Latest Breaking News On - Brian fischer - Page 1 : vimarsana.com

Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20150129

this is what it looks like when a person circled in red is carrying more than $30,000 in cash in a backpack. surprisingly subtle right? this guy at the time the picture was taken, he was carrying $30,500 in stolen money in that bag. we know that, because we have pictures of him taken while he was in the act of stealing that money that day. over the course of five hours on the night of february 19th, 2013 this individual man went from atm to atm to atm in manhattan, and he withdrew thousands of dollars. he stuffed the big stacks of $20 bills and $50 bills into his backpack, and then he would just move on to the atm and do it again. he did this for more than five hours. that one guy stole more than $30,000. mostly in 20s, over the course of that night. but he was not alone. he was not the only person stealing cash from atm machines in manhatx/yyb over the course of those five hours on that cold february night. the ten arrows here on this map point to the specific atm machines where that one guy we just showed you, where that one guy stole his $30,000 that night. but you see, there's a lot of other little dots all over this map. dots on this map that don't have the arrows on them, those are the other atm machines in manhattan, where other people, his co-conspirators in this massive heist were also at the exact same time also withdrawing stolen money from atm machines all over the city. it all happened that one night all up and down manhattan, february 19th, 2013. there were 2,904 atm machines that were all hit across new york city. eight guys, 2,900 atms, over one night. they stole $2.5 million in cash. mostly in 20s. some machines apparently gave them 50s. but it turns out this was not just a coordinated scheme across new york city that night. it was a global thing. it was a big highly organized global plot. so while this one guy who we just showed you, and his friends were stealing from atm machines in new york in their coordinated attacks, in cities all over the world in two dozen countries around the world, these different cells of coordinated thieves were all doing the same thing, all at the same time, going atm to atm in cities in japan, canada, germany, romania, and lots of other countries, on that one day in february. they all acted all at once. they made 36,000 fraudulent atm transactions around the world that night, including the guys in new york city that global atm heist netted more than $40 million. worldwide. all in cash. all in one day's work. that's a lot of cash. the thing about this heist that was so hard to believe at the time was that it was a mix of very modern cyber crime hacking into financial data bases stealing pre-paid atm card numbers, there's this sort of intensive technical part of this, but also linked with old-school stealing. stealing physical paper money. that guys had to stuff into backpacks and run away with. the level of coordination was impressive. whoever did the hacking hacked these financial institutions from which they got the prepaid debit card numbers, and hacked the withdrawal limits to give unlimited withdrawal numbers. then distributed the numbers to the international networks of street level thieves including these doofuses in new york city who couldn't resist posing with their stacks of cash and then they unleashed all these guys like this all at once on atms, all those cities all around the globe. the guys on the street, the guys going to the atms with the backpacks, they used these fake atm cards with the doctored stolen numbers on them and simultaneously hit atms everywhere. they pocketed some of the cash gave some to the hackers that gave them the information, they laundered the money by buying expensive items with the cash and either keeping the items or reselling them. a bunch of gucci boxes in the upper right-hand side of your screen. gucci was popular. so was on the lower right-hand side of your screen staging stacks of their stolen cash on coors light can and putting a baseball cap on top. nobody said these guys were geniuses. all told, that heist that big global a trgs m heist netted just a breath breathtaking amount of money. it seemed like they were going to get away with it. this novel way of combining cyber crime, this advanced hacking, with good old-fashioned guy stuffing skash into his pants crime. that looked inpenetrable for a while. it seemed like they were going to get away with it until they got caught. the guys who pulled off the new york city chapter of this global heist, the guys that hit all the atms around the city in one night, those eight guys got caught. they got caught by the office of the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. and her name was loretta lynch.7u >> the computer hackers steal or generate p.i.n. numbers. in a feat of coordination, all at the same time send those p.i.n. numbers to the assembled cells in different cities all at the same time. the cells are waiting. they are standing by. they are standing by, they are assigned atms. and once they receive these p.i.n.s via e-mail or text they become a criminal flash mob going from machine to machine, drawing as much money as they can before these accounts are shut down. >> it was loretta lynch's office that cracked that global atm heist case. loretta lynch is now president obama's nominee to be the attorney general of the united states. in her previous job, he current job as u.s. attorney for thev?