our other crewmates, his son, is graduating from high school too. so, you know, we've all missed some time with our family up here. and and that's that's unfortunate. but you know what? you know, they are also, like butch said, very resilient and, you know, ready for, you know, to support us. and that is that's a huge task to ask them to do. but they're up for it. >> yeah. well i mean, you know, all folks in the military make tremendous sacrifices serving overseas and away from their families and and their kids. and you guys are just you're doing incredible things. and it's such a sacrifice. and i appreciate talking to you. and i appreciate all you're doing. thank you. it makes us all proud. >> anderson, it's been a pleasure talking to you today. and thank you so much for being interested in the international space station and our space program. we have a lot of things to do in the future, and we're looking forward to having a bunch more space explorers join us. >> yes. thank you anderson. >> all right. >> you take care. >> stay safe. more news ahead on cnn.

>> outfront next, breaking news. >> the justice. >> department in turmoil tonight. now, six resignations of top prosecutors, including the top prosecutor in new york, resigning over the doj decision to drop the case against the new york city mayor, eric adams. we're going to read this scathing letter. it's really incredible. hear the stunning allegations that are being made tonight. plus, musk meets modi, the richest man in the world, taking a sledgehammer to the federal government was their meeting with the leader of india about his businesses. and mitch mcconnell votes against rfk jr. for hhs secretary. that is his third vote against a trump nominee. trump is furious tonight and on the attack. let's go out front. and outfront tonight, the breaking news upheaval in the justice department at this hour, there are six resignations that we are aware of, of top prosecutors over trump ally and acting deputy attorney general emil bove order to drop the federal corruption case against the new york city mayor, eric adams. this includes the acting u.s. attorney for the southern

district of new york, danielle sassoon just just sworn in, refused to drop the case, saying in her scathing eight page resignation letter. and it is scathing. but let me just quote these these operative lines. i cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations. i remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached. in seeming collaboration with adams counsel, and without my direct input, this is a prosecutor who had clerked for antonin scalia, a member of conservative judicial societies. this is the letter, and there are five other prosecutors that have also resigned from the doj because of this order to dismiss the adams case. sassoon, in her letter, accuses the trump justice department and mayor adams legal team of taking part in a quid pro quo. and here's what she says happened. she says i attended a meeting on january 31st, 2025, with mr. beauvais, adams's counsel, and members of my office. adams's attorneys

repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that adams would be in a position to assist with the department's enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed. mr. beauvais admonished a member of my team who took notes during the meeting and directed the collection of the notes at the meeting's conclusion. i mean, that's pretty right there. i mean, you're telling lawyers they can't take notes, that's what they do. and then taking them, seizing them soon doesn't stop there. when she's telling what happened, she reveals a stunning new allegation against mayor adams, writing, quote, we have a proposed superseding indictment, meaning one that's even bigger with more charges than the one already out there that would add an obstruction conspiracy count based on evidence that adams destroyed and instructed others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the fbi, and that would add further factual allegations regarding his participation in a fraudulent straw donor scheme. so then the acting attorney general, emil bove, responded to sassoon with sharp words of his own. i mean, and this is this is nasty.

first, your resignation is accepted. you lost sight of the oath that you took when you started the department of justice. and goes on from emil bove it incredibly aggressive response there as well from him in this letter. his letter coming out at about eight pages as well. and then continuing as this goes back and forth, i want to emphasize that sassoon is a conservative prosecutor. she is known as that she was named by president trump to be the acting head of the s.d.n.y. last month. right. she was just sworn in. named by trump. she is a member of the conservative federalist society. she once clerked for the supreme justice. as i mentioned, antonin scalia. this is not some die hard liberal trying to masquerade as an activist, as some in the trump administration may like to say. evan perez is out front. so, evan, you know, this is a stunning letter and a stunning response by the doj to see things like this and these allegations that are laid out, what exactly stands out most

here in this back and forth? >> yeah, this is an extraordinary set. >> of letters. and really. >> it's a spiraling crisis, as you pointed out, erin. we now. >> know of at least six people who have resigned their positions, and we're told of additional pending resignations that are possible because emil bove now wants to find someone, someone to put their name on a document to dismiss this case before a judge. and then that's, of course, assuming that a judge will even accept this motion at this point, given the fact of what has now transpired. one of the things that does stand out to me in all of this is that the argument from emil bove is centers around a couple of things, right? one of them is that eric adams is busy. he's the mayor of new york city. and so how dare you bring a prosecution against the mayor of new york city? because, you know, he's a busy guy. and and that's really extraordinary because we've never heard that before. this is an argument, of course, beauvais made as part of

the trump legal team, because president of the united states is a busy person, right? he's a person who runs the country. and so there is some constitutional protection, but we've never heard it applied by the justice department with regard to a mayor of new york city. and so one of the things in her response, says adams, has argued in substance. and mr. beauvais appears to concede that adams should receive leniency for the federal crimes solely because he occupies an important public position. it essentially means that you cannot pursue public corruption against a mayor or anybody else because they have an important job. that's an incredible thing to have the justice department decide. and, you know, in addition to, uh, to the sassoon resignation, we also know that beauvais went to the justice department headquarters at the public integrity division and wanted them to sign it, and they refused. so kevin driscoll, who is the top career lawyer in the criminal division overseeing

