good evening. the house just passed legislation establishing a 9/11 style commission to investigate the attack on the capitol. it got just 35 republican votes and now goes on to the senate, where it needs the support of ten republicans to survive. minority leader mitch mcconnell will not be one of those republicans. house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, voted no on the bill, tonight. in the house. and went so far as to lobby senators on it earlier today. seems both of them got the message, from the man who incited the rioters, themselves.

the former president's statement, late-last night, reads, quote, republicans in the house and senate should not approve the democrat trap of the january-6th commission. it is just more partisan unfairness and unless the murders, riots, and fire bombings in portland, minneapolis, chicago, new york, are also going to be studied, this discussion should be ended immediately. republicans must get tougher and much smarter and stop being used by the radical left. hopefully, mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy are listening. well, they were. it was a call and response. just over-12 hours after the former president sent out that statement, i guess. mcconnell said he'd oppose a commission if it made it to the senate. so, today, and tonight, we witnessed two grown adults, elected officials, in positions of true power and responsibility, bending to the whims of a twice-impeached, defeated, former, one-term president, and now, golf-course greeter, and wedding crasher, who could be a big step closer to criminal indictment and we will have more on that, shortly.

again, he is not just the one responsible for inciting the mob on january 6th or spreading the big lie for months about the election. he is the one, not so long ago, who leaders mcconnell and mccarthy blamed, out loud, in public. the limited-republican support for it. its slim prospects in the senate. and each leader's role in resisting it. here is a very quick reminder of what they sounded like, when they were simply telling the truth. >> the mob was fed lies. they were provoked by the president, and other-powerful people. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress, by mob rioters. >> well, the top republicans in the senate and house back, in january, that's what they said. tonight, they are leading the charge against the legislation that passed the house, this evening. >> after careful consideration, i have made the decision to oppose the house democrats' slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of january the 6th.

as everybody, surely, knows, i repeatedly made my views about the events of january the 6th very clear. >> well, he said law enforcement and existing committees, already, have the investigation well in hand. a commission, he said, is simply not needed. he might just as well have said check your local-cable listings and good luck. and as you consider all of that, take this and its new video, released today. of the thing that neither senator mcconnell or leader mccarthy want to learn more about. now, according to the fbi, one of the suspects, in this video, is hitting officers with a tactical baton that he picked up. in a separate video, also released today, another suspect is seen punching officers wearing a glove with metal knuckles. so, is getting to the roots of

that less important, now, to senator than procedural wrangling? is it less important now, to mcconnell? is it less important now to leader mccarthy than avoiding testimony or sucking up to the former president or being house speaker someday? is taking a closer look at the worst-single attack since the civil war, less important than whatever maneuvering he has in mind? can it be they are all more scared now of the former president, than they were back then of the mob? it could be. consider congressman greg pence. republican of indiana, and yes, brother of this mike pence. >> hang mike pence! hang mike pence! hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> so, that was the mob attacking the capitol. chanting, hang mike pence. congressman pence's brother might have been killed. tonight, greg pence, the congressman, voted against this commission. he said, in a statement, quote,

hanging judge nancy pelosi is hell bent on pushing her version of partisan justice, complete with a handpicked jury that will carry out her predetermined, political execution of donald trump. >> we have people scaling the capitol, hitting the capitol police with lead pipes across the head. and we can't get bipartisanship! what else has to happen, in this country? >> what else, indeed? that was congressman tim ryan. in a moment, another lawmaker, who voted yes on hr 3233, but first, cnn's ryan nobles with new reporting on how the vote went down, as well as all the maneuvering behind the scenes. so, what have you learned? >> this really played out exactly the way we thought it was going to, anderson. 35 republicans, which was right around the number that many republican leaders were telling us to expect voted yes for this bill. it was, among them, the ten that voted to impeach the former president, the second time around. a good number of members of the problem problem-solvers caucus, which is

a bipartisan group of republicans and democrats that try and find common ground on some issues. but this was really an effort by the house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, to try to keep as many republicans as possible voting for this measure. the republican leaders were sitting in the back of the chamber. carefully, watching the vote board to see how many leader -- how many of these republicans they were ultimately going to lose. you know, 35 is a pretty big number. now, there are more than 200 house republicans, who it may not seem that big. but this is definitely the biggest break we've seen from house leadership in this version of the republican congress. i don't know what it tells us about the future, anderson. but it is clear, there's at least a couple of dozen house republicans that are willing to buck leadership, on something they think is important. >> so, kevin mccarthy made his opposition clear, leading up to it. what -- what was he doing, behind the scenes? >> you know, his maneuvering on all of this has been peculiar, to say the least. initially, the number-two ranking house republican, steve scalise, said they weren't going to whip the vote at all.

