has changed over her time in the court. laura bassett, thank you for joining us tonight. >> thanks for having me. all right. that is "all in" for this evening. "the rachel maddow show" starts now with steve kornacki filling in. how you doing, steve? >> good, chris. thanks to you at home for joining us for the hour. rachel has the night off. we've had been unexpectedly dramatic day today on capitol hill. there's lots to report. we begin with these five lonely microphones waiting by a potted fern in a congressional corridor. they're not waiting for the potted fern to talk. this is what is known in reporter land as a stakeout. reporters today were gathered around waiting for house republicans to break from their meeting and to say something, and in particular, they were waiti waiting for republican house speaker john boehner to say something because today was a big day for john boehner. members of congress, of course, don't spend all that many official days in session anymore as you can see from their calendar. after today, they had no work days at all scheduled for month

of august. lawmakers who aren't running for president go home and tell their constituents how much they accomplished in the capitol for the last year and two. with the midterm elections in november, boehner's plans was to send his members home for the summer break equipped to tell virp they had taken action, they had taken real action on the kris crisis of unaccompanied kids crossing into the united states. president obama asked congress for $3.7 billion to help deal with this genuine crisis at the border. boehner and his fell low republicans cut that back by 80%. their plan was to vote on that today. to pass that and then to be able to say, see, we did something. we led. and they thought they were ready to do it. republican leaders in the house spent the past few days whipping through votes making sure they had the 218 they were going to need to pass that border bill. they even threw in another separate bill that would block president obama from using executive orders like the one that he used in 2012 to defer

deportations for people who were brought to this country as children. the so-called dreamers. that is an executive order that has driven the right nuts these past few years. so republican leaders figured this was the perfect way to get the base on board with their bill. they were going to let every republican house member go on record against president obama's executive actions. republican leaders sold this whole package to their rank and file members as something that could do. something they could brag about. anyone back home who looked at that crisis on the border and asked republican members what they were doing about it, they would be able to say, here, this is what we did about it. just before those two bills were going to get their vote today, boehner accused the president of not doing anything. he said that it was time for congress, and by congress he meant the republican congress, to act. >> well, in my view, doing something is better than doing nothing. the crisis on the border is going to continue until the president acts, but he's clearly not going to act. that means the congress has to

act. and so i believe it's important for us to act and i'm hopeful that we will. >> now, in congressional terms, boehner's sense of optimism lasted for approximately 115 minut15 minutes. instead of going ahead and voting on their own border bill, house republicans instead balked, spiked their own bill. even though they watered down president obama's funding request by 8 o%, even though they'd written in language to make it easier to send the kids at the border back to their home country, even though they tacked on the second separate bill aimed at stopping president obama from taking more executive actions, even though they did all of that, it still wasn't enough for the tea party right. "house republican leaders pulled speaker boehner's slimmed down legislation rather than see it defetid." "with more than 20 house conservatives, boehner did not have enough votes for his own republican ranks."

he started the day saying he'd hold two votes on immigration. the two votes never happened. instead, he convened an emergency meeting of house republicans this afternoon. reporters set up the microphones in the hall by mat pthat potted and waited and waited. finally, john boehner appeared, but he didn't stop to talk. >> mr. speaker, what's the plan, please? >> working with our members. >> continue into the night? >> oh, yeah. >> back tomorrow? >> that was it, huh? >> and it's not hard to see why boehner didn't feel like analyzing in public what had just happened to him and his party. he had just bent over backward to make his border bill palatable to the tea party right. he'd watered it down so much, watered down so much of what obama was asking for. he added in so much red meat for the right and did it all so every republican in the house would be able to look voters in

the eye and say they had done something. house republican leaders did everything but sprinkle sugar on top of this bill. also, by the way, the whole thing was never anything more than symbolic, anyway, because by the time boehner was done dressing up the bill for the tea party, he'd become totally and completely unacceptable to democrats and that meant it was dead on arrival in the democratic-controlled senate. democrats there were never going to take up this bill, and still, despite all of this, a bunch of conservative house members looked at boehner and they said, no. this was a totally symbolic bill crafted explicitly to appease the tea party. and the tea party still said no. so as this was all playing out this afternoon, republicans faced a wave of reports about what exactly had gone wrong. "daily beast" reporter tim mack said that boehner told his members they were, quote, not even close to having the 218 votes that they needed. lots of finger pointed at tea party senator ted cruz no encouraged house republicans to defy boehner and force the