this issue, he resigned and then john keller also tendered his resignation because he runs the public integrity section. so, aaron, at this hour, we don't know who is going to end up signing this letter. by the way, one of the interesting things about this is that beauvais, from our understanding, is perfectly capable to sign this dismissal himself and submit it to the court. and, you know, then we'll see where it goes from there. >> wow. all right, evan, thank you very much. and everyone's here with me now. people who work in the southern district of new york know this. ryan, can we just take a step back? and, i mean, have you ever seen anything like this? these dueling letters, this, you know, excruciating detail from from danielle sassoon with incredible, you know, a conservative resume saying, no way. i'm not doing it. >> nothing like it except for the midnight. massacre with nixon, in which he had to go through multiple people to try to fire the special counsel. so there's some echoes of the worst chapter. >> in american. >> history in recent american, with respect to the justice

department. and it's incredible. it's here in writing, and i'm sure that federal judges across the country are reading these letters and are deeply disturbed about what's happening at the highest levels of the justice department, because it seems so corrupt. >> i mean, it seems that way. harry, i want to get into the details of what is being said here. right. so you're basically she's saying i have a black and white case. i stand by it. yeah. you emil bove and the doj have not told me that there's anything wrong with my case. you're not disputing any of the facts. you're saying you want me to get rid of it? i'm not going to do that because it's the wrong thing to do. and that i mean that. and saying the notes getting taken away. >> yeah, it's a it's a it's an amazing letter and it's a letter that actually, in my mind summons back to the first part of being an assistant u.s. attorney is interviewing for the job. and in that interview process, you are asked specific ethical, hypothetical questions about something that the u.s. attorney talked about. the duty of candor, being honest with the court. and she said, i can't go into the court and tell judge

ho, excuse me, tell judge ho the things that you would like me to tell him. that would be unethical. it would be inconsistent with my obligations as a prosecutor. and so that is your first test. even before you start work, to pass that test of being an ethical prosecutor who will not lie to the court, and she's going back and invoking that obligation in this letter. it's i think, her the u.s. attorney's office staff, although they must be in a state of shock. i think they all applaud the integrity and courage that she showed to stand behind this case and not fall for what was being pushed on her. >> lulu, this is not how emil bove doj trump. anyone expected this to go, right? they expected that this would be dismissed. maybe. maybe there would be a little bit of kerfuffle, but it would be dismissed. and and then, you know, i mean, brad homan, who is running a border, obviously met with eric adams today and said, i want more enforcement. all those other parts of it were playing out today, and now this whole thing

has it is unexpected for them. >> it's unexpected. i mean, obviously. >> they had put her in that position and she is a conservative, as you mentioned, a staunch conservative. and so they thought they had someone who was going to fulfill what they wanted. but the wider context here is why is this happening? what is the purpose of this? and what we have seen is a department of justice that is being weaponized to reward people that will do what donald trump wants, in this case, enforcement in new york city, and to punish people that don't do what donald trump wants. and that is incredibly dangerous, because, of course, that is not the way the system has worked in this country. the way the system works in this country is that if you commit a crime, there is a legal process or you are suspected of committing a crime, there is a legal process that unfolds. and so what these what is being stood for here is really the the rule of law in the united states. >> so, ryan, what happens here?

and it's important, as harry was saying, you know, as evan was reporting, i'm sorry, beauvais could sign the letter himself and give it to the judge, and maybe he'll do that. i mean, how does this play out? do you think somebody is going to actually sign this at this point that that will, you know, be the person in the nixon who signs it? or does beauvais do it himself? and then does the judge take it? i mean, could this escalate? >> i think it can easily escalate. and the person who walks in signing it maybe risks their bar license because it's that unethical. what's happening here? and sassoon in her letter, in fact forecast what's going to happen next. she says there are instances in which courts have rejected the dismissal of the case, and she gives examples of bribery as one of the examples. she's kind of saying this is bribery. she also says it's a quid pro quo. it's a definite quid pro quo between as far as she's saying it, between adams and beauvais, that he, adams will go in the direction they want him to go in immigration in order to drop the case. that's the quid pro quo. the judge knows that. now, the judge will know that from sassoon letter

and the rest of it, and even beauvais's own letter first said it, and then the judge will have a hearing in all likelihood. so there's going to be a hearing. there's also this other mechanism that a judge could do besides sanctioning people, which is actually a point that were in prosecutors. it's gone to the supreme court before the supreme court didn't take the case, and there were two judges that dissented, but that's a possibility as well, where the judge says, judge hurst says, i'm going to actually appoint different prosecutors to continue the case because i can't trust this. >> i mean, harry, the one thing about this, whatever, you know, again, sometimes i take a step back, obviously not being a lawyer, it is pretty clear that if a doj of a president comes in and says dismiss all this stuff against adams. and by the way, there's all these things we need, you need done, we're not putting them in the same sentence. but and then meets with them. i mean, it's pretty obvious what this is to anybody. if you presented it and took all the names out, everybody would say, you took this case away. so this person would do what you wanted them to do. is that meet a legal standard of that? >> it does. it absolutely does. and and i think the, the back and forth on the subject of the oath is really telling, because

of course, you do take an oath as an assistant u.s. attorney. but the oath is not to the president or to the attorney. >> general saying that she's violating her oath. >> yeah, the oath is to the constitution and to the ethical rules of practice and to the rules of the department of justice, which very clearly say you may not consider political things when deciding whether to charge a case. you look at the evidence, you look at the equities. you might consider fairness, but you certainly would not say, well, this person might do something that's helpful to the executive branch. let's not charge them. and there's also this interesting back and forth about the release of a russian arms dealer. and may it be time to go into it. but the u.s. attorney totally wins that debate. uh. what happened? there was a quid pro quo, and beauvais, of course, denies that it's a quid pro quo. but the release of a russian arms dealer provides no support for what the executive branch is trying to do to the u.s. attorney's office. >> so. >> so, lulu, the new york times is reporting now, um, that that

