Updated
Summary
Tomorrow`s highly anticipated Jan. 6th hearing is expected to focus on Trump`s 187 minutes of inaction as his supporters stormed the Capitol. New reporting shows a watchdog agency learned the Secret Service had purged nearly all texts from the January 6th back in February, but chose not to alert Congress. Eight prominent conservatives released a new report examining and refuting every single claim of election fraud in the 2020 election.
Transcript
LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC ANCHOR: Tonight`s “LAST WORD” is a name. James Murray, the director of the Secret Service who presided over the illegal deletion of all of the Secret Service`s text messages on January 6.THE 11TH HOUR with Stephanie Ruhle starts now.
[23:00:17]
STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC ANCHOR: Tonight, it`s the eve of the most consequential January 6 hearing yet zeroing in on Trump`s inaction during the critical 187 minutes as violence erupted at the Capitol. And the damning new reporting tonight about those missing Secret Service tests.
Then, prominent conservatives investigate and debunk the big lie building the case that confirms the 2020 election was lost and not stolen. One of them here tonight live.
Plus, Democrats try to push forward their priorities despite Republican resistance. They`re actually trying to get some major stuff done as the 11th hour gets underway on this Wednesday night.
Good evening. Once again, I`m Stephanie Ruhle. Front and center at tomorrow`s highly anticipated primetime hearing will be Donald Trump`s apparent refusal to stop his supporters from storming the Capitol.
But according to The Washington Post, the committee has damning evidence of the former President`s actions the day after the riot. Tonight, the paper reports the House Committee expects to show portions of outtakes from a Trump speech that was delivered on January 7th, that day aides have urged him to speak to the nation and clearly condemned the riot. And he struggled to do so.
The video Trump tweeted on the sixth when he told supporters to go home that he loved them will also be part of the hearing. Earlier this evening, committee member Jamie Raskin was asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Hours had passed when he could have simply taken a walk for 10 or 15 seconds over to address the country and address his followers and tell them to go home. And people were besieging him, begging him to do that. And he refused to do that. So then he finally went over and made some comments the end of the day when it was clear that no thanks to the President. Our police forces had turned the tide. It`s extremely revealing how exactly, he went about making those statements. And we`re going to let everybody see parts of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Tomorrow`s hearing begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You can absolutely see it here on MSNBC. Chairman Bennie Thompson, who has tested positive for COVID will lead the hearing but we`ll be doing it virtually.
We expect to hear from former Trump White House officials, Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Matthews. Both were in the Executive Mansion during the insurrection. And one committee staffer says we will hear much more about Trump`s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
These hearings have raised questions also about the Justice Department`s investigation into the efforts to overturn the election, and what Attorney General Merrick Garland might do regarding Donald Trump himself. Today, Garland insisted that the DOJ does not do investigations in public. But he also added this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: No person is above the law in this country. I can`t say any more clearly than that. There is nothing in the principles of prosecution in any other factors which prevent us from investigating anyone, anyone who`s criminally responsible for for an attempt to undo a democratic election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: And then there`s this monster story. As the committee prepares for tomorrow`s hearing there is still growing controversy over those missing Secret Service text messages. In the Washington Post tonight reporting, the Homeland Security watchdog learned back in February that the Secret Service had purged nearly all cell phone texts from around the time of the January 6 attack. But they chose not to tell Congress.
And today NBC News heard from a senior official who says agency employees had been sent three separate emails at least one before January 6, reminding them to keep records in their cell phones, including text messages.
So far, the Secret Service is said to have turned over one single text message conversation. Today, in a statement the committee chair and vice chair suggested the agency may have broken the law when those texts were deleted.
There`s also news about two of Trump`s most vocal supporters as of his election lies. A judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani himself to testify before the Georgia grand jury that is investigating Trump for possible election interference.
Giuliani was subpoenaed last month he will now have to testify on August 9th.
[23:05:05]
And the government has rested its case in the contempt trial of Steve Bannon. The defense is expected to begin making its case tomorrow.
