the pandemic of the unvaccinated is surging tonight. the average daily new coronavirus cases up 44% since last week. it's now about 72,000 cases, higher than the peak last

summer. but in case you needed any more proof that vaccines save lives, the cdc is confirming that more than 99.99% of vaccinated people have not had a breakthrough infection that resulted in death or hospitalization. plus tonight we are learning two more officers who responded to the insurrection have died by suicide. that comes as some are still pushing dangerous lies about the attack on our capitol. this video obtained by "the washington post" shows republican senator ron johnson pushing yet another conspiracy theory about january 6th. >> are you watching what's happening in michigan? you're former cia? >> yes. >> okay. so you think that the fbi had infiltrated the militias in

michigan. >> i mean, geez. lord help us. all right. i want to bring in now david axelrod, a former obama senior adviser, and ron brownstein. good evening to both of you. what the hell? you.d, i'm going to start with today we had this breaking news about these two officers who, you know, took their own lives. that's according to their departments, after responding to the insurrection, while republicans like ron johnson continue to push these conspiracies about january 6th. do these lawmakers realize how dangerous their words are and just how silly they sound? silly may not be a strong enough word. >> no, i don't think silly is a strong enough word. i mean we are dealing with

rampant conspiracy theories in this country, and there's an audience for them. and when people in positions of responsibility choose to use them, they can have deadly results. and we've seen that, and we've seen that, and we've seen that. these officers are -- you know, their deaths are tragic. you know, we don't know what else was going on, but clearly, you know, we heard from those officers last week what a traumatic experience it was to be amid this mob. and, you know, the thing that's particularly galling when you hear people like senator johnson speaking is that these are the same people who profess to be champions of law enforcement. and, you know, how disrespectful to traffic in these conspiracy theories after all that we've seen and after all that we've lost. so, you know, it's not silly,

don. it's -- it's more insidious than that. >> mm-hmm. ron, i want to talk about the coronavirus pandemic. a senior biden administration official is telling cnn they believe that there are governors who are putting their political interests ahead of the public health and getting people vaccinated. do you see it that way? >> sure. in fact, the biden administration has been relatively hands-off on this question so far. i mean we're looking at a number of states, republican-controlled states, where two things are happening at once, where the virus is spreading most rapidly and virulently, and the governors are moving most aggressively to dismantle any of the possible public health responses to that. and i think, don, where this is really going to come to a head is on the issue of reopening schools because the education department today issued its roadmap, its guidance, the federal education department, for how communities should reopen schools. and they said, one, every kid should be back in school for in-person instruction but, two,

they should follow the cdc guidance and require masks. well, in ten states with republican governors, that is not possible. they have banned the school districts from requiring masks. we're talking about cities as big as atlanta, miami, orlando, dallas, houston, phoenix. parents will have no choice but to send their kids back to school whether or not they feel safe in an environment where there will not be mandatory masking. i think it is an open question, how willing is the biden administration to kind of allow this to unfold without pushing back on it more aggressively than they have so far? >> david, you want to weigh in on this? >> well, look, i agree with ron that this is where the rubber is going to hit the road. and i think you're going to see these school districts and these localities engaged in legal battle with their governors, and that may be where the federal government really can weigh in on this. but here, too, you know, you have governors who profess to

believe in the devolving government to the grassroots, that the government closest to the people is the most important government. that's, you know, where the decisions should be made. and they're usurping the authority of local school districts, of local mayors to make the decisions that they think are in the best interest of the schoolchildren in those districts based on the advice that they're getting and based on the guidance of the cdc. so, you know, the hypocrisy of that is really enormous. but it's just like the last issue we talked about, you know. they think that there is political currency in taking these positions, and so they're taking them. and i think they're putting children at risk. >> david, you said hypocrisy. i want to get your response to this because the former president, barack obama, is having this party, his 60th

