g. hey greg. uhh...hello? it's me, your heart! really? yes! recording an ekg in 30 seconds. tada! wow, that was fast. you know it! kardia offers the only personal ekgs that detect six of the most common arrhythmias in just 30 seconds. so you can manage your heart health from home, or on the go. your heart rhythm is normal. no arrhythmias in sight. i wonder what my doctor would say. ooh! let's find out! with kardia, you can email your ekg directly to them or send it to a cardiologist for review. kardia can do all that? all that and then some, greg! kardia also gives you access to heart health reports and automatic ekg sharing. what next? let's get some fresh air. been cooped up for too long. yeah... ♪ kardia mobile card is available for just $99. get yours at kardia.com or amazon.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com that's it for us. let's hand it over to laura coates and "cnn tonight." laura? >> anderson, thank you so much. i'm laura coates and this is "cnn tonight." look, i've got to get right to it. i know we're supposed to think about politics and other notions today. but i've got to tell you about alex jones because i've been thinking about it all day since i heard and watched that testimony. alex jones spent so many years trying to get people to believe in his conspiracy theories, to pretend that sandy hook, the tragedy never even happened, that the precious lives that were lost, they somehow never even existed. he even said at one point that the parents were actors. obviously that's not only cruel, it's absurd because it did happen. and they obviously existed. well, you know, there might have been a kind of poetic justice that occurred today because something else he claimed never existed, text messages and

communications about sandy hook. well, it turns out they also exist. and the attorney for the parents of one victim suing alex jones for damages over his defamatory statements made sure that we all knew who was lying. >> so, you did get those text message. you said you didn't. nice trick. >> yes, mr. jones. indeed. you don't know where this came from. do you know where i got this? >> no. >> mr. jones, did you know that 12 days ago -- 12 days ago -- your attorneys messed up and sent the entire digital copy of your entire cell phone with every text message you've sent for the past two years. and when informed did not take any steps to identify it as privileged or protected in any way. and as of two days ago, it fell free and clear into my

possession. and how how i know you lied to me when you said you didn't have text messages about sandy hook. did you know that? >> see, i told you the truth. this is your perry mason moment. i gave them my phone. >> in discovery, you were asked, do you have sandy hook text messages on your phone, and you said no, correct? you said that under oath. >> if i was mistaken, i was mistaken. but you've got the messages right there. >> you know perjury, man? i just want to make sure before we go any further. you know what it is? >> i know what perjury is. i think laymen know what perjury is. we're going to ignore had the attorney of alex jones chewing on the fingernail and looking at the pictures on the wall smiling for their portraits, yet looking down on this moment like with

really. by accident it seems? they didn't claim they were somehow privileged. i'm not sure it would attach to his own communications to people who were not lawyers, of course. then the lawyer for the sandy hook parents used that information to catch alex jones in a lie. he couldn't even wriggle out of it. even mention of perry mason wasn't going to get you score and points. i think we call that receipts. that's the legal term for what happens now. in his attempt to spin it like he wanted to see those all along, pitiful. cruel. or what was the question he asked at the end? perjury, right? we'll see what comes of that. after all, they asked him if he knew what it meant and even offered the chance to have him know his fifth amendment rights. but, you want to know what you can buy these days with a day late and a dollar short?

a portend epiphany. jones now says he's a believer that the 2012 shooting happened. >> 100% real, as i said on the radio yesterday and as i said here yesterday. it's 100% real. and the media still ran with lies that i was saying it wasn't real on the air yesterday. it's incredible. they won't let me take it back. they just want to keep me in the position of being the sandy hook man. >> wait. we won't let you take it back? the media? really? i -- i'm -- i guess i'm trying to ask, how exactly do you take back years of reporting the spreading of outrageous lies like the ones you told? >> my gosh, it just pretty much didn't happen. the whole thing was fake. the whole thing is a giant hoax. and the problem is, how do you deal with a total hoax?

