it was in many ways barack obama's 2004 speech and then his campaign and it was a very effective message. >> yeah, that's right. and it's what people want. people want a way out of where we are. the pandemic is affecting everyone. you know, in a minute, everyone will

this is dr. joseph varon from houston, texas. he is the chief medical officer of united memorial medical center, which is in north houston. >> i'm pretty much fighting two wars, a war against covid and a war against stupidity, and the problem is that the first one, i have some hope about winning, but the second one is becoming more and more difficult to treat. and why do i say that? because people are not listening, whether, you know, it's backed by science of just plain old common sense, people are not listening throughout the country. >> i worked this past wednesday. i had three patients. i -- i wasn't feeling too good

toward the beginning of the shift, so i let dr. varon know. he was like, you need to get to the e.r., and they told me i was positive. >> i couldn't breathe. i was at work, and i couldn't breathe. so the little wind that i had left, i made it home, and my wife called the hotline. but if you've got a death wish, catch covid. >> if you've got a what? >> if you've got a death wish, play with covid. >> all the fighting and all the screaming and all the, you know, finger-pointing. enough is enough. whatever happened to just common humanity and decency. i don't know. the world is hurting. so for people to be mad and yet myself as a medical person,

people just need to stop and listen to them, to us. we're not going to lie. why would we lie? >> you know, i have been in the middle of earthquakes, in the middle of bombings, in the middle of tsunamis. i've been in every possible capacity that i can imagine, and by far this is the worse. this is the worse because this is a continuing situation. the other ones, you know, something bad happens and then you take care of things and that's it. here continues to occur, and what is probably the most disappointing thing, the thing that annoys me the most is that we keep on doing our best to save all these people, and then you get another batch of people that are doing exactly the opposite of what you are telling them not to do. >> dr. joseph varon is the chief medical officer at that hospital in north houston, united memorial. you also saw there christina mathers, who is a nurse on his staff, who herself got infected. also one of their patients,

reilly harrison, age 67, saying if you've got a death wish, catch covid. if you've got a death wish, play with covid. as of tonight, nbc news calculations show that the number of americans who have been killed by coronavirus has now topped 160,000. 160,000 americans gone in just six months. and an epidemic that is still raging out of control. today was yet another day of more than 50,000 new cases reported and another day of more than 1,000 new deaths reported among americans just in the past 24 hours. david leonhardt at "the new york times" today took a look at how much worst the united states has handled this epidemic compared to every other major country on earth. and, i mean, we know it, but it's just staggering in the specificsings right?

we americans, we're only 4% of the world's population. we are 22% of the world's coronavirus deaths. if you look just in the past month, in just this past month, 1.9 million americans got infected. compare that to our allies. compare that to like countries in the rest of the world. compare it to canada, australia, south korea, japan, all of europe, all of europe. if you combine all of those, if you combine canada, australia, south korea, japan, and all of europe, all of their new cases over the past month, our cases alone are five times as high as all of them combined. nothing like it on earth. the ohio governor, republican governor mike dewine, tested positive for coronavirus today when he was on his way to go meet with the president on a trip to cleveland. the center for public integrity obtained a recording from last night which they published today, which is the only way we know that the white house

coronavirus coordinator, dr. deborah birx, is now warning ten specific localities around the country that their numbers are dangerous and they need to take action. she's specifically warning baltimore, atlanta, kansas city, portland, omaha, nebraska, chicago, boston, detroit, and washington, d.c., as well as the whole central valley of california. those are the warnings currently from dr. deborah birx. now, the white house made no public announcement that these cities and these areas are in trouble right now, but we have a free press, and someone leaked the audio of dr. birx delivering those warnings in a private call, and apparently that's now how we find out what the federal government can tell us about where the emergencies are right now in this epidemic. somebody on the call leaks it to the press. they publish it. that's how we find out what the white house is worried about in terms of who has it bad right now that needs to make changes because their numbers look terrible. i mean, this is the system? so there's a lot going on

tonight. there's some fascinating news tonight that has just come out of kansas. we're going to be talking about that this hour as we're having these ongoing national fights about going back to school and mask rules and all the rest of it. kansas just did what amounts to a natural experiment that the whole country can very plainly learn from. this is something that hasn't really had any national attention yet, but it should. we're going to give it a little national attention later on this hour here on this show. we've also got new york attorney general tish james here with us live tonight. attorney general tish james was on this show 16 months ago when she announced that her office had begun an inquiry into the nra, the national rifle association, one of the most powerful political entities in this country, one of the most influential players in republican politics.