birthday party. hundreds of people will be gathered. he's getting criticism saying it's hypocritical of him to hold an event that could be a superspreader event even though they say people are going to be masked and socially distanced and tested and all of that, and there will be covid consultants at the party. but do you think it's the right look optically at least or the right thing for the former president to be doing in a time where the variant is spreading, the delta variant is raging in this country? >> well, first of all, don, i should -- you know, he and i have a long relationship that dates back 30 years. i was invited to that event, and, yes, you know, i can attest to the fact that, you know, we were asked if we were vaccinated. tests were required. you know, they are following the guidance as the guidance exists, and so, you know, if you're going to go forward with an

event like that, do it in accordance with the guidance of the cdc. it's an outdoor event. it's not an indoor event, and they feel comfortable moving forward. >> all right. >> can i just -- >> go ahead, ron. >> i mean, look, the world looks very different on august 1st than people thought it would, on july 1st. there were a lot of plans that were made that now kind of look shakier in light of what we are actually experiencing. i feel the same way watching major league baseball every night with 40,000 people in a stadium. >> lollapalooza this weekend. >> how far -- the virus right now has a safe haven in states that are actively -- basically dominated by red states that are rejecting any kind of public health intervention as a matter of political and public health strategy. as long as that is the case, it's not going to stay contained in those places. it's going to be very hard for the administration to get a handle on it nationally as long

as it is so out of control in some of these red states. and it comes back to the question of, can they allow the governors to proceed on this course without confronting them more aggressively than they have so far, whether it's on schools or on masking or even looking at different kind of vaccine mandates. >> go on, david. >> i just want to say, look, i think that the fundamental question, the reason those states are in the position they are in is because they've trailed the rest of the nation in terms of vaccinations. we know what the answer is. you know, this is, as has been said many times, this is largely a matter of the unvaccinated infecting other unvaccinated people. now, there are precautions, masking and so on, that can help ameliorate some of these effects, or at least reduce the possibility. but what we really need are people to go out there and lock arms and say, you know what?

we all have to get vaccinated, you know, for our own safety and the safety of people we love and of our neighbors. until that happens, we're going to have a continued problem. >> but the vaccinated can still spread -- the vaccinated can still carry the virus and spread it. go ahead, ron. >> the question is whether carrots alone can do that. you saw what governor cuomo did today, urging basically facilities to only allow in vaccinated to restaurants or concerts and so forth. and the question is whether you can get to the level of vaccination that you need solely with carrots or whether the administration is going to have to go further in the direction of sticks and further mandates than it has so far wanted to. and it's hard to imagine you are going to get what you need out of these red states with deep ideological resistance solely by offering them lottery tickets or $100. >> ron, let me ask you this because i think about this a lot. i think everyone should be

vaccinated. i think we have a responsibility to get vaccinated, not just to ourselves but to others. what do you think would happen if there was a national mandate to be vaccinated, and how would you enforce it? >> i don't think the president actually has -- i don't think the president can mandate -- >> has the authority. but the question is whether you impose more constraints and burdens on the vaccinated or try to impose more constraints and burdens on the unvaccinated. >> on the unvaccinated. that's got to be the last word. thank you both. i appreciate it. >> okay. >> thank you. i want to get the latest now on the infrastructure bill about democratic senator jon tester of montana. senator, thank you so much. i really appreciate you joining us. i know it's a very busy time for you. you have been negotiating this bipartisan infrastructure plan for months. $110 billion for bridges and roads. $65 billion for broadband. $73 billion for power infrastructure. you can see everything else on

the screen, and i want to know, are you confident that this bill is going to make it through? >> look, we got 67 votes to get on it. i think we can get that and more once people understand what's in the bill. so, yeah, i'm very bullish that this bill will make it across the finish line in the senate and hopefully in the house, and hopefully it will get to the president's desk. >> bullish, that's a strong word. let's see. progressives like bernie sanders say there can't be an infrastructure bill without a larger spending package. but moderates want them separate. it seems like a thousand things could go wrong. how fragile is it tonight? you said bullish, but is there a little fragility there? >> well, of course. i mean it's got to go through the process, and you never know what kind of games people can play in the senate or the house. but, look, i think that if you take a look at this bill in its entirety, it does good things for this economy. and if we want to remain the leader of the world in economic

