lies to the community, there are consequences and there will be ramifications for your product. >> reporter: jason carroll, cnn, new york. >> jason, thank you very much and thank you so much for joining us tonight. i'm kate bolduan. "ac 360" starts right now. good evening. we begin tonight with two big lies about a dangerous boost over the weekend that only increased the threat this week to the capitol. the familiar one that the 2020 pres presidential election was somehow rigged and the lie claimed by people who should and probably do know better what we saw on january 6th. what you're seeing there and what they saw firsthand was actually not what it seemed, that somehow these trump supporters, qanon followers and followers of far right militant groups were not responsible for the insurrection and hidden forces actually were. neither that lie nor the foundational election lie have any facts at all to support them. in fact, in addition, one lie

contradicts the other after all the first is meant to justify what the projump insurrectionists did and the second said they didn't actually do it. despite being incompatible, they are designed to gaslight and ask you to not believe what you saw with your own eyes and they both have already stirred people to kill, which is why there is still tight security at the capitol in advance to the march 4th date many qanon followers believe bizarrely will mark the return to power of the defeated 45th president. as for him at this weekend's political conference in orlando, he was back at it spouting election lies trying to raise money and using the same language that incited the insurrection. >> this election was rigged and the supreme court and other courts didn't want to do anything about it. they didn't have the courage, the supreme court. they didn't have the courage to act, but instead, used process and lack of standing.

they should be ashamed of themselves for what they've done to our country. they didn't have the guts or the courage to make the right decision. >> a lot of bronzer. it sounds familiar, and that's because in words and tone it's nearly identical to what he said about the former vice president quoting mike pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and constitution. by the way, he said that on january 6th as the vice president, his staffly and fami members were being rushed to safety with a mob looking to hang him. wherever did they get that idea? a man that drew a target on the backs of 17 other republicans? >> they don't have grand standards like mitt romney, bill cas cassidy,collins, pat

toomey and in the house, tom rice south carolina. adam kinzinger. dan newhouse. anthony gonzalez. that's another beauty. fred upton. jamie herrera beutler. peter myer. john catco and the warmonger a person that loves seeing our troops fighting, liz cheney. how about that? >> those of course are the 17 republicans who voted to impeach or convict the former president and would not validate his election falsehoods. they are also tiny minority in the gop, the vast majority believe the former president didn't incite the crowd or too afraid to say otherwise. there is also an explanation from chad wolf that spoke to cnn right after the ex president spoke. >> i think what the president has talked about and what i think the vast majority of americans see there is some

fraud inherent in our voting system and it needs to be addressed before the next midterm or certainly the next press idential election. >> this guy. if you're keeping track, the former president isn't saying what he seems to be saying and turning the gaslight up a notch, despite the trump flags and oath keeper slogans with the mob on january 6th, none of that had to do with the january insurrection. that's what they're saying. the sort of gaslighting dates back to the beginning and started with a host in the rush limbaugh radio show repeating a rumor it wasn't trump supporters breaching the capitol but antifa and black lives later. the next day a talk show host was siting it as fact. >> some of the people that breached the capitol today were not trump supporters, they were masquerading as trump supporters and members of the violent terrorist group antifa.

>> paul gosser tweeted this has all the hallmarks of antifa provocation. there is no evidence, none, that antifa provoked the attack and the 300 arrests involve members of right wing groups like the so-called proud boys, the so-called oath keepers. whatever else you might thing of them they truly believe the lies they were fed about the election. they really did act on them. with us now is stacy. given your role on the impeachment trial, what is it like seeing republicans continue the push with the lies that led to the insurrection and what happened on january 6th? it's part of the on going support for this former president? >> it's enraging to hear this knowing the overwhelming evidence that not only was the president involved in this but the president incited individuals who supported him,