obviously they've been the major special influence in this country that's blocked any gun-related reforms even as gun violence and mass shootings have just gotten worse and worse and worse. new york attorney general tish james today announced the culminating result of her office's 16-month investigation into the nra. what she announced today is that her office is now seeking to shut that organization down. they are chartered in new york. they are under the jurisdiction of new york law. she says they are in violation of new york law, and they should be dissolved. whatever you think of the nra as a political entity and as a special lobbying interest and what effect they've had on our country, tish james' office says in their lawsuit today that they basically have been able to document that whatever else the nra is, it's also a gigantic scam. its top executives, according to the attorney general's office, have been ripping off the organization to the tune of, like, tens of millions of dollars a year, year after year. they've been funneling nra members' donations into their own pockets and to their own family members and friends and

allies for years, to the point of what tish james today called, quote, brazen illegality. new york attorney general tish james announced her office's civil suit against the nra and a number of its senior executives today. that suit includes some very lurid details about the way her office says nra executives stole tens of millions of dollars and what they spent it on. the list of what they spent it on is quite amazing in its own terms. tish james is going to be here live in just a moment to talk about that lawsuit, why it's happening now, why she thinks the nra should not just be penalized, it should be dissolved as an organization. i should tell you i know this got a lot of attention today, and you may have seen that the president, president trump, today responded to the news of this action by attorney general

tish james by saying that the nra should dissolve itself, that it shoulding like, disestablish itself in new york and move out of new york, move out of tish james' jurisdiction. the president said today publicly that the nra should reconstitute itself somewhere else like texas instead. we're going to talk this hour about why the nra actually doesn't have that option. and the president darn well knows it because his own bogus charity, the trump foundation, was itself shut down by the new york attorney general's office not that long ago because of a whole different slew of brazen illegality and alleged self-dealing. if the president could have evaded that fate by just picking up and moving his fake charity out of new york and moving it to texas, he would have done so to save his own skin. it was not an option for him when his bogus scam charity got shut down by the new york attorney general, and it is also today not an option for the nra, no matter what the president says. so we're going to talk about that tonight, and tish james is

going to be joining us live in just a moment. but speaking of self-dealing, before we get to that, i also want to update you tonight on a story that sort of broke way open right here at the end of this show last night. this is ambassador lewis lukens. he's had a 30-year career at the state department. for a time he was our acting ambassador to britain in the trump administration until november 2018, he was the number two official at the u.s. embassy in london. he was second in command to the billionaire woody johnson, who president trump appointed ambassador to the uk. lewis lukens is now retired from the foreign service. he was sent home by ambassador woody johnson about seven months before his tour of duty was due to end there, and he chose to retire at that time. but now that he's a private citizen, he is now speaking out in person and on the record about what he saw happen during his tenure there.

watch. >> the ambassador came back from a meeting at the white house. the very next morning he came and talked to me. he said the president wants me to do this. who should i talk to? how should i go about doing it? i said, you can't. you shouldn't do it. this is unethical, probably illegal. a couple weeks later he asked again. i gave him the same answer. he then had a meeting with the british -- made the request or made the suggestion at least after which i was informed that. i wasn't in the meeting, but i was informed directly after about who was. and i, you know, let washington know, but also kept detailed notes on my own of what was happening at the time. >> can you spell this out? i realize this may be elementary and seem very obvious to you, but just for the benefit of me and for our viewers, can you spell out why you told ambassador johnson that he really shouldn't do this, why it would be unethical and, in your words, potentially illegal? >> well, look, it's a clear example of trying to use u.s. government resources and the position of the u.s. ambassador to the court of st. james to line the president's pocket, to

promote his personal business and support his financial -- personal financial interests. so, you know, you don't have to take a three-hour course in ethics to understand that that's a violation of the oath of the constitution that we take as diplomats and the ambassador took before he came to london to protect and serve the american people and the american constitution, not the president's financial -- personal financial interests. >> do you know if, in fact, the state department inspector general investigated this matter? >> the inspector general team was in london for about three to four weeks last october, and as i understand it, they didn't talk to me when they came out there, but from colleagues at the embassy, my understanding is that this issue was raised with them as well as several other allegations. they spent about a month at the embassy talking to staff, talking to leadership in the embassy, and then went back to washington. and what they normally would do is write their report, which is then sent to the embassy for their final approval of it and

