. >>> this week, republican new york congressman elise stefanik is once again declaring victory afterourt paused a guy order barring trump and his legal team from attacking the judge and staff. you will require desperate recall she filed, claiming bias, friday she tweeted in part, the site doesn't end here, and antiquated the lifted gag order to fighting for all americans first amendment rights. nevermind that trump so-called free speech has led to hundreds of serious and credible threats against the people he's been targeting, and i think giving post he once again bashed da will willis and others, robert garcia serves on the house oversight committee. so much to get to but this weaponization of the first amendment. the way that stefanik would like people to understand the first amendment, the way donald trump would like people to understand the first amendment, it seems like the bases they are forming for his reelection? >> 100%. look, i think , will do whatever it takes to get picked and his vice presidential running mate and so she's going to spend all of her time defending donald

as andrew mentioned in the earlier block elise stefanik filed an ethics complaint against the judge, him of weaponized -- and on the front lines covering this trial for us here, andrew is with us. let's deal we lease stefanik because andrew teed this up in our last conversation. is there any merit to the allegation. she's been there to carry trump's water in a congressional sense, is this the same? >> yes and no. elise stefanik's letter begins with partial and selected quotations from hearing that read in entirety are not evocative of bias. for example, the quote about her saying that judge engoron characterized trump as just a bad guy that was him responding to allegations that trump was being selectively prosecuted saying repeatedly he doesn't fit into a protective class and that the attorney general is within her rights to make the decision that he is just a bad guy who needs to be prosecuted for his crimes. that's just one example of the selective quotation. the campaign contribution allegations, nicole, are of a different variety. and they may turn out to be true, and a violation

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your thoughts, michael. >> well, elise stefanik is just flat out wrong here. i mean, she has no grounds to do this. she has no basis. she can't -- where was this judge and she, where do they cross? what is she talking about? she's not in the case. i bet she couldn't cite anything from the case right now. so this is all again performative. it's the level of performative bs to cloud the system. to grind it to a halt. to make people suspect of it. to make people distrust it. to make people think something nefarious is going on. this judge has been sitting and serving for how long? suddenly now, because elise stefanik has her nose out of joint because donald trump is getting his behind handed to him the way it should for his behavior, she's defending donald trump's behavior, right? by going after the judge. so we have to understand what's going on here and keep it in the context in front of us. that this is performative, it is largely irrelevant to the course that this trial is going to take. there are good lawyers involved here. there are good prosecutors involve

yeah, there were a couple of snarky comments here or there, but what elise stefanik is doing is trying the maga movement. she's trying so hard to be like them, her sick fancy is embarrassing. >> we've heard over and over again it's the weaponization of the doj, he made that comment again yesterday in an interview with univision, and he basically signaled he would turn it around and indict his own opponents should he win back the white house in 2024. watch this. >> they've done indictments in order to win an election. they call it weaponization, and the people aren't going to stand for it. but yeah, they have done something that allows the next party, i mean, if somebody -- if i happen to be president and i see somebody who's doing well and beating me very badly, i say go down and indict them, mostly that would be, you know, they would be out of business. they'd be out. they'd be out of the election. >> we should note there's no evidence backing up trump's claim that biden has weaponized the doj, but vaughn, we have seen the reporting that trump is planning to punish his opponents, his

. >> i want to ask you about elise stefanik.he's trying to take credit for this, we could have presumed she would take credit for any action. doesn't actually have anything to do with her efforts. >> it doesn't have anything to do with her efforts. elise stefanik has a complaint with new york's commission on judicial ethics. to the extent that the same people were involved in drafting this, maybe they should take a victory lap. but, this is an effort that went at the same problem three ways. they moved for a mistrial, complained to the commission, and filed this new lawsuit against judge engoron. that would have moved too slowly for donald trump's liking and most critically would have come after the expected december or so verdict in the civil fraud trial he knows will likely be the end of the trump empire in new york. >> back to the argument you made about the question you posed about why speaker johnson would release the footage from 1/6 and it connects to elise stefanik. it is all about serving donald trump and his political

. >> among the preludes to this motion for mistrial where the ethics complaint filed by elise stefanikich you have done great analysis on, and i have to admit, i sort of thought he was going to let elise stefanik carry his water on this one. the fact that they turned it into a one-two punch seems tell . >> it does. i don't know if it's a one-two punch. elise stefanik is behind a recent complaint to the justice department asking them to investigate on perjury grounds, the person who was supposed to be the star witness, michael cohen, who i will submit to you was a better witness than many think, and yet not nearly as central as anyone is saying. but, you know, this is part of their strategy. let's discredit the judge, the principle law clerk, a witness and threaten him with criminal prosecution, and then when it doesn't happen, we'll point the finger at attorney general garland, damien williams of the southern district and say they are in biden's corner trying to weaponize election interference claims for their own benefit. >> glenn, in your experience, what impact could this have on fu

what i have perceived among republicans even sort of former normy republicans like elise stefanik and others their tactic in dealing with a fascist onslaught is get on the iltral, get onboard. mike johnson who is a christian nationalist, full stop, but now he's also down with the fascism. they're all kissing the ring. they all fall to their knees. kevin mccarthy did it, mitch mcconnell did it. mitchmic kaunl said do whatever you want, just give me the court. is there yet inside the republican party any hint of a willingness to fight this anywhere? >> it is in quiet corners, and that's part of my frustration and the frustration of a number of us who are trying to elevate the conversation inside the house because the call is coming from inside the house, right? the horror that you're afraid of is there behind you in the closet down the hall, and it's no longer in the closet. it's actually kind of roaming the halls and taking out members as they find them in various chambers and organizations and so forth. so the reality remains for the party is what does this become? you have still, joy