%hz eastern district of new york, she has led very high-profile and very interesting prosecutions. her office prosecuted the most recent member of congress to have to resign from congress because he had just been indicted on federal felony charges. just late last month, mr. congressman i'll break you like a boy michael grimm pled guilty to a federal count of tax fraud and resigned from congress. loretta lynch's office led the prosecution against him. and yes michael grimm is a republican. but because loretta lynch has been the u.s. attorney in new york, when it comes to locking up public officials, who have a bad case of corruption there are a lot more democrats to choose from than there are republicans in new york. and loretta lynch has had a great percentage on that. what grows in great numbers are democratic officials who really ought to be in jail. new york public officials prosecuted by loretta lynch's office is pedro jr., and sampson, according to prosecutors try to infiltrate loretta lynch's office and asking for the names of the cooperating witnesses against him, so he could arrange to quote, take them out. serving state senator that guy. loretta lynch's office is also known for leading high-profile terrorism cases. the guy that pled guilty to providing support to al qaeda. her office prosecuted the guy who plotted the bottom at the federal reserve in new york. they caught him in one of the controversial cases that used an undercover fbi agent who was posing as an al qaeda facilitator. she's also prosecuted cases against law enforcement officials for abusing their power. her office has broken up drug trafficking rings. her office announced the immigration bust in which more than a dozen franchise owners of 7-eleven stores were caught using immigrants essentially as slave labor. she called that a modern-day plantation system. public corruption, on terrorism and all these high-profile and complicated cases, loretta limplg haslynch has been a vuk sesful prosecutor. that's her resume. the only way it's controversial is if you're sort of against law and order prosecutors. but her resume, her -- the length of the list of her successful prosecutions and the types of cases that she's prosecuted, it's not the sort of thing that gets a lot of political criticism. by and large, her resume her trackp! ecord in her current job as a u.s. attorney, as a federal prosecutor, that is not what has been coming up during her confirmation hearing for attorney general today. before the newly controlled public republican judiciary committee. instead, this is sort of the flavor of what senate republicans on her confirmation committee say wanted to talk about when they had questions to ask of loretta lynch. >> you're not eric holder, are you? >> no, i'm not, sir. >> no one is suggesting that you are, but of course attorney general holder's record is heavy on our minds now. and the attorney general refers to himself as the president's wing man. suggesting that he is not -- does not exercise independent legal judgment as the chief law enforcement officer for the country.id you wouldn't consider yourself to be a political arm of the white house as attorney general, would you? >> no, senator that would be a totally inappropriate view of the position of attorney general. >> seriously that was today. that was your judiciary on republican politics fixated on the guy who's no longer going to be attorney general. here's what's on top for tomorrow. here are some of the expert witnesses that senate republicans have called before the committee for the next attorney general. this is her confirmation hearing for attorney general. the republicans have called cheryl atkinson who worked for the site by the heritage foundation. her journalistic beat is how they're stone walling the republicans' benghazi investigation. she's also maybe the nation's foremost expert on the conspiracy theory that the justice department intentionally lost guns across the border ine mexico specifically so those guns would be used in gun violence here, so americans would then be outraged by that gun violence and would finally turn against the second amendment, and thus let eric holder take all their guns. s conspiracy theory about the so-called fast and furious scandal.sñ and so republicans have summoned expert testimony on that conspiracy theory about eric holder. to weigh in on the nomination of our would-be new attorney general of the united states who herself had a rather illustrious and complicated career. they're testifying on fast and furious, not because loretta lynch had anything to do with fast and furious, but i guess because that's what the republicans like to talk about when they get the chance to talk on this committee. the fast and if ur use false flag conspiracy theory will be followed by true the vote. true the vote is known to most people for the national attention they've had for being a group that creeps people out by watching them and following them when they go to vote. when attorney general eric holder announced that he was resigning as attorney general the woman who will be testifying tomorrow from true the vote said she hoped his resignation would end eric holder's racialist assault on voting rights across america. eric holder's racialist assault. in addition to those go experts republicans have also invited a sheriff from milwaukee who says he wants eric holder to apologize to police departments across the country. what does that have to do with loretta lynch? those are a few of the experts who will get to go to congress tomorrow and weigh in on whether or not we should have loretta lynch as the next attorney general of the united states. the job of attorney general is a really really really big important job. it's a job honestly that people seem to agree loretta lynch is highly qualified for. the smart money says she will most likely win confirmation for the job. but senate republicans have decided that her confirmation hearing for attorney general will serve as a platform for people who specialize in conspiracy theories about our current attorney general. day two of loretta lynch's confirmation hearing starts tomorrow morning. we of course, will be watching. but we'll probably be watching like this. joining us is jeffrey rosein president of the national constitution center. mr. rossin, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> you have watched and reported on lots of attorney general confirmation hearings. it's a really big important job, often very dramatic. it's a very important post. how would you assess loretta lynch's performance today in these hearings? >> it was striking that senator leahy said that out of all the attorney general confirmation hearings he's seen loretta lynch is the most impressive. and it was also remarkable that despite all the theater that you accurately described in your great introduction, republicans as well as democrats seem essentially to concede that probably she will be confirmed, but that she should be. it was striking that they realized that she's a real prosecutor. i thought it was so helpful that you began with that complicated atm $40 million heist case, because that's her passion. cyber crime, going after the bad guys. the fact that she even engaged in immigration enforcement, which is the lightning rod of this hearing, since the republicans repeatedly pressed her about whether or not she