it's free. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. this hour on him in. it has been three years since the insurrectionists stormed

the u.s. capitol, field by donald trump's lie. but there is a new are bigger test for democracy that is in the hands of the court. also this hour, you will hear from a capitol police officer who defended the capitol that day. harry dunn is with us live with why he is running for congress. and also tonight, look here the man who led the nra four years into the ground is out. thanks in part to the legal process of new york's attorney general. i am paola ramos, in for a minute look at dean, let's do this. ♪ ♪ ♪ today, january 6th, marks three years since rioters violently stormed the halls of our nation's capital. three years since supporters of donald trump attempted to overturn the will of the, people and three years since americas nearly 250-year-long democratic experiment almost made its end. yesterday, president joe biden

kicked off the 2024 election year by marking this anniversary with a grim warning, the threat to our democracy is still ongoing. trump is trying to steal history. the same way he try to steal the election. we all know who donald trump is, the question we have to answer is, who are we? that's what's at stake. who are we? >> reporter: who are we? biden is hardly alone in his fears. in a new piece for the bulwark, bill kristol and jeffrey shoeless issued a warning of their own, quote, the fact is that the united states is

closer to day two constitutional failure than it was three years ago. now you may remember in the days after the attack for just a few brief moments, our nation was nearly unified and denouncing what happened at the capitol. democrats and republins alike were quick to hold the president trump responsible for that day's events. even fears defenders of the ex president like senator lindsey graham, and now former congressman kevin mccarthy, publicly condemned him, remember. that the former president was impeached in a move that was more bipartisan than any previous impeachment. however, as you, know things are very different now. the tides have not turned. as crystal and to this point, out one that was once widespread alarm unraveling a

monger pence about january 6th, today there is silence, indifference, or at, best there is complacency. most of the republicans who stood up against trump have either changed their tune or left congress completely. and what's left of the gop is now blindly marching in lockstep behind the ex president. however, this isn't just a phenomenon among elected republicans. republican voters have also shown increasing levels of loyalty to trump as he campaigns for the white house all across the country with criminal charges. according to a new survey, republicans nationwide are now less likely to believe that january six participants were, quote, mostly violent. there are also less likely to believe that trump bears responsibility for the attack, and are even slightly less likely to be president biden's election as legitimate. then they were just three years ago. it's pretty stunning, right?

those stunning numbers be come especially worrying when you consider that less than a year out from the 2024 election, from where we're currently standing right now, we not only know much more about trump's post-2020 election actions, but also about his proposed second term plans. trump has vowed to use the doj to lock up his political enemies and threaten to install thousands of loyalists throughout the federal government. recently, the ex president even doubled down on his promise to be a dictator on day one if elected. that's the true danger here. it's not just about what's happened in the past, it's about what lies ahead. as a bulwark's crystal and toulouse put it, quote, january 6th, it turns out, was a were her soul to upheaval, the far deeper insurrection that trump now -- january 6th was prologue, the election year of 2024 will be the decisive drama on the mend stage, and it's outcome is very much in doubt. let's talk about all of this with barbara f walter, the professor of political science at the university of california in san diego, and author of how civil wars start and how to stop them. professor, thank you so much for joining. i really appreciate it. i would love to start with getting your reaction to president biden's speech yesterday. what do you make of it? it was much, much needed speech. one of the surprising things for somebody who has watched american democracy since as early as 2008 and watched a decline, is the fact that americans really don't -- they haven't wanted to hear that message, they want to believe that our democracy is the greatest in the world, they want to believe that it will always be strong and that there

is nothing really to worry about. but the reality has been that our democracy has been in decline. it has accelerated since 2021. i think that maria raisa, who is a nobel peace prize winner, she recently wrote that 2024 is going to be a definitive year in terms of american democracy, whether we keep it. and of, course if america's democracy declined significantly, other democracies around the world will as well. so, it was a much needed wake up call to the american public that what's happening is not neutral. we could lose our democracy. and what that means is that we could lose our rights and freedoms that we have had for over -- that many of us have had for over 200 years and once you lose those rights and freedoms, they're really difficult to get back. >> reporter: you mentioned that there is this idea that we could potentially lose our democracy and in this moment, context is very important. to your point, there is this sense that the united states is on the brink of this fundamental change. this choice between democracy and autocracy.