♪ maria: this week on "mornings with maria", tomorrow house republican conference chairwoman elise stefanikyears. thursday and intelligence report warning terrorist could be targeting the empire state. nicole malliotakis is here. friday the all-star pedal breaking of the top stories you will hear about all day long. all right here on "mornings with maria" the first time you connected your godaddy website and your store was also the first time you realized... well, we can do anything. cheesecake cookies? the chookie! manage all your sales from one place with a partner that always puts you first. (we did it) start today at godaddy.com the chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam, who make- everyday products, designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder, that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that- i need a breakthrough card. like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more. plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases. and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas- a brilliant reality! the ink busi

. >> first, i want to commend congresswoman elise stefanik.ed an ethics complaint against this judge today. because he is blatantly biased and he has horrific judicial temperament. and it's very clear that between this democrat attorney general tish james and this democrat judge engoron, they are railroading president trump in new york and they are going to try to bankrupt him and destroy his business and this is part of the democrats' lawfare and election interference. >> laura: sol, you called the proceeding clownish. explain that for us. >> well, the proceeding is clownish because the judge is a clown. he is obviously biased. look, laura i want your viewers to understand. this this is the absolute truth. this case never would have even been brought against anybody other than donald trump. you have no victim. you have no loss. the loans were repaid. the banks never complained about any of this. it is an example -- what they are doing to trump is what they accuse trump for four years of wanting to do. they are doing totally political prosecut

my concern and my fear, as your last segment when, two is the elise stefanik and other political actorsir political or leadership and their leverage on capitol hill to -- destroy the constitution. that's the danger of this moment going into the next year. >> reporter: people who actually have power are not afraid to use it at his behest. jill wine-banks, david jolly, thank you so much. coming, up we have more on the hostage deal that almost wasn't, including more details on the former hostages that are now on their way back to their families. and elon musk false suit against media matters for reporting on him. media matters president angela carson is with us. stay with us. stay with us >> reporter: we are following breaking news in the israel-hamas war. after an hour's whole delay, the second release of hostages in gaza went ahead as planned. 13 israeli hostages and for thai nationals were freed in exchange for 39 palestinian prisoners. no americans were released today. the idf released this video of the hostages crossing into israel. you see it right there. hamas delayed the exchange e

today house republicans did a press conference and elise stefanik some of the jewish students colleges felt unsafe. and with this temperature, i mean, i'm sure things are only going to get worse. that's why you have people on both sides of the political spectrum speaking out. >> bret: josh, i mentioned the senate majority leader, the house minority leader, the house speaker, senator ernst representing mitch mcconnell. that was impressive. the administration, the president and the vice president, i know it's a quick thing and apec summit is happening, but is that a missed opportunity? >> i think it's a huge missed opportunity. and quite honestly i can't figure it out other than the most cynical possible scenario where they have concern. i think if you talk to democrats they actually do have a deep concern about how big the constituency is within a progressive left and they turn out in 2024 or may not. michigan, for example, you even talk about a couple hundred thousand islamic votes that they are banking on to carry the state of michigan that they are worried about because of the presid

. >> he's also got a team because one of his most embarrassing sycophant sycophants, elise stefanik, is taking credit. last question to you, on this, charles coleman jr., does it now seem perhaps ill advised that jack smith not have charged him with insurrection, donald trump? let's say eventually he was convicted of insurrection, under the insurrection act, it would make a clearer case for colorado and other states to take him off the ballot. >> you, you're right, it would, but i don't know i would go as far as to say it was ill advised. as you consider that, you also to have consider the alternative. let's say he was charged and acquitted. then that easily makes him have a much stronger case against these 14th amendment challenges that quite frankly from the very outset i was skeptical of and didn't think they were going to go far. but that's the risk that you would have been taking if you are jack smith, which is why as a prosecutor you really have to stick to what it is you believe you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. >> charles coleman jr. and hugo lowell, thank you both ver

we haven't heard much from steve scalise, elise stefanik.n in his own way is trying to push santos out the door without pushing him out the door, telling him privately in conversations santos should consider it might be easier for lawmakers, for him to resign, rather than put lawmakers through the task of expelling someone from congress. i don't think he's going to last. every democrat is going to vote to expel him. he's going to need 80 republicans. most counts have him at 80 republicans looking to get rid of him. i think his days are numbered. >> reporter: does he have any allies? >> he has allies that are against booting somebody without being convicted. and that is -- there's a legitimate argument to be made there. expulsion is a rare thing done in the house of representatives. but the ethic committee polices members of congress, and they came to a stunning and detailed conclusion about his conduct, and if you're going to say the ethics committee has jurisdiction over members of congress when they come up with something like this, and th

