card number and your subconscious, and it's the subconscious i'm most worried about. media technologyist, deanna zant, clay johnson, jessica herrera flanagan, thank you all. that is "all in" for this evening. the rachel maddow show starts now. good evening, rachel. >> good evening, chris. thanks to you, my friend. thanks for you at home for joining us. this is a white elephant. white elephants exist in nature. they're not just a figure of speech. the important thing about a white elephant is it tupprns ou it's a very awkward spent. it's expensive. cleaning up after an elephant of any color is a real responsibility. and legend has it that in thailand, the royals would give a white elephant as a gift to people who they did not like. so, it's like a courtly gesture. here, i'm giving you this very impressive gift! look. it's enormous! this enormous thing. it's for you! it's a present.

but the effect of the present is to cause you a great burden. because, now, you are saddled with taking care of this big, awkward, difficult, expensive thing. so even though for us in the political world here, donkeys and elephants are associated with our two political parties, the white elephant as an idiom has nothing at all to do with republicans. nothing to do with partisanship of any kind. same goes for this white elephant. this white elephant is a building larger than a football field. it has elaborate state of the art work spaces for 1,500 people. it has as state of the art briefing feeder and a military operations center that includes stadium-style tiered seating. in terms of its overall usable office floor space, it is 10,000 square feet larger than the white house. it costs $36 million to build. it has never been used. and it is here. it is located at camp

leatherneck in southwestern afghanistan, about 400 miles southwest of kabul. there is a u.s. base there now, obviously, right? afghans don't name places, things like camp leather next. so, obviously, there is a base for u.s. marines there now. but this time next year, there will not be that base there. there is no plan to have a long-term presence of u.s. marines at camp leatherneck in southwestern afghanistan. that base is going to go away. even if everything gets sorted out with the security deal, and a long-term plan to keep thousands of u.s. troops in afghanistan forever and ever and ever. even if that happens, which seems doubtful to me, but even if they got that agreement, there would still be no plan for there to be a base for u.s. marines at camp leatherneck. the marines are leaving. they have been winding down there for a very long time now. they have to plno plans to stay. but we have just finished building this $36 million football field-sized state of the art u.s. marines headquarter

building at camp leatherneck. a two-star marine general tells "the washington post" that this facility at camp leatherneck is better appointed than any marine headquarters, anywhere in the world, including the united states. a two-stammer army general tells "the post" that the operations center, inside this building, is as big as the one at centcom, in tampa. the operations center there is as big as the one at the supreme allied command headquarters in europe. and this headquarters building has never been used and it will never be used. the marines started saying a long time, like as of 2010, that they did not need this thing and they did not want the thing. rajiv at "the washington post" has been reporting on this issue for "the washington post." it's an amazing story and it's been kind of amazing reporting from him, including him recently getting a senior marine officer to tell him that we don't need it, we are packi ining up there. the marine officer called it an

enormous white elephant that was built for the marines. built for the marine corps by the army and nobody can explain why. but we've got it. and the army's own investigation into why it was built, even though it has never been used and it will never be used, that investigation wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. and the army looking into its e own decision on this thing found that there was nothing wrong with that decision. even though the marines who it was supposedly built for didn't want it, asked for it to not be built, and even though it is now built, say they will not vuse i, the report found no dereliction of duty or any other violation of law by anyone involved in the decision to construct the building in the first place and to keep building it, even though the marines said, no, no, please don't, we won't use it. that's not even the best part. that's not even the most amazing part. the single most amazing detail in all of this is that as all of it's been sorting itself out, there was another u.s. official investigation, all the press reporting into this.

as it's all been sorting out, the two-star army general who denied the marine's request to cancel the building, the man who told the marines no, who insisted that the headquarters still be built for the marines, even though the marines didn't want it and said they wouldn't use it. the army general who said, none of that matters, keep build it, carry on, that general has now been promoted from being a two-star general to being a three-star general. and his now job as a three-star general is that he is the top inspector general for the whole u.s. army in charge of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse. seems insane, right? it just -- this, too, seems insane. these are photos from the newest report of the independent inspector general in afghanistan, who looks into waste, fraud, and abuse. these pictures show these big sort of dinosaur-looki ining infrastructure things, right?