they weren't going to encourage or lean on their members to vote one way or another. then, late this week, they put out an e-mail to members saying we don't want you to vote for this. and then, make sure you tell us if you do plan to vote for it. and mccarthy, himself, we're told was making phone calls to some of these republicans that he thought was going to break away from the general-republican conference. doing everything he possibly could, right up until the last minute, to keep that number down. it could have been more, anderson. the sense we were getting that there was many as 50 republicans that might have voted yes, if not for mccarthy's efforts. so he was successful, on one end. but still, 35 republicans ended up voting yes. >> so it goes to the senate, now. what's going to happen there, in terms of republican support? >> yeah. it's demonstrably more difficult now for this bill to pass because of mitch mcconnell's decision this morning to come out against the bill. remember, in the senate, it's a much different ball game because you are going to need at least ten republican votes, in order to pass this bill. and there is even some

republicans, that you would expect to maybe be in favor of this that are wavering. susan collins, for instance, saying that she doesn't like the bill in its current form. she would be someone that the democrats would desperately need to vote yes, in order to get it over the finish line. the big question, i think, anderson, is will there be some sort of negotiation between republicans and democrats next week to try and fine tune the bill to get those ten republicans over the finish line? it really seems unlikely, at this point, because mitch mcconnell controls the game here. he's made it clear, he does not want this to move forward. so, it seems unlikely, it's going to happen. but, we do know this. there will be a vote, and chuck schumer's already begun the process to bring the bill to the senate floor as soon as next week. >> ryan nobles, appreciate it. thanks. joining us now, kathleen rice, democrat of new york, member of the house homeland security. congresswoman rice, thanks for being with us. what do you make of the level of support from your republican colleagues on this vote? we are just going to show their names up on the screen, particularly in light of how the gop leadership tried to marshal

opposition. is 35 about what you expected? >> yeah. i was hoping it was going to be more. you know, there -- i have spoken to a lot of my colleagues who believe that we had to take this step to set up a commission. and what i don't understand, anderson, is rodney davis in the -- in the days, immediately after january 6th, a republican from illinois. he put out a bill, almost identical to the one that we voted on today. it had 30 republicans signing onto it. so, i don't know what happened, between that time and late january and now, other than kevin mccarthy. mitch mcconnell. other republicans have heard from donald trump. they have decided that it's not worth their political career to be on the wrong side of donald trump. and that's why kevin mccarthy, after deputizing john katko, who is the ranking member on homeland security, to make this deal and get these things that we need, in order to support this commission.

he deputized chim to do it and e delivered. they wanted equal number democrats and republicans, that's what they got. they wanted subpoena power, equal-subpoena power. that's what they got. i don't know why mccarthy pulled away the support, other than he's just, you know, a guy who is, you know, clearly more interested in measuring the draperies in the speaker's office. and caring more about his own, political future than protecting our democracy. we were able to do this in a bipartisan way, after the worst-terrorist attack in this country's history, after 9/11. democrats and republicans came together, because we -- they saw on important it was. we could have done that, in the immediate aftermath of january 6th, anderson. i thought that -- that republicans were going to, once and for all, throw donald trump into the trash heap of history. and go take the republican party in a different direction. but they decided to go with donald trump. >> yeah. i mean, they -- they are all in

on -- on the former president. what's so remarkable, too. it's not just kevin mccarthy, who, you know, is desperate to become, you know, a more powerful figure in washington and stay in the good graces of the former president. it's a number -- it's all these congresspeople, republican congresspeople, who are rewriting the history of what occurred. i mean, you know, claiming that these were just, you know, like, it was like peaceful tourist walking through, taking pictures in statuary hall. the very people, who were, you know, helping trying to barricade the doors so that they wouldn't be killed by rioters. >> yeah. i -- i -- there are no words for representative clyde and the gas-lighting that he was doing to the american people, who watched this insurrection, in real time. and all of us, who lived through it, in the capitol. i -- i have never, in my life, did i believe that i would see a political party in this country stand for absolutely nothing but