but as you know more than anyone, this didn't just start in january 6th. so i guess the question to you is, how did we get here? how did we get here? you know, the story that nobody's telling is that we got here because america is in the process of a radical demographic change. we're in the process of going from a country that has been a white majority country to a country that's going to be white minority. that is going to happen probably in the next 20 plus years. that is deeply threatening to a subset of american population that has enjoyed power and has enjoyed privilege for its entire history. and what we are seeing is, we are not going down without a fight. and there are catching it as an issue of immigration, they're catching it as an issue of voter fraud. they're catching it as any possible cultural issue.

but the reality is, what's happening in the united states is a demographic change, and what you see throughout history, in countries that go through transfers of power from one group to another is that the dominant group almost never goes down without a fight. >> reporter: professor, thank you so much, you are going to be sticking around, there is so much more to discuss. i will talk to you in just a couple of minutes. but with us now is congresswoman annie kuster, a democrat from new hampshire, and the chair of the new democrat coalition. she was inside the capitol on january 6th. congresswoman, thank you so much for joining me today. i know obviously it's a very,

very painful and traumatic day to think about, but it's import to have these conversations. i know of course that you are one of the very last members to evacuate the gallery on january 6th, and there's newly-released security footage that shows you, congresswoman, and other of your colleagues, escaping i believe through -- 30 seconds before insurrectionists breached that very same hallway. we're looking at the video right now. if you could take us back to that day and just take us back to everything that was going on in your mind, does that trauma ever leave? no, it gets better after three years. i'm certainly doing much better than i was in the early months. my colleagues and i that had been in the gallery and came so close to the insurrectionists. we're dealing with some pretty significant post traumatic stress. but what's significant about releasing this new video is that it demonstrates how close, not only how close we came, to either death, or injury, or a

kidnapping, being taken hostage. you have to ask yourself, what were the zip ties and the bear mace all about? what were they planning to do? they wanted to disrupt the certification of the election. when you see that video, just 30 seconds after we crossed that hallway, those first insurrectionists are in that very all way. and you can see the policeman that's frantically running around, trying to lock that door because what happened is that there are two dozen of my colleagues, here you can watch them coming, look at the backpacks, look at -- they found weapons, bear mace, zip ties. we had just crossed through

their. and he had just locked that door right where they are, he locked them, trying to open the door -- there are two dozen of my colleagues right behind that door. so it was terrifying. >> reporter: so it's even more remarkable to think about the fact that some of your republican colleagues who were inside the capitol that day, some of your colleagues who have seen these types of images time and time again, some of those people still refuse to call january six for what it was. and insurrection. well, they don't know. they haven't seen this video. they don't understand how close we came! this is brand-new. >> reporter: and i ask you this, congresswoman, because i'm curious about what that feels like for you.

what impact has that had on a personal level to serve alongside some of those republican members of congress who don't want to see the reality of the day. what does that feel like for you? it's very difficult. we tried to share with them, and they were frightened to that day. you need to understand, they were very, very scared. and i think there's other video that's been released today that shows the insurrectionists shouting through a broken window at some of my republican colleagues. when we finally were evacuated, and we spent five hours in a safe room, we were all together, 200 members, republicans and democrats, and they were equally frightened for their lives that day. but since then, led by donald trump and the whitewashing of our history, they have kowtow to this view of the -- your viewers can see the violence! and i think that's just it, as the president said in his speech, we can see it with our

own eyes. and that's what's most important. and so my colleagues and i are speaking out now on this third anniversary, sharing this footage of how close we came, if they had taken us hostage, and you have to understand, we had a very slim democratic majority, only five vote majority. so if they had taken us hostage, or even some had entered us, sent us to the hospital, we would not have been able to return to vote that night. on the certification of the election. and you and all of america would have woken up to total chaos and confusion. about who was the legal president of the united states of america. that's how close this insurrection came. 30 seconds. >> reporter: congresswoman, you're speaking out but if we

