the last thing before we go tonight is one huge congratulations to our dear friend and former msnbc anchor craig melvin. he'll be joining today as a co-anchor in january. just yesterday i happened to be there, and i was giving him my pro tip about trying to get yourself a new job and why you need to clean up your social media to get that promotion. watch this. >> this is important. >> this might be the most important. >> you might be the keg stand king of connecticut, but -- >> who told you? who told her? >> but nobody needs to know that if they're your potential employer. >> i gave him career advice yesterday, and today, boom, he's the anchor of the today show. congratulations to my dear, dear friend mr. melvin. i can't wait to see you in the

anchor chair january 13th. and on that amazing note, i wish you all a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with me. i'll see you at the end of tomorrow. there is a ton of news to get to this evening. but i want to start by going back to the year 2019 on the small island nation of samoa. that year, one year before the global pandemic, they were experiencing their own pandemic. >> reporter: this is the biggest increase in deaths we've seen since records began. the figure of 32 dead is up from 25 only yesterday. >> we're not designed to deal with this, and when you have hospitals running at 200, 300% capacity, it's incredibly serious. >> the outbreak was measles. a disease for which vaccines have been available for more than 60 years.

but in 2019, an entirely preventable outbreak on samoa killed 83 people, most children under the age of 4. why? why was a preventable disease spreading like wildfire and killing so many children? well, one year prior to that outbreak, two infants in samoa died after nurses accidentally mixed their vaccine doses with another drug. it was a horrible tragedy, and it was one the american anti-vaccination movement sought to exploit. the children's health defense jumped on the incident to stoke skepticism about vaccines in samoa. and during that time measles vaccination rates went from 92% in 2014 to 40% in 2018. the man in charge of that anti-vaccination campaign was robert f. kennedy jr. he

personally traveled to samoa as an honored guest of the prime minister. he told the local papers that the prime minister shared kennedy's concerns about vaccines. and right around that same time, the prime minister halted the country's infant measles vaccine program. all of that created the conditions for samoa's deadliest measles outbreak in generations, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of the island's children. and the man who ran that deadly anti-vaccination campaign has just been named by donald trump to be the next secretary of health and human services, where he will oversee everything from vaccine and drug af -- approvals and more. >> robert f. kennedy cares more about human beings and health and the environment than anybody. >> i'm going to let him go wild on health. i'm going to let him go wild

on the food. i'm going to let him go wild on medicines. >> by now you've probably heard all about rfk jr.'s vaccine skepticism. over the past year he's gone out of his way to claim he's not anti-vaccine while also saying things like that. >> you say the media slams you by calling you anti-vaccine, and you say you're not anti-vaccine, you're pro safe vaccine. difficult question, can you name any vaccines that you think are good? >> um, i think some of the live virus vaccines are probably, uh, are solving more problems than they're causing. there's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective. >> so he's pro safe vaccines, but also there's no vaccine that is safe. so kennedy's not just against all vaccines, he's just

against the one that is currently exist. kennedy's dangerous health claims go way beyond vaccines. since 1945, local governments have added flouride to u.s. drinking water to stop tooth decay. but kennedy has repeatedly been skeptical about it, and said he might encourage local municipalities to do away with fluoride programs. >> reporter: in january, what would you actually do? >> i think fluoride is on its way out. i think the faster it goes out, the better. i'm not going to compel anybody to take it out, but i'll advice the water districts about their legal liability, their legal obligation to their service. >> just to be clear, there are real consequences to removing fluoride from the water.