thought that president obama's immigration orders were constitutional. and she in a very good lawyerly fashion said, the office of legal counsel has approved most of these orders. it's questioned some of them and i think there's strong precedent to support most of them. she just showed herself to be a consummate professional. she wasn't all the rattled by the questions that as you suggested were more about eric holder, and attempt to resurrect republican frustration with his administration than her record. and you had republicans like senator graham saying, if not her, who suggesting that he really would vote for her pretty enthusiastically. whether it was a great day for public discourse is another question. >> it's fair to say about the discussion about loretta lynch's qualifications for this job is edengsly a totally different discussion, happening in parallel at the same hearing alongside, basically unrelated set of questions and discussions, and we'll hear witness testimony tomorrow about eric holder. they're not actually asking her about eric holder's tenure just using him to talk about him in an unrelated way? >> that's7q absolutely the case. if you found that frustrating today, tomorrow will be either more frustrating or more theatrically amusing. because the witnesses as you suggested are an absolute gallery of holder critics who are determined to resurrect controversies that as you suggested, have long been laid to rest. the inspector general's independent report found no basis for sheryl atkinson's claims about fast and furious but she'lloiy resurrect them. we'll hear about voter fraud, ferguson. it has to do about eric holder and nothing to do with loretta lynch. the republican frustration with their inability to investigate, i suppose, holder, is so great that now they've finally got the majority they're determined to use this moment in the spotlight as a referendum on holder and not lynch. that's, of course good for lynch, because it ensures she'll be confirmed. but it really ensures that the important issues that, as you suggested an attorney general deals with won't be ventilated. i was more interested in the differences between lynch and holder on issues relating from nsa surveillance to the death penalty, marijuana. on those issues she suggested she would be to the right of holder. she enthusiastically embraced the death penalty. and she said she thought it was an effective deterrent. she said that she would not support the decriminalization of pot. holder had moved in the other direction. on nsa surveillance she called it effective and constitutional. holder had defended it but she seemed to go a little further. on all these matters, again great for republicans, and doesn't call her professionalism into question, but it does suggest she may be a different attorney general than holder. and finally there's this very important question that at the end of most presidential administrations, especially in the second term, there's often a scandal, especially with a republican senate, we can ensure there will be scandal amongmongering. holder did have a relationship with obama lynch does not. if the scandals themselves get fast and furious, it will be interesting to see how exactly lynch responds. >> it will be fascinating just over the next days and weeks to figure out how we're going to learn those things about loretta lynch since i think the confirmation hearings are being used for a totally separate purpose. she's a fascinating character. she's had an amazing career. this will be a really interesting political process to watch. it's great to have you here. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. all right. lots ahead. including a little breaking news tonight about a very visible member of the far right in this country, who appears to have just been fired, and for a surprising reason. we've got that storyñxgu coming up exclusively. stay with us. the pm pain reliever. that dares to work all the way until... [birds chirping] the am. new aleve pm. it's the first to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last all the way until morning. new aleve pm, for a better am. in late september apple released a new fancy iphone, and they sold 74 million of them. 74 million. that means that apple sold nine iphones every second of every day, for the last three months. yesterday apple posted the biggest quarterly earnings ever. this fall, from october through december apple made more money in one quarter than any company has ever made in the history of the earth. until now, the top record holders were all oil companies. but withié an $18 billion profit over one quarter, this past quarter, apple just blew by royal dutch sell and exxon on the way to the top. beat exxon mobil's best quarterly profit by $4 billion. still, though, it felt like oil and gas companies are poor. they're just acting like it. in the united states there have been five major pipeline spills or pipeline explosions just this month. what we just learned today about the biggest one of these spills is frickin' unbelievable. and that story is coming right up. stay with us. next. ♪♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ i was not expecting to get a ford. we went around the country talking to people who made the switch to ford. it felt nicer than my bmw. good gas mileage... ecoboost makes a four cylinder engine feel like a six cylinder. my dad went and turned in his lexus and got the exact same car as me. he had to have it... i'm very happy with my escape. i don't know if i'll ever not buy a ford. make the switch to america's favorite brand. check out special offers on ford escape at ford.com or see your local ford dealer. ♪ do you have excellent written and verbal communication skills? do you have individual initiative and ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people? are you adaptable to the northern plains climate? if you answered yes to all of those questions, then north dakota needs you. north dakota really really needs you. this is a job listing for inspector for the smaller variety of pipelines that crisscross the state transferring oil and gas and saltwater and all other kinds of stuff related to drilling. there are 20,000 miles of what they call gathering pipelines, these smaller pipelines all across north dakota. 