just look at iowa today, a lot of donald trump's rivals refused to speak out, they refused to even acknowledge january 6th, they avoid it. some even downplay it, some are normalizing it. so what do you think is the impact of that strategy? one of the reasons i'm speaking out is that i'm from new hampshire, and new hampshire has the first presidential primary coming up and now two and a half weeks. i've actually already voted. i voted joe biden as president of the united states for the 2024 first-in-the-nation presidential primary. and i am saying, at liz cheney is here in new hampshire, jimmy raskin is coming to new hampshire this weekend, we are

seeing to voters our democracy is at stake. whether you vote for joe biden, or you vote for a republican, nikki haley, do not vote for an insurrectionist to be president of the united states. our democracy is at stake. >> reporter: congresswoman, annie kuster, very powerful words. i think for joining us today. i really appreciate it. after this break -- thank you, congresswoman. after this, park you will hear from capitol police, officer harry dunn, he defended the capitol on january 6th, and now he is running for congress. first though, to richard louis with other big headlines. richard? >> thank, you paola. first, some breaking news -- for you, a u.s. official confirming to nbc news that president biden did not know defense equatorial lloyd austin was hospitalized until three days after that fact. yesterday, the pentagon said austin was hospitalized on new year's day due to complications from elective surgery. in a statement today, austin said he could have done a, quote, better job of notifying the public. the faa, now grounding all boeing 737 max nine airplanes that operate in the united states for safety inspections.

this comes after an emergency exit door blew off in alaska airlines flight soon after taking off. the granting will effect 171 airplanes of 218 worldwide. and hezbollah fire dozens of rockets towards northern israel. the iranian-backed militant group says this was in retaliation for israel's assassination of a senior hamas leader in beirut. israel says it fired back. this, as u.s. and eu officials tour the region to try to prevent spillover conflicts. more "ayman" right after this break. . are you replacing me? with this guy? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache! oh, look! a bibu. [limu emu squawks.] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ parodontax ♪ blood when brushing could be the start of a domino effect of gum disease. all of these signs could lead to worse.

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insurrectionists, and the terrorists of that day, democracy went on that night, and still continues to exist today. democracy is bigger than any one person and any one party. you will try to disrupt democracy that day, and you all failed. >> that was harry dunn, former capitol police officer testifying to the january 6th committee in 2021. who is one of hundreds of officers holding the line when the mob of rioters, emboldened by donald trump, stormed our nation's capitol. in the three years since that, day dunn has spoken widely uncritically about the insurrection. president biden even honored him with a presidential citizens medal last year. he's written a book recounting his experience on january 6th. now he wants a seat at the table. dunn announced yesterday that

he's running as a democratic candidate for congress in maryland. and harry dunn joins us now. mr. dunn, thank you so much for being with me tonight. i appreciate it. >> thank you for having me on. thank you for having me on. >> of course. i don't have to tell you, you've been through so much. and i really want to understand what gave you the courage to run for office. >> a lot of us -- this country, we've all been through a lot. and one of the things i want to make sure that i point out that on january 6th, we all faced trauma, whether it was an officer on the frontlines or whether it was somebody in maryland's howard county, in their apartment, watching on tv in horror. we all experience some sort of trauma that day. so, i think it's very important to acknowledge that. as far as the courage to do anything, i don't chalk it up to courage. i just think it is no question that it is just doing what is right. when you see something wrong, he speak out against, it when something isn't right, you have to say something. and i recognize at this moment

right now that i refer to this time period we are in right now in the last three years and more as a moment. and i think it is very important that we acknowledge that and that's where we are right now. >> and so much of your campaign is centered around this moment you are describing, this idea of preserving democracy, which, of course, is very much in line with president biden's campaign message. and i think it's important to ground our viewers in this moment that we are in right now, and remind us again, what exactly is at stake in this election when it comes to democracy? >> i'm glad that you say that. because, yeah, my campaign,. but january 6th did happen. i don't think it's an exaggeration to say, we are one election away from the extinction of democracy as we know it. like he said in your previous segment, donald trump has said he wants to be a dictator, even if it is just for a day or even