We`ll get a lot to cover so let`s get started and smarter with the help of our leadoff panel. Geoff Bennett joins us tonight, chief Washington correspondent for PBS NewsHour and MSNBC political contributor, Kyle Cheney, Senior Legal Affairs reporter for POLITICO whose reporting focuses on January 6, and Harry Litman is here, former U.S. attorney and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
Kyle expectations clearly our high, high, high for tomorrow`s hearing. Tell us what you know, how damning can this evidence be against Trump?
KYLE CHENEY, POLITICO SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, look, every hearing is produced new details so that we know a lot about what Trump was doing or not doing during the violence on January 6, that and you laid it out very well in your opening.
But there`s a lot of interactions he had me who was reaching him, who was pleading with him to do something and how did he rebuffed them, you know, directly that we may learn of in in very clear and explicit ways that we didn`t before.
And the question as to who was he calling. We know, for example, he called a couple of lawmakers to try to get them to continue to prolong the delay of the session to continue challenging votes, even if the violence was underway or winding down.
And so I think the committee is going to really zoom in on some of those and provide new details about that. And as you pointed out to they`re going to look at what happened after January 6, what was Trump doing in the aftermath, as people were cleaning up the wreckage, and he was still resisting making any sort of conciliatory statement.
RUHLE: Harry, I want to share what we heard today from former White House impeachment counsel, Barry Berke.
(BEGIN VIDOE CLIP)
BARRY BERKE, FORMER HOUSE IMPEACHMENT COUNSEL: It`s important for the American people to be reminded that this is not politics. This are — these are facts and evidence. So when I think the committee has done so well, which I admire as a trial lawyer, and I think we did this and tried to do this in the second impeachment, get away with political speeches, don`t talk about, you know, sort of big, big issues, talk about the evidence, who`s responsible and why it matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Harry, do you agree with that? And is there more the committee needs to do to make the case that Trump himself is responsible for what happened at the Capitol?
HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Yes, look, it`s dead on and I`ll add one more thing to what Barry said. Not just facts, but who says them again, and again, and again, they`ve — they`re giving us these facts from the mouths of Trump insiders, which makes them all the more powerful, that`s going to hold tomorrow.
We have two folks who were lifelong, excuse me, Republicans working for Trump, and they resigned that day, based on what they saw two weeks ago in the administration, their careers to think about, they don`t, you know, go home and talk it over. They`re just we are out of here. That`s how repulsive it is.
I think we`re going to get a whole litany of that. The committee promises they`ve got it minute by minute, and I think we`re going to, you know, hear phone calls, people who were just wandering in and out a president is essentially never alone. And they are going to construct what I think is a horrifying portrait as the violence is raging. He`s doing nothing.
And I think there will also put into context, the big communications, the 2/24 tweet that says, hang Mike Pence, basically, the 4:00 when all the dust has settled anyway, and what you just said at the top, is it enough to convict him. I wrote an op-ed on that today, not quite on the most serious charge. But that isn`t what they`re trying to do. It is a comprehensive picture of his guilt for history and the American people, their remains to Garland and the DOJ to stitch together some important criminal elements.
RUHLE: But Geoff, let`s get out of the newsroom and go to the American people. It is the middle of the summer. We don`t even know if Fox News is going to air tomorrow night`s hearings. They have been airing previous ones during the day. But primetime on Fox is a different place.
Do the American people know do they realize this is not a partisan attack? We could say until we`re blue in the face. The majority of these witnesses are Trump employees or appointees. If I got paid $1 for every time I said that I could retire yesterday. Do the American people realize this?
GEOFF BENNETT, PBS NEWSHOUR CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It`s a great question you asked and I really honestly don`t have a great answer for it. And the fact is, we might not know, Steph, we might not know for years, though the real impact of what this committee is doing in part because yes, the committee is speaking to us in the present moment, but they`re also speaking into the history books.
And one of the reasons why this committee is holding these hearings in the dead of the summer is because of so much of the obstruction at the front end they encountered they encountered from Trump allies and because as they pieced together their investigation they realized that this was a deeply coordinated effort a conspiracy on the part of committee says Donald Trump and his allies not just to overturn the results of the election.
