the news continues. i want to hand it over to chris for "cuomo prime time." chris? >> anderson, thank you. i am chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." the president attacked the rule of law like we have never seen. forget the clever legal minds and devious debates. it is obvious what happened here. there's evidence that shows it and we have it. so let's get after it. what do you do when a president dictates what is justice for his friends? we watched the president praise his attorney general and his cronies and trump are now saying the prosecutors, they're the ones who went rogue, deep state. it's all bs and there's a trail to prove it. the deception is not new. in fact, it is the directness that's startling. presidents usually pardon for something like this. think bush with weinberger. clinton with marc rich. why? because they know the institutions of justice would generally not go along with a perceived political payback.

but this president is post-presidential. he is in automatic autocratic mode. >> wasn't your tweet political interference? >> no, not at all. he was treated very badly. nine years recommended by four people that, perhaps, they were mueller people. >> are you considering a pardon? >> i don't want to say that yet, but i tell you what, people were hurt viciously and badly by these corrupt people. nine years for doing something that nobody even can define what he did. somebody said he put out a tweet and the tweet, you based it on that. >> it's a lie. easily defined. roger stone was convicted on every count, all seven, by a jury. not by the prosecutors. not by politicians. the jury said he lied to everyone. five counts of lying to congress. one count of witness tampering. another of obstructing a congressional committee proceeding.

now, trump, of course, was accused of some of the same types of behavior, arguably, the proof against him equal or better to what they had in the stone case and he got a pass. so why not get his boy, stone, a pass as well? what do you do in a situation like this? first, we identify and expose the wrong. for that, preet bharara and andrew mccabe, two well-known targets of the president, themselves. it's good to have you both here. thank you very much. >> good to be here. >> so, let me talk to you both equally. preet is sitting next to me. andrew, you're somewhere else. we'll split the difference on the monitor. preet, first, have you ever seen anything like this? >> no. >> period. >> i don't even have to elaborate. never see the overruling of line and career prosecutors by the headquarters, main justice, ever, and you certainly never see it when the person who is being dealt, you know, a lighter hand, that's being done so at the behest of a president of the united states who has an enabling attorney general when that defendant is an associate

of, confidante of, adviser to the sitting president of the united states. you never see it. there's a reason you never see it, it's blatant abuse of power. >> quick follow, no, no, preet, you have it wrong, the lying prosecutors went rogue, deep state, mueller guys. they didn't even know. the a.g., he had no idea what was going on with the stone case. >> you know whose name was on the sentencing memorandum from monday that said the appropriate guideline range was seven to ten years? gentleman by the name of timothy shea. i don't know him personally. he was the handpicked replacement for the prior u.s. attorney in the district of columbia and that person, timothy, timothy, was a close adviser to and counsel to the attorney general, bill barr. so, he signs the document on monday. timothy shea. and then on tuesday after this whole hullabaloo that started with the president's tweet, signs a different document that says something completely

different after four of the line prosecutor, career prosecutors in the office assigned to the case withdrew from the case, one of whom resigned from the department completely. you never see anything like that. it's an extraordinary thing. >> so now you go to a second-line defense, andrew. i just want to give every benefit of fairness before we drop the hammer about what needs to happen now. sentence was too harsh, andrew. yeah, he lied. he lied. he witness tampered. jury got him on all seven counts. wow, this was a really harsh sentence. this was the feds doing payback for taking them to trial. the trial penalty. >> you know, the -- that issue of the sentence being too harsh, that is the job for the judge. is the prosecutor's job to calculate the range of potential sentence as per the sentencing guidelines. now, the sentencing guidelines as preet can tell you, it's not a perfect math equation. there is room for interpretation there. they list mitigating and aggravating factors and it's up to the prosecutors to compare the evidence and what the -- what the defendant was charged with, to how those factors are described in the guidelines and

ultimately they come up with a range. if that range is too harsh to be applied to someone who's old or infirm or has no criminal history, those are all things the judge takes into consideration when day determine the sentence, but the range that was put forth in the initial recommendation was absolutely according to the guideline for someone who's been convicted of very serious offenses. after going to trial, being convicted by a jury of very serious offenses. >> two other key factors, one, the lies stem from things that arguably he was doing for and to cover for donald trump. >> that's right. >> and two, a republican senator said, you know, well, now we have a letter that one of the people involved says he didn't feel that he was being intimidated. well, the doj had that letter. if they wanted to argue mitigation in the case, they would have done it. everybody was aware of it. that's not something the doj just learned about, andrew. >> of course. and, chris, look, how many times do we rely on the -- the testimony of a victim of a crim

