mccarthy referred chiefly to new dose representatives, matt gaetz of florida, mo brooks of alabama, as endangering the security of other lawmakers at the capitol complex. along with the public -- the published story, the tapes as well. here is one where mccarthy was discussing matt gaetz. >> the other thing i want to bring up, i just got something about newsmax, matt gaetz saying he is calling people's names out as anti-trump in this type of atmosphere. this is serious stuff. it has to stop. >> mo and louis posto comments tol, members have had concerns. >> louis was at the -- i mean, mo was at the rally -- >> what did he say? >> i just saw that on twitter. >> i am calling him and explaining to him -- i will have some other people to call him too. i will get another briefing from the fbi tomorrow. >> that's -- it is potentially illegal, what he's doing. >> he's putting people in jeopardy. he does not need to be doing this. we saw what people would do in the capitol, you know. >> that from the leaked audio recordings published by the new york times, a series of quattro different recordin

matt gaetz is a former congressman. as noted, he was there today. he joined us next.o much for coming on. you were accused by kevin mccarthy, the guy in line to be speaker of the house of committing an act of violence by giving your opinion by saying he was against the former president. his speech violent? what you make of it? >> i was just describing the facts. you have a group of people who were trying to join with democrats to impeach president trump and that is precisely what has played out. you mention he is in line to be speaker. i don't know that kevin mccarthy is in line to be speaker. i don't know if he could get an account on truth social right now based on the inconsistency in reporting and what he says to us. and it's debasing for republicans to give this guy standing ovation after he smears trunk, lies to the country and then tries to sick big attack and the doj on members of congress he doesn't agree with and factual -- are borne out. and the crazy thing is it was all done to protect liz cheney. at the time is protecting president trump from impeachment

matt gaetz and marjorie taylor greene were the only two who really protested.nd in the aftermath of that meeting, as we chased on members who were then walking to the capital, they did not want to get into what exactly those two members said. but did sort of roll their eyes at gaetz and taylor greene asking steve scalise to apologize, and bending frustrations with what that leaked audio said about them. >> yes. i mean, what i thought was interesting, i will play some he -- there concern is, people just died, we have a near threat to democracy, we were held up. what you guys are saying is wrong. here is scalise talking today about, basically telling matt gaetz i am sorry, kind of. take a listen. >> so i share that with matt, i am sorry that those comments caused him problems. because it was things that were conveyed to me from a number of places. you can go back to those days after january 6th. there were a lot of reports floating around. some turned out to be true, some. not so, as you are having private conversations, commenting on those things, ultimately the

republican congressman scott perry of pennsylvania, republican congressman matt gaetz of florida and louie gohmert of texas. they were all present when white house lawyers told meadows and them that this scheme involving the states that biden won, that scheme was illegal. mr. meadows nevertheless kept trying for it, even after they had all been told it was against the law. cnn reports today that one of those members, scott perry, texted white house chief of staff mark meadows just a few days after the election that the white house needed to have the nsa, the national security administration, immediately seize communications related to voting machines. he that same day texted the white house that the cia was in on some sort of anti-trump plot and the white house needed to act against the cia as well. on the heels of those revelations, tonight new york times reporter jonathan martin and alexander burns released more audio from the immediate aftermath of the january 6th attack. their forthcoming book released on tuesday of next week is apparently going to be accompanied by an absolute t

you heard him talk about matt gaetz by name. at least in private about the very serious security threat that they saw coming from the far right of the house republican conference. the naming and attacking of anti-trump republicans like liz cheney, like adam kinzinger, some of the continuing very overheated rhetoric claiming falsely that the 2020 election was stolen. and other offensive comments looking back at those rallies, that rally on the ellipse on january 6th, and then comments on twitter and television since then where kevin mccarthy makes no bones about it. he thinks this is putting people in jeopardy. >> he doesn't say that publicly. publicly, he's very submissive to the far right of his party. jonathan, i want to play another moment where mccarthy is expressing concern. let's roll that tape. >> the other thing that we have to do is these numbers on whatever position you are, calling out other members, that's got to stop, especially in this nature. so when i get off, i'm going to call gaetz. anything else we see, don't

