welcome to "mpt daily." i'm kasie hunt in for chuck todd. we begin today with a divided country, a divided congress and a divided republican party, and a big question about what happens next when it comes to investigating the insurrection. 35 house republicans broke with their leader last night, voting to approve the creation of a bipartisan commission to probe what happened on january 6th. that's more than three times as many republicans that voted to impeach donald trump in the wake of the january 6th attack. but it's also a small slice of the republican party, the large majority of which is once again ready to capitulate to former president trump. a short time ago, house minority leader kevin mccarthy seemed to acknowledge he's willing to testify about his conversation with donald trump on january 6th, but he also reiterated his opposition to the commission, which he claims is politically motivated.

>> i just feel we'll have four things happening now. two committees in the senate already doing their investigation. the architect of the capitol given $10 million to study what needs done to protect it. then the justice department, who rightfully does a much better job than we can ever do, arrested already 445 people, probably another 100 coming. that's the type of work we want to make sure is done that it never happens again, that those who participated and caused it should be held accountable and we secure this capitol and we don't play politics with it. >> house speaker nancy pelosi today calling on republicans to take back their party, and commended those who voted in favor of the commission. watch. >> quite frankly, many republicans courageously withstood the vote, shall we say, assault on our democracy going forth. it is interesting to see 35

members coming forth, i'm very proud of them. and it was a recognition that this was a bipartisan project, negotiated in good faith. >> the measure now heads to the senate, where it seems to face near certain doom. it would need every democrat and ten republicans. as we said yesterday, minority leader mitch mcconnell who back in february called trump, practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day, announced his opposition to the proposed commission. and richard burr, one of seven gop senators who voted to convict the former president in february, now says he's against the commission. s let's be perfectly clear here, the point of commissions like these is to take politics out of the equation and establish a set of shared facts about a tragic event in hopes of trying to prevent another one in the future. but as we've seen in the recent days and weeks, the current political climate is so toxic,

we can't even agree on those facts. that is what led us to january 6th in the first place. and not having an independent commission seems to perpetuate the problem. leigh ann caldwell is here now. richard burr is someone you have been following pretty closely until we saw this actual statement come up. what is your take on the number of republicans who voted with democrats in the house and whether there's any chance this goes forward in anything close to its current form in the senate? >> hey, kasie, with senator bur coming out against it, it seems very unlikely, highly unlikely, democrats are going to find those ten republicans, to stand with them as they move forward on this commission. it's interesting 35 members of the house rebuked the leadership and voted for the commission

anyway. it's usually in the senate, where senators are more likely to stand on their own, ride their independence, vote on their personal state issues. but it looks like the opposite is going to happen this time, where there's going to be fewer senators than the seven who voted to impeach the former president, who are going to come and support this commission. now, it just shows how much politics is really at play here. a source told me that senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is pointing to an interview with democratic trat gist james carville where he said democrats must pound the january 6th insurrection and make republicans accountable and hold them responsible leading into that. so with mcconnell pointing to that as a reason not to support it, showing instead democrats are making this very political, well, it's an interesting

observation because -- and it's interesting a take because democrats are going to make this political anyway. and they're likely to even politicize it more when they move forward with or without the republicans, perhaps standing up their own committees to investigate. so it's going to be an issue in the midterm elections regardless, kasie. >> you know, that's a good point, leigh anne. it sort of flips what the wisdom's been in the past, which you would think they would want to demonstrate, republicans, that they're just as horrified as the rest of the country about what happened and they want to get to the bottom of it. it seems like this commission, i think we should repeat to folks, the bill in the house was essentially written by republicans. this was a republican endorsed plan. is it just because donald trump has said mitch mcconnell, i want you to stand up against this that we're seeing all of this? because it doesn't seem to, as you point out, line up with the