>> you know, to top it all off, just before the jury began deliberating today, this clip from jones' "info wars" show was played in court of him actually mocking those jurors. >> extremely blue collar folks. i mean, half of that jury panel does not know who i am. they said that. and when they were asked during the jury panelling yesterday, do you believe the media has ever gotten anything wrong, they obviously said no. so, it's people living in all these different bubbles. and there's the bubbles that are awake and the bubbles that are questioning. but then there's the bubbles where people do not know what planet they are on. >> who doesn't know which planet we're on? and i'm going to leave alone the

fact that he's talking about the fjord of way, those with blue collars, the man is an electric blue shirt. so, you technically have a blue collar if that's a jury of one's peers. deliberations are now underway. they say that the truth shall set you free. well, the funny thing is perjury has a way of locking you up. and the families, i think we all agree, still deserve a lot more. let's take this around the table to my guests, elliott williams, david twer lick, senior staff editor at the "new york times," and scott jennings served as special assistant to president george w. bush. gentlemen, i'm not even going to ask the question whether any of you agree with what alex jones has done. i'm going to think we agree this is deplorable and especially thinking on the back of uvalde

and parkland and so many other school shootings. i'm wondering from the more broader context, how is it that misinformation like this could have lasted this long? and how it's not until right now if it's held to account? >> there are people in this country who appear to be desperate for an explanation, for anything just to defy what actually happened. if it's being reported by the news media, they're desperately looking for something. and then there are absolute evil people like alex jones who are willing to come along and feed it to them. i know what planet we're on, and i know what planet he's on, planet moron. and the most evil guy in america today deserves to have the dumbest lawyers because that's what we saw. and i'm glad they had the text messages, and i'm glad this jury is seeing what this guy is. and i hope they do everything to him that they can possibly do both in the civil side and then

possibly on the perjury side. elliott is a lawyer, but this guy deserves everything, everything that he gets out of this. i mean, these people lost their kids and were terrorized by this guy for years. it's outrageous. i mean, it's easy to think society's falling apart all around us. this jury can strike a blow for common american decency by doing everything they can do to this guy. >> it's not just this jury. it's another one in connecticut coming up after this. >> texas. >> this is texas. no matter how this ends up for him -- which it doesn't end up it will be pretty well -- he still goes on to another state and another defamation suit. look, there has got to be a cost for defaming and hurting innocent people. this wasn't political speech. a lot of what his attorneys are talking about, his first amendment, he had the right to engage. but it's not. you're targeting innocent individuals and not speaking out on a broader political point.

no, it's terrible and it's perjury based on what we saw there. he's lied under oath with an intent to deceive. that's the perjury law in the state of texas, and it's very straightforward. it's usually not as easy as just pulling an email up. >> the judge admonished him a couple of times because at one point he criticizes her in the "info wars" as well. if you could hre shot of a person who goes oh, expletive here, that is what you saw just now. i'm nosey. i want to be the fly on the wall who saw that conversation for alex jones and the attorney afterward saying, what do you mean we handed over everything? and yet that's the duty on discovery. >> laura, i agree with scott. people believe what they want to believe. and this is a situation where there was a market for a conspiracy theory.

and alex jones, according to the judgments that he's already lost, fed that market need. and this jury has to decide how much it's worth. i will just add that in the bigger context, like you were talking about, whether it's birtherism, whether it's some of the things we saw on january 6th we have a market now. people have free speech to be a right wing talk show host, and people have a right to do to court and say what you said defamed me. and i think that's where the rubber is meeting the road. >> and i think many people don't understand the difference between your conspiracy theory uncle on facebook and people who are actually presenting news and information. >> not your personal uncle. he pointed at you -- he didn't mean your personal conspiracy uncle. i just wanted to make sure. >> we all have one. >> i don't know what goes on at family thanksgivings. however, were you to have an uncle with conspiracy theories, a lot of people don't know the difference between the things and the lies that he's pushing

