we care about them in thei lives. we care about everybody. and we care about the right of choice for all women so women are welcome in ou state and we will have the means to provide them the righ of choice in our state that will continue and these are basicall fundamental freedom issues we ought to have freedom for a woman's right of choice. we ought to have freedom for kids to go to school and not b insulted assaulted by a weapon of war there ought to be freedom to breathe and not be consumed by forest fire smoke because of climate change so i would say that we are a state that believes in freedom and others are welcome to come and join it. i think gretchen whitmer is tremendous governor. she's got a beautiful state. as you can come visit us a well >> chris is going to be back tomorrow alex wagner tonight starts right now. >> nice to see you, too, ali this is not the last time we're going to hear about people moving to canada and talking

about the beauty of the north i predict over the course of the year 2023. thank tuesday you at home for joining us tonight it was february 23rd of last year russia was on the brink of invading ukraine, the mid-terms were just beginning to kick into high gear, and this story broke in "the new york times," two prosecutors leading new york trump inquiry resign clouding case's future. two prosecutors in manhattan's d.a.'s office quit out of frustration the newly elected district attorney alvin bragg was reportedly not prosecuting donald trump and being aggressive enough. yes, that story feels like it now came from an alternate universe this picture of alvin bragg as a

timid prosecutor afraid to take on donald trump doesn't fit anymore. those republicans have used failed anti-semitism and abusederaciest dog whistles and they've used congress. three weeks ago the chairman of the house judiciary committee jim jordan launched an unprecedented house investigation into the d.a.'s criminal probe of donald trump throughout all of this alvin bragg has cently fired back at his republican critics, but today alvin bragg took things up a notch. in a lawsuit filed in federal court today d.a. bragg sued congressman jordan for interfering with bragg's criminal case against trump. bragg's lawyers write in the filing congressman jordan's investigation constitutes, quote, an unpres precedented brazen and unconstitutional

attack chairman jordan and the committee are participating in a campaign of intimidation, retaliation, and obstruction bragg's attorneys detail a campaign of constant harassment by trump and his republican allies the tweets, and the truth social posts and the fox news interviews they cited trump two social post-s calling bragg a soros backed animal. so it really -- and then they write about what an absolute constitutional disaster it is. there are numerous legal citations in this complaint like this one federal intrusions into state criminal trials frustrate both the state's sovereign power to punish offenders and their good faith attempts to honor

constitutional rights. so there's a lot in this 50-page document this complaint from alvin bragg for the judge to chew on. the most interesting part of the case brought by alvin bragg today is what it tells us about the real motive behind jim jordan's investigation bragg's lawsuit suggests the reason chairman jordan is doing all of this isn't just to undermine that manhattan d.a. or test the bounds of the constitution but to get a good lookat the evidence against donald trump in order to feed that evidence, that information back to donald trump bragg accuses jordan of attempting to seek confidential investigative material from bragg's investigation. according to the lawsuit congressman jordan has requested all documents and communications between or among the new york county d.a.'s office and the u.s. department of justice or other federal law enforcement agencies referring or relating to your office's investigation of president donald trump. which seems designed to sweep up

as much information about the case about donald trump as possible and remember those two prosecutors who resigned in protest from bragg's office last year their names were mark pomeranz and kerry dunn they'd been working into a broader investigation into trump's predecessor, former manhattan d.a.cy vance like i said their reason for quitting wasn't that alvin bragg wasn't allegedly being aggressive enough in bringing that fraud case against donald trump, which means they probably know a lot about the evidence the state has amassed against donald trump and jim jordan seems fairly obsessed with gettingdocuments from dunn and pomeranz last week mr. jordan subpoenaed mr. pomeranz to testify. he's also asked to turn over all

