when asthma symptoms strike, airways narrow. and there's less breathing room. primatene mist opens airways quickly. get the #1 fda approved over-the-counter asthma inhaler. evening. there is breaking news in the battle between congressman liz cheney and just about everyone else in what is currently called the republican party. in a new op-ed in "the washington post", cheney, who may soon be removed from her republican leadership position for speaking out against the former president's lies and violent rhetoric, writes that her party is at a turning point. quote, the question before us now is whether we will join trump's crusade to delegitimize the outcome of the 2020 election with all the consequences that might have. later, she writes, while embracing or ignoring trump's statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and

political purposes. that approach will do profound, long-term damage to our party and our country. cheney pulls no punches. not against the former president and not against the leader of her party in the house. kevin mccarthy. who according to two sources, who spoke to cnn, has been in contact with the former president about her removal. in the op-ed, she mentions this comment that mccarthy made a week after the riot. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress, by mob rioters. he should have, immediately, denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. >> cheney cites that line, and immediately afterward, she remarks now mccarthy has changed his story and that is absolutely true, he has. in one week in january, he went from saying the president bears responsibility. to, quote, i don't believe he provoked. much like he is now supporting cheney's ouster, after one saying of her quote, this republican party is a very big tent. everyone is invited in. cheney ends the op-ed, this way. saying history is watching. our children are watching. we must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that

underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. i am committed to doing that, no matter what. the short-term, political consequence might be. now, the op-ed comes the same day facebook's oversight board issued highly-anticipated guidance about whether the former president can use his facebook and instagram accounts, again. but we want to mention one item in their decision that relates directly to what congresswoman cheney wrote about how the former president's language provoked violence. something, mccarthy and many other-republicans choose to ignore, or explain away. there are facebook board repeatedly refers to the january-6th riot and writes the former president quote created an environment where serious risk of violence was possible. and that facebook's decision to suspend the former president's accounts was justified, quote, given the seriousness of the violations and the ongoing risk of violence. no surprise, the president was not happy. former president was not happy. saying that facebook and other

social-media companies are a total disgrace. and while you think about that, look what the former president wrote about liz cheney and the election not long after writing that about facebook. and before we show it to you, just remember facebook cited the risk of violence in their rationale. had mike pence referred the information, on six states back to state legislatures and had gutless and clueless minority leader mitch mcconnell fought to expose all the corruption that was present -- presented at the time with more found, since. we would have had a far-different presidential result. of course, the congresswoman is correct. and the former president marinating in mar-a-lago continues to lie. mike pence could not have changed events. he could not have referred the information on six states back to state legislatures. there was no-legitimate information to refer. no massive corruption discovered then, or since. the facebook oversight board referred, today, to quote an

unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action by the former president. it is exactly that kind of language that got him suspended from facebook, in the first place. and is exactly what he continues to spout. perhaps, he might want to read a letter addressed to congress today written by a d.c. police officer who was there on january 6th. police officer, who was brutalized by the crowd. the police officer writes, quote, i struggle daily with the emotional anxiety of having survived such a traumatic event. but i also struggle with the anxiety of hearing those who continue to downplay the events of that day, and those who would ignore them, altogether, with their lack of acknowledgment. the indifference shown to my colleagues and i is disgraceful. perspective now from chief political analyst, gloria borger. cnn political commentator, mia love. so, gloria, liz cheney. you say she is making this a matter of conservatism, versus cultism. does that actually resonate, though? i mean, doesn't seem like there is a lot of people in the republican party right now who care.