if he is just joking. at what point do we take him seriously? and then what is democracy looked like? if he wins, which is a real possibility. so, again, my platform right now is about democracy. and my values lineup with democratic values. common sense gun reform and a woman's right to choose. and you know, expanding and preserving voting rights. lower health care costs, in this moment like i said, democracy i think is on the ballot. i talk about that on my website at harry dunn for congress that come. i'm learning how to be a politician now. >> and you know the fact that you say that is interesting. you're learning to be a politician, because your person who has won the uniform for so many years. so i wonder, given of course that fact. i keep thinking about 2020. and the idea that in 2020 you

see that the country's largest police union, the fraternal order of police endorses trump as president. okay that was three years before january 6th, and here we are three years later, and so i wonder from your perspective how do you think that trump's messaging, in that specific prior endorsement, how does all that resonate today with the law enforcement colleagues? >> i don't want to pretend to speak in front of all law enforcement. i have people in law enforcement that do support the things that i am doing. and i think that it's important, like i said, when you see something wrong you stand up against it. and you speak out against it. and i think that donald trump duped a lot of people. that's why i believe he lost the second election, because people were like, wait a minute, you told us one thing and you did another. i think that's why he lost to president joe biden. and i do not think it is a coincidence at all. but i do think that he some, people saw through his

foolishness. the problem is a lot of people have not seen through it yet. and he still is a will threat like joe biden said to american democracy. >> let's talk about that, to your point, some people have not seen through that foolishness which brings me to something to something that you will have to wrestle with your campaign. disinformation. every single candidate is up against disinformation. so what have you learned in the last couple of years about the best ways to combat disinformation? >> with the truth. plain and simple, i wish i had a long, drawn out answer about that. but if you look at congress, look at the members that get to, i don't know if it's a record number but it is a large number of members that are not seeking reelection. that is giving me the opportunity to run, congressman -- is not seeking reelection just like so many other members in congress but we need to replace those members of congress with truth tellers. with warriors who are willing to stand up and fight back, and

push back against that disinformation. the individuals that are spewing those lies on the house floor, and in the house of congress. they know that those are lies. look at rena mccarthy, the day after january 6th. that night he went on the house floor and he condemned donald trump. in the senate vote. and in the impeachment vote. mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham. they knew that they were done with donald trump. there are not done with him because he still exists. so they know it is wrong. donald trump has them scared have to death and then they have to go back to -- a lot of people refer it as going to mar-a-lago and kissing the ring. it sounds funny but that's exactly what it is. >> thank you so much and i'm a big believer that the truth always ends up prevailing. and i'm very much looking forward to see how you carry out that message of truth. thank you for joining me tonight. i really appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. again, i've got to plug harrydunnforcongress. com. thank you so much.

>> all right, next, it's not just here, the elections of 2024 could make a break democracy worldwide with billions going to the polls. we will break down all the stakes! he stakes ♪oh what a good time we will have♪ ♪you... can make it happen...♪ ♪♪

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we are in for a historic and highly anticipated election your here in the u.s.. but the things extend globally, 2024 will be the biggest election year in history. more thanountries representing half of the world's population head to the polls this year that. is an estimated four billion people. but many of these elections point to a growing trend that isn't unique to america. democracy is under threat, and on the ballot, all across the world. according to a report from the nonprofit, freedom house, global freedom declined for the 17th consecutive year. the world's largest general election will take place and india. where prime minister, narendra modi, of the widely criticize for human rights abuses and restricted press freedom. then, in indonesia, where the

presidential election will constitute the biggest single day vote, president joko widodo as increasingly weekend democratic institutions, and crack down on critics. the european parliament could see another surge in far-right party whence in june see our elections. as journalists and press freedom icon maria ressa told politico, quote, we will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024. professor barbara f walter is with me, and also joining me is brian walsh, editorial director of vox and author of and times, a brief guide to the end of and brian i'm going to start with. you and i'm going to quote something you wrote for vox. think of it as the democracy paradox, while more people in 2024 will be the, will be exercising the most fundamental act of democracy, voting. democracy itself has rarely felt more vulnerable.

