← The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Out of the loop?: Report says Bondi was blindsided Letitia James indictment
00:43:15
Jen Psaki shares reporting from ABC News that the indictment of New York Attorney General Lititia James by Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan caught Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, off guard, raising questions about whether she has fallen from Trump's favor despite her devotion and sycophancy. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins to discuss Bondi's job performance and why she may have been left out of the loop on such a prominent case that is so important to Trump.
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- [00:01]
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- [01:30]
Jen Psaki
That is all in for this week. The briefing with Jen Psaki starts right now. Right now. Hey Jen. Happy Friday.
- [01:35]
Chris Hayes
Friday. I was just watching your two blocks. I feel like it's also that doctors are telling Donald Trump that his body looks like Patrick Mahomes. Is that part of this sycophantic butt kissing that's also happening or is he telling them to write that?
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Jen Psaki
I just, I don't like to linger on anyone's body and how it is and we all inhabit this, the forms that we have on this earth.
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Chris Hayes
Just the numbers.
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Jen Psaki
Sometimes you just sort of stop and need to fact check them a little.
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LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Bit for yourself if they're right in.
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Jen Psaki
The copy when they come out of those Walter readers.
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Chris Hayes
Well look, I'm for body positivity 1000% as well, but it's sort of like having a very out of reach actor play you in a movie, right? It's a little bit like, you know, nobody believes it. There are other people that they could kind of compare it to and the football player comparison is just a little bit.
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Jen Psaki
Well, I'm hoping for a Chris Hemsworth casting in my biopic.
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Chris Hayes
Obviously I don't even know. Now I have to think of Somebody like Jennifer. I'm just like Reese Witherspoon. I'm just going to like, let's just all think out of reach people and be in the same vibe.
- [02:44]
Jen Psaki
That's a fun thought experiment.
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Chris Hayes
Exactly. All right, Chris, I'll see you tomorrow.
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LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Oh, yes, I will see you tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
- [02:50]
Chris Hayes
Sounds good. Have a good night.
- [02:51]
Jen Psaki
You too.
- [02:52]
Chris Hayes
Okay. Anytime there is a government shutdown, which we're in now, we all brace ourselves, everybody does, to see how the shutdown is going to impact how we travel through our nation's airports. Because tens of thousands of FAA and TSA workers are forced to work without pay, typically, which can lead to sick outs and delays and long lines. I mean, we expect those things to happen anytime the government shuts down. And it's happening again right now. But I'm about to show you something that is new, and I do not mean new in a good way, because never in the history of government shutdowns have we seen something like this. It is TSA's top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe. However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government. And because of this, many of our operations are impacted. And most of our TSA employees are working without pay. I mean, think about how absurd that is. They control everything. And the Secretary of Homeland Security is saying that now. Last night, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Reuters that that video has begun playing at airports across the country. And if you're traveling, you'll probably see it. And Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirsty Ngum, There she is. Is using her power over the TSA to try to blame any pain travelers feel from the shutdown on Democrats in that video. We're seeing a similar blame game happening on pop ups on all sorts of government websites that you log into. HUD's website says that the radical left shut the government down. You can see it on the screen. The State Department's website calls it a Democrat led shutdown. The White House website has a banner that reads, democrats have shut the government down with a little clock counting the second since the government shut down. Now, all of that messaging, all of those posts on websites and the TSA video all seems like it's pretty clearly illegal and a violation of the good old Hatch Act. But that message, the idea that Democrats are the reason the government is shut down, that Democrats are the ones who are keeping federal workers from being paid, that message is also just completely fabricated bs. I mean, just take the example of today, when the Trump administration began mass layoffs of government workers, also known as RIFs, or reduction in force. An administration official tells NBC News that those layoffs are happening at the Interior Department, Homeland Security, the Treasury Department, the epa, the Commerce Department, the Education Department, the Department of Energy, HHS and hud. And according to reporting from Government Executive, which is a publication that covers the workings of the federal government, these layoffs are affecting about 4,200 employees at seven agencies, including 200 full time employees and more than 100 part timers at Commerce. More than 20% of staff at the Education Department, a handful of employees at EPA, more than 1,000 employees of HHS, nearly 200 staffers at CISA, the agency inside Homeland Security that focuses on cybersecurity. Nearly 450 employees at HUD and nearly 1,500 at the Treasury Department. Republicans want you to believe that these layoffs were somehow just magically triggered by Democrats and the government shutdown. I mean, earlier today, the Republican leader in the Senate, John Thune, a man who would have a great deal of power to actually end the shutdown, even went on Fox News and said that these layoffs were the inevitable result of the shutdown that without funding from for the government, Republicans, who as a side note again are in charge of everything, were forced to start choosing who gets laid off.