power, i think this infrastructure bill is absolutely critical. if we want to make sure we get good-paying jobs not only for building the infrastructure but for generations to come, we need to pass this bill. if we want to make sure we don't hand the keys to the world economic power over to china, then we need to pass this infrastructure bill. so, yeah, i think there are plenty of reasons to pass it. if you want to take a sliver out of this and say i don't like this sliver and probably vote against it on those grounds. but in the end, if you take a look at the whole of the bill, the bill creates jobs. it maintains our position as an economic power in the world. and i think those are very, very important things to take into consideration. >> democratic leader chuck schumer is hoping to pass this bill within days, but mitch mcconnell is warning him not to rush it. what do you see as the timeline here? >> well, hopefully we can get it passed by thursday evening. i think that's the goal. but truth be known, we got an august recess coming up. if folks want to stay here

during the august recess and pass this bill and do reconciliation, i'm fine with that. i'm here. we'll do it. i think it's important for the country. if people want to roll up their sleeves and get the job done, i'm also in that camp so we can get this thing done by thursday and then move on to reconciliation from there. >> you know, while i have you here, i want to get your take on voting rights, senator. at least 18 states have pushed through new laws making it harder to vote. but without changes to the filibuster, it seems like nothing can be done to stop this. i asked the president about that during our cnn town hall. take a listen to this. >> if you -- you agree with the former president, as you call him your old boss, that it's a relic of jim crow. >> it is. >> abif it's a relic of jim cro it's been used to fight against simp rights legislation historically. why protect? >> there's no reason to protect it other than you're going to throw the entire congress into chaos and nothing will get done. >> all right. >> nothing at all will get done.

and there's a lot at stake. the most important one is the right to vote. >> give me your take. do you support a filibuster carveout for voting rights? >> look, i think voting rights are critically important. i think anytime you deny any section of our public the right to vote, it's bad for democracy. it's what's really changed in the last 20, 25 years when democrats and republicans both worked to make voting easier. new now it seems one party wants to make it harder for certain sectors. i as a democrat want to make it easier for everybody. that's really the bottom line. so when it comes to the filibuster, look, don, i think the filibuster makes so we have legislation that stands the test of time. but in this particular case, if folks are going to weaponize the filibuster and make it so certain people can't vote within our soiciety, then maybe we nee to take a look at the filibuster. >> i also have to ask you about

the surge in coronavirus cases. your state has about 44% of its residents vaccinated. we're really in a race against time with this virus. what do you do to convince the people in montana still refusing their shot? >> well, i think we need to encourage them to talk to their medical professionals to make sure that they do get the shot. look, i think we need to involve the faith leaders to make sure that they're telling folks to get out there and get the shot. it's really important. look, the statistics are clear. if you've got the vaccination, your chance of going in the hospital or dying are slim to none. if you don't get the vaccination, you're putting yourself, your family, your loved ones at risk. and so i would just encourage everybody to talk to their medical professional, talk to the folks around them. don't believe everything you're reading on the internet because a lot of it is garbage. and go out and get the vaccination. it's safe, it's free, it's effective. >> jsenator jon tester. always a pleasure.

be safe and thank you. >> thanks, don. hours long lines at testing center. record hospitalizations. record cases. florida now the national epicenter of the pandemic. my next guest says it's the governor's fault. y time. now, we just scrape and load. finish quantum works without pre-rinsing, cleaning your dishes to a shine. join the millions of americans skipping the rinse to save our water.