one person. incredibly flawed human being. a man-child, who has never learned how to lose. and they are carrying on, and allowing him, to continue his temper tantrum. and so, you have a republican party, anderson, that, at this critical time, when we're trying to come out from this pandemic and survive this insurrection. who, literally, stand for nothing. but their own, political futures. i never thought i would see the day. never. and -- but this is where we are. >> well, it's also -- i mean, it's -- it's scary, for anybody who cares about democracy. and a functioning democracy. because we need two parties, that are living in a fact-based world. and have different ideas and can argue about stuff. and, you know, it can be as tough as -- as folks want it to be. but they have to at least, you know, have a common sense of what -- what is true, and what is not true. >> no. i mean, that -- that doesn't exist, right now.

my h focus. let's just talk about one of -- you know, one of the people who voted no. again, let's go back to kevin mccarthy. his father was in law enforcement. just a week ago, leader mccarthy was out there in his bike shorts on a bike. backing the blue with a bunch of capitol police officers, saying we've got your back. we're going to ride our bikes to the lincoln memorial, and protect our democracy. and thank you for saving our lives. and then, he has the audacity to go on the floor, today, and say, to all of those men in blue. all of those capitol police officers. yeah, not so much. i really don't have your back. that's just disgusting. i mean, that -- i don't know what -- how -- what kind of doublespeak. what kind of -- i don't even know what to call that, other than just rank, personal, you know, ambition. there's no other word for it. but i do hope, because there were 35 people who were brave enough to do the right thing for this country.

so we could have a commission. figure out what happened on january 6th so that we never find ourselves here, again. just like we did in 9/11. and guess what? we've never had a 9/11-style attack, since that commission came out with their report. and it's sad, to me, that the majority of republicans couldn't do it -- couldn't do it today. but i -- i -- i'm choosing to celebrate the 35 republicans who could. >> yeah. congresswoman rice, i appreciate your time. thank you. want to get perspective now from cnn political analyst, and "new york times" washington correspondent, maggie haberman. >> should anyone, maggie, be surprised that kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell did today what the former president called on them last night to do? >> no, anderson, they should not be. although, i will say, i think this is what they were going to do, before trump put out that statement. i think that it is problematic, for them, that trump puts out this statement and they continue to go ahead and -- and -- and do something that is clearly what he wants. whether that was their goal, or not. in the case of mccarthy, i certainly think it was. i don't think mitch mcconnell's

goal is to protect donald trump. but i do think that that is the net effect, in terms of what he did today. >> i mean, all this talk about how kevin mccarthy doesn't want to have to testify about his phone call with then-president trump and january 6th. mccarthy said that he wasn't concerned about being subpoenaed to testify. but he, clearly, does not want to anger the former president or the republican base who supports the former president. is it clear, to you, to what extent the former president could try to make mccarthy's life difficult, if he didn't run interference on this commission? if he didn't continue to kowtow to him? >> so, i would say a couple things, anderson. even if kevin mccarthy continues to be in lockstep with donald trump on the issue of what happened on january 6th, and people talking about it. that still doesn't guarantee that donald trump is not going to -- >> of course. >> -- if the republicans take back the house, he doesn't want kevin mccarthy to be speaker. most people think mccarthy is the overwhelming favorite. there is no guarantee, either, of that, or the fact that one could count on donald trump

telling them, yes, i'll be with you. i do think that donald trump is aware of kevin mccarthy wants to be speaker. that was the clear topic of their first meeting at mar-a-lago, a couple months ago after the uprising at the capitol. and kevin mccarthy is thinking he needs to be where not just trump is but where, as you say, the bulk of republican voters are. if you look at -- there was a cbs poll just in recent days that showed a majority of republican -- self-identified republicans were happy with what happened to congresswoman liz cheney. that tells you a lot about where this party's voters are. and mccarthy has made his bet. he wants to stay in power. >> so, can you explain the hold or partial hold or whatever it is that the former president has on mitch mcconnell? i mean, he's 79 years old. he's not up for re-election, until 2026. what happened to mitch mcconnell who condemned the former president for provoking and feeding the january 6th mob lies? >> i don't think this is a personal hold that trump has on mcconnell. i think this is more a hold that mcconnell's pockets has on