adams and the trump administration borders are, as i mentioned, tom homan they're going to hold a joint interview on friday on fox and friends and joint. right. i mean, that is that is obviously a statement in and of itself, right? that homan and adams are going to be together when it comes to obviously, immigration enforcement in the biggest city in america, which has been the heart of all of this. >> i mean, we should first say that mayor adams was a pretty vocal critic of former president biden's immigration policies. immigration was something that really hurt the city of new york. there was a massive influx. so that is also a context within which this sits, which is this doesn't come out of nowhere. but ultimately, you know, this is the mayor of the biggest city in the united states who is under indictment. and somehow what we are seeing here is that these the suggestion is that these that the case should be dismissed against him. and suddenly he's

on fox and friends, uh, talking about immigration enforcement. i mean, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to put two and two together. and so i think at this point, it's incredibly suspect. and it really just calls into question what this doj is going to be doing going forward. and also what position this leaves mayor adams in, because frankly, there's a lot of questions right now about his political viability, if indeed this goes through. >> yeah, i mean, this is going to be an absolutely incredible thing to see. and with everything else going on in the daily swarm of of this administration, as you know, to cover it, this is this is something that makes you pause. thank you all three very much. i appreciate it. and outfront next, elon musk's high profile meeting today, sitting down with india's prime minister. trump says he's not really sure what they talked about. plus, breaking news 14 states filing a new lawsuit against musk and doge, one of the attorneys general leading that suit, will be here to tell us about it. explain why, she says, and

believe she can make the case that elon musk's actions are illegal. also, breaking trump, taking putin's side, blaming the war in ukraine on biden. >> i believe that's the reason the war started, because biden went out and said that they could join nato. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you? saturday at nine on cnn. >> after careful. >> review of medical guidance and research on pain relief, my recommendation is simple. every home should have salonpas powerful yet non-addictive targeted and long lasting. i recommend salonpas. it's good medicine. >> it's so. >> how do you sleep at night. >> on a mattress from mattress firm? so i sleep. >> at the presidents day sale. get a free adjustable base with select sealy beds, get matched at mattress firm, sleep at night. >> we're standing up. >> for our. >> right to be. >> lazy.

>> not literally, of course. >> we work hard. >> we deserve to scroll hard. >> it's the. >> lazy boy presidents day sale. find the lazy spot you've been missing. plus 0% interest for 48 months. >> we've earned our. >> lazy time. >> what she said. >> presidents day sale going on now, lazy boy. long live the lazy. >> sometimes it takes a different approach. >> great. >> let's go with that. >> one to see the possibilities all around you. a capella university you'll learn in-demand business skills relevant to the career you want. >> if you're living with dry amd, you may be at risk for developing geographic atrophy or ga. ga can be unpredictable and progress rapidly, leading to irreversible vision loss. now there's something you can do to. >> slow it down. >> and get it going slower. >> ask your doctor about i

survey. >> i. >> it's a going slower. >> survey is an a.i. injection. don't take it if you have an infection or active swelling in or around your eye eyes or they can cause eye infection, retinal detachment or increased risk of wet amd they may temporarily increase eye pressure. do not drive or use machinery until vision has recovered after an eye injection or exam. eyes survey is proven to slow ga progression, which may help preserve vision longer. >> i deserve. >> gaetz ga. >> going slower. >> so shift gears and get going. don't delay. ask your doctor about a.i. survey. >> at fisher investments. >> we may look like other money managers, but we're different. >> you can't be that different. >> we are. we have a team of specialists, not only in investing, but also in financial and estate planning and more. >> your clients. >> rely on you for all that. >> yes. and as a fiduciary, we always put their interests first. >> but you. >> still sell.

>> commission based. >> products, right? >> no. we have a simple for all those making it big out there... ...shouldn't your mobile service be able to keep up with you? get wifi speeds up to a gig at home and on the go. introducing powerboost, only from xfinity mobile. now that's big. xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half vs. t-mobile, verizon, and at&t for your first year. plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us.

800) 217-1487 now or visit us at gofundme.com. >> ben thinks he's about to compete in a new reality show, but. >> it's all. >> completely fake. >> all right. see how ben handles this? >> he is trying so hard and everything is going wrong. >> it is hard to stay in character. >> she's got the giggles. >> this show is wild, and i feel like i'm going insane. >> oh. >> this is so good. >> boy, do i hope we're all friends after this. >> the joe schmo show all new tuesdays at 9:00 on tbs. set your dvr now. >> all right, the breaking news. musk meets modi today. for musk, it was a family affair. the billionaire brought along three of his kids this time, along with the tech executive, who is the mother of two of them. the reason is a meeting at the white house with india's prime minister narendra modi.

>> elon musk. >> met with prime minister. >> modi earlier today. >> did he do so as an american ceo. >> or did he. >> do so as a representative of the u.s. government? >> uh, are you talking about me? >> no. >> elon musk. >> elon, i don't know. they met, and i assume he wants to do business in india. i would imagine he met, possibly because, you know, he's running a company. >> no. >> okay. here's the thing about what trump just said. he said he said it. he said i assume he wants to do business in india. he is a ceo of a company. um. that's it. he said it. this is a country, of course, where musk has reportedly been debating a 2 to $3 billion tesla factory. he's been frustrated with some starlink issues there. he's been trying to get modi to move on that. he's been trying to get them to get rid of tariffs on teslas so that you can import evs, too. there's growing speculation about spacex joining forces with the indian space research organization. it's a huge market for musk, and there have been challenges there. so, you know, to get the one on one with modi because you're the