>> no. i think she's on the short end, here, as far as congressional republicans. particularly, in the house are concerned. and the base of the republican party. this is going to cost her, politically, tremendously. she won by a wide margin when she ran last time. if she decides to run again, she's going to have a serious primary. and you can be sure that donald trump will be campaigning against her. so, she does this, at great, personal, political risk. but as you point out in this op-ed, she did not pull her punches. i mean, she referred to, and let me say this, the dangerous, anti-democratic, trump cult of personality. that's not going to win her any friends, among those republicans who support donald trump. >> congresswoman love, what do you make of what's become of your former colleagues in the house? >> it's -- it's absolutely crazy. and here is the funny thing. they're not even seeing what she actually does for the republican party. what she is, pretty much, saying

is republicans out here, who disagree with what the former president was saying. who are, absolutely, just really upset. and they're -- they can't believe what happened on january 6th. it's okay to be a republican, and be -- and -- and not be okay with this. so, i just don't understand why they're not -- why republicans aren't embracing that she has this view. which is, actually, the correct view, that this president incited violence. and there is something wrong with that. and by the way, let me mention, he is the former president. i don't understand what the allegiance is. their conference allegiance should be to liz cheney, who is still there. and they should be focused on policy issues, because they've got a lot of material to go with. >> yeah. i mean, gloria, that's the thing. they're really not talking about policy because the republican party has no platform. because they chose not to, because they decided whatever trump decides to talk about is the platform. >> right. and so, but they're blaming liz cheney for this.

they are saying that she is taking them off message. i mean, i have spoken to republicans, this week, who say to me, oh it's not about what she is saying about the insurrection. she's allowed to believe that. but the real problem is, why she is annoying us in the republican con dep conference, is that she is taking us off our anti-biden message. but as you point out, they haven't spent an awful lot of time talking about policy. they have been talking about culture war. and they have been talking about liz cheney and kicking her out of the leadership. so, i don't see them talking about policy, a lot, either. but they'd like to blame liz cheney, for getting them off message. >> so, congresswoman love, where -- i mean, what happens to the republican party? is there, you know -- is there -- i mean, there was, once, talk about a big tent. there's been talk about course corrections for years. but i mean, e.

>> this is interesting, right? we are talking about stefanik. who is a great friend. who i absolutely support because she's done a great job in getting more-republican women in the house of representatives. so, she -- i mean, they are pinning these two women up against each other. and let me just say that if you look at the american conservative union. if you look at america -- at heritage action. liz cheney has a much-more conservative record than stefanik has. you are talking 80% to 48%. i mean, there is a wide margin there. and so, i think it is really interesting because the republican party is, one, going to have to figure out whether they are going to define themselves by their conservative policies. or by, whether they support trump or not. and i'm telling you, they are not going to make any headway, especially with suburban women, if they continue to pin these women up against each other. it's actually pretty offensive,

to me. >> gloria, liz cheney wants a 9/11-style commission, focused solely on the insurrection. kevin mccarthy does not. our jamie gangel reported last night that he may not want to be called to testify about his phone calls with president trump, before such a commission. you know, they -- they -- talking about having it be about, you know, antifa and black lives matter. wider focus, other than what happened on -- on the 6th. beyond that, though, what's the resistance among republicans to this commission? >> well, again, they -- they don't want to talk about what happened on january 6th. they don't want to get subpoenaed to talk about what happened on january 6th. mccarthy doesn't want to get subpoenaed to -- to talk about it. they would rather talk about democratic socialism. and they feel that, as they call it, and they feel that this will get them, kind of, off message. if they could broaden it, and cheney says in her piece, don't broaden it. you have got to keep it to what happened on that day. if they could broaden it and talk about antifa and black lives matter, then they could be

a little bit more on message. but, if you narrow it to january 6th, they can't. so, they're opposed to what she proposes. look. what she did tonight in this op-ed was basically say, to republicans, i know you're going to kick me out of the leadership. i know you don't like what i have to say. but i'm a true conservative, who stands for the constitution. so, i'm going do what i have to do, and you're just going to have to live with yourselves. >> yeah. gloria borger. congressman mia love. appreciate it. thank you. i am joined now by "washington post," congressional staffer for republicans, and also worked for the white house and on three republican presidential campaigns. michael, thanks for being with us. i want to read another portion of the op-ed in "the washington post." she writes in part saying, trump repeats these words now with full knowledge that exactly this type of rhetoric provoked violence on january 6th. there is good reason to believe that trump's language can provoke violence, again.