stoked them, organized them over a protracted period of time to attack the doemocracy. those were individuals that were there and but with support of the capitol police and law enforcement would have been seriously injured, some potentially killed if the president had his way and the fact they would continue to perpetrate his lie and support him is not only infuriating because it's a lie but makes it difficult to work with individuals who are so spineless that they would continue to follow an individual who would rather have them dead than him lose power. >> you know, we debated whether to show the president talking at cpac given that he's no longer in office but it's not just him. i mean, these are senators who are currently serving, you saw one of the jurors, republican senator josh hawley at cpac essenpecially bragging about hi objection to the electoral college vote and totally

misrepresenting it, by the way. >> yes, as you said, the gaslighting is profound. it's not gaslighting, it's gas bombing that they are doing at cpac and other places, spewing lies on the floor of the house and even in the senate. it's going to additional reputable harm, i believe, to our democracy in the long run if they are not stopped. this is in fact treason in someways to say that trump is in fact the legitimate president of the united states, that's a lie. we have a president that was democratically elected and any other individual who says they are the president is in fact a threat to the national security of this country. >> you know, there are a number of republicans who will hear any criticism of the gop and think well, this is just democrats not wanting, you know, just wanting to be a one party state but all

the democrats that i've had on this program have talked about the need to have a viable, you know, opposition party. that our system works best when there is a per pon preponderanc ideas on their believes and figuring out a course somewhere, you know, that comes out of that as opposed to, you know, not having -- right now the gop is not only at war with itself but what does seem to be the preponderance in the gop, it's just the party of trump and it is coalesced around this one person. they don't even have a platform. >> it's amazing. you and i have talked about that. elections have consequences and do i applaud the fact that the democrats have both the house, the senate and the white house?

heck yeah. but do i want to have very serious discourse with individuals who are on the other side of the aisle and come to middle ground, come to ways in which we can work together? the democrats attempted to do that. we did that even during the trump administration when we worked with the only piece of legislation that trump was able to really get across the aisle was some form of criminal justice reform and that was with the support of the democratic party. and we're willing to do that and work with individuals throughout the next four years but what is happening in the republican party is causing many of us to second guesswor working with qu a number of these individuals if they can't come to basic truth what happened in the 2020 election and as you stated, anderson, i have a great fear about what's going to happen at local and state level in terms of the republican party trying to use elections and trying to

use election laws to keep americans from the voting booth by closing sunday voting, by trying to stop mail in ballots, to do those things that would expand the electoral vote in this country and allow more people to happen. we've got to pass a voting rights act to ensure that all americans have the right to vote. >> yeah, we'll be talking to stacey abrams in a moment on that topic. congress woman, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. we have breaking news next on investigatiors looking into the former president's finances and who they are focussing on and repercussions of the election lie. efforts to restrict the voting as the congresswoman was mentioning and we'll turn to stacey abrams that turned the red state of georgia blue. ahead.

challenging times are nothing new. neither are resilient people. there's strength in every family story. learn more about yours. at ancestry.

you packed a record 1.1 trillion transistors into this chip. i invested in invesco qqq. a fund that invests in the innovators of the nasdaq 100, like you. become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq. ♪ did you know you can go to libertymutual.com to customizes your innovation car insurancesco qqq. so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ breaking news that will not make the former president's dinner sit well. prosecutors investigate trump

focussing on his finance chief. chief finance officer for the financial organization and keeper of the books. investigators for the manhattan district attorneys have asked witnesses about it. cnn political analyst maggie haberman shares the by line and joins us now. thanks for joining us. of all the people in the president's former o er orbit, important is andy weisselberg? >> he's important for the president's biz and deals he's done and where everything is and a person that's loyal to the family, that he has worked not just for donald trump but donald trump's father fred. prosecutors have not alleged any wrongdoing by weisselberg but narrowing in on him and what he did and things related to his two sons, one of whom helps manage one of the trump properties that the city owns in new york, one of whom worked or

works for one of trump's former lenders and they have not, again, alleged there is any wrongdoing there but they have asked questions and it does suggest they are narrowing in on allen weisselberg if they can find evidence of wrongdoing by him, they would pressure to cooperate if allen weisselberg were to cooperate, big if, nobody is accusing him or anything, if anything were to change, that would be a serious problem for president trump because allen weisselberg again is so read in on so many aspects of his life and business. >> this isn't the first time his name has come up. your reporting essentially is that you have information that investigators have been asking around about wise leisselberg, that right? >> it was in the context of the michael cohen case, which was a different prosecutors case. that was federal, not state. he was given limited immunity to testify against michael cohen. he did not face prosecution

