host: we mentioned matt gaetz and his support for bob good. the national newspaper today. one of the national newspapers today, for traveling around the country supportoÑ■ different candidates and, at the same time, making news, here's nbc news investigating matt gaetz over alleged drug use and sexual misconduct. he says this is something kevin mccarthy pushed before he left as revenge against matt gaetz. host:- guest: this has been■ñ a long-standing case against matt gaetz. it was investigated by -- has beenes initiated i the house ethics committee a number of years ago, when democrats were in control of house and ethics committees. republicans are in control. that is significant, given that to continue this investigation into potential sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, as they have laid out. this has also been an issue that wa at by the department of justice,ar, i believe at the beginning of last ar, announced they would not move forward with any criminal charge m gaetz. that was significant. but again, house ethicsoperatede from doj.

host: -- guest: has been a long-standing case against matt gaetz.-- has been investigated or initiated i the house ethics a number of years ago, when democrats were in house and ethics committees. now, republicans iificant, givet they have opted to continue this vestigio into potential xual misconduct and illicit drug use, as they have laid out. this has also been an issue that was looked at by the department of justice, which last year, i believe athe beginning last year, announced they would not charges of mr.etz. that was significa ethics has operated completely separate from doj. they have decided that they have seen enough evidence that warrants that moving forward. they have interviewed enough witnesses■ -- a number of witnesses in this investigation and they believe there is enough there to keep this investigation open asncerned. host: what would you like todem. independents, (202) 748-8002. texas as well, including your first name. here is vwer on, how much of an impt e the respective this year. both parties have platforms that are screaming

gaetz. ficant.ted completely seratethey e seen enoughants that moving for. they have interviewed enough witnesses -- a number of witnesses in this investigation aneys enough there to keep this investigation open as house ethics is concerned. host: see on the legislative agenda? ■gpublicans, (202) 748-8001. . independents, (202) 748-8002. texas as well, including your first name and city and state at (202) 748-8003r , how much of an impact are the respective conventions going to have this year. both parties havela legislation. guest: that's a good point. ■]th between the conventions and the run-up to th conventions on the house and senate floor. certainly, as i mentioned before that duringection year, things tend to slow down but is late of lee -- legislatively. senate democrats who are in control on that side of the chamber of■g the u.s. capitol ad house republicans who of the hof representatives have this opportunity to put resonate witt will helphem really turn out the vote on theiraisle. and so,

matt gaetz is a special kind of stupid. let's not lie.is a nebo baby who's lived off of his father's wealth for his entire career pick of this anyone in congress who does not deserve to be there, it is by definition matt gaetz. what he is doing now is purely trying to appeal to the trump face because he wants to run for governor of florida. rick knows this. matt gaetz is positioning himself for the next thing and that likely think will be governor of florida. kissing the ring of trump and his acolytes is likely going to put him in a position where he can be the next desantis, only better on tv and sharper. he is someone who i despised at my very level. but also think democrats should be worried about extreme if bragg testifies on july 12 as currently planned, it will come after the sentencing, scheduled for july 11. what do you think republicans are hoping to accomplish with that testimony? what will they use that testimony for accept continuing the clown show? >> they will go after bragg and the comments he made when running for office.

gaetz called the allegation, quote: a lie.ever charged gaetz. >> i think vindication looks pretty good on me. >> the congressman called the house investigation soviet, accusing former house speaker kevin mccarthy of sending his, quote, goons after him. it was gaetz who forced the vote to strip mccarthy of his gavel. >> what has paralyzed the house of representatives has been the failure of speaker mccarthy. >> the former speaker says questions about gaetz's ethics cost him the speakership. >> i will give you the truth why i am not speaker because one person, a member of congress wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old. >> committee says it's hard to get information about gaetz it. has interviewed 12 people and issued a dozen subpoenas. bret? >> we'll follow this story. chad pergram on the hill, chad, thanks. up next, the son of convicted murderer alec murdaugh is suing several media companies. we will tell you why. first, here is what some of our fox affiliates around the country are covering

