conflict between israel and hamas and gaza, trying to built momentum for a cease-fire which both sides are indicated could happen as soon as today. that is despite israel unleashing another wave of air strikes this morning in gaza. nearly 230 palestinians have been killed so far. richard engle will join us live from jerusalem. on capitol hill, the house will vote on a security bill. it comes after the house last night passed a bill to create an independent commission to investigate the riot. the measure passing with 35 republicans breaking from their party. but the bill faces a roadblock in the senate with mitch mcconnell and several republicans opposing it. >> we have people scaling the capitol, hitting the capitol police with lead pipes across

the head, and we can't get bipartisanship. what else has to happen in this country? >> good morning. i am joined by chief foreign correspondent richard engel and ben rhodes, former deputy national security adviser for former president obama. richard, i want to start with you in the region. what are you hearing from both sides about the prospects of a cease-fire? how realistic is this that it's imminent, richard? >> reporter: well, just in the last hour or so, the violence has intensified quite significantly. hamas has fired dozens of rockets that landed in several israeli cities. and at the same time, there have been more air strikes, including two that appeared to be targeted strikes on vehicles in gaza city. palestinians are describing

those as targeted potential assassinations. two hours from now the israeli cabinet is expected to meet and discuss a cease-fire, and there was reports that in that cabinet discussion, they may set a deadline or set a start time for a cease-fire tomorrow morning. so what we could be seeing right now is unfinished business or a bit of messaging with hamas saying that it forced the cease-fire, that it was not brought to its knees, that it forced israel to come to the table and israel trying to send the exact opposite message, that it is potentially going to agree to a cease-fire on its own terms. they are still fighting up to the wire. that wire could be coming soon. we'll see what happens in this security cabinet meeting, but it does not look like we're going to have a cease-fire today. we don't have one right now. perhaps tomorrow morning, but it is still an evolving situation

as the rockets are still flying and the air strikes are still taking place. >> richard, you describe an incredibly volatile situation and you have obviously covered the region there for years. even if there is a cease-fire, how difficult is it for a cease-fire to hold given the volatility that you are witnessing there on the ground? >> reporter: a cease-fire, frankly, long-term would be meaningless. it would stop this immediate round. it would put a band-aid over the wound that the bleeding right now, but the patient is still sick. the two remain worlds apart. you have gaza, home to two million people. the people in gaza describe it as a prison and in a lot of ways it is a prison. one of the things they are asking for is more access to humanitarian goods. we spoke to a unicef rep earlier today just as a minor example but an important example of what

it's like in gaza. they have trucks right now they're trying to get into gaza, but they have been blocked on the israeli side. on those trucks are 10,000 covid vaccines. that kind of need for humanitarian assistance is constant. that's here in gaza. here in jerusalem massive flash point city between palestinians and israelis and israeli settlers. the issue of land confiscation, home confiscation. then the west bank, which is divided between walls and fences. so there are many, many outstanding palestinian issues, none of which are going to be resolved. many outstanding israeli demands, primarily the demand for security which is not going to be resolved. what we could see is a dramatic escalation and end to this round of violence. and that would be potentially start to build on something better, but they're not even really discussing that right now. they're talking about ways to

stop this now and lay a ground work for going forward with a diplomatic process potentially. >> richard engel reporting from jerusalem. thank you for your reporting from the ground and please say safe. ben, i want to bring you in to this conversation. and if you could, pick up where i just left off with richard. how likely is it, do you think that, we get a cease-fire in the next 24, 48 hours? and what really is the significance given that it doesn't solve the long-term issues in the region? >> well, i think a cease-fire doesmminent. you feel the con ver against of international pressure, pressure from the united states. it is not unusual that in the last days you see an uptick in israeli air strikes as they take out whatever targets they want to hit before a cease-fire. but it does feel like this is

