. >>> i'm joining by elliott williams. so we were talking off air about this. it could be hard to keep track of all of the investigations touching the former president. we have possible charges in new york and georgia and justice department investigations into the events of january 6. okay. so i think all of it. so how does today's hearing factor into all of that. >> it is a lot. and people will be foregiven for getting lost. but how did we end up with the january 6 committee if the first place. there was fighting in congress but congress passed a law calling for a select committee to investigate and report what happened in january 6. now that -- these are the hearing that we've seen. behind the scenes have been meeting with witnesses and researchers and so on. so now report what is going on here a. the end of the process put out a big report. what is that going to look like? i think the clearest parallel going back for those of us old enough to remember, the 9/11 commission report which laid out number one in quite good detail what happened that led to the eve

and so here to discuss this and more is former federal prosecutor elliott williams. elliott, do you think the doj would be asking this if they didn't know for sure he had documents in his possession? >> that's exactly right, ana. it does a few things asking him. it puts the former president and his team on notice they are still investigating. number two, it speaks to intent if they go to charging an offense here they can say that we put the defendant at that point on notice the crime was still ongoing and we believe he hadn't complied and number three it allows to you bring him into court at some point, make a motion to the court to have him say on the record under oath or file a document under oath that says they did or didn't return all of the documents. so it's actually kind of strategic on the part of the justice department to be asking these questions because it can help them down the road. >> could we be looking at another search soon? >> you could. if they believe there is still evidence of a crime there and they can establish to a judge they believe there's st

. >>> cnn legal analyst elliott williams weighed in on the latest development in the documents dispute>> when dealing with information that is this secure, at least as we believe to be this secure, the mere risk of disclosure is itself significantly sort of -- that's the harm, the thought that it might get into someone's hands. and so it's not an unfair question or an unfair point from the justice department to be suspicious of it getting into anyone's hands. judge dearie with his background having been around classified documents before is in as good a position as anyone to review the materials. i agree with the justice department, these are sensitive materials and you ought to very closely and very carefully manage who has access to them. >> we're now learning the secret service has given the january 6th house committee nearly 1.5 million communications from the leadup to the capitol riot in the last two weeks. that includes emails, documents and does not include text messages lost in the data migration. they're set to hold the next public hearing on thursday. >>> these are the eleme

. >> let's bring in our panel, we have elliott williams, olivia troye, and david urban with us, tonight. elliott, i just start with you. legally, what has changed now that we've seen all this? >> now that a lot has changed, legally, to paraphrase taylor swift here, we are never ever, ever, seeing the testimony of donald trump before the january six committee. it was a powerful statement, it is congress saying that they will issue a subpoena to affirm a former president of the united states, but will not get him to show up. number one, the clock, they don't have enough time. >> what is the recourse? how can they enforce the subpoena? >> number one, they can sue him, we can file contempt resolutions and vote on it, and send it to the justice department. the justice department can charge him with contempt of congress, now the question is, that is going to be a legal fight. whether you like donald, trump or not, he is going to challenge it. he has a right to challenge it. he's actually got a basis for it he's the former president of the united states. >> the democracy of the united states,

joining me with more is former federal prosecutor elliott williams. lots to get to.rsday. it's sealed, which tells us that we don't know very much. but what do you glean from the details we know? >> the mere fact that it's happening in washington d.c. is significant. we know there was one grand jury subpoena issued out of the federal court in washington d.c., so perhaps it's related to that. whether that's individuals' compliance with the grand jury or a demand for more information or negotiating over documents that the trump team could provide. but necessarily we just don't know. both because the hearing itself was sealed and the subject matter, like i said grand jury proceedings, which are always secret is also sealed. >> what side has the incentive to have this happen in washington? >> the justice department has an incentive for it to happen in washington. there are a few different federal investigations, at least as far as we know happening, mar-a-lago in florida, federal investigation into document retention. but also maybe a case for obstruction of justice here

you guys, he makes the argument and talks about this, the idea of elliott williams here and a former obama white house senior director. cnn legal analyst here. i'm so excited to talk and hear your opinions. what do you make of this discussion? i mean the whole, look, i know i'm not a politician but that's a good thing. is it persuasive? >> he's trying to tie warnock to biden and yes, biden's overall numbers in georgia are polling they don't think the country is headed in a good direction but two-thirds of georgians will say they would encourage friends and family move to georgia. they think things in georgia itself is great. we're seeing a split ticket. 10% of republican voters for ke kemp for governor really like warnock. it almost as if they neutralized the issue on the surface and maybe now if you're able to look at the issues. >> when you think about race issues in georgia and the conversations up until now is law enforcement in part and that was one of the ways they tried to get at herschel walker and also raphael warnock. listen to the exchange. you hear what they had to talk a

i want to bring in elliott williams, cnn legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. what does it take to pierce a privilege like this whether it be executive or attorney/client privilege? what would it take for a federal judge to rule they have to testify? >> you are right with that question, john. any former president is going to be entitled to some measure of protection for conversations that happen in the white house with attorneys either via the attorney/client privilege or executive privilege. now, look, as this has come up over the years going back to richard nixon, it's very hard for a white house to overcome the criminal process. and if criminal investigators are looking into something and believe there might be evidence of a crime somewhere, they can pierce those privileges and that may happen here. >> evidence of a possible crime. what then do you think it is that the justice department, that investigators want to get at? what door could be opened with the testimony of philbin and cipollone? >> now, look, if it's related to january 6th, my assumption is tha

