so, we leave it to the department of justice. any specifics on what they will do next or anything into that fashion i would refer you to the department of justice. >> student loans just one more time. previously in recordings, around cancellation and possible extensions when it comes to decisions being made before august, the president has said that, decision would be made before august. is it possible the decision is limited to whether or not there is an extension or not? cancellations and any relief is left for another time? karine: when it comes to the pause, i know there is opossum cancellation, we have not made a decision. i will go to the pause. the department of education will communicate directly about the payment all laws -- payment pause when the decision is made. when it comes to cancellation, the president understands the burden that the student loan has on families. we are just going to continue to assess our options for cancellations no decisions have been made on that yesterday. the president has made clear he will

this one involving the department of justice. a key focus of our hearing today will be a draft letter that are witnesses here today refused to sign. this letter was written by mr. jeff clark with another department of justice department lawyer, ken kasky. and the letter was to be sent to the leadership of the georgia state legislature. other portions of the legislature that were intended for other states. neither mr. drug nor mr. klulowski had any evidence of widespread electorate and flawed, but they were quite aware of what mr. trump wanted the department to do. jeff clarke met privately with president trump and others in the white house and agreed to assist the president without telling the senior leadership of the department who oversaw him. as you will see, this letter claims that the u.s. department of investigations have, quote, intended fight significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple states, including the state of georgia. in fact, donald trump knew this was a lie there. department

i wrote a letter to the department of justice on february 14, 2022, two, to ask of the department to answer this misguided and politicized approach to law enforcement. now we are here on the subject of this hearing. more than a year ago the department of justice formed a task force on threats to election workers. it appears that only four cases have been announced as a result of this task force effort. now that's after more than eight years work, just four. and there have been no charges against the election workers. these prosecutions may be very worthy but the existence of a full doj task force is confusing. confusing. compared to operation legend which resulted in about 1500 prosecutions for crimes involving drugs, guns and violence, all that in less than six months. in light of garlands past focus on intimidating parents who are concerned about school boards, i fear that there is a political element to the decision to focus on this area. this administration doesn't want to talk about the failed policies in democrat cities where crime is spiking up. but a law enforcement agency lik

painted in this filing is one of repeated flouting of the law, the national archives, the department of justicena. it plainly makes clear why a search warrant was needed because all of this material would not have come to light, if the department had been given a certification that was demonstrably false everyone everything a being produced in the photo that everyone can see right now which i thought was just brilliant for the department to include so people could see exactly what was found completely shows that obstruction of justice. not just the taking of highly sensitive information but the lying about it. >> let's bring chuck rosenberg back into this conversation. chuck, i'm thinking back when trump was in his office, and people be tearing your hair out and, they say why is a lot to do this? common people are, other members administration can't, but there was really a shroud around the president and their powers. so many things they couldn't be prosecuted for. the fact that all of this is happening now that he's a private citizen, one that doesn't even have private security clearance anymo

back to things at the department of justice. i told you at the beginning of the show, someone told me earlier this week, you know merrick garland. i don't know him that well. i've had several interactions with him. this is not something that he's going to release, release. it's extraordinary to get him in front of cameras yet. he felt an obligation to do so under pressure. now we want the affidavit. we want more. so fingers crossed that he will go for that. >> martha: the problem is what ari just said. if you don't get the affidavit, you'll have leaks and speculation. that would be a very untenuous place for the country to be in. thanks, david. i'd like to bring in victor davis hanson, the hoover institution senior fellow. victor, as you hear about this potential obstruction of justice and violations of the espionage acted, what do you think is going on here? >> you played a clip of james comey. james comey was commenting on how hillary clinton violated the law of classified releases. she was not going to be punished. james comey

the national archives, the department of justice, a grand jury subpoena, and it mainly makes clear whyearch warrant was needed because all of this material would not have come to light. the department had been given a certification that was demonstrably false that everything had been produced and the photo that everyone can see right now which i thought was just brilliant for the department to include so people could see exactly what was found, completely shows that obstruction of justice, not just the taking of highly sensitive information, but also lying about it. >> let's bring chuck rosenberg back into this conversation. chuck, i'm thinking back to when trump was in office and people would be tearing their hair out saying, why is he allowed to do this? common people aren't. other people in the administration aren't. members of congress can't but there was really sort of this shroud around a president and their powers and so many things they couldn't be prosecuted for. the fact that all of this is happening now that he is simply a private citizen, one that doesn't have security clea

