sally yates fired by the president for not being willing to carry out the travel ban to some of those muslim countries. jones has a history, he pros cued birmingham -- prosecuted bombers in 1963. andrew cuomo is on the list. merrick garland would be ironic, maybe a slap back at mitch mcconnell. duvall patrick, former governor of massachusetts. the ap is saying biden is facing an attorney on attorney general that will come under intense scrutiny from black leaders who want someone with a background in civil rights advocacy. can an attorney general working, can they really be independent? >> they can be as independent as they believe they can be. having said that, they have to play ball with the administration. they are part of the administration. it's not like the fbi director who has a fixed term. he is more independent than an ag is. but we all know a president can fire even the fbi director. it's happened. so i think the ag especially in this political climate is going to be walking a a tight rope, whoever it is, just because of the problems within their own democratic flank and the

doug jones, garland and sally yates are leading contenders for attorney general. several other cabinet picks they say are coming before the holidays and six weeks from today biden will be sworn in as president. we are learning that general austin will be speaking with lawmakers next week. the highest ranking african-american member of congress james clyburn is asking congress to support that waiver. he said the experience of general austin is needed. he has experience in logistics and president-elect biden said he is key to help distribute the vaccine next year. >> thank you, jeff zelenzeleny, in delaware. let's back to the breaking news that hunter biden is announcing he is under federal investigation for his taxes. let's discuss, abby. hunter biden's taxes under investigation by the u.s. attorney's office in delaware. he says that he has handled his affairs legally and appropriately hunter biden says. now, obviously, you heard evan perez talking about the investigation, about money laundering and money from china, a whole number of incidents taking place, includ

and sally yates former deputy attorney general.u make of the people who are being considered? >> congratulations to you. i'm so happy for you. the next attorney general needs expertise in public corruption. to decide whether trump can be prosecuted. and expertise in racial justice. which president-elect biden has said is one of his core commitments. doug jones prosecutor of the kkk terrorist who bombed the birmingham church. we need know mer about the civil rights agenda. how for example he or sally yates would attack the gop attack on voting rights. and resume the federal investigation of police departments that barr and trump have brought to a stop. how they would push back geps the endless attacks on affirmative action and encollusion efforts. other prominent names demonstrated expertise. if president-elect biden chooses one of the other folks the number two the deputy must have expertise. in civil rights. >> real quickly, i know you're not too thrilled about the idea of doug jones. >> i want to make sure whoever takes the head

sally yates proves her work when she was in the justice department before.hese people i know personally and i feel real good about them. >> jeh johnson is among the candidates for secretary of defense. he was general counsel to the department of defense secretary of homeland security as you know during the obama administration. we will see what the president-elect announces. i'm sure he is listening very closely to you. congressman clyburn, as usual, thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me, wolf. >>> more breaking news into "the situation room." georgia, for a third time! not a second time or first time, a third time has recertified that joe biden has won that state after another detailed recount. it's footlong season™ at subway and minitron's got some new news! contactless curbside pickup is here! just tap for tasty in the app. and pickup contactless. cause it's safety first. right, tiny car? you wearing your seatbelt little man? subway. eat fresh. tonight...i'll be eating cheesy cauliflower pizza with extra broccolini. my tuuuurrrrn! tonight...i'

sally yates is somebody who has long experience inside the agency, and i think that that is critical. come in the door on day one and understand the landscape and understand what must be done to repair all that is broken. you know, the talk about judge garland, i think, is interesting. he's somebody who will bring a deep understanding of the law and no doubt help restore integrity. but i do think it's critical that president-elect biden take his time to get this right. communities across our country are looking for the justice department to do the hard work to address the problems that really have torn apart the nation. police violence, racial violence, the rise in white supremacy are the very issues that communities have been marching and protesting for and we're going to be looking for a strong attorney general who can instill confidence in the public that those will be top-line priorities. >> i want to talk about police reform. it was a major part of the campaign as well. and obviously over the summer, this defund the police became a major calling for protesters after the killing o

so i think we need to look at -- you mentioned sally yates, who is the first person who stood up to donaldhe went to him and said there's a problem, mr. president. so we need someone -- and i'm not endorsing any particular person. i'm just saying the characters that we're looking for need to be something like that. >> i agree with both of you. i'm not saying who, but i'm sure saying what and we intend to press that when we meet the president-elect. i already have an attorney general. he's on the show, ben crump. thank you for being with us, both of you, tonight. >>> let me go to this issue here. the axios poll. 72% of americans said they would not get the vaccine immediately. after four years of a trump president, plus a long-standing history of medical discrimination and racism against black americans, it's not surprising that so many black people in the united states don't trust our government to dispense a safe and effective vaccine. but as the pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, black nurses, doctors, and clergy members like myself are taking action to help ease the black community