they are huge, state of the art incinerators, that are designed to have just enormous capacity. each one of these two machines is supposed to be able to incinerate 40 tons of trash per day. 40 tons per day, and there's two of them side by side. you want to know what they're actually doing with their trash at the base where these two incinerates are? yeah, it's just an open air burn pit. they're just burning stuff in a hole. this is at a base due south of kabul, pretty close to the pakistani border. and these two 40 tons per day capacity brand-new incinerators, these megamachines were installed at that base earlier this year. they have never, ever, ever been used. apparently there was some sort of electrical problem with them at first, which made them dangerous to operate, and then the load area was misconfigured when they were installed, so even though there were these huge machines with all this capacity, there was no way to get any trash fed into the

machines, and really no way to even get ash out of them, had they been able to operate and burn up the trash in the first place. so, they exist, they're very nice looking, as incinerators go, but they do not work and they never have worked. and the contractors who built them were paid in fall, while the base kept doing what it had always done, which was burning all of its trash and all of its waste in an open pit. since the incinerators were installed, u.s. forces have left that base in eastern afghanistan. they handed it over to the afghan security forces. according to the special inspector general's report, those incinerators may have already been deconstructed by the afghans, presumably for scrap. so no actual incineration ever happened there. but selling these so-called incinerators for scrap metal was one way that money was made here. and the people who built them made money. even though no one ever tested

to see if the machines worked before the contractor got paid. and that happened this year. 2013. we are supposed to be leaving afghanistan next year. why are we waiting that long? six more american service members were killed in afghanistan this week in a helicopter crash. is there a material difference between us leaving now and us leaving next year that is worthy of the trade-off of those six lives lost this week? even if you don't consider the $36 million headquarters that will never be used at camp leatherneck and the $5 million incinerators that were never used until they were broken down for scrap at sharana. even if you think the only purpose for money is to set it on fire to warm yourself that way, wouldn't just the human risk of keeping soldiers there in harm's way be enough to justify at least a debate about why we are still there?

the afghans have debated it. they convened a huge lawyerer in kabul last month, to debate how long they want it to last. they're debating it there. why shouldn't we also debate it here? senator jeff merkley of oregon last month proposed just that in an amendment to the big defense bill that congress has to pass every year. his amendment would not have even required, it would have just suggested, it would have expressed a preference that there be a congressional debate some time in the next six months about the length of the u.s. troop presence in iraq, excuse me, in afghanistan. and senator merkley proposed that as an amendment to the big must-past defense bill. well, that big, must-pass defense bill is, in fact, passing the united states senate tonight. but it does not include jeff merkley's amendment about afghanistan. so there's no reason to expect any congressional debate on afghanistan, even as we head

into what is another year of the longest war in american history. the defense bill also will not include the aggressive changes to the way the military prosecutes sexual assault among service members, which had been proposed this year. something a lot of people had both hoped and expected would get done through this legislation. that will not be in the bill either. on the bright side, though, the defense bill passed in the senate tonight also did not start a new war. senators tried. senators tried and threatened and then ultimately failed to attach an amendment to that defense bill that would have imposed new sanctions on iran. if they had succeeded, that would have blown up the diplomatic channel that we have just opened with iran over its nuclear program. and you know what? if you close the only promisie ing diplomatic channel that there is with iran, that makes the use of military force by us or by somebody else about 99% more likely. think about it, if you have an intractable conflict with somebody that just must be resolved, if, for example, iran

were saying, we're getting a nuclear weapon and we and the rest of the world were saying, no, you aren't, this is an issue that has to be resolved one way or the other, right? that is an intractable thing. there's no compromise on half a bomb. it's either you or me. if you have an intractable contract with somebody and you agree to settle it by not talking anymore, how else are you going to settle it? but to review, we didn't get, let's debate afghanistan amendment, we didn't get the anti-sexual assault amendment, and we didn't get the iran sanctions let's start a war amendment. well, guess which one of those three might get passed anyway? that's right, it's behind door number let's have a war. foreign policy magazine was the first to break the news that a bipartisan group of senators have a group to pass a stand-alone measure, not related to the defense bill, to blow up diplomacy with iran. they're calling it to nuclear weapon-free iran act of 2013, and it is a bill that would impose new sanctions on iran.