stat news reports that the city of juneua, alaska removed it in 2007 and dental procedures related to cavities increased after that. i would go as far as to say that community water fluoridation is probably our best equity oriented health intervention we have said jennifer myer at the university of alaska anchorage. rfk jr. has also promoted fake cures for covid that have caused severe injury and death. he's promised to dismantle our health care infrastructure through massive purges. he recently told an audience he plans to fire 600 employees from the national institutes of health. and he has plans to gut other key departments as well. >> reporter: clearing out the corruption in your terms,

would that mean clearing out the top level federal service workers currently at the fda? >> in some categories, i would say. >> reporter: what does that look like? >> in some categories where their entire departments, like the nutrition departments, they have to go. >> just to be clear, the fda's nutrition programs focus on things like preventing chronic diet-based diseases and what foods can call themselves healthy on packaging. so his beliefs are somewhat fringe and conspiratorial, but all show a distinct disinterest in the public part of public health. people like rfk jr. share the

beliefs over the health of society at large, and those that end up suffering are disproportionately the poor, the weak, and the marginalized. that's what's at stake with this appoint. joining me is the dean of the brown school of public health and he was also the white house covid-19 response. i know you tweeted out this is a bad choice for the american people. the hhs secretary shapes health policy in profound ways. can you expand on how you're thinking about rfk jr.'s nomination here? >> i can. and this is not a general criticism of trump's nominees. his previous hhs secretary was a perfectly good choice. but rfk jr. is outside of the main stream, and hhs does more than just look at vaccines. they oversee medicare, the

program for seniors. oversees medicaid that covers half of all kids in america. certainly has profound influence on things like what medicines will be able to the american people. and of course vaccines and so many other things. the program here is the way we have made progress in our country, and our system is not perfect. right, we can talk about all the problems of our health care system. but we have relied on evidence, analysis, and the scientific approach to try and make those decisions. and when we have, and gotten it right, it's made huge impacts on people's lives in positive way. rfk jr. has a series of ideas that just fail those tests. he doesn't apply the same scientific rigorous thinking. and i'm deeply worried if he has brings his ideas to medicare, to medicaid, to vaccines, to which drugs will get approved, we are going to face substantial threats to our health, not just for kids, but really for all americans. >> can you give me a sense of just what practically he can

do. what powers are allotted him as the head of hhs? because hhs sits atop a pyramid that underneath it includes the cdc, fda, nih. can he effectively veto fda approvals as the secretary of health and human services? >> it's a very interesting thing. none of the past ones have had a lot of health experiences. that criticism doesn't really hold water. but in the past democrats and republicans have let the scientists at the fda, at the cdc, at nih make those decisions. agency heads know what the secretary wants, and there's always some amount of political pressure stated or unstated not to, you know, not to upset the boss. though, what i worry about with rfk is he has such strong ideas, most of which are bad ones. he's got so much strong ideas that he'll shape who he picks as agency heads. who will be head of fda, cdc, nih. also those people, in order to

please him, are going to shape their own decisions about which drugs are going to be approved, which tests are available, which vaccines are available for kids. so the ways the hhs secretary shapes u.s. policy, some is explicit. he gets to determine whether mammograms are free or not, colon cancer screenings are free. but a lot is much more nuanced and subtle, and that's where i think we'll get into a lot of problems. >> on a sort of immediate level, say he gets past the nomination process and is installed in the agency come the end of january. does that mean he can influence, i don't know, covid-19 booster shots withen the year? i tend to think that the, you know, the cdc and the hhs are kind of a vast federal bureaucracy, and messing around with it in the near term is quite difficult. >> yeah, no, look, there are,

so for instance it's going to matter enormously who the cdc director will be. but if the cdc director is someone that shares rfk jr.'s views, then absolutely. if you think about the recommendations for vaccines, and why are certain vaccines authorized from the fda, why are they covered by insurance, those are determinations made by the cdc. the cdc director along with the hhs secretary have a profound impacts on which vaccines are available, which are free, which are widely dispersed. so those will be shaped jointly by the hhs secretary and cdc director. and i worry his sitting at the top, he'll be allowed to help pick the leaders of the individual agencies, and that is going to make a big difference. >> invaluable perspective on all this. somewhat terrifying as well as. really appreciate your time and wisdom tonight. thank you. >> thanks for having me.

