i think that anybody who thinks that fani willis is not playing around with this grand jury. does not understand funny willis, does not understand the tradition of the fulton county district attorney's office. and does not understand faulty county. >> that is well said, obviously the subpoenas are, as you said, a very funny quote. nobody wants to talk time to a prosecutor, that's why we get the power of the state to compel. it you have lindsey graham saying this, asha. fulton county is engaged in a fishing expedition. and working in concert with the january 6th committee in washington. and the information from an interview or deposition with senator graham would immediately be shared with the january 6th committee. does he have legal grounds to object to this? >> well, chris, i'm really not sure what his legal theory is in resisting that subpoena. i will say something with regard to the relationship between a potential georgia prosecution, and the doj. it's that georgia is a separate sovereign. attorney willis is right when she says, what does she have to gain from this? i thi

when blaine alexander asked fani willis today, why lindsey graham? district attorney willis said this. >> i'm not going to get into the details of the investigation, but this is what i will tell you. election interference is a very important subject. we have been granted a special purpose grand jury by the judges here, i think it is an important investigation. what is important is that the grand jurors hear from anyone that may have impacted this election. >> anyone that may have impacted this election. that's why lindsey graham has been subpoenaed. his criminal defense lawyers issued a written statement today saying, in my conversations with fulton county investigators i have been informed that senator graham is no longer a subject or target of the investigation, simply a witness. this is all politics, fulton county is engaged in a fishing expedition and in concert with the january 6th investigation in washington. any interview would be immediately shared with the january 6th committee, as chairman of the judiciary committee was well within his right

>> they should not mess with fani willis.illis is like the merrick garland from the globe boy, federal society ivy league school network. fani willis was a greater from howard university, went to work as a prosecutor for 17 years, and we -- she knows every in and out of the justice system. there she will hold him accountable. the idea of some ponying donald trump is a little weird as a lawyer to say that you would subpoena the target of a investigation. i think she should, say we are -- she's freaking out trump already. he's yelling out a few minutes -- there was a phone call with georgia. this is the guy with who's on the phone with the secretary of state, saying i want my hundreds of thousands of votes, just -- and bingo! there's crimes here. donald trump has committed crimes, federally, there's no doubt in my mind, but statewide, i think it's a cleaner case. i hope fani willis forgets subpoenaing donald trump. getting a report, and then charge donald trump and we could be a defendant in the trial. that's what i would like

fa fani willis' office is investigating the fake electors. it just applies to jones. while she can continue to collect evidence and ask questions about him with other witnesses, she cannot bring a case against jones. she cannot continue to call him a target of the investigation. and the report by the special grand jury cannot include him in it. you know, whatever evidence she amasses, if there's something that they think could be worthy of prosecution, that will go to another prosecutor to make that charging decision. for jones, he is now free from this investigation under fani willis, but her investigation into the other electors can continue and into the broader issues of the activities of the former president. >> again, we're talking fani willis, the d.a. in fulton county, and her investigation, nonetheless, is still charging forward. today, one of the targets of trump's pressure campaign, georgia governor brian kemp, is taping a sworn statement for the special grand jury there. what can you tell us about this key testimony? >> yes, he is one of the most high profi

fani willis is an elected democratic official as the da in fulton county.emocratic nominee running for lieutenant governor. she also has notified the republican nominee for lieutenant governor, state senator bert jones that he is a target to this investigation. he is very close to donald trump and works to serve as a fake elector here in the state. so she has held a fundraiser for the opponent of somebody who is a target of her investigation. the judge said it may not technically be illegal, but it was sort of a what you were you thinking moment. he said that to her in open court. we were there. we have noted that that was really a public display of chastising the district attorney. her camp has said that was a fundraiser for the primary election not the election against bert jones but a lot of people here in the state agreeing with the judge, what were you thinking? this is a high profile investigation. she is an elected democratic official and said she's doing these two things separately. i don't expect her to hold another fundraiser for charlie bailey in

so what's fani willis today did obviously has significant legal implications, but it also has enormous we have two high-profile state races, and this is a bombshell that has been dropped in the georgia election by far -- by fani willis. >> what do we know, michael, about the witnesses who may have spoken to the special grand jury so far? >> there has been a lot of witnesses. special grand journey was convened on june 1st and they've been hearing witnesses that started out with brad raffensperger, the secretary of state. we got that phone call from donald trump that had been state senators, state officials from the -- from georgia secretary of state's office, and the attorney generals office, in georgia, and the governor's office in georgia. they've all been up before the grand jury, including, as we reported today, and independent journalist george cheney who actually found the room where the fake electors were meeting, tried to barge in, attended, observe it was going on, and got kicked out. escorted out of the room. that is a sign of the secrecy with which these electors were meeting