himself. this is something different. there is no evidence they are targeting the investigation but they are a focus of the inquiry in terms of what allen weisselberg is aware of and questions about his sons. it narrows it a bit on what cy vances office is looking at as they pursue this case against former president trump. >> is it clear why investigators are interested in learning more about his sons? >> it's not clear why they are interested other than these are two people who are connected to trump businesses in different ways. one son had some relationship with the woman skating rink in central park. the other son works for one of trump's lenders so these are two different avenues. it not clear what if any over lap there is or what specifically they are looking for but this is part of a potential financial case that vance is looking at against the former president related to his businesses. >> what is interesting about it

is the former president is a former president and therefore doesn't have the power to gi p -- give pardons anymore. i'm not sure how much leverage would he even have at this point to encourage somebody to not cooperate if it came to that? >> it's a worthwhile point to make there was a discussion when former president trump was issuing a huge wave of pardons at the end of his term, which is customary for presidents. he made very broad use and personal use of it. there was discussion when they were looking at preemptive partens for trump family members and the former president himself possibly, there was a question whether allen weisselberg should be given one and the decision is it would not be a good idea because he could waive the fifth amendment rights and be forced to testify against the president and they didn't want to risk that. this is obviously something people are aware of in trump's orbit. >> any sense of whether or not

the former president is concerned or would be concerned about mr. weisselberg being scrutinized? >> i don't think the former president likes any scrutiny on people who work for him and on his business. i think the former president certainly is aware that allen weisselberg is somebody that knows a lot about his life and business. we know how former president trump reacted when michael cohen was being looked at. take that and extrapolate out. he's not happy about this investigation. he's called it a witch hunt. one element toward keeping the possibility of another presidential run alive according to people close to him is that they think it allows him to say these investigations are valid against political. he's been saying that for a long time. >> maggie haberman, appreciate it. next, stacey abrams will shed light on this struggle and limit the days and places people

can vote including today in her home state of georgia. we'll be right back. and rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion puffs bring soothing softness and relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed.

another big theme of the president's speech, the ballot box or election integrity. >> we need one election day, not 45, 30.

one day. one day. and the only people that should be allowed to vote by mail are people that can be proven to be either very sick or out of the country or military where they can't do it. one day. >> and it's not just a one-term president that never won the popular vote. there are proposed bills in at least 43 states that would restrict voting access. this weekend "the new york times" reported that mail in ballots are a target of the nationwide effort by republicans. today in the battle ground state of georgia that narrowly elected a democrat president and senators, new voter i.d. measures, limb itations on drop boxes and when many block worship goers head to the polls. this is the day before the supreme court hears a case that could weaken the act that results in racial

discrimination. i want to get perspective from stacey abrams who founded the voting rights organization fair fight and a producer and star of the amazon prime documentary "all in." thanks for being with us. you hear the former president and see what is happening in your home state. how do you combat that? >> first making sure americans are at stake. we have a decentralized state of democracy where congress has the right to set the time, manner and place of federal elections but we delegate to the state's the authority to determine when, how and who gets to vote and the challenge in america is right now we do not have uniformity. your place of residence determines the quality of your democracy which should not stand in the united states of america. and we are seeing it play out in the most grotesque way possible because across the country, 40 legislative bodies, we're watching attempts to rollback the right to vote because to put it simply, republicans believe

too many people voted. they believe too many eligible voters chose other than their candidates and because of that they're going to be punished by being denied the right to vote or prevented from participating in our election. >> it's based on the idea there was massive fraud which again is not the case. it certainly says something about what republicans see as a national strategy there are bills in 4 m3 states that could disenfranchise voters of color. >> their intention is to disenfranchise those voters who routinely demonstrated they do not share republican ideology or republican orthodox and the challenge is not only are they going to disproportionately harm communities of color when you break democracy, you break it for everyone. republicans actually tend to use voting by mail more often in the state of georgia. last year this 2020 election, 2021 elections were the first time democrats actually