moving towards a cease-fire. as you said, i completely agree with richard, this is a very different context because what you have is a circumstance where there is no real piece process. there is no real hope for a two state solution. there is a sense of desperation that you have seen in the general strike in recent days. israel continues to have these concerns about rockets that don't go away with these military operations. so i think there is a very real sense that even though there is a cease fire here, there will be ongoing tensions, potential for violence going forward. >> and, ben, you obviously navigated moments like this when you were serving in the obama administration. and what president biden has said and what his top officials have said is that they believe the diplomacy, the conversations that are going on behind the scenes are where the hard work

and the real work gets done. we know that president biden just yesterday urged the prime minister to deescalate the violence. he has spoken to the prime minister six times. there have been more than 60 calls regarding the region. does this traditional way of addressing this latest flair-up work, or does president biden need to go further? does he need to do more of it? >> well, look, i think there is always a need for diplomacy. always a need for those intense private conditions. the challenge for the biden administration is in the broader complex, the united states is generally isolated. you see world opinion calling for a cease-fire, world opinion expressing outrage and condemnation of images of palestinian children who are killed in gaza in israeli air

strikes. for the united states, this is part of a global picture as well where the biden administration is trying to say human rights is back in the center of our policy. a rules based order is something the united states invested in after donald trump. at the same time, on this issue, we find ourselves isolated from world opinion. also i think there will be questions for the biden administration about what their policy is with respect to the palestinians in the absence of a peace process with a circumstance where it seems like the hopes of a two state solution are rapidly diminishing with the passage of time. so it may be that diplomacy achieves a cease-fire. there will still be questions going forward about what their approach is generally on issues related to the palestinian play. >> very quickly, ben, before i let you go, we're watching what happens in the un security council today. i should say the general assembly is going to be meeting. we know that the biden administration has blocked a statement by the security council calling for an end to

the crisis. why? >> well, again, the biden administration has clearly calculated that they would like to deal with these things privately with the israelis. they don't want their to be public daylight between them and the government. what the meetings will amplify is the fact that the u.s. is alone in that position. so, again, their judgment here is that better to have these conversations privetsy and not have disagreements with the prime minister in public. but that will not solve the fact that international opinion is often in a different place than the united states on this. and it's a sign that, again, we can solve this problem in the obama administration. i'm very sympathetic to how hard it is, but this is going to be on their agenda. the middle east has a way of pulling back their attention even if you want to be focussed on your domestic issues or your

china issues abroad. >> president biden wants to be shifting to other foreign issues and, yet, here he is focussed on the middle east like so many presidents before him. ben rhodes, always great to have your perspective. we want to take you to capitol hill where we are watching for new developments connected to the january 6th siege on the capitol. the house next hour set to vote on a bill to set up security around the capitol. and in the senate, we're expected to hear from party leaders about a bill approved in the house last night that would establish an independent 9/11 style commission to look into what caused the january 6th attack. we are on capitol hill. she has been covering all of the angles. despite 35 republicans in the housebreaking from their party and voting for the commission, democrats have major hurdles in the senate. where do things stand? does this have any chance of passage in the senate? >> well, they sure do have major hurdles, and those hurdles are

republicans, led by mitch mcconnell who, as we know, came out yesterday against this commission. and based on our conversations with senators over the last 24 hours since mcconnell's announcement, it seems like most of them are following his lead. now, we're going to be watching the seven republicans who voted to impeach the former president over this issue and where they land. they are the most likely to support a january 6th commission. but i spoke to one of them yesterday, senator richard burr of north carolina and he indicated that he's not supportive of the commission at this point. so it is going to be a very difficult challenge for senate democrats to pull ten republicans over to their side in order to pass this through the senate. but regardless, senator schumer has put on the calendar a vote for this that could come up as early as next week. meanwhile, over in the house, the fact that 35 republicans rebuked the leadership and voted