trump is seeking to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work. confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law. no other american president has ever done this. i mean, you served the bush and cheney administration. did you ever think your party, your country, would be at this juncture? >> no. it -- it's a very important op-ed for a very specific reason. the minority leader is saying that this is a political matter. and cheney is saying that this is a constitutional matter. a matter of the rule of law. and that can't be papered over. it can't be ignored. it can't be forgotten. we do have one party that refuses to accept results it doesn't like, from national elections. that is a recipe for democratic disorder. and that's the point she is making. sh she's making a substantive point. while all the other -- all of

her colleagues seem to be making political points. >> you wrote a recent op-ed in "the washington post" saying, knowingly repeating a lie, an act of immorality, is now the evidence of republican fidelity. that is -- i mean, it's absolutely true. and it's -- it's extraordinary that we're in this situation, now. i mean, anybody who cares about a functioning democracy, should want there to be two-functioning parties, that are fact based and can argue all they want over big ideas. but they have to agree on certain, basic concepts of what is true and what is not. >> yeah. and it's not just a disagreement within the republican party. there is a purge going on. a purge of rationality. a purge of responsibility. a purge of moral seriousness. that's taking place, across the party, in many states. so, i think that -- i think cheney has said, in this op-ed, i am going to be leading the opposition to that purge,

whether i'm in this office or not. and i think she's going to play that role. they are not going to silence her. but ultimately, it's going to be up to republican voters to not reward this kind of, you know, behavior by the majority of the -- of the republicans. in silencing opposition. >> you know, there was a poll, i think it was in april, cnn. 70% of republican voters said they agreed/believed, you know, this -- the election lie. >> no, that's absolutely true. and i think there were on january 6th, a lot of sincere people in that crowd who believed the election lie. the real responsibility here is people, like mccarthy. you know, he had a glimmer of recognition of the truth, in the immediate aftermath of january 6th. and then, he, quickly, you know, lost that. he obviously knows what the truth is. and he's choosing to suppress it, for what he thinks are important-political reasons.

but it is. it's an act of irrationality. it's, you know, the basing a party on a lie. a founding lie. and that, i think, is -- is trouble for the party, in the future. >> president biden weighed in today on the republican skizm. i just want to play that. >> it seems, as though the republican party is trying to identify what it stands for. and they're in the midst of significant sort of mini revolution. >> i mean, that is one of the things that it's hard to know what republicans stand for, today. you know, it's not just they don't have a party platform. it's -- it's -- you know, it's -- it used to be a party of, you know, big ideas and really stood for certain principles. it's hard to see that, now. >> no, i agree with you. i think the scariest thing about

the whole situation is that this party. this party of cowardice and deception, right now, under its current leaders. is on the verge of gaining the house of representatives. there are a lot of people in this country that vote party because of extreme polarization that support republicans, no matter what they are saying. and i think that that's the issue we're going to face. i mean, this is a party that does not think -- it does not think it is losing. it thinks that it has momentum for this set of absurd ideas. and right now, you know, that's true among the activist base of the republican party. >> i really appreciate you being with us. thank you. sure. >> just ahead. the news we mentioned at the top of the broadcast about facebook and the former president. what the social media giant's oversight board decided today about the president's account and why it means so much to him. and later, rudy giuliani's allies research out to the former president and his legal