rumblings if sally yates will fight it. do you any joe biden should make the people acting. the way trump felt free to. mick mulvaney held multiple jobs. which he tried to destroy from within. why couldn't biden make people acting? if the senate doesn't like it. >> he has people who bring a lot of competence and experience about how government should run. to help people. so he doesn't want to put them in a position where they're acting just to get around the republican concerns. the republicans will have all kind of time to ask the appropriate questions of all the nominees and that's what they ought to be doing. i hope they don't just start being obstructionists and sour grapes. what's good for the goose is good for the gander or something like that. they shouldn't be applying standards to the biden nominees that they had no problems not applying to all the trump nominees who were just totally conflict of interest and not understanding of the admissions of the departments they headed. >> yeah. no kidding. that is well said. thank you so much for being here. always appreciate

i would include rod rosenstein, maybe even sally yates in that.s now effectively off the table i think is the next attorney general in a biden administration emma assuming the electoral college chooses him. >> sean: you know, there's a fake news cnn story tonight that has been debunked by doj officials about the trump administration official and money for pardons. they said no government official was or is currently a subject of any target of any investigation to disclose. matt gaetz, i read "the new york times" op-ed by andrew weissmann. three years he was robert mueller's pitbull. didn't get the result he wanted. now he's saying that if biden becomes president as an ag, he wants trump investigated in perpetuity. you had said it first and i agree with you. if this is the threat they're going to make to a guy leaving office perhaps one day, my question is, why wouldn't he just pardon himself and his family on the way out the door? because i think it would be right to do so because these people are nuts. >> the president should pardon himself, his

so bad news for sally yates, but we will see. >> bret: that is right sally yates is potentially up for sessions situation. she obviously signed some of those documents, mollie, quickly. >> mollie: yes, we remember when mueller was appointed so many people in washington, d.c., of trump so much as looked at the wrong direction of mueller, that would be grounds for impeachment. you had republicans and democrats voting to protect the mold mueller probe. and they should do that with special counsel and allow this to proceed if nominated for a position spirit and also there should be at an assistance to cy fully has the trump administration complied fully with the mueller probe. >> bret: all right, panel standby, up next deciding who gets the coronavirus vaccine first and other changes next. ♪ it was in this small little village- in connemara. right! connemara it is! there's one gift the whole family can share this holiday season, their story. give the gift of discovery, with an ancestrydna kit. the team's been working givaround the clock.wire,y, we've had to rethink our whole approach. we'r

doug jones, sally yates, merrick garland all described as in contention for ag tonight. we shall see. but the justice department of course is not going to be a typical cabinet pick this time around, if ever it could be. it's always hugely important. it's always a dramatic choice that says a lot about the president-elect or the president making that nomination. but this time, picking somebody to be attorney general, i mean, they're going to be walking into the proverbial smoking wreck of a justice department that's been left behind by the successive disastrous trump era tenures of jeff sessions, the first trump attorney general who trump of course fired. and then remember there was that guy matthew whitaker who trump installed, again, for like five minutes, the one with the company accused of fraud that marketed toilets for big men. matthew whitaker, he was attorney general for a minute. and then of course matthew whitaker's successor, william barr who is reportedly eyeing the exits, potentially considering quitting even before inauguration day next month. you think about

sally yates, the former deputy attorney general, doug jones, a former senator from alabama.served in the d.c. circuit right here, who was also seen as somebody who's very reliable and somebody who's very fair. now, doug jones was being talked about as a front-runner in large part because he's such good personal friends with joe biden. that was something that was extraordinarily important and really seen as an advantage. but now people are wondering inside, is that a disadvantage? is it bad to have one of the president's closest friends, the attorney general who's investigating his son? sally yates was a clear preference for the people i spoke with, and it was in large part because so many of them had worked with her. not just when she was deputy attorney general, but also when she was a prosecutor, when she was working her way through the department and they liked the fact that she is really just fresh out of the department. and she is extremely familiar with every issue that they are going to face in the next few years. and she's worked on these issues and they are a little

