trump doj demands.ic adams, who is, by the way, a democrat. but there's a wider context, and the pattern is how this government, even in its first three weeks, is both trying and actually using its power to help business leaders, allies and others. and they say quite publicly, planning to abuse power to punish their perceived foes. now, again, this can be bipartisan. the vector is not red or blue. the vector is just trump. and that's why earlier in the program, we looked at evidence about how this relates to other countries where the law is not even held up to any precept, any claim of fairness. so here's what's happened lately. trump using the pardon power for former governor rod blagojevich, who endorsed him last year. the feds reportedly dropping what was a serious criminal probe into the former wwe chairman, vince mcmahon, who's a friend of trump. unlike the adams case, where i mentioned, some of the financial charges have been criticized as somewhat small. that case involved very, very serious char

now, the trump doj. official here reportedly gathered the lawyers in a unusual morning meeting with a lot of pressure. now, again, remember, this is not how the doj normally works. it's not even how most of the federal government works. or surely sometimes there are big tough conversations. but we're talking about something far more unusual with regard to carrot and stick pressure. according to this reporting, which also matches the very whistleblowing we got from these recently departed officials, including the promise of some sort of reward for those who would sign and file. >> this controversial motion. >> he gave them an hour deadline to decide who was going to be the person to put themselves on the chopping block. >> we'll all get fired, but who's going to replace us? they're going to hire us with loyalists to make sure this never happens again. >> the judge, though, has to agree. >> to drop. >> this case officially. >> it's very inappropriate for the department. >> to engage in that kind of overt p

>> no, i was at doj this last time and i was at doj 15 years ago. and in my long time there, i have never seen anything like it. when people asked me before i left, how do we know that people that the trump administration will do the right thing? how do we know that, you know, when there's something that's going wrong? i will tell you, this is probably the worst case scenario that i could have ever imagined. just to put it in context for you, the public integrity section is doj's front line against corruption. these are career men and women of the justice department whose responsibility is to go after corruption. and i have never seen political appointees go and demand that they do something else for political purposes. so i completely agree with eliot. i think the judge should be asking some serious questions about what happened. i've never seen this type of resignation before. i've also never seen political leadership go after the career professionals. and you know what the what i've seen from the career professionals, not only in this instance bu

she isn't some biden era agent hiding out in the doj. as for the bombshell, she reveals they were going to have further charges against mayor adams. she writes, as you know, our office is prepared to seek a superseding indictment from a new grand jury. under my leadership, we proposed a superseding indictment that would add an obstruction conspiracy count based on evidence that adams destroyed and instructed others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the fbi. late today, the president was asked about it at all. >> did you personally request the justice department to drop that case? >> no, i didn't know nothing about it. i did not. >> the president was talking to cnn's kevin liptak a few moments later, responding to someone else's question. he turned back to kevin and added this. >> that u.s. attorney was actually fired. i don't know if he or she resigned, but that u.s. attorney was fired. >> now, two two sources familiar with the matter tell cnn that emil bove had plans to fire her, but she quit first. did the president

nominee who is in for these reasons and also raise alarms about how top doj officials. would deal with what democrats call the extreme and, quote, unqualified fbi pick kash patel. >> president trump vowed to. >> use the department. >> of justice to advance his. >> own interests to seek, and, i quote, retribution. >> mr. patel. is probably the most unqualified. candidate for the fbi directorship that. >> i've ever seen. >> we have. >> a president who. >> thinks that the doj. >> is his. >> law firm. >> four of the people. nominated by president trump to top roles. >> at the department of. >> justice were. >> his personal attorneys. >> i can only imagine how they. would have reacted if a democratic president installed his own personal criminal defense attorneys as attorney general, as deputy attorney general. >> this is a. >> key theme in. >> today's hearing. >> and the justice department does many things. one of them is determine how the executive will deal with and enforce the law, and also put limits on it. if, you've heard references to the white house counsel's office