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breaking news this evening. congresswoman liz cheney warning fellow republicans in an op-ed about a strategy trying to appease -- and that doing so, she says, could cause profound, long-term damage to our party. and our country. that's a quote. as we mentioned earlier, her op-ed came the same day facebook's oversight board issued a highly anticipated judgment regarding the former president's social media accounts. while the board had some criticism for facebook, it allowed the suspension to remean for the time being. also said this. the former president quote created an environment with a serious risk of violence was possible. at the time of his posts, there was a clear, immediate risk of harm in his words of support for those involved in the riot legitimized their violent actions. joining us now, brian stelter, the author of "hoax, donald trump, fox news, and the dangerous distortion of truth." also, jim acosta, who covered of the white house during the

former president's four years there. so, brian, the oversight board upheld the suspension. also, said facebook was quote have to make a permanent decision on what to do in the next-sixth months. >> it's kicking it right back to mark zuckerberg, who now has six months to recommend answers. this board is recommending they be much more clear about the rules and its regulations. what it takes to get banned from the platform. they say, a permanent ban is inappropriate. also, and this is important, they want facebook to have a real examination of how its platform was used, and weaponized by the rioters. how its platform was used to spread the big lie. so far, facebook's not been very forthcoming about how its -- were used to spread these lies. >> accused social media companies of destroying, decimating the electoral process. apparently, with zero irony there. after covering him so long, it -- it's -- you know, it's kind of exactly what we thought

was going to be happening. i mean, he is still, you know, talking to anybody who will listen down in mar-a-lago. repeating these same lies, over and over and over, again. >> yeah, anderson. he is sort of like a snake in search of a sewer, these days. and he just can't find one. i will tell you, i talked to a trump adviser, longtime re-trum adviser, earlier today. still, loves the guy. even though he feels trump lied about election. and this adviser said, listen. this is the right decision that the facebook oversight board made. obviously, trump keeps lying about the election and it's already led to violence, once. it could lead to violence, again. in terms of how it is impacting him, this adviser said this is actually worse than losing re-election. this adviser said it was -- it was similar to having half of his tongue cut out. you know, just yesterday, they -- they unveiled this new website. this blog. that donald trump is going to be using it. they called it a platform. something, you know, they are trying to make it sound like

it's like facebook or instagram or twitter what that's just not the case. it's a blog. and, you know, in the words of this adviser. you know, this is something that a 6th grader could have come up with. so they're scrambling and he is struggling to deal with this, no question about it. >> brian, the former president, you know, remains suspended from facebook. trumpism certainly isn't. a technology columnist at "the new york times" tracks the sources of the top-ten performing links posted by u.s.-facebook pages. and the list is dominated by right-wing trump supporters. has his grip on the party been at all weakened by these suspensions? >> this is important. the idea that some of the most popular ideas that spread on facebook. they are coming from ben shapiro and other right-wing commentators who are aligned with trump. trump's grip on the party has not been weakened due to these suspensions but his virality has. they might not be bringing in new fans. however, right-wing narratives, anti-democrat narratives, pro-trump narratives do find a lot of support on facebook and

that's critical to understand. whenever you hear folks complaining about censorship, the allegations on fox about conservative censorship. well, that is belied by the fact that these right-wing commentators are among the most popular figures on the platform. >> "axios" is reporting the former president and his inner circle felt being reinstated to facebook was critical to a possible comeback. how much do you think this will hurt his fundraising ability? >> i mean, i think it hurts it tremendously. i mean, i was talking to, you know, sources close to the former president. and they are saying, you know, he is basically becoming background noise in the republican party right now. it's kind of incredible, anderson. that he has this grip over people, like kevin mccarthy and other leaders in the republican party, when he can't even get on social media. how is he going to raise money for this party, long-term, if he is not going to be let back on twitter and facebook. i mean, it sort of boggles the mind as to why the republican party is still hooked on him. but i will tell you, anderson. at this point, the republican party seems to have no-other

alternative. they seem to have adopted this viewpoint. and they are, you know, booting liz cheney out of the leadership in the house because of it. that this is the donald trump republican party. and that just doesn't seem to be changing, at this point. and they're going to try to raise money, no matter how it plays out on social media. >> brian, it is interesting how dependent the former president kind of is for these particular kind of outlets. i mean, there -- there have been other former presidents, wor presidents, who didn't use, you know, facebook and twitter like this. and they seemed perfectly okay getting their message out, in other ways. it's very interesting, that these particular venues are so critical. not really for getting ideas out. but more, for being able to get his personality out. >> right. he wants -- he wants to be in that minute-by-minute conversation, in a way that past presidents never did. the last president to lose re-election, george hw bush, went fishing. he relaxed. he had fun. right? but that doesn't seem to be in trump's wheelhouse. trump wants to be in the

