it really undercut mark harris' entire defense. yesterday, while we had this riveting testimony, emotional testimony from john harris, today, we have this day of uncertainty. mark harris took the stand, insisting that he still was not aware of any illegal activity that could have taken place in his campaign. he was saying that dowless assured him that he worked within the confines of the law. but then at the very end of this section of his testimony, it started to get quite personal. hep called his son young, 27 years old, said he was judgmental and had a taste of arrogance. after that, his attorney said, let's take a break. i need to -- we need to go and we need to confer behind closed doors. they went into a plunch break and now they're in closed session. we don't really know what's happening right now, but something strange is going on that we hope to find out when they come from this closed session, katy. >> that is, it's jaw dropping to hear those details. let's listen a little bit more from mark harris himself talking about h

the fact of the matter is mark harris won the race. he got more votes." en it became obvious harris maybe didn't win after all, republicans began saying harris didn't know anything about what went on or about leslie mccrae dowless, the operative who appeared to run the whole illegal absentee ballot scheme and was paid by his campaign. then that contention was shot down yesterday by none other than mark harris's own son. assistant u.s. attorney john harris shows up at the hearing and testifies he e-mailed his own father in writing back in 2017 about worries that dowless was breaking the law. >> and you wanted to be clear that this could all blow up, be referred to the d.a. >> yes. there's a legal dimension which i thought they were illegally collecting ballots. >> all of which led to the republican congressional candidate mark harris, the father of the man seen there testifying kind of against him, a man who had sued previously to be seated in congress because it was not fair. that led him to his emotional reversal before the state board of elections today.

mark harris has been maintaining throughout this entire time that he was not aware of the illegal tacticssed with these absentee ballots to overperform but john harris takes the stand and says i warned my father and he had e-mails to prove it. and so while we're waiting for mark harris to take the stand, which could happen any minute, it's going to be super interesting to see how he defends himself now, steph. >> it sure is. i need to bring my panel in to walk through this. guys, quickly, what's your take on this? >> i mean, for those of us with children, i mean, that is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. but i think the message that he echoes about transcending partisan politics, we've been following this seat, wondering what's going to happen. who at this point doesn't want to transcend partisan politics? >> that's the opposite of what we're doing. we've never been more dug in. >> do you think so? here is the thing. we now have or already heading into the 2020 cycle. what you are starting to see is the emergence of real ideas. it will be fascinating to get back to a point where we can t

the outcome because it determined that mcgray dallas, a political operative working on behalf of mark harrise race's republican candidate, illegally collected absentee ballots in a voter fraud conspiracy. the democrat in the race, dan mccready, ran against harris in this race. he already declared he's going to run in the new election and he joins us now. thank you so much for being with us. just tell us what your reaction was to this call for a new election. >> well, it was a great day for democracy in north carolina to see in this era of hyperpartisanship where it seems democrats and republicans can't agree on anything, to see a 5-0 decision by the state board of elections. three democrats joined with two republicans all to come together and say this kind of corruption won't stand. this actual stealing of votes, this election fraud won't stand in north carolina. it's a big victory for democracy. >> so it's been months now at this point since the election. you initially conceded, and then upon realizing there appeared to be this significant discrepancy when it came to these absentee ballots,

republican mark harris thought he'd be serving in congress and instead expected to testify tomorrow.lection officials have been trying to determine to what extent that operative, mccray dallas, may have collected and tampered with absentee ballots. harris has maintained that no one raise any red flags about the past accusations against dallas. >> i would later learn that obviously there had been things that in the past that had been looked into but everything that had been looked into, everything had come out just perfectly fine. >> but today harris's son, an assistant u.s. attorney in north carolina contradicted his father's claim. he testified that he raised a red flag with his father before dallas was hired. >> i expressed my concerns based on everything i did know up to that point. mainly my belief that mccray had collected ballots in 20. 2016. that was in my review of voter data. i told him collecting ballots was a fell an. >> i'm joined by political reporter for netinate. msnbc. that surprised me. was that expected? that testimony today? and what has it done to the case. >> >>

does dan mccready run or mark harris not run again given the drama?'s great reporting, it is likely he does not run. there is more going on than affected the election. charges of perjury, elections to pacs. it seems maybe the pendulum would swing towards him not running. the question is how much does this become like other special -- recent special elections we've seen before the midterms, that both parties view it as kind of a harbinger of the upcoming election, a finger in the wind where we should invest a lot of money in this outcome. and whether this whole episode actually affect the outcome. if it flips this to democrats, because there is a backlash against what happened down there, there is a lot here to play out. we'll just have to see whether the parties view it as a worthy investment to go fist to cuffs here. >> it depends who the candidates are if it becomes a proxy fight, how much money they put in. when do you think they might have the special? >> probably may is, based on lyanne's reporting, that they would do that in may. for the whole p