right hand man to the president of the united states, it matters. and it doesn't end there. last night, musk was the main event during a world government summit in dubai. musk appearing on the big screen to announce a new underground tunnel system there. who is building that tunnel system? musk. musk is building it. his boring company is winning that contract, and musk is both building his business empire and using this unprecedented power at the top of the american government to weigh in on government and foreign policy around the world. i mean, here's just a brief example of what he said about the war in ukraine. >> there is no. >> way in. hell that putin is going to lose. if he. >> were to back off, he would be assassinated. >> there's a lot more where that came from on his post and other conversations. and this weighing in on foreign policy is something that world leaders are noticing. >> what is new is that he is intervening in favor of right wing politicians all over europe. and this is really

disgusting. >> that's chancellor of germany. everyone is here with me now. uh, so so, paul, let me just start with you, paul begala. so today you have that image of musk meeting with indian prime minister modi. and obviously, you know, you've got his parts of his family there. so there's that sort of incongruous thing in a meeting like this. um, do you take issue, paul, with musk having a meeting like this with modi and other world leaders as he is doing his doge business, and obviously all of his other businesses? >> oh. >> it's it's. >> open conflict of interest. >> president trump, god bless him. sometimes he. >> says the quiet. >> part out loud. >> uh. >> musk is not merely. >> a ceo. he is also an a special government employee. that means even though he's not paid by the government, he is obligated to abide by the ethics laws of the government. it means he works for you and me and for my mama. and so he's prohibited

from using that governmental power to advance his business interests. we don't know if he's doing it, though, because he won't release his financial disclosure, which should be made public, if you ask me. he's certainly not going to release a transcript of the meeting that he had there. so this is just rife with this is government of the billionaires by the billionaires and for the billionaires. mr. musk gets richer. and by the way, he's trying to cut farmers and teachers and special needs kids. so this is, i guess, apparently, what president trump wants. he seemed very satisfied with it, even though he admitted he did. >> he did. he did say the quiet part out loud. i mean, there wasn't any confusion there by trump. sure. michael, can i just ask you, though, because here's the thing. it's not that musk needs to say a single thing to to modi about i want this or do that. he's in the white house. he's in the oval office. he is the right hand of the president of the united states. he doesn't need to say a single thing to get benefits for his business. >> i mean, look, it makes perfect sense. >> musk has argued for quite some time. now that he. >> wants to.

>> break entry into india. >> with. >> starlink, and. >> india is also interested in partnering with musk because of the falcon nine rocket technology, as they're interested in expanding their own space exploration program. so look, it makes perfect sense in the world. the guy happens to be one of the most innovative thinkers, i would argue, of our century. and he's an american, so why not have an american ceo and business leader going around the world having partnerships with various sectors and other countries that we do consider to be adversaries and helping them build up various programs that could be beneficial to the u.s. long term. i think it's a good thing. >> uh, paul, i mean, is it a good thing? i mean, you know, there is, of course, the fact that he was chosen. i mean, there's nothing obviously. um, democratic about his selection, but schmeichel is correct. he is there. he is an innovative person who is incredibly successful. >> you can't wear two hats at once. i mean, you know, why don't we make nick sirianni the coach of the philadelphia eagles, also the referee of the super bowl, because that would be a conflict of interest,

because you can't be a good coach for the eagles and a fair referee. mr. musk has a special government employee, by the way. we have laws on this. we've had them for decades. he's not allowed to do that. and who is supposed to blow the whistle? this office called the office of government ethics, which is the ethics are the ethics cop in the white house. mr. trump fired that ethics cop. we don't know why. by the way, he also fired inspectors general from the pentagon, the state department, hud, all of the government, every ethics cop that you can find. in fact, you've already covered the the u.s. acting u.s. attorney in the southern district of new york. every ethics cop you can find. it's like. and by the way, mr. trump himself is a convicted felon convicted of fraud. so it's like, what if you made a bank robber president and then he fired all the bank guards? maybe they wouldn't rob the bank, but golly, i'd be really, really worried. >> aaron. aaron, i remember once upon a time, you know, paul, my democratic friends would always say when we would have these discussions on air, but we can chew gum and walk at the same

time. i remember that quite frequently. elon musk and modi just announced today that india is interested in having some partnerships with the u.s. in terms of artificial intelligence. elon musk, again, another innovator in that sector. why not have one of the most successful individuals in the world who happens to be an american, are part of those discussions? paul, i think it just makes sense in terms of u.s. interest. >> i want, i want, i want to ask you something specific about this, but i would just say there is a model out there just to put it out there. right. the treasury secretary is, um, worth a quarter billion dollars, and he filed 21 pages of, of documents. and he went through a confirmation process. and then he divested from all sorts of things. right. you can't be a ceo and be the treasury secretary. um, there are questions here, and it does beg the question with all the reporting that you've been doing at wired, how blurred is the line right now between musk? you know, tesla ceo, spacex founder, boring company and musk sleeping on the floor in washington running doge. >> i can't find the line. i mean, there is no line at. this point. i mean, i think the

president himself just made that crystal clear to everybody. i, i don't know in what capacity. elon musk met with india's prime minister today. neither does the president of the united states. >> he said. >> literally, i don't know what they talked about. i presume he wants to do business in india. >> no. i mean, i think what we are seeing is, is the beginning of a series of extremely high profile global conflicts of interest playing out for as long as elon musk is in the white house. >> and in terms of, you know, we hear he's only allowed to work as a special government employee. and ge is paul, i like how you put it. he's only allowed to work 130 days. >> well. >> i mean. >> what's allowed anymore. it's it's very difficult to tell sort of where the accountability lies, even with regards to that. i don't think that we can sort of assume that that is, in fact, what will happen. >> so, paul, you know, trump has asked specifically then. so he said the quiet part out loud about india, right? we all know what the reality is. but he actually said it. then he was