fine, i didn't think it was that bad. would we actually rely on that as -- and give the defendant mitigating credit for the victims' charity? no, absolutely not. many victims would say that's simply because they've been, you know, terrorized or they're in fear of saying anything else. so i think that that factor has been really grossly overstated. >> so, now, why do we care? preet, the reason we care is, i will suggest, and you will elaborate, that this comes after impeachment as no coincidence. this president feels you're in my hand, i squeeze, you squeal and do what i say. >> yeah, look, people can have good-faith arguments about whether or not seven to nine years was appropriate or not. you know, i actually tend to think it's a little bit high. that's not the point. the point is the president's involvement on behalf of a crony who was in good faith prosecuted by his own department of justice, where you had the case

overseen by his own united states attorneys, both the prior one and the interim one. and do we want a system in which the president of the united states doesn't just govern policy but can pick and choose and say, you know what, i don't like that chris cuomo, can you guys look at chris cuomo? i don't like chris cuomo's relatives, or somebody he does like at fox news and says, i understand they're under investigation, can you shut down the investigation? if you say that what the president did here is okay, right, and alan dershowitz i know likes to say the whole sentencing system is too harsh, well, the door swings both ways. then you're permitting or giving permission to the president to say not only with respect to somebody that is close to him, be more lenient. he can say about any particular person named by the justice department, go harsher on that person because i don't like him or her. >> that's exactly right. >> that's not democracy. that's not rule of law. and every single senator who looks the other way or doesn't want to answer a question needs to face the fact that you're

endorsing the idea that the sitting president of the united states can single out a citizen, jeff bezos or roger stone or anyone else, for special treatment whether harsh or lenient. that's not right. >> how about this for an example? look, you feel it's far-fetched, you tell me, andrew. mitt romney. hey, let's take a look at his taxes. do me a favor, go look on him, see what holdings he still has. how about they get some stink on him. and he says, hey, put the screws to him. oh, you know what, we have him on the case, we're going to cut him a deal, really, this isn't a big infraction. no, i want the max. if this is okay, why wouldn't that be okay? what is to stop it from being not what the president can do? >> there's absolutely nothing to stop it, and i think we saw that again today in his comments in the oval office when the president after talking about how bad he felt for roger stone then rebounded into talking about how -- how -- >> vindman. >> -- insistent he is that james comey and i be prosecuted and thrown in jail.

>> and vindman should be sent back to the military. >> exactly. >> his people keep selling us this soft landing thing. he's going to go to the war college. that's a huge gig. everybody wants that. now the president says he should be investigated by the military. what's to stop that from happening? >> absolutely nothing. absolutely nothing. we know this president makes his desires known to the agencies, to the agency heads, through his public statements on twitter. we know that. we saw that, of course, in this own case. i saw it in my own case, december of 2017, he claimed he was racing me to my retirement. i guess he won that race. so that's the way that he works. for him to step back now and say that he had no influence on the roger stone decision whatsoever is utterly preposterous. >> also, preet, question the source. i'm sorry to say this, i don't give the president the benefit of the doubt about telling the truth that he didn't have any influence over a.g. barr and i don't know why we would believe the a.g. if he said he had no influence. remember how he hamana-hamana-hamana'd through the question with kamala

harris about anything suggesting -- >> said i'm grappling with the word, "suggest." pretty simple english word. don't know why you have to grapple with that. i'm going to repeat the same thing over and over and over again. it should not be the case that the president of the united states can single out individual citizens for prosecution or for leniency. that is the end of rule law in this country. every senator needs to understand that. it's as simple as that the. you can say it over and over again until people understand that's what's at stake here. we've been talking for three years about investigations of the president and abuse of power by the president. some people don't think it happens. some people think it did. with the mueller investigation, with the impeachment inquiry, you know, i personally feel and a lot of people i've spoken to in the last 24 hours feel that what happened yesterday, the way he handled the roger stone case, the way bill barr enabled it and executed it for him, is worse than all of those other things. that's how bad other people feel. even in those other cases, you did not have a mass resignation, a mass withdrawal of people who

