yamiche: criminal referrals and zelenskyy in washington. >> ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail in the -- and the master minds and ring leaders get a free pass. yamiche: the january 6 committee leases its long-awaited report and makes history by asking the justice department to criminally prosecute former president trump. plus -- president biden: mr. president, you don't have to worry. we are staying with you crane. yamiche: ukraine's president zelenskyy makes a surprise visit to washington to visit with the president and to make a direct appeal to congress, next.

>> this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided b- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. our customer service team can help filed a plan that fit you. >> additional funding is provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sanda and karling that -- magnuson. robert and susan rosen baum. the corp ration for public broadcasting and from contributions to your cbs station from ewers like you, thank you. >> once again in washington, moderate ore yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening.

this week the january 6 chief finally released its full 845-page report and a trove of interviews and terrorists from key witnesses. lawmakers revealed that the committee is sending four cfl referrals for the justice department for with the trump to inciting an insur recollection, amongovers. minority leader kevin makar any and representativities and any biggs, jim in order -- jordan and scott perry were included for "failing to comply with subpoenas. " here's a criminal from maryland explaining the actions. >> we've gone where the facts and the law lead us and inescapably they lead us here. yamiche: the report also citizen one than, donald trump, is to

blame for the capitol attack and 245 he should be barred from ever holding elected office again. in a statement trump lashed out at the committee and that accused lawmakers of carrying out a witch-hunt against him. joining me, scott macfarlaneer occasional important for cbs news, ryan reilly, justice reporter for n news and seung mini kim, white house reporter for the associated press and mar that are. thank you all for being here. scott, let's dive into this week and this report. what's your biggest stake wave and the names including not just perspective trump but so many others that lawmakers say were part of a plot that led up to january 6. scott: after all 18 months of the panel's investigation, the 10 public hearings, the 100-plus interviews, the 1 million

+records and one of the recommendations is congress should move to prevent donald trump from running for high office again because of his ties to an insurrection. no matter one's views from january 6. we were clearly in hit book area when a congressional panel is asking for congress to utilize the 14ed amendment against a former president. there was so much in from that felt like the written word version of the public hearings. kind of t coldified record of what we saw but it's hard to step two things. first of all, that the compelling nature of a synchronized, core grasped congressional hearing with tense of billions of viewers is likely more potent than a very long christmas week report issued by the panel. i'll tell you one thing, though, they were given a mandate to work until january 2, 202.

they squeezed every drop out of their time frame. yamiche: anyway did. here we were two days before christmas. but scott, you said this committee talked about barring former president trump from holding office. scott, how realistic is that? do you think that congress will ever get to this point? scott: the 118th congress, i have a better chance of win diagnose lottery and the m.v.p. nba award than that happening. the new house is going to investigate security failures from that day and they're going to investigate the operations of the january 6 committee itself. there are any number of trump loyalists who compose this thousands congress. this investigation is over from the congressional side next week. yamiche: and ryan, they're hoping this ends up on your

beat. they're hoping that the department of justice takes action here but these criminal referrals mold no legal -- hold no legal weight so explain if this could come out or do nothing at all? ryan clan it could potentially backfire because the justice department doesn't look like it's being led by the nose by if committee. the committee got information that i think federal prosecutors would have had a tough time bringing up. there wouldn't necessarily be a criminal element they would be able to investigate. you can't have cfl investigators in the justice department going around and fire figuring out what trump was doing at particular times. so they did really bring up a lot of interesting information. i've been diving influence all of those transcripts along with everyone else and i think they

did bring a lot of information to the forefront. cassidy hummen son's testimony especially in that dramatic tradition -- television investigation. but this committee is really only in the first half of the investigation in terms of the people who went inside the capitol. there are about 900 people who have been identified so far. but that's only a few of the ones who went into the capitol. the total number is around 3,000. another big news that keim -- came out of the congress this week on the january 6 beat is that the justice department is getting a lot of money for those investigations. that came through the omnibus bill and will ultimately keep

the investigation going until that expires five years out unless w see a massive change in the present administration. yamiche: never before as a committee referred a former president for criminal prosecution to the justice department. even if there's no legal weight, what do you make of the political implications? seung: i think what they were trying to do was create this document, this historical record to recount and make their point about what exactly was responsible for january 6. scott talked about how reference wanted to investigate security failures next year. the january 6 committee did look into that and emphasized that while they were failures, the fault lie wilson one man that day and that's donald trump from his inactions, his stoking of these election con citiescies.