now, to be clear, iran is already under sanctions. years and years and years of difficult and increasingly impossible to live under sanctions. that is part of what got them to the negotiating table. where we literally are, right now, today, right now, we are literally at this moment negotiating with iran at a negotiating table. talking with them about ending their nuclear program. the talks so far have led to progress. they have stopped enrichment already. it is a six-month experiment. there are daily inspections in iranian nuclear facilities by international inspectors now, to make sure that they are keeping to their side of the bargain. it is happening already. it is underway. if the u.s. congress passes more sanctions now or passes more sanctions now that would go into effect in the future at some specific date, or that would have some trigger attached to what we are negotiating with them about already, iran has already said, explicitly, in no uncertain terms, that if the u.s. congress did that, that

would mean, no more talking. diplomacy is over. in the very direct words of the iranian foreign minister, when he was asked what iran would do if the u.s. congress passed a new round of sanctions, he answered very directly. he said, quote, the entire deal then is dead. so this is not a secret. he said this in an interview with "time" magazine, which isn't even all that hard to get. if the congress passes a new sanctions bill right now, diplomatic channels, which are working, will close. and if we're not going to resolve it by diplomacy, how exactly are we going to solve it? the lead senator proposing the new sanctions is senator bob menendez of new jersey, who is a democrat. and if his bill came to a vote, conventional wisdom has long been that it would pass with flying colors. because obviously every republican would vote for it, and, all of these democrats would vote for it, at least. senator menendez, senator blumenthal, senator begich, senator pryor, senator landrieu, senator gillibrand, senator

warner, senator hagan, senator donnelley. they're all democrats. and if you want to pass that thing, no problem. conventional wisdom has been, whatever else republicans and democrats disagree on, no matter how intractably divided democrats and republicans are on partisan lines, on other issues. when it comes to the war with iran, well, conventional wisdom has been that not only would the war with iran bill pass, it might even pass with a veto-proof majority. but a funny thing happened on the way to our next big land war in asia. a big unexpected group of senators today decided to yank back on the reins. now, bob menendez is not the most famous senator in the country, but bob menendez is very, very senior in the senate and very powerful. he is chairman of the foreign relations committee. here's the thing, though. there are only 16 standing committees in the u.s. senate. so 16 committees, 16 chairs. senator menendez is the chair of one of the committees. today, an amazing thing

happened. when the chairs of ten other committees wrote to harry reid today and told him, no. no, don't do it. don't do what bob menendez is asking you to do. do not call for a vote on this bill. and some of these senators, as you can see, are not exactly dennis kucinich, right? these include some real iran hawks. but these ten committee chairman, democratic senators, who chair committees in the senate, wrote to reid today saying, do not do it. the sanctions bill is a mistake, and we, ten of your 16 chairman, want to be asked about this thing, if you are even thinking about doing anything on this, it's a really bad move. from the letter, quote, at this time, as negotiations are ongoing, we believe that the new sanctions would be would play into the hands of those in iran who are most eager to see the negotiations fail. and those here, too. the white house says, they don't believe that these sanctions should be enacted or will be enacted. and if they are right about the

will be enacted part of it, if they are right that this is not going to happen, that bob menendez is going to fail here, then today, we may have just avoided the start of our next war with the country that forms the oil-rich landmass between one country on its left called iraq and another country on its right called afghanistan. joining us now is steve clemens. he's a senior fellow at the new america foundation. also washington editor at large for "the atlantic" magazine. steve, great to see you. >> great to be with you, rachel. >> why do you think we saw this last-second, last thing we're going to do before christmas pushed today for a stand-alone new effort at sanctions? >> well, there's enormous pressure, and it's primarily from domestic political sources in the united states that see a zero sum game in the middle east and are seeing extraordinary pressure on certain senators. many republican senators, but of course on the democratic side leading are people like chuck schumer, but particularly robert menendez, and they want to kill

the deal. and i have been told tonight that the president of the united states, barack obama, has communicated to these senators that he will veto this if it were to pass, which is new news, and i think very important. i've heard from another very senior administration official who is arguing that bob menendez, if he gets the way he wants to go, is going to trip us into a war. so the stakes, as you've defined them, are very, very high. and this is not just another crank at the wheel on sanctions. this is a very important historic moment in u.s. diplomatic history, to systemically change the relationship of the united states with another key nation that has been problematic for us for three decades. this is a nixon goes to china moment. and it would be like the u.s. senate handicapping and kind of cutting the legs out from underneath richard nixon in normalizing china. that's how big this is. >> because of the domestic pressures, and it's groups like aipac leading the way. they've been seen as the lead push on this in terms of an