documents referring or relating donald trump again, that's probably a whole lot of important and really relevant stuff especially if you're donald trump. bragg's lawsuit also notes jordan is also seeking testimony fruf lawyers currently inside the manhattan d.a.'s office, lawyers who presumably have up-to-date information on the case against donald trump, lawyers who stepped in when dunn and pomeranz stepped out so, yes, this is a house investigation, but who is really calling the shots here who is actually at the heart of all this the d.a. would seem to have some ideas on that front. the lawsuit cites reporting from cnn which shows trump is in constant contact with certain members of congress. congressman jordan himself speaks regularly with the former president. and then it quotes alvin bragg saying this about jim jordan and two of his fellow republican house chairman based on the chairman's reportedly close collaboration with mr. trump in attacking this

office and the grand jury process, it appears the chairmen are acting more like a criminal defense council, trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective. joining us now is the former u.s. assistant attorney for the southern district of new york. thanks for joining me, and i am eager to get your thoughts on this because there's a lot that is wrong apparently with the jordan investigation but just first off i mean do you -- what are the implications here, and do you see a potential link between the conversations that are clearly happening between the house republicans and donald trump and the documents they are calling for as part of this alleged investigation? >> absolutely. the request you read from jordan and his committee are designed to get the prosecution's case file, things that might be in some cases owed to the president in discovery and in other cases not owed in discovery. they want all of it, and then

they can do pretty much whatever they want to do with it, and they don't seem terribly interested in negotiating with alvin bragg about some narrower set of materials this does seem to be the real purpose here is to help the president's defense. and that's of course not a permissible purpose. >> yeah, that's not what congress is supposed to be doing. the zeroing in on kerry dunn and mark pomeranz, what does that tell you about their interest in the cy vance investigation and the degree to which that might be a live issue inside the d.a.'s office? >> i think they know -- for one thing pomeranz wrote the book, so it would we very hard for him to categorically refuse to answer question. he can't say as easily as the district attorney can i can't talk about any of this because he just wrote a book about it. and he also may have indicated and this is just from speculation of the fact bragg did not wait for the subpoena to be enforced but affirm lavly trying to quash the subpoena he

knows pomeranz will show up for his deposition or interview, and therefore he's trying to get the court to prevent that from happening. >> it's clear alvin bragg is not happy about the publication of that book, but if you're trump and you're looking to amass -- you're looking to gather your defense for a possible second criminal indictment maybe or the one that's already on the table, how much can he get from mark pomeranz that -- i mean how much can he get from pomeranz that's not in the book? >> if pomeranz is going to be forced to testify or willing to testify the answer is going to be lot because he was the person with kerry dunn who was running the investigation for at least a year, although it was much broader than the charges brought, it encompassed those charges as well. he no doubt knows a tremendous amount of information about the district attorney's concerns, the assessment, the strengths and weaknesses, the deliberative process to bring the case or

not. so they clearly want him to testify and this lawsuit seems designed to prevent that >> they're also asking for communications between the d.a.'s office and the doj as it pertains to donald trump they want to see what the doj is saying to the d.a.'s office, but what could they glean from those conversations? >> we know the u.s. attorney of the southern district won't pursue these charges we don't entirely know why it could be michael cohen was not willing to go along with the southern district's program admitting to all this prior wrongdoing which is what the southern district requires of cooperators. not evidence but the assessment of the evidence because of course exculpatory evidence donald trump should get. that's the constitution.

but not the internal chatter by the prosecutors. >> speak of the constitution, i mean there's so -- we know what trump wants. we know what the house republicans want presumably on trump's behalf what the d.a. wants is for this all to go away and on its face this seems like a violation of the separation of powers, does it not? i am not a lawyer but there seems to be so much good evidence in the d.a.'s favor as far as how this -- basically this investigation cannot and should not continue. how do you read it >> yeah, in terms of the court question is there a valid legislative purpose we certainly haven't seen anything from jordan that explains what that valid legislative purpose is you mentioned there's some connection to federal funds, and while there doesn't need to be much of a legislative purpose the congress deemed to the courts there needs to be something. there are some legal hurdles the district will have to encounter,

