so yesterday afternoon, samuel alito is on the phone with donald trump, recommending that he hire oneer law clerks from the trump administration. that is a call that could have waited. samuel alito knew that donald trump was appealing his sentencing schedule and would very likely be appealing directly to the supreme court, any minute now, but the supreme court justice got on the phone with donald trump and asked donald trump for the favor of five hiring his former law clerk. there's absolutely no doubt that donald trump was going to hire samuel alito's former law clerk, with or without the call. the call accomplished nothing in that direction. it was purely donald trump's attempt to make samuel alito subservient and indebted to him by hiring his former law clerk after alito asked him to do that. alito should have never participated in such a phone call, but if he was going to do it, he could have done it next week, easily. there is no hiring dead line for any job in the trump administration, and it is impossible for donald trump to hire anyone before january 20th. justice alito's stat

and samuel alito knows it is possible those attempts could end up in the supreme court. re active litigant before the supreme court than donald trump or a more predictable litigant before the supreme court than donald trump. i knew yesterday donald trump was going to appeal his sentencing to the united states supreme court. we discussed it on this program last night. there is no reason to believe samuel alito yesterday wasn't smart enough to anticipate that donald trump would come to the supreme court today at the latest. the very latest with the emergency petition he filed. samuel alito is claiming i couldn't possibly figure out what lawrence o'donnell figured out yesterday. that's what he is saying. samuel alito, one of the most politically compromised supreme court justices in history on par only with clarence thomas said i will get on the phone with donald trump, two days before he is supposed to be sentenced knowing he is fighting disparately to stop that sentencing and i'm going to ask donald trump the favor of hiring a friend of mine who used to work for me. joinin

guys, thank you for being here, because it is samuel alito, i first need your reaction to just a friendlyes. your thoughts? >> i think there is a zero percent chance that sam alito is telling the truth when he says he did not know this emergency application would be filed. trump and his legal team made it clear. alito reads the news. he doesn't live in a hole. so i think that he was well aware when he got this phone call that it would look really bad at a minimum and raise a lot of questions about what he discussed and he still decided to have the conversation. and to do so, about someone who is going to be apparently a low level appointee in this administration. we are not talking about an appeals court judge or potential attorney general. we are talking someone who might be general council at a federal agency. the idea that trump needed alito to vouch for him and needed him to do so at this moment because it was so urgent, i mean, it really does not pass the sniff test and something was going on here. >> basically, alito has said middle finger to the optics of me being partisan whether

justice samuel alito spoke to trump by phone tuesday to recommend one of his former law clerks for ainistration, which he confirmed on the record. the call occurred just hours before trump's lawyers submitted their petitions so the petition wasn't in yet but i don't know, maybe i don't trust samuel alito at this point, given his wife's flag flying ways, that he wouldn't have had a conversation with trump where trump said, oh, your clerk wants a job, i'm going to need a few things. should we trust that this was not nefarious? >> whether it's nefarious or not, i will note that it does strained credulity to think of the president-elect facing this particular legal challenge and also encumbered by all of the responsibilities of a transition, is actually making reference checks, someone who is going to be beneath the department. that's the sort of thing that is usually handled within a department and farmed out to the president's chief of staff. there is the question of why donald trump is specifically calling and making these reference checks himself. maybe he is a micromanager, although

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donald trump under scrutiny today on the phone with he's on the phone with supreme court justice samuel alito the day before donald trump's lawyers petitioned alito and the other justices to step in and delay his upcoming sentencing. now, justice alito says the call was about a job reference for a former clerk of his who wanted a position in the trump administration. cnn's steve contorno picks up the story for us from here. what are you hearing this morning, steve? >> kate, as you said, justice alito saying this call was relatively benign, that he was simply making a job recommendation on behalf of a former clerk, something that supreme court justices often do on behalf of the people who work for him. but it is not very often that they make those calls to an incoming president of the united states. and the timing of this call is certainly a note, because it came just a day before donald trump petitioned the supreme court to intervene in the sentencing of his new york hush money case, which is scheduled to be tomorrow. now, justice alito saying he had no idea that that petition was coming. let