and i would say probably that means sally yates or doug jones or deval patrick would be my gut. but any of them would be fine. but before we get too carried away with who's next remember there's a lot of time at the department of justice between now and january. and many terrible things can happen. there can be, you know, pardons handed out like christmas cards. there can be special counsels appoint appointed who will be embedded who can go after the president's enemies and who will be there for the new attorney general to deal with. so it's too soon to take our eye off the trump justice department and just focus on the biden justice department, unfortunately. >> yeah, here-here. there's all evidence that you're absolutely correct. phil, today on paper could have been a good day for the trump white house though we did not see the president on this day when vaccine shots arrived in american arms. >> yeah, you know, brian, you're right it was a good day in terms of the vaccine rollout. and i'm frankly surprised we didn't see the president. this is the one element of the coronaviru

senator doug jones federal appeals court judge merrick garland and former deputy attorney general sally yatestonight congress has hit yet another roadblock in reaching a compromise on a covid relief deal with republicans and rats clashing over key proposals. our washington dc correspondent kelli meyer shares what the fate of relief looks like head of the holidays. >>a more hopeful than i've been in a long time florida republican senator marco rubio is optimistic that congress will be able to pass a coronavirus relief package in time for the holidays because too many small businesses too many families are hurting right now and we should not be playing politics at this moment, both rubio and georgia republican senator kelly leffler want to make sure small business aid is in the next relief package, 300 billion was included in a bipartisan 908 billion dollar proposal rubio says he would go even higher i think it's great that they undertook that effort i think we can build on it. but at least on the small business part it needs have about 380 billion ever want to do it right but with just days le

know the short list that has been reported for attorney general has included senator who wases, sally yates somebody who understands the lay of the land inside the justice department. rebuild.rstand how to we also understand america with someonejudge who was brought up by president obama to fill a spring court seat. someone who can restore the integrity of the agency. doug jones brings a track record when comes to enforcement of civil rights. whether these nominees bring that long extensive unblemished a deepwhen it comes to and abiding when you're talking about racial justice and civil rights. that question must be asked. -- racerings of racial and gender diversity. he needs to be one that reflects the nation and has --. my hope is in the final analysis we can look at the sum total of president-elect biden's cabinet indeed onfeel that he day one will put in place a cabinet that reflects america. host: in california, independent. caller: i'm from the apache nation and i will tell you this. i can speak more than one language. see black-and-white or monolithic. they only speak english. i thin

sally yates, i like her record. so for me, i want to be sure that we get someone who has a real solid civil rights agenda. not just somebody who would talk about it. we have to be careful. i have seen a lot of times when it comes to the supreme court, i much rather have a marshall than a clarence thomas. they're both back but who would you rather have? >> we're on the same page there. i would want to see some blacks, but i want to see some that are going to do the right thing. i'm with you there. thank you, congressman jim clyburn. we always thank you for your time. joining me now is my panel. james carville, democratic strategist, co-host of 2020 politics war room and an msnbc political analyst and michael steele, partner at hamilton place strategies, former senior adviser to jeb bush and former spokesman for house speaker john boehner. let me go to you first, james. joe biden will make his first campaign event since winning the presidency when he travels to georgia this coming tuesday. you are the strategist. do y

>> you know, i am a sally yates fan and i was listening to a bit of the earlier broadcast, and i apologize for technical issues we had. but i think they need someone with experience at doj. ip think a new attorney general who has never been in that role as far as the deputy or one of the assistants, secretaries of the civil rights division, i think you need someone who is -- for the reasons your other guests outlined. i think all of the mess that trump and barr have left, the issue of pardons, whether it's quid pro quos, did you give something to get something? i think you need an experienced hand. i'm not sold on whether the person has to be a person of color or a female. i'm concerned that it's someone with a lot of experience and can boost more role in a department that has taken a hit in the last four years. the doj's had a hard time. >> you always leave me wants to hear more. thank you for your time. and harry as well. and on the two weeks now until georgia's senate runoffs. races that will decide which party holds power in the senate. pow their could decide what happens to joe biden'

james comey, andrew mccabe, peter strzok, and others, i would include rob rosenstein, maybe even sally yatesthis. yates is now effectively off the table i think as the next attorney general in a biden the administration assuming the electoral college chooses him. >> sean: there is a news cnn story tonight debunked about the trump administration official and money for pardons. they say no government official was or is currently the subject of any target or investigation they can disclose. matt gaetz, i read "the new york times" op-ed by andrew weissmann. for three years, he was rubbing mueller's pit bull. didn't get the results he want wanted. now he's saying that if biden pbecomes president, as an ag, e wants to be a five investigated into perpetuity. you had said it first and i agree with you. if i this is the threats they ae going to make to a guy leaving office perhaps one day, my question is why wouldn't he just pardon himself and his family on the way out the door because i think they would be right to do so because these people are nuts. >> the president should pardon himself from his