now we turn to michelle goldberg, the opinion columnist at the new york times. you covered the rfk campaign for president, and i want to remind everyone of a useful assessment you made of those that support rfk. what brought all the supporters together was a particular combination of cynicism and credit credulity. they believe they're living under a sinister regime that lies to them about everything that matters, and believe with the kennedy campaign we might be on the cusp of redemption. how complicating is it for our democracy to have someone like robert f. kennedy installed at a health agency, someone that's spread so much misinformation and disinformation actually in the government itself. >> profoundly in terms of actual health outcomes, but also in terms of the broader destabilization of any common,

you know, common sense of what reality is. and i think that the, the credulity part is in some ways as important as the cynicism because they say don't believe what the government is telling you about the efficacy of vaccines, or kennedy has raised questions about whether hiv really causes aids. at the same time there's all these kind of quack remedies that they're willing to accept with very, very little evidence. with only the sort of stories passed from one person to another. so it's this perfect storm both for really bad health outcomes, but also for, again, this kinds of upside down world where the people who are atop many of the various agencies if trump gets his way are people who are hostile to what those agencies have traditionally done.

>> yeah, i mean, the cdc director, dr. mandy cohen shared her concerns about the rfk jr. pick and said even without changing one regulation or one piece of guidance, the sharing of misinformation from a place of power is concerning. and that's it, isn't it? like, you put rfk jr. in a place of power. it undermines settled science in many ways, it undermines public health, but it also changes the way the american public thinks of its government. and by the way, the long term effects of this, even post-trump, could be incredibly damaging to just the notion of public health and a government that's there to like, be, to guard the safety and well being of its citizens. >> right. in some ways you'll have a sort of ininvestigation of this trust because you'll have -- inversion of this trust because trump voters will suddenly believe everything that comes from the government where biden voters, i think with good reason, would be quite skeptical. you know, my kids were older, but if they were very small, i

wouldn't trust some sort of new vaccine schedule that came from this government. i would take my kids to another country and get them treated according to established protocols. >> right. and so then you have mistrust on both sides. and what's the net effect of all of this in 2030 or 2035? the saving grace, i guess, is that this is donald trump. a man who is often at war with everybody he hires and fires at will. and already, there is a divergent path for these men where trump is praising bobby kennedy on one hand, but saying don't touch the environmental stuff. this is trump on election night declaring victory and talking about bobby kennedy. i think. do we have the clip? >> he's a great guy, and he really means it. he wants to do some things, and we'll let him go to it. i just said bobby, leave the

oil to me! we have more liquid gold, oil and gas, more liquid gold than any country in the world. more than saudi arabia, more than russia. bobby, stay away from the liquid gold. other than that, go have a good time, bobby. >> so that's election night, and then tonight, just a few minutes ago. trump is having a rally of sorts at mar-a-lago, and he said this about bobby kennedy. can we play that clip? >> i just looked at the news reports. people like you, bobby. don't get too popular, bobby. you've reached about the level. >> like, at the end of the day, it's trump's show. and if bobby kennedy does execute on his broad agenda which includes quack health -- >> and i think it's important to say also includes some at least very legitimate critiques of big agriculture, big pharma. the problem with big pharma is they charge too much for medicines, not that they

invent the medicines in the first place. but the critiques are valid, and i think that that is probably what's going to end up tripping him up. >> or the environmentalism. >> right, because, you know, trump and the republicans have a lot of big pharma donors. they have a lot of big agricultural donors. >> he's been promising oil and gas companies that he's their man. >> right, so they might be okay with him spreading distrust about vaccines. i think they will be actually a lot more upset if he tries to actually do something about, you know, ultra processed foods in schools. look what happened when michelle obama tried to tell kids to eat vegetables and exercises? >> right, it's in my ways something robert kennedy embraces. okay, michelle, it's been a rolling week of insanity, and it's only thursday. thank you for joining me for one chapter on this thursday night. we have a lot to get to, like

why russian state owned media outlets are loving donald trump's pick for foreign policy. and alex jones, the platform he used to call the sandy hook massacre a hoax is auctioned off. the new, and likely new owners of info wars, join me live in studio up next. ♪ ♪ holiday memories made by alexis brought to you by etsy.

so, what are you thinking? i'm thinking...