and matt gaetz, obviously is at the top of that list. so i i'm not surprised to hear the former speaker, say these words, and i could see him starting aid no gates pack in, the very near future and putting all of his time, energy and effort into getting rid of map when you're talking about somebody's primaries keith, it is worth noting that they're all pro-trump candidates going after each other here in terms of who is being targeted by mccarthy and who isn't none well, that's true and i think even kevin mccarthy's being hypocritical because how many women have accused donald trump of sexual assault or sexual abuse? >> i think it's two dozen women and where's where's the outrage about that? but when it comes to matt gaetz because he has a political vendetta against some sudden he wants to call him out national television. >> and the republican party really decide, we already know they're no longer the law and order party. >> are they really the family values party aligned with donald trump for paying hush money to a porn star to try to,

what is he done to matt gaetz?cause we see it in primaries across the country where you see someone like matt gaetz is a natural ally of former president trump. endorsing against candidates former president trump has endorsed. i think you alluded to this before, a lot of these figures like matt gaetz are trying to build their own political brand trying to see how strong their own political brand is going forward and it is hard to compete against someone like former president trump. his name brand is obviously money mental compared to someone compared to matt gaetz. that being said, he's a rising star within the conservative movement so i think this is an opportunity for him to throw his weight around a little bit. >> i got to tell you, do not enjoy when you take while shaking her hand. it's a little obvious when you're doing that let me move to the broader picture, this violence. they are not knocking it all and is sometimes they are going to have to govern together or something else is going to happen. when you ca

from capitol hill and an update on the long-running investigation into republican congressman matt gaetzs's scott macfarlane has our new reporting. >> reporter: multiple sources tell cbs news four women have informed the ethics committee they attended parties that included sex and drugs that congressman matt gaetz also attended. we have also learned the committee has gaetz's venmo transactions allegedly showing payments to the women. the 42-year-old republican said he will be exonerated and previously blamed then-house speaker kevin mccarthy for the probe before leading the effort to oust mccarthy. >> i fear no investigation. that was simply something that kevin mccarthy tried to use as leverage. >> reporter: the justice department previously investigated gaetz, but no charges were filed. >> norah: investigators are trying to find out what caused a home to explode with more than a dozen people inside. the leading theory is natural gas. conor wight of our cbs syracuse affiliate reports on the conditions of those who were in the house. >> reporter: norah, a construction crew is on scene he

one woman testified a venmo payment from gaetz was for sex. others saying they were paid to attend parties with gaetz that featured drugs. the republican lawmaker and close ally of donald trump has denied all the allegations against him. in a tweet monday, gaetz saying in part, every investigation into me ends the same way. my exoneration. but last year the federal government informed gaetz it was declining to bring charges, allowing the committee's probe to now resume. the house ethics committee declined to comment on our reporting, and a separate statement the house ethics committee did say it is no longer pursuing allegations that the florida congressman shared inappropriate videos on the house floor or misused state identification records. if the house ethics committee does find any evidence of wrongdoing it can recommend for the whole house to take action, including censure or exclusion, witness. >> whit: now the house collapse in syracuse, new york. 11 people hospitalized including children after what witnesses described as an explosion.

trey: welcome back to "sunday night in america" florida congressman matt gaetz, there is a -- of goods in a buffet of bad, the house ethics ended its investigation into whether gates showed images of alleged sexual partners to colleagues on the house floor, the committee voted to continue investigating allegations gates engaged in sexual misconduct, alyssa drug use, gave favors to friends and tried to obstruct the investigation, gates denies all allegations and attacked the committee. ethics is the least coveted committee in congress, literally no one wants to serve on ethics, no fundraising, no publicity, you lose friends, the hours are long. it is the most thankless assignment but is important. members are picked on their investigator backgrounds and their propensity for fairness, i was assigned to the ethics committee by two different speakers and was replaced by john lee ratcliffe a formal federal prosecutor, the chairperson was susan brooks of former federal prosecutor, the current chairperson is a republican former prosecutor, the staff director was one of the most honest ethica

