and soso what the doj has done s weaponized the doj to spy on journalists all for the purposes of simply providing some cover for the biden family and persecuting and intimidating allngal journalists in the united states against reporting on these issues and thistues. in protected by the constitution. and so we filed a motion to get these materials back from the doj. so as y so as you mentioned, tucker , this is a violation of the fourth amendment. it's a violation tam of common that protects journalists in the united states. it's a violation the federal privacy protection act and it's also a violation of the doj own guidelines tucker . so this is shocking and i hope that the doj is called on account for this and that our client gets their property back . huge, thee department of justice is huge. there are good people who work . therek are t a lot of smart peoe who work there. you'd think that someone be moved s to resign from their jos in principle when they see dog being doj being used to protect the biden family from embarrassment. ny if that's too much, is anyone resigned from doj ov

has anyone resigned from doj over this? >> not only have they not resigned, but we only learned about this over a year and a half after it occurred, tucker, so several federal magistrate judges were applied to for these different warrants. i believe the doj repeatedly lied to these judges. they did not disclose the circumstances to project veritas or journalists. they did not disclose the circumstances that there was indeed no threat of project veritas destroying evidence, so it is both these subpoenas and the gag orders under 2705b that are outrageous here, so by the way, if they are doing is to project veritas, you better believe they are doing this to other journalists in america who don't know about it because of these gag orders that frankly these federal magistrate judges should also have been asking questions before they began blithely rubber-stamping all of these requests from the department justice all of the behest of democrat having connected lawyers for the biden family. >> tucker: this is why i include obscenit

this is the doj we are talking about. that means the department could be focusing in on trump's inner circle. they are planning around that day independent of the individuals that ransacked the capitol. the january six committee members have been clear that they think the doj needs to do more. in order to hold people responsible for donald trump's and tempted coup. this week, the january six committee voted to hold former advisor peter navarro and deputy chief of staff, dan scavino, in contempt for outright refusing to supply subpoenas. there is every indication that the house will hold both men in a contempt, and then it would be up to the department of justice to criminally charge. like it already has four top trump advisor, steve bannon, who refused to reply the subpoena. his trial schedule this summer. while navarro say they are protected by executive privilege, many committee members explained why that is not true. >> police barest the nonsense talk about executive privilege rejected now by every court has looked at

this is the doj we are talking about. that means the department could be focusing in on trump's inner circle. they are planning around that day independent of the individuals that ransacked the capitol. the january six committee members have been clear that they think the doj needs to do more. in order to hold people responsible for donald trump's and tempted coup. this week, the january six committee voted to hold former advisor peter navarro and deputy chief of staff, dan scavino, in contempt for outright refusing to supply subpoenas. there is every indication that the house will hold both men in a contempt, and then it would be up to the department of justice to criminally charge. like it already has four top trump advisor, steve bannon, who refused to reply the subpoena. his trial schedule this summer. while navarro say they are protected by executive privilege, many committee members explained why that is not true. >> police barest the nonsense talk about executive privilege rejected now by every court has looked at

of course, the doj's thinking about it. because, this looks like a free grand disregard. >> switching topics, the senate appears to confirm to ketanji brown-jackson to the supreme court tomorrow, i want to play with republican senator, tom cotton, is not saying. , is not saying. the last drug jackson left the supreme court to go to nuremberg and to prosecute the nazis. this is judge jackson might have gone there to defend them. >> you do not think it was a bridge too far to make a link between nuremberg and nazis? >> no, because in three separate cases, she was representing, not american citizens, but foreign terrorists. >> this is a man that graduated from harvard in three years. what is your reaction to what he said, melissa? >> again the defense of defendants is a cornerstone in the american legal system. she has a role as a public defender and a private practice to provide legal defense to individual clients. she was upholding that commitment that is embedded in a six amendments guarantee of the right to counsel. again,

