that then, you know, seeding further outbreaks. we have a lot of multigenerational families. you know, families that -- a lot of multigenerational households where kids could spread that to a grandparent or an older relative. so it depends on a lot -- >> yeah. >> -- of factors. it depends on whether people continue to socialize and don't -- don't follow social distancing. i can't really -- i can't predict. i don't have a crystal ball. >> dr. erin marcus, who is there in miami in south florida. thank you for making time tonight. >> thank you. >> that is "all in" for this tuesday night. the rachel maddow show starts right now with ali velshi in for rachel. good evening, ali. >> good evening, chris. you have yourself a great evening, and thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. rachel has the night off, but tonight the united states has passed a milestone i didn't predict we would hit this soon.

with the confirmed number of coronavirus cases now more than 4.3 million, our nation has now lost more than 150,000 souls to covid-19. and "the new york times" reports today that the federal coronavirus task force has designated 21 out of our 50 states as so-called red zone states, meaning they're adding cases at an alarming rate. what the federal government told officials in those states to do about it was undercut within 24 hours by the president himself. we're going to have more details about that up ahead. also today, the first day of school is approaching like a freight train, and the federal government is leaving this huge piece of the pandemic response to state and local authorities. so now one of the largest teachers unions in the nation is taking action. the american federation of teachers has told its 1.7 million members that if they choose to strike rather than be forced back to the classroom, the union will have their back. meanwhile, republicans on

capitol hill are distancing themselves from a provision the white house inserted into the coronavirus relief bill that would personally help the president financially. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell looked like a deer in the headlights when a reporter asked him about it. we're going to have more on that coming up as well. and one big waiting game is about to come to an end. vice president joe biden said today he will name his running mate next week. let begin on capitol hill where after years of dodging house democrats, president trump's attorney general bill barr finally agreed to appear to answer questions. it did take the threat of a subpoena from the judiciary committee chairman jerry nadler, but the attorney general finally came before the committee that oversees the justice department and they had lots of questions for the man who is supposed to be the people's lawyer. but acts more like the president's personal fixer. as a result, there was no shortage of ground to cover at what turned out to be an often combative five-hour grilling.

unsurprisingly, barr was often times evasive, at other times openly hostile to questioning from democratic lawmakers. barr close not to read aloud some of the more incendiary lineses from his opening statement last night at which he took aim at the, quote, bogus russia scandal. but the first line of questioning from jerry nadler -- then an attorney general whose job is to remain apolitical as instead served as the president's consigliere at the department of justice, protecting the president and his allies while targeting his political enemies. it was a question about barr's relation to the president's re-election effort that sparked the first notable exchange of the day. >> have you -- now, yes or no, have you discussed the president's re-election campaign with the president or with any white house official or any surrogate of the president? >> well, i'm not going to get into my discussions with the

president. >> well, have you discussed that topic with him, yes or no? >> not in relation to this program. >> i didn't ask that. i asked if you discussed that -- >> i'm a member of the cabinet and there's an election going on, obviously the topic comes up. >> yes. >> the topic comes up in cabinet meetings and other things. >> okay. >> it shouldn't be a surprise it's a topic of the election. >> just to be clear now, attorney general barr refused to say whether he has discussed the topic of the president's re-election with trump and says the topic comes up at cabinet meetings all the time, oh, and that none of this should be a surprise. the attorney general was even less reassuring when it came to the issue of mail-in voting in november's election, a process he and the president have attacked as rife with fraud despite no evidence what soever to back up those claims. the attorney general was back at it again today. listen. >> do you believe as the attorney general of the united states that mail-in voting will

lead to massive voter fraud? >> i think there is a high risk that it will. i just state i think what is a reality, which is that if you have wholesale mail-in voting, it substantially increases the risk of fraud. >> mr. barr, the president has suggested that only votes counted on election day should be what matters. meaning that if a voter casts a legal ballot on or before election day but that ballot is not counted on election day, it shouldn't count at all. so i want to ask you again about your commitment to ensuring that every vote is counted. if in this upcoming november election, the president asks you to intervene and try to stop states from counting legal ballots after election day, will you do the right thing and refuse, yes or no? >> i will follow the law. >> you won't say no, sir? >> i'll follow the law. >> it's very disappointing. >> well, if a state has a law that -- if a state has a law that says it has to be cast on election day, that's the law. >> will you commit to making sure that the department of justice does not get involved in