the department of justice is asking him not to do it. interestingly donald trump, who said on his social media site that he also wanted the affidavit released, is not making a formal request for it. one of his lawyers is in the courtroom today, but just to watch. team trump isn't arguing or filing anything. so how will judge reinhart rule? if fast is precedent, it is almost certain he will side with the d.o.j. and keep the affidavit under seal. and all, d.o.j. is arguing releasing it would do grave damage to their investigation. but here's the thing, there really isn't a lot of specific precedent here. a former president of the united states has never had their home searched by the fbi. a former president of the united states has never taken classified materials home and then not given them back. a former president of the united states has then never gone on to publicly attack the fbi and the d.o.j., putting the departments and the individual law enforcement officers and officials who work there in grave personal danger. that is to say th

third, let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the fbi and justice department agents and prosecutors. i will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked the men and women of the fbi and the justice department are dedicated, patriotic public servants every day they protect the american people from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. they do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves i am honored to work alongside them this is all i can say right now. more information will be made available in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time. thank you. >> mr. attorney general -- >> thank you all for your questions, but as i said, this is all i can say at this time. >> well, now we know, shepard smith in the cnbc newsroom we now know that merrick garland has requested the unsealing of the document, and here it is, it's just been sent to us. this is the request to unseal both the warrant and the list of the items that were taken from donald trump's mar-a-lago estate there ar

it's a little poetic, i'm actually sitting inside the department of justice right now, and the department of justice, excuse me, with a cough, is right between, is central between the white house, the executive branch and the capitol, the legislative branch. you could say figuratively and literally this doj sits between two major houses of politics, the white house and the capitol. >> sandra: the justice department obviously is being called upon to offer some sort of explanation for a precedent-breaking case like this. as i was referencing that opinion piece in the "new york times" this morning, one of the biggest reasons why more information is needed and explanation needed from the doj, it has left a lot of room for speculation and misinterpretation potentially on the basis of partisan lines and biases. so, if this is information pertaining to that raid, certainly it could clear the air on what has become an incredibly speculative environment, and obviously some sort of explanation needed since this silence has led to a lot of different interpretations over why this raid took place of a

depending on what is redacted, the press could be appealing, the department of justice could be appealing, or neither. i suspect that, given the speed with which the judge ruled, that there isn't a lot of difference between the court and the department of justice, in other words that he is accepting what they're proposing, what remains to be seen is whether the department took a very aggressive view or whether they decided that a lot of the sort of back and forth is leading up to the search warrant is something they agreed to be unsealed. you could have both sides appealing. i strongly suspect that there wouldn't be an appeal to the district judge, even -- because i think it's probably not the kind of thing that a district judge is going to want to second-guess here. and then that's really it. i think all eyes are going to turn to what goes on in the criminal investigation and what happens with the former president's civil suit, which is right now at least for now, in front of a different judge in florida. >> so andrew, obviously this group lives and breathes this all day every day since

that source told me they feel like the burden is on the department of justice to be transparent what led to the search warrant and what probable cause of a crime they had when they went to a judge to seek that search warrant ahead of its execution here. you know, folks who are familiar with trump's thinking around the leadup to ultimely t search warrant beingexecut, tell us that ty feel like theyere coopatingith th deparent of stice. ere i a june 3rd meeti paicular in wch donal trp hself wasere atis residence and met with officials algsidef hisawyers and persally swedhem at least e roo whe tseateria re being held the srceells us tha donald trump authorizedaving a second padlock put onto the room where these particular materials were placed. at the same time, you have seen here the warrant is in the hands of, you know, the trump team here and they're choosing not to reveal what was being looked for here at the premises and in large part, you have seen donald trump instead rally around the defenses within the republican party around him and you even sawhis mornin the statent donaltrump