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LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
They're now going to be forced to.
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Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Make those kinds of decisions.
- [06:32]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
And that's really unfortunate.
- [06:34]
Chris Hayes
Poor powerless Senate majority leader there, John Thune, I mean, he is right about one thing. This is really unfortunate. Worse than that, but it's unfortunate because none of these layoffs need to be happening at all. I mean, Rust Vote, with the backing of Trump, wants them to happen. And Republicans in Congress are simply standing by and allowing them to happen. We've had plenty of government shutdowns before. Unfortunately, we've had a number of them over the last decade or so, many lasting much longer than the 10 days that the government has been shut down so far for so long this time. And none of those forced layoffs, none of them, because that is just not a thing. It's not a part of government shutdowns. Whenever the government shuts down, hundreds of thousands of federal workers do typically get furloughed. But when the shutdown ends, they get to go back to work and get back pay. Republicans who run everything and have every power to end the shutdown are also trying to pretend that these mass layoffs are just, you know, normal course of business and out of their control. They have no Power, remember, Except for all the power. Not only is it something completely of their own doing, it is unprecedented and it is likely even illegal. I mean, today when Trump's OMB director Russ Vote gleefully posted that the rifts had begun. What a gleeful post. That is a union that represents tons of federal workers. The American Federation of Government Employees replied, the lawsuit has been filed. That's very direct. I like it. The president of that union put out a statement elaborating on their position, saying quote in it is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country. That is the truth of these layoffs. They aren't happening because of the government shutdown. Republicans are just using the shutdown as an excuse for layoffs they wanted to do anyway. Layoffs. Very similar to what we have already seen from the Trump administration in its first year. This is all a pretense, that's what it is. The reality is Republicans are trying to pretend they are helpless here. They are trying to pretend they are passive victims of this shutdown, that everything's happening to them and blame everything on the Democrats. And they are doing that because what they are doing here is clearly unpopular.
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LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Shame on the Democrats for what they're.
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Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Doing to the American people. Republicans want our troops to get paid. We want air traffic controllers to get paid.
- [09:06]
Jen Psaki
We want our TSA agents to get paid.
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Chris Hayes
That again was the self designated powerless Senate Republican leader John Thune holding a press conference today with Republican also powerless, apparently though he's second in line to the presidency. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to say that they know hundreds of thousands of federal workers and military members may soon miss paychecks because of the government shutdown, but that everyone should blame Democrats for that. I mean, they failed to mention how today Republicans in the House blocked a vote on a standalone bill that would have paid the military through the shutdown, a bill I should mention that multiple high ranking Republicans actually broke rank with their party over even the Republican member who was presiding over the session and doing Speaker Johnson's bidding by ending the vote had this to say. Sometimes when you stand at the helm, it doesn't necessarily mean you're in charge of the ship. I mean, good lord, that sounds like quite a ringing endorsement of the strategy of the speaker of the House, doesn't it? And he was the one ending the vote for him. Dunan Johnson also neglected to mention that the White House is actively looking for a loophole. So they don't have to pay all of the furloughed federal workers once they come back to work. Or how just days ago, Trump himself said that some furloughed federal workers don't deserve back pay. And today, Mike Johnson sent the entire House of Representatives home for the week. He is trying to claim that Democrats are the ones who are not coming to the table, that it is Democrats causing all this pain for federal workers and Americans. But he isn't even asking his people to show up to work to negotiate next week. And don't forget, the entire reason the government is shut down. The sticking point Republicans won't compromise with Democrats on is that Republicans want the government to stop paying for subsidies that would make health insurance more affordable. Those subsidies are about to expire, which could double the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans. Democrats actually have an incredibly strange bedfellow when fighting for those health care subsidies right now. Far right MAGA Republican from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene has loudly broken with her party on the issue, becoming such a thorn in her party side that today Mike Johnson called her to get her to tone it down. Johnson described that phone call for some reason today by saying that he told Greene, quote, when you're talking about whose fault the shutdown is, make sure you say that under the existing rules, it's 100% the Democrats responsibility. It really never ceases to amaze me what that man will say out loud. I mean, he just said that out loud. He told us what his conversation was. That is the party line right now. Facts in reality be damned. Just blame it all on the Democrats. Republicans are using government shutdown as an excuse to do mass layoffs. They are looking for ways to not pay federal employees. They are actively fighting against Americans having affordable health care. And they are pretending to be in a state of Democrat imposed austerity when they are actually in control. The reality here is that Republicans are using the shutdown as an excuse to do whatever they want. I mean, here's an example. Today the Democratic ranking members on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, Congressman Robert Garcia and Congressman Jamie Raskin, sent this letter to Trump's OMB director, Russ Vote. Because one of the things vote and Republicans have used this shutdown as an excuse not to fund is the counsel of our federal government's inspectors general's offices. Here's what it says, quote, Vogt's unlawful actions have shut down websites for dozens of inspectors general that publish hotline numbers where whistleblowers can submit complaints of waste, fraud and abuse and make reports detailing corruption available to the public. The funds at issue are not affected by the lapse in federal funding key there. Yet Trump and Vote are deliberately using the Republican shutdown as an excuse to cover up waste, fraud and corruption and silence whistleblowers. It's quite a thing. Glad someone called that out. Congressman Jamie Raskin, who is part of that letter I just read, is standing by and he joins me to talk about all of it in just 90 seconds. Foreign.