, and the doj could haven't that kind of power. to put state legislators on notice because they are afraid they are going to be passing laws that don't agree with administration policy. when i saw that, i thought back on the debacle from the memo merrick garland issues to martian resources against parents protesting different issues in front of cool boards. then you look at what happened last november when the southern district of new york issues early morning search warrants on journalists they suspected being in possession of the president daughter's diary. help me understand what the federal nexus on that is. it gives rise to concerns there is a pattern of abuse and misuse of the doj and the president and this administration. the doj should remain arm's lengths at all times. dan: i have got to run unfortunately. once you are seen as a political arm, the constitution is lost. putin's forces are pushing further into southern and eastern parts of ukraine. we are all hearing about how putin is losing. but is he really losing? was th

will the doj prosecute? look how long it's been with meadows and there's indications it's the office of lega counsel, but there may be some support for that in the doj annals for very senior officials. where's a guy like scavino show up there? he's by far the more important of the two. on the one hand, a former caddie who's basically just there to get stuff for trump. on the other, the deputy chief of staff. he'll run the same claim and we will see. he's the harder case and the more important case than is navarro. >> do you have any insights into the pace of decisions on these referrals? the bannon prosecution is underway. the meadows one seems very much stalled. >> yeah, i think harry sort of nailed it there. it was a lot easier to start with the bannon case because he wasn't a white house official. he hadn't been in the white house for years before the subpoena. but i think you know just broadly speaking, the committee does have a lot more leeway to go down past that doj and the fbi have to check a lot mor

so this is a really, really huge logistical nightmare for doj. that is why they have requested more prosecutors, more than double the amount of prosecutors that they have currently assigned to the january six cases for the next fiscal year. >> yeah. one of the deputies for merrick garland, at the number two level over the doj said the other day, it caught my eye, this is the largest investigation in the departments history. i was like, i guess that numerically must be the case. but when you talk about it, i don't want to think how it is even processed the number of 3000. i have been following your reporting, i know with the arrest numbers are up to 800, but what you are saying is that there are many, many more outstanding still. >> correct. yes. hundreds of them have been identified already. these are -- i have reviewed several of them. there is zero doubt. they erased any reasonable doubt. it is the match and minutes, items of clothing that they are wearing that they find another social media photos online. these are the people who did it. there

joy, you've done a great job laying out the problem doj faces and i'll be wonky here for a second. >> we love that. >> there is a concept in the law about conspiracies where sometimes you have one big conspiracy. everybody is part of it. they all enter it into the same agreement. they're all working together. on other occasions, you can have multiple conspiracies that can be over lapping but they can have different objectives and without boring people and causing them to turn off their tvs, i'll say there are legal implications for prosecutors in getting that right. you can have cases get reversed on appeal if you're not careful about identifying conspiracies and charging them properly and so that's an issue i think doj faces here. you do such a great job of laying out all of the players and also the folks war room and the question how much command and control the former president had so i have discussed before, i'm very empathetic to the situation doj's prosecutors are in. if they're going to charge, they've got to get it right not just complicated legal issues but this factual over

it may well be the committee is uncovering evidence doj has and doj will be fully able to use any evidence that comes out in these hearings. >> all right, elie stick ahead, i want to ask you more after the break. >>> lawsuit alleges wells fargo bank discriminates against black mortgage customers, we'll hear his report and then discuss whatat's next. ♪ [ kimberly ] before clearchoice, my dental health was so bad i would be in a lot of pain. i was unable to eat. it was very hard. kimberly came to clearchoice with a bunch of missing teeth, struggling with pain, with dental disease. clearchoice dental implants solved her dental issues. [ kimberly ] i feel so much better. i feel energized to go outside and play with my daughter. i can ate anything. like, i don't have to worry. clearchoice changed my life. everyone knows eating well and exercise are a big part of losing weight. ww's news program actually teaches you how to do it. so i have a degree in nutrition and i always knew that healthy eating was important. ww helped me do it. ww has given me the tools to develop healthier habits for a l

of course, the doj's thinking about it. because, this looks like a free grand disregard. >> switching topics, the senate appears to confirm to ketanji brown-jackson to the supreme court tomorrow, i want to play with republican senator, tom cotton, is not saying. >> the last judge jackson less the supreme court for nuremberg and prosecuted nazis. this is judge jackson might have gone there to defend them. >> you do not think it was a bridge too far to make a link between nuremberg and nazis? >> no, because in three separate cases, she was representing, not american citizens, but foreign terrorists. >> this is a man that graduated from harvard in three years. what is your reaction to what he said, melissa? >> again the defense of defendants is a cornerstone in the american legal system. she has a role as a public defender and a private practice to provide legal defense to individual clients. that is embedded in a six amendments guarantee of the right to counsel. again, to acquit this with nazism, genocide, nuremberg, is reall

can you explain the doj's reluctance to open a criminal investigation? >> the department of justice has been saying all along that the investigation they're conducting on the january 6th insurrection was going to be a bottom-to-top approach. as our reporting has indicated, they're really only halfway up that tier now. they haven't gotten close to pressing charges against the former president. if you look at the progress they've made recently, we were the first to report several weeks ago that they have convened a grand jury and are already looking at those who were involved in the planning and logistics around the rally who have received subpoenas to appear before that grand jury, although it's unclear exactly what the target of that investigation is. we know they're interested in the financing, planning and execution of the rally, as is the purpose of a grand jury is to keep things as secret as possible, we don't know who exactly they're honing in on and whether or not they'll ultimately pursue any criminal investigation as a result of that grand jury.

