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Chris Jansing Reports - Season Episode 95
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00:08It is good to be back with you on this second hour of Chris Janssen reports at this hour,
00:13IRS settlement. President Trump has withdrawn his $10 billion lawsuit. As part of the agreement,
00:20the DOJ is creating a $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund that could compensate
00:26some of his prosecuted allies. Corruption unparalleled. That's what House Democrats
00:32are calling that settlement even before it was officially announced. Now they want a judge to
00:38scrutinize the deal. Plus, from the Pentagon to the campaign trail, the historic high-stakes
00:44primary that's brought Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Kentucky and the message it's sending
00:49to the incumbent Republican congressman who is not backed by the president. And new escalation.
00:55The U.S. and Iran are signaling that they're prepared to resume the war if peace talks falter
01:00as the UAE calls the latest drone strike on a nuclear plant, quote, an unprovoked terrorist attack.
01:07Our MSNOW reporters are following all of the latest developments. We begin with the president's
01:12settlement with the IRS, dropping his $10 billion lawsuit in exchange for that anti-weaponization
01:19fund. MSNOW's Fallon Gallagher joins us. Fallon, walk us through what we know about this agreement.
01:26Yeah, Chris, President Trump is moving to voluntarily dismiss this case this morning
01:31and he's asking a judge to do it with prejudice, meaning that he will not bring any sort of a
01:36similar claim in the future. Now, you'll remember he initially filed this suit back in January against
01:41a former IRS employee who he alleges wrongly leaked his tax returns. Now, the filing from this morning
01:48about this voluntary dismissal had few details, but the Justice Department is giving us some answers
01:53this afternoon. They're announcing this anti-weaponization fund with $1.776 billion of
02:00money for people who the president believes were wrongly targeted by what he calls weaponization
02:06of the Biden Justice Department. And I want to read very briefly from this announcement. It says,
02:10the machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this
02:15department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never
02:20happens again. As a part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare
02:26and weaponization to be heard and seek redress. Now, this is really critical because it doesn't specify
02:32who these victims are other than they appear to be Trump-aligned people who were targeted by the
02:37Biden Justice Department. This could include anyone from January 6th defendants to other people who
02:43faced charges during that time. But notably, in this announcement, they say that filing a complaint
02:48is not only voluntary, but also nonpartisan. But, Chris, this is just really the most interesting
02:54and unusual development in a case that has been unusual from the beginning. This case had the
02:58president suing the IRS, a government agency under his control. The judge was questioning why he was
03:05even doing this in the first place. But what's really, really notable about this dismissal is
03:09that now the judge will never be able to decide whether or not this civil litigation had any
03:15validity. Chris?
03:16Fallon Gallagher, thank you. House Democrats are now accusing the president of undermining the
03:21Constitution following the IRS settlement. MSNOW's Kevin Fry joins us. What are you hearing from those
03:27Democrats?
03:27Yeah, I mean, an exclusive that we got this morning, 93 Democrats joined together to file
03:33an amicus brief before the judge that has been handling this case. They argued this idea,
03:39which Fallon was just laying out here, that the president was serving as essentially both the
03:42litigant and defendant in this case, amounted to a collusion before the court and said that this idea
03:48that he would then file and then move to dismiss the case was legally barred under statute. Now,
03:55in this amicus brief, they go on to say that the unprecedented posture of this suit fundamentally
04:00disregards Article 3's case or controversy requirement and raises the specter of corruption
04:06unparalleled in American history. Never in the history of the United States, they write,
04:10has a sitting president sought a monetary settlement from the government he leads,
04:14let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Now, they would like the judge
04:19to review this settlement, this $1.7 billion fund to scrutinize its rollout and implementation
04:28because they say it raises questions about whether or not this was all done for illicit ends.
04:33And they also say that this idea of setting up this fund is both statutorily and constitutionally
04:39inappropriate. So Democrats undoubtedly are going to continue to fight and raise questions about
04:45this fund, especially, especially if we start seeing January 6th defendants among those receiving
04:51payouts as this move forward. Kevin Fry, thank you for that. Let's go to MSNOW's Michael Schnell
04:57in Kentucky, where Pete Hegseth is campaigning this hour with Thomas Massey's primary challenger.
