Updated
Summary
President Biden delivers a speech on gun violence and shakes the nation as he asks, “how much more carnage are we willing to accept?” There are new details about next week`s January 6th Committee hearing. And pressure grows to ban lawmakers from trading stocks as we learn some are still breaking the rules.
Transcript
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I`ve been in this fight for a long time. I know how hard it is, but I`ll never give up. And if Congress fails, I believe this time a majority of American people won`t give up either. I believe the majority of you will act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: President Biden gets tonight`s “LAST WORD.” THE 11TH HOUR with Stephanie Ruhle starts now.
[23:00:30]
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC HOST: Tonight, enough, President Biden`s plea to Congress to finally do something about gun safety, asking how much more carnage are we willing to accept.
Plus, it`s official. The January 6 public hearings begin in primetime one week from tonight. Can the committee`s growing evidence convince Americans that a coup was attempted?
And the clock is running out on the push to better police congressional stock trading. Two-thirds of us want this done. But big surprise lawmakers are dragging their feet as THE 11TH HOUR gets underway on this Thursday night.
Good evening. Once again, I`m Stephanie Ruhle. We got a lot of ground to cover tonight. So let`s get smarter. 100 days of hearing please to do something, President Biden went on television this evening to ask Congress to save the children from America`s killing fields surrounded by 56 candles representing all the states and territories. Biden urged lawmakers to quickly pass stricter gun legislation including a reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done. This time that can`t be true. This time we must actually do something. How much more carnage are we willing to accept. How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say enough. We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And if we can`t ban assault weapons, and we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21. Strengthen background checks and act safe storage law and red flag laws.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: The President`s speech came a little more than s24 hours the nation`s latest gun massacre this time in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the 233rd mass shooting this year according to the gun violence archive. Police say in this case, the gunman walked into a medical office and shot and killed his doctor along with three other people.
The authorities confirmed the shooter used an AR style weapon purchased just hours before the deadly attack.
As Biden spoke to the nation, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were considering new gun safety legislation. This evening, the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance measures to strengthen our current gun laws. But in the debate before today`s vote, the stark partisan divide over guns was clear for all the world to see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): You say it`s too soon to take action too soon, my friends, what the hell are you waiting for?
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): This bill is just another Democrat attack on the Second Amendment. And it`s likely just the start.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): We`re in a crisis of death. We have a war on the children of America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In rural Colorado, an AR 15 is a gun of choice for killing raccoons before they get to our chickens.
REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Where is their outrage over the slaughter of 19 fourth graders and their two teachers. Stop saying we got to study this some more as the coffins are going in the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here`s a gun I carry every single day to protect myself, my family, my wife, my home. This is a XL Sig Sauer P365 comes with a 15 round magazine. Here`s a seven round magazine, which would be less than what would be lawful under this bill. If this bill were to come off, it doesn`t fit. So this gun would be banned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope God has not loaded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m at my house. I can do whatever I want with my guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: A bipartisan group of nine senators is also trying to find some way forward on gun safety legislation. So far, the group is said to have a quote, a framework for legislation as the talks continue.
Meanwhile, the House committee investigating the violence of January 6 while they are preparing to go public with what they have learned about the Capitol insurrection. The committee today confirmed its first Primetime public hearing will take place one week from tonight on June 9.
The panel is promising previously unseen material as part of its evidence of what it calls a coordinated multi step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the committee appears to be collecting still more evidence.
[23:05:00]
Early this afternoon, cameras caught former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr himself leaving a Washington conference room used for the January 6 panel.
With that, let`s bring in our lead panel tonight. Ashley Parker, Pulitzer Prize winning White House bureau chief for The Washington Post, Nicholas Wu, Congressional Reporter with POLITICO and Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorney and former senior FBI official.
Ashley, what did you hear Biden say tonight, that was different than what his previous said on gun violence.
ASHLEY PARKER, THE WASHINGTON POST WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF: What was different tonight in part was his tone was so striking even from when just about 10 days ago, when he addressed the nation again, on this very topic in prime time, that first moment, he felt a little bit of a sign saying, you know, he couldn`t believe he was here again, he had hoped not to be here again.