government shutdown last fall and who many believe stoked another rebellion here. although cruz tonight apparently denied that to robert costa of the "washington post." fox news suggested maybe alabama senator jeff sessions could shoot away support for house members in his state, and mississippi. alabama congressman spencer b k baucus said, no way. jeff sessions telling him what to do on this. >> we can't worry about what one senator wants, even if it's -- i have great respect for jeff. he's my senator. but i don't tell jeff how to vote. >> do you think that -- >> dave weigel of "slate" says the problem for speaker boehner said tea party republicans figured out voters right now are going to blame president obama for the border crisis pretty much no matter what happens. "this makes it hard for john boehner, kevin mccarthy et all to convince their flock that

they'll be blamed for any of it." boehner and the gop's new whip, kevin mccarthy, found themselves surrounded on the house floor by moderate republicans today. "demanding that they not leave town without voting on immigration." when the republican leadership held that emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss it, they actually had to call back some house members who'd already begun heading home. florida congresswoman illeana ross leighton at the airport waiting for her flight. she told "washington post," "i was upgraded because of my miles. i was so close." what happened to john boehner today is a surprise, a ghastly political shock. house speakers are supposed to be able to control their own parties, pass their own party's legislation. that's an expectation that comes with being speaker of the house. the house speaker is in charge. but in another way, what happened today wasn't a surprise at all. because since republicans won back control of the house in 2010, we have seen time and time

again, when it comes to john boehner and this version of the republican party, all of those usual expectations about the power of the house speaker go right out the window. over and over again. in one high-profile humiliation after another, boehner and his leadership team have been rebuffed by the hardcore tea party right. 2011, tea party republicans forced boehner to walk away from a grand bargain with president obama on the deficit. boehner then had to bail on his first bill to raise the debt ceiling. then he had to bail on a second bill. that's back to back bailing. he also bailed on a bill to extend the payroll tax cuts and the next year in 2012, speaker boehner had to give up on a transportation bill. and a farm bill. and a budget bill. in 2013, that's last year, boehner gave up on a bill that would have fixed a flaw in obamacare because the way the tea party sees it, fixing that law is the same thing as accepting that law. boehner pulled another farm bill last year. followed by a combination bill to fund transportation. also to fund housing. some of the stuff involves the

basic mechanics of governing. keeping the government open. keeping the roads paved. under john boehner, republicans all too off haven't been able to get the most basic jobs done. boehner and the outgoing majority leader eric cantor haven't been able to overcome the entrenched elements of their base that are animated by opposition to president obama. a big chunk of the republican base wants nothing to do with obama. nothing to do with reforming immigration. nothing to do with even the faintest whiff of the concept of compromise. anything, boehner and canner hacannerhave tried to do is to this hardcore base a betrayal. today, of course, was eric cantor's last day as majority leader. he got skunked in his primary back home last month and so he's on his way out of congress. cantor gave a farewell address this morning on the house floor, got great applause for it. republicans post add nice vided tribute to him on youtube.

he handed over the twitter account to kevin mccarthy. he didn't look that sad to be leaving. maybe he can plot a lucrative future as a lobbyist if he wants to do that. maybe, whatever he does next, he won't have to worry about this mess. his day ended with another flameout from the republican leadership as they tried to move forward and blocked yet again by their own membership. it's hard to imagine a more fitting going away present for eric cantor and comes with a very special bow. instead of going on vacation starting tonight like they planned, house republicans have now scheduled a new day of work. they are now going to meet in the morning at 9:00 a.m. to work on their border bill again. and they say this time, they are not going to leave for home until they hold a vote. joining us now is eugene robinson, pulitzer prize winning columnist for the "washington post." gene, thanks for being here in the studio tonight. i mean, the way we ended it there, really, it seems fitting to me, they come to the summer break, and the second year of this congress, you know, we started -- last year around this

time we were talking about a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill making it out of the senate. maybe it would have a chance in the house, maybe something would get done. now here we are a year later. forget immigration reform. a real crisis at the border. and you can't even get a vote in the house on a symbolic bill. >> no, you can't even get a vote. they're pointing fingers and saying it's a huge crisis, but they won't do anything about it. my favorite part of this whole story, this whole day, is that the republican leadership came out with the statement saying that, well, you know, there are plenty of executive actions that president obama can take to solve the border crisis. right? well, they're suing him for taking executive action. >> and they also wanted to pass this second bill today. >> exactly. >> that's the one they could have bapassed. >> they don't want him to take executive actions but demand he take executive actions. it's just insane. >> what do you make of this? that quote we used from dave weigel from "slate," it really struck me. he's basically saying the base of the republican party looked