asked if musk is going to get new government contracts because he already has tens of billions of government contracts while he's working at doge. and trump said this. >> if there's no conflict, i guess, what difference does it make? but we won't let him do any of anything having to do with the conflict. >> are you personally checking to make sure there's no conflicts of interest? that's he answers to you? >> sure he does. first of all, he wouldn't do it. and second of all, we're not going to let him do anything with his. a conflict of interest. >> paul. even though, you know, i'm not trying to lay it on too thick. i'm just saying, you know, he didn't know what happened. he said in the meeting with modi today. so it's not as if he's necessarily i'm not saying they did a deal that that that would be ridiculous. but you get my point, right? you don't know if there's a conflict of interest unless you're looking for one. is what he said good for you. >> no, no, we had past tense in ethics. cop who's supposed to be checking. it's really not president trump's job to check even the most important special government employee. honestly, i'm not a big trump fan. it's

not his job to comb through mr. musk's financial disclosures and find the conflicts. and that's why we have an office of government ethics. why did mr. trump fire that guy? and by the way, according to reporting, i saw the chief of staff was then supposed to step up and take it. and mr. trump said no. the interim ethics czar is doug collins, a former georgia congressman who's now our va secretary. well, secretary collins has 16.2 million veterans. he's supposed to be cared for. he's got 450,000 employees, a multi-billion dollar budget. he doesn't have the bandwidth or the expertise or the time to police the ethics either. so i it's there's no good answer as to why this president trump would fire the top ethics cops and then let mr.. uh, mr. musk, who's replete with potential conflicts of interest, run wild. >> and with ig's ethics gone. i mean, k the people looking at this are people like you, right? so you're looking at how is all this operating? um, you've looked at the new doge website. >> we have. >> and that that is really fast. this is a website. they say go to our website. it's all there. >> so while we're talking about conflicts of interest. exactly.

so we took a good look@doge.gov, which is the new website for musk's so-called department of government efficiency. the website itself is essentially a long feed of posts from the doge x account x, of course, being owned by elon musk. not only that, we looked at the source code for the page, and we found that it actually directs search engines to prioritize x, meaning if someone searches for something about doge, the search engine is being told to prioritize linking that person to x as opposed to doge.gov. essentially, they are doing everything they can to push users to elon musk's platform, which is a for profit business. advertising based in terms of revenue. they are directing users there as opposed to directing them to the government's own website. >> which, by the way, i'm just looking at the mobile site. it says official website, the united states government. and then right below it, the big white bar is a follow on x. um, just just to give you a chance here to say one more thing,

though, this is also when you go to x, x obviously does have many political points of view. sure it does, but it has a very strong maga faction there as well. and if they're directing people in there into the doge world, they would ostensibly be the possibility that you're going to hear more of that echo chamber. >> funneling them into that ecosystem. >> than just what a government website would. >> and an ecosystem where elon musk's posts are boosted, which we know is something that he has done on the platform as well. >> yes, absolutely. all right. well, thank you all very much. i appreciate it. and next, breaking news, 14 states tonight suing musk and doge calling what they're doing to the federal government unconstitutional. one of the ag's leading the suit is my guest. and a showdown tonight between mcconnell and trump. the senator, the lone republican vote against rfk jr.. tonight, trump hitting back in a personal way. >> i have another pancake. >> from full house.

>> to empty nest to free birds. >> vanguard. >> we got this. >> 50 years of helping you invest. for every chapter. >> i have type two diabetes, but i manage it well. it's a little pill. with a big story to tell. i take. >> one daily. >> jardiance at each day, start as time went on, it was easy to see. i'm lowering my a1c's. and for adults with type two diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death. >> two serious side effects. >> include increased ketones. >> in blood or you're in, which. can be fatal. stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, trouble breathing, or increased ketones. jardiance may cause dehydration that can suddenly worsen kidney function and make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or weak upon standing. genital yeast infections in men and women. urinary tract infections, low blood sugar, or a rare, life threatening bacterial infection between and around the and

genitals can occur. call your doctor right away if you have fever or feel weak or tired and pain, tenderness, swelling or redness in the genital area. don't use if allergic to jardiance stop use. if you have a serious allergic reaction, call your doctor. if you have rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing, you may have increased risk for lower limb loss. call your doctor right away if you have new pain or tenderness, sores, ulcers, or infection in your legs or feet. >> jardiance is really swell. the little pill with a big story to tell. >> a sleep number. smart bed. >> is perfect. >> for couples. it helps reduce snoring with a tap so you both get your best night sleep and now save 50% on the new sleep number. limited edition smart bed shop a sleep number store near you. >> want a next level clean switch with the flow of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean with listerine. feel the whoa! >> billions of people dream that

they can live like we do. >> the least we can do is enjoy it. otherwise it's offensive. >> i don't know what. >> i expected. >> but i'm starting. >> to feel like. >> something good is going to come out of this. >> i'm a. >> romantic. >> romantic and are broke and brokenhearted. or worse. what's worse? >> is. >> i told you i don't. >> need. these anymore. >> i have. >> sling. this critical. time calls for the critical news

start at just 4.99 a month. >> call 1-877-538-3882. >> or visit homeserve.com. >> welcome back. >> have i got news for you saturday at nine on cnn. closed captioning is brought to you by skechers. winter boots. >> winter is here, but your toes are warm, cozy and comfortable. thanks to skechers winter boots. stylishly rugged boots designed with comfy, capable material.