conversation. he wants to be relevant at all times and that is very hard to do when you are banned from these platforms. what he relies on, now, are members of the media. and his right-wing media allies to share his mekor messages for him. that is fundamentally what he is doing by putting out incendiary, crazy statements. but frankly, i think that is diminishing, as well. the news value of trump's statements is diminishing over time. and that's a part of the story, as well. >> yeah. brian stelter, jim acosta. appreciate it. there is more breaking news tonight. why allies of rudy giuliani, including his attorney, are reaching out to the former president and republicans for help.

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there is more breaking news. rudy giuliani's allies are pressing the former president and his legal team to help his one-time personal lawyer pay his growing legal bills. the president was recently informed giuliani's rising debts and raised the issue in recent days with the former president. paula reid. so, what more can you tell us? those allies also include giuliani's son, andrew, i understand. >> exactly. andrew has been among the most vocal calling for his father to be paid for the work he did to challenge the election results. so that he can now, turn around and pay the legal bills that he is facing as he faces several lawsuits. and this ongoing-criminal investigation in new york. a close associate of giuliani's tells me it will cost him a few million dollars, at least, to defend himself in that

ongoing-criminal investigation. as you just mentioned, giuliani's lawyer has actually approached the trump-legal team about giuliani getting paid. and i asked him. i said were they receptive? he said, no comment. now, giuliani's lawyers also want the former president to get involved in the legal fight to try to protect some of the materials that were seized in the raids last week. but a source tells cnn that, so far, the former president's lawyers, they just haven't made a decision about whether they want to get into that fight over possibly-privileged materials. >> i mean, it is public record that there is a long history of the president -- the former president stiffing people who had done work for him when he was in business. usually, with smaller contractors, who didn't have much recourse. it's not like the former president doesn't have cash on hand to pay legal fees. he raised a ton of money, based on the election lie. >> that's right. there was a substantial pile of cash that was raised in the weeks, following the election. a large portion of that, actually, ended up in the former president's leadership pac but none of it's been handed over to

the former mayor. a close associate, actually, of giuliani's and i spoke today. the former nypd commissioner, he told me that he actually approached the rnc demanding that giuliani get paid and so far, he has not been paid. but, anderson, also gave me interesting insight into giuliani's frame of mind following those raids. he told me the former mayor is doing okay, but that he is increasingly frustrated that he faces all of these lawsuits. and now, this criminal investigation and the bills are mounting. >> paula reid, appreciate it. thanks very much. want to bring in elie honig, former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. what do you make of all this? i mean, we should point out that giuliani's not been charged with anything. but one week ago, today, his office and home were raided by the fbi. now, this. >> hey, anderson. so first of all, we do not know whether rudy giuliani will or will not be charged with a crime. and rudy giuliani has publicly shown little, if any, inclination to accept responsibility. if anything, he's been defiant. but i want to say this. based on my experience, as a

prosecutor at the southern district of new york. the same office that's handling this investigation. the two-most common reasons why people decide to cooperate. number one is time. they are not willing, or able, to serve a certain amount of prison time. they don't want to risk going to trial. number two is money. and i have seen situations, very similar to what this looks like it could be. where person a believes that person b has made some sort of guarantee or understanding or implicit arrangement that, if you ever get in trouble, i'm going to help you out with your legal -- legal fees. that can be business partners. that can be criminal associates. that can be family members. i've seen people flip, in that exact situation. there's still a lot we don't know, anderson. but that's been my experience. >> paula, the -- in terms of -- of legal bills, who, exactly, is giuliani relying on to -- i mean, there is his son andrew. are there others who have sort of publicly been named? >> yeah, there is a few other people that he has out there. advocating for him. he has his personal attorney