he was among seven trump allies subpoenaed yesterday by that same district attorney, fani willis. ght think that because senator graham's supposed interest in the election integrity, he would be very interested in cooperating with the district attorney willis's investigation. into the efforts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia. but today, senator graham and his lawyer said that he will not comply. they he said that the investigations is a fishing expedition -- and then senator graham plans to go to court and challenge the subpoena. today, my colleague got an exclusive interview with the fulton county district attorney fani willis, and got her response to what she will do about witnesses who defy subpoenas, and specifically about senator lindsey graham. >> if you are met with resistance, how will you respond to that? if you're met with resistance to people who say they do not want to come testify? >> nobody wants to come to the prosecutors party, that's part of the work that we do. we will take it before a judge, and he will make a ruling if we have a legal right to bring him

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it is also in the crosshairs of fulton county georgia district attorney fani willis, who is conducting a wide-ranging invectives haitian of attempts by trump and his allies to meddle and today brought a huge development in that investigation. yahoo news was forced to report that da fani willis has sent what are called, quote, target letters to prominent georgia republicans, informing them that they, in fact, could be indicted for their roles in that fake electors scheme. the recipients of the target letters include to fake electors -- david schaffer, the chair of the georgia republican party who led the fake electors meeting -- and state senator worked jones, who coincidentally is currently brian kemp's running mate for lieutenant governor. also receiving a target letter is a republican state senator by the name of brendan breach beach, who the atlanta journal-constitution reports was a key intermediary between the trump campaign in those fake electors. remember that email from the trump campaign instructing this fake electors to keep the meeting secret, that email said they should pre

michael isikoff reports for yahoo news, quote, fulton county georgia district attorney fani willis has sent so-called target letters to so-called to prominent georgia republicans, informing them they could be indicted for their role in a scheme to appoint alternate electors pledged to the former president despite joe biden's victory in the state, according to legal sources familiar with the matter. isikoff is reporting that a number of people on the receiving end of those target letters are prominent georgia republicans, including state senator robert jones, governor brian kemp's running mate for lieutenant governor. david schaffer, the chairman of the georgia republican party and state senator brandon beach. both jones and schaffer reportedly participated in the fake electors scheme that trump and his allies cooked up as a way to float the results of the election. the washington post previously obtained an email that was sent out by the trump campaign to the fake trump electors. the email said, quote, i must ask for your complete discretion in this process. your duties our imperative

district attorney fani willis said she is investigating the possibility of conspiracy charges, which, by definition, means multiple defendants. the breaking news from georgia tonight came after another day of revelations of shocking unprofessionalism by the secret service that, now, could involve criminal conduct. the secret service has never been suspected of breaking the law before. so you would think that, after what is now almost a week of damning revelations about the secret service, the director of the secret service, james murray, would have, by now, publicly stepped up to a microphone to assure the white house and the congress, and the country, that's the secret service will get rid of anyone in their ranks who has not fully complied with the law. instead, while the director of the secret service remains absolutely silent and hidden, we now know the secret service has gotten rid of all of its text messages from the most important day in the history of the secret service since november 22nd, 1963. that was the day that we lost to the president of the united states, john f. kenn

tell us more about this. >> yeah, so fani willis is an elected official, so back during the primary,es in the democratic primary and held a fund-raiser for the guy who is now the lieutenant governor candidate in his republican opponent is a stop the steal republican, a state senator who is now the target of that special grand jury investigation, so the judge did say, you know, i'm not saying it's against the rules but it sure looks bad. i think fani willis might say if i know now where i would be with this investigation, maybe i shouldn't have done that fund-raiser then. but it doesn't look like the judge is going to remove her from the case as mr. jones, the candidate, would like. >> all right, great job, everyone. have a great weekend. thanks so much. >>> from banning books to out lawing abortion, pulling back the curtsen on who is really in charge in texas. cnn is following the money next. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. whenen uc held me back... i got lasting, steroidid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand.

