we have had some conversation today about how the department of justice is helping our cities by crimeand provide policing and i'm grateful to the grants that many of my jurisdictions have recently received. theyou talk about some of things that your department is doing to help our communities implement 21st century policing practices in a way that keeps everyone safe. >> thank you for the question. we work on a range of issues we work cooperatively with law enforcement to make sure they have access to communities that are limited in english proficiency. we take seriously our application to address misconduct when it arises. the chair noted a number of investigations opened in cities such as memphis, louisville, louisiana state police phoenix and more represent an infinitesimal number of the 18,000 plus law enforcement agencies across our country better important investigations because we want public safety and we want policing that is bias free and the comport with the standards of the constitution. i engage with organizations such as the international association of chiefs of police

>> politics have no place in the work of the justice department -- >> are you aware of anything the justice department did to that? >> not in the civil rights department -- not in the civil justice department. >> did the civil justice department do anything? in this case? >> i won't bring that back to my colleagues -- >> i will give you the answer, they did not do anything. they did not do a thing. that gives you the answer from earlier. it shows you help clinical you are. when texas passed that bill in september 20 21, eight days later, the department of justice announced something into that bill. help me pass the state senate and the governor. you guys are in there contesting that 8 days later. you guys have something in new mexico. that is an assault from the government. it did not go to the legislator. the department of justice does nothing. >> the civil rights division is deeply committed to enforcing the laws that this body gave us. committed to standing up for the rights of all americans, chairman. >> based on some of your answers, not knowing what is on missouri v. biden. that is wh

and shortly after the justice department began its review. the attorney general gave a sense of the detailed time line and the cascaing failure that's curd over the course of 77 minutes between when law enforcement arrived on the scene and when they finally entered the classroom. but we also know that the pain and failures and missteps did not he said when law enforcement feign finally entered the classrooms. it continued at minute 78 when it became clear that because there was no leader, there was no plan to triage the 35 victims in classrooms 111 and 112, many of whom had been shot. victims were moved away without precautions, without appropriate precautions, victims who had already passed away were taken to the hospital in ambulances, children with bullet wounds were put on school buses without any medical attention. in the commotion, one adult victim was placed on a walkway on the ground outside to be attended to. she died there. the reunification and notification process for families was similarly chaotic. and as some of the families des

protecting civil rights is essential to the department of justice. eated in 1870 in part to confront the ku klux klan and others who used terror and violence to prevent black people from exercising their civil and constitutional rights. nearly 100 years later, congress gave new energy to this work by enacting legislation that established the civil rights division and empowered it to protect the civil rights of every person in america. our work remains continue sadly, to see acts ofnd discrimination in many aspects of life. the division combats these harms by enforcing the constitution and the protections enshrined in law by congress. we work to ensure that every eligible american has voice in our democracy by confronting tiwe work to advance equal opportunity in employment, housing, education and more. we safeguard the rights people with disabilities and we defend the civil rights of those who defend our nation in the armed forces both past and we work to vindicate the rights of sexual assault survivors and people who experience sexual harassment on c

shortly after the justice department began its review. just gave a se have lined out and the failures that occurred over the course of 77 minutes when betwe l enforcement arrived and when they entered the classroom but we know the pain and failures and missteps did not enforcemend clearassroom and rescued contit that there was no leader, no plan to triage the victims in room 111 and 112. they were moved away. victims already passed away in ambulancees and children in bullet wounds were put on school without medical attention. one victim was placed on the ground outside to be attended to. she died there. the reunification and notifiti was chaotic and truly deeply painful. during and during the 77qv unclear and conflicting information about where to go to reunite. family m the school for hours not knowing where their children were if they were safe, hurt or even families searching for their loved ones were sent to the high school, civicspital. some of these details are gut wrenching. families hearing about the need of aut that their loved o

and the biden justice department, it's not really -- it's him. they would lose that. whatever separation one gets they would lose that. >> yes, i agree. >> i want to thank the everyone for joining us today especially john malcolm and john yu. they'll be plenty more to come in 2024 and encourage you to keep an eye on emails and further announcements and as always we welcome feedback at f. thank you for joining us. merry christmas. we are adjourned. >> buy, everyone. >> watch live from the c-span network as the first votes are cast in the presidential election along with candidate speeches and beginning with the iowa caucuses. >> campaign 2024 on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. book tv the every sunday on c-span2 the features leading authors discussing latest nonfiction books at 8:00 p.m. eastern african-american policy forum cofounder kimberly crenshaw shares black women stories of police violence, say her name and 10:00 p.m. and looks at the challenges of manufacturing goods in the united states. watch book tv every sunday on c-span2 an