commentary on it. and at that point the report sort of screeched to a halt and has not gone anywhere since. >> lewis lukens was the number two official at the u.s. embassy in britain when he says the u.s. ambassador to britain, woody johnson, at president trump's request, went to the british government and asked the british government to move the british open golf tournament to the president's golf club in scotland, which would be a clear and large financial benefit to the president and his business. as ambassador lukens put it, quote, you don't have to take a three-hour course in ethics to understand that it's a violation of the oath of the constitution that we take to protect and serve the american people and the american constitution, not the president's personal financial interests. ambassador lukens is in sort of a remarkable position here, right, because he was a witness to this. he says ambassador woody johnson told him about his conversations with the president about this, about this request the president

made that ambassador johnson should ask the british government to do his personal golf club this big favor. the ambassador described that conversation as having taken place between himself and president trump in person in the oval office on january 29th, 2018. according to ambassador lukens, one day later on january 30th, woody johnson came to him and asked lew lukens for his advice on how he should follow through on the president's request. mr. lukens says he told woody johnson not to do it, that it was unethical and illegal. lewis lukens says, though, that he talked to ambassador johnson about it again several weeks later, and the ambassador still wanted to go ahead with the request. lukens again said he told woody johnson that he should not do it. but then he says ambassador woody johnson went ahead and actually did it, made the request anyway. he did convey the president's request about his golf club and the british open to the british government.

and there was lewis lukens taking detailed notes at the time, and, as he put it, telling washington, letting washington know, reporting his observations and concerns about what was happening back to the state department in d.c. as of last fall, several months ago, the state department i.g. apparently had done some investigation of these allegations. but then the report on those investigations, the report on what happened, somewhat mysteriously and very atypically disappeared and has not been made public. nbc news reporting that that report was designated as classified for some reason, and then shortly thereafter the inspector general who conducted that investigation was fired, and we still don't know why he was fired. and that is something that congress is currently investigating because not only does congress not know why that inspector general was fired, neither does he. congress recently released the

transcript of a closed-door deposition they did with the inspector general steve linick where linick told members of congre congress, in this case congressman ted lieu, quote, i don't know why i have been removed. there's been no valid reason presented to me for that removal. congress is trying to figure it out. linick still doesn't know why he was fired, but he was fired apparently, according to nbc news reporting, at the same time his reporting on what happened with that request about the president's golf club was mysteriously marked classified, submarined, and kept from public view. this week the foreign relations and oversight committee sent subpoenas to senior state department officials to try to get to the bottom of why that inspector general was fired and to try to figure out whether it may have been a cover-up of some kind. to add further drama to this, this week the new inspector general, who was put in place to replace the guy who they precipitously fired, the new one announced that he, too, is leaving abruptly after less than

three months on the job as the new state department inspector general, leaving without explanation, secretary of state mike pompeo saying simply that he wanted go home and it happens. i should mention that that acting inspector general, the guy newly appointed to that post, he's not only leaving the inspector general job to which he was just named, he's also leaving the government entirely with no explanation. but the u.s. ambassador to the uk, woody johnson, is still at his post in london even after all this has come out. i mean, despite what appears to have been his direct involvement in carrying out this scheme that the president put him up to, to try to use the u.s. government and employees of the u.s. government to get him a sweet business deal from a foreign government. as ambassador lukens said here last night on this show and as he apparently told ambassador woody johnson when this happened, this scheme that the president arranged involving his ambassador and the golf club thing, it may not only be unethical and against state department policy, it may be illegal.