outside group, but also other groups as well. in terms of that domestic political pressure, and the way that democratic senators as well as republicans are susceptible to it. if bob menendez could get harry reid to allow a vote on this. and if the senate could vote on it, do you think there's a chance that it could pass with a vetoproof majority? could the white house get their bluff called on vetoing it? >> i think that's a possibility, but i think that the white house is demonstrating that it will go to all measures that it can, and the personal involvement of the president, at many levels, to prevent that from happening and to communicate to people how serious that will be. because that will lock us in to a track that will lead to us a hard conflict with iran. we're not going to see a leadership in iran better than we have now, to test possibility of a different course. you know, the white house has basically said, we will impose sanctions within a day if negotiations fail. that this isn't buying, you know, hook, line, and sinker everything we see in iran, where we haven't talked to them for 30

years, but fundamentally, they are saying, if this were not to come together, the administration itself supports new sanctions to try to take iran forward. so i think that the issue here is not one of ernestness by many of the senators involved, it's designed to sabotage what the white house is doing, which is extraordinary. and i think the white house is really demonstrating, and i heard people like the state department, deputy spokesman and others today, with almost ferocious, you know, turf protecting on this, and saying, we're not going to yield an inch. there will not be a inch yielded in this battle, first with bob menendez, and they're not going to lose this historic possibility with iran. >> steve clemmoonsclemons, than helping us understand this. >> appreciate it, rachel. >> the last point steve was making about the timing is the big reveal. if you took them on face value

of what they're trying to do, they're saying, what if iran cheats with this deal. we're passing this sanctions bill that says if they cheated, these sanctions would go into effect. you know what, if they cheated, they could then pass a sanctions bill then. they would get 100 votes in the u.s. senate for it then. by doing it now, the only point is to stop diplomacy and make it more likely we're going to war with iran. the only way to do it. that's why they're going to lose the fight. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] you'll only find advil, the #1 selling pain reliever, in one cold medicine. advil congestion relief. it delivers a one-two punch at pain and sinus pressure with the power of advil and a nasal decongestant in a single pill. advil congestion relief. the energy in one gallon of gas

is also enough to keep your smartphone running for how long? 30 days? 300 days? 3,000 days? the answer is... 3,000 days. because of gasoline's high energy density, your car doesn't have to carry as much fuel compared to other energy sources. take the energy quiz. energy lives here.

will bob mcdonnell be the first-ever virginia governor to be criminally indicted while still in office? today, we got an answer to that question, and it turns out it's a fascinating answer. that story is ahead. stay with us #. ya know, with new fedex one rate

you can fill that box and pay one flat rate. how naughty was he? oh boy... [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ chicken caws ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

it is surely less a christmas thing than it is a here come the olympics and i don't want protests thing, but russian president vladimir putin today went further down the road of high-profile pardons and amiesty. yesterday we got the unexpected news about the arctic 30, the green paste 30 protesters who were arrested for protesting russian oil drilling at the arctic. they were held for months. they were threatened with up to 15 years in prison. they will now not have to face trial. they are free and clear under an amnesty. then came news at the members of the feminist punk band, pussy riot, would also be released. they've been in jail since last year, as punishment for this protest inside a russian church. then today, in his annual news conference, he gives just one a year, mr. putin today announced that he will also finally free from prison a man who was once

seen as his chief political antagonist. mikhail chordkofski was arrested. it was understood to be vladimir putin's patented means of ridding himself as of a political problem. cord kofky was a vocal opponent of putin. he questioned state policies, he funded opposition parties. and so, got to go. got to go. got to go away for more than ten years. but now he will be freed. and that news comes on the same day as our own president released a very different list of pardons and commutations. president obama has been really reluctant to use the pardon power that every president has. mark knoller from cbs today tweeted a good list of the other numbers of pardons that other presidents have had, compared with president obama. even if you exclude the