because it is so unusual to have congress ahead of the justice department, having been at the justice department, that does not happen. and it also sort of gave permission. it sort of did both. >> well, the american public had sort of understood quite clearly what had happened. at least, televisually. >> exactly. >> katie, when it comes to these federal cases, the one that was perhaps open and shot in terms of the charges are fairly straightforward, the evidence is relatively straightforward. is the mar-a-lago case. and if you look at what is happening down there -- and we have not actually talked about this in quite some time. i mean, judge aileen cannon, is not revisiting the travel trial schedule until march 1st. and earlier this week there were some back and forth with trump in the special counsel. trump is trying to expand the material that is under the sort of, in the discovery process, to extend to, effectively, almost everybody in the federal government. it is a ridiculous motion. and i am not a lawyer. but it seems so. but it is successful in terms of delay. and it seems like

the justice department was interested in that. they brought prosecutors to sit in on that trial and monitor. when the supreme court decided earlier this week that it was not going to extend that case any further it declined both apple's appeal and epic's appeal. that cases wrapped up and there is nothing more that can happen. that was one of the last things the justice department is was waiting to resolve before it makes final decisions. ed: mark your calendars for march because bloomberg reporting the doj suit could be coming. digital markets in europe and apple needing to make changes to comply with that. leah nylen out on the east coast. let's bring in da davidson, senior software analyst. you heard the reporting from leah. when we think about the antitrust threat to apple, is that price in? >> i do not believe so. great reporting from leah and the rest of the bloomberg team that broke this story. i believe implication could be far-reaching. apple will have to do something. either allow these other third-party equipment provide

shortly after the justice department began its review. the attorney general just gave a sense of the detailed timeline that we have laid out and the cascading failures that occurred over the course of 77 minutes between when law enforcement arrived on the scene and when they finally entered the classroom. but we also know the pain and the failures and missteps did not end when law enforcement finally entered the classrooms and rescued the survivors. it continued at minute 78, when it became clear that because there was no leader, there was no plan to triage the 35 victims in classrooms 111 and 112. many of whom had been shot. victims were moved away without precautions, without appropriate precautions victims who had already passed away were taken to the hospital in ambulances, while children with bullet wounds were put on school buses without any medical attention. in the commotion, one adult victim was placed on a walkway, on the ground outside to be attended to. she died there. the reunification and notification process for families wa

i told them that the priority for the justice department i told them that the priority for thejusticebeen to honour the memories of those who were taken from them. and i told the families gathered last night what i hope is clear among the hundreds of pages and thousands of details in this report — their loved ones deserved better. law enforcement response at robb elementary school on may 2a, 2022 and in the hours and days after was a failure that should not have happened. we hope to honour the victims and survivors by working together to try to prevent anything like this from ever happening again, here or anywhere. i am now going to turn to the key observations and recommendations of the report. 0n recommendations of the report. on may 2a, recommendations of the report. on may 24, 2022 at recommendations of the report. on may 2a, 2022 at 11:33am, an active shooter wearing body armour and equipped with a high—power ar 15 rifle entered robb elementary school and began shooting into classrooms 111 and 112, which shared a connecting door. within minutes, 11 law enforcement officers from t

he knows the justice department given everything chad said the justice department won't prosecute hunter biden for contempt of congress. there is not only precedent that they can rely on to not do it. not everybody in the j-six investigation got held who defied a subpoena got held in contempt and then prosecuted. there were some witnesses like mark meadows they tried to refer him and the justice department said no. but here are justice department could easily say look, this guy is facing two indictments. he wasn't going to testify anyway. so we choose not to exercise our discretion to prosecute. he knows he won't be prosecuted and he knew when he showed up today that they were not actually going to question him. so it was a safe -- it was an interesting calculation for him and eye opening one but it was a pretty safe calculation for him he wasn't going to end up in a witness chair. when we talked about this the last time, my suggestion was that they should reissue the ube subpoena once they authorize the impeachment committee because in politics, which is what this is, you are either on