And now this was a much more defiant tone. As you said, he said, enough, we cannot stand for this. And he laid out some very specific policy goals. They weren`t brand new. There are things get called for in his campaign. Things get called for even after Buffalo gets kind of hinted that he wanted to see a ban on assault weapons, but to hear them all in a primetime address coming as they did after Buffalo, after Uvalde, after the Tulsa shooting as well, all together addressing Republicans saying he believed their behavior was unconscionable. That sort of full package is what felt really new and different and defiant from this president.
RUHLE: Nicholas, Nicole Hockley, who tirelessly fights to improve gun safety in this country who lost her son Dylan in the Sandy Hook shootings. She watched by the speech to Congress tonight, and here`s what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE HOCKLEY, SON KILLED IN 2012 SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SHOOTING: Everything is on the table right now. And there`s energy around it. We`re not going to get everything through. But I think this is where we`re seeing two parties really working together who want to create solutions. Not every senator is going to go for it. I`ll be perfectly honest with that. But all we need is enough to get the vote passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: She sounds pretty optimistic. What are you hearing about the bipartisan Senate talks?
NICHOLAS WU, POLITICAL CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: What I`ve heard from Democrats about these talks is a degree of measured optimism. There is some sense that maybe, just maybe this time could be different that there could be some sort of bipartisan compromise struck on improved background checks, or any of these other different measures that are under consideration to improve concept.
But, you know, this being Congress, the devil is always in the details, especially with something as polarizing as guns. You know, it`s been years — in the years since Sandy Hook, Congress has tried and failed multiple times to try to take action on gun control. And while there is some sense that this time could be different, I mean, it is worth remembering quite how many times Congress has tried to pass legislation on this field, let alone in the environment we`re in now where majority of the House.
RUHLE: Nicholas, Democrats are talking to are cautiously optimistic. They`re not the big question mark. What are the Republicans saying?
WU: It`s kind of a mixed bag among a lot of Republicans right now. You have, you know, some, as we`ve seen in this bipartisan Senate group that are engaging and are willing to have the conversation about what`s possible. But at the same time, you still have to consider the fact that any piece of legislation, right, will need at least 10 Republican senators to get on board to get past the filibuster.
And so far, you know, Republicans have held their fire on how they want to go about this. Leader McConnell has blessed these gun control talks among this bipartisan group of senators, but it all comes down to what their final product and what they recommend ends up being. And there is a very real chance that all of this could be scuttled in the end, if Republicans decide to oppose it.
RUHLE: Which is why Democrats need to keep the pressure on and the public. Chuck, you have spent your career in federal law enforcement. Does this surge in gun violence feel different in any way? What do you want to see happen?
CHUCK ROSENBERG, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, I would like a lot of things to happen, Stephanie, you know, I said out loud, and to myself after Sandy Hook, that if this didn`t change things, nothing would and sadly, so far, that`s largely been right.
I mean, we have 400 million guns in circulation. We know that in the most recent mass shootings. On average, the shooters are younger than 21. If we could just do something bumped the age up to 21 for an assault rifle, although I don`t think that`s enough, do something because doing nothing, Stephanie, is morally indefensible. Doing nothing is morally reprehensible if we just do so something universal background, checks banning bumpstops, bumping the age to 21, banning assault rifles maybe some more people will be alive next year, and then would otherwise be.
[23:10:13]
You know, it`s just astonishing to me that we can`t get this right. It`s a national embarrassment. It happens every day. We have at least one mass shooting a day. And that just means four or more injured or killed.
I mean, what about the times like tonight in Ames, Iowa, where it was less than four, are we going to pay attention to that? It`s not a mass shooting, but two people are dead, not counting the shooter. It is an epidemic. And it is morally reprehensible to do nothing.
RUHLE: Let`s turn our attention to January 6. Nicholas, those public hearings are starting one week from today the committee promising some sort of surprises. This is your beat any idea what we`re in for?
WU: The committee so far has kept us guessing on what exactly we`re in for next week. They`ve teased that there will be new evidence presented and that there will be some a presentation of what exactly happened that day and then the lead up.
