they're calling for that zone to get inspectors and the u.s. government is saying it should be completely demilitarized. erin. >> david, thank you very much in kyiv tonight. thanks to all of you for being with us. "a.c. 360" starts now. good evening. after days of increasingly violent rhetoric against the fbi on right-wing social media and elsewhere, in the wake of the fbi's search of the former president's mansion in attempts to discredit the bureau by republican lawmakers and certain cable channels, it appears we've seen the first deadly consequences. an armed man killed in a shootout after trying to breach the fbi's cincinnati office. somebody whose name is on a social media account spelling out the war he apparently believed he was launching. brynn gingras is doing the reporting on the deeply troubling story and joins us now with the latest. brynn, what happened, first of all, and what are you learning about the suspect?

>> reporter: we've learned from multiple sources that the person is ricky shiffer. we are trying to find out what kind of connection he has with right-wing extremist groups. what happened was at the cincinnati field office of the fbi. he walked in there, according to our sources, armed with an ar-15 style rifle and nail gun and tried to breach that office. an alarm was sounded. he was pursued by law enforcement not just on the federal side but local and state as well. there was a standoff for several hours in a rural area of ohio which ended when law enforcement tried to have nonlethal ways of bringing him in, tried to negotiate with him, but then he was killed in the standoff when none of that was working. like you said, we have come across a user account on donald trump's media site, truth social, bearing the same name and authorities have not confirmed it is his account but we have one source telling josh

campbell there is a government i.d. matching the same picture. in at least one post he actually talks about, this user talks about what happened at the fbi field office today. i want to read word for word what it says. it says, well, i thought i had a way through bulletproof glass and i didn't. if you don't hear from me, it is true, i tried attacking the fbi and it will mean either i was taken off the internet, the fbi got me or they send the regular cops while. this was about 15 minutes after we learned that this person breached the fbi office, so it's possible this person on the account wasn't able to finish that thought. and if you look deeper into this social media account, which is actually fairly new, there's not too many posts on there, there is just a ton of violent rhetoric against the fbi. this person said they were in washington on january 6th and there are several posts from this user talking about how they believe the election of donald trump in 2020 was stolen. >> did the user's postings

become more violent after monday's search of mar-a-lago? >> they did. and actually there was a post hours after the news broke about the search by the fbi of mar-a-lago. i'll read that to you. it says, people, this is it. i hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me. and this person encourages people to go get guns, go to pawn shops to take up arms with federal authorities. the rhetoric gets even more violent saying even the next day saying go to mar-a-lago. if you face any fbi agents, kill them is what one of the posts said. so obviously extremely disturbing rhetoric coming from this user account. we know as you just mentioned that the fbi has been sort of on alert after the incidents or after the search rather on monday. but right now this investigation is unclear exactly the motive of shiffer going into this field office today. that's still being investigated. but of course maybe we'll learn something since there were hours

of negotiation happening between federal agents and schiffer before this standoff ended this afternoon. more now on attorney general garland's decision today to call the former president's bluff on the warrant for monday's search. >> the department filed the motion to make public the warrant and fleet light of the former president's confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the substantial public interest in this matter. >> the former president has both those documents, could himself make them public any time, something his supporters have been calling on the justice department to do. now it's up to him. the federal judge handling this in florida has given justice until 3:00 p.m. to meet with them.

the justice department has never revealed details. there's new reporteding on what precipitated the search and what some of the documents were. evan perez joins us now. can you walk us through the attorney general's decision, which is rare to speak out publicly, and ask to unseal the search warrant and inventory items. >> it is rare, anderson. on monday merrick garland was a no on the idea of making a statement at all about this search, which obviously the former president went public with, with that statement describing it as a siege. and he -- the former president has had, frankly, the ground to himself, right? he has had the ability to fashion the narrative about exactly what happened during the fbi search on monday. and so what we've seen in the ensuing few days is some of the things that brynn gingras was just talking about, threats against fbi agents. we've seen attacks against their

credibility, attacks saying that the fbi may have planted some evidence. and that's what really helped inform what the attorney general did today. he stood before us and said that essentially the former president has already spoken publicly about this and so has essentially made it okay for the justice department to go to the court in a very unusual step, by the way, to say that we can release these two documents. now, those documents that we're going to get is probably not going to tell us a lot of the underlying information about this investigation. but it will tell us a few things about what the fbi took during that search as well as possibly what crimes they are investigating. again, that's very important information for us to learn, anderson. >> is it clearer tonight why the government felt it needed a search warrant? because the former president's legal team tried to paint themselves as cooperating with the department of justice all along.