served the department for years admirably. it's a big deal. we hear there's reports of other people planning to resign. maybe timothy shea, himself, will resign. that might be the right thing for him to do. but it's a big deal and by the way, it's not the end. that's right. >> i keep saying this is just the beginning. it's only been a week. >> one week. >> since he was acquitted. >> one week. they said he learned his lesson, wouldn't do it again. he'd be better. he learned his lesson. >> think about how he's going to go after -- look what he did with joe biden. joe biden didn't do so well in the last two races. now he's going to see who the front-runner is. watch him, watch him get his justice department to look at the people who are high up in the polls against him other than joe biden and their family members. mark my words. that's what he's going to do. it's been enabled by people who should know better or in a position of power to tell him otherwise. >> the frightening thing for me is, i can't push back on it because it seems as likely as anything else by the pattern and inclination of the person involved. preet, andrew, god bless, good luck going forward. look, as preet just told you, it's only been a week. some of those gop senators, they

whisper, you know, on background, hey, look, he'll calm down now. you know, this really unsettled him. he never thought something like this would happen to him. oh, yeah, he settled down, all right. this is in one week. i will show you all the vengeful things he has done. not just today. a compiled of each day. one thing more shocking to the next. and who has any reason to say it will stop? frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron? try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. the bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. it's the world's first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets!

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potus. >> i believe that the president has learned from this case. >> this notion has proved so wrong, so fast, that senator collins is pretending it never happened. just today, her quote, "i don't understand why you keep linking how i voted to whether or not the president's learned to be more careful." we link it because you said it. like others in an apparent play to get or keep power. if she and the other gopers were hoping that the president would play nice for a while, to not, you know, expose them right away as suckers, they were wrong again. it has been literally a week since the senate voted to turn a blind eye to trump's transgressions. each day he has attacked institutions and individuals that he was feeling badly about. he operates like he's in a cartel. not our capitol. the same day he was given a pass his a.g. shut down any fbi or doj investigation of a presidential campaign unless he

signs off. specifically declaring off limits any cases involved illegal contributions, donations or payments by foreign nationals. literally, trump made himself investigation proof. the next day, his treasury armed republican allies with sensitive financial records to target hunter biden. exactly what he was accused of engineering abroad. on friday, he fired vindman and sondland. he also threw in vindman's brother. they said it was just awkward to keep them. that would prove to be a lie, and soon. wait on that. monday, the defense that rudy is doing his own thing, he has no real influence on the government. remember that? was revealed as a sham. always was. the attorney general now confirming rudy giuliani is funneling them whatever dirt he digs up in ukraine. >> we had established an intake

process in the field so that any information coming in about ukraine could be carefully scrutinized by the department. >> ah, that never came up in the trial. then on tuesday as the doj apparently bowed to trump's desire to go easy on his pal, roger stone, who was convicted of lying by a jury, the commander in chief called for the military to pursue charges against ltc vindman for telling the truth. >> we sent him on his way to a much different location and the military can handle him any way they want. >> no, they can't, because you're telling everybody what to do and nobody seems to want to stop you. and just to remind you how complete the pass was for this president, his party blocked a vote on three bills just to make it harder for foreigners to interfere with our elections. now reporting sprouting up gop insiders worried about what trump will do next. why worry?

you are the ones who told the country whatever he does is fine. now, democrats are vowing to continue to check the power of the president. but how? we have senate judiciary member richard blumenthal here next.

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of the government all together in protest. and then have their president mock them. the president is trying to pawn off these resignations as proof that he rooted out members of the deep state. just not true. let's put the tough reality, though, to democratic senator richard blumenthal, also a former federal prosecutor and multi-term state attorney general in connecticut. senator, thank you. >> thank you. >> hard question. what can you do to stop this president from doing exactly what he just did even next time to you? look into that, blumenthal. got to be something. when they come back and say, oh, yeah, we did find once he did this, yeah, yeah. the max. give him the max. why can't he do that if he can do what he did with stone? >> the first challenge, chris, is to alarm and awaken the american people to the threat that exists. we're in the midst of a perfect storm for american justice.