brian, can you please expand on that, because i think that's a really, really important point to start on. >> i think that's really the story of elections in 2024. on the one hand, you have more people go into the polls than ever before, in more elections, more populous countries. the united states, to india, to indonesia, starting tomorrow, bangladesh. on the other hand, you had a real risk in so many of these elections that you could see further democratic backslide, you have the campaigns of the trappings of democracy, what you're actually seeing is that the k of democracy in the fact that these two things could be happening simultaneously is extremely noteworthy. even this is new. the idea that this many people, this many countries can actually exercise democracy in some form is something to celebrate but when you look at what is actually happening on the ground, when you look at what is actually happening in these campaigns, in these countries, you have to be worried if that's the direction things will go in the future. >> professor, why do you think that it's important for people in the u.s., and also, or at

least mostly for people in washington d. c. to be paying attention to all these elections that are taking place outside the u.s.. i guess, in other words, what does sort of, what do all of these election mean to the international political order, professor? >> yeah. you, know the story that people don't know is that democracy reached its peak around the world in 2010. 2010. it's been declining ever since. so, the 20th century was the century of democracy. democracy almost did not exist in 1900. and by the end of the 19 hundreds, the assumption by people like me, who studied democracy was, that this was just, democracy was going to keep growing, and, going until eventually every country around the world was going to be a democracy. and then it stopped, it stopped in 2010 and it reversed. and the question is that people have to ask themselves is, why is this happening? and it's not just happening in indonesia, in india, in the philippines. but it's happening in the

world's oldest democracies, the united states is the world's oldest democracy. it's happening in the most liberal democracies. countries that people thought democracy was sacrosanct, in the uk, in sweden. there is a neo-nazi party that is one of the biggest parties in sweden today. so, why is this happening today? and one of the reasons we think this is happening is because of not only the internet, but because of algorithms that are pushing out more and more extreme behavior. the last region around the globe the started to decline and start of terms of democracy was africa. that did not happen until 2019. what was different about africa? >> right, so -- >> it was because it had the -- laced internet access of all the regions in the wild. >> that's interesting. there is a direct correlation between this and misinformation and internet and sort of the global decline of democracy.

on that note, professor, brian, i want to ask you, what are some of the elections across the globe that we should be paying attention to? one or two countries that you think are particularly important for us to keep an eye out? >> what i think is what happened in india is incredibly important. not just because that's the biggest election, biggest democracy. but we are going to see during narendra modi can continue really controlling that country and what is increasingly and autocratic way. i think on the one hand, he is incredibly popular, but we've seen them really dismantling the trappings of democracy. you are saying how that campaign unfolds, it's gonna say a lot about weather in the end we'll remained anything more than a democracy in name. i think indonesia, in sheer size, is incredibly important. taiwan, in about a week, that's a very vibrant democracy but one that is under a lot of threat from china.

very worried about what is going to happen there. i think pakistan as well, with there are concerns about whether that country can even continue to really, continue to grow within a democratic sense. so it's really actually easier to find a country that's not the case, more than given the sheer number of what's happening right now. >> barbara, i wanted to turn to president biden's speech yesterday. as you know, he spoke about democracy, and i want you to take a listen now to what he said. >> i can tell you from my experience, working with leaders around the world, and i mean this sincerely, not a joke. america is still viewed as the beacon of democracy for the world. >> america is still viewed as a beacon of democracy in the world. what is your response to that? do you agree with that? >> oh, absolutely. if america's democracy fails, democracy around the world will follow. we talk about america being the leader of the free world. what that means is we are the leader of all countries who put