to support this commission is quite extraordinary, considering the fact that they were actually whipping and trying really hard to get their members to oppose it. you had the ten republicans who voted to impeach the former president and then 25 more who thought this commission should move forward. now, as if there was not enough january 6th news out there today, the house is also voting, as you mentioned, on a $2 billion security supplemental while house republican leadership is also urging their members to vote against that as well. so we will see how much of a party line vote that is. >> another busy day for you on capitol hill. lee ann, thank you. i'm joined by congressman dean phillips, democrat from minnesota and vice chair of the bipartisan problem solvers caucus. great to see you, congressman. let's dive right in. look, on the one hand, you have 35 republicans who bucked their

own party and they voted for this commission. on the other hand, you have a number of republicans who are opposed. even mike pence's own brother, congressman greg pence, voted against the measure. where do things stand right now? what does that tell you about the politics of this? >> well, like so many of us, it's staggering that we're even talking about this. if there was ever a time for unanimity in the united states congress, one would think it would be right now. you know, i was in the chamber that day. i saw what happened with my own eyes. i walked on the ground in which blood was spilled and lives were lost, and it's staggering that this is somehow politicized. rest assured, and everybody knows watching, if the mob were wearing blm shirts or carrying pride flags, you don't think this would look different right now? i suspect it would. we need to at least honor the 35 republicans who had the political courage at a time when

there is very little of it here in washington and around the country to take a stand and the erosion of our collective principles in this country of what we do during times like these is really concerning. but at least i see some sunlight with these 35. >> congressman, one of the arguments that we're hearing, including from moderate republicans like susan collins is a real concern that this commission could spill over into an election year. and then it just becomes a big partisan show. does that have any merit? does that concern you? and what do you make of those arguments? >> well, truth should never be subject to artificial time lines. do i think it would be in the country's best interest to complete it before the end of the year, which is how the legislation is written? absolutely. it can be done that way, and it should be done that way because the country can ill afford politicization of an issue that should never be in the beginning. some republicans have said, hey, let's expand this.

let's explore other issues where we have seen political violence. would you support some type of a compromise in order to have this broader commission, which would also look into january 6th? >> well, this isn't -- this is not necessarily an either/or. this can be an and. january 6th is a distinct event in u.s. history and insurrection. the first time the capitol was violenced since 1814. it needs to have a distinct bipartisan commission to investigate it. that makes perfect sense. but political violence more broadly, darn right we should investigate it. steve scalise, another colleague shot a couple years ago. we have concerns in this country. everybody is aware of them. should we investigate how to change that, how to protect our communities, our congress and everybody in our country, darn right we should. and i'm not opposed to that at all. january 6th is a distinct event. we need to take action. i'm hopeful the senate is going

to do the same thing. >> should it fail in the senate, we know that house speaker pelosi has floated the idea of going it alone. if that were to happen, of course, the concern would be that this would be cast purely in a political spectrum. would you support that if it doesn't pass the senate? should democrats go it alone? >> absolutely. we're doing it the way we should and frankly if it was reversed -- >> does it strip it of its legitimacy if this was a purely democratic investigation? >> if it was a purely democratic investigation, yes, half the country would not believe the results. this is a shame. we have got to get to the truth. by my friend and college and the problem sol ver's caucus. it had broad support. we know what's right and this is how we should do it. but if the senate won't get onboard, yes, absolutely, we

should devise a select committee to investigate so at least the history books will show this congress did something in light of one of the dangerous days in our history. >> thank you for joining us on another busy day in capitol hill. we are talking to jon tester on his party's plan if it doesn't pass and what he's hearing from his fellow republican colleagues. but first what the new york attorney general is now zeros in on on that criminal probe of the trump organization. and later, to mask or not to mask? that is the question in chicago and frankly across the country this morning. we're live in that city. stay with us. this is msnbc. msnbc. well you can try using the buick's massaging seat. oohh yeah, that's nice. can i use apple carplay to put some music on? sure, it's wireless. pick something we all like. ok. hold on. what's your buick's wi-fi password? “buickenvision2021.” oh, you should pick something stronger. that's really predictable.