as you know, congressman elise stefanik has a pending complaint with the new york judicial ethic.re isn't a lot of proof that the conversations between the judge and his law clerk are, in fact, emblematic of bias. as barb knows well, just because you lose repeatedly in front of a judge doesn't mean that judge is biased. it might mean that you actually committed the conduct of which you've been accused and might be held liable in the future. >> yeah. okay. let's go back. read what attorney general james her response once again donald trump is trying to dismiss the truth and facts. donald trump is being held accountable for the incredible ways he lied to enrich himself and fact. that's attorney general james response. let me zigzag right back to georgia just for a second, barb. the georgia election workers who have been victimized in this case are now seeking -- ruby freeman, the aforementioned ruby freeman and shea moss her daughter, seeking 15 million and $40 million from rudy giuliani in a defamation suit slated to begin next month in washington, d.c. the fact that he's been liab

republic congressman elise stefanik is behind her.umber three ranking member in the house gop leadership. on the senate side you've got lindsey graham, john barrasso behind her. of course donald trump a big supporter of hers. how strong a candidate do you think she'll be? >> well, i think this is going to be a hard act for kari lake to pull off. she has spent years bashing so-called mccain republicans in her own state, disqualifying them, calling them all sorts of names, and now kari lake after losing the last election for governor wants to reach out to mitch mcconnell's leadership team and wants to mend fences with traditional or centrist republicans, whatever we want to call them these days. so i think her record is clear, and i think she is a weak candidate because she is now going to try to become someone who she isn't. she is now going to try to reach out to people who she has disqualified and diminished over many years, so that stays complicated. you have -- probably an independent, a democratic candidate as well, but if those t

my concern and my fear, as your last segment when, two is the elise stefanik and other political actorsready to use their political or leadership and their leverage on capitol hill to -- destroy the constitution. that's the danger of this moment going into the next year. >> reporter: people who actually have power are not afraid to use it at his behest. jill wine-banks, david jolly, thank you so much. coming, up we have more on the hostage deal that almost wasn't, including more details on the former hostages that are now on their way back to their families. and elon musk false suit against media matters for reporting on him. media matters president angela carson is with us. stay with us. can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms? like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. ♪ when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist

you'll also remember that they have a pending mistrial motion about some of the same subjects and elise stefanikes. there is a trifur kated strategy to get relief in any way they can, but now the former president is at least temporarily free from this gag order. >> why would that temporarily be lifted? the reason the gag order on is he was worried he would engage his clerk, his staffers. >> judge engoron is beyond his jurisdiction in issuing these gag orders, until a full appellate court can hear this petition, they have convinced a judge on the first department, that's the appeals court that oversees judge court that oversees judge erg gron. >> why wouldn't he have authority to put a gag order on a case he's overseeing? >> not really sure. saying the way the gag order was issued and not subject matter specific. for example, but pertains to all things concerning the staff, limited them from these motions and making a record. because of that it violates new york law and -- >> that argument in the last days of court last week, i believe. >> that's right. >> where the trump lawyers were saying we w

ik >> first, i want to commend congresswoman elise stefanik.. .he filed an ethics complaint against this judge today. he is blatantly biased and he has horrific judicialr temperament. and it's verthaty clear thatsh s between this democrat attorney general, tish james ans ded democrat judge and garon, they are railroading president trum tgoing top in ne, and they're going to try to bankrupt him and destro ynce. his business. >> and this is part of the democrats lawfare and election interference . eeding >> now, so you callish. the proceeding clownish. explain that for us. >> well, the proceeding is clownish because the judge is a clown . he's obviously biased. look, laura, i want i wantndersn your viewers to understand this . this is the absolute truth. this case never would have even been brought against anybody othenybodyr donald trump. >> you have no victim.o loss you have no loss. the loans were repaid.s ne the banks never complained about any of this. it is an examples an bill. what they are doing to trump is in is what they for trump for four

. >> congressman out, elise stefanik, congressman, as you know and i want to ask all three of you, in light of what we've been talking about, in light of wha we t director said and i think it's really, really important that we we go to what also was said, secretary mayorkas, yesterday. he thisasked a very simple question was asked by senator johnsod byn of wisconsin about w many people have come into this country illegally. >> watch thie has. >> just my let me see. >> i need numbers again. don't feel about me. how many people has this administration let into the country. let me say at the outsetstratiob that our job would be a lot easier if the broken immigration systemt easi in thi sector. >> i want a number. numb you letuntry?vent a into this country? i should also. how? okay, i'll abe yo give you the number. >> it's about 6 million. about 1.7 million. as no one got is now again, wen don't know who these are. we ju we just know that they've comesd to country and they're residing somewhere. king >> we ask you too much. you're the secretarysecuri of homeland security. the director of