i thought that is interesting, just because obviously fani willis is a more easier political target ine for people that want to defend trump, and perhaps the department of justice might be as these investigations go forward? >> look, being a local prosecutor is just a different thing then being a u.s. attorney or working out of the justice department in washington. you know, at times, a lot of local prosecutors are elected and, you know, folks of the justice department are appointed or their career prosecutors. so, it's just, there are different sort of. you know, issues that local prosecutors have to come into because they are more receptive to their local community. a judge down in atlanta had criticized her for doing so many interviews on television about this investigation. there are less restrictions on local prosecutors about how much they can talk and go on about this stuff. it just sets up a different thing. it just shows their investigation looks really like it's moving ahead. there's also a lot of news but it's kicking up. >> all right, michael schmidt, new york times, thank

fani willis is investigating things that the 1/6 committee is looking. .ed before a special grand jury. what does merrick garland have to wait for congress to proceed with a criminal probe? >> i'm not saying it's necessary appropriate. i can see arguments on both sides. i can see a difference between a coordinate branch of government, the executive branch where merrick garland works deferring to the legislative branch of government. they have so many different issues versus a state or district attorney who doesn't quite have that. it also is possible that garland is doing stuff in the shadows and we haven't heard about it. i would caution too much of a comparison, this shouldn't be a race. this should be everyone trying to get the right answer, do it carefully and methodically and the like and it seems like that's going in georgia right now. >> you know, i think jeremy bash, that the spirit of the questions and what is so amazing about blayne's interview with district attorney fani willis is her last answer to us. this isn't about being savvy to the way do

when senator lindsey graham received his subpoena from the grand jury that district attorney fani willis has conveyed in fulton county district, and the grand jury, want to hear about lindsey graham's phone calls to georgia secretary of state, brad raffensperger, and his staff, quote, about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in georgia, in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former president donald trump. that is language directly from the subpoena to lindsey graham. that is one of the things, just one of the things, lindsey graham subpoena says, he will be forced to testify about under oath. now we have had a couple of senators in our history convicted of crimes. but there is no record of them actually being forced to testify to grand rapids before they are convicted. we keep checking with the senate historian on this, but lindsey graham is on a very short list that just might include only his name is as united states senators served with a subpoena by a criminal grand jury. and so lindsey graham is trying to fall asleep tonight, while managing even m

i think what you will see next is written documentation from the da team, fani willis's team, arguing that he is not protected by the speech and debate clause for various reasons. some of those reasons include a supreme court case, right on point, indicating that where there are third-party crimes that are being investigated by a grand jury. the protections do not apply, especially when the testimony would not be about the legislative act. she could also assert that it is the rules committee. and the senate that looks at elections, and while the judiciary committee has looked at things in terms of protecting voting rights, and having hearings on protected voting rights. the substance of the conversation, at least at his has been described by mr. raffensperger, the substance of the conversation went to looking for ways to throw out votes. and again, the fact that there is a discrepancy -- or differences of opinion on how that conversation went, that would be a third reason. that the da could assert in terms of the grand jury just having questions that they want answered. and be able to

so fani willis, the district attorney, had a campaign fund-raiser and had donated money to his rival,itical opponent, in that race. the judge saying this is untenable conflict, saying she cannot question him, that she cannot include him in whatever report the special grand jury produces. but he said that she can continue to ask questions about him and any of that material can be turned over to an independent prosecutor and different district attorney to look into that issue. otherwise, this investigation will continue. >> i was just going to say, what does this ultimately mean for the broader investigation into trump going forward? >> as of now, it is limited only to jones. some of these other, there are 11 fake electors that also tried to get the judge to rule in their favor. he denied that. they're expected to appear before the grand jury this week. and meanwhile, today, the georgia governor, brian kemp, is taping a testimony for the special grand jury that will be shown to them at some point in the future. he's not appearing live because he's the governor of the state and the prose

fani willis' investigation of election officials have been broad reaching.nd seven key trump allies who have received subpoenas including the republican senator in south carolina lindsey graham and the attorney for trump, rudy giuliani, it remains to see how how this for willis will affect her case. brianna. >> going back, michael smerconish, on this piece here, what do you think about what she did? are you as surprised as the judge was, this is a what are you thinking moment? >> no, i think the judge is of absolutely correct. big picture, fani willis has argumentably the most comprehensive investigation going on under way. the leaning of brad raffensperger and the slating of these phony electors. i'd say she's farther along because as the report suggested she's issued target letters. you don't get to the point of issuing a target letterful you get focus on your probe. what did she do? she got involved in a fund-raiser in primary season saying that was significant because that wasn't an eye towards senator jones being investigated but, rather, picking favori