and what's actual fact and real news. >> that's the problem. that's the problem. we're talking about more broadly. take a step back away from the tragedy of even sandy hook. i can't even think of conspiracy theory and sandy hook in the same breath. >> yeah. >> but there is a market and an appetite for misinformation. as long as it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy and feeds what you want to be true. that's what people are saying about from january 6th to election related lies and beyond. >> and remember, when someone is feeding you something that feeds into your belief or hope that what you're being fed by the institutions is totally a lie, they're not doing it to hurt you. they're doing it to help themselves. we've learned in this case, he was making 800 grand a day at one point selling merchandise while peddling this garbage and hurting these innocent people. those parents who testified had a 6-year-old kid. i've got a 6-year-old kid

backstage right now, and i can't imagine what would have happened to me if something happened to him. and i certainly can't imagine what would happen if someone came along and terrorized a family like he did. anybody feeding you this kind of conspiracy garbage, they're not doing it to help you. they're doing it for themselves on your back. >> imagine a mother having to say on the stand that their child existed. i mean, we talk about the controversies of whether lives matter. imagine having to say that your child existed because somebody wants to make money off the lie that they did not. more on this in a moment, everyone. elliott williams, thank you. david, scott, stay with us as well. look, barely after a month -- barely a month after the supreme court overturned roe v. way in the dobbs decision, a red state, known as kansas, send answer unexpected message. what do republicans do now after kansas voters shut down a bid to end abortion rights. i'm going to ask a former u.s.

attorney for kansas appointed by then president trump. you know what? his personal views might just surprise you. that's next. purchases on your discover card.

lysol is donating 28 million wipes to schools in need, so they can kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. keeping kids together here, at places like the lunch table. where they can share who they truly are. chicken nugget man. because when kids are together, they thrive. lysol. here for healthy schools.

>> tech: cracked windshield? don't wait. go to safelite.com you can schedule service in just a few clicks. it's so easy. and more customers today are relying on their cars advanced safety features, like automatic emergency breaking and lane departure warning. that's why our recalibration service is state of the art. we recalibrate your vehicle's camera, so you can still count on those safety features. all right, we're all finished. >> customer: thank you so much. >> tech: thank you. don't wait--schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

voters in deep red kansas resoundingly voted against an amendment to strip abortion protections from the state constitution. president biden today sounding pretty confident that it's a harbinger for the midterms. >> the voters of kansas sent a powerful signal that this fall the american people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let them be ripped away by politicians. and my administration has their back. >> i wonder if he'll be right. after all, you have to consider, this took place in a state that hasn't voted for a democratic presidential candidate in more than a half a century since the texan, lbj, that voted for

donald trump by a margin of nearly 15 points in 2020. the same president that gave the high president the supermajority that overturned roe v. wade and the datobbs decision. yet, having said that all, that outcome far exceeded expectations. more than 900,000 voters showed up. that counts for nearly half -- nearly half -- of the state's register voters, a level you usually see in a general election. the fight, however, is not overment i want to bring in steven mcallister. steven, i'm glad you're here because, you know, you actually argued in the case that the supreme court in kansas ultimately said, hey, there is a recognized right to abortion in kansas. that was what started this now ballot initiative. what's your reaction that this was not passed?

>> i'm actually overjoyed. i'm very pleased that the amendment was rejected. when i argued the case, there was federal law in place that would protect a woman's right to an abortion. kansas supreme court had never decided whether there was such a right under the kansas constitution. my job at the time was to argue the position the attorney general took, which was to argue there was no such right under the kansas constitution. so, that was the position we argued. but i also assumed, as a personal matter, that there would always be a federal level of protection. i never anticipated that the court would overrule roe and casey like it did this year. >> so many people had that same flot if i that there was always going to be a backdrop of a 50-year precedent of roe v. wade. of course that did not happen. it was overturned, as you know. but the fact that you're overjoyed, the idea that many people are, by the way, but there was a huge margin. and for many, that's pretty stunning. i mean, it seems that there's a