But remember, this is just the beginning of a series of hearings that the committee plans to hold this month as they really try to present their findings to the American public. And the test for this panel is going to be to really do this in a way that can capture the attention of the American people more than a year and a half after the attack and with so many other things going on in the news cycle. But this is no ordinary Congressional investigation.
RUHLE: Madam Parker, you are Trump aficionado. Axios is reporting that the Trump world is already plotting a January 6 counter programming blitz. You know how Trump`s strategy works? What should we expect? Because last time I checked Trump`s newsletter, truth social encounter program much they did nothing.
PARKER: Well, I was going to say his biggest megaphone, which of course was Twitter now that he`s not President has been taken away from him and truth, social justice not have the same that his tweets did.
So you can certainly imagine that President he is a master of distraction, that he will often replace one controversy with an even greater controversy and that sometimes it was not even so much strategy as it was just pinging from one bit of past to the next.
But again, I think that reporting is correct about a counter programming blitz. But what will be fascinating to see us for the first time, he does not have the bully pulpit of being President. He does not have the bully pulpit of Twitter. We`ve seen in some of these congressional races, he`s still definitely the head of the party, but his power is lessened.
So it`ll be interesting to see what he does and how much influence that has, and of course, final thing, this is an administration that until recently has studiously avoided elevating him not saying his name, calling him the former guy. Just that recently, you`ve seen President Biden try to brand him as the MAGA King, Ultra MAGA. But it`s likely that this White House is not going to give this a ton of oxygen as well.
RUHLE: Chuck, the Watergate hearings changed this nation. But this country is very, very different today. Could these hearings have a similar effect?
ROSENBERG: I wish they could, Stephanie. I don`t believe they can. You`re right, you`re 100 percent right about the Watergate hearings. But remember, back then, there was a common narrative and a common set of facts. And there were members of Congress of both parties who knew that it was over for President Nixon and members of his own party who told him so, we don`t have that anymore. We don`t have a common narrative. We don`t have a common set of facts.
And it`s hard for me to imagine that these hearings will be anywhere near as important as the Watergate hearings. They could be every bit as interesting. Don`t get me wrong, but they won`t be as important because we have lost that commonality. We don`t talk about the same things. We don`t receive our news in the same way.
And because we don`t, I can`t imagine that the hearings will change hearts and minds. There`s a number of people who won`t watch. There`s a number of people who will agree with what the committee is doing. And there`s a number of people who will call it a hoax. And moving the dial on those groups changing those numbers seems to me to be improbable.
RUHLE: Or Chuck, is it the reverse? It`s just as important as Watergate was, but the truth is today, people find other things interesting. They sadly just have other things they`d rather watch. I`m guessing that at the time of the Watergate hearings, it was probably the most compelling thing on television.
ROSENBERG: Oh, I`m sure you`re right. And look, I remember my parents watching it I was sort of too young to appreciate it or to pay much attention.
[23:15:05]
And there is a lot more competition for our eyeballs and our ears these days, Stephanie. That`s true. But I still think what I said earlier is probably right. Although I`m often wrong, I think it`ll be very interesting. There`s stuff that I want to learn. There`s stuff that I want to know. There are things that happen behind the scenes that we don`t yet know. But the committee may reveal, but changing hearts and minds being as important as Watergate. Hey, I hope you`re right. But I fear that you may not be.
RUHLE: That`s what I want to know, what was Bill Barr potentially talking to the committee about today, Nicholas, and he guesses?
WU: Well, it seems the committee has been talking to Barr for actually quite some time. Even you know, you put it back to the beginning of this year trying to get a sense of kind of what would be possible for him to talk to them about.
And all of this probably stems to what exactly he knew about the former president`s machinations at the Justice Department, in the final months of his presidency, how he was trying to lean on the Justice Department to really try to intervene in the 2020 election. Of course, Barr had left by January 6 and in towards the very end of the Trump presidency, but at the very least, he could be someone who could shed some light on how exactly Trump had tried to interfere at the Justice Department in the past.