doug jones and sally yates. competent and qualified. the question is who among them could be the most easily confirmed in a divided senate. and we won't fully know the m e makeup of that until the georgia runoffs next week. >> jeff bennett in wilmington. thank you, sir is. thanks as always. >>> countries are closing borders as a more contagious strain of covid hits europe. the gate keepers. we're going to take a look new steps today to stop that mutant strain from come iing here. fine ♪ 2020 that's it calling anyone with grit change this, change that, but don't ever quit 2020's done a new era has begun so keep pushing forward... because this is twenty twenty won the future is still ours to win. make a different future start different at godaddy.com so you want to make the best that means selling everything. and eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice... even if everyone asks you... another burger truck? don't listen to them! that means cooking day and night until you get... [ ding ] you got paid! that means adding peop

we know from our own reporting, there's names being floated around, like senator doug jones, sally yatesat we expect to come before the new year. so, that might be an early 2021 timeline. of course, we're keeping an eye out for any information on that front. >> appreciate it. >>> joining us now, rick tyler a republican strategist. and jess o'connell, is the former ceo of the democratic national convention. good morning to both of you. happy you're here. jess, i want to start with you. pig piggybacking off of what deepa said. suggesting a stimulus bill is on the way. what kind of position is he in here? and say the president does not sign the covid relief, government funding bill. it doesn't look like the payment that the house is going to vote on has support from the senate. jan 20th, after the pomp and circumstance, what is the course of action? >> well, before we get to the first course of action, we don't want to give up on donald trump signing right now. this is a first step that is needed for millions of americans all over the country. donald trump has run his presidency like a bad

reporting indicates that that has been culled down to a small list of finalists, including doug jones, sally yates and judge mer rick garland. inch and we'll look for more as the week goes on. >> jessica, thank you so much. >>> something that is not moving at warp speed are the stimulus talks. congressional leaders are still far apart of on some key provisions. the main sticking points among them, democrats continue to request that state and local aid, despite fierce resistance from republicans, but chuck schumer said today the bipartisan gang of eight should have an aid package on the floor that could be the basis for negotiations. >> the good news on the negotiation is the gang of eight is working hard, and they hope to have something as early as tomorrow morning. it's not everything we want, but it's a good framework. >>> now, at least four people were stabbed in nearly two dozen arrested at election protests last night here in washington, d.c. videos show fights breaking out between protesters and those who came out to people them. the d.c. mayor's office says at least 23 arrests were made in

merrick garland, and alabama senator doug jones, but it's not out of the question to take a look at sallie yates, and deval patrick, the former massachusetts governor. again, this will be a key role in biden's cabinet. we also know that he is keen to roll out along with the naming of the attorneys, other major names to the justice department. that's slowing him down a bit, in that there are other moving parts combined. when you look at the director of the cia, we know there are three top contender that our reporting could its that president-elect joe biden is looking at. lisa monaco, and also an adviser to joe biden as well, and david cohen and darrell blocker. so beana, as you mentioned, still quite a number of names. it is clear, based on when he said earlier this week, the decisions have not yet been made. >> we know that former cia director took his name out of consideration as well. so he's no longer on that list. it's not just ag and cia. there are other department heads being deliberated. who are they? >> reporter: it's commerce, labor and sba, all agencies that will be so critical when i

as the attorney general, talk about a partisan hack being in an important position, doug jones, sally yatesjay johnson, folks that i wouldn't pick but are much better than andrew cuomo. a disastrous pick and i hope you would not be confirmed. shannon: thanks very much, merry christmas. a quick correction just moments ago, we were talking about former epa director gina mccarthy using a fake email account, it was actually her predecessor who used that. seattle is proposing new legislation that could legalize dozens of crimes we find out why and who is eligible for free pass as business owners make the city not to do it. we will debate next. "you have cancer." how their world stopped and when they found a way to face it. for some, this is where their keytruda story begins. keytruda-a breakthrough immunotherapy that may treat certain cancers. one of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, non-small cell lung cancer, where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment, if you do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene. keytruda helps your immune system figh

