neal katyal is back with us. nother case for the justice department inspector general. >> it does. and it's extraordinary, lawrence. i served at the justice department twice. i literally never heard of career prosecutors resigning because they think the attorney general is acting politically. it just never, ever happens. and yet it's happening here. as we were talking about a moment before, roger stone, prosecutors there resigned as well. and there are a lot of other cases that you and i -- you that don't hear about in the media but that i hear about because d.o.j. people call me at lower levels and say you know, as one person told me recently, "i'm sick to my stomach" about what's happened, the politicization of the justice department. last week you also had one of four president trump's people on his law enforcement commission resign because he said that trump had politicized that. you had a department of homeland security -- official whistle-blower and say trump and his cabinet secretary had ordered him to mini

. >> joining us now is neal katyal, former acting u.s. solicitor general and an msnbc legal contributor. neal, interpret for us what this means, that the inspector general is investigating basically what aaron zelinsky told congress. >> it's a pretty big deal, lawrence, to have the inspector

to peter baker, to neal katyal, to claire mccaskill. nicolle? >> joining us now, valerie jarrett, former senior adviser to president barack obama. valerie, claire just took my breath away with a personal story about justice ginsburg, and i want to ask you if you have fe personany personal stor share. >> first of all, good evening, brian and nicolle. i want to begin by saying my deepest heartfelt condolences to justice ginsburg's family, and thank them for sharing her what a gift to our nation, and we appreciate them for that. i remember the first time i spotted her in the white house, and it took my breath away of course i had followed her career since i was a young lawyer she was an icon for women, fighting for women's rights, against discrimination, and watched her confirmation to the supreme court and every decision since then and anytime i was in her presence, she was decent, kind, thoughtful, human,and really funny. and we will miss her deeply, and i just think it's unconscionable that on the eve of her death, senator mcconnell would be tal

to peter baker, to neal katyal, to claire mccaskill. nicolle? >> joining us now, valerie jarrett, former senior adviser to president barack obama. valerie, claire just took my breath away with a personal story about justice ginsburg, and i want to ask you if you have any personal stories to share. >> first of all, good evening, brian and nicolle. i want to begin by saying my deepest heartfelt condolences to justice ginsburg's family, and thank them for sharing her. what a gift to our nation, and we appreciate them for that. i remember the first time i spotted her in the white house, and it took my breath away. of course i had followed her career since i was a young lawyer. she was an icon for women, fighting for women's rights, against discrimination, and watched her confirmation to the supreme court and every decision since then. and anytime i was in her presence, she was decent, kind, thoughtful, human, and really funny. and we will miss her deeply, and i just think it's unconscionable that on the eve of her death, senator mcconnell would be t

robert costa, neal katyal, dr. mercedes carnethon, for starting us off tonight. >>> coming up after our first break, veteran strategist james carville on what impact this court fight may have on the presidential race. >>> and later, yet another book from one of trump's former national security advisers, except this one begins "this is not the book most people wanted me to write." those are the author's words. we'll ask the author why when h.r. mcmaster joins as "the 11th hour" is just getting under way on a tuesday night. ♪ here? nah. ♪ here? nope. ♪ here. ♪ when the middle of nowhere... is somewhere. the all-new chevy trailblazer. ♪ robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. i'm a talking dog. the other issue. oh...i'm scratching like crazy. you've got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours, whether it

robert costa, neal katyal, dr. mercedes carnethon, for starting us off tonight. >>> coming up after our first break, veteran strategist james carville on what impact this court fight may have on the presidential race. >>> and later, yet another book from one of trump's former national security advisers, except this one begins "this is not the book most people wanted me to write." those are the author's words. we'll ask the author why when h.r. mcmaster joins as "the 11th hour" is just getting under way on a tuesday night. this is decision tech. find a stock based on your interests or what's trending. get real-time insights in your customized view of the market. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity. skip to cold relief fast. alka-seltzer plus power max gels. with 25% more concentrated power. oh, what a relief it is! so fast! little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla,

well, back with us tonight, neal katyal, a veteran of the justice department, former acting solicitor general during the obama administration. he has argued 39 cases before the u.s. supreme court. counselor, a dual part question. set the stakes on this november 10 argument. and a backup question. it would to a lot of people seem unforgivably cruel in a court ruling in the middle of a pandemic took away health care to millions of americans. would they ever set a remedy if that indeed is their judgment? >> the trump administration has gone into the u.s. supreme court, brian, to say no remedy. take away the affordable care act as a whole, the entire thing, and in particular its pre-existing conditions insurance coverage. that's a big deal. 82 million americans are impacted by the affordable care act because under that act, an insurance company can't charge any of those 82 million americans more for their insurance or refuse to cover them at all. also under the act, the insurance companies can't charge women more than men. the trump administration has voluntarily gone in and said, nope, y

