hitting the roads going to a whole bunch of different venues across the country to promote it. we just booked a show in chicago that was not originally on the schedule. but it's now on the schedule, i promised it would happen. plenty of other cities i am going to. you can scan the qr code on your screen. i'm really excited. excited to see you all. see you out there. that is all in on this wednesday night. alex wagner starts right now. good evening alex. >> do you feel that you have become better at paying attention after writing this book. >> i was just writing about this, i wish it were the case. >> a for context. excuse me for a second. >> the short answer is i have but it's not like there's some rubiks cube you have and you have it. >> that's not a spoiler. >> no. >> like i said, i have bought

six copies of it. anybody who is seeing this segment should also buy six copies. a perfect holiday gift. >> thank you, my friend. johnson is not having a happy holiday season. right now his job is to pass a bill through the first part of the year in order to avoid a government shut down. for now, the speaker has negotiated a deal with the speakers to do just that. speaker johnson is facing a revolt from people in his own conference, his own people. that revolt has derailed the entire year. johnson's own republican conference is not the only one making his life very difficult. >> this is breaking news, you do not know. you know who also does not like this? elon musk. the world's richest man just tweeted, this bill should not pass. >> well, i was communicating

with elon last night. elon, ravek and i are on a chain together. i was explaining the background of this. we were talking to almost midnight. he said look i get it. you're in an impossible position. >> trump also said against johnson's funding bill saying with actual vice president elect j.d. vance, republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief and set our country up for success in 2025. the only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill without democratic give aways, combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. anything else is a betrayal of our country. so donald trump is now officially against passing the funding bill that would avoid a government shut down four days before christmas.

trump wants johnson to throw out the deal that has been negotiated and to come up with a whole new bill. a bill that will magically unify the republican conference and pass without any democratic support even though the house republicans has proven over and over that they're unable to do anything without democratic help. trump is adding a couple new request on top of that. you may have noticed trump said he wants this bill to be combined with the debt ceiling. now this bill and the debt ceiling bill are two different. government doesn't have to raise the debt ceiling until sometime next year. why is trump complicated this whole already complicated thing

and demanding complicate the debt ceiling right now. well because he doesn't want to be responsible for raising the death -- debt ceiling in his administers. we know that is what trump is trying to do because he literally just told everyone. this is from that same statement. the most foolish and inept thing ever done by congressional republicans is allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025, increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we would rather do it on biden's watch. someone should probably tell trump that if he wants to make it look like raising the debt ceiling isn't his idea, he should probably not put explicit instructions to raise the debt ceiling in a public statement. any way, since trump came out against johnson's funding bill the flood gates have opened and members of trump's party are using this moment to prove

their loyalty to him. tonight senator earnst who has been under fire for waffing on pete hegse th. santa came over with a bill full of spending. jolly. at the same time steve bannon is telling his followers that anyone who votes for this bill should be primaried. >> we have to ram participants, got to light people up today. kwrouf cannot under any circumstances vote for this bill and you have to tell them straight out. you're going to get turfed out of here. >> and today he he, bannon

released that bill captioned, johnson has to go. speaker mike johnson is in a bit of a bind here. it is worth noting however this is also kind of all his own fault. since becoming speaker, johnson has repeatedly promised not to do any short term funding bills, only to realize that short term funding bills are really the only way to keep the government funded in the modern era. here is johnson right after congress passed the short term bill in september. >> i want to assure everyone and i've said this multiple times this week we're not going to return to the christmas omni bus spending tradition. and that's a commitment i've made to everyone. >> we are not going to return to the christmas omni bus spending tradition and that is a commitment i've made to everyone. a commitment that lasted,

approximately 84 days, i don't even have a watch. earlier today, democratic leader jeffreys said if the republicans shut down the government, democrats will make sure that the american people know who is responsible. >> house republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the american people that results from a government shut down, or worse. >> joining me now is congresswoman jocelyn crockett. what is happening in the house of representatives? >> >> this was supposed to be a program exercise, it's going pass this year. and it's turned into an utter debacked with people calling for speaker johnson to be thrown out of the speakers office. how are democrats looking at