20,000 jx miles. they estimate there will be 50,000 miles before long. the totalh@q) of people currently employed bthe state to inspect those pipelines is europe. the state posted for an inspector for the larger natural pipelines. that department is doing a little better. they've got two inspector jobs and one of them's filled. so, yeah, maybe it's not that surprising to learn that one of the five pipelines that has burst so far this month in this country, the one that spilled 3 million gallons of toxic drilling brine near the town of williston, north dakota, this month, that pipeline was never inspected. it has never had an inspection, ever. north dakota's in the midst of a drilling boom. obviously oil and gas companies flooding that state in recent years. and crisscrossed with a number of pipelines big and small. i would show you a map what that looks like particularly the small pipelines but the small pipelines, not the big x long-distance ones that transport oil and gas to be sold, but for drilling infrastructure, state officials in north dakota don't actually know where all of those ones are. because until last year, if you were installing a smallish pipeline, you didn't actually have to tell anyone. knock yourself out. last year, that rule changed, thanks to the north dakota industrial commission. here they are, the three guys who oversee the gas and oil in the state. the commission approved new rules last year that said if you install a pipeline, you do at least have to tell the state where it is. and while you're at it you have to tell the state that the pipeline is up to code, and installed properly. in order to tell the state that, what you have to do is submit this affidavit. you just promise, you just check that box right there next to where it says the pipeline is in compliance with state rules. that's how they ensure of course's safe. you just sign this form. and you send it off to the industrial commission. i hereby swear my pipeline is installed properly love, rachel. that's it. that's the rule. the commission did also improve three inspectors to check on those pipelines. but again, what is it? do you have slept written and verbal communications? ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people? are you acclimatable to the northern plains climate? those three positions for inspectors have remained unfilled since last summer. the new regulations went into effect in april. the four-inch brine pipeline in williston was installed in june. funding for the inspector was approved in july. this month with no inspectors actually hired and on the job, that pipeline which has never been inspected not even once that is the pipeline that ruptured and spilled 3 million gallons of toxic saltwater brine in the worst spill of its kind in the state's history. in those april regulations the company that operates that pipeline, they were required to submit information to the state about what safety mechanisms were in place, but under the rules, approved by the state that information is not available to the general public. so we can't even check to see what they said they had in place, even though all they had to do was say it and nobody had to verify what they said was true. this is the sort of policy that exists right now around pipelines. that pipeline in north dakota, that pipeline, as i said was one of five to rupture or explode this month alone across the country. the latest one was this one, monday, in west virginia. and in the midst of that, in the midst of all these pipelines going kablooy across the country, that the pipelines we've got even the new ones, are not particularly well managed. the united states senate took action staying at work late tonight in the hopes of building more pipelines. republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell held a voteathon tonight for proposed amendments to the keystone bill, so the senate can vote on approving the keystone pipeline itself tomorrow. the argument for the pipeline, of course, is that it will create jobs, and yes maybe it will create a handful of jobs over time. but in north dakota right now, there are a handful of open jobs that really really, really need to be filled whether or not they force the construction of keystone. nce reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering? there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. why pause the moment? ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. for a free 30-tablet trial go to cialis.com you drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. less relia don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... or 4 lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. hurry! offers end january 31st. only on verizon. i speak to the spirit of death in that child in the name of jesus, and i command you to lead that child. because the child says and i say live in jesus' name. live! i see a child coughing waking up, we saw that in pakistan. we saw a little boy raised from the dead just like that. god is on the move. >> that is cindy jacobs, an evangelical activist who said she is a prophet. and that she can raise people from the dead. on friday night's show we reported on cindy jacobs' roll in bobby jindal's campaign kickoff rally this weekend in baton rouge. but a funny thing has since happened to the relationship between the lady who said she can raise people from the dead, and bobby jindal who said he wants to be president. the story is fast moving. some of it just happening tonight. the news we have to break tonight is that beyond what just happened to cindy jacobs, after we reported the news about her involvement with bobby jindal's big prayer rally it is also now tonight that one of the most well-known people on the far religious right in american politics has apparently also just lost his job tonight for a very surprising and surprisingly mainstream reason. we've got that reporting first here next. ♪ bring your vision for the future to life. for more than 145 years, pacific life has been helping families achieve life-long financial security with innovative tools and strategies. talk to a financial advisor to protect your family and plan today. pacific life. the power to help you succeed. pacific life proudly presents "humpback whales", a whale-sized movie for giant screen theaters. i've been called a control freak... i like to think of myself as more of a control... enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come. before larry instantly transferred money from his bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. behold reince priebus. chairman of theecq÷ñ national