has the doj doj gotten closer to determining if these leaks are coming from within the fbi? what will the consequences be if they can identify the leakers from the fbi? >> first, i can't talk about anything that is ongoing. and that is ongoing. it is really for the similar reasons i said earlier. the great men and women in law enforcement standing behind me today must be protected. any anyone leaks or tips off anything regarding a pending investigation, that jeopardizes lives. you're telling a bad guy what is about to happen. it could jeopardize the lives of all the men and women in law enforcement. we will not stand for it. we will find you, we are going to investigate it. no matter what agency it came from. we don't know for certain. we have an open investigation so i can't talk about it in detail. we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable, and it is a crime and you will be prosecuted when we find you. >> time for one more. >> madame attorney general, thank you for your time. i was also interested hearing specifically what interactions have been with mayor

for doj officials, the so-called thursday afternoon massacre continued today.ine prosecutor who handled the adams case quit with a defined message refusing his motion to dismiss the case. he wrote "i expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion. but it was never going to be me. reportedly he was able to find a doj lawyer willing to sign the motion this afternoon. for the pbs news hour, william brangham. >> joining me to discuss the people within the department of justice is jessica roth. former federal product user -- prosecutor for new york and professor at the cardozo school of law. welcome back to the news hour. off. it looks like the department of justice found someone willing to move forward with dismissing the charges against mayor adams. what happens now? is a judge required to accept the dismissal? >> no. the judge is not required to accept the dismissal. certainly not right away. it requires leave of suggests tt meant to be a rubberstamp. but there is very limited authority and preset end for

the doj has officially moved to dismiss the case against the mayor. here's our chief investigator correspondent aaron katersky. >> reporter: tonight, growing calls for the mayor of new york to resign as the federal corruption case against him sparks mutiny at the justice department. seven prosecutors have now resign, refusing an order to drop the charges against eric adams. one saying dismissing the case would only be carried out by a fool or a coward. the stunning protest starting with danielle sassoon, the u.s. attorney in manhattan who accused the justice department and adams of negotiating a quid pro quo, dumping the case in exchange for the mayor's help with president trump's immigration crackdown. today adams denied it. >> i didn't do anything wrong. throughout the entire ordeal i said one thing. my attorney will handle the legal part. i'm going to handle running the city. >> reporter: adams appeared with trump's border czar, tom holman, clearing federal immigration agents to once again operate in the city's jail complex at rikers island. holman

but it has ended sean let me ask a final question the doj i believe has been a weaponized.h that there are many employees at the justice department a part of weaponization. did they have obligation to not participate in it or speak out against it and if they didn't do so without be disqualifying in your mind. >> certainly you need to follow it and ethical standards of being a prosecutor and you have to follow the law that's why we've signed multiple executive orders taking us back to our core function of flattest press getting real crime and violent crime that's out the justice department will function that's a president trump wants to submit a strait and a function evenhandedly unfair restoring integrity. >> speaker-01: >> have known you for decades that's probably the word i would use to define you bringing integrity to the doj returning to its former greatness we wish you all the best and appreciate you being on with us congratulations attorney general pam bondi and there on the move slashing government waste, fraud, and abuse and for some reason democrats aren't happy w

the doj is supposed to be nonpolitical. and the prosecutors who made that case against eric adams, you know, a democrat and a democratic administration were nonpartisan actors, and as were the fbi agents. and there's no evidence that politics tainted that case whatsoever. and so there is a real concern here that this opens the door to essentially the doj prosecuting the people that donald trump doesn't like, and going easy on the people that donald trump does like. and that's not how the united states is supposed to work. >> lisa, quickly, if you will. i mean, s.d.n.y theoretically could not follow up and follow through on this order from above. is there any sign that there is appetite within the doj apparatus to push back and exercise its independence? >> i don't know yet, but i think it's telling that this morning, despite all of the reporting that we've seen, including ken's very good reporting about the memo that emil bove, the acting deputy attorney general sent to the southern district, we haven't seen any entry on th

you put us in a. >> you being the doj. >> you being the doj leadership and specifically acting deputy attorney general emil bove. and what they've said here is we are now being asked to go before a court. and by the way, we believe in our prosecution. we believe in the facts. we believe in the entire way that we put this together. and now you're asking us to go to the court and say, you know what? we're going to dismiss this case without prejudice. meaning that call it again. you've told us to perhaps take a look at it after the election, and we're going to have to make some claims here that are going to put us in a position where we may not be telling the truth, or how we actually feel about this case or the circumstances of this case. one of the things, by the way, is there is some established case law in case precedent, which says that we're not allowed to hold an indictment over somebody's head in exchange for political action or official action in office. and this is something that they raised, something that we've been reporting on for the last several days. it basically makes t