a contested election, yes or no? >> i will follow the law. >> not exactly reassure. those were just two of the many head-turning moments today. another came when the attorney general was pitched what was supposed to be the mother of all softballs about foreign election interference. and it was anything but a home run. >> is it ever appropriate, sir, for the president to solicit or accept foreign assistance in an election? >> it depends what kind of assistance. >> is it ever appropriate for the president or presidential candidate to accept or solicit foreign assistance of any kind in his or her election? >> no, it's not appropriate. >> okay. you had to struggle with that one, mr. attorney general. >> barr's bizarre equivocating on that simple issue came just hours before the associated press was first to report today that russian intelligence officials are actively promoting

a disinformation effort directed at american and western audiences related to the coronavirus pandemic. and while russian disinformation relating to the coronavirus is a concern, so too is the attorney general who today delivered false statements on that same topic. >> let's go to march. in that month, president trump said, i take no responsibly at all for the failure in testing. what that superb, yes or no? >> it was accurate. the problem with the testing system was a function of president obama's mishandling of the cdc and his efforts to centralize everything in the cdc when -- >> thank you, mr. barr. that is inaccurate. that's a myth. >> it wouldn't until this administration -- >> that's a lie. president trump falsely called ppe shortages fake news. while nurses and other health care professionals resorted to wearing trash bags and ski

goggles to protect themselves. fake news. was that suburb, yes or no? >> i think the administration did a good job of mustering ppe and the national supply of ppe was run down during the obama administration and never replaced. >> now, if you're surprised that the attorney general would lay the blame for a virus that has now killed over 150,000 americans at the hands of an administration that left office over three years ago, you really shouldn't be. the attorney general took the same tone while defending his intervention in the cases of trump allies roger stone and michael flynn, the latter of whom, barr said, was a victim of overzealous prosecutors under the previous administration. >> in fact, there was no basis to investigate -- >> okay. >> -- flynn. and further more, it was clearly established by the documents that the fbi agents who interviewed him did not believe --

>> right. >> -- that he thought he was lying. the only purpose of the interview, the only purpose was to try to catch him in saying something that they could then say was a lie. >> so was it entrampment? >> and there it was not -- the interview was untethered to any legitimate investigation. >> all right. no legitimate reason to investigate him, even though fbi intercepts clearly showed that flynn lied to fbi agents when he said he did not discuss sanctions with the russian ambassador after russia interfered in the election to help donald trump win the election. the attorney general has made no bones about the fact that he explicitly intervened in the case of flynn as well as that of trump's longtime friend and one-time campaign adviser roger stone. now, with respect to the stone case, the attorney general said he stepped in and recommended a more lenient sentence entirely of his own accord, denying that he had any knowledge about the

president's thoughts of the matter, even though the president made his feels clear in a tweet hours earlier. everybody knew what president trump was thinking about roger stone's conviction. on the other issue of the president's longtime lawyer michael cohen being sent back to federal prison in what a federal judge later called an overt act of retaliation, mr. barr denied any knowledge. he told democrats on the committee, quote, i didn't even know of the decision to send him back. this guy needs to get some more feeds on his phone or something. today's hearing also featured repeated angry exchanges between barr and democratic lawmakers on the issue of race and the protests that were set off across the nation in response to the killing of george floyd in minneapolis. at one point, barr was asked point-blank what he planned to do as attorney general to counter systemic racism in law enforcement. >> does the trump justice department seek to end systemic racism and racism in law enforcement? i just need a yes or no answer. >> to the extent there is racism

in any of our institutions in this country and the police, then obviously this administration is -- will fully enforce -- >> so you agree that there may be systemic racism. >> to the extent -- in -- where? >> let me continue my line of questioning. >> i don't agree there is systemic racism in the police department. >> specifically -- >> generally in this country. >> all right. one way to skirt addressing systemic racism in federal law enforcement is apparently simply deny that it exists in police departments across the country. the attorney general defended the use of federal agents to quell protests nationwide in places like portland, oregon and elsewhere, saying that, quote, violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to reek senseless havoc and destruction. even more controversial, barr claimed in the face of all evidence to the contrary that the protests outside the white house in lafayette square last month had turned violent before he gave the order to clear the park. he also claimed that his order had absolutely nothing to do with the president's decision to