sovereign immunity claims, the speech and debate clause >> oh, we're familiar with that on the show but you go ahead >> it gives congress considerably authority here, but that authority is not unlimited. like so many times we've seen in the trump era we're going to make some precedent here because this is not a frequently limited thing. mostly the person waits until the subpoena is enforced, and of course we saw that over and over again in the trump administration >> we sure did you say we don't know what this investigation is for on the part of house republicans i mean i have my theories, right? they've also been pretty explicit and this is cited in d.a. bragg's complaint house speaker kevin mccarthy tweeting the house of reatives will hold alvin bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account. republican congressman dan bishop who's now on the house judiciary committee tweets the subpoenas should now fly, and indeed they have house oversight chair james comer in an interview with cnn

saying, quote, bragg should come and explain to us exactly what he's investigating do those tweets, those explicit statements we're going to come get you alvin bragg, does that matter in the context of the judge going to be handling this complaint from the d.a.? >> i think they will matter to the judge. first of all it's going to have to be more than this for jordan to go forward with this, but he will be allowing jordan to come up with completely new rationals that are nowhere cited in his prior statements, and the bay courts look at this they let legislators essentially have a do over. to be sure if all they can come up with is what you've just read, that isn't enough, but it won't be essentially up to the subjective statements by jordan. the lawyers can now come in and offer some completely new super financial pretextual explanation for what they're doing, and that will be the clash in court >> i mean i have to say when you look at this from the long lens

of what this establishes in terms of the, you know, partisan politics, the weaponization of committees and weaponization of subpoena power on congress, right, these are some of the house republicans issuing these subpoenas, meddling in all this are the same house republicans who denied subpoenas from their congressional counter parts in the zjanuary 6th investigation. and what precedent does that set as far as how congress functions when you've taken something like a subpoena and used it for such explicitly partisan goals in this instance? >> what is it the eighth circle of hell is hypocrisy, and this is certainly within that definition of hypocrisy for people to oppose obviously legitimate congressional investigations as january 6th where there's a clear legislative purpose. and then to come forwith this kind of stuff it's very weak and as you say poses real separation of powers issues if any district attorney can be

forced to turn over their case file essentially to the defendantant it changes the structure the framers created. >> and fani willis, the fulton county d.a. in am idal of her own investigation there may be charging decisions next month. can congress do the same thing to her >> they certainly will if they're able to get away with it here and potentially with the doj investigation and there may be an even easier legislative purpose to make, congressional oversight of the department of justice, but it's totally unprecedented to go into an active investigation for all the reasons you discuss, grand jury material, confidential prosecutor files should not be disclosed to congress to help the defendantant >> and this from the party that wants smaller government, less intrusive government not meddling with state affairs. >> that's right. and pro-law enforcement of course >> we'll get into the eighth circing of hell hypocrisy. former u.s. attorney for the

southern district of new york, thanks for making time tonight >> we have a lot to get to this evening as the authorities in louisville, kentucky, confirm the shooters that killed five at a bank yesterday used a very familiar weapon. plus how the biden's actions last year to overcome a shortage of baby formula may inform what happens this year in the fight over medication abortion that's coming up

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remember when there was a huge shortage of baby formula in this country it went on for months and it was really pretty scary. by may of 2022 more than 40% of u.s. baby formula supplies were out of stock some stores were limiting customers to three baby formula products per purchase. parents were getting stressed and they were worried and were struggling with hungry babies. tow, republicans professed outrage but they loved the politics of this they called the white house incompetent saying joe biden simply has no plan house republicans staged press conferences to slam biden and slam the fda a lot of them featuring those images of empty shelves where baby formula was supposed to be. congresswoman elise stefanik declared this administration should be looking at everything

and anything to fix this shortage so when house democrats proposed a $28 million funding bill to give the fda some money to help solve the problem 192 republicans voted against it they were so incensed over these shortages they voted against something that might help. got that the republicans who voted no called that fda funding unnecessary. but the fda got creative while republicans were busy voting against its funding the fda was using its authority to use non-fda approved infant formula to enter the u.s. market that meant for months parents in the state were able to purchase formula from other countries thanks in large part to this specific authority the fda used. the fda increased options for formula which strengthen the supply chain, which help babies get their food now, congress has given the fda pretty broad authority to regulate food and health products including allowing the use of unapproved products on a