. >> from trump's doj enforcer. and new. >> reporting on brazen. >> corruption of. >> justice unfolding. >> in public view. >> i don't think it's that he didn't want to pardon adam. i think it's that he did want leverage over adam. it reminds me, i think i said this yesterday of the mafia case. i did. >> then. >> as the. >> vice president. >> picks. >> a fight with. >> european allies, new. >> republican outrage. >> over rookie mistakes on the. >> world stage. >> president trump. >> will not allow. anyone to turn. >> uncle sam. >> into uncle sucker. >> and four weeks into. >> the second. >> term. >> the evidence. >> that the. >> trump power. >> grab can be stopped. >> we have breaking news. donald trump has ceded control of the presidency. >> to elon musk. >> when all in. >> starts right now. >> good evening from. >> new york. >> i'm chris hayes. >> we are right now in the. >> midst of the biggest scandal at the. >> department of justice. since watergate in the 1970s. so far. seven prosecutors have. >> quit the doj.

he is the nominee for the number two spot at the doj.e questions that he receives from the senators in that room, and we'll bring it to you. any news that is made? up next on ana cabrera reports the parade of winter storms battering millions today. we'll battering millions today. we'll let you know wha expenses, the onboarding, the benefits, the time off requests, fixing payroll. it has to stop. a cry for help. [explosion] ♪unnecessary action hero♪ ♪unnecessary♪ was that necessary? no, neither is stressing over things that should be automated. paycom automates everything. that's less stress for you and your people. okay. set your hr and payroll to automatic and make the unnecessary, unnecessary. nobody understands me. what do you mean? >> she playing face. >> but replacing your windshield doesn't have to be. go to safelite.com and schedule a safelite.com and schedule a replacement on medicare? living with diabetes? progress is having your coffee like you like it without an audience. ♪♪ [silence] the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor can help

-- one contractor was given 1.5 million for clerical operations at a mall center final doj posted the department of education 229 bei trading grants totaling 101 million dollars. pretty good days work? >> the numbers absolutely stunning, what in the world does the health and human services even do without a museum but to celebrate the exhibit, are you kidding me? i am so glad this country is so grateful and this is why donald trump's ratings are off the charts, he is doing exactly what he was going to do, we are only three weeks into this administration and elon musk, is able to look at things. i was the chairman of the oversight committee, i could not go see the specificity, how he did it, more power to him, it's exactly what the country needs. >> trace: i will tell you that, to you now some reaction to cbs poll number on trump's job approval, let watch, -- let's watch. >> 53% approve of the job he is doing. >> he is doing in the eyes of the public what he said he would do in the campaign. there is political value in that effect 70% of people say he's doing what he promised. >> trace

it's part of doj. and so when the attorney general or someone acting as the attorney general tells you to dismiss a case, you really have to do it. so i think danielle's job was to fight for the case, to push back, to tell them that they wanted to keep their independence, that the case was a righteous case and a strong case. and once they say no, we're going to make you dismiss it. i don't think she has a choice. i think it does affect the morale of the office. i think if you're at sdny today and frankly, anywhere at doj, you have to be thinking about what you're going to be asked or forced to do over the next four years and whether that comports with your own sense of integrity and character, whether it's the job you signed up to do. but, you know, that is kind of more of a general thing. i don't know that danielle saying i refuse to walk the piece of paper over to the courthouse is really going to do anything at this point. >> i have to wonder what the defense bar thinks about all this in terms of wh