it seems to have empowered matt gaetz and that crowd again.ption to the rule. most don't want to speak on the record to this or in private. i think right now members will do what is convenient for them right now. that's retaking the majority and keeping the focus on inflation. the border crisis. they wouldn't answer our questions last night. they said border, border, that's what we're talking about. a lot of house republicans, moderates, told me after the conference today we're frustrated in the short term but at the end of the day it was a snapshot in time when tensions were high. people will rally behind him. i think carlos is right they're focussed on retaking the majority. the frustrations might come to a head after november. >> you know i think about that. john boehner couldn't govern for awhile. paul ryan struggled and that's why he walked away. you want to talk about ambitious, one person might be more ambitious is jim banks. i see you nodding your headstrongly. you tend to agree, right? >> absolutely. people are going to do what is con

so i don't think that is a real worrisome point for matt gaetz.nk the tucker carlson sort of divide here is interesting. the question is can tucker carlson convince donald trump, who also is a big avid fan of fox news and an avid fan of tucker carlson, can tucker carlson convince donald trump that there's someone else other than kevin mccarthy who would make a better speaker. right now as scott talked about, he is on board. donald trump likes kevin mccarthy, and he hasn't had a problem with these tapes so far, but there's a long way to go at this point before we see the mid terms and see who wins and who runs for speaker. can kevin mccarthy sort of hold the line with donald trump and hold him on his team at this point, so we'll see. i think the other question is who other than kevin mccarthy could be speaker? that is the big question, too, and tucker carlson alluded to that, this idea can conservatives get their act together. that's always been the question. could they field a candidate other than kevin mccarthy who could get a majority of folks t

matt gaetz, mo brooks are singleded out by name.is and i think it must be. i talk to my constituents daily and they're very concerned about the threats to the homeland as well as to democracies around the world, look no farther than ukraine. i was trying to say earlier that i attended the funeral of madeline albright today. we shared the spelling of our first name and gave me the opportunity to work with her on some important issues. and what she warned us about was the protection of democracies, here at home and abroad. she said as a little girl her father, when they came here she was 11 and he was a diplomat. and he said i am so worried that americans do not realize how precious and precarious and fragile their democracy is. it is a gift that must be taken care of and grown. and so she reminded us of that throughout her work. but especially now at the end of her life with her final book, sadly we are living that threat to our own democracy. we must take that to the voters. if we don't get that right this election cycle and every o

matt gaetz, responding yesterday, representatives mccarthy and scalise held views about president trumpe that they shared on sniffleing calls, this is the bemay have i haifa your of weak men, not leaders. a few others. he seems to be an you outlier at the moment, emphasizing at the moment especially think matt gaetz will probably be the biggest problem for kevin mccarthy. he is not just vocal on these issues, he will be rallying other magas in the house to turn on kevin mccarthy. when this scandal started exploding last week, we were hearing from house republicans who specifically said watch what mccarthy says about kicking members off twitter. you know, he's been very critical of twitter, publicly saying twitter should be kicking off conservatives, they shouldn't be doing censorship and privately he's saying they're dangerous enough they shouldn't have twitter handles at all. that will be particularly damaging for him. right now it looks like people are getting in the past, the point of, is it losing capital? you know the more these sorts of things come out, it will absolutely grade th

but fast forward, 8:00 tonight, fox news, matt gaetz giving him yet another beat down. so where does mccarthy stand tonight? >> yeah, therein lies the rub, steph. there is some sort of asymmetric imbalance here, which is that most of the members from the house gop conference, including house minority leader kevin mccarthy and house gop leadership, are really tired of the antics from the far-right of their party. but, and that was evidenced in that audio that leaked, and really over the course of the past years, mccarthy has struggled to keep the party together as these members have acted out time and time again. he's had to deal with some of the repercussions. but you don't see them really going all the way in reprimanding these members. only two of them stood up in the house gop conference meeting this morning that was matt gaetz and marjorie taylor greene, according to our reporting as well. and their comments were not really received very well by the rest of their members. that being said, you don't see mccarthy and scalise speaking out publicly against them, because

mccarthy specifically pointed to fire brand conservative florida congressman matt gaetz as one of thek times" report saying, quote, congressman mccarthy and congressman scalise held views about president trump and me that they shared on sniveling calls with liz cheney, not us. this is the behavior of weak men, not leaders, unquote. let's get right to paula reed. paula, has mccarthy been able to calm his troops after this? >> well, jake, it's only been about 24 hours but so far, it appears that most house republicans are closing ranks around mccarthy. publicly rallying behind him after those audio recordings revealed his concerns about, as you just described, fellow gop lawmakers possibly inciting violence in the wake of the insurrection. this morning, republicans huddled behind closed doors for a meeting. sources in the room say mccarthy attempted to explain that he was simply discussing scenarios, that the tape's release didn't include all of the context and he never acted on much of what he said. he also insisted that the audio reported by "the new york times" was part of an effort