disconnect, as was always thought between what justice ali know thought about the idea of returning to the states and the notion that people weren't overwhelmingly against abortion acts. >> i think kansas did approve that and i think what dobbs did is energize the people. kansas just intuitively had it on the ballot. it was set up for this ballot back in the january session of 2021. it had been planned way in advance of dobbs. when the legislature put this up for a vote, they did not date of birth dobbs was going to happen. it really energized a lot of people in kansas. and i think what we saw was at least three groups, young voters, democrats, and independent who is flokd to the polls. the only contested primaries in kansas typically are republican

primaries. trans >> you don't think it was a genuine effort by republicans in kansas to try to get this amendment. you think there was something more to it? >> well, they wanted this amendment because they wanted to overturn the kansas supreme court decision. but i think when they started that process, they didn't realize that if they could do that, they could actually ban abortion because they assumed the federal level protection would still be there. so, i think they were probably delighted when they saw that dobbs overruled roe and casey because now the real end goal was achievable in their view. but what they did is engage in a misleading campaign in which they kept saying, all this will do is allow us to have our current laws be enforceable. they would not say we're going to ban abortion in the next legislative session, although it's clear that was the goal. >> on that notion, you were clerk for justice clarence thomas. and i wonder your perspective given his opinion, where he

spoke about going even further than alito, the idea of where alito tried to say, look, i'm just trying to talk about abortion here. he wanted to go farther to same sex marriage possibly and other, birth control and contraceptives. what do you make of that decision and that statement to go even further than what was written in the majority? >> well, i think justice thomas has always had a different view of where these rights come from. if i look on my constitutional law professor hat, the majority is talking about something called substantive due process. he's looking at the privileges or immunities clause in the 14th amendment, which the court got away from way back in the 1870s. so, he's willing to revisit everything going all the way back. nobody else seems inclined to join them in that enterprise. so, i'm hoping they stick to that view and that he's the only one that's interested in revisiting that territory. so, i may have a little more confidence than some that he's alone in that potential endeavor

and that the rest of them have no desire to revisit those other precedents. >> i hope we're banking on more than fingers and toes crossed though on something like that. it's personal to you. i know that in the past, you have been demonstrative of your principles when you don't think it should go beyond that. >> right. and i have -- so, i mean, this mattered a lot to me. so, the one time when i was working for the attorneys general office that i refused to participate in the case is when we were defending the ban on same sex marriage and i offered to resign if i was asked to defend that ban because i said i could not do that because i have family members and friends and i would not defend that. he said you don't have to resign, i have plenty of lawyers. but i would have resigned. and with this one, having five daughters and now with the protections of roe and casey gone for the last three weeks, i've been pretty much non-stop

in interviews and things basically lying to say the proponents are misleading people. it started with the name of the amendment. it's the wording of the amendment. and all of the campaign literature and the money being spent is an effort to fool the people of kansas. but obviously yesterday they were not fooled. >> they were not fooled. dorothy gail woke up in kansas, and she recognized everyone in the room for what they were. thank you, steven mcallister, i appreciate it so much. >> my pleasure. let's take what we just heard and consider the fallout with tonight's political experts. do reproductive rights become -- excuse me -- even more of a deciding factor in the midterms? right back with that.

this is john. he hasn't worked this hard to only get this far with his cholesterol. taken with a statin, leqvio can lower bad cholesterol and keep it low with two doses a year. side effects were injection site reaction, joint pain, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, chest cold, pain in legs or arms, and shortness of breath. with leqvio, lowering cholesterol becomes just one more thing life throws your way. ask your doctor about leqvio. lower. longer. leqvio.