>> we believe in mark harris. we have no reason to believe he did anything wrong. >> do you buy that republican leaders didn't know about this? >> i certainly do not. under any circumstance i would. >> they knew -- >> they knew him as sure as they knew their next-door neighbor. i was lead investigator at the state board of elections for over 15 years. well, what i found was vote buying at like $5 a vote -- >> $5 will get you a vote. >> and maybe a beer. and this was mainly mccrae dowless that rumors and the vote buying was coming from. and we were not talking as far as mccrae dowless picking up absentee ballots back then. moving on, mccrae dowless has gotten much more brazen as the years have gone on. >> with what you found did anyone ever face any criminal charges? >> no. no. >> it should not be that we have to cheat to win. it should not be that we have o to -- >> you ran for sheriff and you lost. with everything swirling around the election do you think that maybe something might have happened in your race? >>

now, look, mark harris has other issues at this point at well.ently did not turn over all of the evidence that was subpoenaed when it was due, and late last night the state board of elections said that it received additional documents, including this text message, where it appears that mark harris is asking to be introduced to mcrae dallas. >> it's drama like you do not ever really see. diane gallagher, thank you so much, in raleigh, north carolina. >>> any moment, "empire" actor jussie smollett is set to appear in a chicago courtroom to face the stunning police accusations that he staged an attack on himself, lied about it and left a trail of evidence behind. stay with us. that rocking chair would look grahh, new house, eh?e. well, you should definitely see how geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. nice tip. i'll give you two bucks for the chair. two?! that's a victorian antique! all right, how much for the recliner, then? wait wait... how did that get out here? that is definitely not for sale! is this a yard sale? if it's in the ya

mark harris will be certified. one way or another and he will be the next congressman from the ninth congressional district. >> what about mccray dallas? >> i am not familiar with mccray before all of this happened. >> you had not heard of him? >> i personally had no knowledge of him. it all kind of runs together. we didn't hire him, we didn't engage him. and if he broke the law, he should be held accountb. >> what about the people who hired him, should they be held accountable at all? >> we believe in mark harris. >> do you buy that the republican leaders had no idea who this guy was? >> not under any circumstance would i buy that. they needed him just as well as they need their next door neighbor. i was lead investigator at the state board of elections for 15 years. >> and tasked with doing what exactly? >> investigating any and all complaints, inquiries, potential wrong doing by voters, candidates. >> reporter: apparently in bladen county, there's a lot of that going on. what did you find? >> what i found was vo

this political operative, mark harris says she did falsify votes and forge signatures and get paid. what will happen in this race? >> my hope is the state elections board will declare the election null and void and do a

it's almost as if mark harris, who was brought to tears yesterday, it's almost as if he was dismissives son. >> reporter: steph, it has been a riveting last 24 hours in this hearing. and john harris' testimony, it has really affected where this case is going. mark harris has come to the stand today to defend himself, but his defense was really obliterated, because his son said that he warned him of this character, mccrae dowless, and this absentee ballot scheme. but mark harris was saying, look, i thought this was just my son's opinion and dowless confirmed me that he worked within the con fifines of the l. so we're in a lunch break right now and they're just about to come back in just a few minutes, but just before they did break for lunch, as you played, it got very personal when he did say that his son was judgmental and had a taste of arrogance, steph. >> that part, well, my son's judgmental with a taste of arrogance. come on, now. leigh ann caldwell, thank you so much for continuing to report on this really important story. >>> when we come back, robert mueller's report on the rus

republican mark harris deated democrat dan mcready by just 905 votes. miles parks from npr has been inside the hear, and he joins me esw. from raleigh, m parks, welcome to the news hour. so what are we learning? what a you hearing and learning in these hearings on what happened? >> so the investition is focused on really one man, mccray dallas is his name. he was political operative hired by republican mark harris' campaign with get out the vote efforts. state represents are saying his efforts went a lot further than the apt-28 loued. normal efforts encouraging people to vote and registering them to vote. people say dallas collected ballot, which is illegal. a woman said she even went asas far illing in blank races that were not filled out by the voters. >> woodruff: so that's m question: what evidence has the state provided that proves that mr. dallas broke the law? >>e well, we heard from a number of voters who say they provided dallas with ballots that were unsealed. we heard from one specific woman maimed lisa britt, who is dallas' former step-daugh