political calculations that could be made around something like this. >> yes, as you mentioned, it's a partially republican written plan and concessions are made to the republicans by speaker pelosi on several of these issues. it's very hard not to connect the dots on wednesday, early thursday. but on tuesday mcconnell came out and said he's undecided about it. late tuesday night the former president trump name-checked mcconnell and mccarthy and wednesday morning in a coffee with republican senators, which leader mccarthy joined, mcconnell announces that he's going to oppose the commission. so, you know, the threat of donald trump is ever present. and mcconnell has been taking a path, divergent path from mccarthy, where he's trying to avoid and ignore the former president and not embrace him, pretend like he doesn't exist. so it's hard to square his

position on the commission with his broader position on the former president. and he's betting this is a better political move for his members who are up for re-election in 2022. >> we asked, i don't even know how many times, looeg ann, what would it take for republicans to turn on former president trump? of course, he was president. never imagined we would at the point where we would say supporters attacked the very building and still republicans did not want to investigate. but here we are. leigh ann caldwell, thank you for being here. let's bring in the number two in the house of representatives, congressman steny hoyer. thank you very much for being here. thank you very much for taking time to be with us today. i want to start with this commission, and i want to get to as well drama on the house floor, and we will talk about that in a second. but you told my colleagu leigh

ann caldwell, whom you were speaking to yesterday, you have a lot of options if this bill doesn't come through. what was your next best option if there's no bipartisan commission? >> first, let me say our first and best option was a bipartisan commission which mirrored the 9/11 commission, and that's what we offered on the floor. that's what passed the floor with 35 republicans who believed that was in fact as, as mr. katko pointed out, exactly what we did on 9/11, had overwhelming support in the congress. sadly, that didn't happen. but, yes, we have other options. we have committees with subpoena power. committees with jurisdiction, homeland security commission clearly has jurisdiction. government oversight and reform committee has jurisdiction, appropriations committee. there are a lot of different avenues. we could establishsy select committee in the house, similar to the republicans had eight

different investigations of benghazi, four people tragically lost their i loves, but they had eight different studies or hearings or oversight, all eight of which reached the same conclusion. there was no there, there. so i don't think we will be dissuaded for finding the truth for, whatever reasons, donald trump told kevin mccarthy they do not want this commission and therefore they come out against it. >> let me ask about the select committees for a second, democrats at the time, you, criticized on the committees against benghazi but you yourself participated in it. you said, it showed definitively this has been a blatantly partisan exercise. shame on them for wasting taxpayer money and two years of time on this partisan

investigation. could you impanel a select committee and avoid this very criticism? democrats would run the staff. they would be in charge of setting the agenda. it's much different than a 9/11-style commission. >> that's why i said, kasie, that is our preference. that's what we offered. that's what we sent to the senate, and hopefully the senate will adopt that. that's the proper way to move forward. but because the republicans want to stonewall finding out the truth about what happened on january 6th, why it happened, not only who participated and mccarthy is right, law enforcement is looking at that, but the underlying actions of the president of the united states, underlying action of members of congress, for that matter, that ought to be done in a bipartisan fashion. that's what the commission does. it's equal in numbers. . both sides would choose the

staff, consultation with one another. i think john thune, the republican senator, had it right. they want to put this behind them. they don't want to talk about it. they want to look through the issues, as he's pointed out, for the next election. in other words, this is about politics for them. for us -- and i say this, i think -- not i think, honestly, this is about our democracy. this is about an insurrection that was instigated and undertaken to stop the counting of votes for president of the united states of america. it was a profound event. we need a commission composed of equal numbers, as kevin mccarthy asked for, equal number of subpoenas, what kevin mccarthy asked for.