he believes in the rule of law and the independence of justice -- of the justice department investigations. those investigations should be free of political influence and he has held that commitment as president. i want to also remind you all of what he said on january 7 of 2021 when he then nominated merrick garland to be attorney general. he said we need to restore the honor, the integrity of the independence of the department of justice in this nation. that has been so badly damaged. so many former leaders of that department in both parties have so testified and stated that, i want to be clear to those that lead this department who you will serve. you won't work for me. you're not the president or the vice president's lawyer. your loyalty is not to me. it's to the law, the constitution, the people of this nation to guarantee justice. so i would refer you to the department of justice. >> the white house, the president's legal team helpful both domestically and abroad nor the department of justice to be more open about the reasons for that search warrant and the underlying evidence? >> ag

department of justice? >> senator, i cannot speak to the existence of any potential investigations. >> i am not asking you to. i am asking you a legal question, which is, if you had a plan that was designed to propagate a fraudulent lie that had the intention of inciting threats against election officials so as to interfere with the sanctity of american elections, as a matter of law, would that be beyond the reach of the department of justice? >> senator, we would certainly take that type of allegation seriously. it is a hypothetical, but in that circumstance, we would follow the facts and law as appropriate. >> we draft laws here and this is the judiciary committee, so if there's a gap of some kind in american law that would prevent us from defending our elections in that way, our election workers that way, and defending against persistent and deliberate fraud, i would ask you to bring that to our attention. >> i certainly look forward to working with you on those proposals, including gaps in terms of resou

third, let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the fbi and justice department agents and prosecutors. i will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. the men and women of the fbi and the justice department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. every day they protect the american people from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. they do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. i am honored to work alongside them. this is all i can say right now. more information will be made available in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time. thank you. >> attorney general, before -- >> excuse me. thank you all for your questions. but as i said, this is all i can say at this time. >> so i just got handed the motion to unseal the search warrant. here's the motion. to unseal the search warrant and the property receipt that was filed by the department of justice in south florida. that is what attorney general merrick garland started off this news conference. so we will get

all of a sudden they want to weaponize at the justice department following the rule of law is. is so important for folks to remember -- this is not just the justice department. the justice department could not have executed this search warrant without the approval of the united states judge. probably a district judge, not a magistrate. probably a district judge. a third branch of government, that's what the checks and balances of the constitution provides for. this is not a third world country or banana republic in which the president or ruling party can go in and conduct a raid. they have to present evidence of probable cause before a united states district judge. the third branch of government. there is a lot of difference. they can talk about weaponizing all they want, but there was a judge at the end of the day, who sat in judgment of what was presented and said there is enough evidence here that i will authorize the search of this residence. judy: former u.s. senator doug jones of alabama, thank you. mr. jones: thank you, judy. ♪ judy: the united states' top diplomat visit

don't know because the department, there are at least four potential criminal investigations that are underway into the former president. two of them fall under the department of justicesue brought to the department and referred to the department of justice and the other of the january 6 investigation. one of the things we are trying to figure out as you mentioned, brett my weather intersection between the two. an effort to dig for january 6th information and still an outstanding question. >> it really is, and i think andy mccarthy has shed light on this before that there is a belief that perhaps there was something bigger that they were searching for. but the impetus for the classified documents in the possession of them, even trust the possession of them is the question, even though it is a former president. there is a lot here that we have to digest. the 1978 presidential records act and how that affects all of this. we are going to dig tremendous trumpian move, we have the letter from the department of justice that they previously indicated, they have seen where the documents are stored, they don't think it's secure enough and they have asked for, we remember, ano

does that not undermine the department of justice and the respect we have for? t can be argued stephanie, i think you're right, it would undermine the confidence in the department of justice. remember, again the department of justice told the federal judge who authorized the search warrant precisely what the process would be to review these documents. and you can see from the picture on the screen, it's sort of hard to miss when there's classified documents. those cover sheets are on the top of all classified records. so it's pretty obvious to every anybody, even somebody didn't do their homework or read the materials presented to him when he was president, that this stuff is classified and has to be treated in a certain way. but the most important point here, i think the six single takeaway is that the government after seizing the materials pursuant to a lawful warrant signed by a federal judge did precisely what they told the judge that they would do. they put the materials through a filter process. and their notes in their pleading file tonight, that there is