been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted. >> reporter: that is republican mark harris who beat democrat dan mccready by 905 votes last november. the race was never certified because the guy harris hired to get out the vote was accused of built on fraud. specifically hiring works to illegally collect absentee ballots and request forms, forging voter and witness signatures, and even filling out some ballots for republican candidates. harris says he never knew about that, but his son, john, testified he repeatedly warned his father that mccray dallas was a shady character, referencing a particular phone conversation. >> in the phone call that i thought they were illegally collecting the ballots. >> reporter: the son's testimony was damaging. >> it was painfully clear to me that your son was saying, daddy, don't mess with this guy. >> understand, and i know he's judgmental and has a taste of arrogance. and in all truthfulness today he was right. >> reporter: he said that before shocking everyone and calling for a new election. >> say aye -- >> aye. >> reporter: a call the

mark harris.t statement the gop picked to convince the country of their candidates innocence was set at today's hearing but none other than lisa brit, the convicted felon that admitted to illegally collecting and filling in stranger's ballots. a firm paid someone engaged in the most egregious fraud of the cycle and the party that likes to scare monger thinks their guy should be seated in congress. the hearing continues and the state board elections will decide whether or not this qualifies the state of north carolina or whether another election is needed. okay, paint a picture for me. uh, well, this will be the kitchen. and we'd like to put a fire pit out there, and a dock with a boat, maybe. why haven't you started building? well, tyler's off to college... and mom's getting older... and eventually we would like to retire. yeah, it's a lot. but td ameritrade can help you build a plan for today and tomorrow. great. can you help us pour the foundation too? i think you want a house near the lake, not

his lawyer said mark harris plans to testify. will hear more information about what he knew and what he understood from mcrae dallas. that will happen today. i expect it to be dramatic. host: let's say that harris is certified. what happens if he makes it to the house of representatives in washington. some democratic leaders like steny hoyer have said that they will not seek him if he shows up. but that was in december, before the investigation. it is kind of an open question. the house could open their own investigation and decide that they want to look into this. they could refuse to seat mark harris. back told kick things .he state they could order a new election to fill this vacant seat. even if mark harris makes it through this race, he would still face that hurdle in d.c. host: what does it say about the voting system in north carolina. caller: voting rights have been a big issue in north carolina for the last few years. there are gerrymandering cases that have gone to the supreme court. there have been lawsuits about new v

. >> thasi republican mark harris took the stand. >> a new election should be called. >> an historicmit addressing sex abuse in the catholic church. >> the pope has asked for concrete measures. >> i think it's too little, too late. >> surprise for many early tax filers. what happened to their refunds? >> the number that we would get back kept decreasing, and all of a sudden we owe $5,000. >> glor: and a great yarn-- how a kid became one of the best at crochet. >> that is what i do, and i really enjoy it. >> glor: good evening, i'm jeff glor. and this is our western edition, and we're going to begin tonight with the fall of an "empire" star, actor jussie smollett. he surrendered to chicago police today and was surrounded by tv cameras after posting a $100,000 bond. the head of the police department accused smollett of staging a publicity stunt using "the pain and anger of racism to promote his career." the judge said the charges, if true, are utterly outrageous. dean reynolds is at the courthouse. >> reporter: he has gone fromect in just over three weeks. w jussie, anything to say? >>

mark harris that won on election night is set to testify about the allegations that kept his win fromng certified. allegations that were all but confirmed on the stand this week by a campaign staffer hired to collect the mail in ballots in question. >> basically what we could do, what i would do is mark it down as whoever was the republican. >> who would have directed you to do that. >> we were directed by mr. dallas. >> joining me now is leann caldwell and jacob calderhoff. >> we're all waiting for mark harris to take the stand. he will be a key witness in this. his attorneys are consistently saying that mark harris didn't know of the activities that was at the center of this election. another thing that happened today is we heard from handy yates and mccray dallas to run it this scheme. what is so mind blowing to me is he would just pay mccray dallas without any invoices. he would say i need $4,000 for get out and vote oefefforts, ane would just hand over a check and that amounted to $131,000 over the course of the primary and the yfgs -- it is another situation, there is a lot of s

and so it was just too much for mark harris to overcome.e said that he also is having health issues so he just decided to kind of throw in the towel and say, look, let's do this again, let's hold a new election. but we don't know if mark harris will be the candidate in this new election, if the board does call for a new election. there's still a lot of unanswered questions, kasie. >> a lot of unanswered questions indeed. a remarkably dramatic trip for you down to north carolina. i know longer than you originally intended. nbc's leann caldwell, thank you so much. that will wrap things up for this very busy hour. i'm kasie hunt, in for ali velshi. i will see you back here this sunday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on "kasie dc." thank you very much for watching. "deadline: white house" with nicolle wallace starts right now. >>> hi, everyone, it's 4:00 in new york with two of the president's longest serving advisers rearing their heads in washington, d.c. today, one on capitol hill in advance of his testimony before congress next week and the other in t