and samuel alito wanted to assure trump, hey, no, he's got your back.s a person you can trust. >> sketchy. >> it's troubling, to say the least. >> yeah. erick sermon, what's on your fallback list? >> siri. yeah. >> snooping. yeah. snooping. siri. snooping. yes. >> and it's scary because you see a couple of things that you saw on some people's, you know, on, on social media, how siri, you know, kind of taped them, not just, you know, with the vocals but also with the camera. >> so but the fact to know that it's a possibility that it's more being taken in by siri from the phone or from whatever that's siri's talking to you with the fact that there's all the information that's coming out could be detrimental. >> yeah, i have a serious response. and then i have my hip hop dad joke side, right? i could see siri wanting to snoop on you. you have a beautiful, mellifluous voice. i could see that happening. right? erick sermon saying, you know, hey, siri, put in this amazon order. and they're like, hey, check it, check it. one, two. like, let me hear it again. b

the reality here is that samuel alito, he there is no enforcement mechanism in this supreme court.even if they do something wrong or look like they do something wrong, there is no accountability here. that's the real problem. he shouldn't have done it. and we certainly should not take donald trump's words or samuel alito's words that they didn't talk about anything before the court. right. it's just i don't it doesn't it doesn't pass the smell test. >> is there even a separation between the judicial branch and the executive branch anymore? >> right. i mean, i think i agree this was improper. i mean, trump is a litigant before this court. he knew that. and instead he's on the phone basically asking the president for a favor. right, right, right. which is to hire his former clerk. >> and this is not for a cabinet position. this is this is a sub-cabinet position for somebody who has already served in trump's administration at the justice department. this guy's name is will levy. everybody knows in this town knows who levy is. it just it doesn't look right. it i smell, i smell a rat. >

there was also an unusual phone call that donald trump had with samuel alito this week ostensibly to referral for a man that is being considered for a job in the trump administration. many government ethics experts say that to have a sitting supreme court justice on the phone with the president-elect on the very same week he is appealing to them to delay sentencing certainly raises eyebrows. again samuel alito said they did not talk about this whatsoever come it had not been filed at that point when they had this conversation. donald trump did not want this day to cokme because until it happen he was not considered a convicted felon and now he is and that is not a label and incoming president wants a fixed to him for entering the white house. the last thing the judge said to donald trump today was -- sir, i wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office and with that donald trump's video link disconnected from the courtroom and that was the end of the day today. amna: godspeed indeed. william brangham reporting from new york city. thank you. reporter: thank you. ♪ geoff:

mark, because it's samuel alito, i need your reaction to a friendly phone call between buddies. ers before the court. your thoughts? >> i think there's a 0% chance that sam alito is telling the truth when he says he did not know that this emergency application would be filed. trump and his legal team have made it very clear that they would go to the united states supreme court to block this sentencing if necessary. alito reads the news. he doesn't live in a hole. i think that he was well aware when he got this phone call that it would look at a minimum really bad, that it would raise a lot of questions about what exactly he discussed with the president-elect. yet, he still decided to have the conversation. to do so about someone who is going to be apparently a low-level appointee in this administration. we are not talking about an appeals court judge or potential attorney general. we are talking about someone who might be general counsel at a federal agency. the idea that trump needed alito to vouch for him and needed him to do so at this moment because it was so urgent, it reall

it comes as justice samuel alito spoke with him tuesday.recommend a former law clerk for a job in the upcoming administration. he claims they did not discuss any other matters. >>> israeli soldiers recovered the body of a hostage abducted by hamas on october 7th. military says it found 53-year-old yosef al zayadni in an underground tunnel in southern gaza. it also says it's trying to determine if another set of remains are the man's 23-year-old son. both were thought to still be alive before yesterday's announcemnts. >>> and coming up on "cbs mornings," tony dokoupil is live in pacific palisades, california, with the latest on the deadly wildfires. >>> i'm michael george. this is "cbs news mornings." ldf. >>> i'm michael george. this is "cbs news mornings." for people who feel limited by the unpredictability of generalized myasthenia gravis, season to season, ultomiris is continuous symptom control, with improvement in activities of daily living and reduced muscle weakness. and ultomiris is the only long-acting gmg treatment with the freedo