skechers. boots. >> breaking news. a group of 14 states tonight just filing a new lawsuit against doge, arguing that elon musk's ascent to power in the trump white house is unconstitutional. and their lawsuit says crucial line here. musk's seemingly limitless and unchecked power to strip the government of its workforce and eliminate entire departments with the stroke of a pen or click of a mouse, would have been shocking to those who won this country's independence. outfront now, the michigan attorney general, dana nessel, one of the democratic leaders bringing this lawsuit against musk. and i really appreciate it, attorney general. so can you explain just simply why you think musk's role is illegal? >> well, it's a clear. >> violation of the. >> appointments clause, right? >> you know, the united states constitution, it grants the president of the united states the ability, with advice and consent of the senate, to

appoint cabinet secretaries and directors of particular agencies. but elon musk, um, in in doge, which falls within the branch of the office of management and budget. um, he doesn't have the power to be marauding through all of these various different departments and agencies of government. he was never, you know, confirmed by the senate. uh, he's got no security clearance. he didn't do a financial disclosure report. they haven't vetted him for conflicts of interest. all the things that would be traditionally done, they haven't done. he doesn't have the power to do this. and even one department, let alone the 18 or 19 or 20 departments that he's now visited, mined all the data, gotten everybody's personal information, state secrets, and god knows what he's doing with it all. it's illegal. it's unconstitutional. and we're asking the court of law for it to end immediately.

>> so white house has said, as you know, they have classified him as a special government employee. so, as you know, attorney general, that means he doesn't get paid. he's only allowed to work 130 days or fewer in a year. although obviously, you know, he's been posting pictures of himself sleeping on the floor and he would exceed that count. the way he's going pretty quickly. but the reality of it is, when it comes to that designation, a special government employee. all presidents have had them, democrat and republican. it's a bipartisan thing. do do you do you think that legally this is different? >> it's very different. we've never had a special employee of the president behave as basically a super cabinet secretary who has authority over every single agency in federal government. we've never seen that before. and it's not illegal. and again, even if he did this in one department without the advice and consent of the senate, it would be illegal. but he's doing it in all the departments. >> so speaking of all the departments, he says he wants to gut a lot more than he already

has. right. many, many. okay, so we've got u.s. aid. and, you know, technically, i know going through a 90 day review. uh, but but that's gone. and there's going to be more. here's what he said. >> if you. don't remove. >> the. >> roots of the weed, then it's easy for the weed to. >> grow back. but if you remove the roots of the weed, it doesn't stop weeds from ever growing back. but it makes it harder. so. so we have to really delete entire agencies. many of them. >> delete entire agencies. and attorney general, the reason that i mentioned usaid is, you know, speaking to someone today who's who's involved with that. you know, the feeling is that 90 day reprieve, it doesn't mean anything. it's going to be gone anyway. the name has been ripped off the wall. people have been sent home. and it just begs the question of whether you think that what's already in motion here can be stopped. >> well, a court can stop it and a court can stop it right away. i mean, first of all, no, no

cabinet secretary or director has the ability to just wholesale eliminate a congressionally created agency. um, it was created through an act of congress. it can only be eliminated through an act of congress. and he has never been elected to congress, let alone anything at all. right. he is an unelected billionaire, um, who is acting really like a king. so what i would say is, you know, we're hopeful that a that a court in the district of columbia will recognize, you know, the grave threat that he poses to our government. and we're asking the court to immediately, um, you know, restrain elon musk from these activities and to make sure that he. discontinues, um. ordering, uh, employees to do all of the many things that we know he's been doing. right. firing workers, canceling government contracts, selling government property, and again, eliminating wholesale, uh, you know, departments of government, um, to to tell us to tell the court

exactly what actions he's taken and to make sure that he is returning or deleting all of the sensitive data that he has now collected, um, which, you know, again, could put us in incredible jeopardy globally. um, you know, we heard that he's been meeting routinely with vladimir putin, and he's going into the department of defense, and he's mining data there. i mean, this is an incredibly serious moment in american history. >> all right. well, attorney general dana nessel, thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> all right. and next, the breaking news. trump backs putin. the president blaming the u.s. for the war in ukraine and refusing to say if russia will have to give back the land it seized from ukraine. plus, mitch mcconnell breaking with trump and very consistently now voting no on rfk jr.. the only republican to do so. and trump is hitting back. >> votes against almost everything. now he's a, you

know, very bitter guy. >> it's nice going, lou. >> nothing like a little confidence boost to help ease. >> you back into the dating scene. of course, that also includes. having a smile. you feel good about. fortunately, aspen dental specializes in dentures and implants made just for you, with affordable options and flexible ways to pay. and now they're $0 down plus zero interest if paid in full in 18 months. helping our patients put their best smile forward. it's one more way. aspen dental is in your corner. >> our heart attack was scary. >> never want to go through that again. >> but we could. >> with heart disease. you never know. >> so we made changes. >> green juice. >> diet. exercise. >> statins helped. >> but our ldl, or bad cholesterol. it was. >> still stuck. >> just couldn't lower it enough. and high ldl seemed. >> a real risk of another

attack. so i said. >> let's ask. >> our doctor about repatha. >> what can i say? listen to your heart. >> repatha was a statin. >> dramatically lowers ldl-c by 63%, and drops the risk of having a heart attack by 27%. do not take her path if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can occur. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, or arms. common side effects include runny nose. sore throat. common cold symptoms. flu or flu like symptoms, back pain, high blood sugar and redness, pain or bruising at the injection site. >> we won't let another heart attack set us back. >> and neither should you. >> listen to your heart. lower your ldl-c and your risk with repatha. talk to your doctor. >> to 50. >> years with. >> my best friend. >> oh. no. hi. hi. >> quick! the quicker picker upper. >> bounty absorbs spills like a sponge and is two times more absorbent. so you can use less. bounty the quicker picker upper. >> my mom used to tell me, if you want to be a champion, you got to be a champion at life. i got to watch her play at her