♪ got my hair got my head ♪ introducing new one a day multi+. a complete multivitamin plus an extra boost of support for your immunity, brain, and hair, skin & nails. new one a day multi+. i'd like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about

homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

no surprise, democrats and republicans are offering two different takes on the kansas abortion vote and its political impact. >> what happened in red kansas last night is a reflection of what is happening across the country and what will continue to occur through the november elections. >> i think voters, come november, will be very focused on the cost of gasoline and groceries and rent. >> this is not going to make any difference. i don't think it'll be bigger than inflation. >> i wonder who's right. i will ask my guests.

listen, first i want to get your reactions. you see the different sort of inkblot tests happening of what happened in kansas. it's a pretty big deal this did not pass. you're smiling. you're like, yes, that's right. >> dare i say it? i had tsome hope last night. and i think that's one of, you know, not just women and their health care and abortion rights being protected as a win, but also just the hope that it's given to democrats across the country that we can get these wins and we need them. i think the other big thing too is we've got to look at it, also how they talk about it in kansas. it was talking about government mandates. it was talking about the extremism. it was talking about, you know, keeping women safe. and that is something, again, i think is important for democrats and folks across the country to

pay attention to and how we move forward here and get some very big wins in november. >> so, how do you message differently on the republican side? >> couple things stood out to me. the turnout was large. it was a lot of votes in this election. and it was a big price tag. both sides spent a lot of money and it drove up the totals. i did read several times. it was extraordinarily confusing and i think -- >> voters weren't confused. >> well, how do you know? i'll be honest. i think most people in constitutional amendments start out at a default no. . and if they don't understand what they're read on the paper action they're going to stay there. >> that's why they give a sample ballot for people walking in. i know we're all educated voters, but you've had the moment. you go, sample ballot. oh, this is the answer? it happens. i don't think it's going to happen here you're saying. >> i think there are a number of reasons why it went down. and i do think that people who are pro life walked into that

thing yesterday. some of them had to have voted against it because there are people who describe themselves as being pro life but don't necessarily want to take part in a ballot initiative that they think wouldn't allow for reasonable kpexceptions. and i think that's where i think the political reality movement of the -- political reality of america. that's where the equilibrium is going some day in the future. >> those exceptions are the things. i think both of those members of congress were both right. this is both not the most important issue. gallup just came out with its numbers, and the abortion issue ranked fourth in its latest polling behind the economy, government leadership, and inflation. on the other hand, i think republicans here lost the slippery slope advantage they had before the dobbs decision. before the supreme court got rid of roe, republicans had the slippery slope argument. is it going to be 20 weeks it's allowed? is it 22?

is it late term? now democrats have the slippery slope argument, where their voters and some swing voters are saying, look, what's going to happen next? are we going have to travel bans? is there going to be no exceptions for rape and incest? where does it all end? and that i think is playing to democrats. i don't think it's going to save their house majority, but i do think they have something to run on. >> on that note about who it saves, remember, kansas is overwhelmingly red. obviously this was not democratic voters alone who were voting in this way. you know, we think about that reasonableness or the bipartisan endeavors. listen to what congressman adam kinzinger had to say about look, don't come to me in the future about where are all the good republicans, so to speak. here's what he had to say. >> here's the thing. don't keep coming to me asking where are all the good republicans that defend democracy and then take your

donors' money and spend half a million dollars promoting one of the the worse election deniers out there. >> you made the point, scott, that there was a lot of money on the issues. i think the point is the idea, are democrats cutting off their nose to spite their face and alienating those who might otherwise be more agreeable? >> he's speaking about these races where democrats have invested in these people who have heretofore claimed from threats to democracy, that are fundamentally going to destroy america as we know it. but here, take our money and we'll promote you. where does this end? i'll tell you where it ends. with democrat strat gists running. so plus i so, if you want to tell us, republicans, you've got to get these people out of your party,