i know you have some new details. >> right, anderson. what you can see even from the comments from the attorney general today, you can get a sense that they don't believe there was that level of cooperation. we know that they issued a subpoena to the trump team back in june and then they have a meeting to discuss getting these reports from mar-a-lago back in june. the fbi leaves with some highly classified documents from that meeting. we know that they reached out later on. they asked for an additional lock to be put on the room where some of these documents were still being stored. and we also know that they served a second subpoena to ask for surveillance tapes, and that leads us to the search that happened on monday. we get a sense, anderson, from all of this interaction that the escalation that people saw on monday really began much earlier. it began well before that june meeting. they clearly believed that less

intrusive means were not working and that led to monday. the attorney general real quickly i'll mention in his statement he says where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken. that is him pointing to the fact that we tried lesser means or less intrusive means and then we had to take this ultimate step on monday, anderson. >> more now on the former president and the decision he now has to make perhaps as soon as tomorrow. kaitlin collins joins us with that. what's the reaction so far from the former president's legal team? >> reporter: his orbit was pretty caught off guard by this announcement. it was remarkable as evan laid out. they were determining how to proceed and what they were going to do. that involved them contacting outside attorneys. the former president has been represented by a slew of attorneys. he was focused on one that was

present when this search happened on monday and another one who has been defending the president and consulting with him on how to proceed going forward here. what i am told is they have not made a decision on how they're going to proceed. of course they have got that deadline by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. it does appear they are leaning toward the idea of challenging this and objecting to the idea of unceiling this search warrant as the justice department laid out today. just to be clear, they have not made a decision yet. so that remains to be seen where they are going to go from here. certainly this is something they were not expecting for the attorney general to do as really, anderson, for the last several days it's been trump and his allies driving the narrative about this search until of course the justice department came out today to talk about it. >> kaitlin, stay with us because we have new reporting tonight in "the washington post." the headline is fbi searches trump's home to look for nuclear documents. i want to bring in daniel goldman who was democratic counsel in the former president's first impeachment hearing. he's now running for congress in

new york's 10th district. also joining us is former federal judge nancy gertner, currently senior lecturer at harvard law school. judge, you said something of this magnitude would have been signed off on by the attorney general himself. we learned today that you were right. what do you make of his decision to make public the warrant and the list of items taken? >> i thought it was a brilliant move. i thought it was a brilliant move. one of the things he said which is we don't usually comment about cases and that makes perfect sense, but we only comment through our filings. and at the moment he was saying that, they were filing a motion to unseal the document. i mean it was really brilliant. he wasn't really going off the script. public documents are obviously something about which he can comment. and so at that moment he had created in one sense a justification to speak publicly about this. i thought it was absolutely brilliant to do this. trump is in an interesting

position. on the one hand if he opposes the -- if he opposes the unsealing of this which he has a right to do and if the judge nevertheless releases it, which who knows what the judge would do, he would try to set up an argument later down the line that there was undue -- if he ever gets charged, that there was undue publicity. it would be very hard for donald trump to make that argument since he was the source of the publicity. but i thought it was a brilliant move on the part of merrick garland. >> daniel, "the washington post" reporting classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items fbi agents sought in a search of former president trump's residence on monday, according to people familiar with the investigation. what is your reaction to that and to all that we have seen today? >> well, i think what's been coming out and what the attorney general did today reveals a

couple of things. first of all, if you believe all of the reporting, it is clear that donald trump did not satisfactorily comply with the grand jury subpoena to turn over all of the documents that he had that he should not have had that were classified. and that's why they had to do this search warrant. i said on tuesday right after this happened that it is very likely that there is a witness who can pinpoint exactly what remained there and there's been reporting that that is the case. now merrick garland is coming out and he is saying, hey, if you're going to bash us and if you're going to twist things around, then show us the receipts. donald trump won't do that. so he's going to the court. and i am very interested to see what the statutes are that are listed on that search warrant. because it could range from anything, and now that we have this information about nuclear information, you know, it could range from nuclear information, it could range from evidence