mcconnell. and i think what mcconnell wants is to stay majority leader. and anderson, i think these things are a chain reaction, essentially. he has senators, who feel, for whatever reason, rightly or wrongly, that they need to not cross donald trump in order to maintain their seats. some of them are up in 2022. it's a map more favorable for democrats. so i think this is mcconnell reflecting the wishes of his caucus. and therefore, what will keep mcconnell in leadership? because i think that has been a concern of mcconnell's all along. but again, the net effect is the person who benefits is donald trump. >> you have people like marjorie taylor greene, who raised big amounts off the big lie. the more money they are able to raise, the louder they become in this kind of feedback loop of conspiracy theories and gas-lighting. that still persists in the former president's orbit. how much of an incentive is that to keep this all up? >> i, certainly -- i think you point out a really important point. i think they do see the republicans who are engaging and

continuing to spread these lies and falsehoods about the election, and about, now, what happened on january 6th. including, you know, one congressman who claimed that if you looked at any other setting, it would look like tourists. that congressman was photographed barricading a door of the chamber. >> congressman clyde. yeah. >> yeah. so i mean, if you look at what they see as the incentive structure, it is the low dollar -- and again, this is not condoning, this just is what it is it -- it is the low-dollar fundraising base of the party. and that low-dollar fundraising base tends to be reflective of what former-president trump says. the party is in a very similar position, anderson, that it was in in 2015, where leaders had to decide whether they were -- how they were going to handle donald trump. condemn him over and over? ignore him? go along with him? and, you know, folks like mcconnell have made the bet that trump is going to fade over time because he's not in the presidency, anymore. he is not on twitter, and that has made a big difference. but in the conservative-media ecosystem, trump is still pretty front and center. and -- and, therefore, someone that they are paying attention to. >> yeah. maggie haberman, appreciate it

as always. thank you. next, how the former president's life just got more complicated. now, that he's facing a criminal investigation by the state of new york. and later, republicans on both sides of perhaps the most eg egregious manifestation of the big-election lie, the skaultd arizona audit. plus, the possibility other states could join the sham. ! ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. ♪eh uh, eh uh♪ ♪flow (oh my gosh)♪ ♪where man go (oh my gosh)♪ ♪if a man see me (oh my gosh)♪ ♪i guess you never know what you got 'til it's♪ ♪flow (oh my gosh)♪ ♪where man go (oh my gosh)♪ ♪if a man see me (oh my gosh)♪ ♪i guess you never know what you got 'til it's♪ ♪eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh, eh uh eh uh♪

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president was wailing today. more on that, shortly. as well as just how deep in the soup, he might be. but first, the very latest from cnn's kara scannell who broke the story late last night. >> anderson, we have some new reporting tonight from my colleague, myself, and sonya, where we have learned the new york attorney general's office has launched a criminal investigation into allen weisselberg. the chief-financial officer of the trump organization. now, this investigation is focused on him, personally. it's a tax investigation, sources tell us. and this is being run by a small

unit, within the ag's office that has special authority in limited jurisdiction on criminal manners. but one of those is taxes. now, this investigation has been under way for some time. it -- it was stemmed, in part, from information that the office had received from his former daughter-in-law, jennifer weisselberg. she has been cooperating with investigators. and this is just, you know, another pressure point that is being leveled onto allen weisselberg. prosecutors have wanted him to cooperate in the other investigation into the trump organization. and now, here is another vulnerability. that's something that prosecutors like to do is find a vulnerability, and push people to see if they will flip and cooperate. and if they were go get weisselberg's cooperation, he has been with the trump organization for 40 years. so, it would be a big for them. but it's important to note that allen weisselberg has not been accused of any wrongdoing. but in a sign of how seriously he is taking this investigation, he recently hired a criminal

ac accriminal-defense attorney, wh specializes in tax investigations. now, his other lawyer have declined to comment on this. >> so how does this specifically relate to the news we learned last night that the new york attorney general is joining the district attorney's criminal inquiry into the trump organization? >> right. so the news last night was that the new york attorney general is joining the trump -- the da's investigation into the trump organization. this is looking at the company. and potentially, the executives at that company. which could include donald trump. now, that's distinct from letitia james's investigation into allen weisselberg because that's looking at him personally. but the key matter here is that this is all building blocks, where they are looking to put pressure on weisselberg. and see if he will cooperate. which ultimately, gets to the trump organization and the former president. >> kara, stick around. i want to bring in cnn senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, elie honig. also, timothy o'brien. tim, first of all, i just want to get your response from what