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But when all of their efforts failed. When they tried to lean on every lever of power available to the White House and to the executive branch, then they resorted to violence.
And so one of the reasons the main reason why these hearings are happening now in the summer is because of that the time it took to do the investigation, the obstruction they encountered on the front end, and whether or not Fox chooses to air it, I think speaks volumes about what that network sees as its value to the American people and what they make of their viewer base.
RUHLE: Say we will about the hearings, they are absolutely a major national news event. Kyle, let`s talk about these missing text messages because this story is ballooning. It feels like it`s mushrooming into an atomic bomb. OK.
Secret Service, missing text messages. Now, January 6 Committee is raising the possibility that the Secret Service may have broken the law. And tonight, the Washington Post says that the Secret Service watchdog knew back in February that the texts were purged. But they chose not to tell Congress at this point. Is there anything the committee can do about these actions besides putting out these statements?
CHENEY: But it`s a good question. And you know, look, the hearing tomorrow was supposed to be sort of a finale of sorts. And I think one thing we know is the committee is nowhere close now to winding down. And one of the reasons is things like you`re talking about the Secret Service controversy or just came into their purview. And they now want to devote resources to understanding what happened here.
This may be something that carries way beyond, you know, this committee`s lifespan into future congresses, because it sounds like there`s something very deeply problematic here that committee, you know, every time we talk to members and staff, it`s — they can`t express enough how unsettled they are, by what they keep learning about the fate of these text messages, given how much interest there was in them even before they were deleted, given how obvious it was that you`d want to preserve anything from that time period, let alone start erasing things within weeks after the attack.
And then you find out that the watchdog who reported this to Congress knew about it months earlier. And so there`s something broken there, it seems and the committee is now just scratching the surface of what happened there.
RUHLE: OK, but besides being incensed, upset, outraged. Are there going to be consequences here, Harry. Because for four years, for four years during the Trump administration, all different things happen and we said, this is unprecedented. This shouldn`t happen. But it did. And there weren`t consequences.
So if there was misconduct around deleting these text messages, could there be legal fallout? Last time, Andrew Weissmann said he thought heads could roll.
LITMAN: Big time. Look, they mentioned one little regulatory crime. But these guys know the individual agents know and the brass knows you have to preserve them. We`re talking about potential obstruction. And there are ways to get at it. First, they have some Hail Mary passes forensically, but also they get witnesses in to, you know, the rank and file.
Each of the agents was supposed to preserve even under their standard protocol, did they or didn`t they really nobody did it. And then there`s all kinds of finger pointing between the OIG and Secret Service itself. And then there`s the fact of what lies behind it. The text could well have shown Trump`s zeal to get at the violence and even, even the possibility of some kind of nefarious coordination against Mike Pence.
Remember, he was scared to even drive with them. So there`s the real possibility of some bad stuff there, absolute dereliction in denying it, and ways to get at it if they`re serious starting basically with witness hearings.
Yes, I don`t think we`ve heard the last and I agree with Andrew heads could roll but also people could wind up in the pokey.
RUHLE: The Vice President of the United States was uncomfortable riding in the car with a Secret Service. Why he is unwilling to talk to the American people about why that was the case is astounding.
Geoff, does it not seem strange to you that the Secret Service that was reminded repeatedly and knew the official protocol do not delete these messages, that still they chose to do it. Is that not telling that the content of what was on those texts was worse than what they would face by deleting them?
[23:15:00]
BENNETT: Well, I`ll tell you what Steph, committee member Jamie Raskin told reporters today that he smells a rat. Congressman Adam Schiff said that he`s concerned that something nefarious happened because the Secret Service`s story just doesn`t add up, as he put it, and they`ve maintained all along that nothing regarding the investigation, nothing pertinent to the committee`s work product was destroyed.
Well, how would the committee know that add to all of that the fact that the Secret Service has the reputation of being the best, most sophisticated, most highly regarded cybersecurity, cyber investigative agency in the world that they have the best cyber forensics team on the globe, and yet, they can`t find texts from 24 agents over two days, January 5th, and January 6th, it strains credulity, that is the point that you`re hearing from committee members.