these election lies heading up to the riott on that day. i think that was the mission of the committee and i also sympathy how they are able to convey this information will be a lasting legacy for them. you talk abo a dense 800-page report vs. these powerful, compelling harris, i think what made some of the testimony so compelling, even for republicans, in particular those in the senate and on capitol hill is that these were words coming from some who were among trump's closest allies. we saw a new picture of hope hicks, one of trump's closest aides talking about that day. we saw video of i vanca trump, and jared kushner talking about what he did or didn't do leading to you that dale. that was compelling for the public at large. yamiche: i wonder what you make

of these ethics committee referrals. anything going to come from that right before january 3 when the republicans are going to take control? >> they're evenly divided to avoid that partisanship when control shifts from one party to another. but at the same time i think what's going to come up in the argument, and the political discourse is that republicans, when they take charge of the house in a matter of days, they're going to be pushing a lot of oversight and investigations on the biden administration and i wouldn't be surprised if democrats point to perhaps their lack of compliance as kind of a hypocrisy point here. yamiche: it's really interesting when you think about what happens next. former vice president mike pence saying he hopes the d.o.j.

doesn't charge trump then senator mcconnell telling n news that he thinks trump's role in the party has been diminished. what are republicans saying about these things? mario: i think over the last month, six weeks or so, we've seen a culmination of what we're going to see over the next year which is a fight for the soul of the republican party. so you saw the shot that mitch mcconnell took at former president trump this week, saying he's politically weakened. mike pence who justifiable off a book tour. based on the calendar that may mean he has presidential aspirations. there's no road to the white house at least for the republican nomination without that 30% or so of the g.o.p. bails that is still kind of rock solid for former perspective donald trump. the claim by mid 2023, we'll be looking a the 2024 presidential

election and republicans have a lot of soul searching to do, particularly after that disappointing midterm performance. yamiche: there is a sort to have fight going on within if republican party. tch mcconnell saying we're not just going to have trump-backed candidates but you also have 150 incoming or people who will be in congress next term saying they have denied or questioned the 2020 election results. a lot of people who agree or at least say cut loud anyway agree with president trump so where does in leave the republican party? scott: more than 100 so-called election deniers won seats for the u.s. house. 11 days from now they're the majority. they control the agendas and the purse strings of the u.s. government. what's more, over the next 11 days, kevin mccarthy is having

leverage exacted on him by that group as he seeks to be speaker of the house. they are not going to be irrelevant here in washington. the trump ardent supports in the u.s. house have a political forcefulness about them which we're going to see. yamiche: i want to in some ways go back to the transcripts we're seeing. you think about the fact that cassidy hutchinson, someone whose name has been mentioned here. her lawyers was telling her not to say things or at least not to recall things when she believed that she recalled them. what does that lead you to believe about all the others in terrorists say i do not recall? >> there's a moment have he's -- where he's having a conscious, liking at wick peeleda while

driving. goes through a watergate book over the weekend about a watergate whistleblower, written alongside bob woodward and ultimately pivots to make this decision. it is really damning for the trump team. there's this obvious effort that she says to essentially cover up for the president. there's a lot of evidence for that and she can point to other evidence, the phone calls she made and the uber she ordered when she was leaving that can pport the underlying contention there which is that this trump world lawyer was trying to squash this public testimony and stop the january 6 committee from getting the information it was seeking. i wouldn't want to be in his shoes in terms of going forward with that potential information as to trying to stop january 6 committee getting the information northwestern

seeking. yamiche: you had that new story out this week. intel chief -- for missing potential violence. break that down. ryan: one of the real failures, i think of this committee, was evaluating these serious intelligence flures in the lead up to january 6. we talked about the silos and all the missed warning signs at were there. a lot of this was happening online and in view. there were a ton of red flags going up ahead of january 6 about how this could get violent and i don't think we have a firm answer about what went wrong. we have had bits and pieces. reporting myself and others have done put we haven't gotten a thorough look at what exactly went wrong. especially at a time when you're

about to give an extra half billion dollars annually to the f.b.i. i think the committee tried awkwardly in a lot of spaces to pivot back to donald trump, even when there are obvious failures. these things aren't mutually sleeves you can contend that donald trump did these things that were who and work and you can also say there was a not of information that showed the f.b.i. and capitol police were more prepared for vinals on january 6. yamiche: when you look at this report and all the recommendations, theleft hook central count a.c. -- electoral count act is being reformed in the omnibus bill. will we see other things come out? scott: it had unanimous jump almost from the jump.