the other audio, you hear republican leadership calling out matt gaetz, will gohmert, worried there could be more death, more insurrection-type activity, more violence. >> i just got something sent now about newsmax, something matt gaetz said where he's calling people's names out, saying on anti-trump in this type of atmosphere, and some of the other places. this is serious stuff that people are doing that has to stop. >> mo and lui's comments to a lot of members have said some real concerning things. >> it's potentially illegal what he's doing. >> he's putting people in jeopardy, and he doesn't need to be doing this. we saw what people would do in the capital. you know, and these people came prepared with rope and everything else. >> prepared with rope to assassinate and hang the vice president, among others. you can hear the concern on the tape, and by the way, it also gives lie and hypocrisy to what mccarthy and others said in public about cancel culture, the concerns about speech, free speech that doesn't involve violence is protected. but here they are privately saying the obvious --

what he said about matt gaetz was correct and steve scalise.nts, dangerous comments of some of the members who were really getting on the edge of inciting violence needed to be -- really needed to be clamped down on. they're right about it. i wish they followed their initial instincts, the correct ones, and because -- by not cracking down on them, they emboldened them and empowered them, the fringe elements, just making all their lives difficult. >> being the voice of reason in private doesn't seem to be very helpful. charlie dent, thank you as always. >> thank you, bianna. >>> well, up next, russia's war on ukraine may be thousands of miles away. but it is having a very real impact on energy prices here in the u.s. we'll tell you how. cal: our confident forever plan is possible with a cfp® professional. a cfp® professional can help you build a complete financial plan. visit letsmakeaplaorg to find your cfp® professional. ♪ for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48 hour hydratio

>> i think what tucker carlson was saying there -- >> matt gaetz. >> excuse me.think was a very reasonable thing. this was outrageous what happened what those members said. matt gaetz, i'm surprised he's going out on television talking about anything right now given, you know, his own troubles. ordinarily a member with that kind of problem out there would kind of keep a low profile, but maybe that's way -- >> it has become the theme to double down now. that is sort of the trump tactic is to double down. >> absolutely. basically own your notoriety and then monetize it. that's what they do. that's why politics has changed so much. there was a time when people who got into that kind of trouble couldn't raise a nickel. >> speaking of, it's all a grift. you know that, charlie. i want to ask you about hawthorne. second time he's been stopped for this in over a year, also facing charges of driving with a revoked license for the second time. and then there are the allegations of sexual misconduct. what do you make of this behavior from a sitting congressman? >> well, as

matt gaetz in his tweet last night also getting criticism from other well-known conservatives. it was tucker carlsen last night on his program calling kevin mccarthy a puppet of the democratic party. thus the washington examiner right up. we are getting your reaction to the latest leaked tapes published by the new york times. alexander barnes and jonathan martin the reporters. the recordings were obtained in reporting as part of their forthcoming book, this will not pass, trump, biden and the battle for america's future. we saw the first last week after they published their first story in which mccarthy was talking about, in the tapes, his plan to ask then president donald trump to resign and plans about possible impeachment proceedings. those have only continued in the days since. phone lines as usual, republicans, democrats, independents. john is up first, a republican from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: thank you for having me on cnn this morning. hunter biden's story has been out. mccarthy is a liar. he is a rino just like mcconnell. they need to get rid of these clown

at one point when discussing congressman matt gaetz, scalise reported the florida republican may haveundary. >> i just got something sent now about newsmax and matt gaetz said where he's calling people names out saying anti-trump and this type of atmosphere. in some of the other places. this is serious stuff that people are doing that have to stop. if i'm going to get another briefing from the fbi tomorrow, this is serious [ bleep ]. >> potentially illegal what he's doing. >> well, he's putting people in jeopardy. and he doesn't need to be doing this. we saw what people would do in the capitol, you know. and these people came prepared, with rope and everything else. >> congressman gaetz released a statement blasting mccarthy and scalise as, quote, weak men. the republican leaders also expressed concern with remark, alabama congressman mo brooks made while speaking at the trump rally held just before the attack on the capitol. >> today is the day american patriots start taking down names and kicking ass! >> you think the president deserves to be impeached for his comments. i think that