>> you know, i am a sally yates fan. i was listening to a bit of the earlier broadcast. i apologize for the technical issues we had. i think they need someone with experience at the doj. a new attorney general who's never been in that role as far as maybe a deputy or one of the assistant secretaries of civil rights division, et cetera, i think that you need someone that's experienced for all the reasons that your other guests outlined. i think that all of the mess that trump and barr have left, the issue of pardons, whether or not there was quid pro quos, did you give something to get something? i'm not sure the person needs to be a person of color or female, they need experience and can boost morale in a department that's taken a really hard hit the last four years because of trump's antics. doj's had a hard time. >> to say the least. you always leave me wanting to hear more. thank you, sophia. i appreciate your time. >>> the only two weeks now until georgia's senate runoffs. races that will decide which party holds power in the senate. power that could decide what happ

we know biden narrowed it down to a short list of contenders, including senator doug jones and sally yatesnd. >>> looking to capitol hill, congress is paralyzed. negotiations over a covid-19 emergency relief package are on the brink of collapse with leaders from both parties now turning to the all too familiar position of pointing fingers. mitch mcconnell says there is no path forward on two sticking points, liability protection for businesses. republicans want the protections to be broader than democrats do. there's also state and local aid, democrats want much more than republicans will allow. but now this failure in negotiations is going to hurt even more. some emergency benefits that have been keeping people afloat across the country expire at the end of the month things like unemployment benefits, eviction protection, relief that millions of people have clearly relied on during the pandemic. these are some of the people who, frankly, congress has failed. >> i have to take the bills and throw them up and pick the ones and hope they total the amount that i have. >> we stopped going to f

you talk about a partisan hack being in the position, you got sally yates, jeh johnson, you've got folksldn't pick but are much better than andrew cuomo. and that would be a disastrous pick and i hope he would be confirmed. >> shannon: we will see, trey gowdy, great to have you with us and thank you so much. merry christmas. >> yes, men, thank you very much and merry christmas. >> shannon: click moments ago talking about former director mccarthy using a fake email account, it was actually her predecessor lisa jackson who would use the email. seattle new legislation like a legalized thousands of of crimes and find out why and who is eligible for a free pass as business owners begged the city not to do it. we will debate, next. ♪ you can get the perfect gift up until the last minute. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ ( ♪ ) ready to juvÉderm it? correct age-related volume loss in cheeks with juvÉderm voluma xc, add fullness to lips with juvÉderm ultra xc and smooth moderate to severe lines around the nose and mouth with juvÉderm xc. tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring or are t

. >> now, in the running for attorney general, former deputy attorney general, sally yates, alabama senators and merrick garland. that's the same judge that president obama chose to fill a supreme court vacancy who senate republicans denied. president trump and republicans say regardless of who biden selects as his attorney general, there should be a separate independent investigation into hunter biden. >> his son walked away with millions and millions of dollars worth of contracts. the appearance that that gave -- i'm not saying there was any illegality but the appearance that it gave is american's foreign policy can be bought. >> however, attorney general bill barr just a couple hours ago said the current ongoing investigation from the justice department is sufficient and he will not appoint a special counsel. john? >> john: rich edson for us in wilmington. let's bring in former assistant u.s. attorney andy mccarthy. i had been hearing rumblings that there might have been a special counsel in store for the hunter biden investigation. what might have been going on with china, whether or no

senator doug jones federal appeals court judge merrick garland and former deputy attorney general sally yates. the u.s. supreme court rejected a lawsuit backed by president trump and scores of republican leaders today designed to overturn joe biden's election victory. the landmark decision could be the end of the line for trump's legal push to try to reverse his defeat. dean reynolds has the latest. >>late today, the justices denied the lawsuit ruling that texas has not demonstrated judicially cognizant interest in the manner in which another state conducted election in other words elections in other states were not the business of texas. it was the second setback this week for the trump campaign at the hands of the justices who earlier rejected a similar request regarding the results of pennsylvania alone. the texas lawsuit argued that widespread fraud and irregularities in 4 states. wisconsin michigan, pennsylvania and georgia had somehow burden the people of texas and left the results in those states so tainted they should be overturned. if it had somehow succeeded those states and their 6

you've got james comey, sally yates, rod roman saying they would not have signed the phis applicationw wiseman is saying if biden became president his age he needs t to go after trump on the same thing. if i'm donald trump and i'm reading this, what do i have to pardon myself and my family on the way out the door? it sounds like it. >> what i can say is there is no mulligans here. he spent $25 million, for the fbi agents, 50 prosecutors, 500 witnesses interviewed, 2500 subpoenas, and they found nothing. about georgia, if we win both georgia seats and have 52 republican senators, the attorney general nominee if trump fall short in biden winds will become the judiciary committee run by chuck bradley. there is no way in heck he's going to be confirmed i would agree with weissmann. if we lose both senate seats in georgia, and nick derman will be chairman of the senate judiciary committee most likely. if we win both seats in georgia, i will be the budget chairman. anybody of the omb director has to become the budget committee for hearings to be confirmed. i think i would ask different ques