hold a photo op holding a bible somewhat awkwardly a short time later. but it was barr's strict insistence that no tear gas was used in the square at the very same moment that the head of the u.s. park police was saying the opposite in a separate hearing that piqued the anger of washington congresswoman primula jayapal. >> do you think the response in lafayette square to tear gas, pepper spray and beat and injure american citizens who were just simply exercising their first amendment rights was appropriate? >> well, first, it's my understanding that no tear gas was used on monday, june 1st. >> mr. barr, that is a semantic distinction that has been proven by fact checkers. >> how is it semantics. >> it has been proven false by reports, so just answer the question, do you think it was appropriate at lafayette park to

pepper spray, tear gas and beat protesters and injury american citizens? >> well, i don't accept your characterization of what happened, but as i explained, the effort there was -- >> mr. barr, i just asked for a yes or no, so let me just tell you -- i'm starting to lose my temper. >> joining us now, congresswoman primula jayapal, democrat from the state of washington and member of the house judiciary committee. congresswoman, thank you for being here tonight. second time we've had an opportunity to talk this week. this evening after your exchanges with the attorney general you tweeted, attorney general bill barr must resign. tell me why. >> well, this is -- everything we saw today, ali, is exactly what we have known for some time and watched, which is that bill barr is not acting as the attorney general for the people of the use. bill barr is the personal henchman for donald trump and he has no interest whatsoever in ensuring safe elections. he has no interest in actually

taking on police brutality and racism. he uses the department to essentially counter any protesters that are protesting donald trump, but he du not use the department to protect people when protesters are actually implementing trump's agenda. and i gave the very specific example of lafayette square and how he reacted there versus how he reacted in michigan when protesters with rifles, with swastikas, confederate flags, were calling -- were storming the capitol in michigan and calling for the governor to be beheaded, lynched and shot. bill barr actually said it stunned me that he wasn't even aware of those incidents. so bill barr showed us today exactly what we've known, which is that he has no interest in protecting the interests of the american people. he just wants to do whatever donald trump tells him to do. and i even gave a quote where it says, i have bill barr here with

me and we will act 1r5i9 bill barr. we will activate him very strongly. to bill barr gets activated by donald trump. >> he used the was not aware thing several times. to you in this instance when talking about acting on donald's -- on roger stone's sentence without knowing what the president wanted, even though the president tweeted it out. in talking about michael cohen being sent back to prison. the i was not aware, and this is a lawyer, he knows how to thread the needle here, but he did that a lot. i was not aware. kind of surprising that the longtime attorney general and good friend of the president, supporter of the president was not aware of so many things that so many americans are aware of. >> well, he's only not aware of the things that he doesn't want to be aware of. you know, he -- when he used that on me i said, well, that's interesting. he said, well, i don't know about all the protests that are happening everywhere in the country. there are a lot of protests. i said, well, you certainly seem to know about the protests in seattle, in portland, in all of these places where it's in your

interest to know about them. so, you know, i think this is bill barr and his selectionive enforcement. that was the point i was trying to get across, ali. i was, frankly, stunned by the constant attempts of the attorney general of the united states and my republican colleagues to mischaracterize and try to divert attention from these massive important protests that were an awakening of america's conscience to police brutality and -- and white supremacy. and in stead, they tried to turn it away to violent protesters in other places. they did not want to talk about lafayette square. that was very, very clear. lafayette park. and bill barr did everything he could to try to distract us, but we were not going to be distracted. >> i want to ask you about mail-in voting. you have unique familiarity with this given where you are from. bill barr was asked about this today and he continued to parrot the administration's view that mail-in voting is not secure. let's just listen.

all right. you know what? i don't have the sound there, but the congressman rich richmond was saying, do you believe as the attorney general that mail-in voting will lead to massive voter fraud? the attorney general responds, i think there is a high risk that it will. he went on about that. tell me how you respond to this because you know mail-in voting better than many americans do. >> yes, i come from the state of washington. we're one of the states that has had mail-in ballots, mail-in voting for almost the long in the history of other states. you know, i think oregon may be a bit longer than us. i have this written down to try to counter him if i had a chance, but i ran out of time. we have not had -- we have no problems with fraud. in fact, we have a republican secretary of state who has invited bill barr to come and