many were taken on directly by the department of justice. in fact with kmart yesterday was a direct result of his efforts to get a special master to reveal the documents -- to review the documents, and as a result, more incriminating information has come up. we know what the markings mean. the question about whether their removal was improper or whether the efforts to get them back where obstructed or impeded in some way, will be what the doj has to figure out in deciding with her to pursue a criminal case. kristen: when will the decision be made on whether a special master will be appointed? rick: the judge in the case already said she is inclined to grant the motion for a special master, it -- this is an attempt by the department of justice to say, we don't need it, that some of these documents appeared to be intermixed with things like trump's passport, one of which was retired. they are saying, we donate a special master, it would impede the pace of the investigation. everything would need to be put on pause. that before the justice depar

of an american justice. i call for full and complete transparency on this matter from the senate floor in the highest levels of the department of justice. the american public demands transparency and accountability. no one is above the law. i heard that yesterday. no one is above the law and that includes the attorney general in the seventh floor of the fbi. thank you and i will be followed by mark wayne's from oklahoma. >> thank you. as stated i am markwayne mullin from oklahoma. i want to focus in on remarks that attorney general garland said yesterday trying to convince the american people that we should trust them. which he did brag about his guys in the field and i do believe we should brag about the guys in the field. when we talk about his level and director raise level where is the trust come from what has caused him to think the american people should trust him. is it the way that they handled hillary clinton's case with her e-mails. is it the russian collision that the fbi handed the american people, is it the way that they have targeted trump, president trump from day one, where is the leadership of the attorney g

of an american justice. i call for full and complete transparency on this matter from the senate floor in the highest levels of the department of justice. the american public demands transparency and accountability. no one is above the law. i heard that yesterday. no one is above the law and that includes the attorney general in the seventh floor of the fbi. thank you and i will be followed by mark wayne's from oklahoma. >> thank you. as stated i am markwayne mullin from oklahoma. i want to focus in on remarks that attorney general garland said yesterday trying to convince the american people that we should trust them. which he did brag about his guys in the field and i do believe we should brag about the guys in the field. when we talk about his level and director raise level where is the trust come from what has caused him to think the american people should trust him. is it the way that they handled hillary clinton's case with her e-mails. is it the russian collision that the fbi handed the american people, is it the way that they have targeted trump, president trump from day one, where is the leadership of the attorney g

faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principal of the justice department and our democracy. upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. under my watch, that is precisely what the justice department is doing. all americans are entitled to the even-handed application of the law to due process of the law and the presumption of innocence. makeup of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. we do that to protect the constitutional rights of all americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations. federal law, longstanding department rules and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time. there are, however, certain points i want you to know. first, i personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter. second, the department does not take such a decision lightly. where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search and to narrowly scope any search undertaken. third, let me address recent und

of throw clearing. but what is important for people to know, the fact that the justice department has not signed documents is really important. it probably gets to why the obstruction of justice is one of the statutes they're investigating. >> and again, i think they tried to turn the tables, and were successful for 12 to 24 hours until more facts became clear. trump said he they took his passports. the fbi according to our reporting indicate they don't have possession of his passports. they are going to try to find some lever here. because it does look really bad, and as of yet the central question that hangs over all of this, why were you also obsessed about holding these documents that you didn't give them over in the multiple chances that you had? >> yeah, that's right. of course the newest, recent wrinkle that should be fairly easy to clear up, whether the fbi has or does not have his passport. that's not going to be a cop liquid k to one either way. beyond that of course, this outstanding question of why these documents were not returned is a huge one. the other thing that is important to consider i