the only thing mccarthy didn't get -- mcconnell, i don't know what mcconnell wanted or didn't want, is to look at a lot of things to destruct, dissemble and refocus the insurrection stopping the counting of votes for the united states. so i think, frankly, it's a cover-up. it's fear of what the truth might be. it's hear no evil, see no evil approach to january 6th, which was a profound, tragic event in american history. a unique event in american history. and we need to look at all of the facets of it so we do not allow it to happen again. >> the worst attack on the capitol since the war of 1812. you're talking about this commission in the past tense. what is -- so sorry, sir, i think we may be having trouble hearing you. i'm going to press ahead with my

next question -- >> can you hear me now? >> i think so. we still haven't figured this out after a very long time with this pandemic. you're talking about the commission past tense. does that mean there's no chance there may still be some negotiation that can bring ten republicans on board behind the scenes, the house speaker nancy pelosi might not talk to mitch mcconnell or there may be someone like susan collins, enough people to actually get this over the finish line, you think there's no shot in the senate? >> i hope there is a shot. and i didn't want to talk about it in the past tense. that's what we've sent over to and that's our preferred option, which i think is why we offered it and why we passed it and in my view, that's why 35 republicans have courage. trump doesn't want this and tells his people to be angry and not support those people who don't do what he says. it's not a question of his proposals or agreeing with him. if he says don't do it, expects people not to do it. i don't want to put it in the

past tense. this is our preferred option. i think durbin and i will as well as the speaker and urge ten senators from the republican side or more, to allow a commission to get to the truth. that's what we want, the truth. and the truth i think what the 9/11 commission sought. their recommendations were very helpful. the same could be true january 6th if in fact the senate passes, and i hope they will. >> senator, let me turn to -- this is related -- the bill that will stress on the floor of the house of representatives the security fundamental funding people to try to build additional security around the capitol in the wake of this event. you had at least one progressive vote no, several just vote present. it clearly was a scramble on the floor. what happened there?

why this issue with progressives and do you think you can pull this off now? >> progressives you say you have the problem with. the chair and almost all of the progressives voted for it. i don't think we have a problem with the progressives. there were a few of our members who wanted to make a point they thought was important but they didn't want to defeat the bill, so it passed. that's what happened today. we passed a bill. but it's amazing, i was here on 9/11. congress came together not as republicans and democrats, but as americans, to defend democracy, to uphold our constitution, and to ensure our security. today inexplicably not a single republican given what happened on january 6th, given the assault on the capitol and putting members out of the

congress, stopping the business of the congress. we came back and we finished our business, which was a testament to the strength of our institution, but not a republican voted to make sure it didn't happen again, that the capitol had the resources to be secure and not allow insurrectionist mobs to threaten members, staff, press and all of the people who work here, and with the intent of stopping the steal. what they meant by that was stopping the counting of the electoral college votes. not a single republican, as if to say that really didn't happen. those were just nice tourists, as some republican observed. these were not price tourists. these were people who undermined the house operations and senate operations.

it's a shame. >> i was there that day, and i -- i have seen a lot of tourists in the capitol. and your point these people were not tourists is absolutely taken. house majority leader steny, thank you so much for your time. coming up -- benjamin netanyahu's government is meeting right now. and later, not just maricopa county, governments around the country are trying to relitigate the election. visible is wireless that doesn't play games. no surprise fees, legit unlimited data for as little as $25 a month. and the best part, 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.

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continues to grow. >> i echo the calls for a cease-fire in gaza. this is needed immediately. the parties must step away from the ring and respect international law. israel, as an occupying power, must ensure compliance with its international humanitarian laws, including inappropriate use of force. inaction on this issue undermines and hinders the you council's and united nations ability and credibility on other pressing security messages. >> be endorsing a cease-fire to the u.n. security council, they held four votes on a cease-fire, blocked each time on the united states on the ground it would disrupt diplomatic efforts of the so far those diplomatic

efforts have not persuaded either side to dissuade the conflict. netanyahu's intent to double down the past two days ordering more strike on hamas' tunnels, they continue to fire rockets toward israel, hitting a house in southern israel this morning. i will be talking to former ambassador dennis roth and former adviser to iraq. first, let's go to where longtime foreign correspondent martin fletcher has the latest. martin, good evening again. we spoke many hours ago. can you take us to the meeting now where netanyahu is meeting with security officials? >> i wish i could. i would love to be a fly on that wall. they are meeting right now. the reporting is they're discussing the cease-fire. apparently israel's offering a unilateral cease-fire, one side cease-fire, which means the israeli guns fall silent and the