attorney has resigned over the doj s request to drop the case into eric adams. did you personally request the justice department to drop that case? >> no, i didn't know nothing about it. i did not. that u.s. attorney was actually fired. i don't know if he or she resigned, but that u.s. attorney was fired. >> in fact, contrary to the president's claim there, sassoon's letter spoke of resigning, not getting fired. in it, she claims that mayor adams attorneys sought a quid pro quo arrangement with the doj, arguing that adams would only be able to help with president trump's immigration crackdown if the doj dropped the case. >> i believe the president was clear, and the incoming attorney general was clear. we're going to stop weaponizing our systems against americans. no american should have had to have gone through what i went through. >> biden's policy. president trump's borders are tom homan visited new york city on thursday, meeting with adams and members of the city council. the mayor then announced he will increase cooperation between city officials and federa

the doj's would be sitting. at hearing tables. everyone would be getting a fair hearing about what the hell is going on. >> right now. >> in the government. but we see the malfeasance by trump. >> and. >> and, and musk. but it's kind of a passive malfeasance by the congress that has. >> to be recognized. >> the republican congress has collapsed. it has collapsed. it no longer honors its constitutional responsibility. and in that vacuum. we get the violations of law and constitution that we're seeing. >> yeah. i mean, all i've seen is republicans going on cnn and elsewhere, you know, justifying this. the speaker of the house said this is no big deal. he's literally said, my powers don't need them. elon musk, he will police himself. let's get to like the bottom line of what they want here, because it does seem that, you know, the occam's razor is it's always about profit and profit for the very richest. here's scott bessent again. this is him talking about the most important thing. and i think this is what was driving the last elect

it's such an important part of the doj mission.ed on all of us if the allegations are accurate. that's what juries are for, of course. and the and the s.d.n.y has just said that they had much more evidence than there are victims to these crimes and including clean government, corrupt, honest government. if there's open season now, that is off the table and everyone suffers, by the way, to ken's point, the acting u.s. attorney in manhattan is a long standing, very credentialed pro. and we'll see whether she doesn't say, i'm going to resign now. so there could also be an immediate kind of political crisis. i'm sure she's thinking of it seriously. this is an absolute dishonorable order that she's been asked to execute. >> and, congressman, there's another memo. the washington post reported on this. it says that the president and his top officials are free to discuss ongoing criminal and civil cases with the attorney general and deputy, something past administrations, as you know, have explicitly shied away from. they don't want that a

and because of trump's doj, he probably will not. and so it might be one of those situations where it's up to the people of new york to remove mayor adams in the upcoming. mayoral election, which is, i think, a distinct possibility if the governor does not remove him. >> so, jennifer, i mean, why is beauvais the one who is pressuring all these other prosecutors to sign off on this dismissal? why is it he doing it? help me understand that. >> well, i'm only speculating here, pamela, but i suspect it's because he doesn't want to be standing in front of judge dale ho, answering the really tough questions about this shady deal. i mean, he's a former s.d.n.y. prosecutor. i don't think he wants to come home to his former district. in this light. i think he wants to force one of his underlings to do so because this is a bad case. the the ethics are highly questionable here. and i think even though he can, there's no reason technically why he couldn't just do it himself. they want to both have the kind of deniability of this was a decision,

i believe under merrick garland and joe biden, the doj has been weaponized. with that, there are many, many employees at the justice department that were a part of that weaponization. did they have an obligation not to participate in it, speak out against it? and if they didn't do so, would that be disqualifying in your mind? >> sean? certainly. you know, you have to follow the ethical standards of being a prosecutor, and you have to follow the law. and that's why we have signed multiple executive orders, taking us back to our core function of prosecuting real crime and violent crime. and that's how this justice department will function. and that's how president trump wants this administration to function even handedly and fair and restore integrity. >> i've known you for decades. honestly, that's probably the word that i would use the most to define you. you will bring integrity to the doj, return it to its former greatness, and we wish you all the best. we really appreciate you being on with us. and congratulations, attorney general. >> pam bondi. >> all ri