(speaking to self) about our honeymoon. what about africa? safari? hot air balloon ride? swim with elephants? wait, can we afford a safari? great question. like everything, it takes a little planning. or, put the money towards a down-payment... ...on a ranch ...in montana ...with horses let's take a look at those scenarios. j.p. morgan wealth management has advisors in chase branches and tools, like wealth plan to keep you on track. when you're planning for it all... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management. ♪ ♪ the answer is ♪ something has changed within me ♪ ♪ it's time to try defying gravity ♪ ♪ ♪ - it's something about having that piece of paper. some people think that's worth more than my skills.

- i've run this place for 20 years, but i still need to prove that i'm more than what you see on paper. - you gotta be so good they can't ignore you. - it's the way my mind works. i have a very mechanical brain. - analytics and empathy. that's how i gain clients. - i am more... - i'm more... ...than who i am on paper.

>> the system still thinks it's in charge. this is probably the last transmission from this building. god bless you for your support. support our sponsors. info wars is really the detonator for this global movement happening. you're the reason it's happening. you're the resistance. god bless and good luck. that was alex jones earlier today lamenting the sale of info wars part of the judge he owes to family members of the victims of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. pending a bankruptcy court hearing in houston next week over whether the auction sale was correctly administered, the onion, as in the onion, as in the excellent and satirical news site, is expected to acquire the info wars website and its associated social media accounts among other assets. the onion plans to remake it into a parody of itself, one

that mocks weird internet personalities who shamelessly peddle misinformation. as bonus karmic justice, the nonprofit organization every town for gun safety has partnered with the onion as the exclusive advertiser on the revamped info wars site. joining me now is ben collins, chief executive of the onion's parent company, and what a day gentlemen. >> it's a good way of putting it. >> yeah, what an extraordinary day. first, let's start with the court hearing happening in houston. are you confident that the sale is going to go through? >> yeah, look, we won the auction. we heard from the trustee last night. and, um, you know, the biggest shock to us would have been if alex jones is like oh, yeah, they won the auction, let's move along. so we're not surprised by the development, but we're excited to take over this thing. >> i think a lot of people are excited. did you hear any response from

alex jones' camp? do you know how it landed when he was informed it was the onion with exclusive advertisements from every town for gun safety. >> from what we could tell he didn't know what it was. >> the onion? >> he lives in a completely different reality. he was like the newspaper the onion? we were like correct, we do have a newspaper. but i don't think he knew exactly what it was, which was funny to see. he also read a statement from the ceo who may or may not exist. >> yes, it's a hilarious statement. >> so nice for him to get some of his own medicine. >> can you explain, john, what it means for every town to be the exclusive advertiser here? >> yeah, some people think it's odd bedfellows for the onion and every town to be together, but we think the opposite. we have the data, the stories, the research, but what they've

got is the creativity to really breakthrough. and in many ways, we think humor is a way to reach audiences we've never reached before, and reach them in a way with a new medium, and that is really satire and human. >> yeah, i would imagine, first of all, i think that's such an astute observation, the power of humor. and i think the right uses humor to its own advantage, but the left hasn't been able to do it. so this karmic justice is also insanity funny. >> yeah, it is. >> what was the reaction from the parents who had their children massacred at newtown, suffered through so much, get this major settlement, and this turn of the screw. >> yeah, john talked to them specifically today. but i want to say, they made this happen. >> the parents. >> yeah, they deferred some money to take this happen for us within this case. and, um, you know -- >> some of their settlement money was used towards this

purchase? >> right, because they also thought it would be funny. alex jones takes all these people and turns them into characters in his word. the sandy hook families are characters, you know, everybody involved in this case are soulless monsters and all this. they're victims of the worst thing that can happen, but they're also human beings and like a joke. they want something nice to happen. and, you know, thankfully today i think a lot of people opened their phone for the first time and saw something that didn't make them want to run off into the woods and live in the wilderness. >> cry. >> exactly. they saw something really genuinely good. that's the feeling they want to give to people. >> and the thing is, you have to acknowledge the courage of these families for years standing up to alex jones. and they know the impact of this is bigger than just them. they know this is going to have an impact on victims all over this country. and certainly every town is very concerned about those families. we came into really being after sandy hook. but they know that their