05:03What are we expecting there? Yeah, Chris, we're expecting what's supposed to be likely to be a full
05:10full-throated endorsement and campaign pitch for Ed Gallrine. He is the Trump endorsed and Trump
05:16handpicked challenger to Congressman Thomas Massey, who's been the president's, one of his top foes.
05:20I will note, by the way, the event's supposed to begin any minute now. It's quite unconventional
05:25that we're going to see Pete Hegseth here in Hebron, Kentucky campaigning. For one,
05:29seeing a defense secretary on the campaign trails is unconventional in itself, but also it's important
05:35to note this comes as the Iran war is still raging on. President Trump and his administration have
05:40been looking for some sort of off-ramp and they haven't been able to find it. It's also unconventional
05:45that we're seeing so much interest in a House GOP primary in a district and in a state that is
05:50ruby red. And of course, that's all the product of President Trump's effort against Thomas Massey
05:55and this effort that he has had to try and oust him from office. It really came to fruition and
06:00hit a
06:01point of no return last year when Thomas Massey spearheaded that discharge petition, forced the
06:06release of the Epstein files. Massey then recruited three other Republicans to join him. And that's
06:12why we have seen those hundreds of thousands of documents about Jeffrey Epstein to the annoyance
06:17of President Trump. Thomas Massey also voted against the House GOP's reconciliation bill
06:22last year. And he's also been one of the top GOP critics of the Iran war. That point is something
06:28that we will likely hear a lot from as Hegseth appears with Galrine in that hotel right behind
06:33me. Of course, Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, one of the main faces of this war. Ed Galrine is
06:39former Navy SEAL. Seeing if that differential point between Hegseth and Galrine being their
06:45disagreement among the Iran war can move any minds here in Kentucky's fourth congressional district,
06:50we'll have to see if that policy pitch resonates with any voters because they head to the polls tomorrow
06:55to select their GOP nominee for November's House race. Michael Schnell, thank you for that. Well, Iran is
07:02once again attacking its Gulf neighbors and signaling it's ready to resume more. MS Now's David Rowe joins me.
07:09This most recent attack hit a nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates. What do we know? Emirati officials
07:15were stunned that this happened. There were three drones fired from Iran. Two of them were shot down and one
07:20hit.
07:21It was just outside the perimeter of this nuclear power plant. It's in Abu Dhabi. It's a civilian nuclear
07:25power plant. It hit a sort of some kind of generator that started a fire. There was no release of
07:32radiation. No one was injured, but there was just outrage on the part of Emirati officials. This is
07:37supposed to be a ceasefire. It's against international law to attack a nuclear facility. So they were furious
07:44about this. And, you know, it's just another example of defiance from the Iranians as these peace talks
07:49go on. Is there any momentum at all toward resuming peace talks? To the president's credit, he, President
07:56Trump was very unhappy with the response he got several days ago from the Iranians. The U.S. did reply
08:01to that. And so I think they're waiting for a response from the Iranians at this point. So there are
08:07messages
08:08going back and forth, written proposals. But everything we're hearing publicly and from sources
08:12is that there's no progress. Each side is sort of still putting down maximalist demands.
08:17Well, as folks who are in the diplomatic corps often say, as long as you're talking or communicating,
08:22that's always at least some positive sign. David Rode, thank you so much for that. In 90 seconds,
08:27the concerns being raised after a Democratic governor from a deep blue state commuted the sentence of an
08:33election denier.
08:41New fears today that election integrity is being eroded after Colorado's Democratic governor caved
08:47to pressure from the president and commuted the sentence of a 2020 election denier. Tina Peters is now
08:53set to be released from prison in just two weeks. The former county clerk was convicted of tampering with
08:59election equipment. She'd served less than two years of her nine year sentence. Joining me now is Stephen
09:05Richard, former Maricopa County Arizona recorder, who held the office during the 2020 and 2022 elections.
09:12I appreciate you coming on the show. You wrote back in January, Stephen, a piece for the bulwark,
09:16and it was titled, Governor Polis, do not pardon Tina Peters. He then commuted her sentence after
09:24Trump punished his state economically, and I should say repeatedly, when he didn't do what Trump wanted.
