in the crossfire lz granderson and ken cuccinelli. are not going to believe what attorney general is encouraging state attorney generals to do. he is telling the nation's top law enforcement officers they can pick which laws they will and will not enforce. he argues they can disregard laws banning same-sex marriage. >> this is the essential duty to which all of us have been sworn, not just to win cases but to see that justice is done. >> that is a fundamental misunderstanding of his job. the argrogance of a single persn under mines the entire system of constitutional law. it is the duty of the attorney general to uphold the law, not judge the law. in that context, how would you feel if an attorney general who just heard that went back home, happened to be a racist, and said this is terrific. the attorney generals said i shouldn't enforce laws i don't like. i will no longer enforce any antidiscrimination law. >> i don't think that is what eric holder was saying and neither do you. what we both know to be true is that this has been deci

peggy fox talked to cuccinelli today to find out more about it. >> reporter: ken cuccinelli says he's happy to be off the campaign treadmill and now focusing on his family, his own law firm and a separate whole new kind of law practice, one dedicated to defending gun rights. >> if they lawfully use a gun to defend themselves or are essentially harassed for legally carrying where they're allowed by law to carry, we weekend them start to finish. >> reporter: he and three partners have launched virginia's self-defense law. the difference with this firm is that they charge a low monthly retainer of $8.33. >> people are retaining a lawyer. they have a lawyer. this is not an insurance plan. that's an important distinction. >> reporter: he says he would have defended george zimmerman who shot and killed trayvon martin had it happened in virginia and if he'd already been signed up with the firm. >> he'd have already had to have retained us. if something happens and you want to retain us, you're in the ordinary pay scale. >> reporter: cuccinelli says virginia gun owners who are allowed to open

joining me now host of new jersey capitol report, steve audeboto and ken cuccinelli.t me start with you. the trips don't come up the day before. this has been planned a while. going to raise money. really important donors in texas. >> sure. >> but all of a sudden, nobody wants -- look, they're not appearing with him, and if they wanted to, they would have. that's when you get the photo ops and things like that. is this the right move for republicans to avoid chris christie right now in. >> look, every republican across this country will have a tough choice to make. chris christie is not going. i know that mr. cuccinelli a couple of weeks ago here on cnn on "crossfire" said it's time for chris christie to go. i haven't heard the groundswell, the bandwagon he started is pretty empty. so far, the candidates have to decide, the candidates running for governor, incumbents like rick perry have to decide. but they want the money, they want the christie money. they may not want to be there right next to him or take a pekt at that moment while the controversy is where it is, b

. >>> former attorney general ken cuccinelli is looking to represent clients in three gun rights casesthey launched virginia self-defense law, according to the "washington post." the group will focus on defending second amendment rights. a legal retainer with the firm is less than $10 a month. cuccinelli has another practice that will focus on constitutional law, complex civil litigation, and health care fraud. >>> it is now 4:51. final for weather & traffic on the 1s. i hope you have all your layers back out. aaron had on his big furry coat this morning. that's how cold it is. >> and you're even wearing a blazer. i can't believe it. >> i had to wear a coat, boots, long pants, everything. >> that's just being inside. >> that's right. >> it is our coldest day under way for the entire month. it's the last day of the month, but it's probably going to be the coldest day of february. look at the windchills. just absurdly cold. down to near zero. the wind only blowing at 10 to 15 miles per hour, but if t feels like zero. layer up. temperatures in the teens around washington, fairfax, prince

ken cuccinelli virginia's former attorney general is serving as the lead counsel for the case he says this trial will be different from the federal case late last year in which a judge ruled that the n.s.a.'s mass collection of phone data is constitutional here's what he had to say most times this question has been addressed overwhelmingly it has been on what's called an ex parte basis that means there was no one to argue the other side there was no one there to defend the constitution vigorously cuccinelli went on to say that this would be one of the rare occasions when we have a debate in front of a judge who will then be able to make that ultimate decision both cuccinelli and senator rand paul said they were very optimistic this case would go to the supreme court but that it could take several years before it reaches that level in washington david. meanwhile states are doing their part to fight against n.s.a. surveillance and maryland the home of the n.s.a. a group of state congressmen introduced a bill that would literally pull the plug on government spying they would do this by c

ken cuccinelli said that bruce fine had not been named in the lawsuit because no written attorney retainernt had been completed at the time that the lawsuit was filed. other e-mails indicated that fine was paid $15,000 for some of his work but it's not clear at all after all of this whether fine will remain part of the legal team. wolf? >> joe johns, thanks very much. >>> up next, we'll speak with senator rand paul. he's standing by live. he'll join us here in "the situation room." i'll ask him about this new lawsuit about the president. we'll ask talk about his own white house ambitions. >>> and stay with us for more of our breaking news coverage. this is truly an historic snowstorm. it's getting worse right here in the d.c. area. thundersleet developing. we'll have a special report on that at the top of the hour. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet

ken cuccinelli will come to your defense. we'll have that story and a lot more at 6:00. eyes now are sort of -- >>> all eyes now are sort of zooming past the weekend to monday morning. >> you should enjoy saturday and sunday, 40s on saturday, 50 on sunday, not bad, take a bide ride or a little jog. we've been talking about going through this evolution of the forecast now it's been trending colder and cold are and it continues. it's possible -- colder and it continues. it's possible by monday evening temperatures could be in the teens in the metro area. let's start with a live look outside, our live michael and son weather cam, looks harmless enough now, just cold, only 29, high 30, advertised 50. winds are light. at least we don't have wind chill, but if you're going out tonight, treat it like a january night, hat, gloves, scarf, the whole bit. there's the radar for california. again their rain will be our ice and snow. they're getting hammered. it's just feast or famine. at least it will fill up the water table and a lot of snow for the mountains. it's going to race to

. >> obviously you're talking about ken cuccinelli of virginia. let me ask you this, senator.ng at the lawsuit now. i was hesitant to bring this up. but i feel like i have to. the district of columbia is misspelled. there is no flrvegs there. it's a spelling typo but, still, it is right at the top. i read it further and this caught my attention when you're talking about you're standing personally to bring this case. it says defendants have without legitimate basis collective, stored, retained, periodically searched telephone meta data he made or received since may 2006 and the defendants continue to do so. so let me ask you about that. this is crucial. you have to prove that to bring this case. the nsa collects 20% of the american phone calls. do you have the proof that all of your calls, 100% of yours, are in that piece of the pie? >> the question of standing is a complicated legal question. the attorneys will have to sort that out. there have been a report in the "wall street journal" saying that all of verizon's calls were collected, all of at&t's calls were collected. the

just elected overwhelmingly by women who understood there was a huge difference between him and ken cuccinelli>> as of last year, labeled 27 states hostile to abortion rights. how critical is it for your group to make sure pro-choice candidates are senate and governor seats? >> it's not been advancing an agenda but making sure women have access to health care. planned parenthood is the largest provider of women's health care in the country. we see 3 million patients a year and women turn to us for health care needs. one in five women in the country at some point in their lifetime and respect us when it comes to elections and they rely on us to tell them who's on their side. again, women are going to be the majority of voters in november. they have been for the last several cycles and again, what we've shown, it's the gender gap that is really determined who wins and that will be true in the key races you mentioned. >> planned parenthood was the most successful lobby during the 2012 election and 98% was spents on winning candidates, you have a good track record on this. why do you think that is

already dropped $11 million in the governor's race in virginia to help terry mcauliffe defeat ken cuccinelli, a man with a solid record of questioning the science on climate change. and in the fall, steyer plans to go after florida governor rick scott who says science does not create climate change. asked if he believe in climate change he said, "no, i have not been convinced." the president, today, rolled out a plan that would cut fuel consumption, carbon emissions from large trucks. >> improving gas mileage for these trucks are going to drive down our oil imports even further. that reduces carbon pollution even more, cuts down on businesses' future costs, which should pay off in lower prices for consumers. >> president's announcement follows provocative comments from secretary of state john kerry made to students in indonesia over the weekend. kerry said, which is 1,000% absolutely true, is climate change is its own weapon of mass destruction. >> think about this. terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. all challenges that know no borders. the reali

when he filed it, file's name was replaced with ken cuccinelli's getting into a back and forth with finew says that's not the case but the episode obscured headlines that otherwise would have gone to the lawsuit. >>> then the hillary clinton news of the week. the biggest lesson was how easily old news could be treated like it's new. papers belonging to her late friend diane blair came out this week. carl bernstein wrote a whole book based on them but it was revealing so-called news about mrs. clinton's reaction to her husband's affair with monica lewinsky. the papers added a little context to the episode but nothing significant. it didn't change sort of bigger trends from that story or what you assumed to be the case with hillary clinton there. nevertheless, it reminds us how easily the scandal can be brought back up and potentially impact the 2016 run. you've got to think that weighs on hillary clinton's mind. >>> then there's texas senator ted cruz. he took a stand on the bill to raise the debt limit. cruz managed to burnish his own reputation with the tea party but like he's done befo

and if you look at related issues like ken cuccinelli and attorney general of virginia, that is a state where statewide offices on this issue, the attorney general, and the democratic governor now have shifted, right, so it raises the question when you look at a bell weather, once conservative leaning state like virginia, whether folks have moved away from these issues and whether they help republicans on the ballot at this point. >> well, i think a good indication of that is that my inbox this morning, i don't have any sort of statements from the top republican leaders in the house or the senate or even rank and file themselves really weighing in on this. and you've seen this, you know, with the supreme court ruling back in the summer when they ruled, you really saw a muted response from leaders of the republican party, because there's a real sort of hesitation. they realize where the public is moving and where their rank and file in the party is and a real tension that's forced them to recalibrate how they deal with this on a national level because of the tension that exists right now