we just heard from kara. do you think there is any chance allen weisselberg would actually turn on the former president? i know his son works for the organization. i think they were looking to his son, as well, at one point. what do you think? >> you know, if i was making odds on it, anderson, i would say, there's a much better than 50% chance he flips. the only tethers that donald trump has around loyalties with people, it's really money. when you move away from his children. and -- and really, immediate family. and even, there are exceptions, even in those cases. he -- loyalty is a one-way street, in the trump -- in trump landia. and everyone who lives and works there understands that. he has compensated allen weisselberg hand similarly, fo decades now. but if allen weisselberg has to choose between taking a bullet,

metaphorically, for trump and going to prison or remaining free. i have very little doubt that he is going to choose to remain free. and -- and -- and i think he has to know, very well, that that's exactly what trump would do. if -- if he was in the same position. so, i think, this is a seismic development because it potentially indicates the unraveling of loyalties and support, within trump's inner circle. and i think any-senior employees of that company, and possibly his own children, have to begin lawyering up, now, to defend their own interests around this. and that's a huge development. >> elie, i mean, can -- can -- can prosecutors -- i mean, just look -- launch criminal-tax investigations into someone like allen weisselberg, without some legitimate reason? i mean, can they just do it because they want to pressure him and, like, see what's there to see if there's any material

to pressure him to flip on trump? >> no, anderson. prosecutors need, what we call, predication to start any investigation, which means you need some fact. some good-faith basis to start any criminal investigation. and it's really interesting to hear tim's analysis here, because if they can flip allen weisselberg. and that's a big if. this can be a game changer. if i am prosecuting this case, my attention would go laser-like, right to allen weisselberg because, one, you can develop leverage. if you can build a viable-criminal case on him. that will give him reason to cooperate. allen weisselberg's not going to cooperate against the trumps out of the goodness of his heart. he needs a reason. there is no better reason than facing prison time. and he has access. people who know the trump organization have said, publicly, that he is the guy who knows everything. michael cohen has said, publicly, he knew where every penny went. so he is the guy i'd be looking at if i was prosecuting this case. >> so, kara, the new york attorney general, letitia james ran on the promise of prosecuting the trump organization. new york district attorney, cy

vance, is about to retire. they are up against the clock on statute of limitations. do you have a sense of a timetable and if and when prosecutors are actually going to try to make a move? >> anderson, i think there are those two factors at play. both, the statute of limitations, which for most new york state felonies, is five years, unless they can prove there was an ongoing conspiracy. but there is this wrinkle in new york law that says they can potentially add time to the clock for a period of time that someone is continuously out of the state. and, of course, trump was in the white house, in washington, for four years. so they have that, that they can work with. but also, there's vance. right? he has -- his term expires at the end of the year. he is not running for re-election. he's put a lot of effort into this investigation. he brought in former-prosecutor recently to help boost the investigation. and he, also, went to the supreme court, twice, to try to fight and win, ultimately, to get access to trump's taxes. so, my hunch would be that he would try to decide whether or not there is a case to bring here, before he leaves office. >> tim, the former president responded to this news, this

now-criminal investigation, calling it a witch hunt saying in part, quote, there is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime. i mean, you know, look. for all his decades in the public eye, the former president has never, actually, come up against anything like this. do you think he understands the situation he's in? >> i do. i think, you know, in whatever hundreds of words were involved in his statement today, that can be boiled down to just two. i'm -- i'm worried. and -- and i think he is profoundly worried. you know, donald trump will be 75 years old, next month. he's spent the better part of 55 years avoiding the consequences of his own actions. thumbing his nose at social conventions -- convention. acting irrationally and ignoring norms of, sort of, basic-human decency. and, of course, thumbing his nose at the law. and this is the first time, in