. >> congressman matt gaetz wants to abolish the fbi. he doesn't want the fbi to do any of that work. in fact there was not a single republican on the committee today who supported any of that work done by the fbi. >> maybe the people in america are not living in a bubble, maybe we are. >> that was republican barrymore, who was feeling his way toward the truth that the republican members of the committee are indeed living in a bubble, a trumpet bubble. there is lying and then there is republican lying. >> i've given my life to the law. i care deeply about the law. >> no republican on that committee has a more perverse relationship with the law then congressman matt gaetz. congressman gaetz echoed the republican demand to release audio recordings of a special prosecutor's interviews with president biden about classified material found in his vice presidential papers in a nonsecure location, which president biden immediately reported as soon as they were found. the special prosecutor found there was no criminal conduct or intent on joe bid

we've also learned the committee has gaetz's venmo transactions, allegedly showing payments to the womenan said he'll be exonerated and previously blamed then house speaker kevin mccarthy for the probe, before leading the effort to oust mccarthy. >> i fear no investigation. that was simply something that kevin mccarthy tried to use as leverage. >> reporter: the justice department previously investigated gaetz but no charges were filed. >> our thanks to scott for that reporting. >>> louisiana's governor signed a new bill on wednesday requiring all public classrooms to display the 10 commandments. cbs's elise preston with more. >> reporter: louisiana has become the first state in the country to require a poster-sized copy like this one of the 10 commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. republican governor jeff landry signed the bill into law. in a statement the aclu says it's planning to file a lawsuit, saying the new law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates the separation of church and state. supporters say private donations will be used to put up the displays, no

gaetz commented on? >> well, i do not know any reason that he would have been there, but i have no knowledge of how he went there. >> okay. the case was brought by the manhattan d.a., and so it is a state case and not a federal case, but since the majority is confused, can you explain the difference of a state case and federal case. >> yes, the manhattan district attorney has jurisdiction over cases involving new york state law, and completely independent of the justice department which has jurisdiction cases involving federal law. we do not control manhattan district attorney, and manhattan district attorney does not report to us. and the manhattan district attorney makes its own decisions about cases that he wants to bring under his state law. >> thank you. my republican colleagues want to believe that the department of justice is secretly coordinating to prosecute trump in new york, and what is your thought about this allegation? >> the case in new york is brought by the manhattan district attorney in

>> we already know based upon some of the stuff he said to matt gaetz. give them access to communications between the department of justice and the manhattan d.a., the new york state attorney general letitia james or fani willis in georgia. so already you have merrick garland pumping on that basically saying look, it is a conspiracy to say the justice department is corrupt and somehow involved in these other prosecutions. we aren't going to give you information that might lead you to that particular conclusion. there is another issue here. merrick garland is facing a lot of issues here. the use of lethal force they say is common in all cases. the second thing is the d.o.j. that he is attesting to now involvement in the trump case. and the third thing has to do with refusing to hand over the testimony, the actual audio, of joe biden with robert hur investigation. what is the difference between a transcript and the audio? there are allegations the audio tape itself has a lot of -- doesn't answer the question, reminded to answer the question. when the attor

gaetz's tirade? >> i don't know mr.know what's in his book, these are decisions made in another office independent of the justice department. >> thank you mr. attorney general. last week, a journey of his peers convicted former president trump on 34 felony counts. the case was brought in front of the manhattan d.a. . it's a state case, not a federal case. i shouldn't have to ask you this, mr. attorney general, but since the majority seems to be confused, can you please explain the difference between a state case in a federal case? >> yes. the manhattan district attorney has jurisdiction over cases involving new york state law, completely independent of the justice department, which has jurisdiction over cases involving federal law. we do not control the manhattan district attorney. the man i had it -- the manhattan district attorney does not report to us. they make their own decisions about cases that he wants to bring under his state law. >> thank you. my republican colleagues seem to believe that the department of jus

what's happening with gaetz and the ethics committee. i'll put this on the screen so you can understand, several informations into the congressman in florida. they are no longer investigations allegations of lewd images on the floor, misuse of campaign funds, those are off the table. they are investigating sexual misconduct allegations and illegal drug use. this is where kevin mccarthy comes in, and it's because congressman matt gaetz is blaming him for the fact that any of these investigations are going on in the first place. gaetz, of course, denies these allegations but then says in a statement that kevin mccarthy effectively gave his name, and now they're just trying to find charges to match. we'll see what the ethics committee finds but this is the politics sub text to the actual investigations we're seeing here on the hill. >> ali vitali, thank you very much. and i mentioned charlie dent, former pennsylvania congressman and our republican legacy senior adviser. that is a group, it's not my republican legacy. it's the group he block