to what extent are joint law enforcement operations part of the doj's -- doj's plan to combat violent crime? >> it is at the center of our strategy. in may of 2021 after i'd been in office for a couple of months i saw the same thing you were quoting now about the ricin -- the startling rise in 2020 in crime which continued in 2020 and so i launched her first reggie for the department. that includes three pillars all of which you are talking about which is joint task force federal law and force meant joint task force between federal state and local law enforcement and the involvement of the community is essential that committee let us know where the bad guys are. it is at the core of what we do so the money we are asking for comes into buckets here. we are asking for more than $20 billion increase of 8.2% for our federal law enforcement and theck justice department all who participate in these task forces so the u.s. attorneys offices the fbi, the atf and the u.s. marshals service. we are asking for a $.2 billion which is an increase of 5.48 billion for grants for state and local law e

biden has been very clear, independent doj and again those are just the facts. whether it works a question. but these are facts. >> i want to move from one politician who has been risk averse to one who only likes risk and that is ron desantis. i look at what he's doing in florida. he calls a special session to jam through a congressional map. and let's make this about picking on disney. and i look, he seems to bring on more risk. he seems to enjoy the risk. look, i don't foe how long, i think he's moved too many chips into the table. but is -- what do you think? >> well it is easy to do in florida, right. he couldn't get away with that in new york or maryland for goodness sakes. i think he's doing everything he can and trying to grab the trump mantle as hard as he can and get abbott and some of the other guys out of the way. >> look at what he's made abbott do. he's resorted to ridiculous stunts like trying to bus people from the border. all to keep up with the -- >> out here, actually. >> it is amazing. how much does the white house keep an eye on desantis? >>

what that might look like and is it enough for criticism of merrick garland's doj? >>> plus -- >> the ais are 53, the nays are 47, and this nomination is confirmed. [ applause ]. >> an historic day in washington, d.c., the first black woman has been confirmed to the u.s. supreme court, bringing more diversity and expertise to this exclusive club of nine overcoming a barrage of conservative opposition and attacks. our panel joins us on that. later in the program, the effort to preserve democracy and ensure that january 6th does not happen again. one of donald trump's biggest critics respond to his latest lies about that day. she happens to be his niece, mary trump. your home... for adventure. your home... for romance. your home for big savings. [ laughs ] hey, mom, have you seen m-- ew. because when you bundle home and auto with progressive, your home is a savings paradise. bundles progressive. your home for savings. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we believe there's an innovator in all of us. ♪ ♪ that's why we build technology that makes it possible for every business... and ev

tim garland, welcome to this hearing this budget that is being presented supports the doj grant program under the newly-reauthorize violence against women act, which i was proud to cosponsor. for programs that support local police and sheriffs departments. i want to highlight these programs as a critical tool to address the shocking increase in violent crimes including a 30% surge and u.s. murder rate, the largest single year increase and 50. unfortunately violent crime continues to lack the attention it requires. it is absolutely critical the department of justice supports state local law enforcement, both through grant programs and joint force and -- includes an increase for, to fy 22 enacted levels for doj, however rhetoric and behavior from the administration to often send a different signal. if law enforcement officers are not respected or shown respect from our leaders, they will not be respected within the community. we have also seen an appalling increase in attack on police officers. it is no surprise that the departments police officers, police departments and sheriffs officer

how do they not touch into doj witnesses? >> that's an incitement is a legal term and the fact that kevin mccarthy who had direct knowledge of the president's state of mind before, during the riot used that term without question to prick up ears at the justice department. folks reach out to doj right now to cooperate are fairly high up within the infrastructure of the organization of the rally. whenever we talk about justice department investigations the typical strategy is start at the bottom of the chain of command and work the way up. justice department when they give any sort of immunity deal to people in exchange for testimony is because there's someone higher up in the pecking order than the person that got the deal that they're going after. there is a conversation on the stop the steal organizer. there's a report that alex jones is trying to get a deal. the status of any deals is telling because if doj starts immunizing the people who are fairly high up in terms of the hierarchy would suggest that the department's targ

