i'm laura coats in for don lemon. what we learned this week is more proof as if anybody needed more proof that our democracy and the audit confirm what had we knew that joe biden won maricopa county, he got 99 more votes than the coupty coup ty reported in november. they are winning the misinformation war by keeping the questions out there and pushing for more investigations of the big lie of bogus voter fraud. the latest in texas. a state he won by the way and also in pennsylvania. all of this as the january 6th committee is already issued the first subpoenas that to trot trump aids and allies mark meadows, dan, cash patel. >> it is on the table. we've discussed it and if it comes to that, there will be no reluctance at all on the committee to do it. >> the white house also said this week that it will release information to the committee about what trump and his aides were doing on that day and then there is the revelation. the one in bob woodward and robert costa's book. they wrote a six-point scheme for how mike pe

we have reba martin, and laura coates. laura, the dark dystopian undertones of this just cannot be overstated. let me get this straight. a woman in texas now has to carry her rapists child to term. that's the new law? >> it's unbelievable, alisyn. remember, one of the craziest things about this is how unnoticed it's gone. this was a shadow docket. the supreme court has been silent. they were able to essentially allow roe v. wade to in essence be overturned and they didn't say a word. they haven't stepped in. they haven't issued an opinion. they haven't asked for oral argument. this is a case that's been on the books for so many decades. they have the idea of a trimester framework totally uprooted. the woman being able to make personal decisions under roe v. wade and its progeny, including the idea of when a fetus is viable, that's all upending -- upended now which essentially says if you have a problem with the law being enacted in the state, you can't sue the state. they have sovereign immunity. you usually sue the state o

"don lemon tonight" with laura coats sitting in starts right now. laura? >> hey, michael smerconish. listen to you tomorrow. can't wait to hear you. nice to see you. >> thanks for that. okay. >>> this is "don lemon tonight ". i'm laura coats. we have breaking news. a judge handed a narrow vehicto to abortion advocates tonight. a judge blocked the anti abortion group called texas right to life from suing abortion providers that are employed by planned parenthood underrestrikctive six-week ban. it allowed people to post tips about possible illegal abortions taking place in the state. planned parenthood pout out a statement tonight saying we are relieved the travis county district court acted quickly to grant this restraining order against texas right to life and anyone working with them as deputized enforcers of this law. president biden called the texas law almost unamerican. >> the thing about the texas law is sort of creates a vigilante system where people get rewards to go out to -- anyway. it just seems -- i know this sounds ridiculous, almost unamerica

i'm laura coates in for don lemon. and what we learned this week is more proof as if anybody needed more proof that our democracy is at risk. there's the arizona fraudt, the one run by the so-called cyber ninjas and the audit confirmed what we already knew, by the way, joe biden won maricopa county, he got 99 more votes than the county reported in november. even though the former president and his cronies lost the battle in arizona they are winning the misinformation war by keeping the questions out there and pushing for more investigations of the big lie of bogus voter fraud. the latest in texas, a state he won, by the way, and also in pennsylvania. all this as the january 6th committee has already issued its first subpoenas to chop trump aides and mark meadows, dan scuveto, steve bannon and cash patel. >> criminal contempt is on the table. we've discussed it. if it comes to that there'll be no reluctance at all on the committee to do it. >> the white house also said this week it will release information to the commit

have a good weekend. >>> i'm laura coates in for don lemon. at least 46 deaths in the wake flooding in the northeast. over 20 million people still under flood warnings. new york city recovering tonight after never-before-seen rainfall. 35 billion gallons, 35 billion gallons falling between 7:00 p.m. and midnight alone. the nypd reporting 69 water rescues including a livery driver in central park. >> i mean, that's how you make your money, man, i'll hold you, just like that. i got him from behind. >> the chaos unending across this region. a new jersey transit commuter train stuck in the floodwaters. houses flooded three-quarters of the way up near philadelphia. hundreds of water rescues. and this is how it all began. sunday, hurricane ida makes landfall in louisiana as a category 4 storm with winds of 150 miles per hour. the barrier island of grand isle bearing the brunt, left now completely uninhabitable. the storm losing strength as it travels north but leaving a path of destruction, spawning at least eight confirmed tornadoes in the northeas