- [13:11]
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- [13:40]
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- [14:40]
Chris Hayes
Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. One thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. And for decades, Angie's helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. Get all your jobs done well@angie.com as promised. Joining me now is Congressman Jamie Raskin, Democrat from Maryland and a ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee. Congressman Raskin, I want to start just by asking you about this letter. I just read some snippets of it and there's a lot of things happening with the shutdown which I want to talk about as well, including the firing of federal workers. But one of you point out here what they're doing, what Russ Vote and his team is doing to Kind of make it harder for whistleblowers to report on misdoing or wrongdoing within the federal government. Tell me a little bit more about that and what can be done to stop them.
- [15:38]
Jen Psaki
Well, Jen, that's one of the first things that they did when they got in Is they sacked 17 inspectors general, who are the people who really try to ferret out corruption and waste, fraud and abuse. And now they've gone further to make all of these websites go down so that employees who are complaining about the rampant corruption, the rampant misuse of office by the Trump administration have nowhere to go and nowhere to call in. So I'm working together with my friend Robert Garcia over on the Oversight Committee for Judiciary and Oversight to figure out a way where we can fill in so federal workers have a place to go as whistleblowers. But they are trying to squelch the whistleblowers and make it impossible for the public to understand what's taking place behind closed doors here. It's not a big mystery since they're sacking thousands and thousands of workers and getting rid of just decades and decades of experience in every office. So they can put in people who are just complete party sycophants and just will do whatever Donald Trump tells them to do.
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Chris Hayes
No question about it. And, I mean, one of the reasons it's so important is because the reason we know about a lot of what they're doing in the federal government is because of these whistleblowers over the course of the last nine or 10 months. It's such an important thing for them to have that venue. There's a lot Russ Vote is doing. They've given him a whole lot of power. I mean, it appears more than 4,000 federal workers were laid off by the Trump administration today. They are also putting these posts on websites that are blaming the Democrats. I just played the Kristi Noem video that's playing at airports. What are we missing? What else should people understand about all the damage and the things that are not a part of a typical shutdown that this administration is doing right now that people should be aware of?
- [17:27]
Jen Psaki
Well, first of all, they're blaming the Democrats because the public gets the point that this is a Republican shutdown. Of course they. They control the House, the Senate, and the White House. But they've been planning this for months, if not years. I mean, Russell Vote himself was a key architect of Project 2025. And the heart of that plan is to gut the government of the United States and to strip out the actual functions that implement the will of the people through congressional and agency programs. So they're doing that right now. But the whole claim that the reason that they're firing thousands of federal workers now rather than come back to work is because of the government shutdown is utterly fraudulent. There's nothing in a shutdown that compels them to fire more workers. In fact, there's nothing in a shutdown that allows them to fire more workers. It's like you can't fire more professional civil servants on the weekend than you could fire during the week. That's absurd. That's ridiculous. So they are still bound by the civil service law. That means all of these people need to get 60 days notice unless they get extraordinary permission to give them 30 days notice. And we are going to make sure, along with AFGE and all the other unions affected and all of the other workers standing up for themselves, that their rights are respected and honored here. And Mr. Vogt should be clear that they are losing in the federal district courts and they're losing in the federal appeals courts. And they, they do get the Supreme Court sometimes to slice the baloney very fine. But the rule of law is holding. And there's a reason we have a civil service. The whole purpose of it was to guarantee that people could not be fired for political reasons. And that's all that's happening now. I mean, Donald Trump said we're gonna have to fire people in the agencies the Democrats like. I mean, what a pathetic way to be looking at the government of the United States which serves all of the people. Whether you're talking about the VA or the Department of Energy or the Department of State or the Consumer Protection Bureau, whatever it might be. They serve all of us. It's not like they're Democrat agencies and Republican agencies.