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today there are new details and new pushback to that criminal probe of the trump organization. former president trump in a statement claiming he is getting unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system. new york attorney general letitia james the focus of the former president's backlash as he's highlighting anti-trump statements she made as a candidate on the campaign trail. reports that her office is not just looking at the trump organization but also has a criminal investigation opened in their cfo, allen weisselberg. joining me now is monica alba, who has been tracking all of this for months.

monica, what do we know about allen weisselberg? how does he fit into this picture? what are you watching? >> it is so notable here because now we're getting new details about something that has been going on for months that we didn't know prior to this is that the new york state attorney general did open a criminal probe into allen weisselberg about potential tax issues. we knew about the civil probe but the reason this is significant, and this is reporting from the new york times is now they're specifically looking at whether taxes were paid on fringe benefits that weisselberg received from former president donald trump, things like cars, thousands of dollars in private school tuition for one of weisselberg's grandchildren, and the reason that this is also really notable and significant at this time is because a civil probe can result in things like lawsuits or fines, but the fact that this has gone up to a potential criminal level means there could be charges that come from it. of course the question on everyone's mind, does this mean now that mr. weisselberg will

feel pressure to participate and potentially flip on his former boss and for his part the former president is blasting this entirely as corrupt. he released a 900-word statement pushing back on all of this. and the reason that of course now we have this layering of investigations as you have the new york attorney general and the manhattan da, it raises a lot of questions about what evidence they could uncover given that now they are able to pull their resources and of course as you know so well, kristin, this isn't the only ongoing probe that should worry donald trump. there are others related to the january 6th insurrection and that phone call he made to an elections official after he lost the race in georgia in the november election. so very much potentially concerning for him as we track all this, kristin. >> absolutely. and just as when he was in office, he has dismissed these as just purely politics. monica covering all of the

angles for us this morning. thank you for that reporting. coming up, the new study suggesting covid vaccines don't work as well in certain immuno compromised people. the researcher behind us joins us next with what you need to know. the new law in texas setting up a seismic shift in the nation's abortion laws. we're live in dallas with the latest. latest it's powered by verizon. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. which is why i brought them. two $5-a-months right here. hey. hey. plus the players of my squad. hey. what's up? then finally my whole livestream. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless. visible, as little as $25 a month or $5 a month when you bring a friend. powered by verizon. wireless that gets better with friends. so with your home & auto bundle, you'll save money and get round-the-clock protection. -sounds great. -sure does. shouldn't something, you know, wacky be happening right now?

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mask guidance in the u.s. is causing confusion, especially among small businesses. we have seen big companies like starbucks and walmart say if you have been fully vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask indoors unless you live in new jersey or washington, places that still have indoor mask mandates. chicago's top doctor saying masks are still strongly advised, but not required. take a listen to one small business owner on the message that sends. >> still not enough guidelines. very confusing. you know, the city are saying one thing and the state are saying one thing. then you have our president who is saying no masks required.

a lot of confusion still. megan, you talked to many business owners who are navigating this confusion. what did they tell you? what did you learn? >> reporter: good to be with you. yeah. many of these business owners are frustrated. in the past, the customers who may have given some pushback for wearing masks, they could have shifted the blame to the cdc saying it is required by the cdc or required by the city. but now it's not the case. it is on them to decide whether or not they want to put these restrictions in place and it is on them to enforce them. keep in mind here, we're just talking about 38% of chicagoans being fully vaccinated. 48% receiving one dose. while the city says they are going in the right direction, things are progressing, they're not there yet. which is why this puts these business owners in a very precarious situation. take a listen.