that long stretch of time, that he's facing a criminal investigation. that he can't exercise any control around. >> and elie, just finally, what does it say to you that new york's attorney general team is joining the manhattan da's investigation? i mean, how much do prosecutors have to have in order to expand an investigation from civil to criminal? >> yeah, you have to have some reason, anderson. that's not a decision you just make, on a whim. the new york ag has been looking at this case for a long time. it appears, to me, they found something. they found something that upped the anti-. that upped the stakes for them. and i will tell you, it happens all the time, as a prosecutor. that something that started as a civil investigation, a civil lawsuit. you find something in there and you say, whoa, this is next-level stuff. we need to make this a criminal investigation. >> hmm. elie honig, appreciate it. k kara scannell. tim o'brien. thanks just ahead. the sham audit going down in arizona that's created a major split in the state-republican party. and new report on how voters and officials are handling the divide when we continue.

allies of the former president in key swing states, including georgia, are now seeking to perform the same kind of sham audit under way in arizona. that effort has produced a major split among republicans. it's gotten personal. particularly, after those gop officials supporting the effort claim that a key voter database has been deleted. a claim that was amplified by

the former president but then later proven to be not true by republican officials opposed to the recount. kyung lah is back in arizona for us, tonight, with a look at the latest chapter in this very bizarre story. >> reporter: if you are wondering what chickens have to do with ballots? you're as bewildered as maricopa county recorder and board supervisor. but chickens have everything to do with the conspiracies swirling around arizona's votes in the 2020 election. >> i mean, you would have to be an imbecile to not be aware that lots of people have doubts about the election. people are questioning the democracy. they're questioning whether their vote is counted. >> both, lifelong republicans, bill gates, and steven richer, say the war within their party is fact, versus fantasy. battleground is here. a third audit of maricopa county's approximately 2.1 million ballots. but this review is unlike the others in just about every-other way. including, that it's being run by the republican-controlled zone zon senate and its

little-known contractor, cyber ninjas. over the last-few weeks, we've seen them have to move all the ballots to make way for scheduled high-school graduations. they say they have counted about 500,000, so far since they started late-last month. during the count, workers have used uv lights on ballots. chasing a qanon conspiracy about a secret watermark. cameras, hunting for bamboo fibers and ballots supposedly proving they were flown in from asia. this unorthodox review has been backed by arizona-republican senators. >> there's this blood thirstiness that's going on in our party right now. that -- that i don't understand. but we have to stop it. this is tearing at the foundations of democracy. to act in this way. to treat one another this way. >> i think it's a proxy war for this playing out on a national level. so, i guess, yeah, we are the -- the experiment in democracy here, in arizona.

>> are you guys the -- the petri dish for what's going to be the playbook? >> yeah, absolutely. and i'm very concerned about that. i mean, we now see the videos, from -- from other states. where they're demanding an arizona-style audit. we have drawn a line in the sand because the fight was brought to us. and now that it has been, i think it is incumbent upon us to raise our voices. >> reporter: they are battling the republican-controlled senate and its president, karen fan, who has continued to defend the partisan audit. >> i've had other senators and -- and senate presidents and speakers from other states that have contacted me. this is what's going to lay the groundwork, as to, you know, what is the future of how do we audit our elections if need be? >> all the doors are locked? you can't even get in. >> reporter: we've asked six times for an interview with senator fann. she has avoided nearly-all media. >> we are just trying to see if we could chat with senator fann. >> we can't get to this public

official's office door. >> the best option is to contact her office directly. see what her schedule is. >> reporter: meanwhile, these voters, despite the previous-two audits that found no-widespread fraud, remain hungry for results. they're convinced will be revealed. do you think donald trump won the election? >> yes, i do. i honestly do. >> and when you say do it to 'em, what do you mean? >> i want an answer. i feel that we, as a general public, deserve an answer what's going on down there. >> reporter: but this table believes the war inside the gop will expedite the demographic and political change in arizona. a once-red state, now a battleground. >> well, i think it's going to help the democrats. >> we think it's crazy. you know? i mean, you know, how can people still be questioning this election? what are they -- you can't fix stupid, i guess. >> kyung lah joins us now from phoenix. so the ballots are going to be