potentially that he has been sharing classified information to other people. there's a wide range of things. and i do think that the statutes will give us an indication of what this investigation is all about. but i do -- you know, he's in a pickle right now because if he does not oppose, then we're going to find that out. if he does oppose, then he's clearly hiding something. >> kaitlin, if "the washington post" reporting is accurate and they were looking for nuclear documents, why -- what do you -- i mean do anyone you talk to in trump orbit have any explanation for why the former president of the united states would be holding on to whether it's nuclear documents or any classified documents in a closet or a basement at mar-a-lago? i mean is there an explanation for this? >> not so far that we've heard. and i think the confusion that even some of his own allies have is why when there was clearly an effort, a fervent effort by the

national archives to get ahold of the documents that he had taken with him to mar-a-lago did they send 15 boxes but not everything. and that was what investigators had suspected. that is part of the reason why they went down there on june 3rd and met with his attorneys and looked at the room where these documents were being held. clearly they were concerned about the security of these documents because i was told five days later they get an email from these investigators saying you need to further secure the room. they didn't specifically tell them to put a padlock on the door but that is what they did. i think that's why there's been such concern about this and about what it was that he took with him, not just simply that it was a memento or a document but if it is something that could compromise national security related information. >> this is a person who dined out on hillary clinton's server like it was an all you can eat buffet. this is what he ran on. the idea that he would then hoard classified documents,

it's -- i'm eager to hear any explanation from anybody in trump orbit about this. >> it's not just trump, it's several of the republicans that you're hearing from who were calling on the attorney general to release the warrant have been very quiet today since he came out and said we are actually trying to release, unseal the warrant, search warrant, and make it publicly known. a lot of those republicans were the same ones who were also heavily critical of hillary clinton for how she handled her private emails. so i think this is a situation where it could be complicated. what we've heard so far from allies of the former president is that they'll say he already declassified everything, because as the president he has the power to declassify things. but when things are declassified, they say declassified on them. >> there's a process. >> there is a process. it could potentially get very complicated here. >> it's not the president saying i here by declassify this. there's like an actual process. judge gertner, cnn's reporting that the 15 boxes retrieved in january by the national archives

contain some materials that were part of a special access program, a classification that includes protocols to significantly limit who would have access to the information, according to a source familiar with what the archives discovered in the boxes. what legal impact could that have? does the level of classification matter? >> well, i think the fact of classification matters. my understanding is that the documents that are classified are clear on their face. and also, you ask the why question and we want to ask the why question because it really doesn't make sense. but the why question is actually irrelevant. with respect to classification, the fact of unauthorized possession when you think about david petraeus sharing that with his biographer or sandy berger just, you know, taking documents from the national archives, the why doesn't matter. it is the fact of it. and that's all you need. who knows why he would have done

it. but it's unimaginable that he would. and clearly the higher level of classification justifies this even more. but people are making it appear as if it's a technical violation. this is not a technical violation. this is -- you know, this is a violation for which there's a whole administrative apparatus to make sure that classified information doesn't get out. so, you know, the protocol makes a difference. but your last question, it's not like there's a magic wand. he walks out the door and says, okay, everything is declassified. obviously -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt. if you could stand by, everyone, i want to bring in josh dawsey who shares a byline on the "washington post" article. josh, who can you tell us about these documents related to nuclear weapons that you and your colleagues report were being sought by fbi agents at mar-a-lago? >> what we've learned is that the federal government and fbi were working with subpoenas and working cooperatively with the trump folks and at some point

this summer they decided to do a more aggressive take because of what was there. documents about nuclear programs. multiple sources said that escalated their desire they believed those documents were there to get it immediately. it's one of the things our sources have explained to us why such a step was taken like it was on monday. >> is there any reason according to your sources that a former president would have these particular kinds of documents in his possession and not have turned them over in the initial cache of documents that were turned over? >> not that i'm aware of, anderson, no. former presidents often take things with them that they return back in time. that's happened with other handovers in the past. the scope of what president trump took, 15 boxes had to give back, and they took 12 more boxes out the other day according to his lawyer. the content of what he took really makes this a totally different kind of experience. >> and do you have any more information on the level of