well, to that point, the story has taken a further step forward now because now the fbi has been asked to investigate this matter as potentially bribery, the solicitation of a bribe. congresswoman kathleen rice of new york and congressman ted lieu of california, both of whom incidentally are former federal prosecutors, they've now written to the fbi director christopher wray, asking the fbi to investigate whether this was a crime. quote, dear director wray, as former prosecutors and current members of congress, we request the fbi to look into whether u.s. ambassador to the uk robert wood johnson iv committed any crimes. multiple media reports reports ambassador johnson trying to

steer the lucrative british open to the trump turnberry resort, which would benefit donald trump and his family. we do not know the details, but if he was being influenced in the performance or omission of any official acts in exchange for foreign officials moving the british open to trump turnberry, that would constitute solicitation of a bribe as a crime. the representatives go on to spell out what part of the u.s. penal code establishes solicitation of bribery as a crime. they say in this case, quote, ambassador johnson is a public official, and he sought something of significant value, moving the british open to trump turnberry for donald trump. if ambassador johnson's conversations with british officials included him stating that he would either perform or omit to perform certain official actions in exchange for them moving the british open, then all the elements for soliciting a bribe are met. we believe the public reporting has provided more than enough of a factual predicate to open an investigation into ambassador johnson. thank you for your attention to this important matter. joining us now live is congressman ted lieu, who not incidentally sits on the house

foreign affairs committee, which oversees the state department. he's also one of these members of congress who is calling for that fbi investigation. congressman lieu, thank you so much for making time. i really appreciate you being here tonight. >> thank you, rachel. >> in the wake of this recent public reporting and these shocking allegations from ambassador lewis lukens, you first called for the resignation of ambassador johnson, who's still currently in post in london. you've now taken it a step further and said that the fbi should investigate this as potential criminal behavior on his part. why do you think it rises to the level of what you want to be a criminal investigation here? >> thank you for your question. we know that what ambassador johnson did was unethical. what congresswoman kathleen rice and i want to know is was it also illegal. and in this case, two out of three elements of solicitation for bribe have already been met. he is a public official, and he definitely asked for something of value for donald trump.

and if he said anything in exchange for that, that would be solicitation of a bribe. that was some sort of official action. and why is this report, this i.g. report on what he did even marked classified? because if all he did was make that request, that would not be classified. what would be classified is if he said something, and that's what makes this thing even more suspicious. that's why we want the fbi to investigate because he may have said something that he should not have said. >> in terms of that state department paper trail, there has been a sort of remarkable string of reporting. here is lewis lukens telling me last night that he conveyed his concerns to washington. he said he told washington about the same concerns that he expressed to ambassador johnson. we've also got the -- his exact words, quote, i let washington know but also kept detailed notes on my own of what was happening at the time. we've also had some remarkable and interesting reporting from the associated press that

describes multiple state department officials conveying concerns about this home to washington, home to state department headquarters, expressing alarm and concern about these unethical and potentially illegal acts. should you and your colleagues on the foreign relations committee or anybody else in congress be able to follow that paper trail in, in fact, all of this stuff was dutifully documented by career officials who witnessed it and who knew it was wrong? >> absolutely. the house foreign affairs committee has already subpoenaed a number of officials. i've interviewed i.g. linick along with other committee members, and it's pretty clear he had no basis for getting fired. we don't know why a card now has had somebody resign. and this is part of a pattern of corruption that we see in the state department, not just ambassador johnson, but also you have allegations that the u.s. ambassador to brazil was asking brazil to basically take actions

to benefit donald trump's re-election. i think ambassador johnson should resign. but since he hasn't, i believe the state department needs to recall him back to the united states for two reasons. first of all, ambassador lukens on your show confirmed that ambassador johnson made that request to british officials to move the british open to the trump turnberry resort. and, second, there are multiple allegations that ambassador johnson made racist and sexist comments. you can't -- have these kinds of glasses in a very critical position for u.s. government. >> if in fact the inspector general did investigate those comments that you just described from the ambassador and this matter of potentially soliciting a bribe, as you and your colleague puts it in the letter today to the fbi, if the i.g. has looked into these matters, what's to stop the senior leadership at the state department from burying that inspector general report

forever? is there a way that it can be surfaced? obviously it seems to require some fresh investigation it sounds like you and your colleagues are eager to do that. but if the i.g. has already done on the ground investigation of what happened here, how can that report be either brought to the attention of the public or to the oversight committees like the one on which you serve? >> public sentiment matters. that's why shows like yours are so important. congressional oversight matters, and the committee is absolutely going to ask for this report to be made public. i still think it's awfully suspicious that it's marked classified. i'm not clear why that would be the case. and we definitely want to see this report, and the state department owes it to the american people to clear the air if nothing happened, or if something bad happened, to issue the report and then have the chips fall where they may. >> congressman ted lieu of california, sir, thank you for your time tonight. thanks for helping us understand this. i feel like this story is --