>> there is a lot of concern about pushback. we are not in business to antagonize our clients. it puts us in the position of being vaccination police. so, you know, any reason to this confrontation with clients is a bad day. >> and we know that many of these businesses struggled over the last 14 months, having to close their doors or limit capacity. so certainly the last thing they want to do is to lose customers because of a mask mandate they put in place or lack thereof. >> really great interviews there on the ground. megan, thank you. the updated mask guidelines raising questions for the ten million immuno compromised americans with growing concerns the vaccine is less effective for them and particularly for organ transplant patients. after each dose of the pfizer or moderna vaccines finding 46% had

no antibody response after either dose. and only 15% had a measurable response after each dose. joining me now, one of the researchers behind that study, a transplant surgeon at johns hopkins. thank you so much for joining us. put this into perspective. this seems really upsetting. what are the implications of this lower antibody response? >> yeah. good morning. and thank you for having me on the show. this is problematic. so half of transplant recipients who have gotten both doses of the vaccine still have no detectable antibody. and that means that they are to not consider themselves to be protected in the same way that all of the guidance is coming out for vaccinated people who can go back to resuming the activities that they had before the pandemic.

transplant patients and other people on immuno suppression need to be much more careful. now with relaxation of mask mandates, the world is going to be much more dangerous for them. >> so just to be very clear, they need to have the same masking and social distancing guidelines as before the vaccines, correct? >> yeah. the thing i'm telling transplant patients is get vaccinated, but act unvaccinated. meaning that follow the guidelines that the cdc has for unvaccinated people for the time being because we cannot be sure that immuno suppressed patients have enough to follow those guidelines right now. >> we're talking about transplant patients. but what about for other people that are immuno compromised? do they need to act as if they haven't been vaccinated?

>> there is emerging evidence not just in transplant patients but in people taking immuno suppression for auto immune diseases, for people with cancer, on chemotherapy. there is growing evidence that if you have something that compromises your immune system, you may not have the same level of protection from the vaccines as people with normal immune systems. and, so, people -- the general recommendation is if you have some condition that is compromising your immune system, talk to your doctor about what implications that may have. but the time is not yet now to relax all of your protective behavior? >> and, doctor, what's being done to address this? in other words, how much longer should people who are immuno compromised expect to be in this limbo? >> well, we're studying a lot of the different aspects of the immune system so we can measure antibodies. but there is also t-cell immunology. i think the next few months will

give us a lot more information about what's really going on in the immune system of people who are immuno compromised and what the implications are for protective immunity. so what level of immune response do you really need for you to be protected from what's going on with the virus, you know, across the country. >> all right. doctor, thank you so much for sharing those details about this new study. really appreciate it. >> thank you. and we are keeping an eye on that un general assembly meeting happening right now as we chic on the crisis in the middle east who will bring you any news, any developments as we get them. and as the question here in washington turns to should the biden administration stop selling weapons to israel, we'll ask one top senate democrat. but first at the white house, president biden is getting ready to sign into law that anti-asians hate bill.

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we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. and we want to give you a live look now at the senate floor, back in session in the last few minutes as we watch for word on when majority leader chuck schumer will take up the january 6th commission bill passed by the house where it faces a much tougher battle because of that 60 vote threshold. gop leader mitch mcconnell publically opposed and a lot of questions now about his next move, which could be blocking it entirely. or republicans could try to negotiate changes to the bill. joining me now to discuss all of this is democratic senator jon tester of montana, a member of the approachuations, banking and housing committee. thank you for being here to

discuss this critical topic. i want to ask you about how this might pass the senate. do you have any hopes that it will? and would you be open to some sort of compromise in order to get it across the finish line? >> well, i'm going to tell you i don't know how you compromise on a non-partisan commission to determine what happened on the insurrection on january 6th. it seemed like a no brainer to me that it would pass the senate 100-0. i don't get it, to be truthful with you. i think it's very, very important we get to the bottom of this. i think, if anything, this commission feels 90 days too late. let's find out the facts. let's find out what happened. because i'm going to tell you these folks will be back if we don't figure out what happened and how to stop it. i don't know that there is a lot of negotiations. it's a pretty straightforward bill. i'm always open for negotiations if we could make a bill better before we go through the process. but this is a nonpartisan commission similar to the 9/11 commission to get to the bottom