moved, again, this weekend. but in the meantime, you are hearing something act swamp coolers in the building behind you, where the ballots are being stored? >> yeah. actually, had to google what that is because i had not heard of it. i don't know very much about cooling. but the reason why we're talking about cooling is because this building is not recommended for usage, by the arizona state fairgrounds, because it's just too hot here in arizona during the summer. and remember, we are talking about paper ballots. so, swamp coolers are being used to keep that space cool. but that introduces humidity. again, paper ballots, that are sensitive. certainly, one of the number of things that the observers here have serious questions about. and this count will continue, though, anderson. the ballots are scheduled to move back into the coliseum, this weekend, when all the high school graduations are over. and resume, as far as an audit, on monday. anderson. >> kyung lah, appreciate it. thanks. >> still to come. we are now into the 11 -- 11th

day of brutal fighting between israel and hamas with hopes for a possible ceasefire. we will have the latest on the bloodshed and the pursuit of peace, in just a moment. - that moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. and our shirts from custom ink helped bring us together. - [announcer] custom ink has hundreds of products to help you look and feel like a team. get started today at customink.com.

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here is more breaking news. now, rocket fire from gaza and israeli air strikes mark the 11th day of fighting. a ceasefire is quote imminent, possibly within-24 hours, they said. so far, no comment from israeli officials on that. according to figures from palestinian ministry of health, 227 palestinians have died from air strikes, including 64 children. israeli officials report 12 israelis have died so far from attacks by militants. ben wedeman join us now from jerusalem. what's the latest we know about this rocketfire? >> well, we had heard, from the israeli-defense officials, that in the final phases, they expected to intensify strikes against gaza. just before a ceasefire. and that seems to be the case. >> reporter: this phone call is

critical. 52-year-old hears he must evacuate on the other end of the line, israeli security warns his neighborhood will, soon, be the target of an air strike. soon after, residents watch as a ball of fire and smoke consumes the neighborhood. looking on their homes, reduced to rubble. this, behind me, reflects their humanity. demolishing homes, terrifying children and the elderly, says this resident, after his home was destroyed by an israeli-air strike. he's one of at least 72,000 people the u.n. says have been displaced in the violence. the israeli air force says it launched several strikes on, what it says, were hamas targets wednesday. including, what they called a weapons depot of gaza militants.

and an alleged command-and-control center. it marks the tenth day of conflict in which more than 200 have been killed in gaza. more than 60 of them, children, says gaza's health ministry. reports emerged, wednesday, that 11 of the young ones were being treated for trauma before israeli strikes ended their lives. as concerns over the humanitarian toll mount, calls for deescalation grow ever louder. u.s. president calling on israel to find a path to ceasefire. israel's leader vows the offensive against gaza militants will continue, in his words, as long as necessary. four rockets were launched from lebanon into israeli territory,

wednesday. sending sirens wailing in towns near the israeli-lebanese border. on israel's southern coast, a fresh rocket barrage hit the city. israelis running for cover, as gaza militants unleashed more attacks. if a ceasefire comes, it can't come soon enough. >> and, ben, i mean, does the possibility of a ceasefire seem realistic, at this point? >> yes, it does. i think, what's interesting about this conflict is that it's really been on fast forward, compared to, for instance, the seven weeks of the 2014 conflict. clearly, israel doesn't want to go into a ground incursion. send troops into gaza because that could easily result in high -- high-civilian casualties in gaza, itself, and among the israeli military, itself. so, i think, both sides have reached that critical threshold

of pain. and i think the end is possibly near. >> hmm. >> anderson. >> ben wedeman, appreciate it. thank you. joined now by our chief white house correspondent, kaitlan collins. what's the feeling inside the white house on the likelihood of a ceasefire? >> i think they're hopeful. but being realistic. i mean, remember, seven days ago, president biden told reporters that he was hoping this would be over sooner, rather than later. and here we are, now, in the tenth day of violence. stretching into, of course, what ben just laid out there. and so, it's really been unpredictable for them. they are -- they have not been sure where this is going to go. but i do think you are starting to see president biden's patience wear thin. and that's why he had that pretty aggressive phone call with the prime minister, earlier today. saying that he wanted to see significant deescalation, on the path to that ceasefire. not explicitly calling for one, of course, as the white house has avoided doing so. and so, i think that was really using a lot of the leverage that they've had. because, so far, anderson, they had resisted going to that using that language about a ceasefire. and i think, realizing really the pressure that he was facing.