other side would hopefully do the same. but at the same time hamas said they will honor a cease-fire as well, beginning in the morning and i guess about 12 hours from now. what normally happens, because don't forget this is about the fifth outbreak of severe fighting between hamas and israel in the last 15 years or so, each time there's a cease-fire announced, there's been a sudden increase of -- violent increase in fighting as teach side tries to score a few points before the cease-fire begins. the other thing we have to point out, although there's a cease-fire, it doesn't mean it's the end of the story. last time there was a major outbreak of fighting in 2014, there were seven or eight cease-fires. they announced a cease-fire and fighting resumed. announce a cease-fire again, more fighting. that took about seven weeks for the final guns to stop firing. so cease-fire is likely to begin

in the morning and, we will see, i said that at the same time here yesterday. but cease-fires cannot happen, the way things work here, without a meeting of the security cabinet. the fact the security cabinet is meeting right now and reportedly discussing a unilaterally agreed cease-fire does make it look good for a cease-fire in the morning, kasie. >> at least it's a little different than the conversation we had yesterday when we were talking about this very possibility. martin, is there concern among israeli officials about how they're being perceived through this crisis, and do they think it's any different than it's been in the past? the u.s. has obviously stood with israel at the u.n. security council but there does seem to be a sense here in the u.s. we obviously have more democrats who are expressing concern about what's going on. that seems to be true in the broader world community as well. what is your take on how israel

is interpreting and acting on that? >> the people i have speaken to basically say they've given up, they basically have given up on the world's support. they again mostly on the united states and, from what i have been told, really appreciate president biden's stand. they're not expecting any support from the united nations, most of the world sees the terrible, horrific pictures coming from gaza and there's an emotional reaction to those pictures. israeli leaders understand that. one of the pictures the world is seeing, horrific damage in gaza, about 70 children killed among the 230-odd people dead in gaza, and from the israeli side they are seeing a few people complaining about the bomb shelter, seeing guns firing. this is what happened every time. not only is there accusations about israel using disproportionate force, but from the israeli's side, there's disproportionate support, if you like, for the palestinians. i think israel's given up on

that. what we're also adding to that mix now, i think, is social media. israel's getting killed in social media, again, for the same reasons. you have to emote emotionally to those kinds of pictures from gaza. but they don't tell the whole story. i guess there are two failures, you can say. israel tries, they say, to avoid civilian casualties and fails. and the palestinians are trying to kill as many israeli citizens as they can and basically failing too. israel has given up on most of the question of support. i believe it's fair to say they're confident they're doing the right thing in order to protect their people. they depend very much on the united states and are grateful for the support they get from president biden and the american people. >> martin fletcher, thank you, as always. we appreciate you being here. let's bring in ambassador dennis ross now to talk more

about this. ambassador, i would like to start there where we left off with martin fletcher, and that is where the israelis stand right now in the eyes of the u.s. public and eyes of the world community, and how i think that's impacting the actions they're taking or not. are they more isolated than they've ever been? >> first, i think martin's description was pretty apt. are they more isolated? i think they're under greater pressure. i think public opinion has turned against them than ever before. and you referred to the biden administration blocking the security council resolutions. the main reason they blocked them wasn't because of diplomacy, they didn't make any mention of hamas, and hamas firing almost 4,500 rockets into israel. the most basic international norm is that your next door neighbor doesn't fire rockets into you and he's a security council, which is the embodiment of an international institution