republican party, just reelected again last week. the huge vote in his reelection as party chairman put him on track for the longest serving on the republican party. reince priebus has gotten himself and the rnc into a big mess. now, the basis of the story was first reported about a month ago in "time" magazine by zeke miller. today it became a big problem for the republican party and reince priebus. i don't know how they're going to get themselves out of it. the basic story here, is a republican party organized trip to israel. reince priebus sent out a letter to members of the rnc in late november inviting them to go with the rnc on an expensive paid trip to israel. now, going on a trip to israel itself not a problem. going on this particular trip to israel, i think this really is going to be a problem. one of the things from the 2012 presidential campaign that we reported on this show with keen interest was a prayer rally that texas governor rick perry used as essentially the launch event for his presidential campaign for 2012. now, the fact that he wanted to start his campaign with a prayer rally, not itself a newsworthy thing. what was newsworthy abo mac it is who he organized that prayer rally with. this is the organization that rick perry did that prayer rally with. >> counterfeit religions alternative religions of christianity have no right to the free exercise of religion. >> brian fischer with the american family association. the american family association is not your typical conservative religious right organization, even for our conserveative religious right in this country. it's pretty out there. >> this is like the ebola virus. it's deadly. it's lethal. and all you can do with a virus like that, there's no cure for it. i saw a video this morning kind of exploring the performance of beyonce at last year's halftime of the super bowl. and it's very clear that she was using a number of satanic symbols. >> beyonce? satan? bryan fischer from the american family association, the group that organized rick perry's prayer rally that kicked off his presidential campaign in 2012. that's the same group that paid for and organized the prayer rally that bobby jindal just used to apparently kick off his 2016 presidential race this weekend, this past weekend at lsu."hd÷ so we reported on friday, on the views of the american family association, the fact that they were underwriting this rally, and organizing this rally for bobby jindal and we reported on some of the other people participating in this event with bobby jindal and the american family association including cindy jacobs who claims she is a living prophet who gets advance notice from god about terrorist attacks. she said she can stop those terrorist attacks if she wants to. she also claims she can raise children from the dead and says she has done so. we reported friday about her role in convening the bobby jindal prayer event in louisiana this past weekend. sometimes since then, her video inviting people to come to the bobby jindal prayer event that has been taken down off the event event's website. people for the american way noticed that cindy jacobs had been disappeared off the group's website. turns out you can still sign with the cindy jacobs video if you go through all cached versions of the website. they apparently made that video private so you're never going to come across it unless you know to look for it. turns out i guess it's one thing to tell people you can raise people from the dead and to try to convince people of your status as a living prophet on earth. it's another thing for you then to be with a campaign for the presidency of the united states. and so cindy jacobs, as of today, has been disappeared from the bobby jindal presidential campaign online footprint. they didn't do a very good job of disappearing her but it appears today they did try. now the rnc republican national committee, getting in bed with the same fringe folks, the american family association. that has caused another similar problem on the religious right. because of what reince priebus and the rnc are doing with the american family association is they're having the american family association pay for and organize the national republican party to send its members, members of the rnc to go on a trip to israel. israel. even though bryan fischer from the american family situation says jews have no right to practice judaism in the united states. >> alternative religions to christianity have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders, but that homosexual soldiers basically had no limits of the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict on whoever hitler sent them after. so he surrounded himself with the troopers the brown shirts were male homosexuals. >> he can go on about this at length. bryan fischer at the american family association, long had this elaborate theory about how nazism and holocaust wasn't so much a german thing or nazi thing, it was really a gay thing. it's one thing to try to sell that on talk radio in mississippi, trying to get people to send you money for the american family association it's another thing to take that line of reasoning, say, to israel. well, today the israeli press reported on reince priebus and the rnc taking a trip to israel that has been paid for by this group, that thinks that jews don't have a right to practice their religion and it wasn't really the nazis that did the holocaust, that was a gay thing. today that news got its first press in israel. america? that apparently finally is a bridge too far for his long career. the president of the american™vt family association telling us tonight that as of day bryan fischer should never be described as the director for that group or a spokesman for the group. the american family association tells us that bryan fischer is and i quote, just a talk show host. when we asked the president what suddenly bothers them now about bryan fischer that didn't bother them all these previous years he's been saying all these things, the president of the group specifically singled out bryan fischer's comments on hitler and homosexuality, which we highlighted on this show on friday night. the american family association now says that even though bryan fischer made those remarks years ago, and has made them consistently over a period of years, they now say quote, we reject that. the american family association rejects that. officially as of today. bryan fischer