are there other prosecutions in new york the doj could weigh in on? >> certainly. they handle public corruption cases. some defendants like senator menendez hoping the president will step in with a pardon. >> thanks very much. >>> to a stunning moment on the floor of the house. a sitting member of congress accusing her ex-fiance and several others of serious crimes. ryan nobles has the story. >> reporter: congresswoman nancy mace taking to the house floor to publicly accuse four men, including her ex-fiance of what she described as heinous crimes against women, including herself. >> i'm going scorched earth. let the bridges i burn this evening light our way forward. >> reporter: mace, without specific evidence, spent close to an hour detailing allegations, including rape and filming women and young girls without their consent. she accused her ex-fiance of being at the center of the scheme, which she uncovered on his phone. >> i found myself face to face with the darkest corners of humanity. >> reporter: bryant, who mace was engaged to until 2023, vehemently denied

know, from s.d.n.y to doj, public integrity.nd frankly, i'm quite convinced that almost any doj prosecutor across the country would have done this, because this is this is not what the justice system, this is a corrupt use of the levers of justice. >> so let me just update our viewers. there is a new letter that we have obtained, the letter that was sent today by beauvais after the acting u.s. attorney, miss hassoun, resigned. let me share that with all of you. so this is emile beauvais writing a letter that was hand-delivered to danielle sassoon this afternoon. quote, miss sassoon, in response to your refusal to comply with my instruction. that's the earlier letter chris and mimi are talking about to dismiss the prosecution of mayor eric adams. i write to notify you of the following. first, your resignation is accepted. this decision is based on your choice to continue pursuing a politically motivated prosecution, despite an expressed instruction to dismiss the case. you lost sight of the oath you took when you started at the d

today, the doj set its sights on new york. attorney general pam bondi announced she is suing new york governor kathy hochul, along with the state ag and the commissioner of new york's dmv. bondi's issue is with new york's green light law, which allows anyone 16 and older to apply for a driver's license, regardless of immigration status. the law also has a provision that requires the dmv commissioner to inform someone when ice requests information about them. bondi called that provision unconstitional. if you don't comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable. we did it to illinois. strike one. strike two is new york, and if you are a state not complying with federal law, you're next. get ready. as you heard last week, the doj sued illinois and the city of chicago over sanctuary policies. the white house said the laws are blocking federal authorities from enforcing immigration laws. now, some of our bay area cities and counties have similar laws. so does the state of california. so that begs the question, are we next?

the revolt at the doj. top justice department lawyers quit when trump lawyers tell them to drop the eric adams case in new york. president trump saying volodymyr zelenskyy will be part of peace talks to end the war and is asked if he trusts president putin. in germany a driver plowing into a large crowd with dozens injured, less than a mile from where world leaders soon will gather. robert f. kennedy jr. confirmed. how he is poised to reshape the nation's approach to health care. the asteroid nasa says has a 2% chance of hitting earth in 2032. tom costello on the case. and the eagles star keeping his promise to a young philly fan injured in that philadelphia plane crash. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and welcome. just weeks after fleeing fires that rampaged across southern california residents of burned out communities are facing new danger ahead of a dangerous mudslide threat. the west coast once more in the pass of an atmospheric river bringing heavy rain, wind and mounta

i mean, i mean, he actually is using the power of the doj. he's he's saying that he's telling us the leverage that he has on national television. so he's he's he's, uh, you know, just really blatantly expressing that, that quid pro quo, i mean, to everyone. but they just don't care. that's the real issue. not that they're trying to hide it. they don't care about trump's doing everything out in the open. and maga loves that. it's out in the open. >> and you made a really good point. the maga people may not care, but the maga people, a lot of moderate republicans and even some democrats came together to form the coalition that elected donald trump this time around, largely because of prices. there are a lot of people who voted for donald trump who do care. and that's the important point that i think the trump people need to really start thinking about. i mean, i know trump is not going to run or well, he says he may run again, but he can't. um, but when they look at the midterms, i mean, this is something that the american people, especially th