outperformed republicans and absentee balloting and early voting. in every election prior to that since 2005 when republicans instituted it, it benefitted them. the one time they don't win, they don't only -- they not only are taking their ball and going home but changing the rules of the game because they don't want anyone else to be able to play and that is anti democratic. >> one of the sort of the crimes of this election fraud charge that the president has been pushing even before the election took place is that the turnout in the last election was actually extraordinary and was actually a really positive thing for the country on republicans and democrats turning out. there was massive turnout on the republicans, massive turnout for democratic candidates, obviously joe biden won the popular vote and the electoral collage vote. it was a victory for both sides getting their voters out and clearly the way voting by mail,

all the ways that there were to vote helped that and again, without massive fraud, i don't really understand the argument that they are making. >> well, the argument they're making is at best an out right lie at worst. they are not fighting to protect elections. they are fighting to preserve their ability to win. that's not what democracy is designed for. you do not get to rig the elections to the election system to benefit your candidate. when you do so, we have laws to make certain you can't do it again and what happened in 2020 we mitigated many of those laws that have been put in place since the voting rights act that made it harder for average americans to vote. donald trump points out you should only vote on a single day. the problem with that is we have a diversified economy and not everybody can show up on tuesday. voting by mail works in the midst of a pandemic when it is possibly lethal to show up at a

polling place. what is so deeply disturbing, we're the world's most durable do democracy and we have a factual approach and worse, we're watching a response to insurrection and a challenge to that democracy, not be solidifying our belief in who should be able to vote by encouraging as many people as possible. we're watching a retrenchment to the worst moments in our national history and that is post civil war, jim crow era laws that disinf ffranchise the most vulnerable. >> as you said, elections are by in large the prerogatives of the state in terms of how they are run and in this last election, frankly, that seemed to kind of be a good thing given that the president was out to, you know, essentially rig the election from before it even started. i mean, had it been the federal government's sole per view to run the last election, there is no telling what a president like the former one could have

potentially done to try to manipulate things. now we're seeing these in 43 states, is there a federal role here that something can be done? >> absolutely. the elections clause in the constitution guarantees that the congress has the right to set the time, manner and place of elections for federal contest and by in large, most states aren't willing to run a federal system parallel to a state system so the federal system sets the foundation for how our elections happen and hr 1 for the people act that's companion bill in the senate are the exact bills we need to create uniformity and standardization as a foundation for our democracy. i was a former state legislature. i believe states still need to be able to adapt to the needs of their people but we should have a baseline where no state should be allowed to deny access to the ballot. that's the reason the election clause exists and so critical we not only have hr 1 and sr 1 but

hr 4 which is the voting act that will be necessary to remedy whatever the u.s. supreme court does this coming week regarding the issue of section two of the voting rights act. we are at war fighting to protect our democracy from domestic enemies at this moment and those da omestic enemies should be renounced and pushed back against. it our responsibility in the wake of january 6th to hold fast to our belief and our democracy and to ensure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. >> you're part of a documentary called "all in" and it's getting a lot of attention and focuses on hurdles to voting. what do you hope to achieve with that? >> our mission is to talk about the history of voter suppression so that we remind people this isn't new but in every moment in our history in the past when we have confronted voter suppression, we have corrected for it. but we also want people to

understand that it's not just a southern issue. while georgia unfortunately is once again taking the lead in voter suppression, we know that voter suppression happens in new hampshire as a target of students and in north dakota where they target the native americans, in arizona where they target latinos and native americans. across the country, people afraid of losing elections are using their power to steal elections from the people and that should not stand and so all in the fight for democracy is not just about what happened before and what's happening now, it's about envisioning the kind of democracy we all deserve where it's a competition of ideas and the best candidates win, not by stealing the election but by competing and putting forward their best ideas. >> stacey abrams, appreciate your time. thanks so much. >> thank you for having me. as the white house is pressing ahead, what president biden is saying a year after the victory in south carolina that helped propel him to the presidency. what is happening with the first doses of the johnson & johnson coronavirus vaccine?