case by case basis and legal experts say the fda can no also use that broad authority for mifepristone, the first of two drugs typically used in medication abortions since a federal judge in texas ruled on friday the fda's 23-year-old approval of mifepristone may be on hold and ultimately rescinded access to mifepristone may be up in the air. the fda might have to use its authority to allow a nonapproved -- a non-fda approved drug on the market much like it did during that baby formula shortage, and that would allow the newly unapproved drug, mifepristone, to remain on the u.s. market. and it would ensure the drug stays available for purchase and distribution for anyone who needs it in states where abortion is legal just like with the baby formula shortage even if conservatives don't like the solution again, just like the baby formula shortage but first, before any of that happens the fda and biden administration are relying on the courts

last night the justice department asked the fifth circuit court of appeals to block the texas judge's ruling and maintain fda approval of the drug tonight we expect to see the anti-abortion groups that are leading the charge against mifepristone, we expect them to respond to that request. and as soon as tomorrow the fifth circuit court of appeals could weigh in joining us now is melissa murray, professor at new york university of school of law, co-host of the legal podcast "strict scrutiny" and of course an msnbc legal analyst thanks for joining us tonight. >> thanks for having me, alex. >> so what is your -- the fifth circuit is a very conservative court of appeals >> that's a very generous way to put it >> i think six circjudges were appointed by trump, many others appointed by reagan and george w. bush. is it a forgone conclusion they keep miff misstone off the market how do you see this maybe playing snut. >> it could be the case this

ruling from judge matthew kazmierczak is so lawless, so unprincipled and frankly so not smart even the fifth circuit can't hold its nose and affirm it they could say this ruling is unprimped and invalidate it. they could also uphold the ruling they could also do nothing, right? they could pause the ruling while the appeal is pending, but either way whatever the outcome i think we know where this goes next and that's to the united states supreme court so the fifth circuit is just an intermediary weigh station on the way. and is the landscape of chaos and confusion we've heard from around the country doctors who don't know what's possible whether they can prescribe medication, we've heard states stockpiling miff stris tone. this seems like a soviet red line for abortion care >> no, i think for a woman who -- or anyone in need who

wants reprukive choice in controlling their own body this is a terrifying moment when you taub about the blue states stockpiling mifepristone, do does that make it better or if you're a doctor are you worried about hitigation are you worried about the fact this is not a resolved issue >> i think there is a massive deterrent effect, a chilling effect because the landscape is so chaotic right now if you're a physician and your licensing may dependent on whether or not you stay good within the law and compliant within the law, you might not want to risk it, so there's a very strong deterrent effect here because of the chaos in the landscape. i love you related all this back to the baby formula shortage when all of that was going on there were a couple of rogue lawmakers who insisted this baby formula shortage wasn't a real

moment because women have the natural capacity as mothers to lactate and provide breast milk and they should do that. all women should breast-feed again, these things are inextricably intertwined this isn't about mifepristone or the agency or whether or not the fda approve this drug, it's about controlling women, forcing women into their quote-unquote natural role as wives and mothers. so it all links up to this -- women's bodies, controlling women, making them mothers whether they want to be or not >> i will point out the hypocrisy of forcing women to be mothers and then when they have those babies not doing everything in their power to make sure those babies are fed >> it's a very pro-life ethic you have there pro-life but not necessary for the whole life >> the in uterine life when we talk about scotus -- >> we talk about scotus or

ordinary scotus? >> we're going to talk about scotus as it currently stands. i think a lot of people assume, oh, here's the layup they've been waiting for to outlaw all forms of abortion everywhere, and yet there are some justice -- kavanaugh and roberts among them -- who seemed they were a bit hesitant to strike down roe, obviously not hesitant enough to not abide it but when it comes to this, the cascade effects of a ruling in favor of the anti-abortion groups of the plaintiffs here on the drug industry, the fda, the fda's ability to regulate any drug are catastrophic. do you think it's a forgone conclusion >> i think this is wide open before the court again, we have to remember the central concede of dobbs is that