samuel alito confirmed he spoke to mr. trump the day before the emergency filing. alito says the president-elect wanted to discuss qualifications to serve in a government position and insisted that they did not talk about any pending cases. meanwhile, in a new filing, prosecutors say attorney general merrick garland intends to publicly release the report on mr. trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but the classified documents case will stay under wraps for now, because there is still an active case against two co-defendants. president-elect trump returned to capitol hill wednesday where he met with senate republicans before confirmation hearings begin next week for his cabinet nominees. mr. trump also visited the capitol rotunda where he and melania trump paid respects to jimmy carter. president biden is set to deliver the eulogy for president carter this morning. every living president is expected to attend today's service. the funeral will take place at the washington national cathedral at 10:00 a.m. then president carter will return to h

you know, i wanted to get your reaction to this news that actually broke as well, that justice samuel alitocall with donald trump. you know, alito said they did not discuss the case. and the subject of the call was over. a former law clerk of his regarding his qualification to serve in the trump administration. he did not. alito did not recuse himself. i find it interesting that it's like the allegation that he was perhaps like calling alito or alito was calling trump, and then they spoke about the case like, no, no, that's not the source of the corruption. we're talking about another source of corruption, which is like, i have a law clerk and i and i want to assure you that he's very loyal to you. he is worthy of a job in your administration. he is going to be a good guy and he will serve you well. that's the like that. he's coming out and saying that, not the other one. >> well, and also, alito hadn't employed this guy in 14 years. yes. so there were a number of other employers that he could have talked to, but he had to talk to his guy, alito. look, alito and thomas are basically trump's

lay out the many ways that donald trump's chatting on the telephone with supreme court justice samuel alitoe public's faith and confidence in separation of powers? >> yeah, so justice alito said that call to -- qualifications to have a position in his government and to be clear it's not necessarily unusual for a potential employer to contact the judge about a former -- seeking employment but it's highly unusual here for a supreme court justice who certainly should have anticipated that an important appeal from donald trump's could be before him very soon. i mean, justice alito said when he spoke to trump's on tuesday he wasn't aware that donald trump's would file this emergency application i mean, really? everybody thought that this was a very real possibility was on appeal, on its way up in the appeals in the state, the very heart of donald trump's's appeal here is based on the supreme court's immunity decision so the idea that he is out there -- alito is out there saying i had no idea this could come up, i mean, give me a break, and the other thing that is strange here, this isn't somebod

there was an unusual phone that he had with samuel alito this week.sibly this was a call for a job referral who is being considered for a job in the trump administration. but in ethics experts say that to have a sitting supreme court justice on the phone with the president-elect to appeal to them certainly raise youee browse. alito said it had not been filed when he had this conversation. trump did not want today to come because until it actually happened, not legally considered a "convicted felon" and now he is. and that's certainly not any label that an incoming president wants affixed to him right before he enters the white house. the last thing that the judge said to donald trump today was sir, i wish you god speed as you assume your second term in office. and with that donald trump's video link disconnect from the courtroom and that was the end of the day today. amna: thank you. william: thanks, amna. ♪ geoff: in a matter of days one of the most popular storm media apps could be forced to pull the plug, that's if the supreme court doesn't assign

but conservative justice samuel alito, did issue the possibility of the stay, putting the law on holdhey decide how to proceed. that's expected to be fairly swift. maybe as soon as next week. but remember, if that ban takes place, january 19th. that all said, though, kelly, one could argue, it ultimately may not matter which way it goes. chinese companies have proven incredibly resourceful, and users, incredibly resistant to workaround. chinese users simply used vpns, which there were many of them, to access them anyways. american users will also find a way. there is also the question of how effective other restrictions on china have been. this morning, wooerp talking about the semi export ban. and how they backfire. making chinese companies more resourceful, more innovative, rather than hurting their progress. here's one example. other chinese apps. like temu. they have swaths of american consumers, and we're not talking about banning them right u. some say, focusing on american competitiveness, versus crippling rivals. that's a way to make sure america dominates. it's kind of like w