what about the impact on doj components? marshals, immigration courts, u.s. attorneys offices. if you prepared any estimates, as a department prepared-ing estimates as to what the increasing expenditures maybe this year, unaccounted for in your budget request? >> i don't know that we have those numbers now, but i think our staff can work with yours. there is no question that there will be an increase in the u.s. attorney resources needed along the southern border. we've hired, with respect to the ij's, as i was telling senator braun, we've hired all the way up under the current appropriation. without, more we won't be able to increase the numbers. we are doing everything we can to streamline the system and to move people, the ij's, to the borders to assist their. we are always happy for more money, and i'll be happy to have our staff speak with the subcommittee staff about that. >> well, general, the crux of my conversation with you earlier in today's hearing generally revolved around violent crime. in my view is that the consequence of what the administration is determined to

and criminal referral from congress to doj does not compel doj to do anything. in my view, to send a cruminal referral adds a political element here, it is really all about the evidence. the january 6th committee, no doubt, has put together astonishing, remarkable, damning evidence. let the evidence speak for >> so devil's advocate here, why isn't it political to not send a referral? str anything to be said about that being its own form of politicizing the process? >> yeah, i think your highlighting the sort of darned if they do, darned if they don't nature and that is why the january 6 committee itself is so torn. but keep in mind, the evidence that the january 6 committee has put together, that is going to doj. they're doing to have hearings, they're going to have a big fat report with all sorts of details in it. the only question is do they slap a cover letter on that report saying, hey, doj, we really want to you investigate and to me that could either -- could only really backfire. >> well talk about that. as somebody who understands how the doj works from

so i think there's some strategy going on here at the doj. they did not immediately challenge this decision by judge mizelle, they took a couple of days, they said they were waiting for the cdc's guidance. now they filed an appeal. i think what's going on here is that they're waiting because they do actually want that mask mandate to expire. because this appeal goes to the 11th circuit and on to the supreme court. it's unlikely to be reversed. it's a 6 to 3 supermajority that's already express a considerable skepticism for the cdc to fight various aspects of this pandemic. the doj is worried that this decision not only invalidates the mask mandate, it also seriously challenges the cdc's authority to respond to any public health crisis, whether now or in the future. it would be best for this decision to be entirely over world, but that's unlikely. but, if this mask mandate expires on may 3rd, as it will. while this appeal is pending, then the appellate court can send it back to the district court to vacate the underlying order. which is the cl

the attorney general can do a lot of good right now, could reassure people that doj is on track. but some police saying that we have an investigation opened. that doesn't mean that there will necessarily be indictments, but we are following the facts, looking at the law, and taking them wherever they lead us. >> the thing that i think a lot of people fear and we are out of time so i will just have to make this comment, is that the party that aligns itself with violent people gets away with it because of the fear that prosecuting will stir up those violent people. that puts our system, essentially, you know, we are now penalized simply because one party has aligned itself with insurrectionists and white nationalists and people willing to do violence. that means they are in charge in that scares me. up next -- we will be right back. will be right back. powerful, when they should be protecting our rights and our future. our next supreme court justice needs to understand all of us, and provide equal justice for all of us. judge ketanji brown jackson has a proven record of protecting

there's a high bar to make a criminal referral to doj. was this something that they foreshadowed in that filing laying out the evidence? something that the federal judge that ruled in the eastman case let out the back? how and when and why did this come out now? tie commit tee really laid out this case in that filing in the eastman case trying to get the emails that the lawyer advising trump leading up to january 6 may have. it was almost an indictment essentially what they filed. the committee has no powers at all criminally but a version of a indictment. laying out the evidence to say trump violated on instructed a congressal investigation and defrauding the american people. we have known that that was the perspective and then what happens is that the judge rules in that case and really sides with the committee. basically saying, it is more likely than not that someone, trump and eastman, broke the law here. and what it is is that -- so on one hand the committee feels confident that they have more than enough to go to the justice depart