- [19:37]
Chris Hayes
No, no, they're certainly not. And the overwhelming majority of people who work in these agencies are civil servants. Let me ask you, I mean, the backdrop, I mean, a couple of the other things that are happening this week while the government is shut down, all these workers are being impacted, and military is worried about not being paid, is that Trump is on quite a, quite a whole ride here with going after his political enemies. That's one way of putting it. I mean, he. There was the arraignment of James Comey this week, the indictment of Letitia James, reportedly more to come. I think a lot of people watching right now really look forward to seeing a Chairman Raskin being the chair as the Judiciary Committee. If Democrats win back the House Chairman Robert Garcia of the Oversight Committee I want to play something that Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last night and just get your take on it. What people should know about what you all are thinking about if you get back in power over a year from now. Let's play it.
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LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
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- [20:54]
Chris Hayes
So that was with my colleague Chris Hayes. Of course, you could see in the last part of that clip, what does that look like? What should people. I mean, who are you looking at? What actions are you looking at as the top of your list that you would like to be looking into if you find yourself as chairman of the Judiciary Committee over a year from now?
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Jen Psaki
Well, we're going to restore the rule of law, Jen. That's the critical thing. And we are going to see to it that the Department of Justice is not implicated in fostering and promoting corruption, whether it's dropping prosecutions for completely political reasons against people like Mayor Adams, or it's bringing prosecutions falsely against people just for doing their jobs. You know, they have packed the Department of Justice with people who were there on 1-6-20 and who were lawyers for people on January 6, the insurrectionists. And, of course, Donald Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 of them. So there's been a complete corruption of the Department of Justice, and we want to know exactly what they're doing. For example, it's come out that they're taking the position that people who were pardoned by Donald Trump for January 6th violence and other crimes have a pardon that extends beyond those crimes. So if they were going to be arrested for their January 6 crimes, but then the agents show up and they find evidence of drug dealing or gun dealing, and separate charges are brought there, The Department of Justice now takes the position that they can't be prosecuted for those completely independent crimes that had nothing to do with January 6th because they're January 6th insurrectionists. So, you know, there's a total contamination of the Department of Justice, and we want to restore it because it's the model to prosecutors all over America. I mean, do we want mayors telling district attorneys around America go after that person or drop that prosecution? Do we want the governors of states ordering attorneys general and district attorneys to bring actions against their political opponents? That's where we're headed if we don't do a complete U turn in terms of what's taking place in DOJ right.
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Chris Hayes
Now, you will have a lot on your plate. But I know a lot of people watching hope that that is what we are looking at in January just over a year from now. Congressman Jamie Raskin, thank you so much as always for joining me.
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Jen Psaki
Thanks.
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Chris Hayes
Okay, coming up, we've got new reporting that suggests even Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi might not be loyal enough, believe it or not. And that is really saying something. I mean, good Lord. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is standing by and he joins me next.
- [23:44]
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- [24:44]
Chris Hayes
Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. When you use Angie for your home project, you know all your jobs will be done well. From roof repair to emergency plumbing and more done well. So the next time you have a home project, leave it to the pros.
- [24:57]
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- [25:02]
Chris Hayes
Got a break in between team meetings.
- [25:04]
Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
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- [25:18]
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- [25:28]
Chris Hayes
Ever since Donald Trump came back into office, he has been asked repeatedly about whether he will indict his political opponents. And just about every time he's given the same response.
- [25:39]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Are you willing to take this all.
- [25:41]
Jen Psaki
The way to indictments?
- [25:42]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Well, it's up to Pam, who's doing a terrific job.
- [25:46]
Chris Hayes
Well, I Just want to be fair. It's up, ultimately, it's up to Pam. I don't want to take a position.
- [25:51]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
On it because that's going to be up to Pam.