RUHLE: Ashley Parker Nicholas Wu, Chuck Rosenberg, thank you all for getting this evening started for us. We`re going to leave it there. Coming up. The president says there are rational common sense measures that would prevent war killing fields in America. But the right, they just hear one thing, he`s coming for your guns.
And later, too many members of Congress are already breaking the rules on stock trading. No wonder they aren`t making much headway on making the rules any tougher. THE 11TH HOUR just getting underway on Thursday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:21:45]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): To my Republican colleagues, I asked, Who are you here for? Are you here for our kids? Or are you here for the killers?
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): How dare you? You think we don`t have hearts? It`s just that when we look at the things that you`re doing, and you`re trying to do to America, we`ve seen the carnage. I mean, for heaven`s sake, let`s take example. Democrats control the major cities that have the worst murder rates. That`s right. Your ideas have been shown to get people killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: That was just one of the many heated moments from today`s house judiciary committee`s debate over gun safety legislation hours ahead of Joe Biden`s remarks tonight on gun violence, where Biden urged Congress to act. But here`s the thing. We`ve heard that plea before, many, many times.
So let`s talk about it about all of this, Juanita Tolliver joins us, a veteran political strategist to progressive candidates and causes. And Bill Kristol, author, writer, thinker and Politico. He`s a veteran of the Reagan and Bush Administration`s and editor-at-large of The Bulwark,
Juanita Biden offering Congress specifics tonight. But let`s get realistic because we have all been here before? Do you think he moved the ball because conservative media is already saying it was just a big gun grab?
JUANITA TOLLIVER, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think the President offered the empathy the deep, somber tone that meets the moment the reality that a lot of people are experiencing as these mass murders and mass shootings happen day in and day out.
I also think though, when he laid out that list of priorities of viable policy ideas, he has to continue to push it forward, right. This can`t be the end of Biden`s role in this. And I want him as well as Democrats and Republicans who are negotiating to work as though they know they have the backing of the general public of this.
Look, Stephanie, a Morning Consult political polls showed that 88 percent of the country supports expanded background checks, or those red flag laws or even expanding waiting periods for gun purchases, including 86 percent of Republicans, the support of the people is there.
And so I want President Biden to take that grassroots energy and mobilize the grass tops, put in the elbow grease that he brags about on the campaign trail day in and day out in 2021 when he said, I`ve got decades of experience making deals in the Senate, go make the deal, summon whoever you need to come into the White House and get this done, because children`s lives are at stake. And I think that`s something that needs to continue to stay at the center of this conversation and this push for legislation.
RUHLE: Bill, how important is it for the President to do just that we can all sit here as cynics and say nothing gets done on gun legislation. Nothing gets done on a bipartisan basis. But we`re forgetting something did just a few months ago. The infrastructure bill now law got done on a bipartisan basis, why the White House doesn`t do a better job of touting that running a victory lap. That`s beyond me.
[23:25:00]
But couldn`t and shouldn`t the President do a repeat of that on something that impacts so many people?
BILL KRISTOL, THE BULWARK EDITOR-AT-LARGE: I think Stephanie, now that he`s given that speech she sort of has to, doesn`t he. I mean, it was one thing to have a strategy, which was not crazy that I`m going to let the congressional leaders work it out, they can deal with each other, I`ll stand back a little, not make it too much about me. But he is now given — he hasn`t given many primetime speeches. He`s given a privatized speech. He said, This is a crisis. He said, Enough, enough, enough.
I agree with Juanita, he needs to really go out now and make this happen. Otherwise, it`s an actual defeat for him. I think it would also be a defeat for the country. You know, he`s going off to the weekend out or hope, but that`s fine. But, you know, normally, if you get in primetime speech, maybe the next day you go visit a place that has some symbolic significance. Maybe your allies put ads up in key states and congressional districts putting pressure on Republicans or I don`t know that any of the Democratic interest groups are doing any of that.
It`s sort of, you know, if this is a priority, you got to make it a priority for the whole political party. And they have allied PACs and interest groups and independent expenditure outfits that could really put pressure on. I haven`t seen that yet, though, honestly.