of 2017, brandon van grack. he's left the justice department. he's left government service. s justice department career as a trial attorney in the national security division, and he prosecuted cases on cyberattacks and money laundering, and theft of trade secrets. and, yes, espionage. a spy for china out of michigan, a guy who was in running the high tech sanctions on iran. a hacker from kosovo, who provided material support to isis, specifically, he gave isis personal information on more than 1300 u.s. government and military personnel. he gave isis that kill list, effectively, of u.s. government and military personnel, brandon van grack helped prosecute him. after robert mueller, special counsel, appointed mr. van grack as a prosecutor on his team to investigate the trump campaign's ties to russia around the 2016 election, van grack spent nearly three years investigating and prosecuting trump allies, michael flynn and paul manafort. interestingly, mr. van grack ultimately resigned from the flynn case, after a william barr appointee took over the u. s. attorney's office in d

what is the department of justice doing? >> they told you what they were doing, yasmin, they just haven't told you how they're doing it. they have an ongoing investigation, which is why large portions of the affidavit have been redacted. they have numerous witnesses that they are talking to and protecting, which is completely appropriate. remember, search warrants come at the beginning of investigations or sort of the early middle, and not typically at the very end. so we don't know precisely what they're doing or how they're doing it, nor are we entitled to know that, but we know they're still doing it. i think charles made a really interesting and important point by noting what's missing from the attorney's letter. but there's something else i would add to that. the three statutes that the government relied upon to get the search warrant don't require that the information that's mishandled or destroyed be classified information at all. so we can debate, you know, all day if you'd like, yasmin, whether or not the president c

and without some kind of communication from the department of justice, and it should be at his level,to see this potentially increase. and so it's very problematic. i believe in the institution of the department of justice, but their credibility is on the line, and the attorney general has to step up. there's ways you can communicate without divulging too much information. still being confidential about matters that are under seal, but he has to communicate to the american people as to what is going on or this is going to accelerate. >> so explain that a bit, because obviously, the policy, the tradition, the precedent of the department of justice would not be to do any of those things. we are in an unusual situation, and everybody knows that, certainly attorney general garland knows that. when you look from your perspective as a former federal prosecutor, what can they do that in your view would not divulge too much information but that would assuage some of this absurdity, frankly, that's filling the void? >> well, i think you can come out and you can explain exactly what you're doin

take a listen. >> faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedroom principle of the justice department and of our democracy. upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. under my watch, that is precisely what the justice department is doing. >> charles: john, your thoughts there. >> the rule of law in our country depends -- i agree with what andy said. we have faith that our prosecutors, our fbi agents, are enforcing the law fairly. most people in this country follow the law, most of the time. we don't have enough agents and prosecutors to watch everybody and find every infringement of law every day. we're a law-abiding people. the problem with what's going on here, people are losing faith in the rule of law when they seem to see these prosecutions and investigations that seem politically motivated like the russia hoax and this president of president trump that is being treated the way no previous president has ever suffered before. he may have some classified documents. there he may not. the way we've handled it in the past has been to negotiate their

it won't stop the efforts of the department of justice. but i think there's an extraordinary amount that the u. s. congress can do to slow down and come up the works of what the department of justice in particular is doing . and i think they're willing to do that in a way that we've never seen before done in the united states. i want to get your opinion before we run out of time here about what we heard today from former us vice president mike pence. he tweeted about an hour ago. i share the deep concern of millions of americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence. a president trump, no former president of the united states has ever been subjected to a raid of their personal residence in american history. he's outrage that this has happened to donald trump and there are many who say that donald trump was willing to let him be hanged on january 6th. the. how do you make sense of that? well you, that's exactly right. i mean, the fact of the matter is, as you indicated, there has been no vice president in united states hist

it is out of the department of justice. , brand new information, on his decision, judge rinehart's decision about the affidavits surrounding the armed raid of the former president trump's home in florida. david spunts has this breaking news for us. what do you have, david? >> one thing, judge bruce rinehart is quick. the deadline was not four hours ago. he has this two-page order announcing the redactions proposed by the department of justice must be put in the public docket, which means they will be released to the public at some point on or before noon tomorrow. so it could happen at any time between now and noon tomorrow. i want to read some of what judge rinehart said in this order. he wrote "i find that the government has met its burden of showing a compelling reason, good cause to seal portions of the affidavit because disclosure would reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents and uncharged parties." the investigation strategy direction, scope, sources and methods. on for before noon eastern time on fr