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. coronavirus cases surging across the country but just five states account for nearly half of all new cases with 1 in 5 cases coming from florida alone. florida hitting new highs of hospitalizations and cases this weekend. and today there are hours-long lines to get tested. joining me now, miami beach mayor dan gelber. mayor gelber, thank you. man, i'm worried about you guys. i'm worried about the southern states. it's raging there.

you're putting the blame, though, on this surge directly on your governor, ron desantis. why? >> well, listen, i'm not putting all the blame on him, but i'm -- he's the most significant voice in the state, and he's doing, it seems to be, so much to stop local government and really the state from addressing this problem. we had 21,000 positive cases on saturday. that was the most in the entire time of this pandemic. and he seems to only be taking measures that make it harder for us to address the surge. for some time, he's prevented us from implementing mask mandates. he made vaccine passports illegal. the cruise industry is suing him, trying to at least protect their patrons. he's taken now control from local school boards to make decisions about whether kids coming to school in person should be masked. and he publicly ridicules the

cdc, fauci, and anyone else, frankly, really in a way that undermines everybody's ability to do the one thing we have to do, which is to get people vaccinated and also to get them to wear masks now. i mean it's really become where it feels like we're protecting our residents from our governor. >> hmm. just last week the governor said this. >> i just want to say in florida, there will be no lockdowns. [ cheers and applause ] there will be no school closures. [ cheers and applause ] there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of florida. [ cheers and applause ] >> i assume that's the rhetoric you're talking about when you say protecting the citizens from the governor. >> yeah. and by the way, no one is

talking about shutting down, you know, anything. he's creating this sort of false claim in order to just throw red meat. i mean he's really made a very nasty political calculation that he's willing to accept disastrous health care consequences in order to just sort of continue to gin these political benefits for himself. you know, all we want to do is promote -- and there are a lot of republican mayors i know, local government officials who just want to get their residents to be very conscious of a healthy lifestyle at a time when making the wrong decision can be difficult for people. and he's really just making it hard in order to, you know, do these ridiculous red meat speeches. and by the way, the people he's speaking to, i mean he's the governor of florida. he's the most powerful voice in our state. and nationally he's a very influential voice. and i believe the people who probably would listen to him the most, his most ardent

supporters, are likely people who aren't taking the vaccine at the level they should or aren't going to wear masks when they need to. so he could actually save thousands of lives, i'm convinced, if he simply took a position that's different than the one he's taking right now. >> well, how do you feel about governor desantis leaving florida in the middle of this surge to fund-raise in utah last week? >> listen, this has become -- this whole thing has been politicized, and you've seen it, don, from the beginning. politicizing mask use was just the most absurd thing. politicizing the vaccine and now doing it again. i mean, you know, we had a huge surge in our state, and then we implemented mask mandates when the cdc said, and it went right down. then we started to open up, and he banned mask mandates, and the surge happened again. it's almost like you can watch the surge of hospitalizations to the things that the governor has done. you know what, i had gone along

with him at the beginning because i think at the beginning of this, he was just trying to do what anyone in office, what instinct they would have, which is what do i need to do to protect people? and at some point -- and i think it's when trump sort of saw how this was a political opportunity, he made it a political opportunity. and since then, we've been trying to help residents not with his help but in spite of his efforts. and that's really -- it's sort of a sorry statement. >> yeah. listen, i've got to ask you about something that happened there while i have you. >> yeah. >> ask you about the five miami beach police officers who were charged with battery over a july 26th arrest. we have some of the surveillance video, and i just want to warn people that it is a bit violent. here it is. cnn is attempting to make contact with the officers for comment. but i've got to ask you, is it ever acceptable to see officers treating someone this way? what's the department doing to make sure that this doesn't happen again?