RUHLE: Then is that the key here, Juanita? Not what the President said tonight, but what he`s going to do from here, because gun safety is one issue that all sorts of Americans that don`t care about politics or hate politics or hate politicians, they do care about public safety, safety for their children, and Republicans, they don`t want this issue to stay in focus.
I can`t find any Republican who can come on this show with me and talk gun safety, who can explain to me why they think an 18-year-old should walk, should be able to buy an AR-15. They just want this story to go away.
TOLLIVER: They want it to go away. They don`t want to find themselves to be on the receiving end of these statements like we`re seeing so effectively made by folks like Representative Swalwell. Who are you here for if not for the children? Are you here for the killers. And I think Republicans being confronted with that explicit dichotomy, that explicit choice can`t back away from this. They can`t hide from it. They can`t run from it, because that explicit messaging about children, about people shopping at a grocery store, about people attending church resonates, it resonates with young people, it resonates with parents, it resonates with grandparents, and it resonates with voters, no matter their political ideology.
And I feel like if Biden is able to get gun reform legislation across the finish line, those same voters who supported him instead of Trump in 2020, like those conservative Republicans, like those swing voters, and independents and swing states, they`re going to get back on the train with Democrats, because Democrats have to deliver something here, even if it`s on a bipartisan basis, they have to get what they can get right now, because we know if Republicans take control of Congress, nothing else is going to happen here.
RUHLE: Then Bill, who buys this Republican argument, explain the rationale behind that it`s a gun grab. I mean, that doesn`t make any sense. What they`re proposing, no one`s looking down on responsible gun owners to say let`s go with a background check. Let`s register your guns. All those suburban or undecided voters that Juanita is talking about, Tthey`re going to be on board for that, nobody`s taking your gun.
KRISTOL: They are. But I think you also have to make the case aggressively. And you have to be honest, paint it. Why hasn`t it happened when the President said enough is enough after all of the members of Congress, the Democrats are saying it`s ridiculous that this is taking so long? Well, why is it taking so long. You do have to blame someone, honestly, in politics. You can blame the NRA. You can blame extremists among gun owners. And you can say most gun owners are responsible, they`re happy to have a background check. They`re happy to have a waiting period. They don`t think an 18 year old who`s disturbed should walk into a store at 2:00 p.m. to buy an AR-15 and then be able to use it three hours later with no waiting period, no background check, et cetera.
But you need to then say why is this happening? There are extremists running this part of the Republican Party on this and you need to name some names. And you need to make a couple of people very unpopular I think who, you know, the people who have their Christmas cards with all the assault weapons and stuff.
The Democrats are trying — ascend and kind of I mean, I don`t blame them. It`s a horrible situation. And it`s a time of grief. And so you don`t want to seem harsh, I suppose. But you do need to blame some people. Why hasn`t this happened? Otherwise, voters look at it and think well, I don`t know. I guess it`s complicated. The Republicans say this, the Democrats say that, everyone`s acting in good faith. The Democrats have to say the Republicans are not acting in the interests of most gun owners. They`ve been taken over by extremists, and they need to be defeated.
RUHLE: But the truth is, it is more complicated to pass something today than it was in 1994, right? That is when they passed the assault weapons ban. And they did it with 56 votes, and they didn`t use the filibuster. We cannot govern that way today. So, if it were night — if we were to look back at 1994 could they`ve passed an assault ban — a ban on assault rifles then Juanita?
[23:30:04]
TOLLIVER: I think they tried, right. Like I think there were limitations on assault weapons. There were limitations on magazines put in place. But of course, that lapsed later on. I think under George W. Bush.
I do think though, what you`re pointing to about the decisiveness, Stephanie, is very real. And I think Biden was smart and toeing the line, right. He told the line in his speech and said, the majority of Republican senators who are anti any gun legislation are a problem.
And as Bill said, I need the shaming of those folks to continue in a targeted way, because he still needs those 10 Republicans. We know for folks are already in negotiations. So getting six more Republicans is going to be essential. But naming and shaming any Republican who was anti any type of gun safety legislation is critical, and it should start happening right now.
RUHLE: I`m pretty sure all those Republicans they registered their vehicles, their boats, they registered to vote. None of those things were taken away from them. Why are they worried about guns. Juanita, and Bill, stay with us. We`re going to take a quick break.