09:30So I wonder what your thoughts are now. I think the commutation is one thing,
09:36and it's problematic because of the message that it sends to election deniers and to the Trump
09:41administration that they can get away with anything. But I think just as problematic is what
09:47Governor Polis has been saying since Friday when he commuted the sentence. He's been saying it had
09:52nothing to do with the 2020 election. And that's just wrong to the point of being silly, because of
09:59course, what she was doing in 2021, the unlawful actions for which she was prosecuted, for which
10:06she was charged, for which she was convicted, they had everything to do with the 2020 election and her
10:12attempts to prove that the 2020 election was stolen, her attempts to connect with MyPillow's Mike
10:18Lindell in overturning the election. And so I don't get what the governor is doing here. And I
10:23certainly don't get why he's saying the things he's saying. So you know what it was like for
10:29election workers back then in 2020. You know that firsthand. Part of your fear that this commutation
10:34could make people think, well, they can get away with targeting workers, even breaking the law.
10:41Absolutely. And I think we've already seen that play out with respect to the January 6 rioters who
10:47now have been told that, hey, storming the Capitol, not that big of a problem, as long as you're doing
10:53it for the right team, for the right guy. And now I think that this is sending a message to
10:59the whole
10:59world that you can do things that are unlawful in election administration as long as you're doing
11:05on behalf of a cause that President Trump likes. It wouldn't surprise me if Tina Peters now gets
11:11the Presidential Medal of Freedom or if she's appointed to the administration. And so I think
11:18that Governor Polis is looking at this as if it's just another 70-year-old who committed a white-collar
11:24crime. And he's not looking at the political context. He's not looking at what this means for
11:29election administrators right now. And he's not looking at what this means for election administrators
11:34in 2026 and in 2028. So let me ask you about that specifically. What are your biggest concerns
11:40ahead of the midterms and ahead of the presidential when it comes to election integrity?
11:46Well, vis-a-vis the Peter sentencing, I would say that there could be an election administrator
11:52who's sympathetic to President Trump, who gets it in his mind that he is going to do something that
11:58President Trump likes that violates federal law, but that that's OK because the president will
12:03pardon him. Or if it violates state law, that's going to be fine, too, because then President
12:09Trump will put pressure on the governor and the governor will pardon him. And so the one thing
12:14that I've always said that has really checked our elections is that we have good state and federal
12:20laws that election administrators have to abide by. And if you don't believe that they are abiding by
12:26them, then you can take them to court either in civil or criminal action. That's always what's been
12:31held and affirmed our elections. Now we're calling into question that process. And I think, again,
12:38that Governor Polis's decision, and maybe even more problematically, his language really eviscerates
12:46that foundation. We are seeing ways in which various arms of the federal government are using
12:51their power in ways we've never seen before, perhaps even arguably never imagined before.
12:56Let me give you one example. The Trump administration promoting a program that checks voter
13:01eligibility by running at least 67 million registrations through a B.
13:11The impact this could have on voters leading to people wrongly being deemed ineligible to vote.
13:17I think that more data and more tools are positive things. But election administrators who are using
13:26the federal government's SAVE database should use it as one point of information, because various
13:33reporting has already shown that this is an imperfect tool that has registered quite a few false positives,
13:41meaning people who have been said to not be citizens,
13:44But in fact, they are U.S. citizens who can lawfully participate in election.
13:49So no election administrator throughout the United States should simply be feeding
13:54names to the SAVE database and then removing them from the voter rolls based off the SAVE database alone.
14:01Now, again, this is, as you said, one action in which the federal government under President Trump
14:08is trying to nationalize, is trying to federalize election administrators.
14:13That used to be something that my party, the Republican Party, would stand up against and say,
14:18states matter. These should be run by states.
14:22But we are not doing that today. And we are not doing that with this president.
14:27Steve Richer, it's so good of you to come on the program. Thank you so much.
14:30Thank you very much.
14:32The Trump administration is continuing to promise, but never deliver, one scintilla of proof that the 2020 election was stolen.
14:41And now, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sending two completely different messages about whether he can actually prove it.
14:49Here to break down Blanche's claims, MSNOW's Laura Barone-Lopez. What's going on here, Laura?
14:55Hi, Chris. So I think first it's important to remember that Todd Blanche was the president's former personal lawyer
15:01before he became this acting attorney general.
15:04And in that capacity, he represented the president during the January 6th insurrection federal case.
15:09And now, as acting attorney general, Blanche is attempting to do the president's bidding
15:14and to spread these falsehoods about the 2020 election and carry out this retribution campaign that the president has wanted
15:22and that he felt the predecessor, Pam Bondi, didn't carry out.