is fired as of today. as of tonight this is what you get when you go to the american family association web page that used to feature bryan fischer. the republican party including a chairman, the chairman of the republican party and third of the rnc members are due to go to israel with that group that just fired bryan fischer today on a flight that leaves on saturday. here's the ongoing problem for reince priebus and the national republican party. aside from the judgment it shows to put the republican national convention into bed with this group in the first place cohen called the american family association for their report. and they called the rnc today to ask about the trip that these two groups are planning to israel together. the american family association was smart enough to not put bryan fischer their spokesperson until today, on the phone with her. after all after today, he's no longer a spokesman. they did however, put her in touch with david lane, who is the american family association guy who led the bobby jindal prayer rally this weekend and who is directly organizing this event in israel, starting on saturday. and he told deborah today about the basicfoág that he is leading for the national republican party. quote, america was founded by christians, for the glory of god and the christian faith. quote, we were established as a christian nation in the name of god and for the advancement of the christian faith. if the united states is a country for christians only and the purpose of the united states is specifically to advance the faith of christians and incidentally not jews how does that fly in israel? let alone among american jews. and muslims. and anybody else who's not christian. anybody. what is the republican party advertising about itself to be taking this kind of a trip with this kind of a group? do they really think the firing of bryan fischer will end this story. joining us is a reporter. thank you very much for being here. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. i have to ask you about your reporting process for this story. the american family association made davis lane available to you to explain his premise for the trip. did they ever put you in touch with bryan fischer or any other member of the organization? >> no i tried for a week to get through to them and the rnc. and got strung along for a week. finally at that point david lane was made avai+"] to me. he runs a different group. it's called the american renewal project. it's funneled through the american family association. >> that's important to clarify. i think it's fair and the american family association would consider them to be essentially a÷na subsidiary organization, given especially that they're housed within. david lane was also the organizer of those american family association prayer rallies we reported on previously. did the rnc give you a comment on this? >> no, they didn't. >> do you know if there's any connection between bryan fischer being fired and your inquiries around this story? >> i don't. it would be awfully nice to think so. but i have no idea. >> you gasped when i said so. >> i was surprised. because as you pointed out he's been around for a long time saying essentially the same thing for many years. so it does seem surprising that at this juncture at this moment, he would be fired. >> can i ask you about the quote that david lane gave you? again, he's the organizer of this event with the rnc. his group is paying for a third of the members of the rnc and the chairman to go to israel. he told you, america was founded for the glory of god and the christian faith. do you have the sense that there's any cognizance that that might be a little oogy for a group traveling to israel? was he cognizant of that context? was he telling you this is going to be a controversial thing but i'm willing to -- >> no look, we all live in our own bubbles in many ways. and this is true for that community. the community that he's part of. that's true for the community he's part of. so he seems completely unaware of how that would play in the american-jewish community. >> have you had any response in the american-jewish community, from israeli groups, in the israeli press any sponsor do you think it's just sinking in today? >> the jewish democratic group here in the states just at the end of the day today put out a statement calling on the rnc to no longer go with this group on an israel trip funded by them. but other than that i think it's beginning to roll out and we'll see in the coming days. >> deborah, thanks for this reporting, which advanced the story in a very dramatic way today. i freshuate it. >> my pleasure. >> we'll be right back. stay with us. [coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine. i bring the gift of the name your price tool to help you find a price that fits your budget. uh-oh. the name your price tool. she's not to be trusted. kill her. flo: it will save you money! the name your price tool isn't witchcraft! and i didn't turn your daughter into a rooster. she just looks like that. burn the witch! the name your price tool a dangerously progressive idea. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue... and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. programming note from my office. those are all the clothes that i keep in my office to wear on tv. susan calls that all the colors of the german rainbow. tonight, i'm going to be on the david letterman show on cbs, which is very exciting. and to interrupt my usual -- i don't know, array of gray, i'm going to be wearing these shoes. ta-dah. you heard it here first. expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ for over 60,000 california foster children nights can feel long and lonely. i miss my sister. i miss my old school. i miss my room. i don't want special treatment. i just wanna feel normal. to help, sleep train is collecting pajamas for foster children, big and small. bring your gift to any sleep train and help make a foster child's night a little cozier. not everyone can be a foster parent but anyone can help a foster child. i've mentioned a few times on the show before that i come from a family that's rich in nuns. that's occasionally caused me some trouble over the years, given some of the un-nunly subject matter we sometimes cover. but not tonight. tonight, we have excellence and nationally important nun news. that's straight ahead. open wide and pair 2 of 6 big shrimp creations for just $15.99. make room for crispy jumbo tempura shrimp or shrimp scampi linguini. yeah, we're gonna need a bigger fork. hurry, the big shrimp festival ends soon. [ video game beeping ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] it takes two hands to eat a manwich. leaving zero hands to save the universe. hold on. it's manwich. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know words really can hurt you? what...? jesse don't go! jesse...no! i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. jesse? recently, a 1954 mercedes-benz grand prix race car made history when it sold for a record price of just under $30 million. and now, another mercedes-benz makes history selling at just over $30,000. and to think this one actually has a surround-sound stereo. the 2015 cla. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. (woman) caring for someone with alzheimer's means i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice. so i asked about adding once-daily namenda xr® to his current treatment for moderate to severe alzheimer's. it works differently. when added to another alzheimer's treatment, like aricept® it may improve overall function... and cognition. and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. (man) namenda xr doesn't change how the disease progresses. it shouldn't be taken by anyone allergic to memantine, or who's had a bad reaction to namenda xr or its ingredients. before starting treatment, tell their doctor if they have, or ever had a seizure disorder difficulty passing urine, liver, kidney, or bladder problems, and about medications they're taking. certain medications, changes in diet, or medical conditions may affect the amount of namenda xr in the body... and may increase side effects. the most common side effects... are headache, diarrhea and dizziness. (woman) all my life, he's protected me. now i am giving back. ask their doctor about adding... once-daily namenda xr. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ ♪ best new thing in the world. this is the website for a monastery in arizona called our lady of gautlupe. their religious mission is contemplation, prayer and providing for the needy. that's one great thing, nuns running a beautiful retreat from the world, doing good works. right under their nice mission statement on their website is something that, combined with the nuns is better than either one of these things could be alone. football. specifically, this weekend's super bowl. turns out the monastery is about five miles from the stadium in glendale where the super bowl will be played this year. the nuns, it turns out, are psyched about that. the monastery's leader is sister linda campbell a football fan of the highest order. when the local paper asked her about the patriots and the deflated football scandal she had a ready opinion saying -- it doesn't make any sense tom brady wouldn't have known it when he felt it. they have now decided if you're going to glendale to watch the super bowl you can rent their monastery for your stay, for $300 a night, you get a bed, a bathroom you have to share free sci-fi, no alcohol no smoking no swearing. the last time phoenix hosted the football, she said they made about $12,000 by renting out the monastery by fans. they put that money back into the community. we asked sister linda today if she has any rooms available since the game is this weekend. she said yes, you can still get a room. so come on, football and nuns! chaos and contemplation. best new thing in the world today. if you need her number, please let us know. she'll look you up as long as you don't swear. now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." >> so last night talking to a guy in the men's room about balls. tonight a nun talking about balls. i don't want the super bowl to ever come because i don't think i can live without this subject. >> i

Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20150130

ad in the middle of the super bowl on sunday. so when you sit down with your family, wife, daughters to watch this, you may be exposed to pornography. straight up pornography on network television. >> i don't think that this year's lady eating a hamburger ad will lead to a wide spread boycott of the chain running that ad. i don't think it will, but that boycott effort was announced on an american family association. they have been in the news because they're taking the chairman of the national republican party and apparently dozens of other mens of the republican national committee on an all expenses paid trip to israel. they're due to leave on saturday and they will be gone for nine days. members of the rnc are not a free school lunch kind of bunch. they're well off. if they want to go to israel, nothing is stopping them from paying for themselves. who cares. what people care about, and what i think has become an interesting story this week, the rnc decided not to go on their own dime, but to go as guests of the american family association which hosts these radio shows. >> hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage, brutal, and vicious enough to carry out his orders. but homosexual soldiers had no limits for the brutality they were willing to inflict on whoever hitler sent him after. so he surrounded himself with male homosexuals.%k=s that was brian fisher and he was fired from his job yesterday as the director of issue analysis. the president told us yesterday that bryan fischer had been fired in that capacity, but he would continue with his radio show. he is, still, their talk show host. the american family association confirmed to us that even though they fired him from his other jobs, they're still paying him 1u to maybe his bryan fischer magic on the radio. >> they have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. >> the national republican party from the united states was sending it's national committee members and chairman on a trip funded by and led by this group which among other things promoted the idea on their radio shows that they have no first amendment right to practice judaism. why would they partner with an organization like that. how is the national republican party going to explain why the national republican party is partnering with this group, taking a trip with this group, that if, direction, you're a jewish immigrant, your condition is that you must convert to christianity. >> number one, those who came to our shores would be expected to adopt our religious