mark harris retracted his statement and then he said let's have a new election. >> i think he said mccreedyharris is walking into the perjury trap right there. so that raises the next question. >> reporter: yes. >> so harass was walking in to perjury trap, had this abrupt change of heart, sited medical issues and there's going to be a new election now. does this mean harris, who ran for congress a couple of times in this district, does that mean he's expected not to run in this special election? >> it's unclear. his attorney said that's a premature question at this point. i don't really see how mark harris does run. he's tainted after this election. he is having some health issues that are serious. so but regardless of who jumps in the race for the republicans, they are going to have to have another primary. they're going to have to have a general election. it's looking like there's not going to be a new election until the fall. we're going to go months without a representative in the 9th congressional district. >> sdwroojust to set the stakes foks. we said democrats got a net gain of 40 se

as mark harris left -- he left with his wife, beth. he was asked, are you going to run again if they do determine we need a new election in the ninth district? mark harris did not answer. his wife, beth, said it's something that we will have to think about. it has been an emotional roller coaster the past few days. just yesterday their son, john, an assistant u.s. attorney general in the eastern district of north carolina, got on stage and essentially just dismantled everything his father had said publicly up until then. i want to continue the conversation on the north carolina district ninth but i'm hearing there's more news on the roger stone case. what do you have? >> reporter: the judge is back on the stand and just told roger stone that his apology rings quite hollow. >> wow! >> not just about speeches and gag orders but threatening. stone has not been chasen. she's not assured he's all talk and no action. he chose to do something, a deliberate action that could incite others. she said this was, let there be no mistake, a delibera

mark harris.o convince the country of their candidates innocence was set at today's hearing but none other than lisa brit, the convicted felon that admitted to illegally collecting and filling in strang stranger's ballots. a firm paid someone engaged in the most egregious fraud of the cycle and the party that likes to squacare monger thinks theiry should be seated in congress. the hearing continues and the state board elections will decide whether or not this qualifies the state of north carolina or whether another election is needed. north carolina or whether another election is needed and i don't add up the years. but what i do count on, is staying happy and healthy. so, i add protein, vitamins and minerals to my diet with boost®. boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. all with guaranteed great taste. the upside- i'm just getting started. boost® high protein be up for life. it's easy to move forward when you'r

mark harris was in washington did have d.c. how's this ringing out on capitol hill what happened in north carolina? >> i think capitol hill has been watching this and cringing the wholhow'has time because they wondering howse mark harris cou even think to hire this guy to help t with absentee ballots, tt he was warned by his own son was likely a fraudulent operation, and soen a lot of capitol hill republicans think that they should have had a tighter leash on this guy, and they didn't expect that in the 21st century that they would be resorting to, you know, ballot fraud. from democrats you hear people talking about as much attention on this case, what about all those state laws that republican legislatures have passed toan me ites harder for people to vote, particularly minorities, and so that's something you hear that from democrats as a talking point because they believe that suppresses the number of votes from minorities. >> either way it's astounding to see this has dragged on for some long. >> the midterms continue. >> ab

this process and certainly did things differently than i would have done them. >> you could see mark harrisstimony. harris later blamed an illness as a reason he didn't take action about his son's warnings. harris also made a dramatic turn around. watch him. >> neither i nor any of the leadership of my campaign were aware of or condoned the improper activities that have been testified to in this hearing. through the testimony i have listened to over the past three days, i believe a new election should be called. ninth congressional district among the poorest in north carolina and already been without a representative a few months. now an election, including primaries will start all over again and unclear if marc harris will actually be a candidate. martha. >> martha: trace, thank you very much. what a story that is. trace gallagher in los angeles. so, kamala harris' latest comments on race not sitting too well with one member of her family, her own father who just vowed to disassociate himself really over the comments she made about pot-smoking. he said it was a travesty when we come back.