reaching out. he has bernard carrig reaching out. but the president really does have an incentive here to perhaps intervene and keep giuliani happy. remember, the last personal attorney for former president trump was under investigation by federal prosecutors in manhattan. michael cohen. eventually, flipped on the former president. and he publicly laid out a lot of information that resulted in additional-criminal investigations. the former president, though, has come out. and he has defended giuliani, as a great american. but lovely words don't pay the lawyer's bills. >> elie, i mean, is there any legal reason why the president would use part of that war chest that he raised? >> no. this is purely a tactical decision, anderson. he can use part of that, if -- if the reason for the costs is actual-attorney's fees. actual-legal fees, right? so, perhaps, there is some hesitation to pay the fees. and then, have to characterize them and justify them as legal fees if there is some question. but look. this is primarily a tactical

decision that donald trump has to make. if he is going to stiff rudy giuliani, then he runs the risk of whatever the consequences may be. and there are ambiguous signals, as paula's reported, coming from rudy's camp. so, donald trump needs to think long and hard about whether it's worth the savings here. >> paula, i think elie is referring to something you reported giuliani's son andrew said quote the nut may crack in the next-36 hours. who or what is the nut? >> we believe he is referring to the cash flow. that many may start to flow. but i asked other sources who may be more in the know about actual money changing hands. they weren't really sure exactly what he was talking aboutor about or that timeline. but the courts have set some deadlines here, particularly this fight over privileged communications. so those billable hours are going to start staggcking up. and will likely be increasing their pressure on the president and his inner circle to free up that money. >> paula reid, elie honig, appreciate it.

thanks so much. up next. remember that totally off the wall review of more than 2 million ballots being conducted in phoenix or so-called review, despite zero evidence of voter fraud? it has gotten even stranger. an update, when we return. big ink tanks. lots of ink. no more cartridges. incredible amount of ink. the epson ecotank. just fill and chill.

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there was a remarkable development in that so-called audit of the 2 million ballots being conducted in phoenix. you will remember, the review was forced by supporters of the former president, despite official recount showing no fraud had taken place when arizona voted for president biden last year. you will also remember, our kyung lah was removed from the location last week when trying to report on the whole thing. cnn's kyung lah is back with an update. so, you -- you report on the partisan nature of those involved in the audit. now, there is news about one person in particular whose involvement is raising eyebrows. what have you learned? >> yeah. the person you are talking about. his name is anthony kern. and he was spotted at this ballot-counting site at least a couple of days. and the reason why his presence is raising eyebrows is because those ballots he is touching. those very ballots. his name is on those ballots. he ran for office, in 2020. he is a former-republican state

senator. he lost in 2020. but still, his name is on those ballots. now, that's not the most problematic thing that people are talking about. this is the other, big problem. he was pictured, on january 6th, on the steps of the u.s. capitol. that is the day of the insurrection. he even placed himself there, with a tweet. he also placed himself at the ballot-counting site with a tweet. so, he has been an active stop-the-steal advocate. he has supported donald trump's efforts to undermine arizona's election results. now, when we brought this, when reporters brought this to the spokesperson for the arizona senate who is running this entire, so-called audit. here's what that spokesperson had to say. >> we're not counting his race so he can count votes on the ballots for the presidential race and the u.s.-senate race, as well as anyone else can. and they qualified their paid

workers. >> so, he's not worried about it. also, not worried about the partisan nature about all of this. but election officials, anderson, across the country, both republican and democrat, are highly concerned about all of this. anderson. >> and what is the late -- latest on the actual so-called audit? i mean, they were scheduled to wrap by next week. is that still the plan? >> no way. and here's why. there are 2.1 million ballots to be counted in maricopa county. the senate has pledged that they are going to count every-single one. so far, they've only counted 200,000. that's 10%. there's no way they are going to finish by the deadline, which is may 14th. now, on may 14th, there is something scheduled to happen, that happens every-single year. and this year, it's going to happen in robust form. in phoenix. high school graduations. there are nine to 11 high schools scheduled to have their graduations at the coliseum where this count is happening.