Coming up. More testimony and new evidence surface exactly one week ahead of the first public hearings on what investigators call a coordinated multi step effort to overturn the election. Here`s the question, will any of it matter. When THE 11TH HOUR continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:36:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R-VA): I think what people are going to understand about the Metis text messages is how horrible they are. My amusement turned into horror pretty quickly, when I saw some of the language that was being used in there actually had to get away from the computer a couple of times as I was looking at these text messages.
It is a roadmap. And I would have to say at this point, I think Mark Meadows is the MVP for the committee. I think they should pay him. The data that we got from there actually allowed us to really structure an effective investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Holy smokes, a preview from a former staffer of the January 6 committee. Exactly one week from this evening, the panel is expected to kick off its first public hearing at 8:00 pm. Still with us to discuss Juanita Tolliver and Bill Kristol.
Juanita, it`s going to be primetime right here next week. How different do you think this is going to be from the impeachment hearings?
TOLLIVER: I feel like this is going to be something where there`s a lot more familiarity and clarity for the people who will be watching this. People who will be watching for accountability. Also people who will be Washington to try to discredit it, right. Like I think that the audience has been waiting over a year for this and the American public, even though fewer people are able to tune in and focus on the day to day interactions of the January 6, select committee.
A lot of people still wanted to know the truth, still wants it to know who knew what and did what and when. And so if the select committee can paint a clear narrative, a clear frame, and honestly, Stephanie, lay out a very dramatic, replaying and retelling of what happened in the lead up to January 6, then that is going to be critical and starting to break through some of the noise that we know they`re going to be competing with on the day to day basic news coverage and what people are up against in their day to day lives.
But I believe that they`re serving two audiences here. One is public education, and public knowledge and accountability. And the other part is, OK, you have all this evidence, you`ve had almost 1,000 interviews, who are you going to be referring for criminal charges to the DOJ, and so that those two components are going to be critical here.
RUHLE: OK. But the two groups of people that Juanita is talking about, Bill, who do really care, pretty much already know who they`re going to vote for, in an effort to get undecided voters to care about January 6, is there a risk that the committee is overhyping this thing?
KRISTOL: I don`t know if they overhyping it. But they`ll do what they`ll do. Look, the key for me is this. What Watergate was dramatic (INAUDIBLE) because we didn`t know what did the President know. And when did he know it. That was not clear in 1973 or even early `74. And we learned more from testimony. And then there was a 18-minute gap on the tapes and so forth.
So it had kind of was like a play where you don`t know the resolution and act five when you`re watching act one, two and three. This is a little different. We know a lot. We know a lot basically what happened, pressuring Raffensperger, Defense Department, Justice Department. We know about the Meadows e-mails all this.
For me though the key — the closest the committee can come to the real drama is the 187 minutes on January 6, what was Trump doing? The Capitol was assaulted. He knew he was assaulted. He was in the Oval Office. Meadows was getting all these texts. Others were as well. He was getting phone calls. He wasn`t mostly taking. Ivanka Trump was trying to talk to him, et cetera. So what was he doing or not doing?
They`ve got to make that I think and I think they will based on my conversations with people who are close to them. It`s dramatic chord. There`s a lot of other stuff they need to lay out. It`s important. It`s very important in my view, what Trump did if you November 3rd and January 6, but that afternoon of January 6, those 187 minutes that dereliction of duty by the President of the United States who chose, chose not to call off the ball, who in effect gave it the yellow light to go ahead.
Despite being told by everyone from his own staff, to his supporters, to his friends at Fox, you`ve got to stop this, he didn`t stop it. But I think that`s going to be the key thing for me if the committee can make that the sort of dramatic nub of the story.
RUHLE: There`s a lot of important things to your point that the committee needs to lay out. But what Republicans are banking on come the midterms that a lot of other important things that Americans are focused on.
Juanita, Republicans are going to talk inflation, inflation, inflation going into the midterms. And let`s be honest, despite there being some wins in the complicated story, the Biden administration is not doing a great job communicating around the economy and inflation given that how strong is the Republicans hand pushing inflation?