>> by the way, i mean, you know, i agree, it happened, and it's not acceptable obviously. and our chief within hours of this happening, within hours, not days later when somebody else discovered the camera, but within hours our chief relieved the officers of duty and referred them to the state attorney, within hours, the same day. so, you know, i -- i believe we've got a very good department by the way, and i've seen officers de-escalate almost all the time in instances often where they're at peril. but you would expect a department to do what our department did when this happened, which is to immediately and quickly and decisively say this is unacceptable, and they didn't suspend the officers. they relieved them of duty, and they immediately sent it to the state attorney, who i think within a week or two filed these battery charges. so of course it's unacceptable,

but i think what we did was the right thing, and i'll say that this is not who our department is. and i think the best proof of that is how quickly and decisively we responded to this. >> yeah. mayor gelber, thank you very much. you be safe, man. >> you too, don. thank you. >> thank you. so she called him a moron, and now the house minority leader, kevin mccarthy, is cracking jokes about hitting speaker nancy pelosi, physically hitting her. okay. i don't know what's funny about that. stay with us. i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. it's just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, it's helped over a million americans. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any other.

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kevin mccarthy under fire from democrats after joking that it will be hard not to hit nancy pelosi, the house speaker, with the gavel if he becomes speaker after the 2022 midterm elections. >> i'll make this one promise here. when we win the majority, which i know we're going to, you're all invited. more importantly, i want you to watch me nancy pelosi hand me that gavel. it will be hard not to hit her with it, but i will bang it down. >> joining me now, ana navarro and alice stewart. alice, mccarthy's office is dismissing the complaints. his spokesman said that he was obviously joking. what do you think about all of this, alice? >> if it was a joke, it wasn't very funny. it was a stupid comment.

it was very poorly said, and unfortunately the people in the audience laughed about it. and i do think he owes speaker pelosi an apology. as for calls for him to step down and resign, i think that is completely unnecessary. look, the rivalry between pelosi and mccarthy has heated up recently. as you've mentioned, she called him a moron last week, and he is going after her in a private fund-raiser in a situation where he thought he was speaking off the record with supporters. look, here's the situation. nancy pelosi is the speaker of the house. she is a powerful person. she is the third in line to be president. she happens to be a woman. so calls that a lot of democrats have said that he is going after her because she is a woman or violence against women, this is a political rival making a political statement against someone that he wants to take out of her current position because he wants to be the next speaker. and i think it's nothing more than that. democrats are already trying to raise money off of it. but i think it is just another

step in the ongoing battle between pelosi and mccarthy. >> ana, i want you to weigh in but let me tell you what pelosi a deputy chief of staff tweeted. he says a threat of violence to someone who was a target of the january 6th assassination attempt from your fellow trump supporters is irresponsible and disgusting. look, we've heard recordings and accounts from wririoters. i'm not sure why he would make this joke. i mean he lived through the insurrection. >> apparently he's forgotten that. look, don, i do think it was a lame-ass attempt at humor, and really if anybody wants to go see a middle-aged white guy try to be funny, there's plenty of billy crystal and steve martin movies that you can rent on demand. the most offensive part about it to me is his butchering humor. but, you know, yes, nancy pelosi called him a moron last week as

she was going into her private car, and it got caught by a hot mic. and it was not a threat of violence. this was a threat of violence, a stupid, stupid thing for him to say in the midst of the days that we've lived and the things that we've seen in the last six months since january 6th. frankly, if they were both in kindergarten, the teacher would put them both in time-out. i think that the american people should expect better from the highest level of elected leaders. that being said, i'm having a hard time getting outraged by mccarthy's stupidity and lack of ability to make a good joke because i'm really pissed at mccarthy whitewashing the january 6th commission and pretending it didn't happen, and saying he didn't have the time to listen to the testimony of the four officers as we learn about more officers committing suicide, more of the officers who responded to january 6th

committing suicide. and i'm really pissed off that i'm sitting in miami-dade, one of the counties that is leading in new covid hospitalizations, while mccarthy has allowed most of the republican conference to make a mockery of vaccinations and wearing masks and while he has been going to fox news, to outlets that have promoted not getting vaccinated and promoted misinformation. there are 17 children five minutes from my house at nicholas children's hospital. six of them are in the icu. so i'm really angry at his lack of leadership, at his irresponsiblity, and his exploitation of covid and vaccinations for political purposes. so, yes, so forgive me that today i can't get angry about his idiocy with the attempt for this joke because there's much, much more horrible things that are happening, which he has been complicit in. >> alice, you want to respond to