third, let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the fbi and justice departmentand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. the men and women of the fbi and the justice department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. every day, they protect the american people from violent crime, terrorism, and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. they do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. i am honored to work alongside them. >> hey, everybody, it's now 5:00 here in gotham city, i'm john heilemann in again for nicole wallace. those are the three big points made this afternoon by attorney general merrick garland after he made huge news breaking announcement that he had filed a motion -- the doj had filed a motion in federal court in south florida to take the mar-a-lago search warrant and make it public. we now know from that court that donald trump has until 3:00 p.m. tomorrow to either object or consent to having the details of that warrant made public. but of special focus this afternoon, the fact that garland

and that's what makes the department of justice willing to take this step. we're also right outside of the window, but we're in the mid term elections in the united states, and the department of justice is low to act within the last 90 days before an election. we are just outside that window right now. i suspect the department of justice felt some urgency to take this step. they did so are now outside of the window of the elections in the united states. right. very interesting. thank you for giving us your thoughts. jeff, how's a lawyer on the director of the revolving door project? the center for economic policy was such fella had on al jazeera with, for us men killed in america. their fears at a serial killer could be still king's. bringing the benign fronds at home ever century after they were stolen, a london museum agrees to hand back 72 price ah, the journey has begun. the v for world copy is on its way to the castle book, your travel package today. here's your forecast for tuesday, august the 9th, across asia. hi everyone. let's kick this one off in po

of tomorrow. >> tonight, on all in. >> just now, the justice department has filed a motion in the southern district of florida to unseal a search warrant and property receipt relating to a court approved search. >> the justice department calls donald trump's bluff. >> that search was a premise was located in florida belonging to the former president. >> tonight, chuck rosenberg on the garland around announcement, what it means for the investigation and where we may know the details donald the details donald trump's concealing. plus, at the incitement of violence against law enforcement as an fbi field office is attacked. plus, new reporting of trump's paranoia over so-called rats wearing wires at mar-a-lago. u.s. press secretary karine jean-pierre live in studio on us there is a big wins for the biden white house. when all in starts right now. >> good evening from new york, i'm alicia melendez, in for chris hayes. today, attorney general merrick garland calls donald trump's bluff, speaking publicly for the first time since the fbi search at mar-a-lago, garland announced the department of justice is

for all of the people who say why didn't the ar kwiefs in the department of justice act faster and by the way, when you piece together the time line and this affidavit does give you more, the department acted quite quickly once they had the referral and in spite of the fact that donald trump had his lawyers were trying to keep that referral away from the bureau, that all is going to be really damning evidence intentionality. just imagine if somebody by accident took some documents, even a box and again, the volume belies the idea that it would be an accident, but here that length of time and the fact that you only returned some of the documents, but not all of them and then you made statements that you did return everything and that's leaving aside as frank said they clearly have talked to a whole series is clear le refuting the kash patel statement was that they were declined and it's clear that the justice department doesn't believe that for a minute. all of that goes to the discretionary decision that merrick garland is going to have to make. and as i said, i don't see how if you w

i'm certain this was vetted through the highest levels of the department of justice, probably through the number two person, the deputy attorney general, lisa monaco, up to merrick garland. this is sort of a shift in the legal tectonic plates. when you are searching the home of a former president of the united states because a judge determined that there was likely to be evidence of crime located on the property of mar-a-lago. i think this search warrant was probably extremely strong. >> you mentioned merrick garland, the attorney general. i can't help but to wonder, it would have to go through him before you even go to the judge for the search warrant. does the a.g. for something like this, have to sign off, yes, i agree all the ducks are in a row and every possible argument could be made for obtaining this search warrant, go get it? >> not necessarily under standard doj protocol and procedures, but there's nothing standard about the search of a former president's home. i strongly suspect merrick garland was apprised of it and in agreement with it at a minimum. >> kim, let me bring y