15:26And so just recently, to Fox, Todd Blanche contradicted himself when he was talking about the 2020 election.
15:33Take a listen.
15:36Do you have any evidence that the election was rigged? What can you tell us?
15:41Well, there's a ton of evidence that the election was rigged. That's not something the DOJ needs to tell you
15:47about.
15:47You believe there will be, at some point, a definitive answer to whether or not the 2020 election was stolen?
15:55I'm not going to promise there's going to be a definitive answer. That wouldn't be fair to you or anybody
15:59else.
15:59But we are looking at it, and we're hoping to get one.
16:05So, on one hand, Todd Blanche saying that he has mountains of evidence of this alleged fraud, which, of course,
16:14but also simultaneously saying he has zero evidence and saying that he can't promise that he'll ever be able to
16:21give an answer on the 2020 election.
16:23Now, as you know, Chris, multiple audits were carried out, including in Republican-led states like Arizona in Georgia,
16:29found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
16:32But this is part of a widespread fraud and to spread falsehoods, not just about past elections, like 2020 election.
16:46Laura Burr and Lopez, thank you for that.
16:49Coming up next, sticker shock, the new data that's revealing just how hard the war with Iran is hitting Americans
16:55in their wallets.
17:03A new study from Brown University finds that it's cost Americans nearly $42 billion more for gas and diesel since
17:11the Iran war began.
17:12That amounts to $319 per household in less than two months.
17:18And estimates indicate those costs could go way up by the end of the year.
17:22But Speaker Mike Johnson, like the president, doesn't seem worried.
17:27We're talking about the Strait of Hormuz, really all points lead back to that.
17:31Gas prices are too high because of that, and then that has an effect on how goods transported to the
17:35grocery store and all the rest.
17:37So as soon as we get that straightened out, we will get back to the kitchen table issues,
17:41the economic issues that we put in place to make the economy grow.
17:44We're really excited, anxious for that to be resolved so that people will feel that.
17:49And I think they will before they go vote in the midterm.
17:52Ron Insana is a veteran financial journalist, publisher of The Message of the Markets on Substack, and an MSNOW business
17:58analyst.
17:58I don't know why you didn't point this out to us before this round.
18:01All you got to do is get that Hormuz thing straightened out.
18:03That's all you need to do.
18:04And once that's straightened out, everything goes back to normal.
18:06Inflation comes down.
18:07The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, and we'll be just flying.
18:11The economy will be just taking off.
18:12J.P. Morgan Chase estimates that if gas prices stay where they are through the end of the year,
18:16Americans will shell out $172 billion more than they did last year on gas alone.
18:23That's a lot of money, over $1,300 per household.
18:28But what about the impact beyond just what they're putting in their tank?
18:32Well, so this has an effect where whether it's the cost of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, transportation costs,
18:39which push up the price of groceries as they're delivered to the stores, fertilizer,
18:42which is forcing U.S. farmers to cut the size of their crop planting this year.
18:46That's going to drive up the price of food even further.
18:49And groceries were up by one of the largest amounts last month when we had measured inflation come out
18:54that we've seen in quite some time.
18:55So this has a very wide distributive effect where it's not just the cost of energy.
19:00It's the cost of a whole host of things.
19:01In addition to that, helium, which is used to make computer chips, driving up the price of those goods as
19:06well.
19:06So this is going to go on for a while, and it's spreading farther and farther out into the economy.
19:11You know, one of the things I was thinking about was when we were talking about tariffs.
19:15We were in the summer when business people were saying to us,
19:18we already have to put in our orders for Christmas.
19:21Like, we have to figure out where the economy is going to be there,
19:24what things are going to cost us at that point.
19:26Is that the same situation we could find ourselves in?
19:29Well, it's double because the tariffs are still in effect for all intents and purposes.
19:32I mean, as much as they've been, you know, invalidated by the Supreme Court,
19:36there are still tariffs that are in place on things like aluminum and tin.
19:39The president is threatening to put tariffs on European cars.
19:41You know, there's a whole host of factors that are driving up prices
19:44that don't look like they're going to go away anytime soon.
19:47So there's this double whammy.
19:49So inflation continues higher or stays higher than we need it to be,
19:53and it stays higher than it would otherwise allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates
19:58and take the burden off homebuyers, car buyers and like.