at john boehner. boehner was saying, look, guys, you're going home. you have a crisis at the border. everybody wants to know what you're doing about it. obama will never sign it but we're going to pass it so we did it. weigel is saying, hey, if we did nothing, obama is the president, he's the one voters are going to blame. what tdo you make of that logic? >> you know, politicians always try to figure out who's going to get the blame for what, right? i think it's doubtful that this is a correct calculation. you know, what generally happens is that everybody gets the blame, but if they think they're going to get off scot-free, for what is still perceived as a crisis on the border, i think that's crazy. i think they will get at least some of the blame. who gets more of it or less of it, i don't know. frankly, the voters who elect a lot of these republican members of congress don't like president obama anyhow. so they blame him for everything. but i have a feeling this is the not going to raise these republican congressmen in their estimation. >> it gets to i think the bigger

question and really almost the defining question of the last, you know, three or four years now. since we've had divided government. we saw for the first two years of the obama presidency democrats had big majorities in the house and senate and were able to do really big thing. since 2011, really, we've gotten to a point where doing nothing, literally th lly nothing is the. we're going to have divided government again. what is it going to take to break out of this cycle? >> i have absolutely no idea. if i do, i would tell you. and, look, i think the question going forward is, is this an aberration? because in the past, there have been times of divided government. there ha they have been really contentious. things have looked gummed up but in the end, some really important stuff has gotten done during those periods. so is this just a moment of utter craziness? because of the tea party, because of the way people perceive obama? whatever the reason. and that at some point we might go back to the way things were.

or is this the new normal? is this the way -- is the country so sort of polarized that divided government from here, from now on is not going to mean more difficult to do anything big? is it going to mean not doing anything? >> do you wind up in a situation there are two different universes and nothing happens? it actually ends up suiting both sides to do nothing. i'm worried about that as a long-term trend. >> yeah, because as a long-term strategy for running a country, that's a really, really bad plan, right, to, like, never do anything. infrastructure. at some point whooee're going t have to fund infrastructure in this country. roads are going to crumble and businesses are going to go elsewhere. lord knows we're going to have to do immigration reform. we're going to have to do big somethings and find a way to d . it.

i'd be lying if i said i was optimistic or saw a way these things are going to get done in the short or medium term. >> you're not the only one crossing your head. in the 2012 election, we said, now the republicans get the message, on immigration, if nothing else. i don't think we expected in 2014 we'd be sitting here. euge eugene robinson. later, another installment of debunktion junction, the dubious adventures of scott brown. stay with us. a complete multivitamin with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. age? who cares. in the nation, the safest feature in your car is you. add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off for every year of safe driving.

which for you, shouldn't be a problem. just another way we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. nationwide is on your side. liher favorite princess dress.n but once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. i use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. you are free to go. [ dad ] tide and downy together.

this hour. we've been talking about the gridlock in washington. there is news for a bipartisan bra breakthrough. senate and the house have been going back and forth all summer of funding of the highway trust fund. the senate has agreed to a house version of a bill that would add $11 billion to fund highways through next may. $11 billion. a version passed by the house.

democrats and republicans have apparently agreed to this, accepted that deal. the issue of funding of the highways will be resolved at least through next may with an infusion of $11 billion. that's breaking news tonight. something actually happening in washington. be back right after this.am works anywhere in the house. even in the garage. max what's going on? we're doing a tech startup. we're streamlining an algorithm. we're going public! [cheering] the fastest in-home wifi for your entire family. the x-1 entertainment operating system. only from xfinity. honey, look i got one to land. uh-huh. (vo) there's good more... honey, look at all these smart rewards points verizon just gave me. ooh, you got a buddy. i'm like a statue. i just signed up and, boom, all these points. ...and there's not-so-good more. you're a big guy... ...oh no. get the good more with verizon smart rewards and rack up points to use towards

the things you really want. get the lg g3 for $199.99. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] every day in the course of covering the news, we get updates from news service like "the soerassociated press" and "reuters" and scroll by on our computers, flash red. they make a piercing alert noise. that red alert and noise means there's breaking news somewhere in the world. yesterday in the middle of the