this? >> listen, we're looking at this like this is their problem. we have seen this play out over and over in the entire two years that. and we knew that this was going to go into january knowing mike johnson would be the speaker now they're calling for his ouster and remember, this is not like one of the most senior members, right. so basically, he had not burned enough bridges and so they had to go way way down in seniority to find somebody that they could come to a consensus on. when we try to swear in, we're going to have less republicans than we had in 2018. because the story has not been told how republicans performed. why they ended up winning in the white house, you know who lost seats, the house. should we have a speaker jeffreys absolutely. if north carolina didn't cheat and take away our seats we

would have a speaker jeffries. there's no fixing this without the democrats we have seen this over and over. i'm going to sit back and sip my tea and wait on them to figure it out. >> maybe something stronger, i'm just saying it. jeffries has said house republicans have been hurting the government. you break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow. am i to understand from that statement that democrats are willing to see republicans shut down the government and not bail them out. >> oh, absolutely. i mean, you know, i take my lead from my actual leader. i don't work against him which is what mike johnson has to deal with all the time. you know, the lack of cohesiveness on that side is why this has been the most unproductive congress. people all over x and everything is like well they

don't deserve anything. i'm so unproductive. let me tell you the people you keep putting in charge are the reason we are unproductive. because they don't know how to govern. the fact they're allowing somebody who is a shadow president who is coming and telling them what to do including donald trump. because we know that elon, how they touted they need to get rid of immigrants. elon cannot become president because he's an immigrant. he's not allowed to be under our constitution so he decided he's going to buy a president and right now he's pulling all the strings on trump. but i think that it's funny they want to talk about money and what we're spending it on. i have yet to hear that him or vivek is going to say, we know it would be a conflict of interest if we continue to take the millions and millions of dollars from the federal government that we normally receive. so we're not going to do that

while also making decisions about what to do on the budget for the federal government. >> do you, i mean, i guess the question is, it's chaos, right. the car guy, the rocket guy is now dictating legislative priorities scuddling bills that could shut down the government. the speaker who is elected after a lot of back and forth inside the house republican conference could be on his way out in three weeks. the question i guess is, do you worry as democrats that what might come after mike johnson could be potentially worse than what you have now? >> i don't think it can get any worse. here's the deal. we thought mike johnson was worse than mccarthy. johnson had to figure out in order to get anything done he had to come to us. if they want to be successful all they have to do is come together as a caucus. but the reality is that you've got bomb throwers. you don't have a unified caucus

and they are going to have a one seat majority. they're going to have 217 people while we have 215 on the democratic side. that means they last lose one vote. if one person because you have to have the majority. if it's 216 to 216 it fails. let me tell you this quote unquote mandate that maga thinks exists. it ain't going to where, right. because they literally can't do the basics. we have passed the least amount of bills in this congress because of the republicans. and remind, let me remind you because you brought up the debt ceiling. remember why the last speaker got kicked out. it was because he raised the debt ceiling. and trump was the one calling for his head now he's like raise the debt ceiling. because of trump tax cuts, all this con he has, those trump tax cuts they expire in 2025. mind you he is the only president we've ever had that

in one term ran our dead up to $8 trillion. he already knows he's about to run our debt up so he doesn't want to have to deal with the debt ceiling. instead he wants us to do it. listen, i don't have no favors for you trump. when you get here yes you will have the house, the senate as well as the white house and y'all can see if you can figure it out. right now i'm not trying to shut down this government. when you are traveling over these holidays you may end up with some problems because tsa is federal government. because those that are doing air traffic control to make sure that we're safe, that's federal government. if you're concerned about the border, let me tell you that is also federal government officers. and so, yes, if you're concerned about our international security, guess what, our military personnel will not get paid. all because you don't want to help out those that need help as senior, you don't want to help out farmers. our veterans. these are the things that were in the bill. for those that want to talk about a cola, let me tell you there's no language about the cola stop saying there's a 40%