designed to promote international norms and it's not even saying this. so i think what martin was describing is there's -- in the israeli eyes there's a kind of double standard. there's almost a sense because they have iron dome and because they have civil defense and because they protect their people and hamas has tunnels but the tunnels are not to protect their people but weapons and fighters, you have this built-in asymmetry and the imagery people see nationally creates an emotional response. we are seeing more of it now than we've seen in the past. and it's ironic because hamas, as an organization, is one that denies civil and human rights in gaza. god help you if you're gay in gaza. it basically seeks to promote and enhance its rockets at the expense of its public. but in a sense what people are reacting to -- and martin put it very well, the logical, national

emotional response to these visual images. >> so what's your sense of how the biden administration is approaching this? because they obviously are under some more political pressure here at home than democratic administrations past from people inside their own party, people looking at those images and having, as you both outlined here, a nationally emotional response and using pretty strong language. it's a shift. do you think that the president is taking that into account as he nav gates this? how is that making his job harder? >> it would be pretty hard for him not to take it into account. the progressive wing of the party is looking at israel through a different lens than maybe the mainstream of the party has historically. they don't look at israel the same way israel's been looked at before and the president has to contend with that part of the party. but that said, he is someone who has had a long standing

relationship with israel. he's someone who sees israel through the lens of the only democracy in the region. he is someone attached to the state code, very deep-seated. and israel has the right to self-defense, especially if being hit by almost 4,000 rockets. i think all of that on the other hand he has to manage the politics of his own party here but he also reconciles that with what his own natural instincts are. he has a lot of confidence and he knows the region well. he has a lot of confidence that he knows how to do diplomacy. he feels one way to move israel is not to beat them over the head in public but to convey an understanding of the predicament they face and quietly begin to ask questions about, okay, what's your end game? i think when we begin to see the president use his support for a cease-fire, he was sending a message that he was beginning to talk about that. what he was saying in private, no doubt, was geared towards

saying tell me what your end game is. i understand you have to degrade the military capabilities but at this point, isn't there a diminishing return in terms of how much more destruction you can do and aren't you paying a price internationally in terms of the imagery? >> mr. ambassador, do you think we're at a disadvantage here because we haven't named an ambassador to israel yet? should we have a higher-ranking official in the region? or do you think this interaction you're describing between principals, president biden and prime minister netanyahu, stands in well enough from that? >> i think when you have five calls from the prime minister and the president, there's no substitute for that. but over time, we're not always going to be in a crisis situation, but sometimes to prevent a crisis, you need very high-level communication that is seen as being authoritative. we would be better off if we had an ambassador there now t has to be someone who is seen as being

authoritative and can pick up the phone, call the secretary of state, nas security adviser, even the president. if he or she wants to communicate someone to the israeli prime minister or israeli defense minister they know as authoritative, that will count for something. they also need to know their concerns will be communicated immediately. if you have a very high-level ambassador, he or she is in a position to have that kind of access and seen as being authoritative, you can sometimes preempt problems because of that, either because of what we communicate to the israelis or what they're communicating to us. i would absolutely like to see us get an authoritative ambassador to israel sooner rather than later. >> ambassador dennis ross, we really appreciate your expertise and insights for a conversation like this one. thank you very much for taking this time to be with us today. >> my pleasure. and coming up here -- one

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crimes act, the legislation which overwhelmingly passed both chambers, directs the department of justice to expedite the review of covid-related hate crimes against asian americans and help establish ways to report them online. it also directs the doj and hhs to best practice guidance in regulations and language describing the pandemic. joining us now, mike memoli. always good to see you. this is one piece of legislation that's actually gotten so much, overwhelming, really, bipartisan support. the president will be able to sign it. there's also negotiations ongoing around police reform. tell us how the white house is thinking about these legislations and what comes next? >> kasie, today is sort of a great senate shot of what we hear from the white house, president biden is a veteran legislator who knows how the sausage is made. sometimes that calls for different approaches on different issues.