highest from when i was born. from one generation to the next to the next. we don't stop. i always wanted to know why i'm the way i am. my curiosity led me to ancestry. it breaks down like everything genetically. what that means. that's amazing. right? it all comes full circle. >> for generations, this ally to the north has been by your side. >> ontario. >> canada. >> a partner. >> connected by shared history. shared values and a shared vision for what we can achieve together. stable and secure. when the world around us isn't. you can rely on ontario for energy to power your growing economy, and for the critical minerals crucial to new technologies. ontario is your third largest trading partner and number one export destination for 17 states. our long standing economic

partnership keeps millions of americans working in a changing world. it's time to bring jobs back home and build together more workers, more trade, more prosperity, more security. for generations, this ally to the north has been here and for generations more. we'll still be here, right by your side. >> this tax. >> season. >> do more than. just catch up. >> spring forward. >> with a free. >> 5g phone with select straight talk plans so you can spring for those new sneakers. they need. >> the unlimited. >> streaming. he needs. >> them up. >> and with straight. >> talk., guys. >> spring for something you never knew. >> you needed. >> spring forward with real unlimited data and get a free 5g phone with select plans on america's most reliable 5g network. find us at walmart in straight talk from. >> a sleep number. smart bed is perfect for couples. the climate 360 smart bed is the only bed

that cools and warms on each side, and all our smart beds adjust the firmness for each of you and now save 50% on the new sleep number. limited edition smart bed. shop a sleep number store near you. >> to my. >> city. by the. bay. >> nba all star. let's get it on. >> in style. >> watch on. >> tnt. >> trutv and stream br sports on max. >> breaking news president trump just moments ago sounding a lot like putin. >> now russia has taken over a pretty big chunk of territory and they also have said from day one, long before president putin, they've said they cannot have ukraine be a nato. they said that very strongly. i actually think that that was the thing that caused the start of the war. and, uh, biden said it and zelenskyy said it. and i think that was one of the reasons, one of the starts of the war.

>> um, of course, the war started because putin invaded ukraine. and, you know, you may remember the documents he handed out to all of his troops talking about how ukraine is part of russia. all of that was putin and his decision to start this war. i want to go straight to jeff zeleny at the white house. jeff, these comments that trump is making are the exact arguments that putin and his, you know, kremlin consistently makes. >> aaron, there's no. >> doubt about it. i mean. >> as we. >> stand here tonight with that news conference in the east room of the white house just a short time ago, it was clear that the president, president trump once again did not say the simple fact that russia started the war. yet he does say there are going to be negotiations to end the war. that begs the question, how do those negotiations proceed if there is no agreement, at least from the u.s. and russia's point of view, who started the war? but

in any case, there are going to be conversations tomorrow in munich. but central to all of this is how the u.s. government, the trump administration, is now viewing vladimir putin. and the president was asked directly tonight what concessions would russia have to make to go forward here to end the war? and president trump did not have anything specifically to say on this. he launched into how the bush administration, the obama administration, the the biden administration all presided over wars and ukraine losing territory, but never once saying that putin caused this war. aaron. so as these conversations go on, the relationship is reset. it's clear, at least at this point, which side the trump administration and indeed the president seems to favor. >> yes, certainly very clear at this point. jeff zeleny, thank you so much. it does come as the russians are celebrating what president trump is saying. fred pleitgen is out front with this report from moscow.

>> the kremlin controlled tv, jovial, even the anchor surprised by the concessions president donald trump offered russian president vladimir putin in their 90 minute phone conversation. an extensive talk about ending the war in ukraine, while seemingly sidelining ukraine's leader. >> nick lalota. >> not a word about zelenskyy, the host says. or rather, if there were words, they were only negative ones. ukraine will not get back its territories. ukraine will not join nato. >> and i think they have to make peace. that's what i think. >> moscow more than willing to take up president trump's offer for immediate peace talks to end the three year war. russia saying it's already starting preparations for possible direct meetings between the u.s. president and the russian leader, the first time in four years the leaders of the u.s. and russia would meet face to face. the current administration, as far as we understand, holds the view that everything must be done to stop

the war and for peace to prevail. the kremlin's press secretary says we are much more impressed by the position of the current administration, and we're open to dialog. dialog, apparently without kyiv at the table. ukraine's president growing increasingly frustrated and concerned. it's important that everything does not go according to putin's plans. zelenskyy says he wants to do everything to make his negotiations bilateral. >> harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya. >> but many ukrainians fear that's exactly what's happening, feeling president trump is selling them out. >> president putin wants to have peace now, and that's good. and he didn't want to have peace with biden. >> was that conversation. >> with putin? can you tell me why that is okay? >> trump's plan is to rob ukraine as much as possible. this woman in kyiv says not to make peace here. it looks like ukraine is being betrayed, this

woman says in what is being said now, i do not see anything good for ukraine. it's very sad. ukraine's army is steadily losing ground to the russians, mostly due to manpower and weapons shortages. russian forces already occupy more than 20% of the country territory. the new u.s. defense secretary bluntly says kyiv most probably won't get back, much to the dismay of america's close nato partners and the ukrainians. >> there is no betrayal there. >> there is a recognition that. >> the whole. >> world and the united. >> states is. >> invested and interested. in peace. >> america's allies in shock moscow pleased russia's foreign minister, praising president trump. when i asked him at a press conference, are you more hopeful now that there can be real and fundamental change and improvement in u.s. russian relations? this is how you should communicate with russia, he says. perhaps that is why