were steve scalise and matt gaetz able to settle their differences behind closed doors?on medicare, it pays to check the singlecare price before you fill your next prescription. i think we got it. don't overpay for your prescriptions. check the singlecare price. you might just save up to 80% on your meds. (vo) verizon small business days are back. come in and meet with a verizon business expert april 28th to may 4th to get some of our best offers on 5g plans, devices and internet. like ultra-fast, ultra-simple wireless 5g business internet. you could get one month on us... and up to $1,500 to help cover the cost to switch. come in or book an appointment online today during verizon small business days. verizon small business days are going ultra, so your business can get more. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! (sighs wearily) here i'll take that! (excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. you're a one

on what he said specifically about matt gaetz we now know that steve scalise who is the house minority whip met with gaetz, met with congressman gaetz, apologized to him. he said i'm sorry if this has caused you problems, the louisiana republican, according to police cold. i haven't been able to get all the details what have these accusations, but i was being told things and i know members were getting death threats and i was just very sensitive to that. when asked if he would apologize that he had all the information that gaetz didn't commit a criminal act attacking liz cheney following the capitol stage by donald trump supporter scalise said sure. this is the world this which supposed leaders apologize to matt gaetz. this might cause problems nothing to say about the accusations about him and teenage girls. thoughts? >> this is par for the course at this moment. the moment that mccarthy turned around and went to mar-a-lago and kissed the ring and came back and turned his back on all the things he had said in the wake of the january 6th insurrection attempt, you knew that this was the

>> well, it was the -- republican congressman from florida, matt gaetz, who, by any measure falls intoald trump. he is close to him. according to him. and he took on the secretary of defense today about some of his favorite talking points. the secretary didn't have a lot of patience for it. >> while everyone else in the world seems to be developing capabilities and being more strategic, we got time to embrace critical race theory at west point, to embrace socialism at the national defense university, to do mandatory pronoun training. do you accept -- >> you know, again, this is the most capable, the most combat critical force in the world. it has been and it will be so going forward. >> not if we continue on this path. not if we embrace socialism. >> the fact you're embarrassed by your country -- >> no, i'm embarrassed by your leadership. >> lloyd austin knew exactly what matt gaetz would be going after. he's done it to the secretary of defense and other pentagon officials. so it was so surprise. keep in mind perhaps both secretary austin and general mark milley, the chairman of the jo

gregman matt gaetz was singled out in some of his comments and tucker carlson here's part of what gaetzon't know if kevin mccarthy- is in line to be speaker, i don't think he can get a account on truth social baits on the inconsistency and what he reports to us and it's debasing for republicans to give him a standing ovation after smearing trump and lies to the country and tries to sick big tech and d.o.j. on members of the congress he doesn't agree with. >> more now on congressional correspondent ryan nolans. >> house minority leader kevin mccarthy is facinged backlash from the most conservative members of the caucus, after audio from congressman gaetz for potential dangerous rhetoric in the aftermath of january 6th. >> he's putting people in jeopardy and doesn't need to be doing this. we saw what they did to the capitol these people came prepared with rope, everything else. >> this morning republicans huddled behind closed doors and sources in the room attempted to explain he was offering up ideas by taking away social media accounts and never acted on much of what was discussed. his

with matt gaetz tweeting: "things that scare disney: municipal dissolutio&-pd reporting."er thing that scares disney? matt gaetz within 50 yards of the teacup ride. ( laughter ) ( applause ) speaking-- speaking of fighting behemoth corporations, amazon. this past friday, amazon workers in new york city voted to form the first u.s. union. ( cheers and applause ) that is-- hell, yes! this is great news. that is fantastic. and amazon is now going all out to make sure it doesn't happen again. leaked documents show they're planning a new messaging app for their employees which would ban words that pertain to organizing a union, including "unfair, injustice, ethics, diversity, fairness, pay raise," and phrases like "this is dumb" or "this is concerning." but if you can't say "this is dumb," how are they supposed to describe this hat? ( laughter ) ( applause ) the app-- it pa-chew! the app essentially censors anything that's controversial at amazon, including the word "restroom." which, you know, may not be missed. many amazon workers are more familiar with the phrases, "empty po

i mean, you didn't see matt gaetz come out and say, gee, that was a great mccarthy tape.its in the republican party. i think people like matt gaetz are so skeptical of mccarthy, but they're going to wait to see what donald trump does, of course, but they don't want to get off the track, which is just going to take them to the majority. >> let's play more of this tape, listen. >> well, he's putting people in jeopardy. he doesn't need to be doing this. we saw what people would do in the capitol, you know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else. the tension it is too high. i do not want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hurt. and i don't want to play politics with any of that. >> so we hear the minority leader conceding, dangerous inflammatory rhetoric from people in his own party could get people hurt. has mccarthy done anything, though, to rein these members in? >> no, absolutely not. i mean, paul gosar was someone who posted an animated video of him killing a democratic member of congress. did he do a