a phone conversation with donald trump on tuesday before donald trump filed an appeal in which samuel alitog to get a job with donald trump for his former clerk. joining our discussion, andrew weissmann, former chief of the criminal division of the eastern division of new york. andrew, 5-4. what do you make of the supreme court's ruling? >> i think the first is to step back and realize that ten days from now the new president of the united states will come into office somebody who is convicted of 34 felony counts. after a trial by his peers, with all of the due process of any defendant. in terms of the history of this country, in terms of how we are seen internationally, in terms of how we think of ourselves as a country, this is a monumental moment in our history. and that is something you will witness tomorrow. obviously, the main event was the jury verdict. this brings this to a conclusion in terms of the trial phase. in terms of the 5-4 decision, the most interesting part here is the chief justice, chief justice roberts, essentially flip-flopping from his presidential immunity position.

what we're learning about a controversial call he had with supreme court justice samuel alito before making that appeal. >>> and battling the blaze, firefighters in day three of that fatal fire storm in los angeles, thousands of structures destroyed, nearly 200,000 people being told to get out of harm's way. we'll talk to two rabbis, among those forced to evacuate. we begin this hour in los angeles where flames are still ravaging major parts of the city. firefighters are trying to take advantage of the monstrous santa ana winds easing upment they're now able to use air drops. we saw a little of that in the last hour as they battle five vicious fires in los angeles, california, as the los angeles times all one of the most destructive in history. at this hour, the fires have killed at least five people and continue to rage out of control. thousands of structures have been destroyed. 179,000 people remain under evacuation orders. the signs of devastation clear in pacific palisades where the neighborhood there has turned into a rubble. officials say the damage assessment is ongoing, but

. >> john, we have new reporting that supreme court justice samuel alito in president elect trump spokee phone just hours before trump asked the court to delay his sentencing in the hush money case. and then hollywood came to a halt as these deadly fires rage across los angeles, celebrities speaking out about their loss. >> she came out. i'm sorry. just, you know, one day you're swimming in the pool and the next day it's all gone i just took a shower above the clouds. >> you know why? because this is the emirates a380. >> you'll be back. emus can't help people customize and save with liberty mutual. >> and, doug. >> well, i'll be only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> our remodels are made to look beautiful and made to last. >> so we hand selected products that are stylish and durable to create new designs for your bathroom. >> see them now at reebok.com. so what do you think about these? >> we're going to take everything down to the studs, from design and products to removal and installation. >> turned out amazing. >> re-bath is with you through every ste

. >> a phone call between president-elect donald trump and justice samuel alito is again raising questions about the supreme court's independence from politics. alito says he spoke with trump on tuesday afternoon, the day before trump asked the high court to pause his sentencing in the new york hush money case. let's get the details now from cnn's steve contorno. steve, what are you hearing about the call? >> boris, justice alito is saying that this was simply a conversation on behalf of a former law clerk of alito. he was trying to give a positive recommendation to the former president and incoming presidents with to give him a job in this new incoming administration. and that is something that justices do from time to time on behalf of their clerks. however, it is quite rare for that conversation to go all the way to a president, and the timing of it has certainly raised eyebrows because, as you said, the day after donald trump asked the supreme court to intervene on his behalf to block a new york court from punishing him in response to his hush money case. now, alito says that he had no

what cnn has just confirmed is that president-elect trump did speak with supreme court justice samuel alito in recent days. and we are getting a statement from justice alito himself saying that it was at the recommendation of a former law clerk of his who wanted him to call the president elect on his behalf and recommend him for a job in the trump administration, in his government. now, it is not unusual for supreme court justices to call and make recommendations on behalf of their former clerks. that's why half of them go and clerk in the first place, so it can help them. of course, with job placement. but what makes all of this so unusual, wolf, is, of course, that call came one day before trump's legal team filed that emergency appeal to the u.s. supreme court to try to delay his sentencing that is scheduled in the new york manhattan hush money case this friday. so far, his appeals there have been unsuccessful, wolf, and i should note that in a statement from alito, he said that they did not discuss that emergency application that trump's attorneys filed today. and he said, i was not eve