- [25:54]
Chris Hayes
It's up to Pam. Is it though? I mean, Attorney General Pam Bondi, she is the one who gets to decide which opponents we indict. That's what he keeps saying. If an indictment is sought, it will be because Pam ordered it. That was his line over and over again. Now, here's the headline today from ABC News. Quote, pam Bondi, DOJ officials caught off guard by Tish James indictment. According to that report, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior leadership of the Justice Department were caught off guard Thursday by news that a Trump installed US Attorney had presented to a grand jury seeking an indictment of New Jersey Attorney General Letitia James. Surprised by that. So I guess it wasn't really up to Pam after all, was it? Now, to be clear, it is not normal for the Attorney General of the United States to be out of the loop on the indictment of a major political figure, but especially surprising given that Pam Bondi has been Trump's most loyal and sycophantic attorney general to date. And yet every day we get more and more evidence that Pam Bondi is being undermined by her boss as he carries out his personal revenge tour. I mean, first there was Trump's angry public screed demanding Bondi bring charges against his opponents. That was supposed to be a dm. That's what we know now is supposed to be present privately. Then there was the report that Pam Bondi voiced concerns about attempting to prosecute James Comey just before Trump's hand picked beauty queen turned insurance lawyer turned U.S. attorney went ahead and did it anyway. And now Pam Bondi appears to have been cut out of the process altogether. Guess you can always find someone who will break more laws for you. Who knows? Joining me now is Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. He's a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Committee and he questioned Pam Bondi this week on Capitol Hill. It was quite some questioning. I'm sure the moments of exasperation were very clear on your face. Let me ask you, I mean, sometimes we have to remind people of what's normal and not in moments like this. And you're a former U.S. attorney, what would have happened to you if you brought a case against a major political figure without informing the Attorney General's office?
- [27:56]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
I would have gotten a call, probably from the deputy Attorney general who's usually the chief orchestrator and organizer and enforcer for an Attorney General and, you know, might have been invited to turn in my resignation. There's actually a rule in the department that before you are allowed to indict an elected official, you have to give advance notice to the department. And so she. It's not just that it's a discourtesy. She broke the rules of her department. And that takes you back to this question of did she not know because she has no idea what's going on, having never been in the Department of Justice or even a prosecutor before? Or is it because she's off on such a wild tear that no career lawyer in the entire Eastern District of Virginia will sign her pleadings that nobody was there to tell her? By the way, U.S. attorney Halligan, there's actually a rule on this, and before you do this, you need to check in. So there's a whole kind of screw up quality to this, as well. As I like to say about this crowd, they're equal parts gangster and Gong Show. And it's kind of hard to pick apart the gangster parts from the Gong show parts.
- [29:29]
Chris Hayes
An incompetent gangster is really a tough place to be. But that may be what we're looking at with the Eastern District of Virginia person right now. We're also learning that because this is such a bizarre situation, all of it, and it's unprecedented and it's illegal. Well, we're also learning that while Pam Bonney was out of the loop, someone did manage to tell Ed Martin, the failed U.S. attorney candidate who is now in charge of Pardons and Weaponization, the Pardons and Weaponization Working Group, somehow that they told him. I mean, what does it say to you that, like, only the fringiest people in the Justice Department were looped in on this? They didn't go through the process. Thank you for educating us on that. They didn't inform the Attorney General, but Ed Martin knew.
- [30:10]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Yeah. And here's where it gets even more interesting. There's also a rule over at the Department of Justice called the Contacts Policy, and it allows a very few members of the Department of Justice and a very few very senior people at the White House to have conversations with each other about criminal prosecutions. You don't want some little political squirrel over at the White House talking to some little political squirrel over at the Department of Justice and kicking off a criminal prosecution of somebody. So that's been a rule for decades now. And I suspect that as these very able lawyers representing Comey and representing Attorney General James start to dig into what happened? We're going to find out a lot of information. If Ed Martin knew, there's probably some little political squirrel over at the White House who knew? And now you've got a huge contacts policy violation as well. And all of this stains the Attorney Generalship of Pam Bondi. And at some point she's going to get fed up. I mean, Keshe Patel has already dirtied her up quite a lot. Now you've got this U.S. attorney kinda and her nutty Ed Martin character who are dirtying her up even more.
- [31:33]
Chris Hayes
There's no question. It's almost somehow Pam Bondi appears to be not a loyal enough lapdog right now to Trump. It's like he's can keep shopping and searching for people who are gonna be more loyal lap dogs to him. That obviously tells us quite something about how he's progressed in his willingness to violate the rule of law even more. It feels like it's gotten much worse in the first term, but what do you think?
- [31:58]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Or maybe she's not capable of running the show. You'll remember that in the hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee, she kept referring questions to Kash Patel, who works for her, and Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General who works for her. Usually you ask the question of the junior guy and he says, no, you got to go talk to the boss about that. But when the boss doesn't know what's going on and has to refer questions to her FBI director or her deputy Attorney general, you know, there's an element of potentially serious incompetence happening here as well that all of this mischief is revealing.