courage is going to make a difference to families all over this country. >> and, and i think in the bigger picture, even setting aside the horror of gun violence, it's that alex jones, his info wars site ends up being a charade just like he's a charade. i think there's real justice in that. i do have to ask in terms of how this idea came about, ben. i think it was you replied to a joke on blue sky, which is an alternative to x saying that you were looking into buying info wars. is that the seed? >> yeah, yeah. i quoted a famous guy there. but we found out it was for sale, and everybody in the room was like wouldn't it be be funny if we bought info wars? and then it was like no, wouldn't it actually be funny? so we have started calling

around. we called the families' lawyers. >> why did you think of the families? because they were so already involved? >> yeah, and i knew them from my previous life at this place. so i called them and was like what, what's the deal here? like, what do you think it might take? how do we actually make this work? and, um, you yeah, and then a few months later we were, simultaneously building up a roster of onion writer hall of fammers and saying what would you do if we bought this thing? at that point we were like if, if we don't get this i think we'll be pretty upset about it because we had a very expansive cool new world to build on this, this horrible website we're about to pave over. so we're very excited to show it off to people, and that's basically, they made it happen. the families made it happen, every town made it happen by partnering with us. >> what's the advertising going to look like? you have free reign here? >> it will be from banner ads to creating content together

to videos. >> are you going to sell supplements? >> it's on the table, but we haven't decided yet. >> speaking of supplements, this is from the statement that was released by the onion today about alex jones' supplement business. we plan to collect, let me say this straight. we plan to collect the entire stock of the info wars warehouses of supplements into a large vat and boil down the contents into a single candy bar sized vitamin that one executive may eat to increase his power and perhaps become immortal. can you expand on that? what actually happens to the supplements? >> well, we do know that we have them now. >> that's insane. >> it's crazy. i have no idea what to do with tens of thousands of bottles of brain force plus. but we'll find out together. if you want a bite of the vitamin, let me know. >> if you can melt down all of

alex jones' vitamin supplement, you might, something might actually happen to you. >> you know, alex, i do think that in many ways humor is the way to battle disinformation and disarm them, but we always have to remember the one thing that isn't funny is the pain that alex jones visited on the sandy hook families. nothing funny about that. >> nothing funny about that, and that's why i think so meaningful that whenever people are on this site, there will be a constant reminder with the advertisements, and i'm sure you'll get creative with them, and how it's a constant reminder of the horror alex jones inflicted on these families in a moment of absolute devastation. >> and people shouldn't forget that. >> i think it's extraordinary that with that as the predicate you can try and find joy and a next chapter in all of it too. that's the sense of relief. >> and that's what we are doing. we are turning a chapter on

the strength of their talent and the courage of the sandy hook families. >> it's an extraordinary story about the families. >> yes, without a doubt. >> ben, i look forward to the documentary about all this. including the fabrication of the omni vitamin. hopefully a times square event, the naked cowboy will be there. >> it's going to be a good time. >> a bright spot in a dark moment. it's great to see you guys. congratulations. good luck on the road ahead. we'll be reading voraciously when the time is right. >> thanks, alex. coming up, a long awaited house ethics report on allegations of matt gaetz sexual misconduct looms large. and tulsi gabbard, trump's pick to lead u.s. intelligence agencies. claims that sound a lot like russian propaganda. more on that after the break, stay with us.

rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. chase really knows how to put the hart in your local community. see what i did there? hey, jackie! (♪♪) evan, my guy! you're helping them with savings, right? (♪♪) i wish i had someone like evan when i started. somebody just got their first debit card!