Not even to mention the fact that is you and Harry pointed out that they might have broken the law. The Secret Service, just like every other executive branch is required by law to preserve records, whether it`s a note written on a post it note or cellphone text, whether or not this migration plan was planned for three months or three weeks, or whatever it was.
So yes, , there are certainly more questions and the fact that the DHS inspector general sat on this information for five to six months and didn`t notify Congress until a couple of weeks ago. It`s insane.
RUHLE: Why, why, why? I mean, when I worked in banking, you had to keep your books and records for seven years, but the Secret Service, no big deal. I`m just going to power delete whatever was on my phone, the day of the insurrection. Give me a break.
Harry, I know you`ve also been writing about the DOJ investigation and how that connects to evidence presented by the committee. What do you make of Merrick Garland`s comments today? He sounded very serious saying, this is the biggest most expansive investigation we`ve done.
LITMAN: Yes, I agree. And you saw the words were a little prosaic, but it was sort of the music, if you will. And it`s not, you know, he chose to say it and he kind of leaned forward was very emphatic every person accountable. There`s no mistaking what he`s talking about. There`s no mistaking that he — now he did say investigation, but it`s a definite promise and he`s a man of his word, that they are going to be investigating Trump for the most serious, readily provable crime within the words of the Department of Justice.
No less than obstruction and up to seditious conspiracy, they will be they — they cannot and will not just go down the road and then let Trump take a pass. I take that as the clear import of his words.
RUHLE: Might be hard for Jim Murray to show up. But his big, flashy new job at Snapchat, if he gets charged with something. Quick before we go, Kyle. Steve Bannon`s case obviously on trial, what happened today? What do we need to know?
CHENEY: Sure, so the prosecution rested its case after essentially a one full day of testimony, making the case that Steve Bannon knew what he was doing when he decided not to appear to testify before the January 6 Select Committee. He`ll get a chance to defend himself tomorrow. Whether he testifies personally is still to be determined. But this could go to the jury, you know, if not tomorrow than Friday, and so we may get a contempt of Congress verdict this week.
RUHLE: Well, we`ll be watching. Geoff Bennett, Kyle Cheney, Harry Litman, thank you all for joining us tonight.
Coming up, one of the conservative authors of the last not stolen report that examines and refutes every single claim of election fraud made by Trump and his allies in six critical states.
And later, as some Republicans start facing January 6 fallout, Democrats are pushing forward with their ambitious agenda. We`ll get reaction from Al Franken and Matt Down. THE 11TH HOUR just getting underway on this Wednesday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BARR, FMR. TRUMP ATTORNEY GENERAL: I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff which I told the President it was bullshit. And, you know, I didn`t want to be a part of it. And that`s one of the reasons that went into me deciding to leave when I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Despite that from his former Attorney General, Trump and his allies are still pushing those 2020 election lies. A new report released by a group of prominent conservatives has now reviewed every single election fraud raised in six crucial swing states. And here`s what they found, quote, absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and the magnitude necessary to shift the result in any state, let alone the nation as a whole.
We welcome one of the co-authors of that report. David Hoppe. He has a wealth of experience on Capitol Hill and was once Chief of Staff for then Speaker Paul Ryan.
David, we knew there was no widespread voter fraud. You saw it right there. Trump`s former Attorney General confirmed it. Can this report convince anyone who`s still insisting otherwise because there`s no sign of him stopping the big lie. Just yesterday we found out this month he urged the Wisconsin assembly speaker to overturn Biden`s win in 2020.
[23:25:00]
DAVID HOPPE, FMR. CHIEF OF STAFF TO HOUSE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN: Well, what we looked at, as you said, was all 64 cases that were brought by the Trump campaign. And in none of those were they successful. They had one success and that was not a Pennsylvania case did not concern enough votes to even come close to turning around things in Pennsylvania.