are we supposed to forget that matt gaetz is under federal investigation for sex trafficking. that investigators are looking into whether gaetz slept with a 17-year-old for money. something he denies. are we supposed to forget that gop congressman jim jordan was accused by eight former student wrestlers of denying allegations of sexual abuse by a team doctor at ohio state university while he was an assistant coach there in the 1990s. something he denies. are we supposed to forget that roy moore, the republican candidate for the senate in alabama in 2017 was credibly accused of sexually assaulting girls as young as 14 and 16, something he denies. moore was endorsed by the republican national committee under rana mcdaniel, the same rana mcdaniel that now has the nerve to attack ketanji brown jackson for being soft on child porn offenders. you might say all of those republicans deny those accusations and they weren't convicted of any crimes. okay, fine. how about denny hastert, former republican house speaker for eight years. he went to prison in 2016 after admitting to sexually

he has not punished these members like marjorie taylor greene or paul gosar, matt gaetz.he reason for that? the reason is that he needs them if he's going to become speaker of the house. >> these are basically the same republican members that mccarthy essentially protected and enabled in the process. >> that's right. that's right. and he was saying these people are dangerous in this tape, wolf. he's saying we've got to be careful here. and now what he is doing is essentially underplaying publicly the things that they have done and the things that they have said. and that is because he believes he needs their support and they have the support of donald trump, don't forget. >> they certainly do. all right, gloria, thank you very, very much. paula reid, thanks to you as well. >>> coming up, the vice president of the united states, kamala harris, tests positive for covid-19. we're going to have the latest on how she's doing and the potential risk right now for president biden. stay with us. we'll be right back. les are mad to be re-made. not all plastic c is the same. we're c

including statements from people like matt gaetz, criticizing him politically for having seen himself in such up oppositional terms to he and other members of the time. is this materially changing the political landscape of kevin mccarthy's leadership in the republican party? if the republicans do well in the midterm elections, he's expected to be their contender for speaker. is this putting that in doubt? >> at the end of last week, it looked like kevin mccarthy's aspirations to be speaker were in at least some trouble. as revelations of this dribbled out, you did see criticism from influential members of former president trump's inner circle. steve bannon, for example, said -- he denied what was then found to be on tape. and you saw some of these congressman. gaetz publicly criticize the republican leader. this week, however, mccarthy and trump have talked, it looks like they've made up in some ways. and while last week, it looks like a lot of republicans were kind of in wait and see mode to see what mccarthy would say, with trump and say. mccarthy seems to have solidified in some w

matt gaetz was with her in the courtroom yesterday, they're buddies. see but the problem, "i don't recall" is pretty slippery. what you don't need is another loss. you don't need another loss. >> can't take an "l." in the few seconds we have left, though, in the filing from the january 6th committee it does specifically reference the fact that margerie taylor greene was at the white house december 21st plotting and dealing with, to overturn the election. why did that evidence not come out before this hearing that happened yesterday? >> i don't know that, but they did limit in the hearing the judge and the plaintiff's lawyers sort of agreed that the issue in the hearing was what happened between when she was sworn in and january 6th. so december 21 wasn't as important in this hearing and maybe that's why they didn't focus on it. i don't know. when she came outside and there's that, "i just had the meeting with the president, we can't wait --" to me that's compelling. >> compelling, right? >> and it wasn't the focus and i think it's because of that 1/6 f

if he loses to many of them, you know, especially the ones not as critical as matt gaetz. a massive problem for him if he wants to be speaker of the house. >> what do you mean? this is like his entire goal in life right now. >> no, this is his right. everythingr everything he's driving towards is becoming speaker. this is why precisely the last year-and-a-half, he's run from his tone and posture and comments that you just played a minute ago there in those private conversations. he has been retentive, he has reembraced president trump, because he knows he needs trump's approval to keep the far right faction of his caucus placated. that goes to the heart of this book. what we write about in this book, which is the story of two political parties in this country who are facing existential challenges trying to keep their equilibrium. in the case of republicans, people like kevin mcdhar think is trying to walk this tightrope case of keeping the trump faction happy and kind of the old guard who despise president trump at the same time and it's not easy. it's basically two partie