a president who's corrupting the american justice system with utter contempt for the rule of law, an attorney general willing to be his political henchman and a republican majority that is morally spineless. so, awareness, as you're helping to do tonight, is a first priority. i've also called for the office of inspector general. the independent watchdog within the department of justice to begin an investigation immediately. i've called on the chairman of the judiciary committee where i sit to begin oversight hearings and call not only the attorney general but also those brave prosecutors who resigned their jobs in protest. and finally, other options should be on the table. like the power of the purse. we have the power to appropriate or withhold appropriations. and one last point, chris, that i think is very important to realize, the judiciary has a responsibility here, too.

my hope is thath roger stone case before she sentences him -- >> judge berman. >> -- will demand a full explanation. >> gets a little tricky for the judge, obviously, the judge decides the sentence. she takes the recommendation from the prosecution. the prosecution amended their recommendation. i guess she could go back to the old one but that would be unusual also. look, it's a lot of pressure to put on the judge because he's fixing something she did not break. the gop says the complete opposite of what you're saying, senator. they're saying, look, the sentence is crazy, it's so high it was probably politically motivated, we're actually administering justice here. we're being fair. they only did this to stone because he's trump's guy. >> the judge can take into account the mitigating circumstances along with the severity of the crime. as you put it very well at the very outset, tampering with witnesses, intimidating them, trying to impact their testimony, that undercuts the

very foundation of the rule of law. and you're absolutely right. today it's roger stone, but if the president can use the justice system as a political tool to favor friends or go after enemies, it could be any one of us. and i must say there's no sugarcoating this situation. ultimately, it's going to depend on the election because my republican colleagues have shown they are going to enable this kind of corruption of our justice system. they have said, apparently, acknowledging it, that the president hasn't learned his lesson and he's sending a message, if you disagree with the president, your job, your family, maybe even your life are in jeopardy. >> let's see what happens when it's one of them. you know, if he goes after mitt romney, maybe right now they'd be okay with that. they nominated him for president on basically the same policy platform that trump had, but now they're all silent when he's getting beaten up. but just to be clear about the catalyst here, do you believe

that it is any coincidence that since he got the pass in the impeachment trial, the president day after day has done things as bold as he's ever done? >> no coincidence whatsoever, chris. that's a really important point. the impeachment verdict unleashed him. ugly, alarming, to feel truly that he is accountable to no one, he can do whatever he wants, as he said under article 2. and he will be held accountable not by any senate majority because he controls the majority. and my senate colleagues, and this point is important, too, are more than just tacit bystanders. they are explicit enablers. they are aiders and abetters here. and this unleashing after that verdict was done by them. it's no coincidence. >> the power of the purse is an interesting aspect to this dynamic because the house is a catalyst there. and right now, the democrats have that.

of course, you have political problems with that because that will be seen as you guys starving the administration of justice if you don't want to fund it. so this gets to be sticky and often the best change agent in a democracy is an election. i'm going to ask you to put on a different hat for a second. do you believe that your party has somebody that can beat this president? do you have full confidence in that? >> i have full confidence that any of the major leading candidates now running for president in the democratic party can beat donald trump because i think the american people are going to realize what is at stake here and it's more than just how much money they make. it's also the values we hold precious. you know, on my wall, chris, i still have the department of justice seal. it means something. it means justice. above all, americans prize a system of norms and laws that underlie our justice system. and i think that's going to be a

major factor. i think that we're going to be emphasizing health care and education and jobs and economic progress, but i think values count, too. >> well, values count, but one of the values is unity and we have never seen a president have a party behind him the way the gop is behind president trump. and i say that as a compliment to him. politics is about power. it is almost unimaginable to see how your party will be as equally committed to a candidate given what's happening in your primary. you have no concerns? >> the lesson of these primaries, especially new hampshire is that democrats, above all, want to win. and there won't be divisions, i don't think this time, about different political niceties or technical issues. i think the democratic party will be strongly united, and the republican party, as united as it may seem, and it has become

enthralled. it's the party of donald trump. and my republican colleagues more in fear than in admiration are in his grasp, also cannot win that election alone. they need independents. they need democrats who voted for obama and then voted for trump to continue to support trump. i hope, i believe, it won't happen. >> well, we'll be covering it all. i mean, my job is to expose, it's for you in elected office to propose and oppose solutions to what we bring to light. we'll see how that goes in this election and before because you're going to keep getting examples from this president of just how much he can flex and how much his party will take. senator richard blumenthal, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you very much. >> all right. so for this election that we're living through right now to be the ultimate check on trump, the democrats have to win. right? otherwise, the president wins a new term and that is the complete validation of how he does the job. so why would anything change in

terms of what's being complained about? bernie sanders, top of the ticket, you can make the argument right now, he's tied in delegates. does he have what it takes to win over his party and win over enough americans to beat this president? one of his top advisers next. about [sfx: doorbell]