TOLLIVER: Look, I think inflation is absolutely a third rail issue because people are experiencing the impacts in real time. And I think what the Biden administration should do is, yes, herald the monthly jobs numbers, herald the historic growth in the economy, but also have a tangible understanding of what people are experiencing, and making solutions for cutting costs.
I believe the President posted something today from on Twitter and online that about focusing on cutting people`s costs, and I need the White House to get back to that and communicating exactly what they`re doing and where people will see those costs cut in real time.
RUHLE: Well, we`ll soon find out what they`re going to do, what they`re going to say. A reminder, though, as high as gas prices are, you know what else is really high? Demand. People might not like paying these high prices, but scores of Americans have saved up in the last two years, and they`re out there spending. We`re expecting record travel, record holidays this summer. And many, many people have the money to do it. Other portions of Americans don`t remember. It is a complicated economy.
Juanita, Bill, thank you both for coming. Coming up next, lawmakers still violating stock trading rules. Americans want action, but Congress dragging their feet about fixing the problem. When THE 11TH HOUR continues.
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[23:46:34]
RUHLE: Tonight, the Fleecing of America, Congress has done nothing about banning or limiting stock trading from members of Congress, despite widespread support for it. Insider reporting, 63 members of Congress have violated the Stock Act that is supposed to stop insider trading and conflicts of interest.
With us tonight, Dave Leventhal, Deputy Washington bureau chief for Insider, his extensive reporting on the huge investments and massive conflicts of interest from our own members of Congress is part of what sparked these calls.
Let`s start right there. You`ve got all these members of Congress violating the Stock Act. But here`s the thing, it`s a slap on the wrist. So even if they get in trouble, it`s nothing big. Why are they even being investigated? Who cares?
DAVE LEVENTHAL, INSIDER DEPUTY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it`s sort of like if you parked your car in front of your house and there was a no parking sign. But the cost of doing business was $1 parking ticket. That`s effectively what it`s like for Congress in a way because if you do violate this act, and it`s not absolutely egregious, the fine you`re going to pay out of the gate is going to be about $200. OK.
And Stephanie, we`re talking about trades here that sometimes are going to be months, even years late. They amount into the hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. And there`s very little incentive for Congress to effectively abide by a law that had passed for itself to defend against conflicts of interest, and at worse, insider trading.
RUHLE: I love that analogy. If the fine to park in front of my house was $1 I park in front of there every day tomorrow, yesterday, and for the rest of my life. What happened to this bipartisan movement in Congress to ban stock trading?
Remember, months ago, we heard from Republicans, this is terrible. We`re going to change this war in power. We saw Democrats putting together proposals, Nancy Pelosi was under a huge amount of pressure, what happened, it`s all gone.
LEVENTHAL: There`s a ton of heat and a ton of energy. Really at the beginning of this year, we had reported back in December a whole variety of conflicts of interest, and of course, the violations that you just cited and that created a lot of movement really towards something that was not only going to be driven by Democrats, but also ended up being legitimately bipartisan. There are several bills that are pending in Congress.
And right now what`s happening is there are negotiations taking place, really on the Senate side more than the House side. And you have certain members of Congress, including Jeff Merkley as senator from Oregon Democrat, Abigail Spanberger, who you just showed on the screen. They`re really trying to get a consensus bill that will come to the floor.
But hey, we`ve got COVID, we`ve got guns, we`ve got the economy writ large, many other issues that have just simply dominated the discourse in Congress and like a lot of things, you might have Congress focus on something for a hot minute, and then it goes away. That doesn`t mean that this is dead, Stephanie.
What it does mean, though, is that it`s going to be difficult going forward for Democrats and Republicans ultimately to get together to support a single bill and get it done during this legislative session, during an election year, of course.
RUHLE: What motivated and infuriated many, many American voters to get out and vote in the last presidential election for Joe Biden is that they were voting against Donald Trump. They were furious over the self-dealing the self-enriching all of the things he was doing, it was technically legal or his administration, but it was wildly inappropriate and there was loads of conflicts of interest.