. >> neal katyal, i'm going put you on the spot with a twist.s someone whose reverence for the supreme court is one of the gifts you give to all of our viewers? how do you feel about the supreme court if claire is right becoming a 6-3 quite conservative majority? >> well, first of all, just the loss of justice ginsburg, no matter who replaced her is a devastating blow to the court as an institution and as a beacon of justice. so i think we have to acknowledge that loss first. and then second, as we think about the replacement, i mean just even if judge barrett, you know, does act in a balanced way as a jurist on the supreme court, the problem is the process has been so broken and this rush to put her through, to get her confirmed because the president is worried he'll lose his reelection and the fact that he says stuff like in the nomination like about protecting america's heritage and stuff, all of this to me really does undermine the beautiful institution of the supreme court. and i think that's been trump's plan all along. he is resistant and

with us for more, neal katyal, a veteran of the justice department as acting solicitor general. bama administration's top lawyer before the supreme court. neal, thank you for joining us. taken a few minutes. i'm seeing this story. i'm remembering that famous old newspaper headline from the '70s when gerald ford was president. new york city wanted a bailout. he said no. "ford to city: drop dead." that was the story back in the '70s. this is a little different. this isn't a city asking for money. this is a city that already gets federal money, a series of cities that already get federal money. let me ask you this. what could a president who wanted to defund cities -- what could a president do? is there anything in a situation like this? what would it be? >> well, i don't think -- i mean i think presidents do have a range of power, but what they don't have is the ability to label, as trump does, a city anarchist and then defund it. you know, it's ironic because trump is the true anarchist here. he believes no law applies to him, and here he is criticizing cities for anarchy. and it'

joining me now is neal katyal.his history on behalf of an accused rapist who has publically confessed on video and audiotape to sexual assault on the "access hollywood" video that's the accused rapist william barr has chosen to defend >> that's right, lawrence. and i think that most important thing is that what's happened in this barr maneuver is not simply intervening to help out the president. he's actually gone in and said the u.s. government is the defendant in this case, not trump. in order to pull off that legal maneuver, he's got to be able to say that trump is acting in his official capacity so, lawrence, i never thought in my life i would hear the hallowed justice department argue that a president is doing his job as president, that it is part of his official duties to call someone who alleges rape a liar, but that's the argument that barr has now filed. and here is what it means. it means not just that you and i as taxpayers are paying for trump's legal defense. it means a lot more. because you can't sue

want to continue this conversation with neal katyal. good to see you this afternoon.y appreciate it. let's talk about some of the tools the democrats have here. we are hearing from bob casey earlier in the hour when i spoke to her and richard blumenthal that this is as much a conversation about the affordable care act and how many americans will be effected if they overturn the affordable care act, dismantle it, over 20 million americans could feasibly lose health care. that to me sounds like this is more about november 3rd than it is about prohibiting judge barrett from making it to the bench on the supreme court. talk to me about other tools the democrats have in mind or have in their hand. >> sorry. >> go ahead, neal. >> i would say this is not just about november 3rd, this is about one of the most momentous issues of the country. the supreme court is scheduled to hear a big case a week after the election, this is a legal theory that challengers have brought which very few people with any constitutional respectability think should be viable, but the trump administr

stay with us, david, i want to bring in neal katyal neal, this is a tough one.ne of the best known of the supreme court justices, and most revered, particularly by american liberals for her classic dissents, as david corn just said. the idea of women, gender equality and the things that she advocated for. talk a little bit about what this loss means. >> yeah. i don't think that it's just this is a loss for liberals at all. this is a loss for america ruth bader ginsburg was a true american hero in every sense of the word she as a lawyer argued some of the most important cases on gender equality, as a justice pioneered all sorts of different areas of law and had a brilliant, strong voice. you know, i am heartbroken beyond words that she is no longer with us some culture the thurgood marshall of the women's rights movement that was true, and part of her legacy, but there are so many more i think history will remember her incredibly, kindly and influentially in a way that isn't true for all of the justices in our lifetimes but is certainly true for her >> yeah. i me