afternoon we got one of those alerts. "breaking. white house document. white house secretary at first not told of post-9/11 cia interrogation methods." okay, there wasn't a lot of information there in that breaking news. seemed like "the associated press" had a document from the white house referring to the time when colin powell was george w. bush's secretary of state and how he apparently didn't know about the cia's enhanced interrogation tactics. that was a little tease that came our way yesterday afternoon. and then a few hours later, the "ap" filled in the details and turns out breaking news was coming from a document the white house had e-mailed accidentally to an "associated press" reporter. the white house had sent to the "ap" talking points about the greatly anticipated but not yet released senate report on the cia's detention and interrogation program under the bush administration. and that report, which the senate intelligence committee has been working on for more than five years which covers more than 6,000 pages. that report is said to cover

some very uncomfortable and potentially very damning details about the harsh interrogation methods. agency subjected prisoners to waterboarding and other forms of torture and reportedly misled the bush administration and congress about what they were doing. on top of that damaging discovery, it was learned apparently in the midst of the investigation, senate staffers noticed some of the cia documents under review were mysteriously going missing. the evidence suggested the cia had been taking back documents that the committee had already seen. the cia was potentially spying on the committee's investigation. if that were true, if that were true, it would be kind of a huge deal. almost an end of the republic type of big deal. congress has the job of overseeing powerful government agencies, specifically the senate intelligence committee is charged with overseeing the cia, so if the cia were, in fact, spying on senate committee that was charged with keeping the cia in check, well, that would be a huge deal. that would be a very bad thing. in march, the head of the senate intelligence committee, senator

dianne feinstein of california, gave a 40-minute speech on the floor of the senate in which he flat-out accused the cia of spying illegally on congress saying she sent a letter to the head of the cia informing them as much. >> i have grave concerns that the cia's search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied in the united states constitution. including the speech and debate clause. it may have undermined the constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activities or any other government function. >> that was senator dianne feinstein in march accusing the cia of breaching the separation of powers by illegally spying on congress. among the most serious accusations that can be leveled and that very same day, cia director john brennan, speaking with nbc's andrea mitchell

directly denied the whole thing. >> as far as the allegations of, you know, cia hacking into, you know, senate computers, nothing can be further from the truth. we wouldn't do that. i mean, that's -- that's just beyond the, you know, scope of reason. when the facts come out on this, i think a lot of people who are claiming that there has been this tremendous sort of spying and monitoring and hacking will be proved wrong. >> well, now flash forward to today, because today was not a great day for cia director john brennan because today an internal cia review admitted that, yes, in fact, the agency had been spying on congress. the cia had created a fake online identity to hack into congressional staffers' computers and had tried to cover their tracks as they were monitoring the committee's investigation and meant cia director john brenner who had said directly, who had said publicly that the very idea of the cia zmosnooping on congress

was, quote, beyond the scope of reason, john brennan who said that had to go and apologize to senator dianne feinstein and the committee for his agency's actions. the cia said today they were setting up their own, quote, accountability board, that may recommend disciplinary measures. all this in the actual report about the cia's harsh interrogation tactics is still to be released. joining us now, national security correspondent of "the new york times," author of "the way of the knife: cia, secret army, and a war at the ebnds of the earth." mark, thank you for joining me tonight. he said the idea of what dianne feinstein was mentioning was, quote, beyond the scope of reason. we know it was not beyond the scope of reason. the question is, is that john brennan being out of the loop and genuinely not thinking that was happening, or john brennan being deceptive? >> i think it was john brennan taking the most outrageous accusations, denying them, but

not getting to the core of what feinstein had been talking about, which that there was penetration of computer network use by the intelligence committee. and as we found out today, the cia's own inspector general confirmed that that had happened pane the details that started to trickle out later in the day was pretty striking. you had a group of cia officers who read the e-mails of the senate intelligence committee, they tried to cover their tracks and they sent a referral to the justice department, say, accusing the committee of penetrating the cia servers and that referral was based on false information. so the details that came out later in the day were pretty damning to the cia. >> so now the next step apparently john brennan is talking about an internal investigation. former indiana senator evan baye who's going to lead this internal review for the cia. is there an expectation about --

obviously the potential here is is this wider? is there more that's going to be uncovered? do you think this is the kind of investigation that will uncover that kind of malfeasance if it's there or is this a cya investigation? >> accountability boards in the cia are generally narrow he focused. their focus on the people who are originally targeted, originally intended to focus on. there will be a universe of people. the inspector general named five people, not by name, but identified five people. the accountability board will look at those people. it's not going to be the accountability board where this widens, but there's a lot of anger in the senate today from republicans and democrats about the action carried out by the cia, so if this widens, if it gets bigger, it's going to be because the intelligence committee, both republicans and democrats, are angry enough about this activity that they think that more action needs to be taken. and so that's why, you know, by the end of tonight, it sort of seemed like this could go