and if you look at how fani willis is approaching this case, she's brought everybody into this grandn the process of doing. at and she is also an elected official in a very democratic part of georgia. so, she has no real political risk by pursuing this. >> if charges were brought by her, against the former president, what happens? >> well, see this is where the case is potentially could run into a lot of problems, georgia has an unusual legal structure, in terms of these cases, more potential way back case could be forced into federal court, which would be a very different scenario perhaps a different set of prosecutors, also likely possible appeals, of that decision to go to federal court if she actually invites the former president. a trial could be at least a year away, but it would be a criminal trial potentially unless it's thrown out. there are significant legal obstacles that she faces. however, she does appear to be determined to go forward. the current grand jury that's investigating, were all these witnesses and parents call a special grand jury. it cannot issue an indictme

fani willis who is doing a parallel investigation because of the alleged wrongs in georgia.re. and that prosecutor has already issued 16 target letters to fake electors. that suggests that she is moving more quickly. she said that she would like to wrap up this year. we may see something faster on the state level. >> and let me bring this question to you, elie. between those investigations, who do you think is better situated legally to criminally charge a former president if that were to happen? >> that is a job for doj in my view politically, practically and legally. and let me explain why. first of all, doj has vastly superior resources and expertise. they have over 10,000 federal prosecutors, the entire fbi and other law enforcement apparatus. fulton county d.a., i admire the effort but they have a grand total of about 50 attorneys and they don't special liize in comx fraud cases. but if a county d.a. tries to indict a former president, first move that former president will make is to go to the federal court and say no, no, you can't do that under our constitution. you c

so, again, that is a setback for fani willis is -- in georgia.y specific one that only applies to that one subject of her investigation. and, it really doesn't appear to impact the rest of her case. but, you know, bigger picture here. just as it seems like the investigations and potential prosecutions for what happened on january 6th are stretching on, and on, and on. i think a considerable section of the we -- are trying to see if people at the top are going to pay a price for what they did. or if it's just gonna be the low level people who physically want into the capitol that day. justice that is stretching on and on and on, on the other side of it, the effort to overthrow the last presidential election and re-install trump in power, that effort not only isn't in the distant past at this point, it is literally ongoing. the week before last, the leader of the wisconsin state assembly told reporters, excuse, me that trump called him and told him, two weeks ago, that he needed to decertify the results of wisconsin's presidential election from 202

fani willis is disqualified from investigating him.use bert jones is running for lieutenant governor. he was someone of interest, currently running for governor. fani willis contributed to the campaign of the person running against him. she also hosted the fundraiser for the rival. the judge saying this was a clear conflict of interest. now, she is disqualified, as is her office, from investigating jones, from subpoenaing him for records, if referring to him as a target, as she had. the judge said her investigation can continue and she can collect evidence. it's just if there is to be a care that involves jones, it's something that will be decided by another district attorney that will be appointed by the attorney general. jones cannot be included in the report that the special grand jury is going to produce. a real setback for willis on that front. but the judge said that for all the other fake electors, many of whom are expected to appear before the grand jury this week, those appearances can continue. the investigation at large is u

the fillings were the latest signal that fulton county district attorney fani willis's investigation is circling the gop electors who gathered at the state capitol in december, 2020. that strikes me is a big deal because the federal government is also looking into that. >> this is actually a really big deal. and what i think is most interesting about it is the issue of the actual target letter. target letters are not often used in state investigations. they are a tool that is primarily used by federal prosecutors when they are conducting a federal grand jury investigation. in this case, the district attorney has given target letters to folks, some of which have already given statements. they claimed they gave these statements under a belief that they were witnesses, and now the da is surprising them by changing their category of target. and perhaps that is the reason why she issued the target letter, to signal to them, listen, whatever you thought at the beginning, when we were starting this investigation, that has changed. this investigation has proceeded forward, and we have gotten

and, this week, the fulton found da, fani willis, a subpoenaed joni hice, here i sear is one of the - were strategized in that. is that a significant development? should we be looking into that? >> it's significant, and anytime you subpoena u.s. congressman to come in in a criminal probe to come before a grand jury. so certainly, there's some significance there. remember, with that subpoena that he has -- he tried to remove the federal law [inaudible] there will be some legal wrangling about what goes on whether there is a proper argument that should be, made and that type of thing. it'll be interesting to see if she can actually get into the inner workings of those meetings, and who was calling the shots. that's one thing that i think has been missing from the january 6th presentation, the committee's presentation. is that direct link to trump. we have a lot of other people, we have a lot of speculation, we have three hours and seven minutes, of not doing a lot, and people want to make a lot about throwing ketchup and plates against a wall, and arguing with secret service drivers, th