and it was scheduled ahead of time. now, the state fairgrounds says, if this counting is going to continue, because what we've heard from the spokesperson from the state senate is, oh, we're just going to pause. and then, we'll pick it up afterwards. well, someone needs to tell the state fairgrounds because they say, right now, there is no extension. and, anderson, remember, i said 2.1 million ballots? where are they going to go? how are they going to be secured? these are just a number of very big questions about the security of this election, and how this count is taking place. anderson. >> kyung lah, appreciate it. thanks. i am joined now by katie hobbs who no doubt has her hands full keeping an eye on vote counting going on in phoenix. so, you are obviously aware of the situation kyung just reported on. you have outlined several security shortfalls in a letter to the state senate liaison. anthony kerns is present being one of them. what does it say, he was present at the capitol attack on january

6th? >> well, that's very concerning. and it -- it speaks to the fact that they're not checking people's biases. i mean, we already know that the company running this show, the -- the ceo has come out stating that trump won arizona by 200,000 votes. which, we know, is baseless. but they have not screened people for their biases that are on this floor counting ballots. and not only was anthony kern on the ballot for a race that is not being counted but he is a presi presidential elector. so he is counting a ballot where his name is on the ballot. >> what is -- what's their sense of its credibility? >> well, they -- they don't have a lot of confidence in the credibility of what's going on. one of the main concerns is that they are seeing procedures being changed, midstream. and so, that's causing confusion among some of the folks that are counting. and really, speaks to the unreliability of -- of the

results, if you are changing procedu procedures, midstream. but they have also seen glaring, just, omissions, in terms of basic-security measures. in terms of ballots, computer terminals being left on and unattended. just a lot of serious problems that would undermine the credibility of this exercise. >> you have been vocal the past two weeks saying how you think this audit is essentially a fishing expedition. in -- in -- i mean, is anybody actually -- can they just come up with a number, on their own? is there actually some sort of transparent way that you actually see them counting actual -- i mean, what -- how -- how is this going to play out? >> well, the way that ballots are being tallied, and then those tallies aggregated, are some of the concerns that we outlined in the letter to ken bennet, today. and so, it -- there seems to be not a lot of consistency.

and so, we really don't know how they are going to come up with a valid result when there's not consistency in how they're putting the counts together. how they're counting. we -- our observers saw people tallying, after the fact. when it just -- there's a lot, a lot of concerns. >> i mean, officials in maricopa county, including republicans, have stood by the integrity of the actual-election results. what kind of support does this audit really have in the state of arizona outside of the state legislature which is obviously, you know, important? >> well, i think that, you know, outside of the legislature, senate president karen fan, this has hurt her credibility in a lot of serious ways. and, you know, the mainstream, really, understand that the election was fair. that biden won arizona. the results we certified were accurate. and so, you know, this,

obviously, is a fringe element. but it's -- it's a good number of the republican electorate. so, i think, you know, i would be concerned if i was a republican in arizona right now. >> and what is to stop them from these ninjas from just saying, okay, here is the actual number of -- here is the vote. and the president won it by 200,000. what's -- what is -- what is to stop them from doing that? >> well, there's nothing to stop them, which is part of what we're concerned about. but they are not following, really, any kind of best practices in terms of a postelection audit. and that's why it's really important that we were able to get our expert observers in that room. to document these kind of concerns. >> secretary katie hobbs, appreciate it. thank you very much. keep following this. up next more on our breaking news at the top of the hour. what you may not know about elise stefanik, to replace liz

cheney as the number-three gop house leader.