the doj memo that revealed this doj decision to drop these charges and as we said the judge still haspending prosecution has unduly restricted to devote full attention and resources to the violent crime that escalated under the prior administration. interesting terms there for deciding to drop these charges, what do you make of that? >> onto that metric you could never go after a sitting politician because your argument could be we are impeding his or her ability to do the job that she was elected for so we can't prosecute. obviously that is a little thin. the other thing that is very interesting about this memo however is that the charges were dismissed without prejudice meaning it can be revivify, that is a little bit of a hold that they have over eric adams and i'm not the only one to notice that. all over online by his adversaries, they are all saying and many have political aspirations of their own, eric adams now works for the trump administration and not for the people of new york and that's why you see eric adams putting a toe in the water about jumping over to the g.o.p. >> m

you could just picture. >> the. >> letterhead instead of the doj. got the letterhead. >> with their names with a. >> picture of the trump tower. >> they all represented him personally. and that's why i was pressing. >> todd blanche, who. >> would be going in as. >> the number. >> two. >> why in the. >> world you would. >> want to have all the president's lawyers in? and the fact. >> that this is a. >> major distinction. >> when you're. >> representing the people. >> and not the president directly. >> it seems to me that whatever assurances he might be able to give you, and i don't know where you are leaning on him. >> oh, no, i'm. >> not going to i've. >> made clear. >> to him, and. >> i think many of my colleagues. >> have. that we're not voting. >> for him for this position, but. >> one of our. jobs is to get him on. >> the record so that in the future, we hold him accountable for these things that he has said under oath at the hearing. >> i mean, right now you've got bondi and emil bove already there, and they are very clearly utilizing the depar

and what doj is seeking here is not money.re seeking an order from the judge that new york's state and local sanctuary cities policies are unconstitutional and unfairly undermine doj's efforts to enforce immigration law. so they're looking for a judge to basically order new york state officials to stop enforcing their state laws. >> can you can you lay out for us, elie, the legal basis, the legal basis for what the department of justice is requesting? >> yeah. so, as evan said, we have not seen the actual complaint yet, but based on prior complaints similar in nature, i think doj is going to be looking at two things. one, they're going to argue preemption, which is the idea that in certain areas of law enforcement or regulation, that's for the feds only immigration is actually a pretty classic example of something where the feds can come in and preempt, essentially kick out the state authorities. the other thing that i think the doj is going to argue is what's called the supremacy clause, which essentially says if there's a co

you emil bove and the doj have not told me that there's anything wrong with my case. you're not disputing any of the facts. you're saying you want me to get rid of it? i'm not going to do that because it's the wrong thing to do. and that i mean that. and saying the notes getting taken away. >> yeah. >> it's a. >> it's a it's. >> an amazing. >> letter and. >> it's a letter that actually. >> in. my mind., summons. >> back to. >> the first part of. >> being an. >> assistant u.s. >> attorney is interviewing for the job. >> and in that interview. >> process. >> you are asked. >> specific ethical, hypothetical. questions about. >> something that the u.s. attorney talked. >> about. >> the. >> duty of candor, being. honest with the court. >> and she. >> said. >> i can't go. >> into the court. >> and tell judge ho, excuse. >> me, tell. judge ho. >> the things. >> that you would like me to tell him. that would. >> be unethical. >> it would. >> be inconsistent. >> with my obligations. >> as a prosecutor. >> and so. >> that is your first test. even before you start work, to. pass

she accuses the administration of politicizing the doj, weaponizing it. sound familiar? well, she says she can't really make a straight face, good faith argument to support. why her office the s.d.n.y. despite their belief in the strength of the case and their ability, they believe to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, why they would then dismiss a case because it was politically inconvenient for a mayor, or because that mayor might prove politically advantageous in an immigration fight, that it would undermine the credibility of the office before the courts. and that judges, by the way, were highly unlikely to even just accept that this was in the interest of the public to treat the powerfully connected differently than, say, joe schmo. she stood behind the prosecutors, the timing of the case, and even stated an intent to add additional charges for destroying evidence. and she wrote about a meeting in late january between emil bove adams's lawyers and her own team saying, quote, adams attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that adams wou