classification of these documents? >> we know that a lot of the things that was found there were top secret. the highest levels of classification you could find. he had a lot of documents marked with that. and then some of the documents they had taken pack, there were several pages of classified inventory. so there was extensive documents that the federal government felt were classified and some of them were even marked top secret. >> josh dawsey, i appreciate the reporting from you and your colleagues. thanks so much. i want to go back to the panel here. daniel, a little bit more information there from josh dawsey. what sort of timeline do you think the department of justice is on now, not just -- not just related to this subpoena, but does this give any window into their investigations? >> well, i do think that the -- it is showing that this

investigation related to the classified documents is significantly escalating and is moving quite quickly. my guess is this is the last resort. we have indication that they have interviewed a number of witnesses. but the questions that josh raises and that you raised earlier about the nuclear documents are particularly important when you consider the fact that this has been going on for seven months. he's known that there's been an interest in these documents for seven months. he received a subpoena for them. so the question is really important to ask, what is he doing and why is he continuing to obstruct this investigation to hold on to these documents? it's one thing if you're informed that you have documents that you need to be turned over and you say, okay, i'll turn them over. it's entirely a different thing when you're being asked over and over and compelled to do it and you don't. it begs the question what are you doing with those documents,

because it's not simply just to put them in a picture frame on a wall. there's got to be some other reason why donald trump is hiding documents, especially scary, if they are related to nuclear programs at the highest level of classification. there are higher levels than top secret. i was on the house intelligence committee, as you know, anderson, and there are secured kp compartmental information which is super duper top secret. kaitlin, have you heard any explanation for why they would not have turned over all the documents initially? >> no. that's been a big question that even some of his own allies have raised of why not just turn them over? if it was so clear to you how decemb desperately the national archives was trying to get ahold

of these that they referred it to the justice department for an investigation, which is why we're in the situation we're in today, and instead for the last several days the president's attorneys have been framing this as we were cooperating all along. we were shocked by the idea that this search happened on monday and totally caught off guard. what they left out initially was that there was this subpoena, there was this other step. that of course as we reported on monday, these investigators did go down to mar-a-lago to see this. they had a very clear interest in these documents. and so that's why it's raised the question of what could potentially be in there. on monday you heard a lot of republicans very critical of this search. i think now if it does come out and it is confirmed that these were documents related to the national security of the united states or nuclear weapons programs for other nations, that is going to potentially quiet them some because obviously that is not something that can just be hanging out at the former president's primary residence in florida, where obviously it's not under the kind of lock and key that it typically would be.

>> kaitlin collins, thank you. a former attorney general's take on what the current attorney general is doing. we'll talk to judge alberto gonzalez. what he thinks of the search, the president's response. and later what the january 6th committee has been up to with cooperation from members of the former president's cabinet.

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general's decision to not just speak publicly about the search at mar-a-lago, but also to move to unseal the warrant and the inventory list of the items that were seized? >> you know, watching the press conference by the attorney general, i was surprised by the unsealing. the rest of the comments were very consistent with what i might have expected in terms of simply confirming that he authorized the search so that the american people don't come to the conclusion we have a rogue agency here and rogue agents operating at the department of justice. and so i think that he also confirmed the fact that this was done as sort of a last resort and that typically as you know you ask for the information and then you try to get the information through a subpoena. i think he confirmed that they typically would go through less intrusive means. >> in terms of the move to unseal, do you think it's the right move? there are those who are saying,

look, this is calling the former president's bluff. supporters of the former president were saying they should release the information of what was taken, and now they seem to be moving to try to do that. >> yeah, i think why not? obviously there were extraordinary circumstances i think that led him to that decision, given the fact that the former president is out there talking about the seizure. and so it's no surprise that he's under some kind of investigation. and given obviously tremendous public interest, yes, it's understandable that he would pursue this course of action. and educate the american public generally about the way the department works and how our criminal justice system works. i think given the circumstances, it was the right decision. >> the gunman who tried to breach an fbi field office in ohio, according to authorities, had posted on the former president's social media platform referencing an attempt