power in the hands of their citizens, and to give their citizens the greatest rights and freedoms. if we are not able to protect those rights and freedoms, and we increasingly are not, then who is going to fight for those rights and freedoms and other countries? we know that russia and china and iran are enemies of democracy that they are using the disinformation campaigns to undercut democracies. we know that putin wants nothing more than for america and the rest of liberal democracies to fail. and if we fail, those enemies of democracy are going to be emboldened, and the citizens are going to be fearful, and power is going to shift into the hands of the autocrats. >> what a way to, again, highlight the stakes in this election. professor walter and bryan walsh, thank you so much for joining. i really appreciate it. next, conservative crew crusade. why right-wing lawmakers are targeting our country's top universities. and also, our diverse leaders.

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president, claudine gay's resignation -- ivy league universities are the target. gay resigned on tuesday amid right-wing criticism of her congressional hearing on -- and as accusations of plagiarism mounted. her six month tenure is the shortest in the universities nearly 400 year history. since her resignation, both gay and harvard have acknowledged that she made missteps and mistakes and -- initially site materials from other authors in some of her, work and better communicate the university's commitment to confront antisemitism.

look, let's acknowledge, of course, that plagiarism is never good. it isn't let's also acknowledge this. gay, the daughter of haitian immigrants, was a black woman in charge of americas -- an institution, yes, with a dark legacy of slavery on its own campus. so, this situation speaks to a broader issue. this is also about what professor gay represents in america. i just look at what happened when she stepped down. right-wing politicians and pundits took a victory lap. remember, republican congresswoman elise stefanik posted on x, two down, two to go. conservative activist christopher ruffo, who helped

orchestrate the effort to out-gay wrote on x, quote, this is the beginning of the end for dei in americas institutions. we will expose you. you will -- now, in an op-ed, in the new york times, gay described the racist and violent threats she has been receiving. he writes, quote, the campaign against me was about more than one university, and one -- this is merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of american society. joining me now to discuss this and more is sean harper, a -- professor at the university of southern california, where he founded the schools way's race and equity center. he also advises ceos and leaders on -- professor, thank you so much for joining me tonight. i really appreciate it. i first want to start with your take on sort of the plagiarism accusations against professor gay, and particularly how you see the republican party really leverage that to their advantage. >> sure. thanks for having me. i will start by acknowledging that plagiarism is not okay. i have been an academic for the past 20 years. and we take plagiarism and academic integrity very

seriously. with that being, said what happened to claudine gay was an absolute witch hunt. repeatedly, those who had done the investigation at harvard, harvard's academic review committee determined that it was not plagiarism. it was not stealing somebody else's work. there was some citation issues. i am certain that if we ran every college and university presidents dissertations and corpus of academic work through technologies that identify the citation issues, we would have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of presidents who would be in the hot seat. so, this is not about plagiarism. >> so, then, what is it about? i ask you this because you know more than anyone this is not an isolated event. it is part of a larger gop culture war crusade. so, what do you think this is

about? >> sure. it is about a vicious attack on a black woman. >> okay. >> first and foremost -- there are some folks, if we are being honest, who were never excited that a black woman which chosen to be the president of harvard. they questioned her readiness and her credentials from the very beginning. so, it's about that. it's also about the larger project of anti black racism. it was also about this larger assault on diversity, equity and inclusion in k-12 schools, colleges, universities, and corporations. what a shame. what a shame that antisemitism, which is a real problem on college and university campuses has been weaponized and misused by those who ultimately are more concerned about advancing a culture war agenda, and not

about stamping out antisemitism and islamophobia, racism, transphobia and all the other dei issues that actually exist on campuses. what a shame that antisemitism was misused in that way. because it really is a problem on campuses. >> it's a problem. but then, do you think, per christopher ruffo, who is behind a lot of this right-wing campaign and machinery, given what you just said is it fair to say that the right-wing has been successful? that they have had a pretty successful coordinated and highly organized conservative campaign with someone like christopher ruffo at the center of it and i ask you this because, he acknowledged this, and i believe in a politico art deco article he acknowledged their success and said that the media had a role to play in all of this and even journalists and liberal entities played into this right-wing machinery. and so i wonder how you view that.