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bernie sanders reveling in victory after beating pete buttigieg narrowly in new hampshire, but his edge over his moderate rival, again, narrow, about two points. sanders needs to widen the gap if he wants to take out president trump. so why is he the best bet to make the case? senior adviser from the sanders campaign, jeff weaver. good to have you on show. >> thanks, chris, great to be here. >> so, i think it is fair to say that senator sanders has the biggest crowds. arguably, the most devotees in terms of the energy of devotion and intensity at this point in the democratic party. certainly online. two big finishes at the top. but he did not match his performances in iowa or new hampshire from the last cycle.

why? >> well, because last time, chris, there were essentially two-person races and so you were going to split 50/50 or get one side of 50 or the other and this time he had 11 candidates running in iowa and new hampshire. so you're just not going to get those kind of margins. as the race goes on, it gets winnowed down. how come none of the moderates did as well as hillary clinton did in new hampshire last time or as well as hillary clinton did in iowa last time? >> i think they have the same argument, probably a little bit better fact set for them, as moderates, they would be splitting the vote that bernie is not getting. that takes me to your next point. the counter to your assertion there is he's not getting hillary's votes. he got only 7% of people who voted for hillary in iowa, i think he got 14% of people who voted for hillary in new hampshire and as to the size of the field, jeff, we both know trump had a big field in 2016. he got over 30%. >> not at this time in the race. not at this time in the race, chris.

>> new hampshire was a big field. >> i don't think he got over 30% until march. >> new hampshire he got over 30% and it was a big field. democrats have had big fields before. nobody has ever won new hampshire with as small a number as bernie did. why shouldn't democrats be concerned? >> well, they shouldn't be concerned. look, we have a long process. i think you've heard all the candidates say it's a long process and it will be. we're going to go now to some more diverse states. senator sanders actually is expanding the base of the democratic party. bringing out new voters. if you look at the college precincts in new hampshire, they had record turnout. if you look at the turnout of latinos and other people of color in iowa, it was far higher than it's ever been. that was because of the work of the sanders campaign. bernie sanders creating a bigger tent in the democratic party. going to bring in working-class people, going to bring in the people your last guest was talking about, voted for obama twice, voted for trump. we're going to bring a lot of new people. lot of latinos who haven't voted in the past.

a lot of other young people of color who have given up on the democratic party, and a lot of young people in general. >> i give you the wait and see on that because it's not fair. you've only had a couple contests but you have not seen jumps of any remarkable fashion in either state. iowa was net to neutral or negative. new hampshire probably is going to wind up being net to neutral of 2016, maybe up 10%, 15%. >> no, i think the newspapers are reporting record turnout in new hampshire, chris. >> it could be close. we got to figure out what it is, it's too early to say. >> for sure. >> i'm not going to come at you either way in terms of that. expanding the base, do you get the sense that the party is a mixed bag for you, that there are people in the party that are still a problem for bernie sanders, whether it's because of the s word or because of 2016, that someone like pete buttigieg, with all due respect, he's been overperforming, he is a phenomenon of his own to this point, but a guy out of nowhere, 30 something years old, mayor of

nowhere town, giving all he can handle to bernie sanders. what does that mean? >> i'm not going to take anything away from pete buttigieg or amy klobuchar. >> me neither. >> amy klobuchar also had a good showing. this is a long process. people getting introduced to folks. i tell you, is the party a problem? no. i tell you what the issue is, chris, the party is engaged at a major transformation at the grassroots level. it in the '90s it was a corp.ist neo liberal party. there's an element of that party that holds on to power in segments of the party. they do not like bernie sanders. they're going to do everything they can to stop him. there's a group that ran a lot of nasty negative ads against him in iowa who are planning on doing the same things in nevada. so, yes, the corporate interests in the republican party and those that still -- are very reluctant for chris, there's a in this town whose sole purpose in being their power, prestigious, access, is all