don't prop them up. let voters get rid of them. >> or hear me out. just kick them out of your party. when they are -- >> when a guy in michigan raises $0 and your party shows up with hundred of thousands of dollars -- >> you're allowing this guy into your primary. >> what do you mean allow? he's allowed to run. >> this guy is associating himself with the gop and your party is allowing him to be a republican. and he is not attached with reality. that is the problem. you are going to continue to face because these election deniers have become so main stream. >> and you beat them. you beat them. >> i wish there were more liz cheneys, but there's not. >> let me see if i can split the difference between the congresswoman and scott. >> interesting. >> if this backfires on democrats and they don't win some of these races where they've funded the trumpier candidate, then come november, they will look bad. okay. on the other hand, democrats right now -- and i think this is partly to the congresswoman's

point -- are both the progressive and the moderate party. and the republican party is mostly captured by trumpism except for a few republicans on -- wait a second. so -- >> i gotta go. i have to take a commercial. cliff hanger there. you want the next thing, don't you? stick around, everyone. abby, david, scott. thank you. can pat cipollone offer more insight than what he told the january 6th committee? we'll look at the doj's new subpoenas and the criminal probe. that's next. i've asked my wife and plan member, to back k me up. you're not my wife. no, i just stand in for her on set during the boring stuff. the boring stuff? are you kidding, i'm announcing a family plan where just two lines gets everyone the $15 price. i'm literally revolutionizing the category! yeah, she owes me huge for this one. can you please let her know i'm upset? really? no. don't tell her i said that.

this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. this is what it's like to have a comprehensive wealth plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. and set aside more for things like healthcare, or whatever comes down the road. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity.

non-gaming tribes have been left in the dust. wealthy tribes with big casinos make billions, while small tribes struggle in poverty. prop 27 is a game changer. 27 taxes and regulates online sports betting to fund permanent solution to homelessness. while helping every tribe in california. so who's attacking prop 27? wealthy casino tribes who want all the money for themselves support small tribes, address homelessness. vote yes on 27.

federal prosecutors are going to get to court and get some pretty interesting testimony and evidence from big names in the trump administration. a pair of top trump white house lawyers, pat cipollone and his top deputy, patrick philbin, have been subpoenaed. the doj wants them both to testify before a federal grand jury investigated what happened on january 6th. my next guest is a former federal prosecutor running for congress in new york. counsel to the democratic house in the first trump impeachment. daniel goldman, welcome to the program. how are you? >> good. thanks so much for having me. >> you know, i'm glad you're here. i've been wanting to pick your brain about this in particular

because i know that the way people speak about a pat cipollone of the day is the idea of being forthright and candid and talking about all these measures, although it took some time post-cassidy hutchinson. but i have bet you have a different recollection of his role that he's played and the idea of transparency. am i right? >> you are exactly correct. in my view pat cipollone is no hero simply because he tried to stop the president of the united states from inciting a riot on the capitol on january 6th. in fact, during the first impeachment, as you remember, cipollone was very involved in both the ukraine scheme that donald trump was executing as well as the cover-up, where he facilitated placing that whistleblower complaint in the super-classified system so that nobody could be able to see it. and then he was involved in creating and drafting the memo

to cover up and prevent the intelligence community's inspector general from turning over the whistleblower complaint. so, he had a factual knowledge of donald trump's abuse of power and he was intricately involved in covering it up. >> interestingly enough, many of the players you're talking about now, agencies, secret service, communications, all these things have somehow their way back into the discussion of today. i do wonder on those issues of privilege or confidentiality, what does it say to you that there seems to be this ramping up of sorts to prepare for and anticipate somebody asserting a privilege of some kind. i mean, i know he had the testimony for the january 6th committee, but is there some validity to the proposition they actually might be able to assert a privilege? >> i don't think that ultimately the privilege would bear out if

this were to go to court. and the department of justice is much better situated to litigate the privileges that cipollone seemed to claim during his deposition before the january 6th committee. you do not have attorney/client privilege or executive privilege if you are having conversations related to misconduct or a krierm fraud. and there's a very good argument to be had that many of cipollone's relevant conversations with donald trump about his efforts to overturn the election were not kosher, so to speak. and so the department of justice could press cipollone to give more information than what the january 6th committee did. and if he refuses, then you go to court. and they can litigate this to where cipollone would have to