ice cream on you? ooo, tacos! i got you. wait hold on, don't you owe me money? what?! your money is a part of your community, so your bank should be too. like, chase! right now across the u.s., people are trying to ban books from public schools and public libraries. yes, libraries. we all have a first amendment right to read and learn different viewpoints. that's why every book belongs on the shelf. yet book banning in the u.s. is worse than i've ever seen. it's people in power who want to control everything. well, i say no to censorship. and i say yes to freedom of speech and expression. if you do too, please join us in supporting the american civil liberties union today. for over 100 years, the aclu has fought for your rights and mine. including the right to read

all manner of books. so please call or go online to myaclu.org. for just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day. you can become a guardian of liberty and help protect all the rights promised to us by the u.s. constitution. make no mistake, this move to ban books is a coordinated attack on students right to learn. this is a clear violation of free speech. that's why the aclu is working to fight against censorship in all its forms. it is so important now more than ever. so please call or go to myaclu.org and become an aclu guardian of liberty, for just $19 a month. use your credit card and you'll get this special we the people t-shirt and more to show you're helping to protect the rights of all people. the aclu is in all 50 states, d.c. and puerto rico defending our first amendment

right of free speech and all of your constitutional rights. because we the people, means all of us. so please, call or, go online to myaclu.org today. old spice gentleman's super hydration body wash. (whispered) vanilla and shea. 24/7 moisturization with vitamin b3. (knock on the door) are you using all the old spice? oops. ♪ (old spice mnemonic) ♪

[ speaking in a global language ] that was state-owned russian tv, russia 1, a network back in 2022, gleefully playing a clip of

former congresswoman tulsi gabbard, referred to as our girlfriend tulsi. someone asks is she some sort of russian agent? and the host replies yet. and now donald trump has chosen tulsi gabbard as his director of national intelligence, meaning tulsi gabbard would oversee all 18 u.s. intelligence agencies, including the nsa and cia. i should say very clearly that we have no reason to believe that tulsi gabbard is actually some sort of russian agent, but there is a real reason why she's amplified so eagerly by people who are actually russian agents. for example, here's an english language version of the clip that the russian state-owned clip was played of their girlfriend tulsi. >> president biden just said out loud what the aims and objectives of his administration's policies are, which is regime change in russia. to get putin out of power.

>> gabbard's political views closely line up with russian media talking points, particularly when it comes to the war in ukraine. we were going to put together a highlight reel showing tulsi gabbard parroting different talking points, but the state run russian media beat us to it. the state run russian media. here's the sizzle reel that rt put out together, which is a celebration of trump's choice of tulsi gabbard to run american intelligence agencies. >> despite their lectures and their crocodile tears, it's never been about morality. it's not about the people of ukraine or protecting democracy. this is about regime change in russia and exploiting this war to strengthen nato and feed the military industrial complex. >> well, let's look at what

kind of democracy zelenskyy is leading in ukraine. you know, he not only jailed his political opponents very, very, very early on, but he banned their entire political party. >> presidents putin, zelenskyy, and biden. it's time to put geo pot -- politics aside and embrace the spirit of aloha. >> and just let putin have ukraine! mahalo! tulsi gabbard is welcome to believe whatever she wants to believe, but some of what she's espoused the past few years is in line with russian disinformation. >> here are the undeniable facts. there are 25 to 30 u.s.-funded bio labs in ukraine. >> at the beginning of the war in ukraine, one of the big pieces of disinformation that russia was pushing was the

idea there were dangerous u.s.-backed bio labs in ukraine. now, the u.s. did help fund labs in ukraine. there were labs that basically did the same work that the cdc discuss here in the states. -- does here in the states. to track and prevent the outbreaks of various diseases. but russia pushed the idea that they were dangerous bio weapons labs and the u.s. was covering them up. there were a lot of theories as to why russia pushed that particular lie. some thought it was to create more pretext for the russian invasion or cover if case russia ended up using their own biological weapons. or justify case for attacking densely populated area. but it was disinformation and a lie crafted by russia's intelligence agencies as information warfare. and tulsi gabbard pushed it.