"don lemon tonight" with laura coats sitting in starts right now. laura? to hear you. nice to see you. >> thanks for that. okay. >>> this is "don lemon tonight ". i'm laura coats. we have breaking news. a judge handed a narrow vehicto to abortion advocates tonight. a judge blocked the anti abortion group called texas right to life from suing abortion providers that are employed by planned parenthood unde

cnn's senior legal analyst laura coates is here. laura, good evening to you.s evening. this suit sets up a showdown before the federal government and the republican-led state of texas. what comes next, or as they say, now what? >> well, you know, these showdowns are pretty much handling under normally the supremacy clause, which says that the federal law and supreme court precedent is going to actually take precedent over the idea of a state law. texas already knows they're in violation of roe v. wade. they know they're in violation of federal law, but they were attempting to try to go around as an endgame, which of course garland called out today to say there was an obvious and also expressly stated goal here of trying to run that end run ar around judicial review. we've been talking for a long time, don, about the idea of hey, uber drivers could have been swept up under this dragnet. lyft operators, receptionists, school counselors, you name it. this idea of that very vague definition of what it means to aid and abet somebody who is trying to get an abortion

let's get some analysis from our senior legal analyst, laura coates.l, it means she has agency, at least, in some respects over the decisions in terms of her being able to decide who will make those decisions. in tandem with her. this is really a bigger story, as chloe has spoken about for weeks now. it's really not only about the idea of the free britney spears movement. but also about a larger discussion about conservatorship laws in general in this country. in fact, there was a hearing on capitol hill yesterday about this idea of allowing people to have some agency over the decisions they make. and normally, it's reserved for people who are incapable of being able to make certain determinations. it's not intended for people when you disagree with the choices that they might make just because you disagree, as opposed it being a reflection of a bigger issue. what you're seeing is very embl emblematic, frankly, about a shift in view points about the conservatorship laws in the country and being allowed to have somebody have a say and a vocal one about

. >>> here to discuss, former president prosecutor and cnn senior legal analyst laura coates. have you on. briefly if i can on this trump lawsuit because trump files a lot of lawsuits, most of them not serious at all, is this one serious? to pursue, he would have to see -- cooperate with discovery, documents, which would arguably reveal more about his taxes and tax returns than we know already. >> he would actually have to do that and prove other factors here. there was an unsuccessful suit brought a member of his family trying to stop the publication of the book initially. we had a whole slew of threats by the former president against media outlets who published information about his private data, he says, or his financial data or attempts to do so. and part of what is included in this particular lawsuit is a discussion of actual malice, which leads me to believe they're conflating what he's already tried to pursue, first amendment type litigation against news organizations, hoping to say they did so or published data only with actual malice to get around that defamation crit

i want to bring in laura coats as well. s the federal government have standing here, standing, legal standing, and do you think the justice department will be successful in this challenge? >> they're making a very persuasive case here. i'll tell you why. this is such an obvious end run around the judicial process. i mean, imagine a legislature that's unchecked now because there is no oversight, no opportunity to have judicial review and as merrick garland articulated today, the idea that somebody does not have recourse in the moments they actually need it. but what's interesting about the choice for the basis of bringing this lawsuit is something we have been saying over the last week now is even an uber driver could be swept under this dragnet. that ambiguous definition of aiding abetted lead the da to draw this conclusion. it is so wide now that federal employees, like the defense department or issues of medicare and medicaid services, refugee programs, the labor department, the idea of all these different things, job core