. >> neal katyal gets tonight's last word. thanks for joining us tonight, neal. we really appreciate it. "the 11th hour" with brian williams starts now. >>> and good evening once again. day 1,334 of the trump administration. and importantly, there are now exactly 50 days to go until the presidential election. tonight as the candidates intensify their battle for votes, millions of americans are facing multiple existential threats. the coronavirus has now infected over 6.5 million americans and now over 195,000 of our fellow citizens have died. people along the gulf coast tonight are bracing for hurricane sally, a rapidly strengthening category 2 storm. it was a tropical storm just last night. and authorities in california, oregon, washington state fighting to contain mega wildfires. in their size and scope, they're unlike any other fire season in modern history. trump's three-day visit to the west included a stop near sacramento today. he met with california's governor and first responders battling the fires, which most scientists, by the way, are convinced are a

jonathan lemaire, claire mccaskill and neal katyal. thank you so much for watching. "american voices" with alicia and more special coverage comes now. alicia, what have you got? >> all right, nicole, thank you so much. hello, everyone, i'm alicia menendez. the big story is the breaking news. the president has picked a replacement for ruth bader ginsburg. how his nominee will change the court and affect its decisions. we'll talk about what's at stake, the affordable care act, abortion, and access to an election is already under way. thank you for being here on an important and historic saturday. this is "american voices." ♪ >> just a short time ago, president trump announced that he is nominating amy coney barrett to fill the seat vacated by the death of ruth bader ginsburg. >> judge barrett was confirmed to the circuit court three years ago by a bipartisan vote. her qualifications are unsurpassed, unsurpassed, and her record is beyond reproach. this should be a straight forward and prompt confirmation. it should be very easy. good luck. it's going to be very quick. i

. >> i want to turn to neal katyal, someone who has argued before the court as an oral advocate many times argued before justice ginsburg. your thoughts on her passing >> heart broken. i argued 41 cases in front of her, knew her outside of the court. her husband was a friend of mine at georgetown. and just the loveliest of people and a great jurist and a true american hero. and, you know, like this is someone who never missed a day of court until 2018, several rounds of cancer and chemo and the like i was in the courtroom the day after her husband marty passed away she was there delivering an opinion. even, you know, i had just recently been arguing in front of her when she was going through chemo and the like doesn't miss a beat. always really sharp questions. asked usually the first question of anyone and usually that question would get to the heart of the thing so this is not just someone who was, you know, leaves a legacy in all sorts of ways on equality and other things this woman is just darn smart. you know, just analytic power was off the charts and we lost today the best of

joining us is neal katyal.w know that donald trump's wealth was basically kind of a ponzi scheme. he got more wealth by being famous and people giving him licensing deals. we understand that aspect of it. but the other aspect is the risk to the american people because of it. this is part of a "washington post" story about trump's debts and foreign deals and the security risks they pose. he faces the need for a substantial infusion of cash in the coming years to avert potential financial crisis. officials and experts say that trump has made himself vulnerable to manipulation by foreign governments aware of his pick evident. when we were preparing this, i was thinking about the jared kushner thing. jared kushner needed like a billion dollars for a balloon payment on the building that's not far from here at 30 rock, the 666 building. and then suddenly qatar was in trouble. our friends, our allies and qatar were being cut off and there was a big push that they needed to give him the money. is that what we're facing

one in support of her circuit court nomination that was joined by former obama solicitor general neal katyal, which praised her, and i quote, first-rate qualifications and stated that she was exceptionally well-qualified. end quote. a recent tribute from harvard law professor noah feldman, one of the house democrats' star impeachment witnesses who statedders and i quote, barrett is highly qualified to serve on the supreme court, end quote. but, mr. president, i'll stop here. because i this is it is abundantly obvious to everyone -- my colleagues across the aisle included -- that judge barrett is supremely qualified to be a supreme court justice. which is why democrats have resorted to scare tactics to try to sink her nomination. democrats realize that it's pretty hard to oppose judge barrett on the merits. and they seem at least somewhat wary of attacking her religion, as they did during her confirmation to the seventh circuit when multiple democrats suggested that judge barrett was unequal feud because she happened to be a practiced catholic. i think democrats may be realizing that their bi

let's go to kasie hunt and professor neal katyal i'll get to you in a moment on the side of this.nd the legacy of justice ginsburg. but kasie, we are to look at the question of whether republicans can replace justice ginsburg before the election day or inauguration and whether they will. >> reporter: well, savannah, at this point it seems republicans are going to give it their all anyway. and it's really hard to see how democrats might be able to stop them. we know that mitch mcconnell has said he wants to move full speed ahead. and my sources are telling me that that might not mean a final vote before election day, but rather the start of the process. so confirmation hearings, keeping this at the top the talking points. but not necessarily forcing vulnerable republican senators up for re-election to take that final vote before voters go to the polls. that could help motivate republican-based voters in their view to go to the polls to make sure this nominee is confirmed without forcing some of these more vulnerable republicans to make a tough decision before they face their own vo