. >>> joining plea now to discuss, elliott williams, at the department of justice, so when we look at what is at stake here and what the court will be considering, you noted that both sides are using brown versus board of ed in their arguments. that is a case that people remember. they know what that means. and yet both sides are using it. how? >> well people think they know what it means. brown versus the board of ed, that set in motion the desegregation of schools in the 1950s. one side is saying that brown versus board of education was about equalizing thing for black people because of how schools were de segregated. the other side is saying, that is not the case. brown versus board of education envisioned a race blind society in which we don't even talk or think about race. so they're both using this iconic supreme court case to sort of make their case on this very momentous day. >> any sense of how this is going to play out? >> yeah. it is really interesting, the supreme court in 1979, 2003 and 2013 and 2016 had every opportunity to overturn the use of race in college admissions

elliott williams, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> this morning bob menendez is facing a new federalat this point just what the justice department is looking into here. an adviser to menendez did confirm the lawmaker is also unaware of the scope of the investigation. after after the federal corruption trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. they alleged that he had accepted more than $600,000 in political contributions and bribes in exchange for political favors. >>> still to come, we are live in arizona where candidate for governor katie hbos said her campaign headquarters with burglarized. who they are blaming, next. but . with upwork the hiring process is fast and flexible. behold... all that talent! ♪ this is how we work now ♪ red loved visiting grandma's house. and after saving big at amazon, shwas ready for those... uninvited guests. [growling] shop legenry deals at amazon. when you see things differently, you can be the difference. -how are you? -good. capella university sees education differently. our flexpath learning format lets you set deadlines and earn your

. >> elliott williams, thank you for making us all smarter. we appreciate it. >> thanks, poppy. >>> next hour, president biden leaves for florida to get a first-hand look at hurricane ian's destruction. cnn is on the ground with updates, power outages, school closings and the long road ahead to rebuild. >>> also, ukrainian troops set fire to a russian flag as they continue to make advances in the south. even russia is admitting things are not going to plan. we'll take you live to kyiv. >>> and later, elon musk revives his bid to buy twitter. now he's tweeting about what he might want to do with the platform. new science shows it gets in between teeth to destroy 5x more plaque above the gumline than floss. for a cleaner, healthier mouth. listerine. feel the whoa! wait. you're a night manager and mom and birthday cake baker? so adding “and” student might feel daunting. national university is here to support alyour “ands.” national university. supporting the whole you. welcome to allstate where anyone who bundles their home and auto insurance sav

. >> yeah, elliott williams nancy gertner, daniel goldman, thank you so much. coming up next with a another wave missiles hitting ukraine today. putin's nuclear threats on the table. jake tapper, asked president biden if he thinks putin is a rational actor? the answer, a live report from ukraine, and former defense secretary cohen coming up. also, even as big name republicans rushed to his side, herschel walker faces some breaking new reporting tonight. quoting from the lead in the washington post that he quote, had to repeatedly press the former football star, now republican senate nominee in georgia, that the woman who is alleging that he had paid for an abortion that he -- she had to press herschel walker to pay for funds for a 2009 abortion that she said he wanted her to have. one of the reporters of the story joins us next. el parking yourself? ♪ alexa ask smartfeed to feed the dog. does it get better than feeding your dog from 50 miles away? yes... it does. at buick we see a future that's even better. because the life enhancing innovations you've never ev

i want to bring in now cnn's justice correspondent jessica snider, -- elliott williams, and former special assistant prosecutor john sale. hello. where do we begin. how about with jessica for the reporting. jessica, listen, the justice department has until 5 pm next tuesday to respond to this request i'm talk about this from team trump. what happens now, jessica? >> well, it means doj lawyers though will be working through this upcoming holiday weekend to come up with the response to this emergency petition from trump's legal team. you know, it is an emergency petition but there is a question of the urgent nature of all this, given the fact that trump's team did not even file this until today, which is about two weeks after the 11th circuit ruled. and now justice clarence thomas, which does oversee petitions coming in from the 11th circuit, he's giving doj one week to respond. and it does again go to show that this is not a particularly pressing claim that trump's team is making. nevertheless, after the doj responses in the supreme court as a whole, beyond just justice thomas, they could d

. >>> joining me to discuss, elliot williams, former deputy assistant attorney general for the justice department, cnn senior political analyst kirstin power. elliott, the latest news we covered, a former trump employee said he had been advised and ordered by the former president to move a box after the subpoena was already served. how damaging can this be. >> three words, obstruction of justice. >> that's part of the investigation. >> part of the investigation. i've been on with you a thousand times. usually pretty cautious about these things. this is pretty clear evidence of obstruction of justice. if an individual is aware of an investigation and conceals or hides or tampers or destroys evidence as a means of getting around that, that's obstruction of justice, both for the person who directed them to do it and the person who did it. my guess is this employee maybe is cutting a deal to not be charged themself with obstruction. it's pretty solid evidence assuming it's true. >> what do you make of the fact that he initially denied this until he was reminded that he was actually caught -- there's surveillance video showing him doing just that? >> it