sure. >> what a coincidence that we are having this conversation on january 6th. right? the big lie is what we call it. the big lie that joe biden lost the election and that donald trump was ultimately elected or should have been elected president in 2020. that is the big lie. i just completed a book that will be out later this year with harvard education press that is titled the big lie about race in america's schools and ultimately, you are right that politicized to project to dismantle the ei in america schools and in other places is actually succeeding. there have been now 18 states that have passed legislative bans on the teaching of critical race theory, even though critical race theory was never being taught in k-12 schools, and other racial topics. so, yeah, the movement is succeeding. what we need -- and by we i mean those of us who really care about democracy, and those of us who know better, those of us who know the truth

about what is actually happening in schools and on college campuses, we have to step up with a counter movement that is well funded, that is well organized. and that has a playbook that ultimately why vowels and dismantles that playbook of lies that is being shocked around from state to state all across our country. >> shaun harper, i wish i could keep talking to you. i have so many more questions. but thank you. thank you for joining me tonight. it's really important. >> my pleasure, thank you. >> next, the nra ceo wayne lapierre is out. just wait until you hear how members of his own border talking about him, comparing his backbone to a pastry. actress.

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head of the national rifle association, wayne lapierre, officially resigned from his post. lapierre, the organization's executive vice president, said he would continue to defend the second amendment, and that his, quote, passion for the cause burns as deeply as ever. during his decades long reign over the prominent guns rights group, lapierre gave somewhat of a reputation for himself as a survivor, joking wave after wave of scandal from, accusations of corruption at the highest levels of the organization, to embarrassing personal revelations, we lapierre always seem to hang on in the. and there was the tale of an ill-fated hunting trip in africa where lapierre, the man at the top of a guns advocacy ou put his poor marksmanship on display. a leaked video of an encounter wi aelephant showed lapierre unable to shoot the animal at point blank range, missing the intended target not once, not twice, but a total of three times. according to vanity fair,

events like that one inspired a common joke around nra headquarters. quote, the safest place you could be when wayne had a gun was between wayne and the target. that is pretty rough. so, it's no surprise that, as a leader, lapierre hardly inspired confidence within his ranks. a former nra board member once said that he had the, quote, backbone of a chocolate éclair. in announcing his departure, the 74-year-old cited health reasons for his exit. but some may wonder if lapierre was simply ducking out of perhaps his greatest challenge yet. the quickly approaching legal showdown with new york attorney general letitia james. the civil lawsuit alleges that the pierre, and three other current and former nra leaders violated nonprofit laws and misused millions of dollars of funds to finance their lavish lifestyles. lapierre is personally accused of diverting money from private jets, for expensive meals, for

travel consultants, private security and trips to the bahamas for him in his family. the now former nra leader announced his resignation just -- ten member jury -- seated for the trial. the case is expected to kick off on monday and last a total of six weeks. letitia james has already responded to lapierre's exit, touting it as an important victory. in a statement she wrote, lapierre's resignation validates are claims against him. but it will not insulate him from accountability. we look forward to presenting our case in court. i wish him luck. thank you to everyone at home for making the time for, us but before we go, a special programming note, so video next saturday january 13th ayman. will air in a new time slot -- from 7 to 9 pm eastern on saturdays and sundays. so we hope that you will tune in. our new msnbc we can lineup starts with a brand-new msnbc

show, the weekend, plus katie feng, jonathan capehart, at new times and even more of alex. then on sunday she will be able to catch up on the best of the week's primetime analysis. the new lighting up kicks up next saturday at 6 am eastern on msnbc. i am paola ramos in for ayman, i hope you have a good night. ask your healthcare provider about the number one prescribed h-i-v treatment, biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people whether you're 18 or 80. with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to undetectable—and stay there whether you're just starting or replacing your current treatment. research shows that taking h-i-v treatment as prescribed and getting to and staying undetectable prevents transmitting h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems,

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