visit the state so that she can talk him through how there really are no fraud problems. i did at the end of my testimony submit for unanimous consent request a report that had been done by mit that looked at 250 mail-in ballots that have been cast over the past 20 years, 250 million that have been cast over the past 20 years, and out of that, the fraud rate was 0.0005%. so, four zeros and a 5% -- >> wow. >> so this was a ridiculous claim from the attorney general. >> congresswoman, thank you for being with us tonight. congresswoman jayapal of washington. she's also a member of the house judiciary committee. thank you. we appreciate it. much more ahead here tonight, including how the president appears to be trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to give one of his hotels a major boost, a boost that taxpayers would fund at the expense of an increase, or at

least keeping the federal unemployment boost the staple. we got a big show tonight. stay with us. you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

in a highly capable lexus suv at the golden opportunity sales event. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $339 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. subut when we realized she wasn hebattling sensitive skin, experience amazing we switched to new tide plus downy free. it's gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. new tide pods plus downy free. safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. i appreciate what makes each person unique. that's why i like liberty mutual. they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. almost done.

what do you think? i don't see it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ thabsolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and can it help keep me asleep? automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, save up to $500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus no interest until january 2023 on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

sometimes the most important things that happen at a congressional hearing are not the ones you think they're going to be at the time. for instance, consider this exchange from attorney general bill barr -- actually, this came from bill barr's confirmation hearing back in 2019. >> to believe a president could lawfully issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient's promise to not incriminate him? >> no, that would be a crime. >> no, that would be a crime. short, sweet, to the point. a president can't pardon someone in exchange for that person not incriminating the president. that was probably one of the least interesting answers bill barr gave at his confirmation hearing, but the best congressional testimony ages like fine wine, and bill barr found that out today when he was asked about the president's

decision to commute the sentence of his longtime friend roger stone. >> you were asked, could a president issue a pardon in exchange for the recipient's promise to not incriminate him? and you responded, no, that would be a crime, is that right? >> yes, i said that. >> mr. stone was convicted by a jury on seven counts of lying in the russia investigation. he bragged he claimed to lye to save trump's butt. stone lied because the truth looked bad for donald trump. what truth is that? donald trump denied in written answers to the russia investigators that he talked to roger stone during the time that roger stone was in contact with agents of a russian influence operation. there's evidence that trump and stone, indeed, did talk during that time. you would agree that it's a federal crime to lie under oath, is that right? >> yes. >> so if donald trump lied to the mueller investigators, which you agree would be a crime, then roger stone was in a position to expose donald trump's lies.

on july 10 of this year, roger stone declared to a reporter, i had 29 or 30 conversations with trump during the campaign period. trump knows i was under enormous pressure to turn on him. it would have eased my situation considerably, but i didn't. the prosecutors wanted me to play judas. i refused. are you familiar with that stone statement? >> actually, i'm not. >> so how can you sit here and tell us why should i investigate the president of the united states if you're not even aware of the facts concerning the president using the pardon or commutation power to swap the silence of a witness? >> because we require, you know, a reliable predicate before we open a criminal investigation. >> and i just gave to you, sir -- >> i don't consider it. i consider it a very rube goldberg theory that you have. >> a very rube goldberg theory that you have there. now, what the attorney general seems to have forgotten in that metaphor is that a rube goldberg

machine may take a long time, but in the end it works. and the payoff is pretty sweet. joining us now, bash mcquaid, former u.s. attorney for the eastern district of michigan. barbara, good to see you again. i feel like you and i have had this conversation before, but we're going to have it again. roger stone is a convicted felon. the -- eric swalwell did a remarkable job of walking the attorney general through what he called a rube goldberg theory, but the fact is what eric swalwell said was true. >> yeah, i thought eric swalwell was one of the better questioners today at the hearing. he did a very good job of methodically walking william barr through this, and he got him to agree to everything except the punch line. when he got him to the point of this is exactly the kind of conduct that you said would be a crime back when we were at your confirmation hearing and he said, ah, that's a rube goldberg

machine. well, he has no problem connecting the dots when it comes to investigating the investigators and putting together to fly all over the world to put these dots together, but when it is something that is contrary to president donald trump, that is a rube goldberg machine that is far too complicated for my small brain. he's a smart guy. he can see the dots. what he used to his advantage today, i thought, was the five-minute time limit that all of these questioners have in this format. he knew if he denied and claimed he didn't know what they were talking about and never read the tweets, he could run out the clock and move on to a new top zblik and some people just hear that stuff without the criminal side. i want to play something barr said while talking about the charges against roger stone. let's listen. >> the department of justice issued a statement saying that mr. berman, a former u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york had, quote, stepped down. you're aware of that statement being released by the department, correct? >> yes. >> and do you testify today that that statement was true at the