- [32:38]
Chris Hayes
No question. And when you have to refer to a page of pre written attack talking points about Democratic senators, you know, you may not be prepared to answer the questions. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, thank you. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed watching you question Pam Bondi. I hope there's another opportunity soon to watch it again. Thanks for joining me tonight.
- [32:59]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Thank you.
- [33:00]
Chris Hayes
Okay, we've got to sneak in a quick break, but here's a question. Why is little Mike Johnson so afraid of peaceful protesters? Why? I think I know and I'll explain when we come back. Today marked the 10th day of the government shutdown, and to commemorate it, House Speaker Mike Johnson once again canceled votes, designating next week as a district work period. Now, the majority of House members will remain out of Washington and I'd be willing to bet what House Republicans won't be doing during their district work period. Actually speaking face to face with voters they represent, I mean, during this second Trump administration, The vast majority of Republicans seem to prefer walling themselves off rather than actually hearing direct criticism. Remember back in March, Mike Johnson actually told Republican lawmakers to skip town halls altogether. And after one unpopular Trump policy after another, not to mention the historically unpopular big ugly bill that Congressional Republican Republicans helped jam through, doesn't appear that guidance has changed. I mean, this week it was reported that one Republican congresswoman told her constituents that she'd hold town hall meetings, quote, when hell freezes over. That's quite a thing to say, adding, I don't have to hold a town hall so you can come and yell at me. Well, actually, you ran to represent people so they can come yell at you if they want. Unfortunately for Republicans who don't like to be criticized, that is what tends to happen when you actually deal with voters outside of your specially curated little bubbles.
- [34:37]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
I truly believe, though, that Trump has.
- [34:40]
Jen Psaki
The best interests of Americans, and our.
- [34:45]
Chris Hayes
Trump is the Hitler of our country. I'm begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die. We don't have the credit because of the medical bills that I have to pay regularly. You could stop this and you could be the one that could say, military is getting paid. And I think that it is all. And the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane. Now, in our American democracy, you're allowed to do things like that. You have a right to speak out against your elected officials and your government, even yell at them. And as this administration continues to do wildly unpopular things like deploying American troops into American cities and harassing and abusing communities by sending in massed, militarized federal agents to round up undocumented immigrants, a lot of people are engaging in their rights of free speech and free assembly to oppose what they see as wrong. But as more people demonstrate against Trump and what he is doing, his administration has gone to new extremes by brazenly labeling demonstrators as paid agitators and even terrorists. I mean, take a listen to some of what was said at a White House roundtable earlier this week about protesters in Portland.
- [36:07]
Jen Psaki
We have a very serious left wing terror threat in our country. Radicals associated with the domestic terror group Antifa. We're going to be looking very strongly at the people that are funding these operations. When you see the signs, and they're all made out of a beautiful, beautiful paper. Beautiful, nice, stiff, very expensive paper with beautiful wood handles. All the same, all the same color. They come from very expensive printing machines. These are not people that write out their signs in a basement that believe in something.
- [36:39]
Chris Hayes
These are paid anarchists, just like we did with cartels. We're going to take the same approach, President Trump with Antifa. This network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as Ms. 13, as TDA, as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them. They are just as dangerous. They have an agenda to destroy us, just like the other terrorists we've dealt with for many, many years. Isis. I mean, okay. Now, despite the Trump White House declaring Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, there is no actual evidence that it is an organization, meaning there's no official membership or structure at all. Instead, this sort of language has become a tool for the administration, allowing it to label the opposition anti American or even terrorists. And today it became clear that this is no longer just the ramblings of Donald Trump and the people closest to him. It is apparently just the new party line.
- [37:34]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
October 18th is when the protest gets here. This will be a Soros paid for protest where his professional protesters show up, the agitators show up. We'll have to get the National Guard out.
- [37:46]
Chris Hayes
Hopefully it'll be peaceful. I doubt it.
- [37:47]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
This is about one thing and one thing only. To score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set.
- [37:56]
Jen Psaki
To hold as leader Scalise just commented on a Hate America rally in D.C. next week.
- [38:03]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
This Hate America rally that they have coming up for October 18th, the Antifa crowd and the pro Hamas crowd and the Marxists, they're all going to gather on the mall.