administration's justice department, got involved here? >> sure. it was over memorial day weekend, just the nation, in fact, the world was reeling after the events that had taken place in uvalde on may 24th. but i received a call from the then mayor of uvalde basically asking the justice department if we could conduct an independent accounting of what had happened that day. there was a lot of finger pointing going on. there was a lot of misinf misinformation. the families were not only reeling from the horrific events that day but also from the kind of mixed up information feeling that people were advancing their own agendas in what information they were providing to families, even from officials. and so the then mayor asked the justice department to do that. we ended up just days later opening our critical incident review into this. >> you make a great point about there was so much information flying around that was conflicting, some of it was wrong, some of it seemed to be outright false hoods. in the process of putting together this rep

special counsels do report to you. >> look, we have reasserted and clarified the norms of this justice department. we follow the facts and the law wherever they lead. politics is not a part of our determinations. it would be improper and it's not. the department has regulations about the appointment of special counsels, and we follow those regulat regulations. in each case, we have appointed people who are formerly veteran career prosecutors, whatever their current position is. >> and they're sufficiently independent from you, you believe? >> yes, and the regulations make them independent from me. so with respect to the public, i hope they will see not only from what we've done but from the outcomes of the cases and the way in which special counsel have proceeded that we have kept politics out of this. >> you know, one of the trials of the former president, donald trump, is scheduled for march. you know, some o. pof the polli shows 3/4 of republicans believe he's being targeted for political reasons. does it concern you that this public perception exists and what can you do to try to change that?

and then he allowed them to come to the justice department. and what is interesting about and i have to give a credit to my sister so you can see daddy with about five children in his arms when he's talking to robert doar and nick katzenbach and trying to integrate at the university of alabama. now it's very popular today to have children come to work right? it was not really popular in 1963. nobody had take your children to work day. and no, you didn't do it usually with father when he's on the call with the police with the national guard and trying to get people to do the integration. and yet because he has children on his lap, he has an understanding that you are dealing. human beings. and also, it's difficult to keep your humanity when you're also talking about how to make do the right thing. and i think it's critically interesting to think when sometimes when people make tough decisions, it's just i'm going to be very tough and not understand that they're human beings that you're talking about. but if you have a child on your lap and othe

it's the department of justice's job to carry out justice. that's that.would like to yield three minutes to my colleague from wyoming, mrs. hageman. the speaker pro tempore: the lady from wyoming recognized for three minutes. mrs. hageman: it should come as no surprise this administration known for its reckless spending and misuse of congressly appropriated money has resumed the obama era practice of redirecting settlement funds away from the american people and to act at this vest groups championing the radical left's pet projects. instead of going to those harmed by a defendant or placing such funds into the u.s. treasury to serve the american people, vast sums of money, literally millions and tens of millions of dollars, are being directed to democrat party lined groups by federal agencies. . these groups are then free to spend dollars on partisan priorities expressly denied by congress, or to fund their own sue and settle tactics against the federal government. simply put, these funds are weaponized against the american people and are yet another way

but to see this in the way the department of justice laid out from the moments the officers first arrived, just today how the family's have been treated by law enforcement, by city officials, it's very painful. and i think the department of justice made a point in this report to make this about the victims, about their suffering, about their need for accountability. and because, really, if they had not done this nobody would have done this. and so it was an important moment for the families to hear this from the attorney general, the united states attorney general, the top law enforcement official stood before these families and said there was failure here today. something also he said that was very very important event and investigation, lives could have been potentially saved if law enforcement acted properly. it's very significant because we've never really heard anyone here say that before. and that brings us to a whole another level, whether or not the district attorney here is going to be able to file criminal charges against the people who failed the families here today. that is th

so i want to talk about the justice department, which you used to run. donald trump is vowing to use the justice department if he gets back into the white house to prosecute and persecute his political enemies. talk to me about the risks of his being able to actually accomplish that because in a second term, there would be no normallies left. this is mike davis. this is somebody who has claimed he is in line to potentially be attorney general of the united states. here's what he is saying he would do with that job. >> i will rein hell on washington, d.c. i have five lists ready to go, and they're growing. list number one, we're going to fight. we're going to fire a lot of people in the executive branch in the deep state. number two, we're going to indict. we're going to indict joe biden and hunter biden and every other scum ball sleaze ball biden except for the 5-year-old granddaughter who they have refused to acknowledge for five years until the political pressure got to joe biden. number three, we're going to deport. we're going to deport a lot of peop