. >>> laura coates jones is, and the state attorney for palm beach county, down in florida. dent going after his niece for disclosing the tax information. does this lawsuit have any merit? >> well, you know, it seems to be an additional attempt, on the one hand, try to stop anyone from publishing or viewing any tax records. he lost a protracted litigation up to the supreme court, but remember it's also about his attack on the media. he's had a long fight talking about how he believes they're acting in a vindictive way against him, a person vendetta, of course. all of this is an attempt to deflect, which can oftentimes protect journalists from being able to say we put forth the situation, it was of extremity public importance, but talking about actual malice and vendetta. interestingly enough, mary trump's book they tried to stop even being published from a settlement agreement 20 years ago. she arced that agreement was fraudulent, because it's based on part of data you gave to me on the fake sort of i.r.s. and tax documents. so it's a very circular one with a lot of different

i want to get to jeffrey toobin and analyst laura coates. thai for joining me this evening. jeffrey, this is big news. the select committee going to four of trump's aides with subpoenas. what does that tell you about the investigation? >> it tells you what they're looking at is what donald trump knew and when he knew it and what complicity he had in this riot. what it also tells you is that the democrats shouldn't get their hopes up that these four are going to testify, because one of the things the trump administration taught the democrats in congress is they can defy congress more or less with impunity, because they can tie up these subpoenas in court for months, and this committee does not have months. so even though these four, i think, have no real legal basis to refuse to testify, i would be very surprised if they actually did wind up testifying. >> so, laura, the committee wants documents, let's see, by the first week in october, and pa patel and bannon are appearing on october 15 and 16. none of these people are going to volunteer to testify, so how does the committe

by bring in the former fbi assistant director of the criminal division and laura coates, senior legalderal prosecutor. good evening to both of you. thank you for joining me. let's start with the i.g. report saying the agents involved betrayed their duties. the indianapolis field office first learned there were allegations against nassar from three gymnasts but they only to one. it was by phone. raisman said they took 17 months to speak to her. it is frankly almost unbelievable. what went wrong? you know the fbi. what went wrong here? >> don, this is as bad as it can get. chris wray said today on the hill as he testified, he had no explanation for it. not only did they do no investigation despite receiving credible allegations from the victims and the committee itself. they lied about it and covered it up. and then on top of that, the special agent in charge in indianapolis was applying for a job and trying to go for a job with the olympic committee at the very same time. and in those 14 months, dozens and dozens of young victims were at the hands of the predator nassar. so don, i can'

don lemon tonight with the upgrade, laura coates, right now. >> chris, you're so right, not only aren so many instances, what we're seeing in places where you are right now and all across the country, i mean, it's hard to watch, but we can do more. >> amen, amen, i say. when i was driving home last night, being driven home because i'm soft, we kept stopping in queens and every car i saw with someone in it, there was a neighbor from that area or there was another driver out and either pushing the car, speaking to the person inside, helpin

i'm laura coates in for don lemon.r lives. this after ida slammed the region with flooding and tornados just last week. the president declaring major disasters in multiple counties in both states. that as hundreds of thousands of people are in their second week without power in a sweltering louisiana. and the president is facing one challenge after another. the deadly storm coming on the heels of the end of america's longest war. and the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan. president biden's job approval rating dropping to just 44%. then

let's discuss with jeffrey toobin and laura coates. thank you both for joining.ood evening to you. jeffrey, this texas law set to go into effect at midnight central time. it bans abortions at six weeks and allows private citizens to bring civil suits against providers and anyone who helps a person seek an abortion. explain how that would work. >> well, it's very simple to explain how it will work. abortion will be illegal in texas, period. i mean there is no abortion clinic. there is no abortion provider that will risk going forward giving anyone woman the opportunity for an abortion in light of this law. six weeks is a time that most women -- many women don't even know that they're pregnant. so it's effectively a ban on all abortions. and this very strange provision of allowing private parties to sue is an attempt to insulate the state of texas from being sued to stop it. one reason why this is such a legally complicated situation is that there is no clear defendant in this case, and that's why the law was set up this way, and that's why in about 88 minutes, unl