- [38:13]
Chris Hayes
The October 18 protests they are referring to are the no Kings protests. Funny how they left the name out of that one. You may remember there were also no Kings protests across the country this past June when millions of people in cities and towns across the country showed up to speak out against Trump and this administration. Faced with another round of those massive protests, Trump and his allies are arguing that if you engage in your uniquely American right to protest, then you are un American. If you speak out against Trump, then you hate America. Now that is un American. But the fact that those on the right are desperately trying to delegitimize protesters is a sign of how afraid they are of what Americans have to say. More on that straight ahead. Stay with us. On October 18, nearly 2,500 no Kings protests are scheduled to take the place across the country. That means that potentially hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people will take to the streets to protest the Trump administration. And like they did back in June during the first no Kings rally, when at least 4 million people more than that were out in full force. And since then, there's been a near constant stream of protests against everything from Trump's heartless immigration raids to Republican plans to gut health care for millions of Americans. And instead of, I don't know, listening to them, Trump and Republicans are now trying to demonize these protesters by saying the upcoming no Kings protest is a hate America rally that will promote terrorism, which is an absolutely insane thing to say. These rally goers are doing one of the most American things possible, utilizing their right to peacefully protest. And then if it's anything like the last no Kings protest, it will probably look a whole lot like this scene from Memphis. Joining me now is Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pierson, who plans to speak at the upcoming no Kings protest in Memphis. And just this week, he launched a campaign for Congress against his former boss, Congressman Steve Cohen. It's great to see you. I've been thinking a lot about this moment, as I'm sure you have, as you're preparing to speak speak at the Snow Kings protest, and how it kind of harkens back to the civil rights movement when supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. And members of nonviolent protest groups were wrongfully accused of provoking violence by the FBI and police as well as white supremacist groups in an effort to justify violent crackdowns. History repeats, as they say. But how are you thinking about that history as you reflect on what you're going to say when you speak on October 18th?
- [40:54]
Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Yeah, I mean, we have to realize that it is the work of our ancestors. It's the marching, it's the protesting. It's the speaking up and standing up of people against oppression that has gotten us to the places where we are, even to the point where I'm able to run for the United States Congress is because other folks have done some heavy lifting to pass a voting Rights act to make sure that America lives up to its promise and to its opportunity. And that's the work that each and every one of us must be engaged in in this moment and in this time. And with the rise of authoritarianism, right in Memphis, we're having 700 federal agents that are increasing the amount of traffic stops that are happening over policing black and brown communities. 14% of our population is Latino. 40% of arrests are happening against Latino folks. This is the reality that we are dealing with. I was in church and a Black Hawk was circling around our church. This isn't the type of America that we want to have. We want one filled with opportunity, more possibility. And we live in the most beautiful A place in the world, as you saw by that video that showed us dancing and celebrating and still creating joy amidst the chaos and crises that we are dealing with. Because we've got heart, we've got soul, and we're not going to let anybody break us down.
- [42:04]
Chris Hayes
I love so it said, you know, the headline above, it was about how Trump called them paid into whatever he called them, paid agitators. And it's like they're dancing and singing, which is why that was the no Kings protest, the last one that happen all around the country, to your point. I mean, today the National Guard began patrolling the streets of Memphis in addition to everything you just outlined, at the request of Tennessee's governor to combat what the Trump administration called tremendous levels, their characterization, tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government's ability to respond effectively. This is on the governor's request. I mean, do you think that Governor Lee actually believes that or do you think he is just. Just trying to stay in Trump's good graces and follow what he wants?
- [42:49]
Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Yeah, I believe Governor Lee is upon the Republican Party is upon to this authoritarian and wannabe dictator schemes to disrupt our democracy and to really seek to hurt and harm our communities. The reality is if we do not tackle the problems of poverty, we will never tackle the problems of crime. Governor Lee's been governor for eight years and has never once deployed the National Guard and two has never done anything to actually pass laws that are gonna rid us of the gun violence epide and deal with poverty. And what Governor Lee is doing at Trump's request is anti constitutional. Article 3, Section 5 of the Tennessee state Constitution says that he does not have the authority to deploy the National Guard in cases unless it's in cases of invasion or rebellion. That's not is what what's happening in Memphis. He's being used by this administration that wants to disrupt our democracy and take away our ability to protest and stand up for our rights. And in order for us to have those, we have to do what groups like free the 901, free DC and so many others around the country are doing is reclaim, reclaim our Constitution, reclaim our right to protest and to gather and to demand that we actually get investment from the government, not military occupation.
- [43:58]
Chris Hayes
I know you talk with a lot of people since you're running for office and you do anyway around Memphis. Even though we know why Trump is doing this because he's small and petty, it can be scary. I mean, does, does what's happening in Memphis, does it strike fear in people? Does it energize them. What are people, how are people responding to Trump's crackdown on dissent?