somewhere because you heard even staunch republican allies of the cia sharply criticizing what had happened. >> here's the million-dollar question. talk about staunch republican allies of the cia. also talk about an obama appointee, an appointee of a democratic administration, john brennan running the cia. his nomination was a little contentious in terms of criticism from left when he was first nominated. tonight, mark udall, democratic senator from colorado saying he lost confidence in john brennan. the million-dollar question is john brennan's future. is that in some jeopardy now? >> at the end of the day, do i think brennan is going to survive this and continue on? i do. he's got the support of the president. i don't think there's going to be enough republicans or democrats who are going to join udall and call for his resignati resignation. dianne feinstein did not call for his resignation, so i think he will carry on.

but it certainly damages his credibility with the people he relies on to support him in this job, and as you set up before, the backdrop of this whole saga is this 6,000 page interrogation report that's coming out soon, that's going to be very damning toward the cia, not john brennan's cia, but to the cia in general, and brennan finds himself in the position of defending the agency, even at a time when the obama administration, president obama, himself, has criticized these methods of torture. it's a very difficult situation for brennan, and it also is going to ramp up the pressure on him. >> right. it's really interesting here. all of this controversy, this huge story coming out before the huge story of this actual report comes out. there's a part two to this. mark mazzetti, national security correspondent for "the new york times." thanks for your time tonight. things are getting serious and not in a good way for one of the most prominent governors in america. stay tuned.

the summer of this. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. where memories will be forged into the sand. and then hung on a wall for years to come. get out there, with over 50,000 hotels at $150 dollars or less. expedia. find yours. weit's not justt we'd be fabuilding jobs here,. it's helping our community. siemens location here has just received a major order of wind turbines. it puts a huge smile on my face. cause i'm like, 'this is what we do.' the fact that iowa is leading the way in wind energy, i'm so proud, like, it's just amazing.

the ca♪illac summer collection is here. ♪ during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month and make this the summer of style. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

my mom works at ge. could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company?

that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed if we can't offer faster speeds - or save you money - we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. today was rolex day in what was day four of the federal corruption trial of former virginia governor bob mcdonnell and his wife, maureen mcdonnell. the rolex that made it rolex day is, of course, this one. engraved to say 71st governor of virginia. and given by virginia businessman johnmy williams to the 7 1st governor of virginia, bob mcdonnell. rolex is one of the most famous or most notorious items among the tens of thousands of dollars

in gifts and cash that williams gave the mcdonnells in order to develop a business relationship with the chief executive of the commonwealth. today, rolex was in evidence as prosecutors had members of the jury handle it this morning. reportedly so they could properly inspect it. prosecutors asked jonnie williams about it. mono upon reflection williams said, "it was a bad decision to buy the watch." when you buy something that winds up being presented by federal prosecutors to members of a jury, it's a good sign it wasn't a wise purchase. more news, though, of a u.s. attorney and a current governor of a major state. a governor not named chris christie. that news is coming up next.

ifcorner of "smart choice"e and "multiple choice," come to walgreens for help finding the one that's right for you... ...like centrum. select products are now just $9.99 with card. at the corner of happy and healthy. your eyes. even 10 miles away... they can see the light of a single candle. look after them... with centrum silver. multivitamins for your eyes, heart and brain. now with a new easy-to-swallow coating. new olay regenerist instant fix collection fills wrinkles,e to reduces the look of pores and smoothes texture for a skin makeover in minutes. instant fix perfecting collection. olay. your best beautiful.

looks like we're about to board. mm-hmm. i'm just comparing car insurance rates at progressive.com. is that where they show the other guys' rates, too? mm-hmm. cool. yeah. hi. final boarding call for flight 294. [ bells ring on sign ] [ vehicle beeping ] who's ready for the garlic festival? this guy! bringing our competitors' rates to you --

now, that's progressive. celebrate your love of crab with gthis year's largest variety!. 'cause it's crabfest at red lobster! dig into a succulent selection of crab entrées. like new crab lover's trio! with sweet snow crab legs, split king crab, and jumbo lump crab over savory shrimp. crab three ways! all on one plate. or try new jumbo lump crab over wood-grilled salmon. experience crabfest at red lobster today. only for a limited time. come in and sea food differently! april of 2013 was a terrible month. if you were an elected official in the state of new york. in april of 2013, several new york state politicians and party leaders were arrested for trying to sell the new york city mayoral race. and a state assemblyman was arrested for trying to sell legislation. u.s. attorney for the southern district of manhattan announced all of those charges within 48