that? >> look, i think i agree with ana on a lot of that with regard to kevin mccarthy is completely wrong to go along with the big lie that the results of the election were flawed. he is completely wrong to not participate in the investigation that speaker pelosi and others are putting forth. and he's also completely wrong to be complicit with a lot of the comments and statements and the former president's -- really his role in inciting the insurrection. that being said, he is laser focused on job number one for republicans, and that is to win back the house and help the senate win back in the midterm elections. and in order to do so, he is going to continue to feed red meat to the base, and he is going to provide what they appear to be supporting, which is the former president and the big lie, because he wants to get back the seats in the house, and he wants to be the speaker. >> alice, can i jump in here? >> sure. >> listen, i think you bring up

a very good point. he's doing what he thinks the job is, right? what he has to get accomplished, which is become the speaker of the house and make republicans the majority. but do you think that's the way to do it? do you think that they want to -- especially in light of a fourth officer, we're hearing who was part of the insurrection, committing suicide. do you think that's the right way to do it, what he's doing? >> first of all, news of that today was heartbreaking, and news of any of the deaths as a result of january 6th are heartbreaking and could have been avoided if we didn't have the insurrection in the first place. and, look, in my view, the best way to go about winning back the house, in my view, is to focus on the policies and get away from the personalities and the false statements of the personality of the previous president. the republican party's best move forward and best path forward is to get back to traditional policies of the party. bring back the suburban white voters that we lost due to the

last president and keep on the trump -- the maga republicans and also bring on the traditional republicans. that's the path forward. but right now what we're seeing with the maga wing of the republican party, the best way to move forward is the maga way. >> the maga wing that mccarthy has empowered. at the rate they're going, they're going to kill their followers, okay, if they continue with this misinformation campaign and looking the other way as people who support them continue exploiting covid. so if they want to call every democrat that's breathing a socialist and use that as a wedge issue, fine. but don't play around with people's lives, and that's what he's doing with the january 6th commission. that's what he's doing, what the republican conference is doing with the response to covid and vaccinations. >> alice, i think a lot of people will agree with you, at

least on the part of bringing back traditional republicans and conservatives. that would be a breath of fresh air for the country. i think ana can agree with that as well. >> there are a lot of us still out there. impeached again. really? will there be any consequences for a former president pressuring the doj to call a free and fair election corrupt? that's next. ahead, simone biles getting ready for a comeback, competing just hours from now. the air wicr has five settings, not three, for better frangrance control than febreze plug. take control of your fragrance with air wick.

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weaponization of the justice department coming into sharper focus as we learn more about how he pressed top doj officials to falsely declare the 2020 election corrupt. the house oversight committee releasing notes taken by then-acting deputy attorney general richard donahue during a december phone call with the then-president and then acting attorney general jeffrey rosen. according to the notes, trump said this. just say that the election was corrupt, plus leave the rest to me, or and leave the rest to me and the "r." the "r" meaning republican there. so joining me now, cnn's legal analyst and former u.s. attorney preet bharara. thank you so much. man, this is really concerning. these notes from donahue are stunning, and we are learning more by the week just how far trump was willing to go to pressure the doj to undermine the election results. do you think this could be his third impeachable offense? >> you know, i tweeted that half

in jest. i think if there had not been two prior impeachment attempts, i think if he were still in office, if some circumstances were different, maybe there would be some movement in that direction because this conduct, by the way, is arguably the most egregious conduct of his entire presidency because it didn't involve ukraine. it involved trying to, as you put it in the intro, weaponize the justice department that's supposed to be independent and neutral, and in the act of doing justice, to overturn an election. and what's really remarkable about this is the current justice department, you know, full of career people obviously led by politically appointed process, has made the determination that these notes were to be turned over to the house oversight committee and the senate judiciary committee, which means they've made a determination, which seems right to me, that this conduct was extraordinary, does not deserve to be protected under executive privilege, and that it was undertaken in trump's personal capacity as a candidate, not in his official capacity as