but i think that between the january 6th committee, fani willis in fulton county, and the departmentice, it's inevitable that their efforts are going to clash. one hopes that they are coordinating to avoid having problems that they create for each other. >> charles, i want to show you two things. i want to put up again the list of people who were subpoenaed today by fulton county corner fani willis. they include rudy giuliani, john eastman, jenna ellis, cleta mitchell, kenneth chesebro. there's a notable name not on the list. here he is on january 2, 2021, trying to shake down brad raffensperger for the exact amount of votes he needed to flip the state. let me play that for you. >> why wouldn't you want to find the right answer, brad, instead of keep saying that the numbers are right? so, look, can you get together tomorrow -- and brad, we just want the truth. it's simple. and the truth -- the real truth is i won by 400,000 votes at least. so, what are we going to do here, folks? i only need 11,000 votes. fellas, i need 11,000 votes. give me a break. >> it feels like an insult to ton

fani willis has already issued 16 target letters warning people they could be prosecuted for the schemes led by president trump in georgia. so i think they've had an impact. there's a lot of new evidence that's useful to her. and i think they've done the same for doj. it's not moving quite as briskly. i think we will see doj charges, too. whether that will include trump, i think likely, yes in atlanta. we'll see when it comes to the feds. >> okay. norm eisen, good to see you. thanks so much. >> always great, fred. thank you. >> thank you. >>> all right, the white house today still undepp sideundecideo declare monkeypox a health emergency. the outbreak has been called a global health emergency. the highest alert that it can declare. the cdc reports there are more than 2,800 monkeypox cases in 44 states, d.c. and puerto rico. so why hasn't the u.s. issued this critical designation? arlette? >> reporter: they insist they are continuing to assess whether to declare that public health emergency related to the monkeypox virus here in the united states, declaring such an emergency would open up

i think what we are witnessing is the building up of those charges while fani willis in georgia is aboutsident with attempting to steal the electoral votes of that state. i think the walls are closing in and i was quite reassured to hear the attorney general yesterday not to worry. the fact that you don't see the bottom of the iceberg, and the part that's under the water shouldn't make you think that all there is the tip that you see. what he said is that we proceed quietly. that's part of the rule of law. we don't investigate in public, but he made it very clear that no one is above the law and that includes the president. >> he said that flatly. do you believe the committee has produced enough evidence to set up a successful prosecution of the former president? is there anything left that the committee needs to exhibit or prove for the attorney general to go ahead and act. what do you think? >> i think he could go and act now, but he's trying to build the strongest possible case. the committee has made it much easier for him. the committee, through witnesses like cassidy hutchinson and

harry litman -- >> although very quickly, fani willis. >> thank you, harry litman. >>> the justice departmentarizona. i'll tell you why and what it means for your right to vote after this. go with simparica trio it's triple protection made simple! simparica trio is the first and only monthly chewable that covers heartworm disease, ticks and fleas, round and hookworms. dogs get triple protection in just one simparica trio! this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. protect him with all your heart. simparica trio. >>> tonight, the doj is suing the state of arizona, trying to block a new law that requires people registering to vote in federal elections in arizona to prove their citizens. right now, people who use a federal voter registration form are required to attest they are u.s. citizens but proof of that is not required. the doj says the arizona law could take effect in january, violates the voter registration, which turns back the block to turn back other wise eligible voters from re

and it's that drop at the end of the day to recommend whether fulton county district attorney, fani willisld press charges against former trump or any of these former president donald trump, or any of his allies. >> these are sort of who's who of trump world, the grand unrealistic up to me because i will be honest, at some point, i knew he had made that phone call, it had gotten a little memory hold for me. but when i saw today, i wasn't all right, that is right. i want to read from the subpoena here, witness, meaning late lindsey graham, made at least two telephone calls from secretary state brad raffensperger, and the staff, following the 2020 election in georgia. during the telephone calls, secretary raffensperger on the staff of reexamining certain absence ballots in georgia, an order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former president donald trump. what does the subpoena require of senator graham? >> well it requires him to show up and fulton county georgia, in downtown atlanta on july 12th. him and six other folks close allies of the former president, have bee