as relates to the bill he will be signing today, this is a moment to celebrate bipartisanship wherever we see it. it's such a rarity as you point out in washington. there are times we turn up the political heat, as you heard from the podium at the white house when press secretary jen psaki played politics with regard to the january 6th commission. and then there's the george floyd justice in police act, an example where sometimes the president can do is get out of the way. we heard there were some discussions at the white house with, of course, the anniversary coming up on tuesday how to mark that anniversary. an important moment for this president and how he got to the white house as well. and there were the words from our great colleagues on the hill, from negotiators themselves, you know what, we're good, the best thing the president can do was probably to cheer them on from the sidelines. but those negotiations are so

fragile, so sensitive and the white house understands that and will stay on the sidelines. and then, of course, there's infrastructure. this is an area where the white house is doing everything it can to try to get to a bipartisan outcome. there was some back and forth with senior white house officials in that capito and company gang on the hill as they try to work towards the solution. there is going to be a response we just learned from psaki as well to the latest back and forth to the white house tomorrow. but the white house said they want to see progress by memorial day. what happens at that point, do they move in reconciliation? but they need to have their own house in order, as you know well from democrats on capitol hill. >> yes, they do. they've got to count to 60. mike memoli, thank you very much for your reporting. we appreciate it. coming up, texas governor greg abbott just signed a controversial abortion law.

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welcome back. the just days after the supreme

court agreed to hear a major abortion case considering the legality of mississippi's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, texas governor greg abbott just signed a controversial abortion law into yesterday. critics say the new law is the most restrictive in the country. joining me now from dallas is nb's morgan chesky. morgan, good to see you. what can you tell us? >> kasie, well, the debate over abortion rights certainly being ratcheted up with the supreme court deciding to hear that mississippi case. and there are now at least a dozen other states that have failed more restrictive abortion measures. here in texas, this new law is expected the biggest state with the so-called heartbeat ban abortion law. critics say it will save countless lives but critics say it's not only unconstitutional but a public health threat. this morning, texas taking center stage in the debate over

abortion rights, passing a law, potentially impacting millions of women. >> the texas heartbeat bill is now law in the lone star state. >> reporter: governor greg abbott 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're pregnant. >> in texas we learn to save those lives. >> reporter: similar heartbeat bans passed by other state have so far failed to hold up in court. the texas bill is unique, permitting almost anymore to sue any person or provider who helped someone get an abortion after the limit. >> these kinds of restrictions don't do anything to reduce the need for abortion. we're just 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 the landmark case deciding constitutional protections for abortion could be in question. the supreme court announced it would hear a mississippi state challenging roe v. wade over a law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. the. >> states are in open defiance of supreme court precedent in the hope this newly constituted supreme court is going to reverse roe versus wade and that's why we see them passing blatant unconstitutional laws. >> reporter: and if held up in court, this law would go into effect september 1. as for the mississippi case, the supreme court plans to hear it this fall, with a decision to come early next year. kasie? >> morgan chesky, thank you very much. coming up next here -- another bizarre turn in republican efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in arizona. two maricopa county officials who are denouncing the audit join me next.

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found. that allegation is what sparked the mostly republican body of maricopa county officials to send a scathing letter to the arizona senate president karen fann, accusing her, among other things, feeding festering conspiracy theories. today "the washington post" reports this mary scan, of conspiracy theories. it's inspiring the trump organization to seek similar issues in their own counties. stephen richer and bill gates both signed the data. stephen, you've been pretty outspoken about this. can you tell us about the data that was supposedly missing and was found, what happened there,

and why is it we've ended up here, frankly? >> you know, it's frustrating because ultimately it was there. we sent over a technical letter, but what it amounts to is that this could have been discerned by their auditors, and this is not something that should be casually stated on internet. you shouldn't casually accuse someone of unlawfully deleting e-mails. this set off a whole series of events because that crossed the line for us. it crossed the line for bill and the whole accounting team when you start accusing maricopa county of unlawful acts. >> so, bill gates, explain to me how this has unfolded. you're the county supervisor. clearly the former president is really ginning people up in terms of focusing on this, it's something being repeated elsewhere, but when you're talking to folks there in the