let's get more on all this with cnn legal analyst laura coates and christine brennan.g. can you explain what this means for female athletes of all ages and all sports to see some of the greatest gymnasts of all time, including simone biles, testify before congress as they are trying to hold people accountable for this who wronged them? this is just awful. >> jim, it's crushing. it's crushing for young girls and young women. it's crushing frankly for young boys and young men to see this. the power structure exists in these sports. it is so hard to speak out. and then when you have adults failing, especially when these women -- they came forward. they did the right thing. they talked to the fbi. and it was buried. of course it was just horrific what happened to them, the sexual abuse, the worse sex abuse scandal in sports history, jim, the worse sex abuse scandal in olympic history. and they tried to do the right thing and the they were silenced and the report was buried. you know, there's power in the platform. here they were today reminding us of the horrors of the las

don lemon tonight with the upgrade, laura coates, right now. until it happens tyou, right?th as they say, but for the grace of god go i in so many what we're seeing places where you are right now and across the couny, it's hard to watc but we can do more. >> amen, amen, i say. when i was driving home last night -- being driven home because i'm soft -- we kep stopping in queens, and every cai saw with someo in it, there was a neighbor from that area or there was another driver out and either pushing the car speaking to the person inside, lping get them out. ople do good things -- not always, buwe can overlook that, especially in hard times. we see people doing good things. >> wl, as i was driving you to queens, i saw the same thing beusi'm hard. i'm just giving you a hard tim >> i lose to you ten out oten times. yoll get no fight back. it's not the normal anchor on the show. >> there you go. thank u. >> the other guy i'll fight with u, il just le. >> sma man. have good ekend. >>> is is don lemon tonigh and i am lauraoates in foron least 46 aths ithe wa ofistorifloodi in e no

cnn's senior legal analyst laura coats explains how this law is different from others around the country. >> if you are talking about up ending the trimester framework not only of roe v. wade but of subsequent decisions that talk about a woman's right to choose prior to the viability of a fetus, meaning it can actually exist and survive out of a womb. what they are doing is so sneaky, it needs to be explained even more. what they have done in texas is essentially said any person can sue anyone in a very vague term who aids and abets an abortion, meaning somebody who encourages it, who drives you to, somebody who may have donated money to an abortion-related cause, that person could then have to pay a penalty of about $10,000. the idea of a plaintiff who might have to have something that they cannot reverse in the form of having a risk of imminent harm by a law, they can't now go to the courts to redress their grievance, they have doctors who can't perform what is legal under roe v. wade, the only option is for the supreme court to say look, fifth circuit has to say that the lower court a

i'm laura coats in for don lemon. president biden is hours away from a visit to new york and new jersey where at least 52 people lost their lives this after ida slammed the region with flooding and tornados just last week. the president declaring major disasters in multiple counties in both states. that as hundreds of thousands of people are in their second week without power in a sweltering louisiana. the president is facing one challenge after another. the deadly storm coming on the heels of the end of america's longest war and the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan. president biden's job approval rating dropping to just 44%. then there is the economy. extended pandemic unemployment benefits expiring today in the wake of a massively disappointing august jobs report. >> there is no question that the delta variant is why today's job report isn't stronger. i know people were looking and i was hoping for a higher number. >> the president blaming the surging delta variant but amid holiday weekend travel and past stadium

"don lemon tonight" with the upgrade for friday night laura coats. >> how sweet of you.solutely crazy. >> so i hear. you know what? the good news is that the momentum of pa etito, that stor is crazy and has a lot of intrigue but it's not the only one and allowed us to right a little bit of a wrong and deal

i'm laura coats in for don lemon.the president declaring major disasters in multiple counties in both states. that as hundreds of thousands of people are in their second week without power in a sweltering louisiana. the president is facing one challenge afte