now, congressman gaetz denies any wrong doing here.has he claims that this is all because he tried to he ousted kevin mccarthy last year and that this whole investigation is hey, you back for that chemically has denied that and there's no evidence of this, but the investigations, dana into congressman gates have been sprawling for many years now, the department of justice investigated gates for a number of years and close their criminal investigation last year without bringing any charges. but ethics committees statement today shows that they still have a lot of work to do investigating the congressman and for the first time we're really getting into a window, getting a window into where this work has been and where it's going. yeah. he's certainly seemed to invite this unusual statement with his gaits, his own statement yesterday also, i think that it's been going on for three years the investigation proceeded, the ousting of kevin mccarthy math isn't my strong suit andy. thank you so much. appreciate it and coming up, the doctors are

gaetz: thank you, mr. speaker.nt creates a prohibition on the transfer of cluster munitions. i'd like to begin by thanking my co-lead on this measure, congresswoman jacobs, and many of the members who have been fighting to get rid of cluster munitions as part of modern warfare, including representative titus, representative omar, representative mcgovern and i would simply observe that if there's an amendment that is supported from omar to gaetz with jacobs be a great idea and we ought to probably adopt i according to "the new york times," since world war ii cluster munitions have killed an estimated 86,500 civilians, additionally human rights watch and the u.n. have reported that cluster munitions in ukraine have killed or 890 people in 2022, civilians. if congress continues to flood the battlefield in ukraine with inscript ant killing instruments like cluster munitions, the eved including children harmed will indeed be on our hands. we should halt the transfer of cluster munitions to any country. we stand rarely i

gaetz took you on first . he's not here now.'s unfortunate, because he is a living testament to the fact and direct evidence that you have not weapon eyes the justice department. he was investigated for sex trafficking won't many expected -- you chose not to prosecute him. >> i'm sorry. i'm not surewhat is in the public record and what is not. so i will not comment on that. >> in certain areas is decreasing and i thank you for that. unfortunately, memphis is not one of the areas that has not degrees, but we are working on it. it was the seco the violent crime initiative, and i thank you for getting your department involved in trying to reduce the murders and violent crime in our city. my city. resources have been helpful, based on her conversations with the u.s. attorney and the district attorney and i want to thank you for that. can you share some of the department's successes in tackling violent crime? >> yes. as i said in my opening, and i these are not the justice department's successes, they are the violent crime relies on

is it true as congressman matt gaetz claims that mr.never going to be there for us, and that he was trashing the ukraine aid bill to speaker johnson's face which gaetz said is, quote, so epic. is that true and did anyone push back? >> i don't believe that president trump did that. i was certainly present. he did raise issues of how the ukraine issue is being handled, but i think there's certainly enough criticism to go around with the ukrainians not being given the authority to use weapons inside russia to hit targets that are hitting them, but i think overall what was important is that trump was very focused on what his issues were as to why he was seeking the presidency, and the changes in policies and the biden administration, border was an issue. energy was an niche. the economy, china, and inflation were as issue, all ones where he had real con create things that the biden administration did to reverse his policies that have resulted in negative consequences for our country that he intends to reverse back. >> we will see if he stan

which brings us back to the man these three stooges, gaetz, tuck 'ems, and don support here at home.e, is convicted felon donald trump. it is bad enough that a guilty verdict will likely not affect plans for intel briefings for trump, but now more than a dozen former intelligence officers, western officials and lawmakers are sounding the alarm over trump weaponizing u.s. surveillance if elected to a second term, telling nbc news that trump could turn america's spy services into weapons of retribution against domestic political opponents. he could also skew intelligence findings in favor of authoritarian leaders. one former national security adviser who served under trump said when it comes to the president's authority over the intelligence agency, the law allows for a hell of a lot of discretion and trump would have a pretty free hand. it's a hand, abeit a tiny one, that he lavishes praise on autocrats and makes jokes about being a dictator for a day, but it could be much longer inthis is a question we have to sadly consider. the world is in a fraught period. the white house is allow