hours. that month. it was humiliating and shattered any hope that albany was anything but corrupt and so in response to all of this, the governor of new york, andrew cuomo, made it one of his chief priorities to get ethics reforms passed in his state. he tried to get his ethics bill through the state legislature but the legislature wouldn't do to, so that effort filed. after that, governor cuomo decided to appoint a commission, called the moreland commission to investigate public corruption. this was going to be cuomo's way of fixing the corrupt system in new york without the legislature because the legislature didn't seem interested in doing anything. i know what you're thinking when you hear the term commission, join hear about a politician appointing a commission. appointing a commission is what politicians like to do when they don't actually want to do anything. commission studies something, it issues a report, a report collects dust. you know, that's how it usually goes in politics. this is different. what andrew cuomo was proposing is different. in new york state, there are

normal commissions and then there are moreland commissions. sherman moreland, 1907, he sponsored legislation giving the governor of new york sweeping powers to launch investigations. quoting from "the new york times" back in that year, "the moreland act authorizes the governor at any time either in person or by one or more persons appointed by him to examine and investigate the management and affairs of any department, board, bureau, commission of the state government. the governor and the person so appointed is a -- subsequent state legislators tankered with that language. new york state, moreland investigation, has historically been a very real investigation, a very serious investigation. 1911, the head of the state forestry service had to resign after a moreland investigation. 1976, new york state's laws regulating nursing homes were overhauled because of a moreland

investigation into fraud in the nursing home industry. 1987, governor mario cuomo, father of andrew cuomo who launched his own moreland commission to investigate ethics failures in state government. when governor andrew cuomo convened his own moreland commission last summer, people took it very seriously. cuomo stretched the commission had a broad mandate to look into potential wrongdoing at every level in state government. commission could investigate whomever they wanted, he said, including him, including the governor. "they have total ability to look at whatever they want to look t at". according to a three-month investigation by "the new york times," there was a clear order from the governor's office. that order was to back off. according to "the times" report, quashed a subpoena to a media buying firm that it'd done work

for governor cuomo. when the commission staff started keeping documents in their personal computers because they suspected that the governor's office was monitoring their communications. essentially that it was spying on them. they said the commission was never meant to be independent. could not be independent of the governor because of that. quote, it's my mission, he said back in april, i can't interfere with it because it is mine. it is controlled by me. then this week, another weird twist in all this because since that "new york times "the "story broke last week detailing interviews and e-mails in which the commissioners railed against interference by the governor's office. since that report was published, several former members of the commission have come forward to defend governor cuomo, deny there had been any interference at all. all this has piqued the curiosity of the u.s. attorney for the southern district of manhattan. he's seize the the moreland commission's records and

announced he will follow-up on their investigation, the investigation they were never able to finish and also says he's going to look into why the commission was disbanded prematurely and today he sent a letter to governor cuomo advising him if his office was calling former commissioners and asking him to say, defend the governor, that may fall under the category of tampering with a witness or obstruction of justice. governor cuomo's office issued is a statement saying they were talking with relevant parties about what they say were inaccuracies in "the new york times" story. they say they will no longer comment publicly on any of this and meanwhile, the "new york daily news" reports tonight that governor cuomo's office hired a, quote, prominent white collar criminal defense lawyer to represent them in this matter. this is the biggest test so far for governor cuomo who not only is running for re-election this year but has plans to go way beyond new york state politics. joining us, blake zeff, salon.com, and columnist with capital new york. you've been all over this story.

you know this as well as anyone who's covering it. so let's just start with we had some of the details from that "new york times" story that published last week. it was an amazing story. some of the details here about what was apparently going on whenever this commission got anywhere near the governor's office. this new story today, the big new piece of this is this letter that the u.s. attorney has sent to cuomo and that letter has to do with how cuomo responded to the story that was published last week. >> that's right. the u.s. attorney is clearly not fooling around. this is a very unusual aggressive letter to be honest from the u.s. attorney and essentially there are two different phases to this. there's the crime, alleged crime i should say, then the alleged cover-up. the crime, as you said, purpo purported alleged crime is the initial, for lack of a better word, tampering with the forelafor moreland commission. the second part of this, as you say, today he is saying if the governor asked people who are members of the commission to