roe and casey rested an issue that should have been decided for the people, by the people and imposed a judicial resolution and all that dobbs is doing is merely returning this to the people for state by state deliberation if the court really wants to say that with a straight face and then a year later approve this decision where a single judge in a courthouse in amarillo gets to decide for the whole country what happens visa vi medication abortion, it reveals the lie of dobbs. i've already said what i think the lie of dobbs is. i think dobbs is a weigh station to fetal person hood and the total abolition of fetal abortion in this country this weekend various member of the pro-life coalition were like that's exact lewhat we're doing. they're explicit about it. if you're the court and standing by this decision as a principled return of a democratic process you can't abide by thisone judge in amarillo, texas, doing this i think this is going to present

a real challenge for justice kavanaugh who wrote in his very pained concurrence that the constitution is neutral on the question of abortion it's neither pro-choice or pro-life and we've got to be neutral, too women have the right to make this choice and they can do so at the state level they can persuade their legislators and urpersuade congress >> and they have been. >> and they have been. again, is scotus a pro-democracy scotus is is it not interested in democracy is democracy unconstitutional at this point those are the broader questions that underlie this case as it goes up to the court >> to be particularly -- to put a gimlet eye on this, the fact 250 pharmaceuticals have waited when you talk about pluto ccrat scotus -- >> big pharma has made their

voices known throughout all of this and i think, again, it shows this case this is about the administrative state whether we can have regulation. and so this is not simply an assault on medication abortion, it's an assault on the fda as an administrative agency that acts under a democratically appointed mandate to do certain things and this is a court that's been very skeptical about the administrative state in certain places you could also be sticking it to the idea of the rule of law. >> sophy's choice. >> it is sophy's choice which baby will you pick >> melissa murray, it's great to see you and get your wisdom on this fraught topic more to come including whether republicans are starting to recognize they're on the wrong side politically when it comes to abortion and guns

plus why the gun used yesterday in the attack in louisville will end up back in circulation unless gun makers act. that is just ahead rmal. ♪ ♪ it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala.

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under current kentucky law the assault rifle that was used to murder five of our neighbors and shoot at rescuing police

officers will one day be auctioned off. think about that that murder weapon will be back on the streets one day under kentucky's current law >> that was louisville mayor craig greenberg at the press conference this afternoon talk about the ar-15 assault rifle the gunman in louisville had legally purchased just a week ago, a weapon the gunman use yesterday to kill five people and wound eight more at a louisville bank. the mayor's office is going to make sure that the firing pin is removed from that weapon before it's handed over the state, which will make the weapon temporarily inoperable, but that is all the state law allows it to do. the gun has to be handed over to the state, and it has to be auctioned off unless state legislators change the law, which means that another ar-15 will be back on the streets. tonight in authorities in louisville released body cam footage from yesterday's shooting that shows just how

quickly police were able to get to the scene there were three minutes when the shooting started and police were called. there were three more minutes when police were called and they got to the scene, and three minutes after that the police had taken out the shooter, so it was an incredibly fast and brave response but, again, in just those nine minutes the shooter had killed five people and wounded eight more now, there is surely going to be a lot of talk about the shooter's motive and mental state, but i think the mayor is right to be focused on the gun here, this type of gun in particular which is the ar-15. if you remember just two weeks back the shooter at the nashville covenant school also used an ar-15. they killed six people, three kids, and three adults in less than 15 minutes. the club q shooting that killed five people last year also an ar-15. the highland park parade shooting last year on the fourth of july that was an ar-15-style

weapon, uvalde, ar-15, buffalo, an ar-15 of the 12 deadly mass shootings six of them used ar 15-style weapons. they used semiautomatic weapons in which what are now known as large capacity magazines in the vietnam war u.s. soldiers used magazines with 20 bullets in war today the ar-15 and other semiautomatic weapons are regularly sold to civilens with at least 30 bullet magazines you can buy magazines that hold 100 bullets for about $100 when congress passed the federal assault weapons ban in 1984 it also prohibited magazines with more than ten rounds, but that law is no longer in place. now, the mayor of louisville is focusing on this one specific ar-15 and this one kentucky law