department of justice. it was very early on. may 2017. you think about that for a second, trump was inaugurated at the end of january. this was less than four months later in may of that year, less than four months into his presidency, we learned of "the new york times" that during the trump transition a person who they had been considering for the job of national security adviser, not just somebody to be a national security adviser to the new president, but the national security adviser, a guy they had been considering for that job, we learned at the time, had notified the trump transition team that there was a big problem with him potentially being a appointed national security adviser. a very serious problem. this guy who is being considered as national security adviser, he told the trump transition, hey, you know what? i feel like i ought to let you know. i'm under active federal investigation as a potentially an unregistered agent of a foreign power. i mean full stop right, there right? this is not like oh, i wanted to let you know i

know about the fbi raid itself, in june, jay brat, the chief of the counter-intelligence of the justice department visited mar-a-lago with a group of federal investigators. we spoke about this a bit yesterday. according to the reporting from "the new york times," later matched by other news outlets. quote, after mr. bratt and other officials visited mar-a-lago, they subpoenaed the trump organization for a copy of mar-a-lago's surveillance tapes, the company complied, turning over the tapes to the government. it was after that, and a few statements about trump's attorneys about which documents he had actually returned that the d.o.j. began to question the accuracy of what trump's team was telling them. jay bratt's pred ses ner that counter-intelligence job was david laufman who handled the hillary clinton and david petraeus investigations which involved around the handling of classified government records. he had this to say to "politico" about the search of the former president's flard home. quote for the department to pursue a search warrant at mar-a-lago tells me that the quantum and the quantit

the judge, though, agreeing with the department of justice that there are key details in this lengthyidavit that cannot be released publicly and he spelled it out in his order. he said that the public will not see the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, uncharged parties, those people who prosecutors are still investigating who may ultimately be charged in this investigation. we also won't see information about grand jury information and we certainly won't see information about the investigations' progress, sources and methods here. so that will all be blacked out. but it's possible that given the revelations of the past few weeks as to how long this back and forth between the national archives and trump's team have been ongoing, maybe because of those revelations in particular from donald trump's team, maybe the doj is a bit more willing to reveal how this investigation has been going, especially since the fbi got involved as we've learned just about in may when things really ramped up. so we could see a bit more of those details because trump's team has been so willing

the former presidents attorney claims a special master is necessary to ensure the justice department returns any of trump's private belongings and documents covered by attorney client privilege. but, the justice department has indicated it is already using an internal filter team to review everything which was seized by the fbi. for now, cnn's political correspondent sara murray live now, sara, and broad brushstrokes, when we look at in terms of the spots from the doj? >> we are looking overall, in terms of the legal argument, the justice department opposing with donald trump is looking for, which is a special master, an independent third party to overview these documents. the justice department is saying look, after the search they did on the presidents residence in mar-a-lago at august, they've already gone through those materials. they've already had a filter team set up to remove any potentially privileged materials. and they're saying a special master is not necessary in this case. but they are also shedding a lot of light on what they took when they went to mar-a-lago. they said they seized m

third, let me address recent unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the fbi and justice department agentos and prosecutors. i will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. the mren and women of the fbi and the justice department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. every day, they protect the american people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. they do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. i am honored to work alongside them. this is all i can say right now. more information will be made available in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time. thank you. >> thank you all for your questions, but as i said, this is all i can say at this time. >>> and, wolf, you could tell what reluctance the attorney general had to making this public statement, but a lot of it was in response to some of the charges and accusations that donald trump and some of his allies have been making in the last couple of days including claiming without evidence that the fbi may have planted evidence

records that the doj says we are sorry we did that we have our own people reviewing this part of justice department shouldn't have done that. i mean, this is the kind of thing where a special master is someone who would be, i think, appropriate why wouldn't you what the department of justice and fbi have done have inflamed partisan divisions and ms. trust among american penal by an agency and the fbi that has previously well documented gone after donald trump unfairly, been caught spying on his campaign. why wouldn't you appoint a special master to try to tamp down some of the emotions on this issue and give the american public some sense that maybe this process will get more fair as things go along. but, your point about, you know, dni and the damage assessment. you know, that's taking place the first question is why is that taking place? in 2016, dni clapper read to do a damage assessment on hillary clinton classified documents that were tsci know were by foreign adversaries, the answer is this process initiated by none other than adam schiff. the same adam schiff accused donald trump of everythi