tell the court what privileges he was using for what testimony or documents. and the court would decide whether or not there's exception to those privilege. but remember, laura, the executive privilege must be claimed and asserted by the president, not by the person who was the president spoke to. so, we're going to have to actually have a formal assertion of executive privilege by donald trump which then joe biden will rule on before ultimately the department of justice presses cipollone further. >> well, as they say, it's good to be the king. and the person who actually has that role of the president is president joe biden. he's said he's not going to assert the privilege. i am curious to see how this is going to go going forward. i am glad to talk to you. i had a feeling you had a different viewpoint of how this might go. thank you for being part of the program. >> thank you so much for having me. so, look, we know, trump and

his inner srkal called the investigations into january 6th. remember this? >> witch hunt. >> this is a partisan political witch hunt. >> this is absolutely a witch hunt. >> this is witch hunt 3.0. >> nothing but a political witch hunt. >> well, let remind you what a real witch hunt once looked like. can we go back to 1693, salem witch trials, 19 people hanged for stating the obvious, that they weren't witches. 55 others confessed, obviously under extreme pressure. one of them was johnson jr., the only woman whose name had not been cleared. why am i talking about it? now her name has been cleared. it took an eighth grade civics teacher and her students to convince state lawmakers to finally clear johnson. as much as trump and his allies

do like to use the term, and perhaps others more colloquially, the term witch hunt, the only thing that resembles what happened in salem was, well, this shot of a g gallows erected for mike pence. coming up, the nfl is appealing the suspension of quarterback deshaun watson. is his punishment for alleged sexual misconduct too light? bob costas joins me next. at's we the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scann i know my glucucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us

i'm a performing artist. so a healthy diet is one of the most important things. i also feel the same way about my dog. we were feeding her dry, triangle shaped ingredients long as the yellow brick road. we didn't know how bad it was for her until we actually got the good food. we got her the farmer's dog sent in the mail. it was all fresh, when she started eating healthier, she started being more active and smiling more, running more, playing more. i want my dog to have a healthy and long life. the farmer's dog really helps that out. see the benefits of fresh food at betterforthem.com with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews. and when you book and pay throug you're covered by our happiness check out angi.com today. angi... and done. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish]

discover is accepted at 99% of places in the u.s. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish]

at bath fitter, every quality bath starts with quality people. our consultants help you choose from hundreds of bath options so we fit your style. our installers complete your work in as little as a day so we fit your schedule. our manufacturing team custom crafts your bath so we fit your standards, and it's guaranteed for life.

when you can trust the people who create your new bath, it just fits. bath fitter. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. the nfl tonight is appealing the six-game suspension handed down to cleveland browns quarterback deshaun watson. the decision a after a former judge found that he violated the league's personal conduct policy in various private meetings with massage therapists. the meetings led dozens of women to file sexual harassment and assault lawsuits against him. originally, the league pushed for a full season suspension so what will commissioner roger goodell decide now? let's talk with bob costas tonight. first of all, we learned about an appeal.

who are they appealing to? back to another arbitration or retired judge, what's the deal? >> no. no, under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement or at least the portion of the agreement that concerns cases like this, if there is an appeal, it goes either to commissioner roger goodell or his designee and whatever they decide is supposed to be binding on both sides, in theory if the nfl association doesn't like the appeal, they could go to a civil court but that's unlikely. goodell or his designee will make the decision. the league asked for a full season suspension, indefinite suspension because they feel there is a possibility that additional accusers could come forward and might have a different view of the severity of the case. judge robinson, the former federal judge that decided this case termed watson's behavior as