county, is that the reason why there is so much doubt? is it just what former president trump is doing, or is there a bigger, more complicated explanation? >> well, i think that it starts with former president trump, and from there the blame for this, unfortunately, lies with all the republican leaders out there who have fed into these conspiracy theoies that somehow there was something wrong with the vote count in maricopa county. this goes back to last year. last year the state senate sent a letter to us, a subpoena, actually, to the board of supervisors demanding all of the ballots in the election machines specifically to get those before january 6th. and we all know what happened on january 6th. since then, when we didn't turn those materials over right away and went to court for some direction, they were within one vote of holding the board of supervisors in contempt and possibly being jailed. so there are a lot of people who deserve the blame for this.

it's the people who aren't willing to stand up and say what's right, which is that joe biden won maricopa county. >> thank you for saying that so very clearly. i have to ask you, mr. gates, have you -- we've seen in other instances officials who have had the courage to stand up and say, here's the truth. often they've suffered pretty intense personal consequences. they've received death threats where their families have been threatened. has anything like that happened to you since you took this stand? >> you know, the thing that i would say on that specifically, we have faced death threats, certainly, since we certified the election back in november. but i'm very concerned from what i'm hearing, in the republican national committee, some people are reporting to me that the republic national committee supports what's going on right now at veterans memorial coliseum? they support known conspiracy

theorists using ultraviolet lights to find bamboo? i would think they would want to be sharpening the message and taking it to joe biden and the democrats who are governing right now as progressives. but we're not doing that. we're relitigating the 2020 election. >> stephen richer, can i just get your take on what mr. gates laid out there? it is pretty significant that this is what the rnc is focused on. >> yeah, it's very sad. i'm a proud republican. i've firmly believed in free markets and free minds and individual responsibility, but i've lost a lot of republican friends over the last few days, people who seemingly would be less upset with me if i committed some sort of ethics violation or had done something horribly wrong to somebody than if i had just taken a stand for the truth and if i had taken a stand for the good people of

maricopa county. no, i've gotten lots of nasty e-mails and it's sad, but i'm not doing this because of any poll, i'm not doing this because of any political calculation. i'm doing this because i think it's right, i'm doing this because i want to support people who are doing good work. >> mr. gates, have you also similarly gotten feedback like that in your own life? do you find that your friends and family don't believe you when you go out and say these things? >> actually, what i would say is how many people say they do believe me privately, but they're not willing to put that on twitter, they're not willing to go out and make that statement. let me be clear, kasie, we have again and again re-evaluated. we turned over every stone in this election. we did a hand recount, which was

a stick statistical sample. people who say we're not transparent or we're hiding from the truth, that is false. we've gone over and over this again. if there was fraud, i would be the first one to talk about it. we reached the point where we said enough is enough. the senate said they wanted these ballots and election machines to determine if there should be any changes in election laws. now that this farce has been going on for weeks, we know that's not true. they are simply trying to tip one domino over that will then spread to other states so that there will be additional questions raised about the 2020 election. and as a member of the board of supervisors, as someone who works closely with those who conduct these elections every year, i'm not going to stand for that. and no one on this board, and certainly not stephen richer, either, is going to stand for

that. we're going to continue to tell the truth no matter what threats are made to us. >> well, the clarity i both of your voices is much appreciated in an environment where clarity can be hard to come by. stephen richer and bill gates, thank you both for being with us. we appreciate it. that will do it for me today. i'll be back tomorrow with "meet the press daily." you can catch me at 5:30 a.m. with "way too early." jeff bennet is up after the break. p after the break. it's verizon...vs verizon. and who wins? you. how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance

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it's good to see you. i'm jeff bennet. as we come on the air, we're expecting to see president biden on the air any moment where he'll sweep the hate crimes bill. senate republicans now appear poit