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republicans are trying to remove her from her leadership post for defying the president. she said the gop is at a turning point and warns the former president is, quote, seeking town ravel critical elements of her constitutional structure that makes democracy work. in the house gop leadership. more on the contender now from our randi kaye. >> it is truly an honor to welcome you to ft. drum. >> reporter: elise stefanik is at 36 making a public push to become the most powerful woman in the gop and now has a presidential stamp of approval from donald trump. >> from the part of new york, upstate, which is pro-trump, pro-second amendment, pro-life and anti-aoc. >> reporter: being in trump's corner has served stefanik well, the breakout star for trump's first impeachment, often tangling with democrats. >> the gentleman will suspend. >> what's the --

interruption for this time? >> you're not recognized. >> this is the fifth time you have interrupted members of congress, duly elected members of congress. >> reporter: trump was so impressed he tweeted about her performances writing in november 2019, a new republican star is born. great going, elise stefanik, even called into fox & friends to praise her. >> she has become a star. her mannerism, her way of talking. >> she's direct. right to the point. >> no. it's just the whole thing. it just works. she's a tremendous person. she was fantastic during the hearings. >> reporter: stefanik was clearly on trump's radar even if he couldn't pronounce her name. >> elise stefanak. >> she was slow to support him. often disagreeing on policy. >> she didn't pivot toward trump until the impeachment trial in

2017. this is the same elise stefanik who once worked for george w. bush, served as an aide to paul ryan and was endorsed by mitt romney. still, as this newly minted version of stefanik moved ever closer to trump's orbit, her funds raising exploded and so did her profile. stefanik became a regular on fox news and her cheerleading for team trump moved into hyper drive. >> i'm excited. there is so much energy in support of the president. >> reporter: it even landed her a spot at last year's republican national convention, where she sounded a lot like the candidate himself. >> we understand that this election is a choice between the far left democratic socialist agenda versus protecting and preserving the american dream. >> reporter: and after trump lost and started pushing the big lie, elise stefanik signed on, fighting to overturn the 2020 electoral results in both pennsylvania and texas, based on

false claims of electoral fraud. courts rejected it. congresswoman stefanik was born and raised in upstate new york, the first person in her immediate family to graduate from college, graduating from harvard university with honors. she was smart enough to take what once looked like a political gamble, but with her sights set on a gop leadership seat now seems to be paying off in spades. randi kaye, cnn, orlando, florida. up next, a suspect arrested in a new attack targeting asian-americans, and what a new study is showing about hate crimes in the nation's largest cities and counties, next. e! (brother) fashionably late. (sister) we can not be late. (brother) there's a road right there. (brother) that's a cat. wait, just hold madi's headpiece. (sister) no. seriously? (brother) his name is whiskers. (bride) what happened to you? whose cat is that? (brother) it's a long story. (sister) oh my gosh. (farmer) whiskers! there you are! (avo) the subaru crosstrek. the adventurous s-u-v for

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for a clean unique to you and your home. roomba and the irobot home app. only from irobot. police in baltimore have arrested a 49-year-old man for allegedly beating asian-american sisters for where they worked in a liquor store. the attack took place sunday night, was captured on surveillance cameras. the attacker beat the sisters with a piece of cinder block. it's not yet been classified as a hate crime. the largest cities and counties in the anyways. -- nation. according to research done at the university of california in san bernardino, researcher identified 95 hate crimes against asian-americans as opposed to 36 a year ago. new york city saw the largest increase 15 to 32 over the same period. researchers said the direct

cause, in their view, was due to the pandemic and, quote, increase in political and online stigmatizing of asians. that's it for me. let's head over to chris cuomo for "prime time." >> thank you, coop. appreciate it. a provertebrae that is said to come from italy. but we all know it. here it is. fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. we all had it cemented in our minds as right when a certain president reminded us by getting it wrong. >> fool me once, shame on you. fool me -- you can't get fooled again. >> look, now we all know the proverb. in fact, that former president, george w. bush, is one of the few republicans left who get the al