presidents who were only one-termers like poppy bush, or, say, fdr, who served a million terms. even if you only compare president obama to other two-term presidents, he's way behind in terms of the pace of him pardoning people. he has pardoned very, very few people. but that pace picked up a little bit today, with the announcement of 13 pardons for people who completed their sentences a long time ago. the president today also took the very, very rare step of commuting the sentences of eight other people who are in prison right now. he ended their prison sentences earlier, because of the president's decision today, they will be getting out. most of them will be getting out 120 days from now, in mid-april. in the case of the commuted sentences, every single one of those prisoners who is now going to be freed was jailed on charges related to crack cocaine. congress and the administration changed federal law in 2011, so crack would no longer have these hugely disproportionate penalties when compared to other drugs, including other forms of

cocaine. that change in 2011 meant that those disparities and sentencing would stop for new drug cases going forward. but it left in place the old sentences, the existing prison sentences that had been handed down under the old guidelines. and those, of course, apply to thousands of people. today, our normally pardon-shy president fixed that problem for eight specific people, in a gesture that is hugely sequential for those eight specific people and their families, but at this point, it's basically just a symbolic gesture for the thousands of other people who are trapped in their same situation. the president explained today in a statement that he feels the eight people who he ordered freed from prison were, quote, sentenced under an unfair system, but then he said this. quote, three years ago, i signed the bipartisan fair sentencing act, which dramatically narrowed the disparity between penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses. this law begins to right a decades-old injustice. but for thousands of inmates, it

came too late. t if they had been sentenced under the current law, many of them would have already served their time and paid their debt to society. instead, because of a law that is now recognized as unjust, they remain in prison, separated from their families and their communities, at a cost of millions of taxpayers dollars each year. there are more than 8,000 prisoners in the same boat as the eight people who are ordered free by president obama today. people who would not still be in jail if the laws when they were sentenced as they are now. now, president obama could conceivably free every single one of those 8,100 people the way he freed those eight people today, or more reasonably, congress could pass pending bipartisan legislation that would make the law apply retroactively in a systemic way to crack and powder cocaine sentences. that would make manifest in real people's lives the change that congress voted for in a bipartisan way back in 2011. we'll be right back be right back. a subaru...

...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand. i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! the deep sweep power brush by oral-b for the first time. wow. it's "wow," you know? wow. wow. that feels "wow." [ male announcer ] oral-b deep sweep, featuring 3 cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles that reach deep between teeth to remove up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual brush.

it seems like it gets more to areas of your mouth that you can't reach with a regular toothbrush. [ male announcer ] guaranteed "wow" with deep sweep from oral-b. #1 dentist-recommended toothbrush brand worldwide. [ coughing ] [ crying ] sorry. [ male announcer ] new robitussin dm max nighttime. fast, powerful cough relief that helps you sleep like a baby. robitussin nighttime. don't suffer the coughequences. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 70% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

in political terms, one of the things that's happening this holiday season that virginia governor bob mcdonnell's term in office is coming to a close. he has spent his final month in office being fairly festive. he put out a proclamation that the month of december is christmas tree month! that's smart. he attended a christmas tree lighting ceremony. tada! he unveiled a, oh, what's that? a portrait of me? you should have! all in the line of duty for governor ultrasouth sound.

none of these things, though, have distracted anybody from the big legal storm cloud that has overshadowed his final year as governor. turns out, though, that the legal gods just recently have presented one very, very special christmas gift to governor ultrasound. a very special present. almost a festive present. stay tuned. this story is next and it is mindblowing. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life

she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you.

pop in the drum of any machine... ♪ ...to wash any size load. it dissolves in any temperature, even cold. tide pods. pop in. stand out. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ the energy in one gallon of gas is also enough to keep your smartphone running for how long? 30 days? 300 days? 3,000 days? the answer is... 3,000 days. because of gasoline's high energy density, your car doesn't have to carry as much fuel

compared to other energy sources. take the energy quiz. energy lives here. so looks like bob mcdonnell is not going to become the first sitting governor in virginia history to be criminally indicted while in office. and that is because it looks like bob mcdonnell is going to be criminally indicted probably as soon as he leaves office. in a bombshell report on the front page of "the washington post" today, rosalyn helterman reports that the u.s. attorney in virginia had planned to ask a federal grand jury to indict governor mcdonnell on monday of this week, but the governor's attorneys wasn't to washington, they went directly to the federal justice department, to essentially appeal the case, and asked for bob mcdonnell's indictment to wait. after all, he's only in office until january 11th.