. >> i want to turn to what is happening in fulton county down in georgia where the da, fani willis,as told by a judge today that she cannot make a fake elector and state senator burr drones a target of her investigation because he willis funded a fund-raiser for his opponent who is georgia lieutenant governor's race. >> right, we're talking about common sense and -- if you want to be the da of fulton county, and you want to -- you have to put partisan politics aside. i know that these are partisan races for da, but you have to have herself to higher standard, because otherwise, judges will, say no you cannot make these person -- you can't subpoena them, even if there was this evidence of an elector. spot it's not a killer case, but it causes you to question the judgment. you have to hold or self to a higher standard. that includes not subpoenaed people who you campaigned actively against. >> when i see da's elliott, or anyone who's in that capacity, outdoing whip artists in any kind of things, i think it lowers their accountability. i think people should hold themselves to a differe

the special grand jury was impanelled this year to assist fulton county district attorney fani willisawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections in georgia. among the incidents that willis said she is investigating, a november 2020 phone call that graham made to georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger. raffensperger said that graham pressed him about whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which raffensperger interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes. graham denied that's what he was trying to do, calling the allegation, quote, ridiculous. joining us now national correspondent for the washington post matt brown. welcome to the show. let's talk about how these investigations differ from what the january 6th committee is trying to do and what's our sense of it, those targeted by subpoenas yesterday, graham, giuliani, et cetera, do we have any anticipation they will comply? >> yeah, that's a really good question on if they're actually going to cooperate with these. they have until mid july to come to the court before they're in contempt of

one of the things that you're seeing with the subpoenas that fani willis has already issued is that she is incredibly serious. she is laying the groundwork for any federal prosecutor to say, no one has to be off the table. we do not have to treat this with kid gloves simply because we're looking at people close to a former president. it is a somewhat controversial point of view. according to people in the justice department, obviously they think that possible prosecuting the former president is extremely controversial and should be treated with a lot of caution. she really does believe that every stone must be overturned. i think that's one of the big takeaways. another takeaway is that this is an investigation that the justice department is looking at closely, to see whether or not she actually does charge anyone close to the trump orbit and what does that mean if she does it doesn't. much like the manhattan's da investigation did. >> of course it's controversial to look into a president of the united states, but if there's wrongdoing, they gotta do what they gotta do. yamiche, let's a

>> yeah, well, there's a lot and fani willis would not have pursued this if there wasn't a lot there but his political support. are republicans just exhausted of this series of exposures, of scandals, would they like to change the subject, turn the page? we hear that from some republicans down here in georgia. they may be looking for a fresh start. donald trump might use his announcement to distract from this, but i think we're starting to see some real fatigue from republicans down here in georgia ready to change the subject as well. >> you mentioned the testimony from brian kemp. reelection. i can't imagine this helps him in the bid. sara, i wanted to get your reaction to the new reporting that former white house counsel pat cipollone behind closed doors. how significant is that development? >> i think this is very significant. we've heard pat cipollone's name come up over and over again in these january 6th hearings and that's because he was there for so much of what went on. he was in the room far lot of the scheme around donald trump and allies, how they might try to overturn th

and it comes as fulton county district attorney fani willis hits road blocks in her investigation.e cannot bring a case against a key fake elector because she held a fund-raiser for one of his opponents. let's bring in democratic senator jon ossoff of georgia. what's your reaction to these investigations into fake electors in your state and the judge for fulton county saying the optics for willis' campaign contributions are, quote, horrific. what do you think? >> it's the role of federal, state, and local prosecutors to enforce the law. and where they have criminal information, evidence that laws have been broken, no one is above the law, so the actions of the justice department, the actions of local prosecutors, that's for those prosecutors to decide. the key principle in our system of government is that the rule of law applies to all of us. >> speaking of justice in america, today you led a hearing on the inhumane conditions at atlanta's federal penitentiary. we previewed this hearing last week with you. let's listen to a former jail administrator at that prison. >> it was so man

fulton da, fani willis, had to deliver what's called a certificate of material to a judge in south carolinaderal judge there. senator graham is in the process of fighting that, as we speak. we're expecting a hearing before a federal judge in charleston, in the days ahead. it's a little bit different for jody hice because he lives in georgia, and he's a georgian. so the court of jurisdiction here is fulton superior court. he argued in this filing that because he was a member of congress, and he was arguing kind of like doing his job as kind of a member, that a federal judge should hear a challenge, not a local one here in fulton county. >> yeah, this is the argument followed by his lawyers, since congressman hice is there a member of the united states house of representatives, and is being asked to testify pursuant to a state issued subpoena, the federal officer remove the statute should apply. it should therefore be removed from the united states states district court for the northern district of georgia. that's the statute about jurisdictional questions. but the other side of, this respons