doj memos. i want to be clear the trump administration is asserting a right it does not have. they are trying to tell us how to use our resources and to commandeer our local law enforcement. >> this is the federal government coercing local officials to bend to their will or face defunding or prosecution and that is illegal or authoritarian. and last i checked, we still live in a democracy under the rule of law and the federal government needs to follow the law. >> local officials have a right to do their jobs without threats or interference from the federal government. >> now let me note that none of these actions targeting century jurisdictions will improve public safety. sanctuary laws improve public safety and that is their purpose. our city sanctuary laws have been in place since 1989. studies have consistently shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes and sanctuary jurisdictions are either seeing no increase in crime or have lower crime rates as a result of sanctuary laws. victims and witnesses of crime are willing to come forward and report crimes to the police .

> resigned over the doj's request to drop the. case into eric adams. did you personally request the justice department to drop that case? >> no, i didn't know nothing about it. that u.s. attorney was actually fired. i don't know if he or she resigned, but that u.s. attorney was fired. >> that's not true. so soon so she resigned. was not fired following a meeting with president trump's border czar. tom homan. mayor adams has agreed to allow ice agents to conduct criminal investigations inside new york's rikers island jail complex. the mayor is insisting he says there is no quid pro quo and that he was unfairly targeted. >> i believe the president was clear and the incoming attorney general was clear. we're going to stop weaponizing our systems against americans. no american should have had to have gone through what i went through. >> joining me now, cnn legal analyst, criminal defense attorney joey jackson. joey, thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> good to be here, jim. >> in all your years as a criminal defense attorney

these are the rank and file heart of doj's political corruption. people standing up and saying, i'll put my career on the line. i won't follow this order. yeah, they could have waited to be fired. um, instead of she couldn't wait to be fired rather than resigning. but this is an extraordinarily courageous effort, and it really shows how outrageous the behavior is. >> well, for people who don't know emil bove, he was trump's attorney on his personal team. he represented him in the manhattan hush money case. he was in there in court questioning. >> kind of late. >> questioning witnesses. correct. yeah. he's a more recent addition to his team. she is alleging in this letter that in that meeting they had that one of her, someone from her office was taking notes. this is the meeting with emil bove eric adams's legal team and her team that he scolded them for taking notes and then took them from them. >> right. she she, she alleges in her in her letter that at the end of it, you know, mr. bove admonished a member of my team who took notes during that mee

you emil bove and the doj have not told me that there's anything wrong with my case. you're not disputing any of the facts. you're saying you want me to get rid of it? i'm not going to do that because it's the wrong thing to do. and that i mean that. and saying the notes getting taken away. >> yeah, it's a it's a it's an amazing letter and it's a letter that actually, in my mind summons back to the first part of being an assistant u.s. attorney is interviewing for the job. and in that interview process, you are asked specific ethical, hypothetical questions about something that the u.s. attorney talked about. the duty of candor, being honest with the court. and she said, i can't go into the court and tell judge ho, excuse me, tell judge ho the things that you would like me to tell him. that would be unethical. it would be inconsistent with my obligations as a prosecutor. and so that is your first test. even before you start work, to pass that test of being an ethical prosecutor who will not lie to the court, and she's going back and invoking that obligation in this le

if doj believe in efficiency and they don't we know that, they should study with the va does not destroy va. they need to talk to the we are here to stand with you every step of the way and i know that all of our colleagues and brothers otand sisters are goin to stand with you. we need to send a loud message not just today but and until we get the job done. we want to get the job done. thank you and i would like to bring up my dear sister to share a few words. >> my name is mj burke on the first executive vice president of the afge national va council, probably representing 280,000 employees we like the mission that has been entrusted to us i believe that va's mission is the greatest of all the federal agencies. the goal of the current administration executive orders without eliminating hello acting b as to turn more va care private sector with the result of diminishing the quality of care that we internally can provide because, if you have three or four va or nurses leave, despite being excluded list, these nurses can go to another job but under current va policies, managers will not be