felt like it's been sort of on a slow burn for a while, but it is coming to a boil. thank you, sir. much appreciated. >> thank you. >> i should mention that there is going to be some potential furthering of this story tomorrow. nbc news is reporting tonight that the person who currently serves as executive secretary to mike pompeo, the secretary of state, her name is lisa kenna. she is set to appear before congressional committees tomorrow. she has previously testified that she doesn't have any knowledge about the inspector general's firing, but she has had some troubling things about whether or not she was asked, as pompeo's executive secretary, to do things that basically constituted a misuse of resources in the state department. so, again, lisa kenna, she's up for an ambassadorship right now. she is due to testify in congress tomorrow while this is a roiling controversy now, including this new request to the fbi to investigate this as a potential criminal matter. expect that she will be asked about that, and that may be of news interest. we'll keep you posted. we've got much more ahead here tonight. stay with us.

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here's the specs. the yacht is called "illusions." at first i thought it was called the illusion or the illusions. it's just called "illusions," like talking heads. it's 108 feet long. it has a full staff, also a chef.

it has four staterooms. i think a stateroom in this context means bedroom, but i'm not sure. whatever they are, whatever staterooms are, "illusions" has four of them. "illusions" is a big enough boat that it comes with other boats and vehicles that ride on top of it. it comes with two jet skis and a 16-foot-long jet boat. it's a boat that comes with a boat. i do not know my way around a yacht. i do own a rowboat, but i not do know anything about yachts. i would not know the makings of a good stateroom if i laid down in one for a nautical nap. but i'll tell you, for news purposes, you should know that boats that make the news, they tend to have a paper trail online. and so i think this might be the boat in question. this might be "illusions." when you google "illusions yacht," at least, this is the bad boy that pops up, and it does have the, like, embedded

jet skis and the jet boat and the fancy bedrooms and all the rest of it. the reason i went on a very pleasurable internet deep dive for this today is that some good ship illusions, some yacht of that name has now been cited as evidence in the long, long, long, long list of allegations of fraud and multi-million dollar self-dealing at the nra, at the national rifle association. in a lawsuit that was filed today by new york's attorney general letitia james. the nra as an organize is chartered in new york. it has been chartered in new york for well over 100 years. as a new york institution, as a new york charitable institution, it has to follow the rules and laws for nonprofits operating in new york. and according to the attorney general's lawsuit, the longtime

president of the nra, wayne lapierre, often stayed on the "illusions" yacht without paying for it. those trips were a present from one of the nra's vendors with mr. lapierre getting to use the chef and the jet skis and presumably all four staterooms for free. what he didn't do was disclose his acceptance of what the new york a.g. alleges was this very expensive gift on the nra's financial disclosures and that is something that is required by new york state law. from the lawsuit, quote, in mr. lapierre's testimony to the attorney general, he said that the reason he failed to disclose the use of the yacht was for security reasons and because he considered the yacht to have been used for a legitimate business purpose. but wait, there's more. according to the new york attorney general, wayne lapierre spent $500,000 of the nra's money -- that's nra donors, right, nra members providing money to the nra for its purpose as a non-profit.

instead, wayne lapierre is taking a half million dollars of that money to spend specifically on private airplane flights to the bahamas and back. for his family at least eight times over just the last three years. the attorney general says he spent more than $13 million of the nra's money on a private travel consultant, arranging additional private flights and luxury cars for him and his family over the last six years. there was also at least one african safari for wayne lapierre and his wife, which the a.g. says they improperly accepted from another nra vendor. the a.g. ticks off lots of fancy christmas gifts for lapierre's friends and family and golf club membership fees and a $12,000 hotel bill at the four seasons not for wayne lapierre but for his niece. over the course of four years, the lawsuit alleges that wayne lapierre was reimbursed for more than $1 million worth of personal expenses straight out of the nra's coffers. so your uncle with the nra sticker, he's been like putting wayne lapierre's niece up in the four seasons and flying wayne

and his family back and forth to the bahamas. that's what this membership money has been going to. the lawsuit filed today is over 150 pages. the new york attorney general, letitia james, sets out in fairly stunning detail her case for how the president of the nra and several of his interpreter lieutenants drained more than $64 million out of the nra for their own personal gain over a very short period of time, just over a period of a few years. the nra has been an outsized political force in this country for a long time. they have been an axis of power in conservative politics. they've been a crucial ally to this specific president. in 2016, the nra donated more money to trump's presidential campaign than they've donated to any other presidential campaign since they've come into being. but now with this lawsuit today, the new york attorney general is moving to dissolve the