time the department issued it? >> he may not have known it, but he was stepping down. >> he may not have known that he was stepping down? that's your testimony today? >> he was being removed. >> mr. attorney general, the statement did not say that he was being removed. it did not say that he was being fired. it said that he was stepping down. >> barbara, i misled my control room there. this was actually a different exchange, but an equally good one with congressman na goose of colorado. this had to do with the firing of the u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york geoffrey berman and the fact that you recall that night, barbara, i think you might have even been on tv with us that night, it was very confusing. it was he stepped down, then he was fired, then he came back to say he's not stepping down and finally there was some agreement made. even on that basic matter, a matter that there is no chance that attorney general bill barr was not in charge of and on top of, he couldn't give a consistent answer.

>> yeah, and i'm really glad you chose to show that to the -- kudos to the control room because i thought that was such a telling exchange. you know, there is a old joke that says, how do you know when a lawyer is lying? because his mouth is moving. i think that is so appropriate to william barr. he engages in such double speak, and that exchange really demonstrates how he does that. he issued a press release that said that geoffrey berman was stepping down. it turns out that, in fact, he didn't know it and there was no communication about that. and he still persists in that. instead of admitting that he was caught in a lie he said, well, he was stepping down, he just didn't know it yet. he didn't know that he had been pushed. same thing with regard to tear gas in lafayette square. he says there was no tear gas used. well, he fails to mention there was pepper spray used which is a chemical irritant. so he's very carefully in the words that he chooses to make them literally true but figuratively false. >> very careful.

having been exposed to both tear gas and pepper spray a few times in the last couple of months, they are both very difficult for someone to take. barbara, good to see you. thank you, as always. barbara mcquade is the former united states attorney for the eastern district of michigan. thank you for being with us tonight. when we come back, the trump administration sets a new standard for incoherent coronavirus messaging, but one part of the white house's response is remarkably consistent with the president's longstanding priorities because it would make him money. we'll have more on that next. >> tech: at safelite, we're committed to taking care of you

and your car. >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ gillette proglide and proglide gel. five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. so you're ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. tank was overweight and had no deaenergy.pet, until freshpet... put the puppy back in my dog. ♪

i really do believe a lot of the governors should be opening up states that they're not opening. and we'll see what happens with them. >> president trump in north carolina yesterday encouraging states to open up more. to open up faster. why are all these governors, in trump's estimation, not moving faster in order to get their economies rolling? well, it turns out tat even as

he was making those comments yesterday, the president's very own coronavirus task force was telling the states the exact opposite. today "the new york times" got hold of a 400-page federal report dated sunday. the report finds that 21 states, including north carolina where the president was speaking, are considered in the red zone, meaning they've got more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week. the trend lines are not good. three states were added to the list of red zone states over the last two weeks. only the state of vermont is currently considered in the green zone with fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people. the remaining states in washington, d.c. are in the yellow zone. now "the times" reports that the white house coronavirus task force sent this report to state officials. what does the report recommend for those red zone states? well, for north carolina, where the president yesterday was making his call for more reopening, the white house report sent to state officials there recommends that bars

remain closed, that restaurants stay under 25% capacity for indoor dining, and that north carolinians limit social gatherings to fewer than ten people. must be confusing for north carolina to get a report like that and then have the president come in the next day and complain that things are not opening fast enough. take a look at tennessee, also in the red zone. the report sent over from the white house coronavirus task force said that closing bars and limiting indoor dining is, quote, critical to disrupt the transmission of the virus. also, a statewide mask mandate is critical to stop the spread. federal officials are apparently so worried about tennessee's trajectory right now that top white house coronavirus adviser dr. deborah birx went to tennessee yesterday in person to tell the state's governor directly about these critical recommendations. they had their meetings and then dr. birx came out and told the press about the recommendations she had just urged on the republican governor bill lee.