increase. it is actually silent. and you flow why because there's a low that is in place because in exchange for a cola we give out to our staffers all the time, you know what we have to give up, we have to give up honorary rams, we have to be able to give up working on the side. you know what we also have to do is we have to pay for a house in the district that we live in as well as we have to pay for housing in dc. >> that is a reality of the pay raise or, i think you're using the official legislative term for it that was in the bill that has just been killed by elon musk, donald trump, maybe even j.d. vance. i don't know, there's so many cooks in the kitchen. with just a few thoughts and feeling about what is happening in the chaotic house run house of representatives. thank you for breaking it down for us. it's great to have you on the show. >> absolutely. >> i am now joined by dan phifer cohost of podcast save

america. dan, we're all watching the dumpster catch fire once again. but somehow, the flames seem even more spectacular and brighter and hotter than they were before. donald trump is presumed to have a mandate. is presumed to be able to control the republican conference and have them do his bidding. tonight it seems like, there are going to be problems along the way. what are you making of what we're seeing unfold on the hill right now. >> first this is a preview of what government is going to look like under donald trump. pure chaos. government by tweet. shadow president to elon musk with no knowledge just firing up a tweet and up ending a bipartisan deal. it's pure chaos out there. that's one. two, i think donald trump is trying to do something that seems almost quasi strategic

here which is getting the ceiling debt increased. no democrat should vote on a ceiling raise. republicans have the house, the senate and the white house coming up so therefor this is their job to do and they should do it next year. >> what should the democratic posture. jasmine crockett was very clear. according to leader jeffries who's calling the play here they're not going help republicans. does that concern you at all we could be barreling toward a government shut down where you're going to have tsa workers not getting paid, faa. the infrastructure for holiday travel is likely on the government dime, they might not be getting paid is there political risk in that. >> it certainly is for the republican who is have reason for the government shut down. there's a bipartisan bill that would have been able to pass

the senate. president trump and elon musk killed that bill. now they're asking democrats to do something for trump without doing nothing. jeffreys, crockett cannot bring a bill to the floor of the house. only mike johnson can do that. so if he's unwilling or unable to do that, he and donald trump and elon musk will own the shut down. so they need to figure that out. >> this is a look at how the next four years will look like. and how hard core the republican coalition is willing to be. some democrats may be in the minority but there's not yet an opposition. an opposition would have every opportunity they had to

demonstrate their angst against the upcoming. do you think that could happen, do you think that will happen. i will note as a kind of indicator, the over night committee chair is now connelly, it's 77 years old was contested by alexandria ocasio. is much more of a fire brand, much more publicly engaged on bipartisan politics. do you read into that into this decision as it concerns democrats and how aggressive they're going to be. >> i find that decision absolutely bananas. >> bananas in a bad way. >> totally in a bad way. when you need your best messenger is the over sight committee. where they're trying to enact donald trump's revenge campaign. aoc is one of the best leaders in this party. she's one of the few people who

has the ability to get attention. to get people who do not pay attention to politics every minute of the day to pay attention. she knows how to communicate in this mod modern world. to give that to connelly who is a very able, aoc can get attention. it was alarming to me that we don't fully understand why we lost and what we have to do to win going forward. >> do you ever think that j.d. vance is heading to the hill to meet with mike johnson. have you ever thought with what's happening here with elon musk and jd vance and the roles they're playing in terms of advising the president. just kind of how you're reading

that situation. >> elon musk is equal to vice president. i have not seen jd vance for the last days. jd vance is heading to the hill because he may be liaison but he's not second on this administration. not everyone not even close. >> i'm sure there's a lot of republicans thinking, stick to the cars. >> there's a big shadow to vice president musk and shadow vice president musk top secret security clearance. i will talk on new bomb shells on musk. and the great andrew wiseman joins me to discuss on whether any of it holds up in court. that's up next.