organization entirely. she says as punishment for years of financial fraud and abuse that amount to brazen illegality. we have seen new york attorney general -- we have seen the new york authorities pursue and win that exact outcome before in the trump era. they've done it repeatedly. in 2016, you might remember it was the new york attorney general's office that settled a lawsuit over the president's fake trump university, right? the president's fake university, trump u, he had to pay a $25 million settlement to the people who said they were defrauded by that scam as a result of that lawsuit by the new york attorney general's office. trump university was dissolved. then it happened again in 2018 with the trump foundation. the new york attorney general filed a suit detailing a long-running fraudulent and self-dealing behavior at the trump family's so-called charity. as a result, the trump

foundation was dissolved and its remaining assets were distributed to real charities. well, now the new york attorney general is doing the same thing with the nra. they have asked a court to permanently dissolve the organization, redistribute its remaining assets to real charities for real charitable use. now, in response to this action today by new york's attorney general, president trump suggested publicly today that the nra should just pick up and move out of new york to escape all of this legal hullabaloo, to escape tish james' jurisdiction in new york. he said that the nra should move to texas to go on and lead a, quote, very good and beautiful life. why does he talk that way? anyway, according to legal experts that we consulted today, the nra can't do that. they can't just pick up and ship themselves and their assets to texas in some big cargo crate. and, frankly, the president should know that. if that had been a solution to this kind of problem, he might

have done that with the trump charity, right? but tish james has the right as new york attorney general to ask a court to dissolve the nra and to distribute those assets for public benefit. they can't do so without her consent, right? they can't just up and say, we're no longer in new york. we're taking all our assets and going elsewhere. because they are incorporated the way they are in new york, she's in charge of what happens to them, and she has now lined up her case alleging serious illegality and misuse of that organization. she's going for it. the people of the state of new york versus the nra. new york attorney general letitia james joins us live here next. stay with us. what if i sleep hot? ... or cold?

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the nra's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own

pockets. wayne lapierre, woody phillips, joshua powell, and john frazier instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the nra that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent. >> new york attorney general letitia james speaking this morning just after filing a lawsuit that seeks to entirely dissolve the national rifle association as an organization. the nra is chartered in new york as a nonprofit and thus is subject to new york law. joining us now is new york's attorney general letitia james. madam attorney general, thank you so much for taking the time to help us understand this case tonight. >> thank you for having me, rachel. >> so you came and did an interview with me. you spoke with us here on the show nearly a year and a half ago when this investigation started. what did you and your office discover over the course of your investigation into the nra that

made you decide to seek the most dramatic possible remedy here, the actual dissolving of this organization? >> it was the diversion of millions upon millions of dollars from the charitable mission of the nra. it was this culture of misappropriation, this culture where individuals were using the nra as their personal piggy bank. wayne lapierre as the executive vice president, his counsel, his treasurer, and his chief of staff, these four individuals,mf them turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to all that was out no-show contracts, no-bidding contracts. they sought the loyalty of members of the committee. they sought to quiet those who were dissidents, and they also ignored the complaints of

whistle-blowers, a number of whistle-blowers who understand and who recognize the financial impropriety that was happening within nra to the point where the nra today is operating in the deficit. and despite all of that, mr. wayne lapierre and the nra would seek to engage in personal attacks as opposed to dealing with our complaint and the facts that we laid bare. and the fact is, is that it was a not-for-profit organized under the state of new york and that they attempted to violate the law, evade the jurisdiction and evade certain protocols that should have been in place. and it's unfortunate that they failed to ensure these financial controls. it's unfortunate that they failed to adequately respond to whistle-blowers. it's unfortunate that they attempted to conceal the nature

and scope of whistle-blower complaints. it's unfortunate that they attempted to hide information from external auditors. it's unfortunate that they engaged in these related party transactions and that they engaged in a number of conflicts of interest. and so we seek to dissolve the corporation because their as p persistent, and it's throughout the entire corporation. it's important that these four men and the nra not again serve on any not-for-profit board in the state of new york and that they recoup and provide restitution to the nra as a result of all of its losses, including its excessive compensation packages for these leaders.