i'm told it's premature if mark harris is going to run again.s tainted himself in this controversy. his health is bad. if you look at his federal election filings, he is broke. he is in debt. it's going to be very hard for him to be a viable candidate. on the democratic side, dan mckreedy will run again. we expect to hear from him later today. >> no doubt. he is ready to roll. thank you so much. thank you for staying down there. this is a story we need to keep on the national stage. >>> we will take a quick break. amy klobuchar has made a name for herself on the hill. when it comes to the race for the oval office, she says she's an underdog. we will discuss that next. t. ♪ hoo - want to take your next vacation to new heights? tripadvisor now lets you book over 100,000 tours, attractions, and experiences in destinations around the world like new york, from bus tours to breathtaking adventures. tripadvisor makes it easy to find and book amazing things to do. and you can cancel most bookings up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. so you can m

>> right. 905 votes is the magic number that mark harris defeated dan mcready by. it's really still unclearth whethe number of ballots dallas handled actually hits that number. wet know t either dallas or people paid by dallas turned in registration forms for more than 1,000 voters, but it's stillho uncleamany ballots dallas collected an how many he turned in. 's really unclr whether we're ever going to know that number, and republicans say, if the number -- if the investigators do not show enough eidence to say ballots were affected to getn close to 5-vote margin, then harris should be certified. >> woodruff: clearly a lot of eyes on these a hearings, as you say, they are going into tomorrow. >> yeah, they are. it's really unclear how long this will go. they started out as potentially aone-day or two-day hearing. it's been extended tomorrow. they say they have the roo reserved until thursday. we're basically taking this day by day. testimony has been going slirly ly. they've gone through less than a dozen witnesses, and there's zens more that both candidates have

the republican, mark harris, who has been leading in the contested race agreed, hold a new election.ent coming after his son testified he'd warned his father not to hire a political consultant who is now at the center of this entire thing. that leaving his father in tears. you've been covering this hearing for days. a tremendous amount of detail alle involving alleged voter fraud and now this moment, tears. where are we? >> erin, if you had asked me this morning if this is where we were going to be right now, i would have told you that you are absolutely crazy. this hearing started off with a bombshell. a worker who basically confirmed everything that people had suspected, saying that she was paid to illegally collect ballots, fill in forms, do things that she wasn't supposed to do. it continued with the testimony from the candidate's son, who happens to be an assistant u.s. attorney, saying that, look, i warned my dad about this guy. and by the way, here are the e-mails, the paper trail proving that. and today, the candidate himself, mark harris, got up on the stand, began to testif

mccready did allegedly lose by nine hundred reports to the republican candidate mark harris.s of the election fraud and a probe culminating this woke in the gripping testimony from the republican's candidate son who told the world he warned his father before the election about this controversial aide's previous ballot tampering. zbloots i love my dad. and i love my mom. okay. i certainly have no vendetta against them, no family scores to settle. okay. i think they made mistakes in this process. >> through the testimony i've listened to in the last three days, i believe a new election should be called. >> wow back. >> i'm joined by the democratic candidate who ran in the race against mark harris dan mccready announcing he will run in this historic eash exeye. thank for coming on "the beat" with a story a lot of people will be interested in. >> great to be on ari. >> glaet to have you. before we get to what you are running op viewers have had a lot of going on this week. what was the significance of what we saw in this testimony. >> people are saying this is the largest case of

i'm joined now by the democratic candidate who ran in that very race against mark harris, dan mccready today he will run against in this truly historic special election. first of all, thanks for coming on "the beat" tonight with a story i think a lot of people are interested in. >> great to be on with you, ari. >> great to have you. second of all, before we get to what you're running on, we just watched that. our viewers have had a lot of different things going on this week. not everyone may have seen that. what was the significance of what we saw there in that testimony? >> people are saying that this is the largest case of election fraud in living memory. being what happened in that -- in that hearing was just -- just gripping for everyone. you had a situation of covering up of e-mails, of lying on the stand, of leaked early voting information to mark harris' campaign. this really goes to i think what does it mean to live in a democracy? what does it mean to be an american? you know, there is no right that's more sacred than our right to vote. that was under attack here in north caro

>> reporter: yeah, so the latest is, allison, we are expecting mark harris who believes he should bewashington right now to testify later today. i have been told by his camp that he is going to answer questions. he's not going to reserve his right not to testify. that's not going to happen until after they finish interviewing the man who founded the consulting group used by the campaign that was paying that political operative, mccray dallas, who is being accused of collecting absentee ballots illegally, having people change races. so andy yates, the founder of red dog group, he spoke for four hours and claims he and the candidate had no idea. in fact when they heard monday's testimony that he was shocked, angered and truly had no clue that dallas told him everything was on the upened up. i have to tell you when confronted with data he had, part of the reason why is candidate wanted to brief dallas on that the group did not hire dallas, mark harris chose to hire dallas and worked out his financial situation yates testified before the consulting group came on that were really suspicio