so we have an array of contenders, sally yates is one, for example. she was long thought to be a leading contender and she was was the acting attorney general at the beginning of the trump administration. would she have to recuse herself in the wake of this special counsel report? there is also considerable pressure on president-elect joe biden to appoint a person of color in the attorney general's position. jeh johnson is in the mix for that and deval patrick we are told and california attorney general javier becerra. attorney general is being focused on at this point and it is related, if not necessarily influenced by what is happening now in the trump administration. >> tom perez we are told is also under consideration, the dnc chair. bacarri, you know the naacp president derrick johnson told cnn that civil rights groups are trying to land an actual meeting, sit-down meeting with the president-elect. maybe a virtual meeting with the president-elect and vice president-elect for that matter. how important is that civil rights groups are being heard a

there's a lot of other very real good pics on there including mayor garland, sally yates, the formeres to choose from. i think we'll have to wait to see what the president-elect -- i got to get used to that. what the president-elect decides to do. >> harris: i want to get your reaction to this fund-raising while his city is hurting. the whole country is. we're losing thousands of people a day. we're coming about with a new weapon in this vaccine, but the fight continues to be mighty until that's disseminated widely enough to make a big difference. you've got a governor who, he wrote a book about how well he handled it. i bring up the nursing situation. i don't like to call it a scandal. it was a deadly decision that he made. >> it was indeed a tough decision the governor made. i think there were so many elected officials that wish hindsight were 20/20 that they could fix wrongs they made at the top of the pandemic. you bring up such a good point. we heard that last segment with your small business owner, harris. there so many businesses hurting. while, yes, today, some americans are

proceeds so here is who was reportedly on short list right now obama former deputy attorney general sally yatesormer massachusetts governor delaware vol patrick and doug jones obama supreme court nominee, gar land one new name that popped on list andrew cuomo. jon. jon: hillary vaughn in wilmington, delaware. hillary, thank you. now that fda has approved an emergency use authorization for pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the vase on to begin inoculating people. we have details of the entire process from its quick development to how it will be districted and who will be the first to get it and when. our fox team coverage includes mike tobin in kalamazoo, michigan but we begin with steve heir began nb atlanta on cdc's role in distribution. steve. reporter: jon, just a few hours ago, the cdc advisory panel recommended use of the pfizer vaccine for all americans age 16 and up invest really the last hurdle before distribution. here's the president. >> our nation has achieved a medical miracle. we have delivered a safe and effective vaccine in just nine months. this is one of the greatest scientific accom

he has yet to name and attorney general, but we are hearing sally yates, massachusetts governor, devaltgoing alabama senator doug jones. this is something that could, if the special counsel comes in play, that means it would be protected from the attorney general. that is why republicans are calling for the special counsel. they see it as a conflict of interest. >> thank you for breaking it down. >> you bad. >> former federal prosecutor. merry christmas and thank you for taking time out of your day. we appreciated as always. >> merry christmas to you. >> two days ago now bill barr when he was the attorney general said, doj sees no reason for a special counsel to look at hunter biden. two days later fox news is hearing from sources that they are considering this as an option. looking a at this, the only thig that has changed is that he is now no longer the attorney general. >> yeah, bill barr, i think he served well and he was an important part of the president's cabinet at a very difficult time. i think he's very old school. i think he felt having multiple attorneys looking into it, th

including sally yates of georgia who was summarily fired by trump at the outset of his administrationre morale and confidence in the normal course of justice at the doj. it is nothing we've had to do before. it's kinded of of a given. if those two georgia seats are not flipped but all eyes on the ag pick, it's massively impactful. >> sure is. >> john, thanks so much. appreciate it. see you tomorrow. >>> you have heard the warning of the k shaped recovery in the economy where the wealthiest americans and companies win big and the recovery leaves millions of people and small business behind. one of the smartest guys on the planet, bill gates told our jake tapper, the pandemic has highlighted inequality in the biggest economy on earth. >> this epidemic has been awful in the way that it's exacerbated inequities, it's been worse for hispanics, worse for blacks, worse for low income service workers, multigenerational households a number of things that mean in terms of picking who gets the vaccine, we better be using equity to drive all of those decisions. >> laser focused on equity. you kno

he's looking at sally yates, deval patrick, judge merrick garland and outgoing alabama senator could be attorney general doug jones. we're told according to biden sources that the president-elect when he becomes president plans on having no conversations as president-elect with these a.g. candidates about his son's business dealings. rick? >> excellent report, david. thanks very much. let's bring in republican congressman, ken buck of colorado. he's a abdulmutallab of the house judiciary and foreign affairs committees. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> we're hearing a lot of debate about whether a special counsel should be appointed. i guess you think one is warranted? >> i wrote a letter to attorney general barr and asked for a special counsel. when you look at the activities of hunter biden and his father, at the time his father was vice president, it's clear corruption. a number of statutes indicated. it would really relieve the biden administration of the conflict of interest burden if a special counsel was appointed right now. >> i read one source on capitol hill callin