® tri-zone. i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. and adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for type 1 diabetes or children. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery or a procedure, are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to be. serious side effects may include inflammation of pancreas, gallbladder problems, or changes in vision. call your prescriber if you have any of these symptoms. taking with a sulfonylurea or insulin

may increase low blood sugar risk. common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, constipation. some side effects lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. this is our story i was born with idiopathic infantile scoliosis. i've had 17 surgeries. i was born missing my lower right foot. i was born ten weeks early without my left arm. i have osteogenesis imperfecta. i've broken over 70 bones in my lifetime. with my polio, i have tough days and my pain just pops out out of nowhere. there's nothing to be afraid of because all the doctors are all so nice. most people think, oh, it's the medical side of things at shriners hospital.

but for me, it's a confidence that i've gotten. when somebody sees these commercials. there'll be a phone number on the screen and all they have to do is call and make a donation to help kids like me. thanks to a generous donor, every dollar you give will go three times as far to help more kids. when you join with us. we'll send you one of these adorable blankets as a thank you and a reminder of all the abilities you are helping make possible. we have so much to celebrate this time of year. please call or go to loveshriners.org. your gift of $19 a month will have three times the impact in the lives of kids like me. you are the best you because shriners has given you the confidence that you need. it's just really cool knowing that you're part of something bigger than yourself. shriners has given so much to us, and we have a mission, and we have a goal that we want to help more kids. from all of us at shriners hospitals for children™. merry christmas! merry christmas! please call the number on

your screen or go to loveshriners.org. if operators are busy, please call again. and when you become a monthly donor, your first gift will be tripled. thank you for giving. the first time you try bounce, it hits you. your laundry feels way fresher, softer. so you start to wonder. if i put a sheet of bounce on the finance guy, will it make him softer? bounce can't do it all but for better laundry, ♪ put a sheet on it with bounce. ♪

last night at 3:00 a.m., president-elect trump threatened former republican congresswoman liz cheney. on truth social, trump claimed a republican led investigation into the house january 6th committee obtained evidence

that cheney allegedly broke numerous federal laws. trump went on to say those quote unquote allegations should be investigated by the fbi. now trump did not talk about what laws were broken. but he did name his source. trump and his republican allies claimed that cheney may have engaged in witness tampering. which would be a significant allegation if there were any merit to it. so far it seems there is not. here is what they are alleging. you probably remember white house aide cassidy hutchinson's testimony to the white house committee. she spoke about trump playing a plate against the wall when attorney bill barr made a public statement that he had not found any evidence of election fraud in the 2020 election. hut hutchinson is how he first learned about the suv where trump lunged at the secret

service agent driving the car when the agent refused trump to the capital so he could march with his supporters. and the battle over hutchinson's testimony behind closed doors was even more dramatic. trump world set hutchinson with lawyer pasentino to represent her. now pasentino denies any wrong doing and that he only provided hutchinson with advice. but hutchinson said that pase n tino told her, we just want to protect president trump and we know you're loyal.

and pasentino told her, the less you remember the better. a trump world lawyer allegedly trying to influence cassidy hutchinson to protect donald trump. now they're looking at that story through a fun house mirror to say that liz cheney was the one doing the witness tampering. >> what we're looking at is why did she change her testimony. what was the catalyst that made her change her testimony and it was the back channel communications with liz cheney that happened around that time. >> as comically backward as mills logic is. in the mid-2000s, trump sued a journalist who claimed that

trump wasn't actually a billionaire. now a judge ultimately tossed the case because it was meritless but trump still viewed that lawsuit as a win. trump told the washington post that he knew he couldn't win the suit but brought it any way to make a point. i spent a couple of bucks on fees and they spent a whole lot more. i did it to make his life miserable what i'm happy about. trump has said that everyone from liz cheney to kamala harris needs to be prosecuted. by nprs count, trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute enemies. in all of those cases the facts are beside the point. for decades now, trump has used his deep pockets to bully his enemies and force them to spend