and that's why we are seeking that the nra be dissolved, because it has gone on for far too long, an unchecked corporation with too much power and a corporation that unfortunately ignored the law. nobody's above the law, including the nra. >> now, in response to your suit today, which obviously made national news, right? this is a big deal, given the political influence and reach of the nra both over time and now. the president responded by saying that he thinks that the nra should just get out of new york, move itself to texas. the texas attorney general then tweeted that the state, of course, would welcome the nra with open arms. when we saw that the president and the texas attorney general said that today, we contacted a number of legal experts who told us that that's not a possibility, and that may be a good p.r. move, but the way that

nra is chartered in new york, they can't just up and move to any other state. they certainly can't take any of their assets, which includes their name, their brand, and any of the ways in which they've represented themselves to the public. if they try to do this, will you have to take legal action to block them from doing that? do you see them as having any legal toehold to stand on if they try to evade your jurisdiction by just dissolving them in new york and leaving? >> the nra has to account for this not-for-profit corporation. they have to account to a court of law. we filed in the supreme court today in the state of new york, and until such time as they account for their looting of this corporation, this corporation cannot leave the state of new york at this point in time. they need the approval of the office of attorney general. and so until such time as there is a full accounting, restitution, and they are removed as leaders of the nra,

and we will dissolve the corporation in its entirety, and they will not serve on any other not-for-profit in the state of new york. these individuals are not in a position to leave the state of new york and the nra as a corporation. it's also important to note that the attorney general of d.c. also filed an action today against the nra foundation, and the district attorney -- the attorney general of d.c. is alleging that the foundation was subject to the influence of wayne lapierre. and so we are again waiting the outcomes of these two major lawsuits that, again, question whether or not this corporation, the nra itself and these four

individual defendants, in fact, failed to ensure and put in place fiscal controls, which allowed them to basically loot the corporation and use it as their own personal piggy bank. >> new york attorney general letitia james, thank you for your time tonight. i know that actions like this make you a national lightning rod, and that puts a lot of pressure on you and your office. that makes me all the more grateful that you're willing to come here and explain in your own terms how you arrived at this decision and what it means. thank you so much. >> thank you, rachel. >> all right. coming up next, as i mentioned at the top of the show, there's some news out of kansas tonight that hasn't had a lot of national attention yet but absolutely has national implications. it even comes with a little clip and save chart you can put up on the fridge. that's next. stay with us.

at the beginning of last month, the democratic governor of kansas, laura kelly, signed a

mandate for masks statewide in kansas. but republicans in the kansas legislature had taken action to strip the governor of the emergency powers that let her do something like that. so as a result, her statewide mask order didn't really happen. individual counties had the right to not do it if they didn't want to, and that's what most counties did. the story of what happened next in kansas comes now from the head of the state health department. he's now briefed reporters and the public on what happened once that mask order went into a effect in a handful of counties that said okay but not in most counties in the state. the secretary showed this chart of daily cases per capita. this is the seven-day rolling average of cases per capita in kansas. he tracked the 15 kansas counties that decided they would enforce the mask mandate that the governor announced last month, and they tracked the remaining 90 counties in the state that chose to make it just a recommendation, just a suggestion.

and you can see the results for yourself. the counties that followed the mask mandate, that put a mask mandate in effect, they bent the curve. they brought their case numbers way down. the counties that didn't make masks mandatory didn't bend the curve down. the virus there is still chugging along. this is how the health director explained what the takeaway should be for all of us here. >> bottom, bottom line is do masks work? here in this natural experiment called kansas, where we essentially -- not due to any great design, but it has worked out that way -- some counties have been the control group with no masks and some have been the experimental group with masks that are worn, and the experimental group is winning the battle. >> if you know anybody who has doubts about whether mask-wearing works, have them take a look at this natural experiment in kansas. kansas has proof. you bring the curve down with a

mask mandate. you don't without one. we will post the kansas chart at maddowblog.com. we'll be right back. awesome internet.

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tonight. i will see you again tomorrow night. "first look" is up next. "first look" is up next. another milestone. the number could climb to 300,000 by december. also the president voices optimism about a possible coronavirus vaccine becoming available before the november election, but that is not what his own health experts have said. >> and new york's attorney general file as lawsuit to shut down the national rifle association, accusing the nra of an array of illegal conduct.