we begin tonight with two big lies that got a dangerous boost over the weekend that only increased the threat this week to the capitol. the familiar one that the 2020 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 members of far right militant groups were not responsible for the insurrection and the other 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 pro-trump 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 that many qanon followers believe bizarrely will mark the return to power of the defeated 45th president. as for him at this weekend's conservative politic action 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 now, 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 staff, and family members were being rushed to safety just steps ahead of 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? listen. >> the democrats don't have grandstanders like mitt romney, bill cassidy, susan 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 katko and the warmonger, a person that loves seeing our troops fighting, liz cheney. how about that? [ booing ] >> 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 either believe the former president didn't incite the crowd or they are too afraid to say otherwise. there is also an explanation from chad wolf, who 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 that there is some fraud inherent in our voting system and it needs to be addressed before the next midterm or certainly the next presidential 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, there's this. despite the trump flags and oath

keeper slogans with the violent mob on january 6th, none of that had anything to do with the 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 that it wasn't trump supporters breaching the capitol but antifa and black lives later. the same day, a u.s. congressman, not a talk show host, was citing it as fact. >> some of the people that breached the capitol today were not trump supporters, they were masquerading as trump supporters and in fact were members of the violent terrorist group antifa. >> paul gosar tweeted this has all the hallmarks of antifa provocation. there is no evidence, none, that antifa provoked the attack and the vast majority of the more than 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 believed the lies they were fed about the election. they really did act on them. with us now is congresswoman stacey plaskett. given your role on the impeachment trial, what is it like seeing republicans continue the push with the lies that led to the capitol attack and tried to re-write what happened on january 6th? as part of the ongoing 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 our democracy. those were individuals who were there and but for the support of the capitol police and law enforcement would have been seriously injured, some

potentially killed if the president had had his way. and the fact that 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 even 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 essentially bragging about his 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 in other places, spewing lies on the floor of the house and even in the senate.

it's going to cause additional irreparable harm, i believe, to our democracy in the long run if they are not stopped. this is seditious speech. this is in fact treason in some ways 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 preponderance of

ideas and arguments based on their beliefs 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 has 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 guess working with quite a number of these individuals if they can't even come to basic truths about 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 levels 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. congresswoman plaskett, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. we have breaking news next on investigators looking into the former president's finances and who they are focusing on. and later, 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. ® moisturizer goes beyond just soothing sensitive skin? exactly jen! calm + restore oat gel is formulated with prebiotic oat. and strengthens skin's moisture barrier. uh! i love it! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture, aveeno® now might not be the best time to ask yourself, 'are my bones strong?' life is full of make or break moments. that's why it's so important to help reduce your risk of fracture with prolia®. only prolia® is proven to help strengthen and protect bones

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thanks for joining us. of all the people in the president's former orbit, how important could alan weisselberg be? >> he's important for the president's business 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 also for donald trump's father fred. prosecutors have not alleged any wrongdoing by weisselberg but they are 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 that they are narrowing in on alan weisselberg if they can find evidence of wrongdoing by him, they would pressure to cooperate.

if alan 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 alan weisselberg again is so read in on so many aspects of his life and his 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 weisselberg, is that right? >> yes, and previously it was in the context of the michael cohen case, which was a different prosecutors' office. 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. again, there is no evidence they are targets in the investigation but they are a focus of the inquiry in terms of what weisselberg is aware of and some questions about his sons. it narrows it a bit on what cy vance's office is looking at as

they pursue this case against former president trump. >> and 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 in to trump businesses in different ways. one son had some relationship with the 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 overlap there is or what specifically they are looking for but this is all part of a potential financial case that vance is looking at against the former president related to his businesses. >> and what is interesting about it is, the former president is a former president and therefore doesn't have the power to give pardons anymore. so i'm not sure how much leverage would he even have at this point to try to encourage somebody to not cooperate if it ever came to that.

>> it's a worthwhile point to make that there was a discussion when former president trump was issuing this huge wave of pardons at the end of his term, which is customary for presidents. he just made very broad use and very personal use of it. there was some discussion when they were looking at pre-emptive pardons for trump family members and the former president himself possibly, there was a question whether alan weisselberg should be given one and the decision was it would not be a good idea because he could waive his fifth amendment rights and be forced to testify against the president down the road, and they didn't want to risk that. so this is obviously something people are aware of in trump's orbit. as to just how key a figure alan weisselberg is. >> 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 alan 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.

so 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 invalid against me, they're all political. he's been saying that for a long time. >> maggie haberman, appreciate it. next, stacey abrams will shed light on this struggle as republicans ramp up their efforts to limit the days and places people can vote including today in her home state of georgia. we'll be right back.