defend him and put out statements saying that no, this was a completely independent commission, he seems to be suggesting in that letter if the governor had a hand or his aides had a hand in soliciting those letters of support, that that, itself, could be a federal crime. that, itself, could be tampering with a federal investigation. so you've got two separate pieces here. pretty tough stuff from the u.s. attorney. >> yeah, so that's kind of amazing because, i mean, we started to talk about this. this started to get national attention last week when this "times" story published, what we're basically seeing here is let's say there was nothing -- from a legal standpoint, let's say that nothing that came out in the "times" story was wrong, nothing was illegal, cuomo was going to be fine on that. he may be in trouble because of what's happened just in the last week. >> that's absolutely right. there was actually some question among legal experts as to whether or not the initial meddling, for lack of a better word, cuomo did into the commission was actually in violation of any federal statutes. for one thing, you have a

federal prosecutor looking into a state entity so that seemed to suggest there might be jurisdictional questions as to how the federal prosecutor could get into it. now that he already made quite clear he was looking into this issue, so we knew there was a federal investigation already, the idea that cuomo and his emissaries may have then tried to influence the members of the commission to say that this was independent, you might have a more clear jurisdiction for a federal prosecutor at that point. there's another development that's broken tonight. the "albany times union" says a top aide to the governor got in touch urgie i touch. if you call somebody and say if you do disagree with what's in the "times" story, feel free to put something out. that may be okay. if he's trying to influence them and saying, pressuring them to put out those statements, that might be something altogether different and a top aide might be in the cross hairs of a u.s. attorney. making matters worse for the

governor, they could talk to the top aide and say potentially if they're really going to gun for the governor, they could say to the top aide, tell us everything you have on the governor. did the governor put you up to it? is this something he's trying to get you to do? we may give you a reduced sentence or immunity in return for that. that's premature. i don't mean to suggest that's happening any time soon. that's a nightmare scenario that could be cooked up as a result of this letter that was put out today. >> you follow new york politics, follow politics in general. we see stories like this emerge a lot. sometimes they go somewhere, a lot of times they end up going nowhere. do you think this is a serious threat to andrew cuomo from a legal standpoint or political standpoint? >> the politics probably follow the legal standpoint in this case, right? he's got -- he does have a democratic primary challenger, who's making an issue of this, but she's not well known and not well funded. by all estimates, looked like cuomo was going to cruise to re-election before this happened. similarly in the republican, in the general election against republican rob astorino, it's

hard for republicans to win statewide in new york. it hasn't happened in two decades with exception of incumbent governor george pataki a decade ago. it's rare for a republican to win. everyone thought cuomo would be assured a victory. it's important to say two things. one, we have not seen big polling in recent days to show us how much voters of new york are getting about this potential scandal. that's sort of the big what if. but, you know, more important than that, if there is legal trouble here for andrew cuomo or one of his top aides, that changes the game. while this is a very complicated story, it's not very complicated for voters if they read in the newspapers that the governor's fop aide is indicted or the governor in the cross hairs of the u.s. attorney. again, i'm not suggesting we're at this point yet. were something like that to happen before the election, that could spell trouble for the governor. >> it's quite a story. keeping a close eye on it. this is not the last word here. blake zbreff, salon.com and

capital new york. i have seen debunktion junction. i'm familiar with it. i've never been in charge of it. that changes tonight. features scott brown, jerry brown, sort of. and galveston, texas. stand by. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. make one a double. she's full and focused. [ barista ] i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos -- one with a double shot. heh, heh. that's not the coffee talkin'. [ female announcer ] start your day with kellogg's frosted mini wheats cereal. with whole wheat goodness on one side and a hint of sweetness on the other, it's a delicious way to get the nutrition you want. it's a delicious way ♪ ♪

great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com

no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ who's more excited about back to school savthe ladies?ples? these guys? or these guys? when you get guaranteed low prices on everything you buy the most, everybody gets excited! staples. make more happen for less. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber.

so in the whole history of

california, there is something that has never -- [ buzzer ] >> when the governor, jerry brown traveled to mexico this week -- former massachusetts senator -- [ buzzer ] >> it sounds like this is going to get the full blown treatment in the place called debungtion junction. stay tuned, there is debunking to do. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns... that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain... when jamie says... what's that like six pills today? yeah... i can take 2 aleve for all day relief. really, and... and that's it. this is kathleen... for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve.