many in the west, including the leaders of the european union, were shocked when a simple, normal conversation took place between two polite, educated individuals. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >> next, mitch mcconnell versus donald trump. the former leader, the lone no republican vote against rfk jr.. >> have i got news for you is back for another season. >> that's right. >> more games. >> yes. >> i know this. >> final answer. >> points more guests. >> how do you know everything? >> i'm smarter than you. >> more mayhem. >> she goes to diddy party. >> roy wood jr. amber ruffin and michael ian black are finding the funny in the week's biggest stories. >> i'll give you. >> all four years of something to talk about if we are live. have i got news for you returns saturday at nine on cnn and stream next day on max. >> it ain't my dad's razor, dad. >> hey. >> watch it. it's from gillette

labs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face. game changer. while the flex this contours to it so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. >> the best it can get. >> is gillette labs. >> 7 million. >> u.s. businesses rely on tiktok to compete. >> within a week of. >> posting, i had over. >> $25,000 in sales. >> i don't have $1 million to put towards marketing and branding. tiktok was the way and it saved my company. >> we had a video do really good this week. sales were up 29%. >> about 80% of my business right now is from tiktok. >> small businesses. thrive on tiktok. >> tiktok brings in so much foot traffic. >> i need tiktok to keep growing. we have so much more work to do. >> an msc cruise isn't just a vacation, it's a. >> holiday full of european style. >> and all the things. americans love. >> to come. >> on bloom. >> there are. >> a ton of. >> football matches. >> games, football games. >> are you ready for. >> some adrenaline? >> i was born ready. how high is that?

>> so high. >> privacy. >> privacy. >> gelato. froyo. architecture. >> architecture. >> that is a big hat. >> it's american, of course it's big. >> what a vacation. >> don't you mean holiday? >> my bad. >> we should stop now. >> yeah. >> we're standing up. >> for our. >> right to be. >> lazy. >> we work hard. >> we deserve. >> to scroll hard. >> it's the lazy boy president's day sale. find the lazy spot you've been missing, lazy boy. long live the lazy. >> asthma. >> does it have you missing out on what you love with who. >> you love? >> it's time to get. >> back. >> out there with. westenra. >> westenra is an add on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken. >> once every eight weeks, and can. >> also be taken. >> conveniently at home. >> helps prevent asthma attacks. most patients did not have an attack in the first. >> year. >> but senra is proven to help you breathe better so you can get back to doing day to day activities. westenra is not for sudden breathing problems. serious allergic reactions may occur. get help for swelling of

your face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. don't stop asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens or you have a parasitic infection. headache and sore throat may occur. get back to better breathing. get back to what you've missed. ask your doctor about fasenra, the only asthma treatment taken once every eight weeks. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> what's up kaal nation? it's your number one broker. >> with the best full service. >> wealth management skills in the biz. >> actually, i'm seeing something from schwab. >> uh oh. >> yeah, schwab lets you invest and trade on your. >> own, and if you want, they can even manage it for you. >> not to mention, schwab. >> has. >> a team of specialists for taxes, insurance, and estate planning, all with low fees. >> we're experiencing technical difficulties.

dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business. 800) 217-1487 now or visit us at cnn.com. >> lockerbie sunday at nine on

cnn. >> tonight, trump takes on mitch mcconnell after mcconnell voted against rfk jr. to be the nation's health chief. mcconnell is a polio survivor, and he objected to kennedy in large part because of his well-documented vaccine vaccine skepticism. and trump is now hitting back. and it's personal. raising questions about whether mcconnell had polio. >> he's not voting against bobby. he's voting against me. but that's all right. he votes against almost everything. now he's a, you know, very bitter guy. i don't know anything about. he had polio. he had polio. >> are you doubting that he had polio? >> i have no idea. if he had polio. >> um, of course he would have been aware of that. harry enten here to tell us something we don't know. so, harry mcconnell's vote against kennedy. the third one? >> yeah. >> third one against a nominee in this term. pete hegseth and tulsi gabbard are the other two. this is a dramatic shift for mcconnell. >> yeah. i'll tell you something you don't know, which

is in the first time around, you know how many nominees for cabinet trump voted against? zero. >> he voted against. >> zero nominees. >> mcconnell. exactly right. zero nominees. >> versus the. >> three this time around. and of course, i think a lot of democrats are wondering that second number in your screen impeachment convictions. mcconnell had a chance to get rid of donald trump. he didn't do it when he was the senate majority leader. now that he doesn't really have much power beyond just the single. >> vote. >> he is now all of a sudden turned against donald trump. i think a lot of. >> democrats are saying. >> a little too much, a little too late. >> so so mcconnell railed against trump in the aftermath of january 6th. right. which is why that vote, you know, he could have gone the other way on that impeachment vote. it would've changed the course of history. yes. would have changed the course of history. that vote. and here's what he said after trump was acquitted in the second impeachment trial. he after he voted to acquit, said this. >> there's no question none that president trump is practically and. morally responsible for provoking the

events of the day. >> well, maybe now he's trying to make up for the fact that he didn't vote that way. he did not vote his conscience. but the 17 republicans who did, what happened to them? >> 12 went. adios, amigos. sayonara. the majority of them there, just five remaining still in congress. i think. mitch mcconnell, you might make the argument. well, he wanted to stay in power. but you know what the bottom line is? he's going to be retiring anyway. and he last ran for reelection back in 2020. so he really had nothing to lose. >> so how. >> will history remember him? >> i mean, look, we don't know how history will necessarily remember him, but his popularity right now. take a look at the net approval ratings. look at this. -39 points. i lined up. >> a slew. >> of different politicians nationwide. mitch mcconnell is by far the least popular. and look at donald trump all the way on the other side of that ledger at plus three. donald trump a lot more liked by the american public than mitch mcconnell is. >> all right. harry enten, thank you very much. thanks for joining us. the sauce begins