and then the governor came to the podium, and the reporters asked him whether he would be enacting those recommendations. >> yeah, that -- we don't have that plan right now. beyond the regions that are currently -- have restrictions. that's not a plan for us now. we will -- i've said from the very beginning of this pandemic that there's nothing off the table. i've also said we're not going to close the economy back down, and we're not going to, but i appreciate their recommendations and we -- we take them seriously. >> we take them seriously. the governor also declined to issue a statewide mask mandate, though he said the state's 95 county mayors are issue to issue 95 separate, individual mask mandates if they so choose. "the news sentinel" in knoxville, tennessee summed it up with this guideline. quote, governor bill lee rejects warning from white house adviser to act now to contain covid-19. because dr. bishs might have

flown to tennessee in person to urge the governor to close things down to stop the spread of the virus, but at the very same time, her boss, the president, was on television telling governors they aren't opening up fast enough. six months into this this administration still cannot manage to be on the same page with itself on any given day. failure of this magnitude for this duration has consequences, and the consequences are death. the death of americans. by the nbc news count, as of today, 150,000 people have been lost to the coronavirus in our country. 150,000. it is the kind of grim, heart wrenching milestone that you might think one occasion and moment of reflection or at least recognition from the nation's president. but president trump used a press conference today to claim that much of the country is, quote,

corona-free. he spent much of the time once again promoting his favorite drug hydroxychloroquine as a totally safe coronavirus treatment. well, i've give the president this, they have been very focused, very energetically engaged with the latest covid economic relief bill that's being hashed out on capitol hill. they've been really focused on forcing into the bill a provision that appeared to design the president personally. as money from the preenchs relief bill has run out for millions of americans, the house democrats have had a $3 trillion relief package ready to go. republicans in congress have delayed in unveiling their counterproposal in part because the white house has been insisting that this new bill, which it meant to get badly needed economic relief to americans hurting during the pandemic, the white house has insisted that this bill include nearly $2 billion for a new fbi headquarters. now, this has been an obsession of the president's ever since he came into office. he scrapped a plan for the fbi to have a nice new larger

headquarters in the d.c. suburbs, and insisted that it remodel its current headquarters on pennsylvania avenue instead, even though the plan for staying in downtown d.c. will cost more mine than the old plan for a bigger, nicer headquarters and makes no logistical sense either, it does make sense in one very clear way. the president's hotel is located across the street from the fbi headquarters. and officials at his company have long worried that if the fbi left, a new hotel would take over its spot and compete with the trump hotel. as that controversy percolated, including an ongoing inspector general investigation last year, the trump family, you might recall, decided to just sell the hotel for a whopping $500 million, but then coronavirus hit. the downtown d.c. market cratered. the trump organization put the sale on ice. which brings us to this covid economic relief bill and the white house playing hard ball with congressional republicans to ear mark nearly $2 billion

explicitly for keeping the fbi headquarters exactly where it is. and that led to a remarkable moment when the senate unveiled their bill yesterday. >> why is there funding for the fbi in this bill? >> i'm not sure there is, is it? >> leigh ann caldwell from nbc asked that question. a staffer had to tell the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell that, yes, it is in the bill. unemployment benefits slashed. no money for food assistance, but nearly $2 billion to protect the president's hotel made it into the bill. there is no shame. millions of americans are staring down their first friday without the $600 in federal funds that they have been relying upon, but this president, well, he's got his own priorities. >> tech: at safelite, we're committed to taking care of you

and your car. >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite.

>> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed... now temperature balancing, so you can sleep better together. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring. exactly. no problem. ...and done. will it help me keep up with mom? you've got this. so you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. and now, no interest until january 2023 on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

some companies still have hr stuck between employeesentering data.a. changing data. more and more sensitive, personal data. and it doesn't just drag hr down. it drags the entire business down -- with inefficiency, errors and waste. it's ridiculous. so ridiculous. with paycom, employees enter and manage their own data in a single, easy to use software. visit paycom.com, and schedule your demo today.