can't this indictment wait until after then? apparently, according to the "washington post," the answer was, yes! and so now the expected criminal indictment that bob mcdonnell was told was coming this past monday is on hold, until at least january, maybe february, at which point he will no long run be governor and he will thus avoid a one-man entry in the virginia history books as that state's first indicted serving governor. for basically his whole last year in office, governor mcdonnell has been dealing with this scandal. first ignoring it, then trying to laugh it off, then eventually apologizing for it, and then saying he hoped it would be over soon. the accusations center around the governor and his family taking a really quite impressive pile of cash and prizes from a wealthy virginia businessman. a businessman whose company, the governor and his wife, had a financial stake in. the governor is alleged to have promised and provided special treatment to that businessman in exchange for a whole lot of really nice stuff, more than

$165,000 in loans and gifts, a lakefront home vacation, thousands of dollars of trips on a private jet, bob mcdonnell got to drive the ceo's white ferrari. bob mcdonnell got a gold rolero. there was a new york city shopping spree, including a suede jacket, a louis vuitton handbag, a nice designer dress for the first lady. there was a $10,000 catered chicken dinner. $7,000 worth of golf equipment and golf games for the governor and the boys. and lots, lots more, including multiple five-figure checks, made out to various mcdonnell's, under various auspices, all from the same businessman. all in all, we know of at least $165,000 in cash and prices that the governor and his family took from this one wealthy virginia businessman, just during the one term that bob mcdonnell has been governor. for months, federal prosecutors have been looking into whether governor mcdonnell took official action or implied that he might

take official action to benefit the company in exchange for all that stuff. and for the entirety of that months-long investigation into that lucrative friendship between governor give me a rolex and the man who gave him a rolex, bob mcdonnell has maintained that he did not give any preferential treatment from the company and that the pile of loot that he received was essentially just a pile of gifts from a friend who he's not friends with anymore. that said, governor mcdonnell's wife did travel around the state and the country, touting the company's products. governor mcdonnell and his wife hosted a product launch event for the company at the governor's mansion. they also arranged meetings for their businessman donor friend, with top state health officials, so he could lobby for research funds from the state. and then the governor collected his rolex. we have known for much of the year that federal prosecutors were looking into the governor and the first lady's actions, but the big unknown has been when the decision was going to be made. when word was going to come down about whether prosecutors intended to file federal charges in the case.

the first reporting was that a decision would be made some time in early september, just a few weeks before the virginia elections, where voters were going to pick a successor to bob mcdonnell. when that september date passed, a new round of reporting suggested that charges would be filed some time between the election and thanksgiving. then thanksgiving went and passed with no word. for weeks, there have been no idea when prosecutors would make their bob mcdonnell decision. but then late last night, "washington post," in probe of virginia governor bob mcdonnell, prosecutors agreed to delay decision on charges. the justice department apparently overturning the u.s. attorney's decision that he wanted to charge him this week. but apparently they did not overturn the decision to charge him at all. now, the justice department is not commenting on "the washington post"'s reporting and the justice department would not make someone available to talk with us tonight about this case. but it is thought to be unusual for the justice department to overrule a u.s. attorney like

this. and if they are delaying the indictment out of deference to governor bob mcdonnell's standing as a public official, why is that? the alleged crimes here, violations of the hobbs act, the alleged crimes here, they are public official corruption crimes. of all the crimes, wouldn't that be the kind of crime where you would not defer to the stature as a public official? isn't the whole point that he has abused the office? why keep him in it if that's what he's done to it? joining us now is thomas cohen, a former federal prosecutor in virginia. he's now a partner with the law firm of woods rogers. mr. cullen, thanks very much for being here. >> thanks for having me, rachel. >> let me just ask first if i explained there in a way that makes sense. did i get anything wrong or fuzzy there about the legal case? >> no, i think you covered all your bases. i think it's important to remember that these allegation and most of the information that's out there comes from "the washington post." they've been outfront on this