So we have a process. And if people have concerns about the vote, they have a way to take them to court to get the court decisions. But we looked at all the court decisions. And we looked at all the studies and many of the six key states that were done by the legislatures or other who —
RUHLE: But David —
HOPPE: And the conclusion that there was not anything that would have turned over the election that the electors that Joe Biden won are sufficient for him to be elected president. And he was legitimately elected president.
We are hoping that people will look at this report and go see the depth we went to try and go on a deep dive and everything to show that they`re just — there were — that`s not to say their workplaces to things went wrong here and there that happens in almost every election. But there was nothing —
RUHLE: David, that`s not what I`m asking.
HOPPE: There`s nothing proven by the Trump people to say that they actually could turn over any state, they just didn`t have the evidence.
RUHLE: That`s not what I`m asking. I`m asking, who is listening? Do you believe this report is going to change the minds of those who are pushing the big lie? Or influential Republicans who know it`s a lie and have been silent about it?
HOPPE: You have to start by talking to people and where you come from. And all of the people who are the authors of this report are conservative Republicans who have served in Republican administrations, been Republicans. And is it going to happen in a day or two days or a week or a month? People are going to start to look at this? Probably not.
But over time, we`re hoping that because this is a report that can be easily digested by people who are not lawyers like me, we think that this is a report that will build over time the opportunity for people to take a deep dive and say, what happened? Was there a fair election? And was it true that, that Vice President Biden was elected president United States, it`s going to take some time, but we continue to work on it. We continue to talk to conservative groups. We continue to talk to conservative publications, conservative radio, people, conservative TV stations.
We are trying to do this in a responsible way to get the information out to conservatives who are concerned who believe that they`re by — for most of December of 2020. As I looked at things I wasn`t sure that the election hadn`t been — there weren`t things so wrong in the election that the results weren`t right.
But as I looked at it more and more, as I`ve had to work with this later on, we looked at all the cases, and there just isn`t the evidence anywhere that President Trump was had enough votes to be elected in any of these states.
RUHLE: I believe you. I believe this report. Have you spoken to your former boss, Paul Ryan about this? I know he has urged Republicans to look at other candidates other than Donald Trump, but he`s also on the board of Fox. You could show this report to Paul Ryan. There`s a good chance Fox News isn`t even going to hear the hearing tomorrow night. He has an awful lot of influence. People who suck down conservative media and media night after night.
HOPPE: He kind of talked to them about the report. And he has seen report delivered a copy to him so that he could look at it. We`ve had people one of the first interviews we had, frankly, was on Fox special report. And so we have done that and with other conservative groups as well. And we will continue to do that. Because our audience is, as you point out, primarily conservatives who are still concerned about this election. We want to show them that what we did, the evidence we gathered the thorough way we went through it to prove and we didn`t go into this with a preconceived idea whether it was right or wrong. We went in saying what does the evidence show.
And the evidence showed, in our opinion, overwhelmingly, without a shadow of a doubt that Joe Biden won the presidential election in 2020. He had the most electorate, he won the most states had the most electors and was legitimately and fairly elected president of the United States in the 2020 election.
RUHLE: It`s a really important report. I really appreciate you doing this work. It is not about supporting Joe Biden. It`s about supporting democracy and free and fair elections. And that`s exactly what you`re doing and I appreciate it.
HOPPE: Thank you. Appreciate your time.
RUHLE: David Hoppe, thank you. Coming up. Mike Pence heard a few thank yous and a little presidential campaign encouragement today from GOP members of the House. His former boss is not going to like that. We`ll find out if our next guests will when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:34:40]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the reception to Vice President?
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): It was very positive. He was thanked and therefore his courage on January 6, and I think people embraced his message and I thought it was very possible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you get the sense he`s going to run in 2024?
BACON: He didn`t say that, but people were encouraging him in there to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:35:00]
RUHLE: Today, former Vice President Mike Pence received a warm welcome at a private meeting of House Republicans on Capitol Hill. His former colleagues applauded his courage for certifying Joe Biden`s 2020 election win. So let`s discuss with former Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken, who`s hosts a podcast bearing his name and MSNBC political contributor Matthew Dowd, also a former George W. Bush strategist and founder of Country Over Party.