gaetz wants the attorney general to reopen and publicize evidence from an investigation that a donald trump-appointed prosecutor closed against president biden while at the same time mr. gaetz himself is being protected by the same doj policy refusing to voluntarily turn over evidence for mr. gaetz' trafficking allegation. >> he asked the inspector general about the most deadly criminal threat facing americans. >> i wonder if you might just opine a bit, or expound a bit on your work as it relates to gun violence. >> might [ inaudible ] has been helpful to combat gun violence leading to substantial numbers for having a sale of guns to minors. it has given us the authority to bring cases for purchasing that has led to crime guns and gun trafficking to criminals, and in those ways, it has helped drive down the numbers with respect to gun violence. we have set up a crime gun intelligence center so that our state and local counterparts can trace guns found at crime scenes to determine whether they were used by serial killers, by serial shooters to help us find out -- run the dna off of the

remember the top two people running it convicted, manafort and gaetz. a political advisor who brought in manafort convicted plus other figures you see here, flynn, papadopoulos. what you see is you have 2016 aides all convicted around that campaign. because trump won our legal system didn't have anything to adjudicate what he might have done through '16 while in office. and then you have michael cohen convicted of campaign crime and then of course a witness that ended in trump's conviction last week. he was convicted in this trial that let's remember now that we see it all together features witnesses who literally detailed their role in 2016 crimes. the tabloid boss pecker had federal immunity, cohen had already gone to prison, and manafort and stone they weren't involved necessarily in a big way in this trial. their names came up at times here and there. bannon's name came up as well, but they were convicted for other things after 2016. that's a campaign apparatus. that's the criminal enterprise now you see the guy at the top and so many people near th

matt gaetz also tweeting the hunter biden gun conviction is kind of dumb to be honest. meanwhile democrats are arguing that the way that republicans are talking about this conviction and the conviction of donald trump is very different than the way the democrats have handled it. here's jamie raskin scan. he texted me just a short time ago. he also said a similar thing during the house rules committee. he said, quote, the contrast in partisan response to the trump and hunter biden verdicts is striking and revealing. i have not heard a single democrat called the hunter biden verdict, rigged a kangaroo court or a fraud, much less use it to attack our entire system of justice. forests, breanna all right. >> lauren fox. thank you so much for joining us now for some political perspective, we had, we have cnn senior political analyst, gloria borger and larry sabotage, director of the center for politics at the university of virginia. and larry, i know you just said on cnn international that you think the political effect of this conviction is zero. tell us why because most peo

while the committee has closed a part of its investigation, it says it's now reviewing whether gaetz engaged in a long list of alleged wrongdoings, including sexual misconduct illicit drug use, giving special favors, trying to obstruct the government's investigation into him and more. >> cnn, congressional correspondent laura and fox joins us now with the latest lauren. >> what are the details coming out of this investigation? >> yeah. this is an extremely rare move from the ethics committee to put out a statement with as much detail as we saw yesterday, including the fact that like you said, some of the areas of their investigation have changed, they have moved on, close the door to some areas and are now investigating and continuing their investigation. into other places like you noted, elicit potential drug use, as well as sexual misconduct, potentially accepting an offering gifts that he should not have, and potentially obstructing investigations into him. >> but the reason that the committee said they had to put out this information in this extensive statement yesterday, is the

matt gaetz is actually supporting bob good because he hates john kevin mccarthy. so it's just like a circular firing squad going on with cool it's like who hates foo and whose team are you on and whose lunch table are using. >> i mean, if you're having trouble following all of this, the bottom line is it's a republican against republican in fight against two people who are fundamentally the same. i mean, one guy was there on january 6, the other guy voted against certifying the election. i mean what really are the differences here so for the difference, he go to go exactly, this is really all about donald trump. >> donald trump demands total loyalty and i think what we're doing is we're seeing if he were to actually win the white house. this is the kind of government that he would run. and if you're in his government, remember that scene of all the cabinet members going around the trump white house? house and the cabinet room, all like declaring themselves no. and full prostration to donald trump. we are going to see even more of that out of congress, out of the,