>> instead of trying to cover this up, the biden-harris administration needs to work with russia, ukraine, nato, the un to immediately implement a ceasefire for all military action in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and the pathogens are destroyed. >> while gabbard says she didn't mean to imply they had the labs, here's what mitt romney had to say about gabbard's narrative at the time. tulsi gabbard is parroting false russian propaganda. her treasonous lies may well cost lives. and now donald trump wants her in charge of all u.s. intelligence agencies. coming up, reports indicate that the house ethics committee into matt gaetz is highly damaging. what it might contain and will

we ever see its release? christy greenberg is here to talk about it with me next. power's out! -power's out comcast business has you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! let's power on! -let's power on! it's from the company with 99.9% network reliability. plus advanced security. let's power on! power on with the leader in connectivity. powering possibilities. comcast business. power's out.

sleep more deeply and wake up rejuvenated. purple mattresses exclusive gel flex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure, and instantly adapts. sleep better. live purple. right now save up to $1,000 during our black friday sale. visit purple.com or a store near you

our right to reproductive health care is being stolen from us. i can't believe this is the world we live in, where we're losing the freedom to control our own bodies. we need your support now more than ever. go online, call, or scan this code, with your $19 monthly gift. and we'll send you this "care. no matter what" t-shirt. it is your right to have safe health care. that's it. go online, call, or scan right now. >> i want to know what's in the ethics committee report. it's a bipartisan investigation of some extremely serious charges that has to be public. >> considering the job that he's been appointed to, considering that the fbi is going to do a background check anyway, i can't imagine the committee won't want to see

it. >> i am going to demand release of the ethics committee report. matt gaetz has chosen to resign from the house, but he can't choose to conceal that information. >> reporter: would you want to see the report before voting? >> there's no limitation at all on what the senate can consider. pressure is mounting in washington dc for the house ethics committee to release its long awaited report on florida congressman matt gaetz ahead of his senate confirmation hearing as attorney general. the committee has been investigating gaetz since 2021 over allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use, bribery, and obstruction. but with his sudden resignation from congress, the report's release is now in doubt. tomorrow the house ethics committee had been expected to meet behind closed doors to discuss the report, among other things. but nbc news reports tonight that that meeting has now been

canceled. christy greenberg is joining me now. it's great to see you. we talk about this investigation, but i think a lot of people maybe don't remember or never knew to begin with what exactly matt gaetz is being investigated for and what allegations the house ethics committee was looking into? >> right. before we got to the house ethics committee, doj was investigating matt gaetz in connection with an associate of his, joel greenberg, no relation, for sex trafficking of a minor and illicit drug use. essentially sex and drug parties with women who may not have been of age to consent. also looking at whether or not drugs were involved with these parties, impacting consent as well. that investigation went on for a number of years. joel greenberg was a cooperating witness. he's sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of this minor. and, you know, as far as we know, he was giving

information about other men that he introduced this minor too. he said as part of his plea that he also witnessed this, the minor having sex with other men. doesn't say who. but that he was a witness to that, and these acts were happening. and so the judge in that sentencing of joel greenberg said this was cooperation beyond anything he'd seen in his 22 years. and that's under seal, most of it. the only parts we know that are public are the four people he ended up giving information on that were charged. four people charging based on a cooperator, that's not extraordinary. what's extraordinary is what's under seal. i imagine that's part of what the house ethics committee took up because doj decided not to charge matt gaetz with anything, but the house ethics committee wanted to investigate further. maybe there's not a federal crime here, but maybe there's something else. they were really looking at

the sexual misconduct allegations and illicit drug use. so i think joel greenberg's testimony, he apparently provided win information to the house ethics committee, would be at the heart of this along with other witnesses. the minor -- >> gaetz's girlfriend as well? >> right. >> so doj didn't charge him with a crime, but it's an ethical matter. so now the house ethics chair said if gaetz is no longer in congress, the committee doesn't have purview over him. but it's not like he's just leaving to go sell real estate in florida. >> right, he's leaving to go to a higher position and looking to be a part of the president's cabinet. so those rules where, i mean, the reason you wouldn't make a report like that public is because hey, if the guy is leaving with his tail between his legs, you don't want to