Matt is clear, Pence got support from some House Republicans on the Hill. But the hill is a far, far, far, far, far, far away from America. Does he have support from the GOP base? Because remember what those insurrectionists were chanting, hang Mike Pence?
MATTHEW DOWD, MSNBC POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, these are all the same people that will line up with Donald Trump that moment he cracks his whip and does whatever he wants. So what they say when they walk out of a meeting, they say they love Mike Pence is to me basically meaningless, one.
Two is Donald Trump still has an 80 or 85 percent of favorability rating among Republican primary voters. He`s got a 95 percent success rate on who he endorses and who wins the primary. And every single poll shows Donald Trump with over 50 percent in a huge multi candidate field in a much stronger position now than he was in in 2015 and 2016, when he first ran, won the Republican nomination and then won the presidency.
I think right now, Mike Pence isn`t even close to the top tier on the list. There`s Donald Trump, and everybody else in this list. And so until you see these Republican Congressmen stand up to Donald Trump, as I say, I take what they say, with a with a truckload of salt in their support of Mike Pence.
RUHLE: Al, I`m not even talking about who could be a candidate two years from now, I`m talking about where is the Republican Party right now, because Mike Pence could get a round of applause for him in DC. But at the same time, Arizona Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers has just been censured by the state party after he testified before the January 6 committee. So where do you think the party is?
AL FRANKEN, FMR. MINNESOTA SENATOR: Well, I don`t think Pence will be the nominee. You know, a lot of people say you should run for president because they think that`s what you want to hear. No one who is a Trumpy will want Pence because he didn`t have the courage to not certify. And anyone who`s not for Trump be will not want Mike Pence, anywhere near the presidency because he was such a robotic suck up to Trump. So he`s not on the rise.
I have talked to some of my former Republican colleagues, and of late they`ve been saying that there`s a fading effect with support of Trump. Now, I — if there`s a multi candidate field, maybe he does what he did in `16. And he gets the nomination. But I think that these hearings have hurt him.
RUHLE: Well, I want to play a part of a clip of Kevin McCarthy on Fox News earlier tonight share what he said. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Once they pulled Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, why didn`t you replace him with other people? In retrospect, should you have?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) MINORITY LEADER: No, not at all because nothing would be different. Think of this. It`s only the majority who has subpoena power. They would never allow Republicans into those meetings, when they interview the individuals. All they would be is the American people would sit up there and they would think this is a fair process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: OK, subpoena power, and then the people who are subpoenaed sit there and tell the truth, and they have told damning things after damning things about Donald Trump and Trump allies who are subpoenaed, Matt, they didn`t defend him. They took the fifth.
DOWD: Well, Kevin McCarthy, if he actually believes what he said that this was a smart decision, he`s more delusional than I can ever imagine, in the course of this. To me, this is one of the biggest blunders in a leadership position of somebody that`s in the opposition of not putting their members, his members on the committee, not just let go have subpoena power, the understanding of he would know what was coming. His members would know what was coming and they wouldn`t be surprised that the hearing. His members could interrupt the flow of the hearing as the Democrats have launched on this, and it`s Liz Cheney has launched on this.
So, I think Kevin McCarthy knows full well. I would hope deep in his soul this was a huge major mistake of his and I think this committee, as all the polls have shown, has shown tremendous credibility, not among the Trump wing of the Republican Party which is the majority of the party, but among independents and among Democrats.
[23:40:06]
It has shown an astounding degree of discipline in the course of how they`ve laid this out from hearing to hearing to hearing, Kevin McCarthy made a huge, huge blunder in not putting his members on this committee.