obama's former ag, sally yates, former massachusetts governor, duvall patrick, doug jones, obama supremeand and one new name that popped up on the list, according to the associated press, new york governor andrew cuomo. arthel. arthel: hillary vaughn, thank you very much. eric. eric: arthel, countless families forced to tighten their belts under covid lockdowns this year, they're finding the holiday gift list doesn't fit into their budgets this year. charities that collect and distribute donations say they have received more request for help now more than ever. we have more. >> reporter: box that's are usually filled with donated toys are sitting empty. >> the need is ten times what it was last year. >> reporter: sheri carnegie with the atlanta toys for tots says the coronavirus has affected them in every area. >> from the volunteers, from the number of events that we have, from the number of toys that have been donated. >> reporter: toys for tots has 816 campaigns across the country and the atlanta campaign is the largest. >> last year we distributed almost 850,000 toys. this year, our

i've made a short list of the names floating around, including but not limited to sally yates. senator doug jones. merrick garland. duval patrick. other than the big change the public is in for, the idea of an attorney general who is not the president's personal lawyer, what qualities were you, joe biden be looking for to fill this office? >> i think someone who believes fundamentally in the rule of law, in the independence of the justice department, who is going to restore its traditions because the great thing about the justice department in normal administrations, it metes justice whether you're rich or poor. this department has been a disgrace, brian, beyond disgrace, it's despicable what they have done to our precious justice department. any of those names you mentioned would be extraordinary. it would be like a matter, anti-matter explosion happening at 950 pennsylvania avenue when any of those folks walk in. >> our lawyer guest is not given to hyperbole, so we should take those words to the bank. >>> phil rucker, back over to your beat. in today's kind of parallel univer

we've heard sally yates, doug jones, merrick garland for attorney general. would merrick garland be progressive enough for you? >> i don't know mr. garland very well. i think we could have a stronger progressive than him. i'm not going to comment on biden's appointments. >> senator sanders, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. >>> coming up, a republican governor has harsh words on president trump's efforts to overturn the election he lost. stay with us. republican governor has harsh words on president trump's efforts to overturn the election he lost. they also spread all kinds of germs, from cold and flu to strep and more. nothing kills more cold and flu viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. no one likes to choose between safe or sporty. modern or reliable. we want both - we want a hybrid. so do banks. that's why they're going hybrid with ibm. a hybrid cloud approach helps them personalize experiences with watson ai while helping ke

are merrick garland, doug jones, who has a close relationship with biden, and attorney general sally yates of the key positions people will be watching as he is getting closer to the christmas deadline he is hoping to fill his cabinet with. >> big announcements next hour. over on capitol hill. congress in the midst of two financial christchurrises, lawm paralyzed when it comes to liability compromises in state funding. now there's threat of government shutdown that is hours away if they fail to pass a funding gap bill today. suzanne malveaux, good to see you. first, talk about the stimulus, looks like they were close yesterday. what happened? >> brooke, there's nothing like a deadline to get folks moving. there is a deadline. that's midnight tonight to keep the government funded. yes, you're right, there was something close to a deal that's since fallen apart. let's look at this. there are two sticking points. you have the coalition, bipartisan coalition on the senate side, and there's so much in the relief bill that would be good for millions and millions of american people, but the two s

. >> the names we keep hearing, merrick garland, doug jones, sally yates obviously not people of colorwhat is your take on what joe biden should do? and what will his eventual choice say about the justice department that he wants? >> well, look. there are a slew of people that would probably be very, very effective. people whose names we don't know. i'm not saying that to hedge. i'm saying that because with the literally thousands of attorneys that we have around the country right now joe biden has an opportunity to pick a woman, to pick a black person, pick an asian american. he can't. if he wants to do that he could do it. the fact we're hearing merrick garland and doug jones means that is not what joe biden wants to do. he doesn't necessarily care about putting the top cop in the hands of an african-american or necessarily a person of color but i think the issue is this. this is what i want to see out of whoever he ends up picking as a.g. it has to be someone who is aggressive not just about cleaning up the doj, not just about pushing out all of the trumpists and getting rid of the