we'll tell you that when we continue. i'm erin. -and i'm margo.

we've always done things our own way. charted our own paths. i wasn't going to just back down from moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. psoriatic arthritis wasn't going to change who i am. when i learned that my joint pain could mean permanent joint damage, i asked about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. -play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. visit enbrel.com to see how your joint damage could progress. enbrel. eligible patients may pay as little as $5 per month.

the harry's razor is not the same our razors have 5 german-engineered blades designed to stay sharp so you can enjoy lasting comfort and we never upcharge you for high quality harry's. available in store and at harrys.com

today is a political anniversary many probably don't remember. winning after he came up tar sh far short in earlier contest and some observers had a final chance. the voters there quoting him especially the backbone of the

democratic party and african american community set him on the course of the presidency. he writes as i look back what happened one year ago, it's amazing how much can change in a day, let alone a whole year. my hope is a year from now americans are able to look back and marvel how much has changed in their lives and our economy for the better. jeff zeleny is at the white house with the covid bill. how optimistic is the white house about getting the bill through the senate. >> reporter: he pointed out bluntly he did not think he would win but because of south carolina a year ago, it seems like much longer he's taking that optimism to the senate and the white house is confident about the final passage of the covid relief bill but they do realize that this week in the senate they believe there are going to be hurdles and a lot of ideas thrown into the mix, some senators who met with the president today virtually were throwing out things they want to hear and others want to see that $15 minimum wage.

progressives are not pleased. at the end of the day, the white house believes at the end of 24 week, next week, they believe this bill will be passed. it may not be pretty in the words of one official but they believe it will be passed because they promised the american people they would do it. >> there is good news about the johnson & johnson vaccine being approved but some americans are skeptical to take it. does administration have a plan to address that? >> reporter: administration will roll out a variety of public campaigns and mass vaccinations but they are focussing on the supply. they believe once more people get this vaccination, more people will want to get the vaccination. yes, there are skeptics out there but for now at least, administration seems to be focussing on just trying to get more people vaccinated and there are still, you know, some concerns about the number of johnson & johnson shots available. there are a few million being sent out this week but none are expected next week. by the end of month, there will

be 20 million but still below the goal, right now they are focused on getting the supply up but there will be public relations campaigns and the johnson & johnson vaccine has one big benefit. it's one shot. so look for states directly to put this to people, you know, who are front line workers, et cetera. administration is not as concerned about people being skeptical. they want to get those shots in the arms of people who want it. they'll worry about the others after that fact. >> thank you. after final government approval of the johnson & johnson vaccine, doses began moving out of a kentucky assembly plant. it could go into arms tomorrow. new data is showing an increase in coronavirus case loads. joining me is cnn medical analyst and baltimore former public health commissioner and the director of the vaccine institution center at the children's hospital of philadelphia. dr. nguyen, we saw johnson & johnson vaccine rolling out on

the tracks today. aside from the obvious benefits of having three vaccines on the market, how can administration americans don't see this vaccine as second tier? >> i think it's really important for all of us including physicians, pharmacists and everyone to be sending the right message and that right message is that we are so fortunate that we now have three highly effective and very safe vaccines. if you had told us a year ago or a few months ago that this is what we would have by march 1st, i think all of us would have said that's really incredible and fantastic news and that's what we have. i think administration is doing the right thing. they're saying then they want to distribute the johnson & johnson vaccine also equatablely across all 50 states so they are saying look, there are probably going to be some individuals that would benefit from a one dose vaccine who may not come back for a second dose or like the one and done approach. also, there are a lot of settings for example, community pharmacies or health centers, doctors offices that may not be

able to use the ultra cold storage. by having something that can be stored in refrigerated temperatures for months at a time, this opens up many more points of distribution allowing more people to have access. it important to focus on the highly safe and effective vaccine part and advantages the johnson & johnson vaccine brings. >> the governor of connecticut announced residents will be able to see which vaccine is associated with reservation slots, meaning residents may be able to book appointments based on which vaccine they prefer to get. is that a good idea with the perception of the j&j vaccine? >> you should get whatever vaccine you can. the j&j vaccine has been tested in south africa and been shown effective in preventing hospitalization and death. it was tested in brazil where