exhorbitant legal fees even if they did nothing wrong. andrew wiseman joins me next to discuss all that, next. by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. ♪ maybe i'm foolish, maybe i'm blind ♪ ♪ thinkin' i can see through this and see what's behind ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm only human after all ♪ ♪ i'm only human after all ♪ ♪ oh, some people got the real problem ♪ ♪ some people out of luck ♪ your loved ones are getting older, and they need your support. care.com is here to help. it's an easy way to find background-checked senior caregivers in your area. and some piece of mind. see why millions of families have trusted care.

go to care.com now prilosec knows, for a fire... one fire extinguisher beats 10 buckets of water, and for zero heartburn 1 prilosec a day... beats taking up to 10 antacids a day. it's that simple, for 24 hour heartburn relief... one beats ten. prilosec otc. we shall overcome. we shall overcome. the struggle for equal rights in the united states has been hard fought, but even today, we're still fighting for racial justice, for voting rights, and against hate and extremism. you can help us win the fight and envision a future where all americans can thrive. by joining the southern poverty law center today. please call now or go online to helpfighthate.org to become a friend of the center. all it takes is just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day.

we shall live in peace. we shall live in peace. for more than 50 years we've been defending the rights of people facing discrimination, racism and bigotry in the u.s, and we do it all at no cost to our clients. but the civil rights movement is not just in the past. it's our movement right now. so please call or go to helpfighthate.org and join us. when you use your credit card you'll receive this special fight hate t-shirt to show your standing up for civil rights. the future of our country is in our hands. but it won't come without a fight. that is why we need your support today. deep in my heart. i do believe we shall overcome someday.

with your support, we will overcome hate and injustice. so please call or go online to helpfighthate.org today. —sounds like you need to vaporize that cold. dayquil vapocool? it's dayquil plus a rush of vicks vapors. ♪vapocooooool♪ woah. dayquil vapocool. the vaporizing daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, power through

tonight i say this to my republican colleagues, who are defending the indefensible. there will come a day when donald trump is gone but your dishonor will remain.

>> that was liz cheney. two years later trump is still here threatening cheney. meanwhile trump couldn'ts to float the idea of pardoning the january 6th rioters a group that may include stewart rhodes. joining us now to discuss is andrew wiseman. it's been way too long. >> yes. >> thank you for returning. the allegations against liz cheney that somehow she engaged in witness tampering, what's your reaction to that? >> so, like you, i'm waiting to find any facts to show that. if there were facts, you know have at it. but right now, we are still in the phase of what appears to be law fair and to your point which is the accusation and the fear that sort of whether it's this, whether it's going after the des moines register. it's just the fact of the

lawsuits. in many ways, i'm kind of interested to see whether they are going to be smart about this or not. because when you think about how donald trump has faired in the courts. let's leave the supreme court out of it. but if you look at the carol case he lost not once but twice. if you look at leticia james case, he lost that trial. if you look at the case that had to go forward, he lost that. rudy giuliani lost his case against freedman. so you have just a litany of losses. of course going back to fought in the election. where it was almost, a sweep. so in many ways the idea that they actually are going to be seeking an indictment or a civil case against liz cheney

and the january 6th committee. we've spent years with trump trying to avoid the january 6th trial. so you know i think a lot of this will be, it remains to be seen whether they really wanted that trial or whether they really just want as you put it the fear of the brush back of actually bringing. >> the julian effect. >> exactly. >> there's a converse warming effect if he pardons someone like stewart rhodes the head of the oath keepers. there's the sign that you fight for trump, you're going to get off. >> that is even worse. someone who is about to become president who has 34 felony con convictions. it shouldn't be surprising that he's running on sort of lawlessness. and the idea of pardoning not just the lower level of january 6th people who trespassed that's bad enough. because it wasn't like a