why hasn't the doj moved against him yet? >> so we don't know for certain, but there are a couple of options and then there's a wild card. one option is that they've decided not to prosecute. there's an old olc memo folks argued might prohibit prosecution in this area. i think what you're suggesting is the more likely course, doj is trying to sort out his status. he originally cooperated with the january 6th committee, turning over an entire tranche of documents. that's the way we have learned the most interesting information about what was going on inside of the white house. it's possible that doj is trying to decide or to give meadows the opportunity to decide whether he wants to be a witness or whether he wants to be a defendant, and that's a negotiation that can take a little bit of time to work out when you're on the prosecutorial end and katie, the wildcard is this north carolina voting fraud case, where meadows registers to vote at a residence that he has never occupied while he has a house in another state, votes from

so i think there's some strategy going on here at the doj. they did not immediately challenge this decision by judge myself, they took a couple of days, they said they were waiting for the cdc's guidance. now they filed an appeal. i think what's going on here is that they're waiting because they do actually want that mask mandate to expire. because this appeal goes to the 11th circuit and on to the supreme court. it's unlikely to be reversed. it's a 6 to 3 supermajority that's already express can spread -- considerable skepticism for the cdc to fight various aspects of this pandemic. the doj is worried that this decision not only invalidates the mask mandate, it also seriously challenges the cdc's authority to respond to any public health crisis, whether now or in the future. it would be best for this decision to be entirely over world, but that's unlikely. but, if this mask mandate expires on may 3rd, as it will. while this appeal is pending, then the appellate court can send it back to the district court to vacate the underlying order. whic

they need doj to back up their contempt referrals. otherwise, the contempt referral is a document, is a piece of paper. maybe they get a certificate. there's nothing to it if you don't care that congress has held you in contempt without the criminal element. they got that with steve bannon, but mark meadows' referral has been sitting at doj since december and there's been no obvious public action on that. so for subpoenas to work, for the threat of subpoena, for the threat of a contempt referral and perhaps prosecution to work, doj has to do their part of it, and these democrats, many of them are starting to argue quite publicly for that, which has been a change in strategy from the beginning of this. but they know they need the department of justice to back them up and they know they can't wait any longer. that's the bottom line. the timeline gets more condensed by the day. and if they're going to have any hope of generating -- turning some of these more recalcitrant people into witnesses they need pressure now. >> by the way, garret

what about the impact on doj components? marshals, immigration courts, u.s. attorneys offices. if you prepared any estimates, as a department prepared-ing estimates as to what the increasing expenditures maybe this year, unaccounted for in your budget request? >> i don't know that we have those numbers now, but i think our staff can work with yours. there is no question that there will be an increase in the u.s. attorney resources needed along the southern border. we've hired, with respect to the ij's, as i was telling senator braun, we've hired all the way up under the current appropriation. without, more we won't be able to increase the numbers. we are doing everything we can to streamline the system and to move people, the ij's, to the borders to assist their. we are always happy for more money, and i'll be happy to have our staff speak with the subcommittee staff about that. >> well, general, the crux of my conversation with you earlier in today's hearing generally revolved around violent crime. in my view is that the consequence of what the administration is determined to

elizabeth: mollie, it created severe credibility damage for the doj and the fbi. we talked to numerous fbi officials are livid over this, got politicized, put into the d.c. office, not the new york office where they could have done the shoe leather. it was trump organization they were talking about trump here in new york. let's watch former attorney general william barr. he was with us last week on what you were just talking about. let's listen to this, watch. >> why did the fbi act the way they did? there was such a flimsy basis, really no basis for them to go after the trump campaign. even as they learned this information was bad and could easily be russian disinformation, they continued. this was a campaign ploy to put out scurrilous information about trump and then had the fbi investigate it, then leak that right before the election, sort of the ultimate corruption of democracy, to have the people in charge of the coercive tools of the country, national security police power, use it to choose the leader of the country. elizabeth: mollie, do you hear that? the

as they wait or the doj to act. the january 6th committee wants to interview jenny thomas, the wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas and a conservative activist. she is under fire for text messages sent to mark meadows about january 6th and the 2020 election. >> mike, according to that you quinnipiac poll 52% of those polled says justice clarence thomas should recuse himself from all cases involving the 2020 election. back to you, mike. >> mike: david spunt live at the justice department. thank you very much. arizona attorney general mark brnovich's investigation into maricopa county's election results is reporting serious vulnerabilities. the report is not alleging that mass fraud occurred. the report is the latest of a series of inquiries substantial fraud in the state. arizona voted for president biden and democratic senator mark kelly in 2020. up next, the panel with reaction to bret's interview with mitch mcconnell and news that house speaker nancy pelosi tested positive for covid following an event wit