because that is a law he thinks he might be able to influence the state legislature to change. but nationally it is just as obvious that we need to start regulating ar-15s and high capacity magazines overall, and those should be political slam dunks. 63% of american adults favor banning assault style weapons all together, and 64% of american adults favor banning high capacity magazines, so how are we still here? how have republicans prevented any serious movement on gun control when common sense gun control is so popular? and why are we still here? why specifically are republicans still here former missouri senator claire mccaskill is going to join me live next to talk about that and a lot more

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last year after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade, anne colter, the conservative pundit, told her followers not to worry she shared with them overturning roe wasn't going to help democrats. outside the media no one seemed especially bothered by the decision or to have noticed it colter's message seemed to have resonated among republicans. rather than bracing for backlash they pushed through even more radical anti-abortion measures all over the country and then the mid-terms happened, and contrary to what anne colter predicted republicans were swept. democrats maintained control of all their state legislatures, they flipped republican chambers

in michigan and pennsylvania, they gained a senate seat, and they kept their house losses to single digits. so you would think, perhaps, that republicans might have learned a lesson but, no, instead they went back to the drawing board and adopted a resolution urging lawmakers all over the country to pass the strongest pro-life legislation possible many of them did and the result of that many argue is this. a conservative candidate and an election for a seat on wisconsin supreme court losing last week by 11 points the liberal who won the race focused her election squarely on abortion and so now anne colter has another message, the demand for anti-abortion legislation just cost republicans another crucial race pro-lifers we won, abortion isn't a constitutional right anymore. please stop pushing strict limits on abortion or there will be no republicans left the question is will republicans listen today politico is rorring inside

the party's headquarters there has been recognition that republicans need to change their message on abortion with pollsters arguing for a more moderate tact. this is not the only big issue republicans may be reconsidering. they're also getting massive backlash for opposing gun safety measures especially after republicans in tennessee last week expelled two black democratic lawmakers from the state legislature for leading protests after a school shooting in nashville left six people dead then yesterday came another mass shooting this time in louisville, kentucky, killing five people and injuring eight and while republicans have chosen to remain silent today tennessee's republican governor signed an executive order strengthening background checks for gun purchases. he also call on lawmakers to pass a so-called red flag law, which would remove guns from people who pose a danger to other people or themselves joining us now is claire mccaskill. claire, it is always good to see

you. what an extraordinary series of events that have pushed abortion and gun safety to the very top of the national attention span, if you will, to the national mead dwru and certainly our collective american imaginations do you think that governor lee's behavior in tennessee, that these moments could be inflection points for a republican party that has seemed so out of step with mainstream americans on those two issues? >> i doubt it. this is something that they have embraced in the base of their party. as you can see the rnc put out something after the dobbs decision saying keep going, go as far as you can. legislators across the country including my state have made abortion illegal including for victims of rape and incest from the moment of conception there is no grace period

whatsoever in my legislature here in missouri the republicans en bloc voted to let children openly carry guns, so they clearly have no -- no filter on realizing that they're going to too far. and, frankly, on both abortion and guns their claims to want to protect children by banning books and making sure there are no drag shows anywhere, those are as hollow as the hollow point bullets that they refuse to regulate. protecting life is not their priority and nor is protecting children i kind of hope that there will be some parents, some families that decide to allow the bodies of their dead children to be shown to america so we can't brush it aside it's astounding to me how far they've gone, and it's astounding to me that they keep pushing with huge helpings of