20:01In fact, we saw mortgage rates this morning touch 7%,
20:04which is the highest level we've seen now in quite a number of months.
20:06There's a new poll that tracked the feelings that Americans have,
20:10not about their leaders, but about the economy itself.
20:1276% say they are concerned.
20:1667% say they are stressed.
20:18And when asked how they feel about President Trump's handling of the economy,
20:21the top two responses were frustrated and angry.
20:25What kind of data are you going to be looking at as we move forward?
20:29Because when I saw those numbers, I thought people are still spending, right?
20:33Consumers are still spending money.
20:35To an extent.
20:36Okay.
20:37So what is the real world impact and what are you watching for when people feel that negatively?
20:43So a couple of things I'm watching really closely.
20:44Number one is the stock market, because we're in what many economists now call this K-shaped economy.
20:49The top 10% of wage earners in the United States account for about 50% of all consumer spending.
20:55Now, that number is being debated, but it looks right.
20:58And the more data we see, the more it appears that those who are well-heeled are doing fine.
21:03And if you're in middle and lower income families, all these different effects from tariffs, energy prices, food prices, and
21:09the like are like regressive taxes.
21:11They're hitting people harder in middle and lower income groups.
21:14And as a consequence, if the stock market were to sell off and interest rates were to go higher,
21:18and that top 10% cut back on its spending, that could lead towards a recession.
21:23So we're watching all these different factors closely, and we continue to watch these inflation numbers,
21:27because it does not look like they're going to come down anytime soon.
21:30Kevin Warsh is being installed as the new chairman of the Fed this week.
21:33He had fully intended to get the Fed to cut interest rates in the near term.
21:37That does not look like that's going to happen anytime soon.
21:40In fact, when you look at the betting markets, it's a 64% probability that rates will go up at
21:45the Fed this year, not down.
21:48The president will not like that.
21:50Ron Insana, thank you.
21:51It's always good to see you.
21:52Up next, a new warning that the entire South is on fire.
21:57South Carolina takes up a fight to redraw congressional maps.
22:08Today, a dramatic warning about voting rights from one North Carolina state senator who told Politico the entire South is
22:15on fire.
22:16The latest example, South Carolina, where lawmakers today are launching into what is expected to be a long and heated
22:23discussion about new congressional maps.
22:25Republicans are looking to erase the state's lone Democratic seat.
22:29It's held by civil rights icon James Clyburn.
22:32Joining me now, Democratic South Carolina State Representative Gambrill Garvin.
22:36Also with me, Julie Raginski, Democratic strategist and author of the Salty Politics newsletter on Substack.
22:42Representative Garvin, thanks so much for being with us.
22:45Jim Clyburn accuses Republicans of creating Jim Crow 2.0.
22:50Is he right?
22:52Absolutely, Chris, and thank you for having me.
22:54We in South Carolina and the South Carolina House of Representatives are fighting regressive policies, and we've been doing that,
23:01Chris, for the last couple of days.
23:02And we will continue to do that as well throughout the day and well into the night, Chris.
23:07What we see today and what we've been seeing throughout the South is an attempt to take us backwards.
23:12I have a quote that I often like to say, and that is that it's starting to feel more like
23:161966 and not 2026.
23:20And with that being said, Chris, we are fighting against bad policy.
23:24We are fighting against voter disenfranchisement.
23:28And it's going to be really important that we stand up and that we make our voices heard and say
23:32that we're not going back.
23:33We can't go back because we've come too far to turn around now.
23:36Is there anything you're hearing, Representative, from your Republican colleagues to suggest that this will get any significant pushback on
23:44their side?
23:45Chris, the sad thing about it is that Republicans in South Carolina, starting with Governor McMaster, have all yielded to
23:51Donald Trump.
23:52Donald Trump made the call.
23:54Donald Trump has told Senate leaders as well as House leaders what to do, and they are all falling in
23:59line.
23:59Now, there were a couple of senators last week that stood up and said that we weren't going to pass
24:03the Sanyo resolution over in the Senate.
24:05But by and large, the Republicans are falling in line, even the ones that don't like it.
24:10And guess what, Chris? So many of them are probably coming up to Democrats telling us, thank you.
24:15Thank you for fighting these bad bills.
24:17And our retort is simple. Join us. Join us in fighting for our democracy.