doj makes the decisions independently. the fact they charged steve bannon so fast is evidence that they take allegations from congress seriously but there's a longer list of folks they have yet to charge and move slowly than congress and many folks want them to move. so i would expect this to continue and to percolate as a subplot but i don't think it's something that's going to have any sort of impediment on the work that both congress and the doj themselves are doing. >> betsy's absolutely right in the analysis of the optics but not the point. if there is criminality and i'm not saying there is criminality. liz cheney said there is. federal judge that looked at the evidence in the eastman case said there's criminality. i guess my question for you -- congressman lofgren on the show sort of blowing back against the reporting that they had enough evidence and then she would come right out and confirm they met the bar if they went through the process. and decided to do so. what i don't understand is the congressional probe i

what's merrick garland spoke on january -- with doj does its work. one is, they are never going to start and open an investigation on donald trump. that investigation is already open. on january 7th of 2021, they began an investigation. they will follow the facts wherever they lead. so there are already investigating everybody for anything related to that attack. and if that leads to the doorstep of donald trump, soviet. they're not gonna stop start an investigation, there are already doing it. another thing that's important to understand is that they're never going to announce who they are investigating. i think that maybe the public got incorrect perception of how these things work when robert mueller was appointed, for example, a special counsel to investigate the connections between russia and the trump campaign. that was a very unique situation because donald trump was the sitting president, and you had to bring an independent investigator because the attorney general was a subordinate to the president. ordinarily though, the justice department

alleged losses from criminal health care fraud schemes are in the billions to catch the crooks the doj expanded its health care fraud strike force giving nbc news exclusive access to its headquarters the agents and prosecutors you see ipthese rooms are working around the clock not only collecting cyber evidence but also doing tactical ops, launching takedowns of doctors, lab owners and money launderers >> reporter: prosecutor lisa miller oversees a doj's unit and says sometimes the crooks even spell it it out for investigators on their cellphones >> they'll talk about millions with emojis and smiles, the motive for their crime. they'll send dollar sign symbols, things like that, photos of themselves in luxury cars >> reporter: last year the strike force's investigations led to more than 200 convictions and charges against 54 medical professionals. and now there are cases in the works for hundreds more. >> it's the worst we've seen telemedicine fraud currently. telemedicine is a very important technology that provides lifesaving care to some people, but unfortunately it's prone to abuse

how the doj is working to identify those responsible for the attack. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly livers quality candidates matching your job description. vit indeed.com/hire get up and go with best western rewards! the right place, the right value, right where you're wanting to be. ready to welcome you. let's go. stay safe. now get double best western rewards points on every stay. and with rewards points that never expire you get free nights fast! book now at bestwestern.com. >>> it does not matter how far you sail a yacht. how well you can sail. it does not matter how cleverly you right your malware. the justice department will use every available tool to find you, disrupt your plots, and hold you accountable. >> merrick garland announcing -- seizing a yacht. jessica schneider joins us now. talk us through all this. >> this is really amounting to a rapid succession of crackdowns and it's really the result of some quick work by the cl

comes after people celebrated the lifting of the mask mandate in the air and in the airport but the doj and cdc is saying not so fast. the department of justice has appealed a florida federal judge's ruling that overturned mask mandates on planes and trains in a brief statement the doj said in light of today's assessment by the cdc that an order requiring masking in the transportation corridor remains necessary to protect the public health, the department has filed a notice of appeal white house press secretary jen psaki said this was important to preserve the cdc's authority >> the objective here is of course to appeal the 15-day extension but also to preserve the cdc authority over the long-term. because as we've noted from here we expect there to be ups and downs in the pandemic, and we certainly want the cdc to continue to have this authority. >> it left many americans confused with a variety of different masking regulations. while masks are not required on planes, amtrak, uber, lyft and in most states cities like new york with higher covid cases are still requiring masks in mass tr

it's clear that there is sufficient evidence for doj to begin investigating. and now we learn, and betsy i think makes the right point that we've learned that this grand jury investigation has expanded. so it looks like the trip is underway. >> betsy, i only have about a minute left, but i want to make sure we get in your new reporting on former vice president mike pence. >> we obtained a document that's been previously unreported. it's a document that the select committee itself also has. it was created on december 8th. because the day before, all the bay back to december 7th, 2020, pence reached out to his top lawyer and essentially said that he needed a primer on what was going to happen on january 6th, what pence communicated was that he felt there was going to be this disinformation campaign targeting him. that's a word that a person familiar with the document used to describe. he was aware that there was this campaign targeting him, pushing this information about the law regarding january 6th. and that early in the process, he asked his top lawyer to jus