i do know there was a reason why that the mayor, at the time , reached out to the department of justice requested this independent review. there was a lot of infighting. it is very important and i applaud the department of justice for putting together this very comprehensive minute by minute account of what occurred. that will never bring the children back but we do have to learn from this. once again, we have to find tangible solutions that make sure this doesn't happen again. it cannot be rhetoric. we cannot wait for the next shooting. since the uvalde shooting, we have seen several school shootings, several different incidences where you have seen a local law enforcement, if you will, almost learned from what happened in uvalde and run to the fire. i hope that continues to be the standard throughout our country. >> lastly, whether red flag walls, or raising the age where somebody can purchase or even possess a firearm, is there any gun restriction that you support now that you did not support before uvalde that may have helped prevent this? >> i continue to look for common sense thin

the department of justice had been debunking trump's wild election fraud lies one by one, but president trump chose to not listen. on a december 27th phone call with rosen and donoghue, president trump said the department had an obligation to "tell people that this was an illegal corrupt election" despite no evidence of widespread fraud. trump also pressed them to publicly "just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the republican congressman". richard donoghue: that was an exact quote from the president. it indicated that he had some political avenue he wanted to pursue with the congress, but by him telling us that we should say publicly that it was corrupt, that concerned me. adam kizinger: what he intended was for the department of justice to say we have indications that there was corruption because from there, you can take that seed of doubt and donald trump and republican members of congress can water it, they can grow that doubt and then through there, you could do things get people to vote against certification on january 6th. jake tapper: as long as rosen and

no other city official would have allowed the department of justice in, but he, on his own, against his party, the republicans here, against what the governor wanted him to do, what the department of public safety wanted him to do, they didn't want doj in this. he said, no, i'm going to do this. i'm going to bring doj here and here we are today. it's because of that that the families are able to get the answers that they've been wanting. because quite frankly, rihanna, i don't think, we would still be playing a guessing game here. the families would still be wondering, well, what really happened here? because to this day, when you think, to this day, not one state official, not one state official, has briefed these families. not one city official has set them down and said, let me tell you everything that has happened here. and it seems like today, at least for now, they have some answers and as they said, they're going to keep fighting because there is so much more and they've got to figure out how to bring this community together. to be here, you see it, you feel it. even the families

maybe he gets elected president, and he controls the justice department, the case goes away.lows down the proceedings is helpful to donald trump. i think that if the d.c. circuit makes a kind of sensible ruling, it could be pretty narrow, right, it could leave a lot of leeway for presidents in the course of the conduct of duty to have immunity, then the supreme court may decide not to touch it. now, that would allow the case to go forward more quickly. it might also create some ambiguity going forward for future cases, right. i mean, if the supreme court had very clearly weighed in on the case of former president nixon, the law would look slightly different now. in perpetuity, it can be useful for the supreme court to make itself clear on these basic matters but for the sake of this case, for the justice department, it would be better if the court just allowed a d.c. circuit ruling to stand, as long as it's in the justice department's favor, of course. >> right. and then you look at what they're choosing from and the more that it's one sided, the more the trump folks have car

his lawyers arguing against what the justice department says. let's just show up -- show the judge how serious it is. it's unlike any other position in the world. >> it's an unprecedented situation we are all watching and covering here. it's not just the d.c. appeals court hearing. trump is expected to be there in person for the closing arguments in his civil fraud trial. the start of a new e. jean carroll defamation case. there are all these political events happening. >> i think trump wants to be there so you can give a press conference or -- just upon pontificate. it's like he did during the civil case, as soon as he left the courthouse or the courtroom, he gave -- he started speaking about how horrible this case was. i think that's his plan next week. urthouse and then start saying how he being persecuted. t cld be the beginning of big snowball. jonathan, talk to us about the calendar and how the events are starting to collide now as we enter 2024. look at the next couple of weeks. >> you can see in that graphic how interspersed those electi