mark harris leads officially. he's trying to get this thing certified. legal team? are they contesting there were irregulate airs? or are they making a different argument? >> they're making a different argument. they're not contesting there was sketchy, unlawful activity regarding the absentee ballots and they're acknowledging mccray dallas was the sentser. what they're arguing is that their client, mark harris, knew nothing about it, eve though he hired dallas through a consult firm. and he didn't know what steps to take regarding the absentee ballots and so what they're trying to do is set that record straight and separate hairess from mccain dallas in the operation and what they're also trying to say is that yes, part of this election might have been tanlted but it was just regardingson tee ballots in two rural counties. they're saying it was not enough to change the outcome of the race and they're saying that's reason there should not be a new election and that mark harris should be seated. >> 905 votes for harris over mccreedy. is there going to be

. >>> the son of north carolina republican can candidate mark harris says he warned his father about a political operative shady and possibly illegal tactics to secure votes. john harris' testimony before the state elections board undercuts claims by his father and his father's campaign strategist that they were not aware of any possible red flags. maris says he repeatedly warned his father about leslie mccray dallas, dallas now at the center of an election fraud investigation in the ninth congressional district. >> i had no reason to believe at any point that my father actually knew or my mother or anyone else affiliated with the campaign actually knew that mccray and his folks were doing the things that have been described today. i had no ren to belieason to be at all. i believe mr. dallas told them he wasn't doing any of this. and they believed him. >> things got really dramatic in court. at one point during his testimony, john harris' voice cracked and his father was weeping. the younger harris did not tell his parents that he was going to testify. >>> some 3,000 teachers will no

mark harris won the vote, but there was concerned of tainted results. live in raleigh after the break. you're watching msnbc. you're watching msnbc. welcome to the place where people go to learn about their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in. you're turning 65 soon? yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! well, you've come to the right place. it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why... medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. only about 80% of your medical costs. this part is up to you... yeah, everyone's a little surprised to learn that one. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. that could help cut down on those out-of-your-pocket medical costs. call unitedhealthcare insurance company now or visit aarpmedicaresupplement.com for your free decision guide about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type o

i told him that collecting ballots was a felony. >> yesterday mark harris was visibly upset while hiswn son testified. today the elder harris, who once had reason to believe he would have the title congressman prior to his name, tried to explain why he continued to work with dowless despite his son's verbal and e-mailed warnings. >> obviously i read these e-mails today in a very different intellectual light than when i read them when my 27-year-old son, who is a sharp attorney -- >> extremely sharp. >> extremely sharp. but i'm his dad and i know he's a little judgemental and has a little taste of arrogance and some other things. >> but later harris, an evangelical minister, admitted he had misspoken about those e-mails in earlier testimony and called for a new election. the state's election board quickly unanimously voted to toss out the november results. they're going to start over. the district will hold a new election, including a primary election, a general election probably won't take place until the fall. if this all sounds and looks unusual, it is. there hasn't been a rerun in

harris led in the unofficial count by 900 votes with "the new york times" reported mark harris won 61%lots even though registered republicans accounted for 19% of the ballots submitte submitted. the older harris was undeterred and he wanted to be declared the winner in the tight race and then this. >> neither i nor any leadership in the campaign were aware of or condones the improper activities that have been testified to. through the testimony i've listened to in the past three days, i believe a new election should be called. it has become clear to me that the public's confidence in the ninth district seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is wanted. >> the older harris blamed an illness for his lapses in memory and it's unclear if he will run in the new election and buy new, we mean totally new. new primaries, a new general election as well. it's worth noting for all the discussion of how partisan things are in washington and around the country, the state board of elections was unanimous across party lines in calling for this do over. >> shannon: w

she insists that mark harris had no knowledge of the operation and claims dallas strongly urged her to plead theifth, telling her and others not to reveal anything. investigeaors say at 1,000 absentee ballotwe request collected at the end of the hearing, which continues toda e the board ctions will determine if a new election needs to be called. >>> a royal sighting in the big apple. the m dailyl got these exclusive photos here of meghan lowle trying to keep a profile out on the city streets. they say she's on a fi-day secret baby show adventure. the trip was reportedly losest ed by her friends. this is the duchess' first time in new york since her wedding. she'sueround late spring. >>> a 15-year-old girl in las vegas had toas think to rescue her puppy from being eaten by a hawk. cecilia heard her two-poun c yorking and rushed to the dog's rescue. she tried yelling, using aow pio hit the bird, and was eventually successful in throwing patio furniture at the giant hawk. the family believes the bird may have also been a pet. they found torn straps around the burd's a legser the attack. t