. >> they are investigating florida congressman matt gaetz. we knew they were investigating what is unusual is the kind of mixed cocktail of what they say they are and are not looking in let's get right to cnn's laura and fox. i mean, if i'm matt gaetz, am i saying gee, guys, thanks for saying this well, what's really unusual about this statement that we got yesterday from the house ethics committee. >> john, is the fact that it's so long so detailed, extensive typically, the house ethics committee works very quietly. they may issue a statement when they begin an investigation, they will issue a statement to announce their continuing an investigation or ending one, but they don't typically give a series of details like they did in this statement. and here is the explanation asian, they're giving for that. they say, quote, there has been a significant and unusual amount of public reporting on the committees activities. this congress, much of that reporting has been inaccurate. the committee's investigations are conducted confidentially, but the

today, we saw florida representative matt gaetz, seen here achieving maximum douche. violence by tweeting a reference to the far-right hate group, the proud boys. "standing back and standing by, mr. president." well, of course he's standing back. after all that pizza, you do not want to be in the blast radius. trump also got moral support from congresswoman lauren boebert. that's right, lauren boebert was in the audience. so whoever sat next to her may end up with their own hush money trial. this afternoon, things got a little dramatic. cohen had previously testified that after paying off stormy daniels, he called trump's bodyguard, and the prosecution had the phone records to back that up. but today, trump attorney todd blanche pointed out that the call was only one minute and 36 seconds. so, only slightly longer than the sex with stormy. blanche said... [applause] sex with stormy, sure. blanche said that that 1:36 wasn't enough time to have the discussion of paying off stormy. cohen said it was enough time but blanche raised his voice, saying to cohen, "that. was a

we mentioned matt gaetz and his support for bob good.as featured in the national newspaper today. one of the national newspapers today, for traveling around the country support different candidates and at the same here's nbc investigating matt gaetz over alleged drug use and sexual misconduct. this is something kevin mccarthy pushed before he left as reven -- guest: this has been a long-standing case against matt gaetz. it was investigated by -- has been investigated or initiated i the house ethicsee a number of years ago, when democrats were in control of now, republicans are in control. that is significant, given that they have opted to continue this investigation potential sexual misconduct and illicit drug, as they have laid out. this has also been an issue that was looked at by the department of justicef@ which last year, i believe at the beginning of last year, announced they would not move forward wcharges of mr. gaetz. that was significant. but again, house ethics has operated completely separate from doj. they have decided that

matt gaetz and steven miller. that's who i was talking to earlier.ave you seen the -- i believe in the dictionary when you look up shoddenfreud, it's a picture of steven miller and matt gaetz after this debate. >> what did they tell you in. >> matt gaetz offered thoughts and prayers and something all that is left of joe biden now is his dental records. obviously matt gaetz is prone to hyperbole, and steven miller said donald trump did no prep for tonight's performance, not even a policy refresher. he was just speaking from the pure id of donald trump and he brought the country with him. obviously this is night they're very happy with. joe biden's difficulties are their highlight reel, but i spoke to j.d. vance as well who spoke briefly, you know, about donald trump what he believes stellar performance. and i also spoke to marco rubio who is waiting to get the call he is donald trump's vice presidential picks, but otherwise i have their thoughts on tape. let's listen. >> did you have more money in your pocket, was the country safer, the world more sta

former congressman matt gaetz described the house gathering is "a pep rally for president trump." senate minority leader mitch mcconnell endorsed the session as, entirely positive, saying, it was a good meeting. as a lawyer, i can appreciate consistency, so it's nice to hear somebody like mitch mcconnell keep the same energy he had for donald trump immediately following january 6th. let's take a listen. >> there's no question. done. president trump is practically-- and morally-- responsible-- for provoking the events of the day . no question about it. this was an intensifying crescendo of conspiracy theories , orchestrated by outgoing president, who determined to either overturn the voters' decision, or else, torch institutions on the way out. >> i believe we need to hold the president accountable. i hold him accountable for the events that transpired for the attack on our capitol last wednesday.>> trump and i-- we have had a hell of attorney. all i can say is, count me out. enough is enough. >> sirs-- ma'am, sirs question mark? i beseech you to look at your own statements, as we

liz: let's move on to this, congressman matt gaetz really grilled and questioned in a really tough waye department is politicized saying and asking whether they're involved in the cases against former president trump, watch this. >> will the department of justice provide to the committee all documents all correspondence between the department and alvin bragg's office and patty willis and letitia james. >> they make this remarkable downstream career journey from the u.s. department of justice in washington, d.c. and pops up in alvin bragg's office to go get trump. >> i had nothing to do with it. >> let me back up he said i had nothing to do with it, he is saying he's backward to turn over information with an answer to that question. if he had nothing to do with that why would you be comfortable turning it over in answering congressman gaetz question. >> i agree completely we have a lot of people saying were losing faith in our institutions and how dare anybody criticize our institutions but i would contend everybody should look at a mere and may be reasons were losing faith because are