the baseline change is that on january 6, 2021, you needed only wasn't member of the house and one member of the senate to stop the certification process and force a detective. iin this new legislation which was forced by the congress this week, it's got to be 20% of the house and 20% of the senate, which nation it more difficult to gulf of mexico up the works. the house bill saw forth for it to be 33% but the senate prevailed on this one but here it is, signed into law immi imminent -- imminently nearly two years after the capitol riot. it's something that got done that may be if biggest thing from january 6. yamiche: the house ways and means committee gotomething done too. they are releasing former period of time trump's tax returns. "the new york times" say they

show he paid $1.1 million during his presidency but zero dollars in 2020. we covered trump together. what's your big takeaway from the tax returns finally guilting releaseed? mario: he fought tooth and nail for a long time ons. t wi ou hilary clinton years ago, he said not paying taxes makes him smart. at the same time that juxtaposed against? his northwestern paint ro tim he takes up as well. it's been a bad six weeks for someone starting their 2024 presidential bid and the news keeps getting worse and worse for former if the trump. yamiche: defending democracy abroad was also front and center in fact nation's capital. only wednesday, ukraine perspective volume stroll zelenskyy made a wartime visit

to washington. that evening zelenskyy also addressed a joint meeting of congress. seung min, break down your reporting for us. while zelenskyy here now and did he achieve what he came to achieve? >> in idea had been tossed around for months. both on capitol hill among the congressional leaders. pelosi has talked with other members of the so-called big four about when the security situation is right the idea of bringing president zelenskyy to congress, to address congress and this is also an idea that administration officials had talked about. biden and zelenskyy had talked about a meeting so in that december 11th phone call between the two leaders, president biden, feeling that the security situation was ok, asked him, if you still want to come, we would be happy to host you? that was what -- when president zelenskyy said the time is now

right, i want to come. once that phone call happened, it all happened quickly. it was confirmed about a week later in terms of being able to bring him to washington and of course security was paramount for president zelenskyy and he has the protection of the u.s. government from the moment he left ukraine and came to the u.s. he was on a u.s. air force jet when he arrived at andrews. in poland he got on the airplane and then came here to washington and had all sorts of protection while he was here but he delivered a powerful message when he was standing alongside biden and when president biden continued to pledge u.s. support for the efforts in ukraine and i thought his remarks on capitol hill, while they were certainly to the broader congress they did seem aimed at house republicans

at many parts during the speech. we know that there are -- there is a growing faction of republicans on capitol hill, mostly in the house but in some in the senate as well whoer getting more and more skeptical of this continued ukraine aid. he said your money is not charity. it's basically an investment in global security and democracy. he's it's being handled appropriately. him trying to make the occasion that what congress is doing really matters for the global environments at large. yamiche: president biden wanting to give him all the help he wants but for republicans wanting to discontinue so much aide to ukraine? >> for president biden, he's showing to the world that the country remains united alongside zelenskyy and ukraine and it's a powerful image and signal that administration officials tell me they wanted to send,

particularly as the fighting gets more tough, as the winters comes and for congress, i'm not sure that what zelenskyy said, as powerful as it was, changed many minds. you had house republicans either who attend it would eligibility session or who did not come out and say we still want more oversight of the money. we want to see in thors general. we don't understand why we're spending u.s. taxpayer funds abroad and my con stitch went don't understand that. i will look to see how much that sent minute lasts. we don't know how long ukraine is going to lead the u.s. support and how long the u.s. is going to keep up its support. yamiche: scott, what are you hearing on capitol hill about the impact of zelenskyy's visit? scott: i was suck with what i heard in the u.s. house chamber

today. they were wrapping up the negotiations and detective on that spending bill to keep the government open and the lights on and as was just mentioned, a components of that is aid for ukraine. and chip roy, len from texas, who has an outsized presence on the floor sometimes who characterized president zelenskyy's speech in the house chamber as theater and expressed some heart burning about spending northwestern taxpayer money on thank you crane and presumably challenge the feeling of his con cinchcy. we saw some members of the republican house members not stands or lambeau field when president zelenskyy spoke. there seems to be a very reasonably side of the house republicans that will not be interested in you future aide

for ukraine. house republicans control the purse strings next year. this is going to be messy. yamiche: messy is definitely one way to put it. how much do you think this visit was also about reminding the american people, hey, ukraine is happening. here are your tax dollars. here i am to remind you of that. mario: i think that's exactly what it was. it was a thank you note. and what line that was really interesting was that he said they're using the money responsibly. that was definitely toward the republicans and some of those house republican constituents who worry about some type of malfeasance with the money as well. he's saying he's a good steward of that mey and he thanks them and also that it's an investment in democracy as well. yamiche: you think about inflation and everything, it's also a reminder you should care about us. mario: absolutely.

you saw some of the rhetoric. he mentioned the battle of the bulge, the battle of saratoga. he quoted f.d.r. he was going for some emotional heartstringings of the american public as well. yamiche: definitely a powerful message. we'll have to leave it there for now. thank you so much to our panel for joining us and sharing your reporting and tune in for pbs news weekend for a look at the controversial facial identification technology being usinged as some airports this holiday season. and finally, i wish everyone a healthy holiday season. i definitely home that everyone is healthy and getting rest. good night from washington. >> corp ratchet funding for show is provided by -- consumer cellular. additional funding is provided

by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and karl delay magnuson. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy visit ncicap.org]

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