meanwhile, justice samuel alito, confirming reports that he spoke to trump by phone on tuesday, the daybefore trump asked the court to intervene. but alito says he only discussed a former law clerk of his who is seeking a job with the incoming trump administration. today, the senate holds a procedural vote on the first bill in the new congress, the laken riley act. the gop led immigration bill would require detention for undocumented migrants charged with theft or burglary. it has gained traction among some senate democrats, but it's unclear if it's enough for final passage. the bill is named after a georgia student killed by an undocumented migrant last year. in just hours, a funeral service will be held at the washington national cathedral for america's 39th president, jimmy carter. there he is live, lying in state at the united states capitol. he will then be transported to plains georgia for a private service. five current and former presidents bill clinton, george w bush, barack obama, donald trump and joe biden will attend. special coverage of the state funeral of jimmy carter beg

he does what he's told samuel alito he and his wife are flying pro-trump flags, and he's on the phone with trump trying to get his ex aide a sweet deal, a gig at the justice department, making sure. oh, no, sir, he's he's loyal. you should hire him. that's the kind of sort of corruption he's used to. the only shock here is that john roberts decided to have a little dignity. and maybe he was just cornered by judge merchan, who was like, yeah, i'm not going to sanction him to any jail time. john roberts, you got anything for that? >> but that's the problem, though, right? because there was that notation in the decision from scotus. joy, that because donald trump wasn't looking at a sentence. >> i've told people donald trump didn't get a sentence right. >> he may be a convicted felon, but there was no teeth to what happened. >> and so that's the reason why you saw amy coney barrett and john roberts decide to join with the liberal side of the scotus bench. there was no consequence. it kind of makes you wonder if there had been the very real threat that he, as in donald trump, would have b

washington, i want to check in on an important story tonight, as we have learned from justice samuel alitohimself, confirming on the record that he had a direct phone call with the president elect who was here on capitol hill this afternoon. they had a phone call yesterday afternoon. now, this comes, of course, as the president elect today asked the high court to call off his sentencing in the hush money case that is scheduled for friday. now, justice alito says this call was about a job recommendation from a former clerk of his who wants to work in the trump administration, asked him to recommend him on his behalf. but alito said in his statement tonight, and i'm quoting him now, we did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, i was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed. cnn's former, former or current cnn legal analyst, former federal prosecutor elliot williams, is my legal source. tonight. elliot, it's obviously not pretty. pretty. it's not weird for a supreme court justice to recommend a former law clerk. that's

washington, i want to check in on an important story tonight, as we have learned from justice samuel alito himself, confirming on the record that he had a direct phone call with the president elect who was here on capitol hill this afternoon. they had a phone call yesterday afternoon. now, this comes, of course, as the president elect today asked the high court to call off his sentencing in the hush money case that is scheduled for friday. now, justice alito says this call was about a job recommendation from a former clerk of his who wants to work in the trump administration, asked him to recommend him on his behalf. but alito said in his statement tonight, and i'm quoting him now, we did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, i was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed. cnn's former, former and current cnn legal analyst, former federal prosecutor elliot williams, is my legal source. tonight. elliot, it's obviously not pretty. pretty. it's not weird for a supreme court justice to recommend a former law clerk. that'

then, get this, like the other lady said, he called samuel alito. samuel alito, harris, thomas, neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh, those four are willing to let that guy get exactly what he asked for. thankfully coney barrett and roberts got with the democrats on the supreme court and voted 5-4 for him to go to trial. what he did on friday, he didn't want no part of that. like another caller said, if he was innocent he could have got his butt on the stand and testified and showed the american people he was innocent. this guy is a scam. there is more to come. a president can't own a gun. he can't even be around bullets. this is sad, man. you republicans, one out of three trumpers are as dumb as the other two. bye-bye. host: darrell talking about some of the things that felons can't do. from the associated press, trump can still vote after sentencing, but he can't own a gun and will have to turn over a dna sample. the article notes that he will be registered to vote in florida and will be able to continue voting there. the caller was correct. he won't be