can leave you holding your breath. ♪ but bristol myers squibb is working to change things. by researching new kinds of medicines that could help you live longer. including options that are chemo-free. because we're committed to bringing new hope into lung cancer care. remember this? it was about two months ago when

the president held a for it of outside st. john's church back in june after federal law enforcement forcibly dispersed peaceful protesters. our reporters were there, by the way. that's how we know they were peaceful protesters. we've got it on video across from the white house. to clear the president's stroll on the way to st. john's. today congress began a hearing to enforce force against those protesters in lafayette square. as part of testimony, lawmakers heard from adam demarco, a major in the d.c. guard who was there that day and witnessed firsthand the tactics used by law enforcement to break up those peaceful protests. major demarco testified today that what he saw was deeply disturbing. he called those tactics unnecessary, but more importantly, he directly contradicted the white house's claim that those protests were unruly, as well as their claim that no tear gas was used to clear the protesters. >> i could feel irritation in my eyes and nose, and based off my previous exposure to tear gas in training, i recognized that irritation as effects consistent

with criticism s or tear gas. and later that evening, i found spent tear gas cans terns on the street nearby. based on my training and experience, at no time did i feel threatened by the protesters or assess them to be violent. it was my observation that the use of force against demonstrators in the clearing operation was an unnecessary escalation of the use of force. >> now, what major demarco is describing there, federal officers using force to bust up protests, this is, of course, not just a d.c. thing anymore. that was the beginning of june. now that the president has dispatched federal agents to a handful of american cities all in the name of restoring law and order. in portland, that surge of federal agents has led to the tear gassing of the mayor as well as of roops moms and dads and veterans who have all turned out in an effort to blunt the federal use of force. the trump administration says law enforcement has been sent into seattle with the mission of protecting federal property there. rather than calming the situation, the deployment of federal officers to seattle

seems to have amplified the protests of unjust policing. protests that turned volatile over the weekend. the president also sent hundreds of federal agents to missouri, specifically to kansas city, purportedly to help target violent criminals as the city wrestles with a rising crime rate. and right off the bat people in kansas city grew suspicious of the administration's motives in their city. when attorney general bill barr claimed that over 200 people had been arrested in kansas city as part of this new push by federal law enforcement, well, local reporters started digging into the claim. they found that the attorney general's estimate was off by 199 arrests. in fact, only one person had been arrested in kansas city since the trump administration deployed the federal officers there. oops. the mayors of several american cities where the president has dispatched federal law enforcement are trying to undo what they consider to be an unwelcome presence of federal agents in their city. the majors of -- the mayors of six american cities have just sent a letter to congress asking

lawmakers to block the president from sending federal agents into their cities. they write, quote, this administration's egregious use of federal force on cities over the objections of local authorities should never happen. these actions further erode trust in government at all levels. are delegitimizing local law enforcement and escalate rather than de-escalate tensions. we live in a democratic rerepublican -- republic, not an authoritarian police state. we must block this type of dangerous and undemocratic exercise of power once and for all, end quote. the letter is signed by six american mayors including the mayors of portland and seattle and the mayor of kansas city, missouri. joining us now, mayor quinton lucas, the mayor of kansas city and one of the signatories on that letter to congress. mayor quinton, good to see you. thank you for being with us. let's talk about this. there is not -- it's not the same conversation in kansas city. the president's not saying that those troops -- those forces are there to defend federal

property. they seem to be implying that those forces are there to just sort of do what law enforcement would otherwise do in your city. >> well, that's exactly what they're claiming right now, but we have concern, all of us who signed on to onto this letter, with the fact that there is this ever expanding and creeping mission. that admission by bill barr, that they had 200 arrests in two weeks, although not true, shows you what the focus really was, and what our concern is, that this is to be a substitute policing operation, that in many ways is more about politics than it is solving very serious homicides in kansas city, and solving violent crimes for which we often will work with the fbi, u.s. marshals and atf. we all have grave concerns that this is going to exceed what normal, i guess, cooperation is, and instead lead us into a position more like portland and seattle. and that's something no mayor wants. >> how do you deal with that? what do you do to make sure that

doesn't continue to happen if >> well, we have continuous conversations with our local united states attorneys. both myself and other mayors have stronger relationships with them than we do with the folks in washington. but i think another part is we get attention to the issue. the federal government right now is trying to, i think, come in and make this whole discussion of what cities are today. president trump, when he announced the expansion of operation legend, which is happening in chicago, kansas, and albuquerque, talked about how liberal policies are destroying cities, are killing people, and so we're trying to in a way just get some sensibility to this. to say that, yes, if we have an fbi profiler who is helping us find a serial killer or murderer, absolutely. that's the sort of assistance we want. but what we don't want are a thousand agents there on the border of our cities to substitute for the police department. the defense is it's just to protect federal property.