, or is it really just a trump doj?'s personal lawyers that are coming to make these arguments. >> great. well, she obviously just got in. i'm not sure there's a difference between a pam bondi or trump doj or an ed martin in the us attorney's office. who's the acting us attorney? i will say the lawyers who have been on many of the cases so far, including mine, are career, you know, assistant u.s. attorneys inside the civil division. and these are individuals i've litigated against for years, and they represent as careerists whoever is in power. now. i will say i in fact, i put this out on social media today that anyone within the u.s. attorney's office who is willing to come forward as a whistleblower to reveal illegal or unethical conduct of the acting u.s. attorney. my organization, whistleblower aid, will represent them for free. i mean, there i'm talking emphasized illegal or unethical, right? we're not talking about policy decisions or policy differences, illegal or unethical conduct, because in every administratio

doj to drop these charges. how do you continue to prosecute a case if the prosecutors themselves. >> don't want to do so? yeah, i don't think he has that power to do that based on our constitutional separation of powers doctrine. the prosecutor gets to decide and has discretion to decide whether to bring a case. and so i don't know that he can force them to continue to prosecute this case. but i do think he can ask them some hard questions under oath and require them to do that before he grants them the leave they request. >> you know, katie. >> benner, you you you used to cover this department. you still know everything that really kind of goes on the ins and outs of the doj. what are you hearing from the people who still remain at the doj? there's a lot of emperor has no clothes. there's a lot of you know, we're seeing behind the otherwise kind of closed curtains. that usually happens on what happens internally at the doj. >> yes. i mean. >> i think that. >> this case has really. >> first of all, i've. >> spo

what are you hearing from the people who still remain at the doj? there's a lot of emperor has no clothes. there's a lot of you know, we're seeing behind the otherwise kind of closed curtains. that usually happens on what happens internally at the doj. >> yes. >> i mean, i think that this case. >> has really first of all. >> i've spoken to several. >> people who are still working at the justice department in. >> various. >> capacities. >> whether it's civil. >> rights division. >> criminal national. >> security, different. >> u.s. attorney's offices. and what they're saying is they are trying to decide. >> almost hour by hour now. >> whether. >> or not they really want. >> to stay in, continue to work at the. >> justice department. >> and it kind of breaks down. >> along. >> i would say, two main lines of thought. >> first is this idea that they believe. >> that they know how to. >> uphold the rule of law. >> they want to abide by the constitution, and they want to do a great. >> job for. >> the american public. >> and they're worried that if they l

he's one of 19 state attorneys general to sue over doj's access to government data.e treasury department's databases in response to this lawsuit. lawsuit. attorney general, thank you for joining us. your lawsuit is relatively uncomplicated and fairly straightforward. tell us what it is you are suing to get done. and this this response by by the judge. >> basically people who didn't go through security checks, who weren't trained got access to sensitive, confidential information that they're. able to. potentially share it, have it risked being. disclosed to who knows whom. and that's something the american people are deeply concerned about. we got more calls in our office about this issue than any other issue. in six years of my time as attorney general. the american people deserve systems that work that protect their privacy. and as you've been talking about, our constitutional system of government means the executive branch has to faithfully execute the laws, not rewrite them, not undermine programs in whimsy ways. and what now? what we're seeing right now is a real

the reasons that doj offers for this are preposterous. first, they just say, well, the whole case was political. they offer zero support for that. and then they say, well, you can't charge eric adams because he's busy being the mayor of new york city. take that logic. i mean, that would apply to ban any indictment of any public official from president to dogcatcher, ever. so this is a major problem. i think it's an injustice, obviously, with respect to eric adams. but i also think it forebodes worse things to come. >> yeah, it was really surprising. elie honig appreciate you joining us. thanks. >> thanks, marci. >> republicans appear to be in lockstep with donald trump as he moves to overhaul the federal government. we had house speaker mike johnson pointing to the super bowl as a measure of just how popular the president is. listen to this. >> as you saw when when they put his image up on the jumbotron, the place went crazy. there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about president trump and about, i would say, the house republicans i