trespass with no purpose. >> they weren't at the museum late night. >> exactly. i couldn't have put it better. >> it's a new york reference. >> but, to be serious, we're talking about people who you know deliberately injured not just our democracy but actual law enforcement officers. who still have trauma over that. this is the very last people you would think would deserve a pardon. to me it just instills this idea that the country, the thing that makes us, sort of a sort of a civilized society is being under mined. >> given the sort of stakes in all of this. that these aren't individual cases but they're a atrophy of our institutions. how do you feel about preemptive pardons. there's a huge debate whether biden should issue preemptive pardons, people who may be

sitting at the table with me right now, name has been floating. how do you think about that. >> leaving my aside, thinking about people who were on the january 6th economy, the alvin bragg team. people who work in government many of whom are not wealthy. do not have a lot of power, i think you want to but protect them. i think of this not of a preemptive pardon but a protective pardon for people who have been directly targeted. i am concerned about them. and i'm concerned about the next people who are going to be, the next people who are called on to do their duty. i keep on thinking about senator ed romney saying there were people in the senate who did not vote to convict in the impeachment because they were afraid. and you don't want that for the next alvin braggs and jeff smith and the next liz cheneys. i think it's a tough call. i think it's a tough call on terms of who you decide to

pardon. and then, i think a very separate issue is a very individualized one about whether people should accept the pardon and there's whether liz cheney or jack smith or anyone who's working for them should. and i think that's an individual call. i don't think there's anything that i can say sort of pro or con in terms of what they should do. >> that's their personal decision. >> yeah. >> how do you feel? >> i didn't do anything wrong. i think of this in terms of the country and the fact we're sitting at this table having this sort of conversation and covering stories about people using the legal system to under mine the rule of law. which is, an irony to end all ironies for someone who's a lawyer who's worked for the department of justice. been a defense lawyer for 30 years. >> well, we're together my friend. >> yes. >> thank you for your time, thank you for your time and all

that you do. andrew wizeman good to see you. >> good to see you. >> he's the richest man in the world and he has the ear of the incoming president. but he's also a security risk. we're going to get the latest into elon musk. bad news for former republican senator matt gaetz. that's next. matt gaetz. that's next.

it's a lot to be a caregiver and a daughter. because you kind of have to take a step back. getting some help would be a great relief. from companions to helpers to caregivers. find all the senior care you need at care.com

when the time comes to act. are you all in for the things that really matter? i am all in for racial justice. i'm all in for voting rights. i'm all in for women's rights. i'm all in for civil rights. the time is now to stand up for a future you believe in. to be all in for the rights of black communities across the u.s.. to keep advancing the future we envision for the america we love. you can do it now by supporting the naacp®. call or go online now to become a champion for change. your donation of just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day, will help naacp® keep advancing in the fight for equity and justice. your support will help ensure that all students can learn. businesses can thrive, communities can advance, and everyone can vote.

and together, we'll create a tomorrow in which all people can thrive. the naacp® is on the front line in the fight for equality. but we need your support now to keep advancing the cause of racial justice in america, because we won't go back. so please join us. call or go to keepadvancing.org and give just $19 a month. when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special i'm all in t-shirt to show you're helping advance the rights of black americans. i'm all in for a great education. i'm all in for health equity. i'm all in to lead the fight for equality. we're all in for the naacp®. this is the moment to use your power for good. so please become an naacp® champion for change today. call or go online to keepadvancing.org

right now. no matter what kind of teeth you gotta brush, oral-b electric cleans better with one simple touch. oral-b's dentist inspired round brush head hugs em, cleans em, and gets in between em, for 100% cleaner teeth. your perfect clean starts with oral-b. the house ethics committee