to storm an fbi office and encouraged others online to prepare for revolutionary type war. obviously the fbi was under your purview as attorney general. what's your reaction to that, not only the rhetoric that precede it but also the action itself. do you worry about what it portends? >> no question about it. this is why the kind of rhetoric that has followed the disclose lure of the seizure in my judgment, it is so dangerous. we have people out there that we've seen as a result of the january 6 riots on capitol hill who are going to respond with violence at the direction, the suggestion, the encouragement of the former president. and so to the extent that he's making any public statements that call into question the integrity of the fbi, the integrity of the search, to suggest that the fbi may have planted evidence, that's the kind of rhetoric that's going to incite anger, distrust, and as a

result of that people are going to engage in violence, those who, you know, are big supporters of the president. and so, yes, i'm very worried about the fact that we may see additional violence as a result of the actions taken this previous monday. >> senator lindsey graham was on the judiciary committee on another network the other night on fox as the host was talking about the fbi saying we know they plant evidence, we know they lie. lindsey graham was nodding along with it and sort of saying yes as the host was going on. what would your message be to fellow republicans about the moment that we are in and the rhetoric? >> i think it's extremely dangerous, i really do. with respect to lindsey graham, he's on the judiciary committee. if in fact there's this kind of misconduct going on within the department of justice, they have oversight authority over the department of justice.

that oversight authority is extremely important to ensure that there is not this conduct and doesn't occur. if in fact he has any kind of indication or suggestion that it is occurring, why aren't they doing something about it? the reason is because they don't have any evidence or any indication that that's going on. and so in particular, coming from a member of congress, to not immediately reject that kind of rhetoric is very, very disappointing. and unfortunately that's the world that we live in today and it's become so poisonous. it's okay to have significant disagreements over issues, but we need to be civil and we need to be honest about these disagreements. >> judge gonzalez, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. coming up, we'll have more on the breaking news on the ohio attack. also cnn's drew griffin speaking with a republican florida state

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more on our breaking news out of ohio. the armed suspect who died in a shootout with police after trying to breach the cincinnati fbi office, the attack as we mentioned comes after repeated condemnation of the fbi from allies of the president over the

search of his mansion in florida. one of those figures is anthony sabbatini. drew griffin spoke with sabbatini about his farfetched proposals. >> reporter: the threats are out in the open. >> i will make sure these tyrants pay the price. >> reporter: and online. garland needs to be assassinated. war. this is war. go buy ammo. the fbi so concerned director chris wray sent out a memo to the agency reviewed by cnn. it says let me also assure you that your safety and security are my primary concern right now. security division is working across the agency, as we continue to stay vigilant and adjust our security posture accordingly. >> violence against law enforcement is not the answer no matter what anybody is upset about or who they're upset with. >> reporter: in florida -- >> how's it going. >> reporter: ultra maga republican, florida state representative anthony sabbatini is trying to take right-wing

outrage one step further. >> if it was up to me i would totally defund the fbi. i'm anthony sabbatini. >> reporter: he's running for congress in florida's 7th district and has been making the rounds on far right media after writing a tweet saying sever all ties with doj immediately. and any fbi agent conducting law enforcement functions outside the purview of our state -- >> should be arrested upon sight. common sense. >> because? >> well, because what they're doing is unlawful. it's time to actually start protecting the rights of floridians under the tenth amendment and push back against a lawless federal government. >> right now today in florida, fbi agents are chasing down bank robbers. >> okay, yeah. >> organized criminals, attacking cyber crime in this state. >> gotcha. >> helping local law enforcement. >> yeah. >> you don't see any value in that? >> it's a long cal argument. the fbi at this point is totally useless. we need to defunding it and let red states -- >> you have no idea of the value

of the fbi. >> yes, i do. >> is a former president above the law no matter what? >> the fbi is not above the law. >> if i'm saying they followed the law to enter into that home, should that not be allowed? the former president is above the law? >> he's a political target. he's being harassed by a rogue lawless agency. they spied on him, they have no respect for him. they hate the conservatives, they hate the republicans. >> wouldn't it be prudent to wait and see what the facts are before such a draconian statement? >> we have enough facts. >> reporter: in fact he doesn't have the facts behind the search warrant. former president trump does, yet so far is refusing to release them. meanwhile, fbi agents across the country are now being forced to watch their backs for doing their jobs. >> drew griffin joins us now. you know, there's some like ultra right, the maga folks who are cynical and know what he -- you know, i can't tell, does he know what he's saying is absurd or does he actually believe it?