that is what led to that phone call today. and what it seemed like, from these public comments from netanyahu, that this operation was going to continue. and i think that's really, you know, all of that pressure building up is what led to that fourth phone call >> obviously biden -- the president has known prime minister netanyahu for years, not just the vice president chairman of the senate, are they on the same page and who is he talking to on the palestinian side? >> what is new for netanyahu, he's dealing with a president where he doesn't have the son-in-law as the president as a major ally in the west wing, which is of what he had in jared kushner. and so that's what they're dealing with now. where he's dealing with someone who definitely has a favorable stance toward israel, biden does, but he's facing rifts in the party now, biden has, but with democrats and growing

criticism. even on an international level. look at what is happening with the united nations. that is a program that you saw president biden say he wanted to restore the united states' standing in. and they're incredibly frustrated with what the united states' standing towards israel is. and there's a lot of pressure. facing the white house over how to navigate this. and when the cease fire does eventually happen. >> kaitlan collins, appreciate it. coming up next, 30 republicans voting to establish the investigation into the january 6th insurrection. helping it barricade the house door on january 6. we ask constituents a bt that. >> to call it an insurrection is a bold-faced lie. people were in orderly fashion, taking videos and pictures. if you didn't know the tv footage was a video from january 6th, you would think it was a normal tourist visit.

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january 6th riots, it's a vote that included 35 republicans. important to note what one gop member said about that day. it bears repeating, what georgia representative andrew clyde had to say. >> there was no insurrection. to call it an insurrection is a bold-faced lie. watching footage showed people in an orderly fashion taking videos and pictures. if you didn't know it was from january 6th, you would think it's a normal tourist visit. >> that guy. >> here he is, the same congressman on that day, january 6th, helping along with others at a barrier to try to help protect against some of the very same people he just called tourists.

gary tauchman went to his district. to hear what voters are thinking about what he said. >> reporter: it's one of the most conservative districts in the country. this past november, andrew clyde won the vote. with 79%. he's popular here. >> whatever he says is 100% for me. but what do people think about his comments? in the photos, one of him barricading the door, another with his mouth open. middle of . let me ask you this. i'm going to show you this picture. this shows congressman clyde helping to barricade the door to keep people out of the chambers. the mob in the u.s. house. does that look like a tourist visit? >> no. >> reporter: a tourist visit from hell.

>> that's right. he does his job very good. but you see him helping to barricade the door, does it look like he's telling the truth? >> i think you're right on that. >> reporter: this is congressman clyde. his mouth open, he's either yelling or scared or both. we can't tell for sure. now he's saying, though, that there was no insurrection. it was like a normal tourist visit. you voted for him. does that disappoint you? >> absolutely. yeah. but, you know, everybody -- as far as humanity goes, people are constantly counterintuitive. relative to what they say. >> reporter: you think he's not being honest and honorable? trying to please the former president of the united states. >> i would say anybody in politics is apt to do the same thing. >> i haven't the slightest idea why politicians say what they say.

>> reporter: but you agree he's a little misleading with how he said it? >> he shouldn't say that. >> reporter: that it's a tourist visit? >> yeah. >> vote rs are disappointed with him. >> i don't agree with him at all. >> reporter: and no supporter was more disappointed than this man. congressman clyde said it was a tourist visit. do you agree with that? >> that's horse bologna. it's not true. >> reporter: you disagree with the congressman? >> yeah. >> you voted for him. >> yeah. unfortunately. >> reporter: most were willing to cut him a break. what happened this past november was one of the reasons why. >> it was dangerous. people were killed and hurt. does that bother you that he's calling that a tourist visit? >> no, that's his opinion. other things bother me, like the results of the election. >> gary, did anyone agree with

congressman clyde's words that what happened at the capitol was a normal tourist visit? >> reporter: we talked to a lot of republicans today. precisely zero told me that a normal tourist visit was a good way to describe what happened. but a lot of people are still booef believe in various conspiracy theories about that day and sympathetic to donald trump in regards to his role about that day. but it does seem that most of the people we talked to do not feel that saying it was a tourist visit was a good thing to say. and it was a bit strange. >> gary, appreciate it. and we appreciate all the folks that talked to you. the news continues. let's go to chris for "cuomo prime time." >> appreciate it, coop. 35 members in the gop voted to tell the truth and have the january 6th commission. what does that mean that they voted for a commission to study the terrorist insurrection of january 6th? the democrats could have done it