also, the lines already get blurry as we learned trump and justice samuel alito spoke before a supreme court request and admissions regrets and delusions from president biden's exit interview live at the table. congresswoman jasmine crockett, scott jennings, congressman dusty johnson and congresswoman stacey plaskett americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here they do. good evening. i'm abby phillip in washington. let's get right to what america is talking about. the horror in california tonight, at least five people have died in those raging wildfires. scores of families have lost their homes and everything that they own in this unprecedented disaster. we're going to discuss the blame game happening, including president elect trump pointing the finger at democrats in the government, including gavin newsom and joe biden. but first, a picture of the suffering navy helicopter. >> so this house is gone. this house has now is now under way. the the left side of this house is ignited. and also now the house nearby. it but i mean, these embers are like snowfl

then, get this, like the other lady said, he called samuel alito. samuel alito, harris, thomas, neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh, those four are willing to let that guy get exactly what he asked for. thankfully coney barrett and roberts got with the democrats on the supreme court and voted 5-4 for him to go to trial. what he did on friday, he didn't want no part of that. like another caller said, if he was innocent he could have got his butt on the stand and testified and showed the american people he was innocent. this guy is a scam. there is more to come. a president can't own a gun. he can't even be around bullets. this is sad, man. you republicans, one out of three trumpers are as dumb as the other two. bye-bye. host: darrell talking about some of the things that felons can't do. from the associated press, trump can still vote after sentencing, but he can't own a gun and will have to turn over a dna sample. the article notes that he will be registered to vote in florida and will be able to continue voting there. the caller was correct. he won't be

of your book is titled the mcconnell court, who came up with that term and why that was justice samuel alito, who who decided that? and i think it's because justice alito, who was generous with me and i was able to interview him in his chambers. he thinks that mcconnell's had the guiding hand in shaping the federal judiciary from the district court to the appellate court to the supreme court. and he gave him credit by calling it the mcconnell court. he sees a lasting legacy there for mitch mcconnell. there's no question. i mean, he he knows that he and senator mcconnell sort of view the world the same way from a legal perspective on most issues. and so this was something, of course, that he embraced because it's the outcome he preferred. we're talking about the legacy and career of senator mitch mcconnell, who has said that he will step down as the majority leader at the end of 2024. and joining us for that conversation is michael tackett, who has written a new biography of the of the senate leader the price of power how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party

they don't discuss this appeal, they were discussing a job applicant, someone who clerked for samuel alitowho served in the trump administration's first four years. he says that is what they were discussing. caller: i don't believe a word of that, absolutely not. and you have the other justice there whose wife was into that insurrection thing. she is going along with it. this is terrible, how he has gotten from what he has done, before he has ever run for president, but with that university thing in new york, where he took money from people, it was a whole frothing, people don't see what is going on here. it is so upsetting. a wannabe dictator that is going to get away with everything. hopefully our government will stop anything that goes on, but as far as going back to this thing today, i'm so glad that they rejected this, the supreme court, the two justices came forward and did this. but he is actually getting away with murder here. he's not witnessing any attentive jail time, and as far as that thing with jack smith where it will be made to the public, i'm so glad that is going to happe

the fact that donald trump had a phone call a couple of days ago with samuel alito, allegedly about will leavey, who was chief of staff to bill barr and now want, apparently, a lower profile appointment in this next trump administration, that didn't ring true to me. particularly after that, i think many of us were cynical about what the outcome was going to be. >> no prison time today. donald trump will appear virtually. he will not be here in manhattan. what should we expect in the courthouse today? >> we should expect a presentation from the prosecution about why it was important to them to get to this place, to get to a place of sentencing, particularly when they backed off of any recommendation of jail time here. then the defense will have an opportunity to speak. we should expect really sharp, ever-escalating language, as we've seen in their briefs, frommed to from ed todd blanche, the lead lawyer for president trump, and will be the number two at the department of justice. then the former president and future president will have an opportunity to speech himself. willie, here's wher