24:21Join us in fighting for the will of South Carolinians, because quite honestly, what we're seeing is truly an attempt
24:27by Washington, D.C.,
24:28by President Trump to tell us how our map should be drawn for political advantage.
24:34There are Republicans who are concerned, it seems to be, about the logistics, if nothing else.
24:39The state Senate Majority Leader, Shane Massey, says this plan could backfire because it's being rushed.
24:45Here, take a listen.
24:47If you're going to flip-flop on something like that, it would have been a whole lot better for everybody
24:53if you'd have just done it a few months ago and to have given time to plan this, do it
25:00the right way.
25:02So at least somebody is expressing publicly, too, right, some concern.
25:06But is it just not worth it to invoke Trump's ire?
25:10Well, I think everybody on the Republican side is looking at what happened in Indiana a few weeks ago.
25:16They're looking at what happened in Louisiana with Bill Cassidy yesterday.
25:19We'll see what happened over Tom Massey today.
25:23We'll see what happens with him.
25:24But, look, the reality is that the Republican Party has held hostage to one man who has,
25:28I don't know, the last time he set foot in South Carolina, but certainly he's done it for political reasons.
25:32He doesn't know South Carolina.
25:33He doesn't know the South.
25:34He's from down the street here in New York.
25:36And so, you know, you have an entire region of the country that is completely enthralled to this man.
25:42And I would simply say that you also have a Supreme Court where the chief justice has been working since
25:48the Reagan administration to gut the Civil Rights Act.
25:50And he's done it.
25:51And the reality of that means that black voters in the South who have been disenfranchised for the history,
25:57the entire history of this country, who were given an opportunity to have equal representation back in the 1960s,
26:05now are going back to a time, as the representative said, that I certainly have never lived through.
26:10And I think most people in this country have never lived through.
26:12It is just astonishing at what's happening.
26:16We're about to have no black people represented, no black representatives, excuse me, in South Carolina where the black constituency
26:25is tremendous.
26:26I mean, Jim Clyburn is about to potentially lose his seat.
26:29And as a Democrat, I will say South Carolina delivers the Democratic nomination every single time for every single Democratic
26:36candidate.
26:36They did it for Barack Obama.
26:38They did it for Joe Biden.
26:40They will do it again for the next Democratic president.
26:43It is much more important than Iowa, New Hampshire.
26:45And to have that state be so disenfranchised and those black voters be so disenfranchised,
26:51it is astonishing that we're living in what is called a democracy, but clearly is not anymore.
26:55So, Representative, there is another possibility that some Republicans have suggested as a concern, maybe quietly.
27:03And that is the possibility that creating a new map could end up spreading the Republican voter base in your
27:09state so thin that it opens up more possibilities for Democrats.
27:14Is that at all possible?
27:17It's certainly possible, Chris.
27:18Anything is possible.
27:19And this could be a dummy mander.
27:21And, you know what, I will say that I hope that that is the case.
27:26But as the other guests have just mentioned, this is a time in our history that we have to all
27:31be vigilant,
27:32that we all have to say that there should never be a time where a state that's nearly a third
27:37African-American cannot,
27:40African-Americans will not be able to have the ability to elect candidates of their choice.
27:44And let me tell you what this current map that they have proposed does.
27:47It splits up the urban centers, it cuts and dilutes the black vote to a point where, in my community,
27:54Richland County, we're split three ways.
27:55So we will not be able to have any meaningful impact on any of those congressional districts, thus diluting the
28:02voice and the impact of black voters.
28:05A couple last week, state leaders gathered here in Columbia for a monument to honor an individual named Robert Smalls,
28:11who was one of the congressional members from the Reconstruction era.
28:15And this monument is going to be a wonderful and long overdue tribute to Congressman Smalls.
28:19But the thing that I found ironic, Chris, is that Robert Smalls fought for civil rights.
28:25He fought for African-Americans to be able to have a voice.
28:28And it wasn't until Jim Clyburn got elected in 1992, only six months after I was born, that we had
28:35another African-American elected.
28:37So you're talking about an over 100-year period where black folks in South Carolina did not get a chance
28:42to have a voice, did not get a chance to have a seat at the table.
28:45And now we are facing a situation where it might be another 100 years where African-Americans will not be
28:50able to have a voice.
28:51And the sad thing about it, Chris, is that my generation, the 35-year-old, my kids are going to
28:56have less rights than their parents, as well as their grandparents and their great-grandparents.