president. and all of that suggests even more, i think, aggressively, that this conduct was outrageous and maybe the worst of his presidency. >> he's only been out of office eight months. i can imagine what more is going to come out -- well, i can't, and who knows? you know, trump knows plenty of lawmakers who promoted the big lie. many are still doing it. what will happen if we find the republican lawmakers knew about or were involved in trump's attempts to pressure the doj? >> i don't know. there's some statutes that are floating around that people are discussing. there's one, section 610 of title 18, which criminalizes, you know, a federal official from intimidating another federal official into engaging in political activity. this is not, you know, quite within the heartland of that although arguments could be made that you had members of congress and you had a president who was

intimidating and coercing people to engage in political activity through their offices. i think the other question that's raised by your question is whether or not we'll get to the bottom of that. you know, at the same time that this is going on in those two committees, house oversight and the senate judiciary committee are looking at these matters, you have the select committee in the house, and there is a real request about whether or not they will issue subpoenas to other members of congress, fellow members of congress, and whether or not those subpoenas can be resisted. there's not a lot of precedent for that. one way to get to the bottom of this is to have those people come before the panel and testify. so that's preliminary to the issue of whether or not there will be accountability. first is the question of getting to the truth. >> rosen and donahue called out trump multiple times telling him, we are doing our job. much of then foe you're getting is false. at another point they said the doj can't and won't snap its fingers and change the outcome of the election. preet, what could have happened

if the doj was being run by people who didn't push back? >> there was a prospect of that. some of these notes also indicate that donald trump was trying to replace barr's replacement. so replacement for replacement with someone who is more pliable. i shudder to think what would have happened if the place was run by people who were just prepared to do anything that trump asked them to do and also the white house counsel's office. some of what we've seen is that don mcgahn, who i think was no hero in lots and lots of ways, the former white house counsel to president trump -- at the end of the day when asked to do the unthinkable, fire bob mueller, didn't do it. in this case these career professionals didn't do it. i'm not saying they should be lauded as heroes necessarily because i think the bare minimum of what's required of someone either at the line level of the doj or at the pinnacle of that department is not to accede to a political candidate's mandate to

overturn an election based on no facts. remember, at the time this was all happening with these phone calls we're learning about now, there were other private lawyers for the president, rudy giuliani, and sidney powell. rudy giuliani, because of his conduct in the representation of donald trump about these very matters, has had his law license suspended in two jurisdictions. >> right. >> so i suppose they thought better of that. and i prefer not to think about what would have happened if they had been acquiescent. >> thank you so much. i appreciate your time. >> sure, don. after pulling out of multiple olympic events, simone biles returning to the competition floor in just hours. more next. it's the most comfortable, body-sensing, automatically-responding, energy-building, dually-adjustable, dad-powering, wellness-boosting, foot-warming, temperature-balancing, recovery-assisting, effortlessly life-changing proven quality night sleep we've ever made. save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases.

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in just a few short hours, gymnast simone biles will return to competition in the tokyo olympics. usa gymnastics confirming today that the four-time gold medal winner will take part in tuesday's individual balance beam finals alongside teammate suni lee. it is her last opportunity, though, to compete in tokyo. biles withdrew from the women's team finals last week, citing mental health concerns. also withdrawing from four other individual finals in the games. the 24-year-old biles has earned her reputation as one of the best gymnasts of all time, and we will be rooting for her come tomorrow and now. thanks for watching, everyone. our coverage continues.

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welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. just ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> this remains a pandemic of the unvaccinated. >> pandemic refocus, president biden's push to get more americans vaccinated has become even more urgent. we are live in tokyo where gymnastics star simone biles is back