is about to let lose a little chaos as soon as the representatives take the last vote of the congress. nbc news has confirmed the committee is planning to release its long awaited report into allegations against matt gaetz. it is a surprising reversal after the committee voted last night not to release into gaetz misconduct. gaetz continues to deny any wrong doing. joining me now, michael fitz. i think we're all a little surprised about this. do you have any insight. >> it looked at how he used funds government funds and whether they were used toward activities they weren't supposed to. it looked at the allegations about the women. whether the allegations were

true that he had had sex with a 17-year-old in exchange for money. whether he had had sex with other women. and the committee, it was just a few weeks ago we were reporting on this. the committee had obtained a lot of documentation and testimony from key people that were in the room when these incidents allegedly happened. and the thing you have to remember about gaetz is gaetz was never charged. the only thing we know about gaetz comes from the case of joe greenburg. the florida tax collector who pled guilty. some statements that were made in relation to his case but we never saw an indictment of gaetz because he was never charged. what we have in this document is probably the most authoritative report on matt gaetz ever created. all we know about matt gaetz is

based on newspaper stories. things dating back to 2021 when we first heard about his investigation. this would be a lot of different allegations about gaetz and his conduct when he was in, he's alleged to have done these things when he was in the house in 2017 when he was in the house. and that could be pretty damaging to him. now, maybe damaging in a classical sense of damaging. not in the trumpian sense. >> not in the contemporary sense. >> the classical sense. what that means for matt gaetz. the thing i always think about matt gaetz after he said he was not going to try to become attorney general. he said maybe i will become a special counsel. the biden administration has been going on and on about how you don't need to be senate confirmed to be a special counsel. someone like matt gaetz can

probably get more accomplished for trump. >> and he could be news host and special counsel. >> don't you record for money. >> yeah, for money. >> he did that too. >> this report, seemed to, i don't know if it was central but it played a role in all the machinations around gaetz maybe even securing the pick from trump. there was strange timing as it's concerned. this report is set to be released then all of a sudden trump makes this decision on air force one, taking a ride with matt gaetz that he's going to announce matt gaetz as his pick. >> he's no longer the nominee to be. the attorney general. >> some people read into this sort of flurry of action that prevented the report from being released as evidence that matt gaetz really didn't want the report to come out. that perhaps. we have no idea if, if that's

true or not. but matt gaetz certainly has been vociferous on his opposition to the allegations and his desire to have this thing released. >> people always think trump is playing eight dimensional chess. and now the report is coming out. there's a lot of loyalty to donald trump but matt gaetz is no longer the nominee. so there's less incentive to protect that nominee. >> so this is more about trump than matt gaetz. >> everything is about donald trump. >> no truer words have been said. and we have more on the shadow of the incoming

president, elon musk. or my dog, woof, who may look little but he eats big. ♪ ♪ gifts that say i get you. etsy has it. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing non-medicated vicks vapors. easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try new vaposhower max for sas americans, pors. there's one thing we can all agree on. the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families.

the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+ folks. the time to act to protect our rights is now. that's why i'm hoping you'll join me today in supporting the american civil liberties union. it's easy to make a difference. just call or go online now and become an aclu guardian of liberty. all it takes is just $19 a month. only $0.63 a day. your monthly support will make you part of the movement to protect the rights of all people, including the fundamental right to vote. states are passing laws that would suppress the right to vote. we are going backwards. but the aclu can't do this important work without the support of people like you. you can help ensure liberty and justice for all and make sure that every vote is counted. so please call the aclu now or go to my aclu.org and join us. when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special we the people t-shirt and much more.

to show you're a part of the movement to protect the rights guaranteed to all of us by the us constitution. we protect everyone's rights, the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression, racial justice, lgbtq rights, the rights of the disabled. we are here for everyone. it is more important than ever to take a stand. so please join us today. because we the people means all the people, including you. so call now or go online to my aclu.org to become a guardian of liberty. [♪♪] did you know, serums are concentrated with powerful ingredients to visibly improve your skin? try olay super serum. for five powerful ingredients in one, it hydrates, improves texture and evenness, while also firming and smoothing. try olay super serum. where can nfl fans get a great deal that turns christmas day into game day? x marks the spot. the nfl is streaming christmas day games exclusively on netflix,

and you don't want to miss a moment. gather round the game because nothing says holidays like family and football. now xfinity customers can add streamsaver including netflix, peacock, and apple tv+ for just $15 a month. stuff your stockings with tons of entertainment and tons of savings. bring on the good stuff. xfinity.