criticizing then president trump and some of his own members, including florida's matt gaetz audio recordings released by "the new york times." >> well, he's putting people in jeopardy and he doesn't need to be doing this. we saw what people would do in the capitol, you know, these people came prepared with rope, with everything else. >> reporter: gaetz firing back, this is the behavior of weak men, not leaders mccarthy complaining on the january 10th call about incendiary tweets including from alabama's barry moore. >> can they take their twitter accounts away too? >> reporter: in a closed-door meeting today, mccarthy addressed his critics directly, and rank-and-file members appeared to rally around the man who could be their next speaker. >> he got a standing ovation, he'll be speaker. >> this is a distraction from the left. >> reporter: mccarthy fretted over the possibility of more political violence if members didn't turn down their rhetoric. >> tension is too high, the country is too crazy. i do not want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hu

representative matt gaetz was here inside the hearing earlier. it's getting a lot of attention.s from here, the judge is going to make a recommendation. that goes to the secretary of state here in georgia. ultimately he will be the one to decide whether or not she stays on the ballot. garrett? >> a fascinating case. blayne alexander watching it for us down in georgia. blayne, thank you. >>> and we've got breaking news now from florida, where governor ron desantis has just signed into law that bill stripping disney of its self-governing district. this following clashes over the company's criticism of the so-called "don't say gay" law. nbc's maura barrett is in tallahassee, florida. she's been covering this for us. this doesn't take effect immediately. what do we know about what it's going to mean for central florida? >> right, garrett. this law does not take effect until june of 2023. so we've got about 13 months to figure out what's going to happen in the in between. we reached out to disney for comment but have not gotten any clarity or comment from them on what they plan to do

the gop is headed this week, when donald trump endorsed sarah palin for a seat in congress and matt gaetzed the military of focusing too much on wokeism. meanwhile, president biden proposed a new billionaire tax aimed at reining in america's massive wealth gap for more on this, it's time for "a closer look." ♪ [ cheers and applause >> seth: there is obviously a lot going on in the news this week trump's slow moving coup is continuing apace the u.s. and its allies announced new sanctions on russia's barbarism in ukraine. a new report says it's now or never to avert irreversible climate catastrophe. there's a new variant of a highly contagious respiratory virus swirling around out there. and on top of all that-- >> former alaska governor and one-time republican vice presidential nominee, sarah palin, announced that she's running for congress former president donald trump has already endorsed her >> when you get there, assuming you get there, you understand that the media jackals are going to descend on you, and you're going to be walking down the halls to the cafeteria to go get a pepsi, an

trump himself, trumpism is very much the heart of the gop and here to stay, and it's not just the matt gaetzesid perdues of the world republicans at the highest echelons of power have fully embraced the conspiracy theories and authoritarian impulses that define trumpism. last week, for example, we learned about bombshell text messages from ginni thomas, the wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas, to trump's chief of staff mark meadows, pushing the trump administration to overturn the election >> tonight, our chief election and campaign correspondent robert costa and bob woodward have uncovered text messages between the wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas and president trump's top aide, in which she repeatedly pushed to overturn the 2020 presidential election >> the first message from thomas came the day before joe biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election >> "do not concede," she wrote "it takes time for the army who is gathering for his back. >> seth: holy [ bleep that sounds like something saruman would say in "lord of the rings." [ laughter ] "it takes

we learned this week from a court document filed that republican lawmakers including matt gaetz and jimordan called trump in december 2020, plotting ways and trying to find any way to overturn the election and prevent joe biden from taking office. what more can you tell us? reporter: the key point is the meeting trump had with republicans, big trump allies on the hill and they talked about how to stop the certification of joe biden, and they went back and forth and at some point mark meadows and others learned the efforts to violate this are unlawful and yet they pursue the strategy anyway. geoff: so the question about if it is all connected, there is testimony about the rally that the president had at the . present trump said he wanted a peaceful rally but he said the ad-libbed phrase washat he told his supporters to go march 2 the capital. testimony says that might not have been ad-libbed at all, it might have been planned. >> members of congress wanted to put maximum pressure, that was the aim. so the question is, it did trump coordinate with members of congress and with the oath keepers