what's merrick garland spoke on january -- with doj does its work. one is, they are never going to start and open an investigation on donald trump. that investigation is already open. on january 7th of 2021, they began an investigation. they will follow the facts wherever they lead. so there are already investigating everybody for anything related to that attack. and if that leads to the doorstep of donald trump, soviet. they're not gonna stop start an investigation, there are already doing it. another thing that's important to understand is that they're never going to announce who they are investigating. i think that maybe the public got incorrect perception of how these things work when robert mueller was appointed, for example, a special counsel to investigate the connections between russia and the trump campaign. that was a very unique situation because donald trump was the sitting president, and you had to bring an independent investigator because the attorney general was a subordinate to the president. ordinarily though, the justice department

make the referral to the doj. or they put the two statements next to each other, they send it to the jeep supreme court, if they have questions, they proceed. >> they are very selective on what we refer. >> we heard that from doj themselves. >> bring them in and let's have a hearing. >> great. it is preposterous the way this is. >> we need to be present in all these issues. >> it is obvious the two numbers don't add up and they are both under old. the provocation that somebody is lying is under our nose in public filings. it demeans government when government doesn't act on public information like that. it is presumptively false. >> thank you, commissioner. i am back and senator wyden is now over voting. >> on beneficial ownership, our first topic, i want to mention the commissioner was appreciative of what we have done and how that will help him in his work. >> i appreciate your referencing that. there is bipartisan work to be going on around here. one of the other issues, it a bipartisan effort senator writing -

doj prosecutors to do, that could make it messy to prosecute meadows. so the january 6 th committee is actually giving doj an alternative here, they're providing two easier cases for prosecution, because although both of these people did work for trump, worked for the administration, in some sense, they're further removed from the specter of executive privilege, you've got navarro who was a trade representative, his scope of work isn't implicated by his failure to testify to the january 6th committee. this gives the doj an easier case to proceed with meadows, not as easy as bannon who wasn't employed in the white house, and didn't make any effort to comply with the subpoena, and that is actually what navarro and scavino have going against them. that the total -- of any effort to comply with the subpoena, engaging in efforts to delay and carry the process out without respecting the subpoena, this may be an easier more attractive case for doj to prosecute. >> and, joyce, we should point out, we have two statements to read. one in terms of peter navarro, h

what about the impact on doj components, marshals,es immigration courts, u.s. attorneys offices? have you prepared any estimates, has the department prepared estimates to about the increasing expenditures may be this year unaccounted for in the budget request? >> i don't know thatd- we have. i don't think we have those numbers now. but i think that our staff can work with yours. there's no question that there will be an increase in the u.s. attorney resources needed along the southern border. we've hired with respect as i was telling the sender we've hired all the way up under the current appropriations, so without more we won't be able to increase the numbers. we are doing everything we can to streamline the system and move people. but we are always happy for more money and i would be happy to have the staff speak with the subcommittee staff about that. >> general, my conversation with you earlier in today's hearing generally revolved around violent crime and my view is the consequence of what the administration is determined to do with section 42 can't be compensated for by rem

. >> reporter: the attorney general saying days ago that such pressure has no impact on him and the doj. it comes as sources tell abc news that the doj is expanding its criminal probe to investigate the rally before the capitol riot. the january 6th committee also considering whether to issue subpoena for trump's personal phone records from january 6th. trying to fill a nearly eight-hour gap in the official white house log of trump's phone calls that day. >> it does seem like the gaps are suspiciously tailored to the heart of the events. but we're checking that out. >> reporter: linsey, this week, the house is expected to vote on asking the doj to charge peter navarro and dan scavino for criminal contempt. for refusing to cooperate with the congressional investigation. the men citing executive privilege. linsey? >> kenneth, thank you. >>> tiger woods teasing a return to competition at the masters in augusta, georgia. he says he'll make a gametime decision before his tee time on thursday as far as whether or not to compete. it's been just over a year since the 46-year-old nearly lost a l