of an insurrection of the capitol that hadn't happened in, what, 80 years or longer or 130 years, wherever it was. i forget the numbers on it. but the truth is it's serious business. you know? and i walk-through the capitol. i walk-through the senate dining room to my office, the windows are still broke out of that place. i mean, it's crazy. we need to get through the bottom of it. >> some say why not expand it? why not allow us to look into other matters of political violence? what is the problem with that if it allows you to drill down on what happened on january 6th? and do you think this will pass out a compromise in the senate? >> i don't know. i don't know how locked in people are. but if people want to politicize this, then i think we're going the whole country is disservice. i think bottom line is that let's keep this focussed on what happened on january 6th and move forward. and if there is reason to do an

investigation on anything else that's happened, then go ahead. let's do it. get another bill out. we'll do it. but the bottom line here is we have really hung our police force out. >> yeah. >> they got overrun on january 6th. we need to know why. we need to know what happened. and by the way, if we do that, we'll be able to get more people to come onboard as policemen. we talk about our support for police. this is supporting the capitol police, this bill. >> senator -- >> we need to get it done. >> senator, as you know, house speaker nancy pelosi said democrats might have to go this alone. but even sometimes your democratic colleagues said that could undercut the at least optics of the legitimacy of this. would you support a go it alone approach? >> i don't know how we do it going it alone? i'm going to tell you something. this place is so badly broken that we can't get a non-partisan commission to happen on an insurrection of the capitol on

january 6th, we're beyond hope. this is ridiculous. i've got to tell you, kristin, i have been waiting for months to find out why this commission hasn't been working since january. and now the house passes something and folks in the senate want to make it political? give me a break. give me a break. i was here. i was here when the capitol was overrun. this is serious business. >> senator, let me turn to the crisis in the middle east, which i know you're watching closely as well. the un secretary general just moments ago saying the fighting must stop immediately. of course that comes after israeli prime minister again rejected calls for de-escalation yesterday. you have "the washington post" reporting that senator bernie sanders is planning to present a resolution of disapproval on a $750 billion arms sale to israel. would you support that? is that where you think this should go? >> first of all, i will start

out by saying every country has a right to defend themselves. i have always been a strong supporter of israel. i think it's really tough to have negotiations while bullets are flying. i would have to look at bernie's bill to figure out if i could support it or whether i would oppose it. >> are you open to that, though? are you open to blocking that arms sale? >> i can't tell you that until i see it. i'll just tell you that. i think israel is an incredible ally in an incredibly difficult part of the world. this problem with the palestinians has been going on far too long. i visited the israelis. they talked about the solution and i talked to palestinians. they talked about solutions. they were the same solutions. the problem we have there, i think, and i'm oversimplifying it but there is a total lack of trust between the two parties. unless you sit down and talk, you will not get to a point

where you will find the solution. as long as the bullets are flying, there will be no conversation. i recommend a cease-fire. let's sit down and figure out a solution. >> senator, i want to ask you about something that is happening in your senate. it's happening against the backdrop of negotiations for a broader infrastructure package and other jobs bill which maybe could get done at some point this summer. but montana, your state is one of the 21 states ending federal unemployment benefits starting in june, those enhanced benefits. that's according to "the wall street journal." you said you don't think that's unreasonable. tell me why. and does that not hurt americans at a critical moment? >> well, i'm going to tell you the unemployment level in montana is very, very low. and i think this is a regional thing. i can't say what happens in montana is the way it is all over the country. but i can tell you that it's low and our businesses need employees. if we're going to expand the economy, it is really important.