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another big theme of the president's speech, minimizing access the ballot box or as his allies call it, 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 who never won the

popular vote making these arguments. 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 particular target of the nationwide effort by republicans. today in the battleground state of georgia that narrowly elected a democratic president and two senators, new voter i.d. measures, limitations on drop boxes, and a decrease in early voting on weekends, when many black worshipgoers 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 is also 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, by making sure

americans are aware of what is 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 states the authority to determine when, how, and who gets to vote. and the challenge in america is that 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, in more than 40 legislative bodies, we're watching attempts to roll back 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 being prevented from participating in our elections. >> it's based on the idea that there was massive fraud which

again is just not the case. it certainly says something about what republicans see as a national strategy that there are bills in 43 states that could end up disenfranchising voters of color. >> their intention is to disenfranchise those voters who have routinely demonstrated they do not share republican ideology or at least republican orthodoxy 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 that democrats actually outperformed republicans in both absentee balloting and early voting. that means in every election prior to that since 2005 when republicans instituted it, it benefitted them. and so the one time they don't win, they don't only -- they not only are taking their ball and going home but they are changing the rules of the game because they don't want anyone else to

be able to play and that is anti-democratic. small "d" 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 it was actually a really positive thing for the country on republicans and democrats turning out. there was massive turnout on the republican side, massive turnout for democratic candidates, obviously joe biden won the popular vote and the electoral college vote. but it was a victory for both sides of 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 specious at best and an outright 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 was that we mitigated many of those laws that have been put in place since that evisceration of 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 everyone can show up on tuesday. we know that voting by mail works in the midst of a pandemic when it is possibly lethal to show up at a polling place. and what is so deeply disturbing, we're the world's most durable democracy and we have a fractured approach and worse, and 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 intentionally disenfranchise the most vulnerable. >> as you said, elections are by and 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 purview 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 contests. 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 hr1, the for the people act and its 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 legislator. i believe states still need to be able to adapt to the needs of their people but we should have a baseline below which no state should be allowed to deny access to the ballot. that's the reason the elections clause exists and why it is so critical we not only have hr1 and sr1 but hr4 which is the john lewis 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 domestic enemies should be renounced and pushed

back against. whether they're at the state or federal level, it's our responsibility in the wake of january 6th to hold fast to our belief and our democracy and to ensure that 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. that across the country, people who are 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 where 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. coming up, as the white house is pressing ahead on the covid relief bill, what president biden is saying a year after the victory in south carolina that helped propel him to the presidency. plus, 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.

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today is a political anniversary many may not remember. but today marks a year when biden won south carolina, which set him on the course to 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 at how much has changed in their lives and in our economy for the better. jeff zeleny is at the white house with the covid bill still at the top of the agenda. 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 a lot of things they want to hear and others want to see that $15 minimum wage. so progressives are not pleased. at the end of the day, the white

house believes at the end of this week, or next week, they believe this bill will be passed. it may not be pretty in the words of one official but they do 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. there's a perception issue compared to other vaccines. does the administration have a plan to address that? >> reporter: administration will roll out a variety of public campaigns and mass vaccinations but right now they are still focusing 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, the administration seems to be focusing on just trying to get more people vaccinated and there are still, you know, some concerns about the number of johnson & johnson shots available. yes, there are a few million being sent out this week but none are expected next week. so by the end of month, there will be 20 million but they are

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. so the 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. >> jeff, thank you. after final government approval of the johnson & johnson vaccine, doses began moving out of a kentucky assembly plant. bound for delivery across the country, and 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. wen, we saw the johnson & johnson vaccine rolling out on the tracks today. aside from the obvious benefits

of having three vaccines on the market, how can the 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 equitably 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. so i think it's important to focus on the highly safe and effective vaccine part and the 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? >> i think you should get whatever vaccine you can. the j&j vaccine has been tested in south africa and has been shown to be effective in preventing hospitalization and death. it was tested in brazil where the brazilian variant was common. it was effective at preventing

hospitalization and death. you can't say that for pfizer and moderna. they were both tested in the united states. they would be equally effective. i don't see any distinction among the vaccines. get whatever you can. >> do you think 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, there may be the moderna. >> i think that's fine. but i do 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. which you hope will be there, the second dose. 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 among them. they are both remarkable and safe.

>> dr. wen, looking in new york for a vaccine, everyone i talked to who is lucky enough to get one has found it to be an extraordinarily difficult and 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. wen? >> yeah, i mean, i think that right now supply is the limiting factor and i don't have a problem with transparency. i think if people can find out in advance, it's not a bad thing. but 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 kind of subgroup data. maybe in time we'll have a person that may benefit from a certain vaccine. we don't have that information. i agree people should get whatever vaccine they first have access to. and i just want to say, right

now, there's so much talk about vaccine hesitancy. that 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 we 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 she went on to say this level of cases with variants spreading we stand to completely lose the hard-earned

ground we've gained. is that a real possibility here? >> sure, i think you should never make a prediction about this virus because you're generally always wrong. there are a lot of things 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 another 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. i think that 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 think, great, good, i don't need this vaccine. but this is a winter respiratory virus and it will be back next winter. it's not going away. we need 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. but 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. more breaking news ahead. what new york's attorney general is saying about the allegations that andrew cuomo faces of sexual harassment.

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the new york state attorney general says she can formally begin an investigation into 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 with subpoena power. 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 her personal questions. 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. cuomo's 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. she will appoint a private attorney to investigate claims, 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.

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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.

he actually didn't go. 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. mike lee 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. that seems to continue. 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. i am chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." 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