story and done a remarkable job. but, again, these are allegations, the department hasn't had the opportunity to speak and certainly governor mcdonnell, who's presumed innocent, hasn't had that opportunity either. we need to be careful when we talk about these things. but, you know, one thing i think is important, rachel, is that this process, essentially, governor mcdonnell's attorney's, to the deputy attorney general, james cole, asking for an audience, and ultimately prevailing upon them to hold off on filing charges for a certain period of time if that, indeed, is the case, is not all that unusual. in public corruption investigations like this one, attorneys for the targets, particularly sitting governors. have the right to petition the deputy attorney general, the assistant attorney general, the criminal division, for an audience, to talk about the charges. if what "the post" wrote today is true, and i have no reason to doubt that, it appears that john

bro brownlee, a former u.s. attorney, a very good attorney, was able to make a pretty persuasive argument that to indict the governor now, just three weeks before the gubernatorial transition, would be hugely disruptive to that process. governor-elect terry mcauliffe just this week is announcing cabinet appointments and on monday, interestingly, the day that "the post" said the u.s. attorney, tahe acting u.s. attorney, informed the governor's attorneys that he was going to be indicted. that was the day the governor presented his budget to the general splee. so i think for all those reasons, the department was receptive to the argument, you can wait a little while if you're going to do this, buy some time, and let's continue a dialogue about potentially how to resolve this case without an indictment. >> if the argument is that it would be disruptive for the political process in virginia,

the other side of that is the argument for why you would ever bring charges in a case like this in the first place. the federal government intervenes in a case like this. it's a federal charge, in order to essentially ensure the integrity of public office, so that people are punished and incidentally, humiliated and ruined when they abuse their office in such a way that causes them to violate the hobbs act and potentially go to prison. if the idea is to deter, the reason you prosecute these things to deter other public officials from doing it, isn't that a good counterargument against the threat of disruption to the political process? >> rachel, certainly that's a good argument. it's one argument. i think the flip side here, and a good comparison would be the case in illinois several years ago, with a sitting governor, rod blagojevich, was investigated by the u.s. attorney, pat fitzgerald in chicago. and what that case centered on was governor blagojevich actively, essentially selling a

u.s. senate seat to the highest bidder. that corruption was ongoing. realtime, 24/7, whereas in this case, again, these are allegations, but if they're true, the corruption that could have occurred ended almost a year ago. so from a prosecutor's perspective, they're no worse off waiting two, three weeks, maybe a month, and filing charges and the public interest is protected. >> i unction the argument. i totally disagree with it. i think the public interest in this case is about nailing people for public corruption and it helps if you ruin their career in the process. but, apparently, they've made their decision. we'll see if "washington post" reporting has been borne out. but this far, they've been johnny on the spot on this case. it's really helpful to have you here. thank you very much. >> thank you, rachel. happy holidays. >> you too. just ahead, the miraculous power of stealth altruism. it is the best new thing in the world and it's really good tonight. stay with us.

my mantra? family first. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. we talked about axiron. the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18

or men with prostate or breast cancer. women especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

[ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] get the all-new 2014 cla250 starting at just $29,900.

today's the 19th of december. we're less than a week out from christmas, and usually that would mean that the news cycle had basically ground to a halt, especially the politics news cycle. but not today. because today the senate has decided to stay up all night,

again! or rather, the republicans in the senate have decided that the democrats should stay up all night again. republicans announced today that they're letting almost all of their members go home. but if the democrats want to, say, pass a defense bill, pass any of their nominees, do any of it then they can try to get those things done with no republicans there. the plan, reporting from the hill newspaper, to have the defense bill vote by 11:15. then stay overnight until 4:00 a.m. to vote on a homeland security deputy secretary nominee. then stay through until 9:00 a.m. to vote on the irs commissioner. then at 11:00 a.m. they will have a vote on a new judge. stay straight through until 6:00 p.m. saturday and yet for janet yellin to be the chair of the fed. all of the votes, all of the nominees will pass. the votes are there for all of them, and everybody on beth sides knows it. because of it they could take

all the volts intes in a matter minutes. republicans are insisting that only they will go home and they will refuse to wave aive any of waiting time so the democrats will have to stay to get this stuff done. republicans are trying really hard to annoy the democrats as hard as they can with this maneuver. so far the democrats seem to be taking it in stride. one democratic meeting room tole had a go team meeting. then they scheduled all the votes. all of which they will win. mitch mcconnell's approach here is basically governing by -- while he is trying to make life as miserable as possible for his colleagues it is hard to overstate the importance, on the substance of policy and personnel, mitch mcconnell and the republicans are losing. they're losing every single fight now. mitch mcconnell know house to be obnoxious and annoy people and hurt their family lives, he does not know how to outmaneuver the democrats on policy, on

anything. at least so far. watch the space they're going to be up all night again tonight.