dirty him up, just let him go. here he's resigning just before the report is released to conceal it from the public and he can get this great post as the head of the department of justice. i mean, that's absurd. we need to know what's in the report. >> we played the sound of senators suggesting they want to see what the house ethics committee came up with in its report. but it's an open question about whether it will actually be made public. you even have senator hawley today saying even if the report isn't released, there will be an fbi investigation. now, here's where i have to ask. i remember the fbi investigation into brett kavanaugh and the reporting in the washington post about how surface that investigation was. i'll just remind everybody. the trump administration, according to the washington post, the trump administration protected kavanaugh from facing a full fbi investigation in the wake of serious allegations that he sexually assaulted two women. at least eight senators cited the fbi's findings when they

voted to confirm the justice. it effectively provided them cover to vote. >> it was a total farce. they set up a hot line and never pursued most of the leads coming into it. then women were contacting members of congress and saying we have information, and nobody was following up on it so. the idea that you can say, that we can rely at this point on the fact that there's going to be an investigation, i mean, give me a break. i think what you'd want to see is let's see the underlying information to this report. let's see the interviews, see what the written testimony was from the witnesses and hear from the witnesses to the extent we can. don't just say we're going to rely on what the fbi has done. we deserve to hear it directly. >> from someone who will be the attorney general. >> exactly. >> there are three more appointments at doj. trump's lawyers all doing quite well post-litigation. john sauer who argued on the trump side at the supreme

court. he's be the solicitor general. todd blanche and emil bovie. this is a big boon for putting up with trump at trial. what's your reaction to the choices? >> well, that's part of why you do it. doing it -- >> to get a job as attorney general? >> in the trump world you can get some kind of a higher level job that maybe wouldn't be available to you otherwise. but look, john sauer was my classmate in harvard law. he was always very bright. i didn't necessarily agree with him on his political views, but he was a smart guy. blanche and bovie have also been prosecutors before. so the bar is low here. matt gaetz is someone who's barely even a lawyer at any point, so these are people who at least have some basic level of competency to do the job. >> and there are they're the

most normal picks of them all. thank you for making time, my friend. we'll be right back. or for my little dog woof, who eats big. ♪ ♪ gifts delivered on time or your money back. etsy has it. missing out on the things you love because of asthma? get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. step back out there with fasenra. ask your doctor if it's right for you. (♪♪) only purple's gel flex grid passes the raw egg test. no other mattress cradles your body and simultaneously ask ysupports your spine.ight for you. memory foam doesn't come close. get your best sleep guaranteed.

save up to $1,000 during our blackfriday sale. visit purple.com or a store near you. [♪♪] looking for a moisturizer that does more than just moisturize? try olay regenerist for 10 benefits in every jar. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay.

harlem has everything. but i couldn't find pilates anywhere. so i started my own studio. and with the right help, i can make this place i love even better. earn up to 5% cash back on business

essentials with the chase ink business cash card from chase for business. it's our son, he is always up in our business. essentials with the chase ink business cash card it's the verizon 5g home internet i got us. oh... he used to be a competitive gamer but with the higher lag, he can't keep up with his squad. so now we're his “squad”. what are kevin's plans for the fall? he's going to college. out of state, yeah. -yeah in the fall. change of plans, i've decided to stay local. oh excellent! oh that's great! why would i ever leave this? -aw! we will do anything to get him gaming again. you and kevin need to fix this internet situation. heard my name! i swear to god, kevin! -we told you to wait in the car. everyone in my old squad has xfinity. less lag, better gaming! i'm gonna need to charge you for three people.

. that is our show for tonight. now it is time for the last word with the great lawrence o'donell. good evening, lawrence. >> i am in the washington studio, as you might be able to tell. i have a question, just between us. professional. >> no one can hear us. >> i, the secretary of transportation is going to