[23:50:03]
So where is Joe Biden right now on congressional stock trading? He has been in office for two years. This is a glaring example of something he can weigh in on and fix, and he hasn`t, why not?
LEVENTHAL: Joe Biden is missing an action. And that`s not my opinion. That`s the opinion of many progressives who sent him a letter last week, and demanded that he in a very public fashion, despite everything else going on, and he is a very busy president at this point, for sure. But they demanded that he go out and publicly support a ban on members of Congress buying and selling, trading individual stocks.
Joe Biden received that letter, the White House confirmed it. Joe Biden has not talked publicly about those issues. So, if he is anywhere right now, it is not out front. And there`s no indication, Stephanie, that he`s really leading on this issue when we had asked him about this previously of effectively. Then Jen Psaki, press secretary said, this is up to Congress, and Joe Biden really hasn`t moved forward from that position since.
RUHLE: And hasn`t talked about it at all?
LEVENTHAL: He hasn`t talked about it at all, publicly. Now, this was something when the Stock Act, which was a bill that was passed about a decade ago that was on point and really set in the current rules and regulations, the rules of the road, if you will, or the way that members of Congress interact with their own personal finances, Joe Biden was at that ceremony. So this is something that he definitely has talked about in the past.
This is something that he has dealt with in previous political lifetimes, including when he was vice president. But this is not an issue that`s on the top of his agenda at this moment in time.
RUHLE: But with this and many other issues, people are going to look back and say where`s the action? If Donald Trump were to run for president today, he still wouldn`t have to submit his taxes. And we haven`t seen his last ones.
Dave Leventhal, thank you for making us smarter on this. This is really important reporting. Coming up next, an inside look at today`s royal festivities as the Queen`s Jubilee kicks off in London when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
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RUHLE: The last thing before we go tonight the Queen`s Jubilee. The party has officially started in London. But there are new concerns about Queen Elizabeth`s health care. Keir Simmons has more in London.
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KEIR SIMMONS, NBC NEWS SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight after a magical day 70 years in the making news that will worry many. The palace says The Queen will skip a jubilee event tomorrow because of discomfort she felt in today`s ceremony. She was too frail to go down to inspect the troops. So they came to her, saluting her on the Buckingham Palace balcony. And historic day for the queen but also the dawning of a new era.
Charles William and Dan riding horses just as the Queen did in decades past. The Prince of Wales standing in for his mother for trooping the color, with 1,500 soldiers, 250 horses and 400 musicians. Harry and Meghan looking on, though they were not included in the big moment to come.
(on camera): And there they are Cades and Camilla and William and Kate`s children cheered by the crowds heading back to Buckingham Palace to pay their respects to the Queen.
(voice-over): Back on the balcony, the Queen smiling and a perfect 70 in the air from the Royal Air Force surrounded by four generations of royals. William and Kate son, Prince Louise, reaction to the flyover stealing the show. His mother and great grandmother amazingly relaxed.
(on camera): Did you see her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw the queen in the distance. It was all amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was absolutely blown her really was great.
SIMMONS (voice-over): Late today, the Queen lighting a beacon, a day when the past was acknowledged with pride. The future faced with purpose and still overseeing it all monarch and matriarch now in her eighth decade, Queen Elizabeth II.
(on camera): The event the Queen will miss tomorrow a service at St Paul`s Cathedral which would have meant so much to her. Her absence will be truly felt. Steph.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
RUHLE: Keir Simmons in London. Thank you. There were two people noticeably absent from today`s festivities, people who played an integral role in the last grand public celebration of the Royals.
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RUHLE: We`re going to take — we`re going to take that. Katy Tur and I believe we got the first wave from the royal couple.
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RUHLE: And my royal wedding date and home girl Katy Tur, the brilliant Katy Tur will soon be releasing her second memoir, rough draft, which drops June 14. If you are looking for some summer reading, I guarantee this is going to be a great one.
And on that note, I wish you all a very good night. And thanks. Thank you for letting me join you in the evening. It is an honor to be here every single night. From all of our colleagues across the networks of NBC News, thanks for staying up late with us. I will see you at the end of tomorrow.