. >> christina, your thoughts on the district attorney fani willis -- exhilarating her investigation,'ve yet to see this action from the doj at the federal level. it's completely different jurisdictions, but the way she is the at least signaling that the investigation is intensifying, lets people know and assures people that at least in fulton county, the wheels of justice for now are spinning. >> right. she must. i think we're going to see progress and it's going to be on a county by county and state by state level. it isn't imperative that she bringing these questions to the fore and prosecuting who knowingly tried to break the law. in 2022, a november elections or right around the corner and in november 2024, the elections are right around the corner. we've already seen republican candidates projecting that their elections have been stolen. we have even even voted yet. in many of these races for the midterm elections, and states across the country. so hopefully this is a shot across the balance so that other states can either take action or hopefully prevent other people who were t

but we do know from the court filings that district attorney fani willis -- that new evidence has come to light. and that is what inspired her to send these target letters out. it's a significant step because, as you pointed out, a lot of these folks who are witnesses and a number of them had seemed like they were cooperating and willing to give her some information. so, we don't know if perhaps they were holding something back that she wants and that's why she is sending these target letters. we don't know if something came up in the interviews that made her, suddenly, think their conduct may have been criminal and they believed it before. but it does point to a big escalation in her investigation. >> why do you think, michael -- because i believe he said that this could be aimed at catching a bigger fish, prosecutors hoping that these -- could spill the beans? it's that's what's happening? >> i think that's likely. one of the reasons you send our target letters -- you are not required to do that, it's a state [inaudible] level. she's done and now, especially with a -- that doesn't ha

moment that nbc news correspondent, blame alexander, was actually interviewing fulton county da, fani willisgot to respond senator graham's accusations and we'll time. >> inaccurate, estimation. it's someone who doesn't understand the seriousness of what we are doing. i hope they don't come and testify truthfully in front of gradually. >> i thought people thought that we came into this as some kind of game. this is not a game at all. what i am doing is very serious. it's very important work, and we are going to do our due diligence and making sure that we look at all aspects of the case. >> on monday, a judge in georgia senator graham to appear in front of the grand jury, calling him a quote, necessary and material witness. but graham asked a federal court to block that subpoena, a judge disagreed with him at least temporarily, and put a stay on the subpoena until a hearing next week. now there has been this tortures process for years of watching trump, and people around him, kind of wriggle out from under legal accountability, either they define congress, or just delaying long enough. but i

the lawyers argue that fulton county district attorney fani willis' office initially said their clientstnesses not subjects or targets of the investigation and that the electors had agreed to voluntary interviews with the team investigating election interference beginning in april. according to the attorneys, the electors had the right to cast contingent electoral votes drawing similarities between the 2020 actions and those made by democratic electors in the judicially contested 1960 presidential contest between john f. kennedy and richard nixon. the case stems from a plan devised after president biden won the state of georgia and its 16 electoral votes. some of the former presidents advisers created groups of alternate electors in swing states with false allegations of voter fraud. this was part of their january 6th plan. nbc news has reached out to the fulton county district attorney's office for comment. >>> still ahead here on "way too early," we'll turn to sports and a yankee slugger shines bright in hollywood. we'll have the highlights from last night's major league baseball all-

and also today, we learned that fulton county district attorney, fani willis, investigating trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia is now officially informed all of the 16 republicans who served this fake electors for trump in that state, that they are now considered targets of her investigation. meaning they could actually face criminal charges for their actions. willis's determination was made clear in a court filing that she introduced, contesting a legal effort by the republican state senator, burt jones, who was trying to disqualify her from leading this probe. jones, a fake elector, we should note, who was currently running for -- is one of the targets. and as if that wasn't enough news for one day, today deputy attorney lisa monaco said at a cybersecurity conference in new york, the justice department's investigation into efforts by trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election won't be deterred if the former president declares his intention to run again, this is important to emphasize here. this comes really in the wake of some significant and multiple reports