hypocrisy. >> yeah. i mean we know that -- and i would say it could even get more -- it could get worse for the gop insofar as in the wake of these two mass shootings you have governor lee trying to do something about it, but you also this week also have the meeting of the nra i believe annual leadership forum in indiana where republicans are expected to attend and bend the knee to the national rifle association you have, you know, one governor on one hand doing something to increase gun safety, if you will, however much around the margins is then you have ron desantis in florida allowing concealed weapons without a permit i guess on guns the picture is very complicated, and on abortion it's even muddier but i do think the kazmierczak ruling on mifepristone throws the party into such an extraordinary position not just on the subject of abortion but on the basic sort of principles

of the government being able to regulate drugs do you think there's any hope that republicans will voice any doubt about whether this lawsuit should go through? >> well, i will say this we off-the-wall decision by this -- i mean as a lawyer reading the opinion, it is jaw dropping when you read the opinion because he blows up some of the most conservative tenants of our rule of law in america like standing, like timeliness, like exhaustion of administrative remedies these are all very conservative principles that have been blown up in the political name of trying to limit abortions everywhere and by the way the hypocrisy there. i mean remember after dobbs when all the republicans said we want the states to decide no, they don't no, they don't this texas decision is, in fact,

a lawsuit really masquerading for a political desire to outlaw abortions everywhere and i thought it was great you spent some time on high capacity magazines. i do not understand how anyone's desire to shoot so many bullets in such a short period of time are necessary for their enjoyment of owning guns i do not understand that, and i don't think most americans do especially when they are used to slaughter. >> yeah, i mean there is -- the reason you have high capacity magazines is for the battlefield, and that's, you know, why in the vietnam war soldiers had ar-15s that were armed with ten-round magazines i think the question is if we set aside the republican party for a minute, there is -- there is the question of how democrats handle this moment, right? it is not good we are having mass shootings in this country it is not good that children are being slaughtered. democrats have to at once make

republicans pay a price for that, but they also need to do something to fix the problem what else can and should the biden administration be doing broadly on the subject of gun safety reform? >> well, the truth is the way our government is designed, alex, it's very hard for a president to do much with executive power on issues like this whether it be abortion or whether it be gun safety and gun reform this really has to come from the people it has to come from legislative bodies both local, state, and federal legislative bodies we have to decide we're not going to be the slaughter capital of the world we have to decide it is politically unacceptable to have your children hold ar-15s, weapons of war, for a christmas card we have it decide it's unacceptable to elect anyone who takes off an american flag off their lapel and proudly puts an ar-15 on instead

and that is up to the voters of this country to decide they've had enough and my hope is what we saw in wisconsin with young people is going to be replicated next year and even in elections this year where young people who by huge margins are rejecting the extreelism whether it's book banning, whether it's no abortions for anyone, the government is going to force birth, whether it's climate change, or whether it's guns the younger generation gets it and if they show up, we'll finally make real movement on getting rid of weapons of war slaughtering children innocently in school. >> always great to talk to you thank you for your time and thoughts tonight >> you bet, thank you. >> we have one more story for you tonight, a story about book banning in public libraries so egregious you might assume it's happening in the state of florida. but think again. that story's next. you get to.

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this week of the lano county texas commissioner, a discussion about whether to continue or cease operations of the current physical llano county library system officials in a community about 22,000 people about 80 miles outside the state capitol, they've been ordered by the federal judge to return about a dozen items removed from the county's library system after some citizens complained among them books that cover race, lgbtq matters and pusbert, including cast, the origins of our discontent about the origins of racism in america, being jazz, the life of a transgender teen, a book about the birth of the ku klux klan along with a book about tarting because that's what all kids are interested in. several sued to get those books

back on the selves claiming republicans were on a hunt this is a pretext. the case goes to trial in october but the federal judge ordered the books back on the shelf in the meantime. in a meeting this week members of the public reportedly applauded after one woman said if they insist on having the books and if we don't win again, then just close down after which the board decided to hold an emergency meeting this thursday where they may just vote to shut all the libraries down in llano county so there's a very real possibility that a fight over about a dozen books may cause an entire community to lose access to every book. that is the show for tonight we'll see you again tomorrow "way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next i'm a doctor i don't know what the answers are. but to everyone who help