about his campaign's alleged election fraud, a stunning announcement from republican candidate mark harriseve a new election should be called. >> reporter: at the center of the controversy, harris' political strategist mcrae dowless accused of tampering with more than 500 absentee ballots to help harris win. at the board of election hearing harris insisted he saw no red flags, but his own son testified that he warned his father that dowless was, quote, shady. >> i love my dad, and i love my mom. i certainly have no vendetta against them, no family scores to settle, okay. they knew they made mistakes in this process. >> reporter: his testimony bringing his father to tears. harris admitted his son was right but said at the time he didn't take him seriously. >> i'm his dad, and i know he's a little judgmental and has a little taste of arrogance. >> reporter: and then this surprising twist. >> i experienced two strokes from which i'm still recovering and i struggled this morning reportearthen callingon for north carolina voters to get a do-over, and the state board of elections has now voted u

dallas was hired by a consulting firm that worked for the republican candidate, mark harris. lisa britt testified she was paid by dallas at least $150 per 50 absentee ballots she collected. that in itself is illegal in north carolina. she continued on talking about filling in races left blank on unsealed ballots, signing as a witness on ballots she didn't actually witness somebody voting in and forging her own mother's signature. she said this came at the direction of dallas and he went so far to avoid red flags, told them to sign in the same ink as the voter and how many to mail from the same post office and arrange the stamps on the envelopes. dallas told them not to tell anybody. he sent them a message before saying not testify. dallas chose not to testify yesterday. john, she said the things she wanted to point out more than anything she believed the candidate, mark harris, had no knowledge of this whatsoever. we're hoping sometime this week we will find out what happened in this ninth district, whether they will declare harris as the winner. >> and the allegations of mal

attorney in north carolina, and the son of mark harris testified yesterday that he became suspicious y dallas after studying the 2016 primaries in the same rural county now under question. john harris noticed that ballots were being turned in batches. harris said he encouraged his father not to hire dallas for the 2018 midterms which he still did. >> i expressed my concerns based on everything i did know up to that point. mainly my belief that mccrae had been part of collecting ballots in 2016. i told him collecting ballots was a felony. >> has your father or your parents said anything that makes you believe that they knew that mr. dallas was collecting ballots? >> no. absolutely not. i think they were lied to and they believed the person that lied to them. i love my dad. and i love my mom. okay? i certainly have no vendetta against them, no family scores to settle. okay? i think that they made mistakes in this process and they certainly did things differently than i would have done them. >> republican mark harris currently leads his democratic opponent dan mccready by 905 votes. the

and tonight, despite our repeated requests, it's unclear whether mark harris will be on that ballot. david? >> all right, mary bruce live from the hill tonight. mary, thank you. >>> next, to that new storm battering the southwest, arizona and nevada, and then heading all the way across the country yet again. a foot of snow in kingman, arizona. look at this. stopping traffic for hours. this is interstate 40 right there. it also hit the vegas strip today. another storm we're watching as it crosses the country tonight. meteorologist rob marciano with us live tracking it all. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. it's heading towards the southeast. they can't take anymore rain. this is a powerhouse system bringing that rare snow to vegas and los angeles. it will bang into that gulf moisture. worried about severe weather on saturday, little rock to nashville, already in the orange category. and that preceded by heavier rain. so, looking at flooding, i think, tomorrow, across northern mississippi for the first surge. the core of this system getting to chicago by saturday, blizzard conditions n

it follows a months-long probe stemming from a political operative hired by mark harris's campaign. that man, leslie mcray dallas was behind a scheme to illegally collect and tamper with absentee ballots tilting the election in his favor. dallas said it is not true, but harris who insisted throughout four days of testimony he had no knowledge of wrongdoing made this statement to the board yesterday. >> neither i nor any leadership of my campaign were aware of or condone the activities involved in this hearing. through the testimony i have listened to i believe a new election should be called. >> diane gallagher has been following this. she joins us from raleigh, north carolina. he himself says a new election should be called. that's a dramatic about-face. do we know what led to this? >> well, poppy, first let me tell you what harris and his attorneys say led to this. for the last two and a half months urging the board to certify him as a congressman and calling accusations of election frud liberal conspiracies. they say he came into the hearing with an open mind and the testimony wa

yesterday john harris told the elections board he had warned his dad, congressional candidate mark harriscal operative he was using was suspicious and may have broken the law to get votes. something the elder harris has denied knowing. listen to this. >> i raised concerns about what i had learned at that point, that mccray dallas had been hired to be part of the 2018 campaign. i love my dad and i love my mom, okay? i certainly have no vendetta against them, no family scores to settle, okay? i think they've made mistakes in this process and they certainly did things differently than i would have done them. >> his son's testimony left his father in tears. diane gallagher is in raleigh following this. diane, this was so tough watching this son essentially call out his dad for mistakes on the stand. what did the candidate, his father, say today? >> reporter: it was emotionally draining just to be in the courtroom, kate. his son currently is an assistant u.s. attorney in the eastern district of north carolina. mark harris said today when he got on the stand that he was actually very proud of h

