General should be more forthcoming and show real leadership in these areas. And to play that out, you're alluding to the idea that he can't get out of committee without the vote. Then if they made some real concessions, you could hold what, another vote where they could get him out of committee to the floor? Well, Chuck Grassley will make that decision when it comes to the business of the committee. But it looks as if this is tied up, we may not be able to vote on it before the break for August recess. So we'll see. It could all be resolved this evening and maybe not. And what does it tell you that the final question? The sticking point appears to be that this nominee still will not rule out or formally end in writing a plan to give away potentially money to convicts who are somehow allied with Trump. I interviewed Mr. Todd Blanche before his hearing in my office with my staff where he said that this slush fund, $2 billion slush fund, was a mistake. That was a word he used. And I quoted him afterwards when people asked me, and then he denied it. The Department of Justice denied it. The magamematly thing to do is to never admit a mistake, never used the word sorry. But he said it, and he knew he made a mistake, and now he stuck with it. He ought to try to resolve his problems with John Cornyn and be totally honest about it. So he said that to you, and you're saying then he lied about it afterwards. Well, let's just say he didn't say the same thing afterwards. Senator Dick Durbin, as we eye the eve of this scheduled vote, appreciate your inside perspective. Thank you. Good to be with you. Great to have you. Thank you, sir. Up next, James Comey fighting back, and he's got, he says, the evidence to back the kind of retribution claims that could get his Trump case dismissed.

We're turning to new developments in the Trump DOJ's efforts to prosecute his enemies. And if there seems like a theme tonight, it's not organized. We don't have news gods who give us just one story for the day. But I can tell you that from Anthony Fauci to the discussion we just had with the New York Times reporter, John then Swan, about Trump's problems to this story, we see a president. trying desperately to get his government to change that which is happening out there, which is that the president and his policies are unpopular, and many of the people who've spoken out against him, which is their First Amendment right, have done so well within their legal rights. That's what maybe inadvertently ties so much of this together, because what we have new from James Comey's lawyers are... basically things that could get this whole case dismissed. Now remember, there was the Seychelles Post, it said 86, and the administration argued that was some kind of assassination plot or threat, a true threat against the sitting president. James Comey wants to dismiss those charges. So that's the state of play. What's new is the filing reporting this. We're learning this for the first time. The Secret Service was coordinating with the DOJ and Trump himself with updates to Air Force One because Trump was directly involved. That's a problem because the more directly involved Trump is, the more this looks like the vindictive prosecution that James Comey claims, which can get the case tossed. Then there's the question of whether there was improper surveillance. Remember. We hear so much from people in the Republican Party about the so-called lawfare and abuse of power, but yet again, this evidence suggests Trump's team is the one doing it. Now, the only reason we know this, we would never get this. If we call the government and say, hey, how did you surveil James Comey? They'll say, we don't have to tell you. And they usually don't. But because Trump pushed this case, government records show that a Secret Service supersizer said that they viewed the surveillance. as legally a bad idea. And internally, again, this is pretty interesting. Another said agreeing it was, quote, legally questionable, but they might do it anyway. We are talking about surveilling the former FBI director without a warrant while the president is allegedly on the phone ordering it. The filing also says DOJ consulted about the meaning of 86, and they asked none other than Sammy the Bull. That won't get the case tossed, but it does suggest that they are over at DOJ rooting around for all kinds of ways to try to turn a seashell post into, as the saying goes, a federal case. We'll be right back.

Well, we've dealt with a lot of serious stuff today. I can say that for sure. I want to end by sharing some of the fun stuff and cultural ideas and inspiration we get from our Maverick series. Take a look. I'll tell you everything. I'm an open-faced sandwich. It's important to be an artist and to speak truth. Unless you're true to who you are, it's not going to resonate. Music really is you kind of defining who you are. The Blue No Jazz Festival and you just came off headlining. You have to remind yourself of the kid on the bedroom floor with the Beatles record. This is fire. This man, let me explain. Drake was an anchorman too. Drake's got some chops. All of a sudden, my queerness is my superpower. Do you see yourself as a motivational speaker? No. I just speak and I'm motivational. When it comes to making beats, you already know this, it's about the four count. One, two, three, four. Reinvention is the key to a survival in this business. Favorite lyric I wrote. I like, if I could give you the moon, I would give you the moon. I knew I'd made it when. When my accountant said I had a million dollars. Success means if your problems are different than they used to be. You obviously have to find people who would believe in you, who are crazy enough. The LFGIC on MSNBC, this is how we do it, gotta kick it with the free. You can go to MS. Now slash Mavericks to see more. That does it for us. The weeknight starts now. Snoring, gasping for air during sleep, daytime sleepiness. I'm Shaquille O'Neill, and this shouldn't be anybody's experience. Ask your doctor about Zepbound to her Zepatine. The first and only FDA approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and obesity to improve their OSA. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains chrezepotide and should not be used with other chrezebitide containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it, or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop stepbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. If you're nursing, pregnant, plant-to-be, or taking birth control pills, taking Zepbound with a sulfonal urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-9 or visit Zepbound.lily.com.