i can't tell you what's right to do in florida or in new hampshire or any other state of the union. but i can tell you right now i think this is a reasonable approach. >> but, senator, you previously voted to support those enhanced benefits. so what's changed? >> i absolutely did. in that time frame i would do it again. what's changed is we have seen the economy, because of that rescue plan, snap back. we have seen businesses come back. we're not where we need to be totally, but the fact is the unemployment rate is so low in montana, i think this was the proper thing to do. by the way, in other states where the unemployment rate remains high, i don't think they should end the enhanced unemployment because quite frankly it is important for those folks. but in montana where we're seeing rates really low, it is important to get that going forward especially coming out of this pandemic because i'm one that believes work is therapy and there will be some big

issues to come out of this pandemic if we don't get folks back to work as quickly as possible. but that morks for montana. it may not work in another day. >> thank you, senator. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, new very difficult to watch body cam video showing the brutal arrest and death of yet another black man at the hands of police. what ronald green's family is now saying this morning and why it took two years for the video to be released. that's when we come right back. shingles doesn't care. i keep my social distance. shingles doesn't care. i stay within my family bubble. shingles doesn't care. because if you've had chicken pox, you're already carrying the virus that causes shingles. in fact, about 1 in 3 people will develop shingles, and the risk only increases as you age. so what can protect you against shingles? shingrix protects.

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we've got 'em on the ropes. the billionaires buying elections. the corporate special interests poisoning campaigns with dark money, frantic to preserve big-money politics as usual. because the for the people act is on the verge of becoming law. reining in corporate lobbyists, finally banning dark money, and protecting our freedom to vote. billionaires and special interests, your day is nearly done. because it's time for the people to win. as we come back on the air, we want to go to the senate floor where chuck schumer is talking about january 6th. take a listen. >> if there was ever a justification for creating a bipartisan commission to study and report on the truth of the

attack behind january 6th, the comments of that senator provide it. republicans in both chambers are trying to rewrite history in feelty to or former president donald trump. republicans in both chambers are trying to erase the memory of january 6th and perpetuate the big lie. they are likening the mob on january 6th to a group of, quote, northnormal tourists. anyone who has seen the pictures of them breaking through the capitol barriers knows that these weren't normal tourists. they are calling the mob, not the police, the victims of the attack. we have dead and injured police officers, and they can recalling the mob of victims?

a week ago they fired liz cheney of repeating the truth about the election. it certainly wasn't about policy. congresswoman cheney voted with president trump far more than the member who replaced her. she was fired because she stood up to the big lie. it was a thomas moore moment here in 2020. all of the shameful comments by republicans reveal that a bipartisan commission is even more necessary than it once was. we always needed to look into it. but the fact that there is such denial, there is such lying to donald trump's lie and his dishonest personality makes the need for the truth for a commission greater than it ever has been. for the sake of our democracy, it's crucial to end the poison

of the big lie, to establish an independent and trusted record of what transpired and to make sure an event like january 6th never, never happens again. yesterday, the house of representatives passed legislation establishing just such a commission with a strong bipartisan vote. 35 republicans joined democrats in approving the measure, defying their leadership who turned tail at the 11th hour in an act of utter spinelessness. last night and now, just now, i began the rule 14 process that would make this legislation available for consideration on the floor of the senate. i just moved to place the legislation for a commission on the floor under rule 14. and it is my intention to bring the bipartisan legislation for the january 6th commission up

for a vote. my senate republican colleagues must now ask themselves, are they going to join us in pursuing the truth or are they going to cover for donald trump and his big lie? i understand the republican leader has decided to oppose the bill. the republican leader who called the january 6th attack a disgrace, who said he believed there was no question donald trump was morally responsible for the attacks, now finds this whole endeavor unnecessary. of course, that wasn't always the case. in the aftermath of the capitol attack, the republican leader, senator mcconnell, said we needed a serious and thorough review of the attacks. but very quickly, the goalposts started to move. a few weeks after the attack, republicans started complaining the democratic proposals for establishing the commission were too partisan. when democrats accepted all the

changes -- all of the changes requested by house republicans, the senate republican leader said his conference was undecided but willing to listen. but now once again, the goalposts have shifted. now the republican leader believes we don't need a bipartisan commission at all. let me be very clear to my republican colleagues. there is no good justification for opposing the commission. the commission is not partisan. it will have a 50/50 split of democrats and republicans with subpoena powers requiring cooperation from both sides. it was negotiated on a bipartisan basis by both the chairman and the ranking member of the house homeland security committee. it won the support of 35 republicans on the house floor. the commission's not duplicative. the scope of the investigations into january 6th by our senate committees are very focused. we need a dedicatededicated, bi