can sort of think of it as the same way as a ferguson report or a baltimore report where the justice departmentt in and investigated the broader patterns and practices of those it police departments. this is sort of along those lines. it's run by the cops department and sort of more broadly looking. but they weren't looking directly at criminal charges to be brought necessarily here. that's something that's going to have to play its way out of course in state courts. >> i'm looking at one of the notes from appendix c in this page 405 of the report. it says personnel from responding agencies rarely trained and exercised in a multiagency environment. and ken, i'm just thinking back to when we were covering this in the aftermath, this was back in may of 2022, so it's been a year and a half plus since this incident unfolded, and one of the things that seemed to be a problem for the law enforcement response was there were so many agencies that were part of the response, some 400 plus law enforcement personnel that ultimately responded, and it seemed like people didn't know who was in charge or who w

>> if the prosecutors from the biden justice department want to go down that path, which i'm not suret to. they've sort of been dragged kicking and screaming into filing these charges at all. they tried to wrap it all up in the sweetheart deal -- elizabeth: yeah, but hang on. let me back up, because i covered the irs and taxes for years. when you have a tax case going before prosecutors, when they are trying to establish tax evasion charges, federal charges, they have to stipulate how the money was made and the dollar amount that was evaded. so when they do that in the interogg stories and in court, they could get him on the stand and say you made this much money, you evaded this amount of tax, why? and, by the way, this keeps this issue alive for the biden campaign through the election. finish. >> oh, yeah, no, it's a big, big headache for the biden campaign and the biden white house, no doubt. my only point, elizabeth, was i think this justice department really tried to avoid coming into a scenario where these questions would get asked at all. remember, they didn't file the tax char

. >> charlie, these names are not t the black book, which i understand the justice department now has, we can talk about justice department, but, these are names from a lawsuit where jeffrey sues ghislaine maxwell saying you defamed me, why jane does? was there any name that needed to be protected, i get you protect victims, but if they are coconspirators this not something private. >> not everyone what has been named can a coconspirate or a con firmed associate of epstein. people are referenced because, you know victims and people who were associated with epstein were asked, did you meet leoardo de capri or cate blanchett, he named dropped all of the a-listers in his conversations they were included in document. in terms of the case was sealed, because it is a sensitive topic with victims of sexual abuse e and assault, everyone was a jane or john doe, there are a few people still protected because they have made claims which suggest their lives will be put in danger if i are named in connection with epstein, one jane doe in particular said he lives in a culturalry conservative countr

it opens a dangerous door for the justice department to take the normal engagement of members of congress with a foreign government and to transform those engagements into a charge of being a foreign agent for that government. i want to address the accusations as they relate to me, but i don't want you to lose sight of how dangerous this precedent will be to all of you. let me start by describing my history of taking adverse positionsto the government of egypt, my defense of human rights, democracy, frn my stinging -- and my stinging criticism of human rights issues in egypt. throughout my time in congress, i have remained steadfast on civil rights defenders in egypt and everywhere else in the world. if you look at my actions related to egypt during the period described in the indictment and throughout my career, my career is consistent in holding each accountable for unjust attempts at egypt citizens and efforts that would have eroded the independence of the nation' judiciary, among other concerns. in 2017, i led the writing of a bipartisan letter to prum expressing -- president trump sh

justice. and i strongly would urge the department of justice to do a full scale investigation and put a stop toman. dan webb, thank you very much. >> thank you, bret. good to be with you. >> thanks. >> bret: up next the panel on the presidential race and all the developments today. ♪ity r sfx] introducing ned's plaque psoriasis. [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. [ned?] it can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing it for nearly a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. [crowd gasp] ♪ with clearer skin, movie night is a groovy night. [ting] ♪ live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. here's to getting better with ag

the justice department asking the courts to step in to block this measure. zooming out this is part of an ongoing to people tween president biden and texas governor, greg abbott, who launched his own border mission at the launch of president biden's administration. it has caused alarm here at the white house as i have seen the governor take on immigration actions, many of which are controversial, along the state 's shared border with mexico. just this week, this is the second legal action the justice department has taken against texas. earlier this week they want to the supreme court and asked them to step in to allow the administration to cut razor wire, which texas have put in place, and border agents say have been discovering their own operations on the ground. all of this continuing to unfold between the president and the republican governor. now this dispute is going to play out in the courts. >> priscilla alvarez live from the white house. thank you so much. we want to pivot to capitol hill now. house republicans are saying that they will shut down the