. >>> today, we could learn the fate of the last undecided midterm race between republican mark harris and democrat dan mccready in north carolina's 9th congressional district. this story blows my mind. election officials are trying to determine if a political operative working for the harris campaign tampered with accidentee ballots and exactly what the harris is campaign knew about these efforts. today marks day three of the hearing after another day of bombshell testimony that is painting a much clearer and more disturbing picture of what went on in the district. leanne caldwell has been covering the story from the beginning. i'm so appreciative she's joining from us raleigh, north carolina. walk me through yesterday and what's in store today. >> reporter: sure. for first for today, it's going to be a big day at that hearing. we expect to hear from republican mark harris, the candidate in this race. he's expected to take the stand. we understand also that mark harris's attorneys will try to continue to separatemaker ris from mcclay dowless, the man at the center of this fraudulent a

mark harris narrowly edged democrat dan mccready last november. but today, he asked for a new election, while denyi wrongdoing. >> through the testimony i've listened to over the past three daysti, i believe a new el should be called. it has bece ome clear toat the public's confidence in the 9th district's seat general election has been undermined to lection isthat a new warranted. >> woodruff: the election board >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the actor jussie smollett accused of lying when he said he'd been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack. chicago police said today he organized the attack himself, in a bid to boost his salary on the tv series "empire." later, smollett was released on bail of $100,000. while, a coast gua lieutenant, christopher hasson, appeared in federal court in greenbelt, maryland. he is accused of stockpiling guns for possible attacks on leading democrats and media figures. federal prosecutors said they found an arsenal of weapons, plus white supremacist writings and a hit list, in hasson's ho. >> the sheer numb

federal attorney came in and said i warned my father and you know mark harris got teary eyed about it warned them about the consultant mccrae dallas. i think o. or dallas mcrae. i think that he finally realized he had to fold and now we're going to have a new election and this isn't the only election we're going to have for congress in north carolina in two thousand and nineteen we've got the third district war longtime congressman walter jones passed away so the governor's going to have to call a special election there too so north carolina is going to be in the national and world spotlight for two congressional elections what has name because it's a purple state and the kind of back and forth between the blue and the red is right here in north carolina so it looks like that tension or that drama will continue oh yes i want to go to the national level so bernie sanders as answer the race going back to our previous interviews from a couple years ago we've talked about these burning extent of what are your thoughts now bernie has entered the race now the front runner i believe in new h

we were as surprised by mark harris' decision today.s leaving whether or not he was going to run again, jake. he did not answer but his wife, beth, said it was something they would have to think about. >> diane gallagher, thank you very much. >>> also prosecutors presented evidence that a coast guard officer planned a domestic terror attack and hoped to kill as many people as possible. the accused who calls himself a white nationalist is behind bars until his trial. christopher hassan built up a stockpile of weapons and created a hit list of prominent democratic politicians as well as media figures he wanted to target which includes, regr regrettab regrettably, some cnn anchors. jessica schneider joins me outside the courthouse. his lawyers tried to argue what he's accused of is not a crime. how? >> yeah, that's exactly right. so, notably, jake, this criminal complaint only charges lieutenant hassan with drug and firearms possession. there's no violent crime alleged here. that's exactly what his attorney, the assistant public defender t

mark harris, the congressional republican candidate, has been saying he was unaware of the illegal ackatactics do increase the output of these absentee ballots. but his son, john harris, surprisingly testified against him yesterday. here is what he had to say. >> i love my dad. i love my mom. okay? i certainly have no vendetta against them, no family scores to settle, okay? i think that they made mistakes in this process and they certainly did things differently than i would have done them. but in thinking about all of this and engaging in this process and watching it all unfold, i've thought more probably about my own little ones than my parents, and the world we're building for them. >> reporter: craig, it was a really riveting and emotional testimony yesterday by john harris. and now we're hearing from the father, mark harris, the candidate, who is saying that was his son's opinion, that he warned him of the challenges that dowless could bring to the campaign, but that he was assured by dowless that dowless worked within the confines of the law and trusted the friends and confidants