>> reporter: you know, that's a question i always ask myself when i meet these people, and i meet the ultra maga members of congress. they raise money off of this stuff. they get on tv because of this stuff. they go on their various podcasts because of this stuff. and you never are quite sure if they're just pandering to the emotions of a public that will vote for them and shell money to them or if they truly do believe it. this guy, i can't really tell. >> he does not have the facts as you point out. drew griffin, appreciate it. attorney general merrick garland today addressed the attacks against the fbi and justice department saying he will not stand by silently. >> every day they protect the american people from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. they do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. >> some of the most violent and outrageous threats are directed

at the judge believed to have signed off on the search warrant. under a picture it says a see a rope around his neck. my next guest knows firsthand how dangerous attacks against public officials can be. her son was killed, her husband shot in 2020 after an attacker came to her home. the attacker was a lawyer seeking revenge after being angered by the pace of a lawsuit he filed in her court. joining me now is esther salas. judge, i appreciate you being with us. given what you have been through, what's your reaction out of ohio tonight about this armed man who reportedly tried to storm an fbi building as well as the threats being made against the judge who signed off on the search at mar-a-lago? >> it's just reinforcement. it's reinforcement that we need to pass the judicial security and privacy act. we need to start protecting members of the judiciary. the threats against the judiciary, mr. cooper, have just -- they're rising in

intensity, in volume. and it's not getting any better since my only child was killed just two years ago in july. this is a moment for all of us to take a breath. for all of us to say facts matter. words matter. what we say to one another, what we are doing to one another and what we're doing to this country, we are ripping this country apart. and we are ripping this country apart because we are unwilling to remember that we are one country, one democracy, and we are -- you know, our justice system falls under one constitution. we are doing some serious damage to one another. and i say to the american people and to our political leaders, let's get back to running this country. let's get back to protecting judges. this is fundamentally the system

this country was founded on. >> you know, you -- >> i am sad. >> you hear that candidate talking to our drew griffin. do you think the public fully grasps what happens to a democracy and the rule of law when judges and public servants and fbi officers become targets for violence? >> you know, i think we need to look at other countries and look how other democracies were toppled. they went after the judiciary first. they went after and used insidious lies. and to talk about judges as ours and as these. we are not ors, we are not ds, e are americans. every day we do our job and sometimes our job requires us to make unpopular decisions. but those unpopular decisions can be appealed. those unpopular decisions

unfortunately we have to follow the law. and i can tell you, mr. cooper, the day i raised my hand and put my hand on a bible and took an oath, i no longer became anything other than the judge that has to follow the law objectively, the judge that has to apply the law -- the facts to the law. and i can tell you what the american people don't understand is that the system in which these cases are assigned are random. this judge in florida was on duty. that's why he got the case. we don't get cases and look at a roster and pick the judge because that looks like the good judge that will follow the way we want. let's go back to basics. let's go back to logic. >> judge esther salas, i appreciate your time tonight. thank you so much. coming up, the latest on the january 6 committee investigation and which former cabinet officials are now cooperating or could soon be.

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even though the search at mar-a-lago has dominated the headlines, there are significant new developments in the january 6th committee's investigation. foremost among them, we're learning which former cabinet and other top officials have recently testified before the committee or are negotiating me too. joining me now is cnn's sara murray. what are you hearing about these former high-ranking trump

officials? >> my colleagues are learning that elaine chao, the former transportation secretary and wife of senator mitch mcconnell has already been interviewed pie the january 6th select committee. he's one of a number high level trump officials who are in talks we've also learned betsy devos is in talks with the community. and robert o'brien, trump's former national security adviser, is set to be interviewed by the committee virtually tomorrow. the committee has been focused on the discussions about the 25th amendment. chow and vause had discussions about the 25th amendment and both of those women re-zioned. >> obviously chow and devos are two of the members that engaged with the committee. do we know the others? >> it's stunning the amount of information they've been able to get out of high level cabinet officials. we know mike pompeo appeared