for instance, the justice department, again, sally yates, somebody who could an easier path if democratsfight now. and merrick garland as we've heard for the attorney general job, you may not want to pick him as attorney general if you can't guarantee that you can replace him in the d.c. court of appeals. that's such a critical court. mitch mcconnell might not want merrick garland there. and as president-elect, i think joe biden knew, a man of the senate, some of these confirmation issues were not going to be easy but i think some of these external factors beyond their control are starting to complicates thing. >> yeah, i can answer that question for you, mitch mcconnell will not want a democrat or that person to fill that seat on the circuit court. excuse me. let's talk briefly about the coronavirus, mike. is the biden team reacting at all to the reporting about is the trump decision not to buy more of this pfizer vaccine? does that hamstring them? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, the frustration on the part of the biden team, for instance, they're not meeting with operation warm speed leader

possible choices include outgoing alabama senator doug jones, former deputy attorney general sally yatesjudge merrick garland, who president obama nominated to serve on the u.s. supreme court. however, republican senator john kennedy says jen psaki's comments over the weekend were not enough to ease his concerns. >> when i heard that, her comments, i thought to myself, "whoever wrote that for her did it after their morning beer." that implies that they -- that mr. biden thought about talking to his nominee, but decided against it. that's why we need a special counsel. >> harris: oh, the morning beer. guy lewis joins me now, former u.s. attorney. always good to see it. i am sure something was at play here, because when you are prepared to say to the whole world, guy lewis, "i'm not going to talk about it," that sounds like you have lawyered up. what is that? >> harris, i think the incoming president biden should actually go a step further and formally recused. there is a conflict here. this is his son we talking abo about. it's under investigation for federal offenses up in delaware, the

supreme court nomination by then senate republicans, as well as former deputy attorney general sally yates. joining me is the president and ceo of the knackment derek johnson. thank you for joining us. first, let me get your reaction to the news that nbc news is reporting senate doug jones is president-elect biden's leading choice for attorney general at this hour. >> it is important whoever is selected as attorney general. they can walk into the office and start day one and not have to figure out where the bathrooms are. i don't know doug jones' qualification in that area. i know there are competent individuals who understand the function, the role of the justice department and who will walk in on day one and have the confidence of the staff that's there. we have domestic terrorists. we have issues around our election security. we have issues that are far and wide that we must clean up after the last four years and we must make sure that the person selected is able to walk in day one to begin to address those issues. >> you about you don't know if he has those qualifications, is what you'

patrick have been names that i've been impressed with that i had a positive conversation with both sally yates not know, nor have i ever met merrick garland whose name is also said to be on a list or being under consideration. so i think that the other thing that's important with the department of justice is who the attorney general is, but who holds those key second level positions. the deputy position, the assistant attorney general's position, the person in charge of civil rights enforcement. i'd like to see a team of people who reflect the experience and the diversity necessary to really change the course of the justice department which is basically lost its way when it comes to its solemn obligation to enforce civil rights and protect justice in this country. >> let me ask about the engs post. secretary of education has been a very controversial position under betsy devos. "the washington post" is now reporting that after several union leaders were talked about, teachers' names, now there are two lesser known names but they would have a great deal to say for diversity. leslie fenwick from

but he may look at former deputy attorney general sally yates or former massachusetts governor deval time again politics will not play a role in his department of justice. he wants it operating independently. then another factor going into that decision is that we're told he's keen to roll out additional justice department nominations as well for deputy attorney general. the civil rights division. so that is adding to this as well. you mentioned there's four other slots to fill that includes cia director, commerce, labor and sba. all of these things need to be filled in the 29 days before we get to his inauguration. then there's the question of getting through the confirmation votes and the hearings which will take its own time as well. we're expecting this to come to a head in early january. >> all right. sounds like joe biden has his work cut out for him. thank you very much, jessica. >>> someone else having a quiet christmas at home, america's favorite infectious disease expert, dr. anthony fauci. up next, what he's doing this year that he hasn't done in nearly 40 years. bundle au

. >> reporter: former deputy attorney general sally yates, alabama senator doug jones and judge merrick are all reportedly under consideration. republicans say regardless of who biden selects as his attorney general, there should be a separate investigation into hunter biden. president trump calling for a special counsel, one that would carry an investigation into joe biden's presidency. congressional republicans are also pushing for a special counsel. >> i think the big issue here is, is that what are the biden family's involvement with china. i think we really need a special prosecutor to go after this. >> reporter: so for are republicans who are pushing for an additional investigation beyond what the justice department already has into hunter biden, there is the option of naming a congressional investigation though they're likely going to control a congressional committee for that, and for that they're going to need to control at least one house of congress. if republicans win one of the seats next year in georgia, or early next month in georgia, that means they maintain control of t