new reportings reveals the pentagon has opened multiple investigations into elon musk and his rocket company space x. defense department officials are reviewing whether or not musk violated to keep state secrets. a foreigner cia official and lawyer who works on security clearances told the times if you don't self-report the question becomes why didn't you and what are you trying to hide. joining me now is christian grind at the new york times and the lead byline on that great reporting. kristin, thanks for joining me. how do we know about all of this? >> well, it's incredibly hard reporting as you can imagine. but what my colleagues and i basically uncovered is that, space x is a major government

contractor. they have billions in contracts. and if you just pay attention to elon musk's feed you can tell he's not your usual defense contractor, right. we had been hearing from various corners, from people with knowledge of space x, from the government agencies. from worldwide governments even that here is this person who's essentially a wild card. and is he living up to these very strict national security rules. so that's kind of how we got on the subject. >> do you feel like, well first of all. some of this musk has lost the confident of some of the very people that are working for him. is that right? >> that's right. you can always tell when something is wrong when the employees who are working on the very issues of reporting to the government on behalf of elon musk are then complaining to the government that these

important rules are being broken. so that's always a major warning sign. >> what, i mean what are are the potential repercussions here. trump and his incoming organization can still offer musk a security clearance any way right, despite the red flags. >> he absolutely could. it's setting up this extremely major conflict of interest. really the biggest one yet. so he is in there in the trump transition administration. basically acting as a shadow president. and now we have all these government departments who are separately worried about him and space x and whether he can handle sensitive state secrets. so it's going to be interesting how this plays out. because these government departments are worried that he as the head of this new cost cutting agency will suddenly come in and cut their departments if they go after him, right. so it's setting up this really

interesting show down that we've obviously never seen before. >> do you have a sense of the investigations that are happening right now. >> they're really reviews at this point. our understanding is a lot of them are really still in the initial phases and during these phases, they will go out and talk to a lot of people. they will likely talk to space x employees and executives and it's really like a fact finding mission. but what we really found through our investigation is that they have been flouting these very important strict rules for years. and just to be clear, this isn't like you know forgetting to file like a check or a paper work. this is, these checks and balances that really exist to protect the u.s. state secrets. >> well, right. and this is an ongoing concern because, you know we have reporting tonight through the week that elon musk is sitting in on calling with foreign leaders at the same time that

he has massive lucrative contracts and top secret clearance. >> that's exactly right and that's why everyone is concerned. his foreign leader meetings. it's unclear really what details of this conversation if any have been reported to the defense department or any of space xs government customers. another issue we looked at is he has said himself, that he uses ketami ne. that's something well you have to report to the government. he did not do that at the time when he said that in 2023, so there's all these kind of red flags that indicate that he could be a risk. that's what everybody is worried about. >> elon musk has responded to the story on x. deep state traitors are coming after me. what is your reaction to that?

>> i've had a variety reaction to our reporting. variety reactn to our reporting. i haven't had that one yet. we of course go to him in g advance and all of his people and we never hear anything, so we always welcome any kind of a response from him. >> okay. kirsten grinds with the new york times, really essential reporting, thank you for doing it and thank you for coming on the show to talk about it and i really appreciate it. >> thank you so much for having me point >>or that is our show for this evening, now it is time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. >> i love the way you began a discussion in your hour about donald trump and that debt ceiling and about him publicly saying there is something i t really want the government to do, but i don't want to do it, and i want joe biden to have to do it, and the stupidity of turning over those cards publicly is uniquely trumpian point >>s