- [44:20]
Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Look, I think it's both. And you have a lot of people who are worried. A lot of our restaurants that are run by immigrants are not being filled in the ways that they were. Some parents are not allowing their children to go to school or to go to school events because they're worried they might not see them again. And so there's a reality of fear that exists. And still there is a persistence of spirit of resilience in our community that we're not going to be broken down, we're not going to be bent, we're not going to be broken by this administration to tell us that we don't have the right to self govern, trying to tell us that our community is not sacred and beloved and a wonderful place to be, that the narratives that they're trying to put on us, we're not going to accept. And instead of having a military occupation, we want resources for poverty eradication. Deal with the root causes and we'll deal with the rest. But the truth is, ultimately they leave and we are going to be left picking up the pieces. And so we have to build strong and resilient neighborhoods, community cities, and we have to be advocates for those who we represent.
- [45:17]
Chris Hayes
State Representative Justin J. Pearson, you always speak with such moral clarity. I always, always love talking to you. Thank you so much for being with me tonight.
- [45:24]
Guest/Interviewee (e.g., Justin J. Pearson or other guests)
Thank you so much. Let's keep up the fight.
- [45:26]
Chris Hayes
Absolutely. Okay, up next, Donald Trump got his second annual checkup in six months today. And something in the report shouldn't surprise you, but it might. We'll be right back. Okay. Today, Donald Trump was at Walter Reed Hospital for what the White House called a routine yearly checkup. It comes just six months after his last physical. So that's really stretching the definition of the word yearly. But here we are. And tonight, just as we were coming on the air, the White House released a statement on that visit, which reads, in part, quote, in preparation for upcoming international travel, President Trump received preventative health screenings and immunizations, including annual influenza and updated COVID 19 booster vaccinations. Well, what do you know? Somewhere RFK Jr. S head is exploding. But, I mean, the president of the United States is showing the whole world that vaccines are safe and effective. That should be not should be news, should not be news. But these days, it definitely is. And it's a good reminder that we should all go get our annual vaccinations. So I guess. Thank you, Mr. President, you know, if you feel a little soreness around the injection site, just pop a few Tylenol. You'll feel better in no time, I promise. That does it for me tonight, the Last word with Ali Velshi hosting start. Hosting starts right now.
- [46:39]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
You said that the Tylenol that the president can say because he has trouble with the other words.
- [46:43]
Chris Hayes
Acetaminophen. Acetaminophen. We'll just say it over and over again.
- [46:46]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Keep on saying it in case my doctor's watching. I love my doctor, but I want his doctor. Cuz the stuff that he says about Donald Trump. Like, my doctor says, hey, you're looking good, you're fit, you seem to be okay. Cholesterol, you know, whatever. Like his doctor says magical stuff about him.
- [47:03]
Chris Hayes
I mean, listen, Ali, you are a very handsome and smart man, but your doctor, if it was his doctor, would be like, you are built like the rock, right? It's amazing kind of thing.
- [47:14]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Yeah, I would take a video next time I go to my doctor and say, hey, say stuff like this to me. By the way, I, you know, I remember from the days when you were the press secretary how you used to engage all comers, right. You would go, and you sort of seem to enjoy the discussion. The Pam Monty stuff was wild. Like, there were moments where she just didn't answer specific questions. When asked about Tom holman, where the $50,000 is that the FBI apparently gave him. Just they said, are you impugning Tom Holland's? No, we just want to know where the 50,000 taxpayer dollars are. I just want to actually know where they are. Who kept it. Like, there's got to be an answer.
- [47:45]
Chris Hayes
To that simple question. And she not only didn't answer it, she had the binder. She paused, she looked in the binder and said, I would refer you to the FBI.
- [47:56]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
Yeah.
- [47:57]
Chris Hayes
And then she had a binder of attacks for each of the senators. So it was that.
- [48:01]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
It was something to watch. You have yourself a great week. I'm going to see you tomorrow.
- [48:04]
Chris Hayes
Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. See you tomorrow.
- [48:06]
LifeLock/Indeed Advertiser
That's exciting. I'm looking forward to that at live 25. Thank you, my friend.
- [48:09]
Chris Hayes
Have a good show, Allie.
- [48:10]
Jen Psaki
All right.
- [48:11]
Chris Hayes
Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well, from roof repair to emergency plumbing and more done well. So the next time you have a home project, leave it to the pros. Get started at Angie Com.