okay. best new thing in the world today. starts like bad news, i will admit. it end great. in april, a hugely controversial auction in paris. the auction house acquired and was selling 70 items, 70 artifacts that one time belonged to the hopi people, live in the northeast part of arizona, thought to be one of the oldest cultures in what is now the united states. hopi villages date back to 16th century. the hopi were against the sale of their tribal artifacts not just because they their property taken from them but because the particular objects are sacred. center pieces of the hopi

religion. items were mask-like objects that the hopi believe are imbued with spirits. their whole religion revolves around the physical objects which they regard as living things. the idea of their being sold was intolerable to them. >> the feeling is numbness. why could somebody not really look at this whole picture and understand what they're doing. and it is something i thought in my lifetime i would never see. >> the objects are so special, tribal leaders asked us not to show them. >> in order to understand that you have to be hopi. >> what the reporter says there about how she was asked not to show the objects. a direct plea from the tribe to the media. please do not show these utterly venerated religious objects to the world. ask people to refrain from showing images of them as a measure of respect shown to us and our religion as would be

shown to any other religion. so we will shot show any pictures of the objects here tonight. back in a rim, the paris auction house ignored all the pleas and appropriate tests and diplomatic maneuvers by the united states to stop the sale and return the objects to the hopi people. the auction house sold 70 sacred i tmz items. they made a tidy profit. and just last week it looked like it was all going to happen again. another french auction house had gotten its hands on 24 more of these sacred mask-like objects. they were planning on auctioning them off. hopi took the auction house to court. trying to block the sale. fault it hard as they could. december 6th. a judge ruled against them saying there was nothing in french law that could stop the sale, so the auction was set for december 9th. on december 9th. the auction began. and as auctions go it went well. turns out an anonymous bidder had wired money ahead of time

and was validated as legitimate bidder, the bidder, bidding by phone. wing item after item, after item t the owner of the auction house expressed annoyance. they want to cultivate a collector class. the auction house said leave some for the others. meanwhile, members of the hopi tribe were watching the auction on line, heartbroken after losing their battle in court. the best hope was that the items would not sell. that would at least leave them some other opportunity some day to try to get them back. the bidder on the phone kept buying up item after item after item always being the highest bidder. cultural director for the hopi toemd "the new york times" when he turned out his lights at 2:00 a.m., he felt he was saying good-bye to the spirits embodied in the headdresses. when he turned on his lights the next day, the news was very different. because the it turns out the anonymous bidder who was gobbling up the pieces at the auction who had successfully bid on 21 of 24 artifacts on the

block turns out to be a u.s. based philanthropic group, the annenberg organization, working with the hopi and u.s. embassy. a secret spy operation. they secretly purchased almost every single one of the sacred items as many as they could win at auction for the sole purpose of returning the objects to the hopi people. never had any intention of keeping them. but they thought it had to be secret. if any body got wind they were in high demand and one organization was trying to buy the whole collection that would have driven up the prices. so they kept their plan under wraps. they did not tell the tribe. they pulled it off. the foundation had never done anything like it. the foundation succeeded in rescuing 21 of 249 sacred objects. they spent more than $500,000 of the foundation's money to do it. of the three that they did not get, turns out that one of the three was bought by somebody else who had planned to give it back to the tribe.

so, yes, the hopi tribe did lose two of the 24 of these religious beings that they stood to lose, objects they believe are spiritual objects and living things. they lost two. but they seem very thrilled to have 22 of them saved much to their sur price. cloak and daerg, super top secret, altruism. that its the best new thing in the world. now time for the lawrence, the last word with lawrence o'donnell. sorry, have a great night. republicans don't want to shut down the government again. but they do want to shut down governing. >> the president hasn't signed the bipartisan budget deal yet. >> we are officially done with any real negotiations. >> a fight to fix it. >> let's be realistic. >> we have income inequality. >> we need to make working families our highest priority. >> of the budget is the minimum. >> this is about obstruction.