29:00And it is shameful. And here in South Carolina, my Democrats are saying that we will not stand for it
29:06and we will not take it quietly.
29:07It was really interesting, the New York Times poll.
29:10One of the things that I noticed was that they broke down the numbers by region.
29:16And when they asked about whether the state of the economy, Representative, was excellent or good, this is in the
29:23South.
29:24This is Southern voters. 3% said they found it excellent.
29:2821% said they found it good.
29:31If you can't convince people that there is equity, voter rights that are being eroded in a most egregious way,
29:42what is the economic message that's getting through or is it getting through on the Democratic side where you live?
29:49Absolutely.
29:50You know, so, folks, the economy, when you go to the gas station, we have gas that's $4.15 for
29:58a gallon of gas.
29:59I just filled up my truck this morning and it took over $100, where just a few months ago, that
30:06same truck took a whole lot less to fill up.
30:08And so, folks do fill the pocketbook issues here in South Carolina.
30:12And at the end of the day, I think people this November are going to vote on pocketbook issues.
30:17The Republican Party, Donald Trump, they know that folks are not happy and they're unpleased with their policies.
30:23And so, thus, they are trying to truly steal as many seats as they possibly can.
30:28And he has done this with the assist of a radical Supreme Court that has honestly done everything that it
30:35possibly could to overturn precedent.
30:36So, pocketbook issues, Chris, to answer your question, are really important to all of us here in South Carolina.
30:41And I think voters are going to vote with their pocketbook come this November.
30:46You mentioned how important South Carolina is to Democrats.
30:49I was there when Joe Biden's campaign completely turned around when he won that primary with Jim Clyburn's endorsement, right?
30:55We're seeing 2028 possible contenders already popping up in the South.
31:00Arizona Senator Mark Kelly was in South Carolina on Friday.
31:02Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was at a rally in Montgomery, Alabama.
31:07Take a listen.
31:09I am here today because I want to make sure that we all understand that Montgomery is not alone.
31:17It is time for the North to pull up to the South.
31:22It is time for New York to pull up to Alabama.
31:27It is time for all of us to come to Georgia, to Louisiana, to Tennessee, to Mississippi, and let them
31:36know exactly what they have on court with this injustice.
31:42Let's talk about the numbers.
31:44And then what that one state senator said that we led this segment, which was that the entire South is
31:49on fire.
31:50The Congressional Black Caucus is warning that as many as a third of its members could lose their seats because
31:56of this congressional redistricting.
31:58How serious is the threat as you see it?
32:01And how can Democrats use that?
32:03Well, it's a hugely serious threat.
32:05And more relevantly, when Democratic states up north begin to redistrict in the same way that Republican members are redistricting,
32:12it has to dilute the black vote as well because that's the way you accumulate more and more Democratic seats
32:17in places like New York, places like New Jersey, and so on.
32:20So we'll probably have fewer black representatives across the board because of this whole push.
32:27It is deeply concerning, and for anybody who says, well, you know, white voters can still vote for black representatives,
32:34come on.
32:35Come on.
32:36There's a reason why the Civil Rights Act existed.
32:38There is a reason why you are now about to see complete eradication of black power in Congress.
32:43It is precisely because of these kinds of places.
32:46White voters will not vote for black representatives.
32:48You could call it racism.
32:50You could call it whatever you want.
32:51I call it racism, but the reality is the reality, which is that we are going to have many, many,
32:56many fewer representatives of color.
32:59We are not a white country.
33:01We're about to be a majority-minority country, and yet our Congress, because of the design of the Republican Party
33:06and, most importantly, the Supreme Court,
33:08which is obviously predominantly white, is making this a minority-rule country that is about to rule the majority of
33:15the people who are no longer white.
33:17That is a massive problem.
33:20Look at your history.
33:21This is how empires collapse, because democracy no longer exists.
33:25Julie Raginski, I have to let that be the last word.
33:27State Representative Gambrill Garfin, thank you as well.
33:30Well, the CDC says it's working to track down and withdraw a small number of Americans who are directly affected
33:37by an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
33:41The World Health Organization declares the situation a global health emergency, more than 300 suspected cases, 88 suspected deaths so
33:51far.
33:51Joining me now, Sky News correspondent Ashish Joshi.
33:54What more can you tell us about this?