RUHLE: And unforced error to remind our audience, there could have been more Republicans on that committee, Kevin McCarthy said no thanks. Al and Matt, stick around. We`ve got more to cover with you two. After the break, House Democrats are making major moves on issues that matter. So which ones might actually become law and what it means for voters in November when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
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[23:45:19]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: My message today is this since Congress is not acting as it should. And these guys here are but we`re not getting many Republican votes. This is an emergency. As President, I`ll use my executive powers to combat climate crisis in the absence of congressional action. You all have a duty right now to our economy, to our competitiveness in the world, to the young people in this nation, and to future generations. That sounds like hyperbole, but is not as real that boldly on climate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Amid a record breaking heatwave, President Biden promising executive action to revive his solid climate agenda. It comes as Democrats on the Hill are making moves on other important issues. The House advanced bills to protect abortion rights and same sex marriage.
Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a markup on an assault weapons ban, and the House is set to vote on protecting access to contraception later this week. Al Franken and Matt Dowd still with us.
All right, gentlemen, let`s talk about what could actually get done. We learned earlier that Republican Senator Rob Portman is going to co-sponsor that marriage equality bill. And I want to share with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think this bill will pass. I think this bill will get more than 60 votes in the United States Senate. And I hope that we bring it up for a vote very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Al, you know the Senate, he seems confident, are you?
FRANKEN: I think he may be right. And I hope so. This isn`t what — most Americans are for same sex marriage. They just are. I know that Matt was head of strategy for the Bush campaign in 2004. They tried to use this. Bush was said that he wanted a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
And I think the results bad I think you`ve said this didn`t really help you guys at all, as much as you tried to do that. I think this may very well pass. And I have been urging that we put these kinds of pieces on contraception. I want to make Republicans vote in the Senate on, Oh, no, I don`t think women should have the right to contraception. That would I want to see that one on floor.
RUHLE: Matt, do you agree with how important that is? Because oftentimes, when the House votes on something that they know won`t get passed in the Senate. People think what a waste of time work on something that will get passed? Do you agree with Al`s point? Take it to a vote show America exactly where you stand on these issues?
DOWD: Well, I defer to the senator who actually I point of personal privilege miss in the United States Senate because he was in my view, a servant leader. So I think the America misses him there.
FRANKEN: Thank you.
DOWD: My view of this election — thank you. Well, my view of this election cycle is that the Democrats have to lead on the issues that matter to voters not use focus groups and polls to determine what they think the voters are saying what matters and because every time you ask these questions, it`s inflation, the economy and all of that.
But when you dig deeper in this, what really is motivating people, what really matters are more gut issues and more gut values. And that`s really what I think Democrats have to make the dividing line on this election about. The threat to our democracy, the threat to freedoms across the board, not only is the freedom to live safely without gun violence, but the freedom to marry who you want, the freedom of choice in the health care choices by women, the freedom of healthcare choices of people that are couples that may want to practice or have contraception.
All of those things Democrats ought to lead not follow what some group of strategists think. And they take a poll and say they ought to lead the where the country ultimately wants to go and make this election about who we are as Americans and whether or not we do support freedoms, and whether or not we do support our democracy. And any vote they cast in the Senate. That highlights that, to me is a positive thing.
RUHLE: All right.
FRANKEN: Totally agree.
RUHLE: Why don`t more — Oh, al, yes?
FRANKEN: I just say I totally agree with that. And I also think the January 6 Committee is speaking to this issue of democracy. What could be speaking more to that? And we`re at a dangerous point in this country and they are doing a huge service with these hearings have exceeded my expectation. I think a lot of people`s expectations, although nothing that I`ve heard is actually shocked me.
[23:50:14]
RUHLE: That is disturbing but true. Matt, explain this one to me something else that`s hurting our country. All Americans in all 50 states is the impact of climate change. Why doesn`t it seem to even remotely via priority or even something Republicans will admit to, right.
In your own state, Texas, climate change is impacting Texas, your power grid is at risk of failing because of the record heat there. I get why West Virginians coal mining there why they might be reluctant. But why don`t more Republicans get on board? I mean, climate change is hurting us. Doesn`t matter what your political party is.
DOWD: Well, I`m glad you brought up Texas. We`ve had over 40 days over 100 degrees, the average used to be 12 days over 100 degrees in Texas. We lost our grid, it failed in the midst of an ice storm, which we`ve never had before. So now we have an ice storm. And now we have a greater and greater amount of over 100 degree days of heat in this without an infrastructure of a grid that anybody can rely on this.