around who they know, who they pal around with. companies pay them lots of money for that kind of access and bernie sanders administration, that's going to go to zero. >> there's no question he's set himself up as an active enemy of those interests then you go beyond the elites and i do think you have some structural concern there among mainline democrats like, you know, you saw this guy jump up in south carolina, what's his name, joe cunningham, that they worry. for all of the eloquence of the example and the illustration of social -- social democratic principles and where socialism already exists in american society, they worry about it. they worry about it hurting them down-ticket. how do you alleviate their concerns? >> let me tell you this, chris. everybody thinks vermont is a very blue state. wasn't always a blue state. the truth of the matter is it's a blue state not exclusively but in large part because of bernie sanders. he won a seat held by republicans for decades in vermont. he gets 25% of the rural republican vote in new vermont.

and if you look at the last midterm cycle, you know, witmer in the general election wanted bernie sanders campaigning with her. governor of wisconsin in the general election wanted bernie sanders campaigning with him. jackie rosen in nevada in the general election wanted bernie sanders campaigning with her. why? because bernie sanders has a strong appeal among working-class people all across this country and bernie sanders is the nominee, he's going to win pennsylvania, he's going to win michigan, he's going to win wisconsin and he's going to win back the presidency for democrats. >> two quick responses and i'll let you go. i know you guys are busy. >> sure. >> first, bernie has some high floor. what a base of support. so much passion for those who believe in him. a lot of them young, a lot of them disenfranchised, similar to the people the president got. he's got a low ceiling, they'll say, he can only get 30-something percent, won't have enough delegates when he gets to the convention. he's not going to come out of there. even if it's brokered. his ceiling is too low to win a national contest. your response. >> we'll let the pundits pontificate.

we'll let the voters decide what his ceiling is. that's what this process is all about. i'm convinced when you get to the end of this, you're going to see all these people, i don't know how this happened, never saw it coming, just like they did in 2016, chris. >> fair point. they said it about trump, too, they didn't see the movement that was behind him. they didn't understand what he was a proxy for. they didn't understand the depth of the disaffection. and i say "they" a lot because we talked about the movement a lot. i was surprised like everybody else was that that group of people would pick trump as the appropriate agent, but they did. so you're right. you're right. the same thing could be going on with bernie sanders. the enthusiasm is intoxicating that people have for him. the rallies tell the story. >> sure. >> so there's a flip side to that. the culinary workers in nevada are a big get. you know, you need them there. you know this. this will be new for the audience. they do not like medicare for all. that's not my concern. that's about a policy. they can have a policy fight with bernie. they talk about what we used to call bernie bros which i think is now way too limiting a term.

savaging them online for going against bernie sanders. we have heard this complaint consistently and, jeff, i'll tell you the truth, you know i'm fair to you guys. you know i'm fair to the senator. i invite him on all the time. it's up to him to take the invitation. they will come after me with gusto tonight for questioning bernie sanders' supremacy at the top of the ticket. you guys disavow them. bernie will disavow those who send the snakes and ugly messages. you're going to have to own them this time around. what do you say to your supporters who are going after the culinary union people that you need in nevada that crush anybody who criticizes the presidential candidate. >> i'll say what bernie sanders says, everybody should engage in discourse in a very civil manner. this is a time, obviously, for people to talk about policy differences. that's what this process is about, but it should be done in a civil way so when this process is over, whoever is the nominee, and we expect it to be bernie sanders, we'll see if that ceiling holds that you're -- this mythical ceiling holds, but if it's bernie sanders or

anybody else, we want to be able to bring this party together and to defeat donald trump. just one second on medicare for all. >> go ahead. >> medicare for all, what bernie sanders has said about it, how it's structured, folks in culinary and other unions will get better benefits than they get now and the value of their current health care will be given back to them in wages. you should know there are other affiliated unions in california, to the culinary who have the same health care plan they do, literally the -- >> have a different position. >> who have endorsed bernie sanders. >> i'm well aware. i've invited the senator on to make the case, i invite you on as well. i'm happy to do only that issue with nevada coming up and when we have to go to california. you're always welcome here the make the case. >> i appreciate it, chris. don't go after chris tonight, folks. don't get after chris. >> we'll see. that's all right. it's part of the job. good luck going forward. >> thank you. >> the 2020 democrats, right, listen, you got to vet them because they're going up against an incumbent that is like king kong. trump is a fierce campaigner.