. >> former virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli is serving as lead counsel.governor there, too. he admits it's likely to take several years before this case reaches the supreme court. >>> stocks closed lower in asia. european markets break their longest winning streak of the year. and u.s. investors, well, you can look for more of yesterday's selling on wall street. the two largest cable companies are joining forces. that's the big money story of the day. comcast set to announce it's buying time warner cable for $45 billion in stock. deals this size typically come under tough scrutiny from federal regulators. if approved, a combined comcast and time warner cable would hold a third of the american cable tv business. customers, beware, less competition typically means higher prices. it's definitely something regulators look at. time warner cable is a separate company from time warner, the parent of cnn. but that's the big money story we're following today, this huge, huge cable deal. >> you know, i have some breaking olympic news right now, and it's rare good n

digital campaigns that changed our world from forcing the lululemon executive to resign to keeping ken cuccinellif the governor's mansion in virginia and for making things like sandra fluke, wendy davis and the plight of female sex assault victims in syria matter to the masses. the executive social editor, elizabeth plank, joins us now to talk about it. liz, thank you so much for being here. and you do go into 23 specific campaigns, but one of the things that i was thinking about too is i think there's been a broader awareness brought to society of what sexism looks like and what sort of things are going to cause you to become the focus of one of these campaigns. so it's caused a general shift. >> exactly. i think people are realizing that sexism is not just bad for women, it's bad for business. if you insult women, you're insulting the people who are making the major -- sort of like the decisions when it comes to the consumer market. who determines what we buy. who determines who's going to be online. it's 85% of the consumer that's driven by women. >> when you look at your list, so much of it i

conservative constitutional scholar bruce skin worked on it but his name was not on the document and ken cuccinellin asked cuccinelli who authored the document, cuccinelli said it was a legal team, including fein and fein would particinate the litigation. fein told cnn he looks forward to working with the others with transparency and no ulterior motives. >> joe tied it up nicely there. the plagiarism issue goes away because fein saying he's part of the team. that goes away. but on its face, it's inherently a political tactic. the issue may make its way there but this lawsuit will not be the way it gets reviewed. the underlying issue is very important. it's going to get supreme court review but this is not the case that gets it there. tweet us #newday. >>> the sneenortheast is in the throes of a northeaster. in one place, thousands of people who just got their power back are facing new outages. we'll take you there and show you that community on age. >>> here's a good story for you. she took silver in women's slopestyle with her unbelievable cork 7 trick. no, we don't know what that means but she's

he was a gubernatorial candidate and virginia -- ken cuccinelli. guest: he is a capable lawyer and he will do a good job on this case. we filed in virginia. toadds 28 team of lawyers -- a team of lawyers. they are capable of moving through the process. this is a serious class action. we hope to get to the supreme court. we hope to certify our class. we hope to get a positive decision. host: we will go to patrick in florida. independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. iso not know if mr. kibbe such a source to go with. i remember him lobbying fiscal conservatives and ronald reagan, who tripled the national debt. a lot of your other colors stole my thunder. many countries have done away with these cell phones called burners. texas spent $33 million protecting their present system from these cell phones. they are the number one contraband item in the prison system. not know what to do with the government. you cannot have it both ways. you cannot have too little or too less. i do not know what the right mix is. host: if you are able to get

he was a gubernatorial candidate and virginia -- ken cuccinelli.uest: he is a capable lawyer and he will do a good job on this case. we filed in virginia. toadds 28 team of lawyers -- a team of lawyers. they are capable of moving through the process. this is a serious class action. we hope to get to the supreme court. we hope to certify our class. we hope to get a positive decision. host: we will go to patrick in florida. independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. iso not know if mr. kibbe such a source to go with. i remember him lobbying fiscal conservatives and ronald reagan, who tripled the national debt. a lot of your other colors stole my thunder. many countries have done away with these cell phones called burners. texas spent $33 million protecting their present system from these cell phones. they are the number one contraband item in the prison system. not know what to do with the government. you cannot have it both ways. you cannot have too little or too less. i do not know what the right mix is. host: if you are able to get th

ken cuccinelli is listed as head attorney on the case and partnered with freedom works, who is co- listedent's spying program and the nsa. he said, look, this is not paul revere running around. it's different. >> the president, when he talked about privacy recently, he said oh, this is like paul revere in the history of paul revere, warning us. but if paul revere wasn't saying the americans are coming, he was saying the british were coming. it was about a foreign invasion. really i think he's got it wrong and the fact that he thinks that he can look at all of our records without a cause, without probable cause or suspicion, that's what warrants are based on. >> and in a lot of ways, a lot of americans think it's about invasion, invasion of privacy and invasion of constitutional rights. there is a very telling set of fox news polls now that show the american people are not on board with some believe to be the president's power grab. so the first question that was asked was about executive orders to bypass congress. is this how government is supposed to work? 23% of respondents said yes. an