before the committee this week. treasury secretary steve mnuchin has appeared before the committee. jeff rerosen, former acting attorney general, has appeared. even the former labor secretary appeared before the committee and said he encouraged donald trump to concede after the election results were clear. i think they're getting to these sincere misgivings around the trump administration around january 6th and anymore they can learn about how serious these conversations were about trying to remove trump from office using the 25th amendment. >> i spoke about the investigation with congresswoman zoe lofgren, member of the january 6th committee as well as the judiciary committee. congresswoman lofgren, thank you for joining us. how significant is it in your view the committee has heard from these officials? >> well, as you know, under our rules we can't discuss the

testimony. but i think we're tying up loose ends. and i think there are probably more significant matters that we're looking at than that. but we want to be thorough and complete in our investigation. >> can you say if it's clear to you how close the trump cabinet came to invoking the 25th amendment? >> i really can't. as you know, the amendment was not invoked. one of the things that we are looking at, you know, as a committee, is various statutes. and the 25th amendment has a provision for setting up a committee, which has never been enacted. so, that's something we may look at, whether we'll come up to recommendation, too early to say. but obviously the amendment was not invoked. and there's been public reporting -- i won't go into the testimony -- but reporters and the like that it was discussed that ultimately that did not happen.

>> also the house judiciary, as i mentioned. i'm wondering what your reaction is to attorney general garland's statement today and his move to unseal the warrant and inventory list from the search of mar-a-lago? >> i thought it was very smart. actually, the department kept the fact of the execution of the warrant secret. it was the former president himself who announced it. so, therefore, they don't need to protect, you know, that information. he released it. and here's the concern. in addition, tremendous public interest in this, as you know. but there is also some rhetoric among some of my colleagues that i think is dangerous. for example, paul gosar said the fbi raid on trump's home tells us one thing, failure is noot a option. we must destroy the fbi. we must save america. there are -- there was an

individual who was present on january 6th who tried to shoot up the fbi office in ohio today. so, there are unhinged people that are taking their lead from over the top rhetoric that has no information. i mean, i don't know what was in that warrant, and none of my colleagues do either. so, i think getting the information out so everybody can know what the facts are would help calm tensions. it would reduce violence. it's in the public interest. >> it does seem rather stunning, the number of your colleagues in the house, in the senate, who even if they're not directly saying incredibly, you know, potentially dangerous statements, they're sitting on programs, listening as other people are saying it, and they're nodding and smiling along, as lindsey graham did, the other night on fox. it's -- how concerned are you? do you think the danger of

political violence has escalated? >> i do very much so. we've already seen the incident in ohio. some of these right wing online platforms people are talking about violence just as they did before january 6th. now, i think we need to proceed carefully and not assume the worst. but i do think ratcheting down the over the top rhetoric, finding out what are the facts and then proceeding from there would be very helpful for the country. i don't -- i don't understand how some of my colleagues can pop off with things they don't know anything about any more than i do, any more than you do. let's find out what the truth is. >> congresswoman, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> you bet. we'll have more ahead. a man trying to storm the fbi office in ohio after making threats against the bureau in the wake of the former

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we're ending tonight where we began, with the ohio attack on the fbi because this is a developing story. we'll be following it in the days ahead. the latest, the man, now dead, who tried to breach the bureau office armed with a gun and nail gun, has been identified as ricky shifr. the fbi is investigating his social media presence and whether he had ties to right wing extremist groups. authorities are looking into whether the suspect had any group also that participated in the january 6th attack on the capitol or if he himself took part. there is a truth social account bearing his name referring to his attempt to storm an fbi office and also encouraging others to prepare for a revolutionary-type war. authorities have not yet confirmed the account belongs to

sh slifer. but a photo on the account matched a photo id of the suspect. you can always listen to our podcast. go to cnn.com/podcast or any of the major platforms. just search for anderson cooper 360. the news continues. let's hand it over to sara let's hand it over to sara sidner and "cnn tonight." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i am sara sidner and this is "cnn tonight." we begin the breaking news. an astonishing new report by "the washington post," the new citing people familiar with the search of the president's mar-a-lago home report that classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items fbi agents sought when they went to donald trump's property on monday. the post says experts in classified information say the unusual search underscores the deep concern among government officials about the types of information they thought could