but those agents are far from federal properties, they are conducting what is normal policing activity. and it's the sort of thing that is escalating all of those situations. >> other than the publicity of the videos we're showing right now on the side of the screen, do you have legal grounds to be able to fight this? >> so i know that in talking with other mayors, including the mayors of chicago, portland and seatt seattle, we do think there are legal grounds. a few years ago during the tea party movement, everybody was talking about the powers reserved to states and localities and bringing all types of challenges to the obama administration for bringing the fbi and others in to these sorts of issues. we think there's that same sort of thing. there are localized and state police power where is you can't just have somebody come in, arrest people, and do city wide policing operations or city wide warrant checks, which is something i know we've been concerned about. >> what do you do to answer the

president's other accusation that he says, as you said, democratic led or liberal, he says democrat led or liberal cities are easy on crime and they're letting thinging get out of control. that's a bit of a dog whistle to some degree. but how do you respond to it? >> you know, first of all, the president has gone beyond simple dog whistling to probably dog barking. he's made it a situation where -- even if it makes sense, is something that is kind of lout about progressives, loud about black leadership in his constant fight with a black woman in chicago, lori lightfoot and it creates a number of challenges. what we say is this, every mayor of any city, we're largely not radicals. we want our cities to be safe, but also want that safety to be

aligned with good, core locally based solutions. in kansas city, they sent 225 federal agents. we currently have about 61 unsolved homicides this year. if instead of having folks doing any number of operations, we paired up one fbi agent with every unsolved homicide, we would have a chance of impacting and temperaturing our total number of unsolved crimes. there are better ways to do it. or if we talked about guns and gun trafficking. the atf, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms should be working on this, because there's not a single firearm produced in the city of kansas or chicago. so that's what we'll be pushing for the duration of this administration and throughout this operation. >> thanks for talking with us. still ahead, a potentially lightning application of the zoom feature when it comes to

j joe biden's pick for vice president. stay with us. pick for vice president. stay with us it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take h-i-v treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. >> techand your car., we're committed to taking care of you >> tech: we'll fix it right with no-contact service

you can trust. >> tech: so if you have auto glass damage, stay safe with safelite. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ even if you're on a statin? are you still at risk for a heart attack or stroke? statins may lower some risks, but may not be enough. that's why science delivered vascepa. for people who have persistent cardiovascular risk factors and take a statin only vascepa is clinically proven to provide 25% lower risk from heart attack and stroke. don't take vascepa if you're allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. tell your doctor about any medicines you take, and if you are allergic to fish or shellfish. stop taking vascepa and seek medical help if you have symptoms of an allergic reaction. serious side effects may occur like heart rhythm problems and bleeding. heart rhythm problems may occur in more people with persistent cardiovascular risk or who have had heart rhythm problems. tell your doctor if you have symptoms such as irregular beat, lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest discomfort or fainting. possible side effects include muscle and joint pain.

proven by science, fda approved. vascepa can reduce your risk and add cardio protection. call your doctor about vascepa today. thabsolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and can it help keep me asleep? automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, save up to $500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus no interest until january 2023 on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

with the news that democratic presidential nominee joe biden will be announcing his pick for vp next week, the tea leaf reading has begun in ernest. exhibit a. an associated press photographer caught this picture of the notes joe biden had in hand during a campaign event in delaware. computer, enhance. check this out. in biden's tiny scrawl, there at the top under the header, kamala harris. do not hold grudges. campaigned with me and jill. talented. great help to campaign. great respect for her. now, if these are meant to be joe biden's thoughts on kamala harris' viability as a running mate, none of them are earth shattering. the part about grudges could stem from their exchange when harris blasted biden for his record on desegregation and bussing. but do not hold grudges makes sense in that context, even without the benefit of the context. however, these notes could mean anything.

they could mean argument for picking harris as his running mate or a defense for not picking her as a running mate. for a defintive answer, we'll have to wait until next week. until then, computer, cease enhancement. and that does it for tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow. it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." good evening, lawrence. i'm not sure that anything is getting better since our conversation about night about watching some baseball. >> no, it doesn't look that way. but i'm going to have cory booker on later in this hour. i'll ask him what he makes of those biden notes about his colleague, kamala harris. so the thing that strikes me about it, there were no other vp names on that sheet. you know, there was no one else, no notes about how to discuss anyone else. and at this stage in the process, that might be the most important bit of evidence that we have in those notes. >> that they were only about