commission to look at the whole picture. the fact that our committees can investigate didn't stop congress from establishing a 9/11 commission. a january 6th commission is necessary for the same reasons that the 9/11 commission was necessary. >> you are listening to senate majority leader chuck schumer who is calling for a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of january 6th, a day after the house passed a bill that would support such a commission with the support of 35 republicans. schumer saying for the sake of our democracy, it is crucial to end the poison of the big lie. of course, a reference to claims that the election was not valid. he has said he is going to move to bring a commission up for a debate and a vote. that could happen as soon as next week. lawmakers on capitol hill are also negotiating police

reform. tasked by the president to have something concrete by tuesday, that's the anniversary of george floyd's death. sources familiar with the negotiations telling me it's unlikely they will meet that deadline. new police body camera footage has been released in the death of a black man when he was pulled over by louisiana state troopers. ronald green died in 2019 after the police say he was speeding at over 100 miles an hour in a chase and then the impact from a crash caused his death. the video was obtained by the associated press and tells a different story of police brutality. we will show you a bit of that video. we do want to warn you, it's graphic. it's very difficult to watch. >> get out of the car! >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> get out of the car. >> i'm scared. i'm scared. i'm your brother. i'm scared. >> joining me now is blayne

alexander. so difficult to watch that footage, to hear the sounds. why is this video coming out two years later? what is greene's family saying about it? >> reporter: greene's family has a lot to say about it. what you saw there is essentially the end of a high speed chase that played out more than two years ago in monroe, louisiana, a rural part of the state. it also happens to be, as we know, the final moments of ronald greene's life. in this video that was released by the associated press, we can see a number of things happened. there are several officers involved in ultimately making the stop. during the video, you can see and hear officers repeatedly punching him, pun officer picks him up by ankle shackles and drags him. as you watch the video, you hear greene telling officers, i'm scared and apologizing for

leading them on the high speed chase. we need to know the associated press says that of the people that were there, not all cameras were activated. that makes it difficult to see what was going on. louisiana state police not commenting beyond saying the release of the video is not authorized. they are citing an ongoing investigation. >> blayne alexander, thank you. beginning in september, texas will have one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans. this comes after the governor signed a bill effectively banning abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, a point where many women aren't even aware they are pregnant. morgan chesky has the details. [ applause ] >> reporter: this morning, texas taking center stage in the debate over abortion rights. passing a law, potentially impacting millions of women. >> heartbeat bill is now law in the lone star state. >> reporter: the governor signing a bill wednesday, banning abortions in most cases

where a fetal heartbeat is detected. potentially as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. >> in texas, we work to save those lives. >> reporter: similar bans passed by other states have so far failed to hold up in court. the texas bill is unique. permitting almost anyone to sue any person or provider who may have helped someone get an abortion after the limit. >> these kinds of restrictions don't do anything to reduce the need for abortion. they are blocking people from getting safe abortions. >> reporter: a 2017 study found 96% of texas counties had no clinics that provided abortions. 43% of texas women, however, lived in those counties. the texas law comes at a key time, as a landmark case deciding protections for abortions could be in question. the supreme court announced it would hear a mississippi case challing roe versus wade.

>> states are in defiance of supreme court precedent in the hope that the new supreme court will reverse roe versus wade. we see them passing unconstitutional laws. >> that was morgan chesky reporting. thank you for that. thank you for watching this hour of "hallie jackson reports." catch me on "weekend today" saturday morning on nbc. more news with my friend chris jansing. good morning. i'm chris jansing in for craig melvin. the representripple affects of 6th felt on capitol hill. >> we put country above party without bias. the events before, during and after the attack. today, democracy faces a new threat. the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol was one of the darkest days in