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days after the riot mccarthy vented his anger on a conference call saying republican congressman matt gaetz's incendiary rhetoric was putting people in jeopardy. >> i'm calling gaetz and explaining to him, this is serious. cut this out. >> reporter: congressman steve scalise also expressed worry suggesting gaetz's remarks could be unlawful. >> it's potentially illegal what he's doing. >> reporter: mccarthy then asked why twitter which had already banned president trump could not ban some republican house members. >> can't they take their twitter accounts away too? >> reporter: in a statement released last night, congressman gaetz reacted saying, quote, this is the behavior of weak men, not leaders. other republicans also slamming mccarthy including congressman andy biggs who called the leader's comments, quote, problematic. >> his suggestion that twitter should ban some of his fellow republican members of the house more than anything that's come out so far will be used by mccarthy's enemies and will complicate his efforts to become the next speaker of the house. >> reporter: last night mccart

capitol hill, defense secretary lloyd austin got into a heated exchange with florida congressman matt gaetz. they clashed when gaetz said the military was too focused on so-called woke ideas such as diversity and equity, and he accused the pentagon of strategic failures in both afghanistan and ukraine. >> you guys said that -- that russia would overrun ukraine in 36 days. you said that the taliban would be kept at bay for months. you totally blew those calls, and maybe we would be better at them if the national defense university actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on wokeism. >> has it occurred to you that russia has not overrun ukraine because of what we've done and our allies have done? >> but that was baked into your flawed assessment. >> reporter: gaetz also accused the military of embracing socialism, a claim austin rejected. >>> we turn now to the new warning about america's fentanyl crisis. overdose deaths are surpassing those from car crashes and gun violence. this epidemic is affecting everyone, young and old, rich and poor. a sobering new warning from the

most republicans, even matt gaetz said that. most republicans are in favor of all this illegal immigration -- host: take that point, peter. guest: i appreciate the caller's sentiment. first of all despair is a sin. it's never over. this can, in fact, be dealt with. and -- in defense of governor abbott, and i'm not a voter in texas so i don't have a dog in this fight, there is a limit to what states can do. the governor has been doing a number of different things, like he said, there's been texas national guard on the border. we have run into them all week every day, practically. there is a limit to what they can do. they can't usually arrest people. they can call the border patrol. they are extra eyes and ears. the other thing that the governor did that i think hasn't gotten as much attention is he essentially shut down truck traffic across the border bridges from mexico. that is enormous amount of truck traffic coming across. he used his power to do safety inspections to do that. and immediately the mexican governors on the oth

the recordings also reveal mccarthy and republican whip steve scalise criticizing congressman matt gaetz for his attacks on liz cheney, who has been the subject of threats. >> reporter: gaetz called mccarthy and scalesse weak men, not leaders. mr. gaetz, do you think he's going to remain conference leader? the republican leader weathered a political storm last week, when another january 2021 recording surfaced in which he told colleagues he was planning to recommend donald trump resign. the ought audio leaked just hours after mccarthy denied doing so. one of trump's staunchest backers ronny jackson told cbs news today he still backs mccarthy. >> we're not going to let leaked audio tapes to the press pull us apart. we have bigger things to do. we're all on the same page. >> reporter: at a private meeting of house republicans today, kevin mccarthy addressed those leaked phone calls, then called for unity. and from a party that's optimistic it will retake control of the u.s. house next year and make mccarthy speaker, kevin mccarthy received a standing ovation. norah. >> o'donnell: scott mac

he's putting people in jeopardy, mccarthy said of matt gaetz, and he doesn't need to be doing this.ntative steve scalise of louisiana, the number two house republican, suggested that mr. gaetz might be crossing a legal boundary. quote, it's potentially illegal what he's doing, scalise said. you've got the sound about a pardon. i mean, they knew laws were broken in front of their eyes, kim atkins. >> yeah, and you anticipated the point that i have been wanting to make before i could make it. you were talking about watergate. watergate crystallized, at the moment that the hearings became public and americans who had not yet tuned into what had happened were able to see it and understand its importance. and that is what led to, at that time, something we won't see happen now, but republicans tell nixon, this is done. this is over. so, what the january 6th committee needs to do, and i want to broaden this just beyond what democrats need to do in messaging for 2022. what the january 6th committee, who is tasked with creating the record of this event, need to do is to craft a very clear,

. >> reporter: he mentions republican congressman matt gaetz, saying he is going to call him to tell him to knock off his incendiary rhetoric. >> i'm calling gaetz, i'm explaining to him, this is serious [ bleep ] and cut this out. >> reporter: he is so concerned, he asks why twitter, which has recently banned donald trump, cannot ban some of his fellow republican members who he believes are inciting violence. >> can't they take their twitter accounts away, too? >> reporter: the audio shows that mccarthy was genuinely and rightly concerned about more violence breaking out in america. but his suggestion that twitter should ban the accounts of some of his fellow republicans more than anything that has come out so far will be used by mccarthy's enemies and complicate his efforts to become the next speaker of the house. david? >> jon karl with the audio tonight. jon, thank you. >>> we are following fast-moving developments involving the kidnapping of a 3-month-old baby boy from his grandmother's home and she was bringing the groceries in. tonight, that baby has been found in san jose aft