the brazilian very ariant was common. you can't say that for faizer a -- pfizer and moderna. they would be equally effective. i don't see any distinction among the vaccines. get what you can. >> should states give people a choice? >> do i think they should give people a choice? >> yeah, do you think it's a good idea to advertise if you're at 9:00 a.m. you'll have johnson & johnson if you're at 10:00 next week, may be moderna. >> i think that's fine. i think that, you know, that there is a tremendous appeal to a single dose vaccine i would think because then you don't have to come back later. the problem we face now is vaccine shortage. that makes the appeal of the single dose vaccine but i don't have a problem with people being given a choice. i think however i wouldn't make

a distinction beaamong them. they are both remarkable and safe. >> dr. nguyen, looking in new york for a vaccine, everyone i talked to who is lucky enough to get one has found it to be an extra orordinarily difficult an cumbersome process looking at the various websites, the state one, the new york city one. do you -- what do you think of the whole choice idea, dr. nguyen? >> yeah, i mean, i think that right now supply is the limiting factor and i don't have a problem with transparency. people who can find out, that's not a bad thing. i don't want people to turn down a vaccine and say i'm going to wait until i get that vaccine because that's somehow the perfect vaccine for me. we don't have that subgroup data. maybe in time we'll have a person may benefit from a certain vaccine. we don't have that information.

i agree people should get whatever vaccine they first have access to. right now the talk of the vaccine hesitancy is an important conversation but for so many minority communities, vaccine hesitancy is being used as an excuse when the problem is access and i think we really need to change our narrative. yes, we need to focus on hesitancy and the reasons people may not be confident about vaccines but we also really have to break down the barriers and for many people, the barrier is transportation and as you mentioned, anderson, not being able to navigate complicated websites and phone numbers and have to have a dedicated approach to addressing equity. >> or there is just not vaccine there and so there is no appointments available. the director of the cdc said today she's deeply concerned that while over the past several weeks the numbers of overall cases have been declining, in the past seven days the number of cases and deaths has ticked back up a little and went on to say this level of cases with veariants spreading we stand to

lose the hard earned ground we gained. is that a real possibility here? >> sure, i think you should never make a prediction about this virus because you're generally wrong. there are a lot of thinking working in our favor now. we have about 25% of the population has already been exposed to this virus so 25% of the population is immune. we have 10 or 15% getting the vaccine so you're up to 35, 40% of the population that is immune or on the road to immunity. the weather is getting warmer. more and more vaccines getting out there. those numbers of hospitalizations, cases and deaths will continue to decline, which worries me, actually, is that as you move into the summer months when it's warmer and more difficult for the virus to spread, people may get complacent and thank great, good, i don't need this vaccine. this is a winter respiratory virus and it will be back next winter. it not going away. we got to get to 80% population immunity from disease or vaccine so when next winter comes, it

will just be a bump instead of a major surge. i think things will get better in the short term. again, i'm an eagles football -- put that in context. >> we'll take that into account. thanks, dr. nguyen, as well. >> more breaking news ahead what new york's attorney general is saying about the allegations of andrew cuomo faces of sexual harassment.

♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews.

it's moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today.

the new york state attorney general says she can formally begin an investigation into multiple sexual harassment allegations against andrew cuomo. the referral she received from the governor's office gives her the authority to begin the investigation and that the findings will be disclosed in a public report. more now on the allegations. >> good morning to everyone. >> reporter: new york governor andrew cuomo trying to stem the fall out after a new allegation surfaced, the second in a matter of days. calls for an investigation coming from the biggest names in cuomo's own party, house speaker nancy pelosi, chuck schumer,