what is here is matt gaetz and stephen miller. that is who i was talking to earlier. cannot imagine. i believe that in the dictionary when you look up schadenfreude, it's a picture of matt gaetz and stephen miller after this debate. >> what did they tell you? >> matt gaetz offered thoughts and prayers and something of about all that is left of joe biden now is his dental records. obviously, matt gaetz is prone to hyperbole and stephen miller said donald trump did no prep for tonight's performance. he was just speaking from the pure id of donald trump, the wealth of experience he got as president when he brought the country along with him. you know, obviously this is a night they are very happy with. joe biden's difficulties are there highlight reel, but i spoke to jd vance, as well, who spoke briefly about donald trump's, what he believes, stellar performance and i also spoke to senator marco rubio who is maybe waiting here to get the call that he will be the vice presidential pick but otherwise had some thoughts about the performance tonight. i have it on tape. >> th

the house ethics committee confirmed that it is reviewing allegations that florida congressman matt gaetze engaged in sexual misconduct, used illicit drugs, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special favors to friends and attempted to obstruct government investigations into his conduct. said trump, "he's like the son i've never had." [ laughter ] according to -- [ cheers and applause ] according to the daily mail, the secret service destroyed the video footage of president biden's dog commander biting an agent, as per his orders. [ laughter ] that's how it would look. [ laughter ] hbo has announced that a "game of thrones" spin-off has begun filming in ireland. but don't get too excited. [ laughter ] the los angeles unified school district voted yesterday to approve a ban on smartphone usage in classrooms, leaving students no choice but to vape with both hands. [ laughter and applause ] authorities in hong kong evacuated a train this week after a snake was discovered onboard. meanwhile, in new york, a train with a sneak on it was the only one without rats. [ laughter ] "hey, can we borrow

former congressman matt gaetz described the house gathering as a pep rally for former president trump and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell endorsed the session as quote, entirely positive, saying it was a good meeting. now, this is interesting, because more than anything, as a lawyer, i am someone who can appreciate consistency, so it's nice to hear somebody like mitch mcconnell keep the same energy he had for donald trump immediately following january 6. >> there's no question, none. president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it. this was an intensified crescendo of conspiracy theories orchestrated by an outgoing president who seemed determined to either overturn the voters' decision or else torch our institutions on the way out. >> i believe we need to hold the president accountable. i hold him accountable for the events that transpired for the attack on our capital last wednesday. >> trump and i have had a hell of a journey. all i can say is count me out. enough is enough. >> sirs, ma'am, sirs, i beseech you t

matt gaetz calling the gun conviction kind of dumb.of positive politics have nothing to do with doj investigations and prosecutions. let's turn to our political analyst, democratic strategist basil smikle and republican strategist susan del percio. thank you so much for coming on here. we're hearing a lot of different reactions from republicans specifically, susan, from that kind of dumb comment, to some calling this accountability, to others saying it's a distraction. why not a unified voice? >> because the republican party actually is never that unified on something that has so many nonsensical parts to it, and that's what's so hard here is that you have some republicans, there are a few who still say we believe in ourjudicial system, law and order, we believe in the jury process. great. then there are those who are trying to process and somehow turn it around as it's part of biden's cabal against trump and somehow -- i can't even follow the train of craziness there. then you have those -- and ironically i can't believe i'm going to

i'm manhattan you know, matt gaetz for his own part as all too much experience in the criminal justice system, being the subject of sex trafficking case so they understand how the system works, but they wish to mislead the public. they want to somehow obscure the fact that they're about to be nominee is now a convicted felon and they're willing to tear down the justice system and do what ever is necessary in the service of that deeply flawed human being. you said that in the hearing that's what you think is at the heart of this, that they're freetown essentially over trump's conviction and are trying to figure out how to deal with it. absolutely. and, not just in committee, but so many of them in fact when they were holding merrick garland in contempt, a couple of weeks ago, they had many members absent, some of which were absent because they weren't manhattan standing outside the courthouse, essentially paying field t once again, to donald trump they hope to avert a conviction now that there are multiple, multiple convictions, they're just tearing everything down and doing such enormo