the recordings also reveal mccarthy and republican whip steve scalise criticizing congressman matt gaetz for his attacks on liz cheney, who has been the subject of threats. >> reporter: gaetz called mccarthy and scalise weak men, not leaders. mr. gaetz, do you think he's going to remain conference leader? the republican leader weathered a political storm last week, when another january 2021 recording surfaced in which he told colleagues he was planning to recommend donald trump resign. the audio leaked just hours after mccarthy denied doing so. one of trump's staunchest jack tols ws tay h stilbacks mccahy. >> we're not goi to let leed ha. 're all he same ge.>> rorter: a meeting of house republicans today, kevin mccarthy addressed those leaked phone calls, then called for unity. and from a party that's optimistic it will retake control of the u.s. house next year and make mccarthy speaker, kevin mccarthy received a standing ovation. norah. >> o'donnell: scott macfarlane on capitol hill, thank you. >>> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. how did olay top expensive creams? like thi

. >> reporter: critical words about congressman matt gaetz and others caught on tape. >> he's puttinge doing in the capitol. these people came prepared. we don't want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hurt. >> reporter: this morning republicans huddled behind closed doors. he said he was offering up ideas. he never acted on much of what was discussed. his speech led to a standing ovation. publicly, most members of the conference say they are ready to move on. >> i am more concerned not about the past but about the future. >> reporter: even those he criticized. >> are you going to talk to him about it? >> i don't see any need to. >> reporter: the party is not in universal agreement. some members of the far right are raising concerns like gaetz who refused to weigh in. >> i haven't heard the tapes. >> reporter: then unleashed on mccarthy on twitter saying this is the behavior of weak men, not leaders. the former chair of the freedom caucus who said mccarthy's words caught on tape could lead to bigger rifts between various wings of the gop.

mccarthy is in the cross hairs of some of his own party including congressman matt gaetz and tucker carlson's part of what gaetz said to carlson on wednesday night on fox news. >> i don't know mccarthy is in line to be speaker. i don't know if he can get -- it is the base for r republicans the give this guy a standing ovation after he smears trump and lies to the country. >> our senior political analyst, ron brownstein. >> he's looking at this upside down and inside out. the actions of donald trump and many republican members of the house around where the january 6th insurrection were inappropriate, if not illegal. and he a tap on the right or acknowledging it. the issue is not so much whether he survives in his quest to be speaker which i think is more likely than not. what he would have to todo to sur survive? what is any he's giving with regards to the 2024 elections. it is more can you stand up with the basic rules of democracy and still a assailant in this pocket. >> let's look at that. what are the optics of this and what impact could it potentially have with the republican unity. wit

. >>> so congressman steve scalise and matt gaetz appear to be mending fences, his rhetoric was potentially illegal. cnn reporter is on capitol hill. tell us more about their beef and if it's actually over. >> reporter: well, that's a great question. the house republican conference met for the first time yesterday since the published audio of gop leaders crit siding donald trump and some of the colleagues in the immediate days after january 6th. i am told it was mostly cordial, kevin mccarthy said, don't let this divide us. he got a standing ovation. but there was some criticism directed at house leader scalise, the number two republican. congressman gaetz pressed him on why did you say my public attacks were illegal. scalise said there is a lot of stuff flying around after january 6th. i was going after what law enforcement said at the time. he was concerned about his shot on a baseball field. he asked for a one-on-one meeting. he essentially apologized, said, sorry if they caused you problems. he went on fox news last night and continued to criticize leadership. what is remarkable here, i

"the late show," we have received a copy of a newly-approved florida math problem: "congressman matt gaetz and 2 friends have 10 ounces of cocaine. there are 12 people at the party, three of them are girls under 18. what should he call it on the venmo transaction?" cheesier cheesier school supplies, the corrects answer is school supplies. one of the engineers on the express to rightwing crazy town is fox news host tucker carlson, seen here picturing the green m&m without her candy shell. now, i'm generally hesitant to talk about tucker, because he just says and does stupid things for attention. but this one's so stupid it got my attention. you see, tucker has a new documentary on the de-bro-ing of america. i'll let him explain? >> one of the biggest stories in our lifetimes is the total collapse in testosterone levels in american men. those levels are declining by roughly 10% per decade, completely changing the way people are at the most fundamental level. >> stephen: first of all, i don't think my level of testosterone does define me at the most fundamental level, but maybe i only think t