The climate change conversation I don`t get, because I think any logical person should start with, OK, let`s admit that men and women, but climate change is manmade. And we`re at fault. And we have to fix that problem. Let`s just admit that.
OK. Now the debate can be about what do we do about it? But Republicans, no, I tell you what this and I`ve talked to enough Republicans. They know, and this is why they don`t admit the truth. They know that if they admit that climate change is a problem caused by men, caused by human beings, that then they have to do something about it.
And so what they do is they cover their ears, cover their eyes, and just deny everything, because they do not want to address the policies that are necessary. It`s not an American issue. It is a global human race issue. This is not only going to face — it`s not only affect the temperatures, it`s going to affect the economies of every major country in the world and who we are, how we`re going to live our children. They`re not going to live in the same life we do because of climate change.
FRANKEN: I don`t — my grandchildren — I don`t want my grandchildren, children saying to be Grandpa, you are in the Senate, why didn`t you do anything in 50 years, I want to say why didn`t you do anything about climate and also why you still alive because I`d be honored (INAUDIBLE).
RUHLE: Well, I hope you are.
FRANKEN: I`m thinking about it.
RUHLE: Al Franken, Matthew Dowd, Wwe`re going to leave it there. And a reminder to everyone out there who`s saying I don`t want to have to do anything about climate change. We already are. Every year when we have to spend trillions of dollars addressing the impact of the climate disasters that we face in this country we`re already paying. Thank you both so much for joining us tonight.
DOWD: Thank you.
FRANKEN: Thank you.
RUHLE: Coming up, Ukrainian First Lady`s emotional plea to America as Russia continues to strike civilians in her home country when THE 11TH HOUR continues.
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[23:57:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLENA ZELENSKA, UKRAINIAN FIRST LADY (through translator): A Russian plane dropped a bomb on the house where the family of Andriy spent the night and he was there together with his parents and his sister, Anya, how many children like him are there in Ukraine, how many families like this may still be destroyed by the war? Those are Russia`s Hunger Games, hunting for peaceful people in peaceful cities of Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: The last thing before we go tonight, Russia`s Hunger Games. Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska delivered remarks to Congress earlier today and pleaded for more help to fight Russia. Ukraine has accused Russia of attacking civilians on purpose, most notably after an attack on a city in central Ukraine just last week.
This startling surveillance camera footage provided by the Ukrainian government shows the moment a Russian missile struck an area full of civilians far, far from the frontline of fighting. According to Ukrainian authorities, the strike killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100.
Today, Zelenska called out Russia for targeting civilians during her address to Congress. She showed pictures and video of Ukrainians, including children like the one you saw a moment ago who have died or been injured in the war. She asked for more help and weapons to put an end to this conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKA (through translator): While the Russia kills, America saves. And you should know about it. We thank you for that. But unfortunately, the war is not over. The terror continues. I`m asking for something. Now I would never want to ask. I`m asking for weapons, weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody`s else`s land, but to protect one`s home and the right to wake up alive in that home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: She also spoke to our own Peter Alexander about how this war has affected her as a person and as a mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER ALEXANDER, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: What is your son dream of? What does he want to be?
ZELENSKA: He wants to be a soldier
ALEXANDER: He wants to be a soldier. That`s what all Ukrainian boys must dream of now.
ZELENSKA: I think yes.
ALEXANDER: What does that make you think as a mom?
ZELENSKA (through translator): You know before the word my son used to go to the folk dance ensemble. He played piano, he learned English. He of course attended Sports Club and now I cannot bring him back to doing arts and humanities. Everything on them only thing he wants to do is martial arts and how to use a rifle.
[00:00:11]
And that`s what I really want to ensure is that the childhood of my son is given back to him and that he enjoys his life to the fullest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUHLE: Just like any mother or father, she just wants her little boy to enjoy his life to the fullest. And on that note, I wish you a good and safe night. From all of our colleagues across the networks of NBC News, thank you for staying up late with us. I`ll see you at the end tomorrow.