get all day arthritis pain relief with an easy-open cap. the summer of this.mmer. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. where memories will be forged into the sand. and then hung on a wall for years to come. get out there, with over 50,000 hotels at $150 dollars or less. expedia. find yours. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach,

delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. then boom... what happened? stress, fun, bad habits kids, now what? let's build a new, smarter bed using the dualair chambers to sense your movement, heartbeat, breathing. introducing the sleep number bed with sleepiqtm technology. it tracks your sleep and tells you how to adjust for a good, better and an awesome night. the difference? try adjusting up or down. you'll know cuz sleep iq™ tells you. only at a sleep number store, mattresses with sleepiq start at just $999.98. know better sleep with sleep number. "hashtag love dad" when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp". our aarp tek program helps people find better ways to

better connect with each other. find more real possibilities at aarp.org/possibilities if energy could come from anything?. or if power could go anywhere? or if light could seek out the dark? what would happen if that happens? anything. debunktion junction, what's my function? true or false, the state of california, in its 164-year

history, has never had an openly gay governor. well, is it true or false? it's true. it's true. okay. how is that true? it's true in a very technical way. for the past week, california's governor jerry brown has been in mexico meeting with mexican officials to discuss trade deals and climate change. because he was out of the state, he needed the next person in line to replace him temporarily in case something happened. and that would be the lieutenant governor, who did step up to the plate. then he also had to heave town for a bit, as well. so when both the governor and the lieutenant governor are away from the state, the next person in line for the gig is the california state senate president. but he had to leave the state, as well. which left california assembly

speaker tony atkins, who happens to be gay, to take the oath of office and assume the mantle until jerry brown got back to term. while her term lasted approximately eight hours, she was apparently psyched to do it, telling a business insider she wished her parents could have witnessed her stint as governor and tweeted, one of my first responsibilities today was to make sure the acting first dogs got their morning walk. all in the line of duty, i guess. next up, check out this recent campaign ad from former massachusetts senator scott brown, who is now running for the u.s. senate in new hampshire. >> i'm scott brown running for the u.s. senate and i approve this message. 35 years as a member of the army national guard, i retired this year as a colonel. i'm proud of the men and women i served with. but the obama economy is not working for them or anyone else. veterans deserve better.

i'll get health care back on track and focus on more good jobs for everyone. because no one should fight for america overseas only to return home to fight for respect here. >> a newspaper reported -- the former speak's home was the setting of another scott brown ad. so he filmed his ad at a friend's log cabin in new hampshire. is that true or false? [ buzzer ] . false, false, false. the good folks at buzz feed followed their spidey senses and discovered he was standing in front of a green screen. the log cabin was this stock photo, which obviously is not the former house speaker's cabben in the woods. but you can pretend to live in a log cab opinion you want to.

he's also used the green screen in this ad. he made it look like he was standing in front of an airport security line, when in reality he was standing in front of a green screen. finally, true or false? december fight what you may have heard, while house republicans still have not been able to vote on the closest thing they have to an immigration reform bill, the house has passed a pathway to citizenship. is that true or is that false? [ ding ] true. it's true, technically. if you wait a really long time it's true. it's true if you are this guy, bernardo madrid. he's the -- was from galveston. jeff miller of florida put forth a house resolution to grant h

honary citizenship. only seven other people have received the distinction of hon nar citizen, including mother teresa and winston churchill. he helped draft the treaty to end the revolutionary war and for that, he was thanked by george washington himself and for his efforts during the war for u.s. independence, galveston, texas, and galvez, louisiana were named after him. earlier this week, the house voted to pass that resolution to confer citizenship on a native spaniard who helped change the course of history for the united states. so the house of representatives this week did pass legislation to secure a path to citizenship. one pathway for one person, one heroic, but long deceased personal. that does it for us tonight. see you again tomorrow.

now it's time for a man who needs no bunking, "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." good evening to you. >> steve, i don't think they can call them the do-nothing congress anymore. they got something done. thank you very much, steve. well, john boehner got fooled again by ted cruz. >> speaker cruz. >> house republicans have pulled their border bill. >> nothing, no way. >> sometimes i feel like the republicans in congress have no heart. >> they won't help those kids. >> before the start of tomorrow's summer recess. >> the narrative right now sucks. >> this was the first vote the new house gop leadership have. >> they have failed miserably. >> not up to the task. >> chaos reigns. >> and basking in the after glow. >> last night some conservative members met with ted cruz. >> weil