senator gillibrand and even the white house. >> a new york attorney general will oversee the investigation and the governor's office will fully cooperate. >> reporter: the most recent accusation reported by the "new york times," charlotte bennett, a former aide. the governor asked if she had been with an older man or monogamous in her relationships and i understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared. >> she had gone to governor cuomo's chief of staff and lodged a complaint. this was documented and known inside of the cuomo administration. >> reporter: in a statement late last night, the second issued since bennett came forward, cuomo apologized as what he perceived of as playful comments and i understand my comments may have been insensitive or too personal and made others feel in

ways i never intended and acknowledged some of the things i said were interpreted as an unwanted flirtation. to the extent anyone felt that way, i am truly sorry about that. words in response to accusations made by a different former aide in a post said she received an unwanted kiss from the governor in 2018 when cuomo denied multiple times. neither discussed claims with cnn. the governor is now asking the new york attorney general to hire a private lawyer to investigate but only after relenting pressure from lawmakers who said the earlier proposals of who would investigate were not acceptable because none allowed subpoena power. >> it really starts to, i think, call in to question the leadership that we currently have. >> reporter: for the governor once praised and admired for his pandemic response, mounting pressure and an increasingly

uncertain political future. >> the condemnation of the remarks has been bipartisan. democrats are upset. republicans were upset before this with the nursing home scandal. governor cuomo is in a precarious political position at this hour. >> what are the next steps in the investigation? >> as you said it is in the hand of leticia james. the key here is that it has subpoena powers, meaning the attorney will be able to compel witnesses, get their hands on documents and recordings and something james and others were criticizing cuomo over the weekend about as he was allegedly trying to limit the powers. that is what they were claiming. that is key. we know that cuomo said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. >> appreciate it. thanks. up next why mitt romney was rushed to the hospital over the weekend. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap

and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day.

and in an emergency, they need a network that puts them first. that connects them to technology, to each other, and to other agencies. that's why at&t built firstnet with and for first responders the emergency response network authorized by congress. firstnet. because putting them first is our job. i think the sketchy website i bought this turtle from stole all of my info. ooh, have you looked on the bright side? discover never holds you responsible

for unauthorized purchases on your card. (giggling) that's my turtle. fraud protection. discover. something brighter. as carla wonders if she can retire sooner, she'll revisit her plan with fidelity. and with a scenario that makes it a possibility, she'll enjoy her dream right now. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. >> you heard at the top of the program the former president lashed out against mitt romney and others but senator romney was dealing with a bigger problem that caused him to go to the hospital. >> reporter: today senator

romney came back to washington and he was visibly beat up, black eye and several cuts to the lips. he told reporters it came after a fall with his children in boston over the weekend. romney said the fall was serious enough where he was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to the hospital. he was given a number of stitches from his eyebrow to eyelid. he said he was doing okay. he wasn't admitted to the hospital. he was eventually released. you can see the remnants of this accident all over his face. he was beat up pretty bad. >> i heard he still has a sense of humor after the fall. >> as a sign he is recovering quickly. he was able to joke about it. reporters first asked what was wrong, romney joked he made the mistake of attending cpac. he was attacked relentlessly over cpac at the weekend. that was just a joke. clearly the senator from utah has a sense of humor.

>> he is still able to work? >> yeah. definitely. he came to work and he was able to cast votes and everything today. no problem there. >> with all of the attacks at cpac from the former president that continue, does he face that at home as well? is he still popular in his state? >> he is. anderson, there was a bit of a push by the utah republican party or some elements to censure him because of his vote to convict president trump. but that did not go anywhere. the utah republican party made note of the fact both of their senators voted differently. one voting to acquit the former president and senator romney voting to convict. there are a wide range of philosophies in the republican party and they embrace that and romney and family have a long

history and connection to the state of utah. he is not up for re-election until 2024. it is a while off before there would be electoral consequences. >> reminder, don't miss full circle, catch it streaming live at 6:00 p.m. eastern full circle or on the cnn app or on demand any time. the news continues now. chris right now with cuomo primetime. before we start tonight let me say something i am sure that is obvious to you that watch my show, and thank you for that. you are straight with me. i will be straight with you. obviously i am aware of what is going on with my brother. and obviously i cannot cover it because he is my brother. now of course cnn has to cover it. they have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so. i have always care