the justice department now has.e could talk about that justice department, we will, but, these are names from a lawsuit where jeffrey sues ghislaine maxwell saying you defamed me, why jane does, was there any name that really needed to be protected. i get you protect victims, if -- this is a civil lawsuit, this is not something that is private. >> i think we have to point out, that not everyone who has been named is a co-conspirator or confirmed associate of epstein, some people named in the documents, are people who were referenced because you know victims and people who were associated with epstein were asked did you meet leo or cate blanchett, does not mean they well anything do with epstein, but it was mere fact he named dropped the a-listers in his conversations, they are in the documents.. >> okay. >> in terms of the legal experts have a better understanding, but the entire case of sealed because it is a sensitive was toic with victims of sexual abuse and assault. everyone was a jane or a john doe, there are a

joe, part of this that i want you to respond to, a lot of republicans say that the justice departmentliticized. the justice department is investigating cori bush, investigating bob menendez, investigating hunter biden. this seems to be clear evidence that the justice department is doing what they are supposed to be doing. whether republican, or democrat. >> look, i just want to run out by saying when you have the department of justice looking into anything, it should be taken seriously. obviously, she denies the charges, but part of the reason why there is such consternation on the right side of the aisle is, because when you have somebody, who has called for, effectively, disarming police, and preventing every day americans from being protected, then, perhaps, using public funds, and abusing them to protect yourself becomes this type of, what in the world is going on? i think, to your broader point, if we are just trying to ensure we can have the justice department that works for everybody, i think we need as much transparency as possible. certainly, there has been a politicization o

i got to ask you as a former top justice department a official, e top, do you think the department of justice took too long in really starting its investigation of donald trump and his inner circle in earnest? >> well, you know, i don't know exactly what was going in the justice department or what processes they were going through. i can say once jack smith was brought on theicates the case has moved in i think a very -- a fast manner, and they've moved things along. and so i think the focus that you raise is a legitimate one, and i think that legitimate prosneeds to proceed in l such way the p american people have this piece of vital information before them. these cases can be delegated in such a way they are fast tracked. there's other cases where that has occurred as well. anded i would think given wheree stand now and close to some of the elections i would hope the courts would move these cases along as they did not do during mr. trump's term in office where he successfully played the courts and delayed, delayed and delayed. >> what do you make of this 36 days to decide on whether

which brings me to the danger of what the justice department has done with charging a member of congress acting as a foreign agent. the definition of agent is broad. it includes anyone who engages in, quote, political activities, publicity services, or other certain acts at order request or under the direction or control of a foreign principal. applied to members of congress, it covers anything that could in any way influence agency or official of the united states or any section of the public within the united states as to public policy. so when members of the senate from agricultural states went to communist cuba to sell rice or poultry or sugar or beef and were told by the castro regime they would consider doing so, but the senators would need to convince the u.s. administration to change u.s. law and lift the embargo and then came back to the united states and advocated for exactly that request, did that make them a foreign aejt -- agent of cuba? i think not. when senators travel to israel and hear from their leaders requesting greater economic or defense assistance or replenishment

and we want to make sure that they can feel confident that the department of justice, the fbi, and otherenforcement officials are going to have their back. in most cases they do. in most circumstances the department of justice, which i distinguish clearly from the white house, so really needs to step it up. >> mister secretary, given that most if not all of election activity is not governed at the federal level, it is governed at the state level, what efforts are you taking, as well as in coordination with other secretary of state across the country, to work with state officials? to work with the state party that have a significant role in providing the kind of workers who show at the polling places? other people who have official positions on election day, to better coordinate and to better weed out the crazy and the dangerous. i see the leap to the federal, at the end of the day it really begins with what happens amongst and within the state community to deal with some of these issues. >> michael, thank you for that question. i think there is a very important piece of the puzzle here.