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please be clear, there's nothing normal about what this president is doing specifically his abuse of power and lying about the same. and the problem continues right now. >> i want to thank the justice department for seeing this horrible thing. and i didn't speak to them, by the way, so you understand. >> we don't understand because, mr. president, you

tweeted about it, the sentencing of your felon friend roger stone the following. this is a horrible and unfair situation. the real crime is on the other side. cannot allow this miscarriage of justice. hours later, your doj was undoing it. the same bosses who are okay with the sentence recommendation were suddenly not. and then what did you do, the t atta-boy. congratulations to ag bill barr for taking charge of the case that was totally out of control. perhaps should not have been brought. i believe the president. i don't believe he feels the case was warranted. the seven counts of guilt that the jury, a jury, not politicians found was the kind of lying and obstruction the president has arguably attempted often. this was not a political move that got stone. the jury trial is the heart of fairness under law. it is politics that may get him

a pass. i argue trump went straight at this because the gop just told him he could. and sure enough they're covering for him again. and no one has proven more loyal a lacky than the attorney general who swore not to do what he he's doing now. he's -- >> the role of the attorney general is to keep the enforcement process sank crow sant from the political influence. i'm in a position to be independent. >> or not. like blocking investigations of this president. check. working with rudy on ukraine, check. reversing the sentence he was okay with on stone, check, and once again the gop sits silent or cheering it all on. it's ride or die for them. but know this, what you ignore you empower. what you applaud you own. and here it is as an illiterative illness.

trump's persist sent, pervasive pervasion out of a pro-fittous sense of self-importance. and this is not about liking the policy. just eight years ago, romney ran on a platform of tax cuts and jobs just like this. >> i mean, do you think obamacare created jobs? did his war on coal and oil and gas create jobs? >> a trump rally. he had the culture role too. he had antireproductive rights and pro-conservative judges. he's now a pariah. he didn't change. the party did. can any of you in the gop really think that you are having your finest hour? few of you at least off the record say you would say most of what you defend from the president's mouth. the entire point of the constitution is to guard against presidents who behave like dictators. that's what the founders feared.

that's why it spelling it out specifically that presidents must take care that the laws be faithfully executed. we're watching the putinization of the presidency. swaering revenge on whistleblowers. demonizing the press. demand immunity from oversight. refusing to release tax records. now the court system. that's the stuff of dictators. all the guys this president goes easy on. trump is attacking all the things that make america great. ironically in the name of keeping her great. any elected republican who can't see the problem with that is either lying or so blinded by power they do not deserve the seat they hold. that is my argument. now, don't count on the senate judiciary chair to look into any of this trump judicial interferen interference.

graham is losing no sleep. he's wearing trump on his sleeve. bolo. >> announcer: come pro-prime time brought to you by pom wonderful, crazy healthy. i'm finding it hard to stay on top of things

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bolo. that means be on the lookout. the president's gop allies, they work for you or him? let's take senator lindsey graham. head of the judiciary committee. nothing wrong with the president messing with the doj sentence recommendation. as he in his team trump attire on state tv. he wasn't the only one. congressman meadows the ranking member of the house oversight committee proudly shrouded in maga merchandise. country over party, they say, but can we really believe where their loyalties lie when the answer maybe in plain sight? by the way, were those jackets made in america? we'll find out. thank you for watching. cnn tonight with d. lemon starts right now. >> is that shade? were you giving a little shade here >> i'm giving a lot of shade. i am the storm.

>> here's the thing, susan collins is very concerned. she's going to call the white house because she thinks the president should not be interfering in the doj and shouldn't be tweeting. so glad she's concerned. strongly worded letter. >> she'll set him straight. he responds very quickly to any kind of negative feedback. >> he's learned his lesson. >> yeah. he knows what to do and what not to do. >> we're being tongue and cheek. it is a scary time. >> we're going to be a little bunk mates in political prison. if it keeps going down this road. what's to stop him? aren't they anti-american if they criticize the president? they have to go. >> i thought you were talking about someone else. i thought you were asking me if they're un-american. >> they're going to question ours, my brother. ♪ nobody knows