i understand it doj is reviewing its earlier decision. this is an issue senator blumenthal and i pursued in the commerce committee, but you are reviewing the decision not to criminally charge these agents. could you provide me a status update as to where this issue lies? >> you are right this is a horrible institutional failure. it's almost unspeakable. it is unspeakable what happened to those gymnasts and also the way in which the investigation failed to proceed. we have created institutional changes in that regard to make sure it doesn't happen again. there are procedures and the deputy attorney general has issued memorandums in the field so that y another a u.s. attorney's office or law enforcement decides not to follow up they immediately advise state and local law enforcement so that they can continue. your description of, so the questionan of the investigationo the fbi's internal disciplinary work is still in progress. the question of reopening the earlier declaration is in the hands of the assistant attorney general foror the crimi

well here the doj is following the blueprint. who wrote it. who shared it. and did it ultimately reach trump aides or trump himself? and then the big times story, an aide to trunk's adviser roger stone who has also had legal troubles an been convicted of different crimes, but this individual caught on tape making plea to trump supporters to dissend on the capitol. and that was a full week before january 6. that is bad. that is pretty damning evidence. that is why congress also right now is literally debating through this committee whether to refer donald trump for potential criminal prosecution. a process where mr. trump is legally presumed innocent. but where in a referral the doj must, as a legal matter, treat him like any other person to determine if, if there is sufficient legal evidence to indict him, to seek his trial and if convicted, and if warranted, to seek his incarceration. this is serious stuff. that is no small question. i want to bring in our experts. former prosecutor may a wylie, and from the leadership conference on civil and human rights a

on the appeal, first off, does the doj have a shot here? after all, it would be heard in the relatively conservative 11th circuit, right? >> yeah, that is definitely one consideration, john. but what we do know is that there have been challenging to the mask mandate, and prior to this one district court judge sitting in this florida, you know, courtroom making the decision that the mask mandate was basically not legal. that the cdc and the biden administration had otver steppe its power, other courts, determined the biden administration did have authority to make these mandatory to address paubl health crisis so i think the doj had no choice but to challenge this given how sweeping it with was, and how sudden it was and how quickly it changed the policy that had opinion put in place by the cdc. >> all right. so now, to the process. i mean, there seems to be a lot of confusion here over the white house' response to this, which took several days. what do you make of their appeal? the way it sort of went about? and maybe, crucial, twl they wil

they try to push the doj, the fbi, the cia to investigate trump. at the same time they're doing that they go to the media, they actually say to the media, hey, the government is investigating this when they weren't. this is hit-and-run on trump without the fingerprints, right? hillary's hired guns, fusion gps , tell call a reporter tell them about carter page. how can they prove criminal intent to show a conspiracy charge? >> they wind up with circuitous, curious facts and you start tying it together. what is really so amazing, liz, actually one of the largest firms in washington to tie it all together and try to cloak it in attorney/client privilege so it never sees the light of day. sounds like a conspiracy to me. elizabeth: yeah. i mean, when you leak to the media, that's not attorney/client privilege work product, leaks to the media. you know what i mean. it is really pushing it. >> you're 100% right. you're all over the story. you've got it pegged. elizabeth: thank you for that. we appreciate the compliments. just trying to do the job, you kno

the move would be symbolic, with the doj stepping up its own investigation. here's alex presha. >> reporter: tonight, questions about where or not a house panel will recommend criminal charges against former president trump. in court documents filed last month the january 6th select committee stating it has basis for "concluding that the president and members of his campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the united states." >> it's absolutely clear that what president trump was doing, what a number of people around him were doing, that they knew it was unlawful. they did it anyway. >> reporter: cheney refuting the new york times report that the committee is torn. some worry a criminal referral which would be largely symbolic may backfire, politically tainting the doj's expanding investigation into january 6th and the days leading up to it. tonight, signs that investigation is expanding with stop the steal founder ali alexander now cooperating with the doj. while a referral could pressure attorney general merrick garland to open a criminal invest

the doj will appeal this. that judge's ruling some 48 hours ago struck down the mask mandate, leading to joy and relief for millions traveling, tired of the masks. but also sparking concern for millions of others who are still alarmed about the health of their children, their families, because of the spike in covid cases across this country, driven by the omicron subvariant right now. so tonight, the cdc appealing amid concern from many public health officials that the judge's ruling undermines the cdc's authority moving forward. what if there's another threatening wave of the virus? will the cdc be able to tell americans to put the masks on? so tonight, as covid cases rise again in many areas of the country, the cdc formally asking for an appeal. the doj says it will appeal now. and what will this mean for millions of americans traveling in the meantime? and for the cdc and its authority moving forward? cecilia vega standing by live at the white house and abc's gio benitez leading us off with the breaking dev