33:59I can tell you we have a public health emergency in Central Africa, which is very, very serious, and the
34:06American citizens will need to be found very quickly.
34:09They will need to be taken out of the country and taken into specialist health care if they have any
34:14chance of surviving.
34:15We know Ebola virus is a virus which jumps from animals into humans and then is passed on human to
34:24human transmission.
34:24It starts off like a viral fever, much like flu symptoms in the beginning.
34:29But that deteriorates very quickly, and there's bleeding internally and externally, and then the major organs fail.
34:38At the moment, we have hundreds of infections.
34:40We will have hundreds of deaths because we are behind the curve on this.
34:44This is a particular strain of the Ebola virus.
34:47In the past, when we've had outbreaks causing thousands of deaths, they have been caused by strains which are known
34:54to the health regime.
34:56They are the Sudan strain, the Zaire strain, but this one is the Bundabugio strain, and that's why the surveillance
35:02networks in Central and Western Africa didn't pick this strain up.
35:06So we don't know how far behind the curve we are on this.
35:09We know there are hundreds of infections reporting as far from Kinshasa and the Democratic Republic of Congo all the
35:16way across the border into Uganda.
35:18So we know that this is being transported across borders.
35:21It's already being transmitted human to human, and we also know that health workers are being infected as well.
35:28So there's a real risk that this virus is now spread, and the World Health Organization is weeks behind.
35:34That's why it's taken us so seriously.
35:37We also know that there are no therapeutics and no vaccines for this particular strain of the virus.
35:43That's why it's imperative that anyone who has symptoms does get immediate medical help.
35:48A shish Joshi, thank you so much.
35:51Coming up is President Trump's Department of Justice eroding the trust of judges.
35:56We'll dig into two cases that prompted stark rebukes from judges in Rhode Island.
36:09Today we have two new instances of federal judges refusing to take what President Trump's DOJ says at face value.
36:17So there were judges in two different Rhode Island cases.
36:20They now say prosecutors either lied or knowingly left out critical information from their court filings.
36:27MSNOW senior legal reporter Lisa Rubin is here.
36:30Give us a little bit of background on this.
36:33So, Chris, these are two very different cases, one involving an immigrant detainee who is petitioning to be released.
36:39The other has to do with the Department of Justice running an investigation into the provision of medical care for
36:45minors who want to change genders.
36:48And in both cases, district court judges in Rhode Island, which I should tell you, only has three lifetime tenure
36:54judges.
36:54So two out of the three in the last two weeks have caught Department of Justice lawyers either lying in
37:02their court or misrepresenting and critically omitting information that they would have wanted to have at their possession.
37:10That is a very, very big deal.
37:13And the fact that we should see one of these cases, let alone two, in the very tiny district of
37:18Rhode Island in such a short period of time is an indication that something different might be going on with
37:24this Department of Justice.
37:24Well, can we just point out that these two very different issues are, nevertheless, two issues that are politically fraught?
37:32Yes.
37:33And where the Trump administration has been extraordinarily clear about where they stand and what they want.
37:38That's absolutely true.
37:39And in the first of them, the Department of Justice lawyer basically admitted to the judge, I withheld information from
37:44you about this detainee, namely that he is wanted on an arrest from the Dominican Republic for murder.
37:51I withheld that from you at the request of ICE in the Department of Homeland Security, and I regret that
37:57I did that.
37:58That lawyer is now under investigation in the District of Rhode Island.
38:01In the other case, it involves, obviously, gender-affirming care for minors.
38:05The Department of Justice starting this broad-based investigation into what they alleged was misbranding of FDA-approved drugs.
38:12The judge noting, in her opinion, misbranding of FDA-approved drugs sounds a lot like off-label uses, which is
38:19expressly allowed under federal law.
38:21And she's basically saying, you're trying to investigate people doing something that's perfectly lawful.
38:25You might not like it, but that's not grounds for a criminal investigation, let alone a subpoena to a hospital
38:30seeking private information about minors and the care that they received.
38:34Lisa Rubin, always great to see you, my friend.
38:37Thanks for having me.
38:37That's going to do it for us this hour.
38:39Make sure to join us for Chris Chansing Reports every weekday, noon to 2 p.m. Eastern, right here on
38:44MS Now.
38:45Our coverage continues with Katie Terrell reports next.
38:48Thanks.
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