i've got to ask, you as a former top justice department official, the top, do you think the department of justice took too long, really starting its investigation of donald trump and its inner circle in earnest? >> you know, i don't know exactly what was going on in the justice department. i obviously didn't have access to the materials they were looking at or what processes they were going through. in hindsight, it's always 2020. but i can say that i think that once jack smith was brought on to the case that the case have moved in a very fast manner. and they moved things along. and so, i think that the focus that you raise is a very legitimate one. and i think that the process, the judicial process needs to proceed with the american people, this vital piece of information before them, before they actually cast ballots in november. but i think that the emphasis has to be on the judicial system, and to try to make sure that they, they processes cases as quickly as possible. these cases can be designated in such a way that they are fast-tracked. i mean, it certainly happened in the supr

that is the line the justice department they hope the court draws.iona: emily, thank you for joining us. emily: thanks for having me. caitriona: doctors at walter reed medical center say the u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin is being trot -- treated for prostate cancer and his prognosis is excellent, but the white house says it did not know about his diagnosis until today. it also says it did not know he was under general anesthesia during his surgery in december. it is the latest controversy surrounding lloyd austin's recent health issues. he was admitted to the hospital on january 1 over a week after his surgery for an infection and he was in the icu. doctors expect him to make a full recovery. questions have been swirling since it emerged the pentagon did not notify the white house that he was in the hospital until january 4,hree days after he had been hospitalized. >> we will try to provide you with the most information we have as quickly as we have it. recognizing that as i say that, we could have done a better job last week. again, we have

justice department and to a woman with whom the congressman allegedly had sexual relations when she was 17 years old. we should note he's never been charged with wrongdoing here. what have we learned? >> we've learned the house ethics committee investigating congressman gaetz has done a new round of outreach to potential witnesses including a woman who was still 17 years old when she allegedly had sexual contact with congressman gaetz. we learned they have also reached out to the justice department asking for materials for the years-long investigation into the congressman where they investigate this alleged sexual contact with a minor. they did not ultimately opt to charge the congressman. now, in response to our new reporting tonight, the congressman says, those allegations were not true, have never been true, and the people who spread those lies have been exposed, indicted, and imprisoned. >> remind us how we got here. >> back in late 2020 under trump-appointed attorney general bill barr, they opened an investigation at the justice department into whether congressman gates or his asso

ultimately we did see the justice department take action against at&t and we saw justice department take action in the ibm, most important antitrust actions that we had this n which they positioned the u.s. to get ahead. they i knew that as key set of antitrust actions and if you do comparative advantage in japan, parts of europe that actually double don on national champion, the u.s. ended upcoming out ahead because national champions weren't able to innovate in the same way. especially with the large tech companies that we should hold up on antitrust these companies are actually deeply engrained in china. and economic dependencies can actually leave the u.s. more vulnerable and we have seen how foreign states can use that economic leverage as a way to, you know, impose their own social values on the u.s. and we heard about some companies censoring, changing the content of their products and services to please the political leaders of other countries and so these higher paradigms here are a bit more scrambled when the companies have interest that may be aligned against u.s. national sec

, and there's nothing wrong with him telling the justice department what to do. can feel like what you hear with donald trump is, he can do whatever he wants, and everybody else needs to be very cautious. or they'll open the pandora's box he wants to open himself. >> which is tricky for the biden campaign. they don't want to weigh in at all because biden has been resolute about not interfering with the justice department, as trump likes to say he did. >> right. the special counsel brought this case. >> exactly, that has presented a real hurdle for them in this campaign. >> yeah. we talk about it, then you own it. at the same time, he has been charged. so we'll see how that plays out in a general election if they face each other. >>> coming up, the entire state of iowa is under a winter storm warning. how the snow and extreme temperatures are already impacting the iowa caucuses. to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks co

justice department change things? >> i mean it could change things because it gives the voice that the families here feel they have not had. they have now the attorney general of the united states here today standing before them to the world saying what happened here should not have happened and this was a massive screw up. if you ask the families, wolf, they'll tell you they believe that the d.a. is trying to protect herself politically. she's trying to protect some of the officers that were involved here because they can't understand why it's taking so long for her to make a decision. in her meetings with them, in private meetings she's just said that it's taken a lot of time, she needs to gather more evidence, she needs to bring experts in. we have no indication -- she's not publicly spoken about this. we have no indication if she's doing any of that. she keeps saying she's going to make a decision at some point, there's going to be a grand jury potentially going to hear some evidence, we don't know because we have