predatory and egregious but had a light sin entence on the fact previous penalties for what she termed non-violent sexual misconduct did not exceed six games so she gave him the six games. the league feels that a, just as a matter of what is right that's too light but also they have a public relations concern. this looks terrible for the league especially not solely but perhaps especially amok en -- ag its ever growing female fan base. they have to address the issue or they have a public relations problem. >> i heard robert kraft say this is an embarrassment. we can leave aside the glass house that might be involved in the commentary but the idea it's an embarrassment to the league, do you believe they will cave to the pressure and is it appropriate to do so? >> i think they will decide either goodell or his designee

will decide on a more severe penalty. keep a couple things in mind. first of all, for whatever it's worth two grand juries in texas declined to indict watson on any of these charges. he remains all mmost defeeiant g he never did anything wrong. last year he was on administrative leave while some of these things were adjudicated and received $10 million in pay from the houston texans and his team never played a single game. the way his current contract is she can structured, he received a $45 million signing bonus that can't be touched during a suspension and purposely arranged it so the first year of the deal anticipating suspension, he makes bear ly a million dollars and he pocketed 45 up front and all he'd lose in a suspension is

$340,000, taking all of this together and the pattern of behavior and the number of accusers, the public isn't buying this as an equatable penalty, at least i wouldn't think so. >> bob, this deal, the contract he has which includes guaranteed money as you're talking about, it was signed when these allegations were at least in part out there. it wasn't as if they were blind sided by this, right? >> that's right. that's right. look, we know this. they can say all they want. we believe in desawnhaun watsond he'll be a first version of himself, they want the best version of deshaun watson the football player and let's hope he stays out of troubles and defines his activities to the sports pages. that's what they hope for because he's a good player playing at his best. this is something that doesn't sit well with most of the public. what the league could do, they could say or goodell in this case, goodell or whoever he designates can say look, we'll make it ten games or 12 games

and we'll add a substantial fine and maybe the baseline for the fine is $10 million, which is the amount he collected from the houston texans last year without playing a insingle game. >> so then he only gets $35 million left. the idea of the way that the money makes the world go around, bob costas, really fascinating. i wonder what are the other players saying about this? are you getting a sense how this is impacting how other players in the league are viewing this? >> you know, it's very rare for players to speak out publicly like hey, this is terrible and we need a hasher penalty. some may feel that way. by in large, once a guy is in the locker room and he's your teammate, if he can help you win, people are aggenerally on board and they generally keep it private. >> i guess some would say that's the way the game is played. bob gascostas, thank you so muc. we'll be right back. >> thanks, laura. then, tap to buy. that's it.

no sales speak, no wasted time. go to vroom.com and d pick your favorite.

republicans in congress call them "entitlements." a "ponzi scheme." the women and men i served with in combat, we earned our benefits. just like people earned their social security and medicare benefits. but republicans in congress have a plan to end so-called "entitlements" in just five years. social security, medicare, even veterans benefits. go online and read the republican plan for yourself. joe biden is fighting to protect social security, medicare and veterans benefits. call joe biden and tell him to keep fighting for our benefits. ♪ (customer) save yourself?! money with farmers. (burke) that's not wrong. when you bundle your home and auto policies with farmers, you save yourself up to twenty percent. (customer) that's something. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers.

kinda creepy. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ ♪ got my hair got my head ♪ introducing new one a day multi+. a complete multivitamin plus an extra boost of support for your immunity, brain, and hair, skin & nails. new one a day multi+. as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to

comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

thanks for watching. i'll be back tomorrow night. "d "don lemon tonight" starts right now. >> we're getting close. it's hump day. call it hump night. two more days into the weekend, which we may have to work on anyways, one never knows when you're in this business. >> i don't know. i've already talked my lipstick off so i'm going home. that's the end of my contract. i don't have the guaranteed millions of the nfl but when my lipstick is done, so is laura coats. >> so much to talk about. by the way, i saw the top of your show, that alex jones on the stand today when he found out he's like do you know how we got your text messages and he's like what? >> man. >> that was some you know what? >> that was a moment. if you scripted that i would have been like that's not going to happen but look back to the lawyer who sort