values and traditions. the god of their homeland they would leave behind. >> immigrants of the world, you can immigrant to the united states, you just have to stop being a jew. you have to be a christian if you want to be allowed into this country. that is who the republican party is taking this trip with, leaving on saturday. i don't know if the republican party just didn't think people would notice that this is who they're doing this trip with, but people have noticed. and the resulting publicity and uproar over the republican party doing this is putting a little heat on this partnership. the american family partnership said this, it gave the southern poverty law center a bullet pointed list of the positions taken by brian fischer that his employer no longer wants to be associated with. it is a list of things he has said. most of them were years ago and they were fine with until now. now that they're doing this, they're renouncing this specific list of things that brian fischer has said, and he has been fired with one of his jobs. they don't want him described as a spokesperson any more but they're keeping him on the payroll and on the radio. after days of refusing to comment on this controversy, after days of refusing to give any comment about why the national republican party would partner with a group like this, finally the rnc has given us a comment on the matter. this was their full statement. we don't agree with brian fischer comments and we're glad to have severed ties with him. here is the problem, they have not severed ties with him. they fired him from one of his jobs and kept him in his ore one nap is one yet unresolved problem for chairman ranked previous in the national republican party. they're not associated with that bryan fischer, they still are in bed with him. that is still a problem, that's one problem. the other problem, which the republican party has not addressed at all, is specifically who is taking rights previous and all of the other committee members on this trip. who is personally leading this trip and organizing it and going with them. taking all of the top .o/y1(lc% republicans away on a jet plane the day after tomorrow. his name is david lane. he works for part of the american family association called the american renewal project. if you follow this kind of stuff, you might recognize some of the events that he has been associated with. he was in the prayer rally that happened this past weekend in louisiana and that attracted protestors from all over the state. he also organized the rick perry prayer kick off event in the 2012 campaign. here is why it is hard to believe that the republican party can go ahead with this trip on saturday. here is why. during the 2012 presidential campaign when it became clear that mitt romney would be the nominee from the republican party, luckily this did not go on for too long and it was not too widespread. there was one burst of really ugly bigotry that was slung at mitt romney, and that was about his religion. at an event in october 2011, that was hosted in part by the american family association, rick perry, fresh off of his stadium prayer rally, he was introduced at this event by this texas pastor, and that ended up being a real dark moment. a real low moment not just in this presidential campaign, but i would say in the history of presidential campaigning. this introduction at this event, the this association, was something that got national attention and that rattled the campaign at the time and rattled the republican party. in that introduction, the pastor introducing rick perry called rick perry a genuine follower of christ. emphasis on genuine, and that raised questions about what he was implying about other candidates beliefs. he made is crystal clear, yes, what it sounded like he was implying is really what he was implying. what he meant to say and what he meant by that introduction. that rick perry is a real christian and mitt romney is something else. he called mitt romney a member of a cult. he said that mitt romney is, quote, not a christian. the reason this was such an ugly moment is not because of the theological nature. your religious beliefs are your religious beliefs. they were making an overt argument that mitt romney should not be elected to office specifically because of his religion. >> the value of electing a christian goes beyond the public policies that he or she may enact. we make a grave mistake in under estimating the value of having a christian in office. followers of mormonism, hinduism, islam, they're not worshipping the same god in a different way, we believe their following false gods. >> this is not a christian faith. it is a false religion. what this would mean for the spiritual health of the united states of america, the worshipper of a false god occupied the white house. >> it was an ugly strange of religious bigotry by certain parts of the religious right including the american family association. at the height of that ugliness, ó?py the daily beast obtained e-mails written by david lane, that led the rick perry prayer rally. the same guy about to lead the top leadership of the national republican party on this trip this weekend. in these e-mails, david lane said that pro rick perry pastor, the one that called mormonism a cult, he said about that pastor, quote, we owe dr. jeffress a big thank you. he said quote, let me go on the record i won't vote for mitt romney as republican nominee in 2012. >> why is the national republican party sending it's chairman and national leadership on a trip led by that guy who said he wanted to be on the record about the fact that he wouldn't vote for mitt romney on religious grounds, because of mitt romney's religion. it's not like the bigot line was a mainstream thing. it was around, but it was a short, shrill ugly little thing that rick perry did real harm to himself by flirting with and getting close to in the campaign. it was not a widespread thing. the republican party is now embracing these guys. not just people related to people who are related to these guys. the one that says i will not vote for mitt romney is the exact same guy who is taking the republican party on this trip the day after tomorrow. tonight is the sum total of the republican party's comments on this matter to date. they sent us this generous comment tonight, we wrote back to say the factual basis of their statement is wrong. they have not severed ties with this bryan fischer guy. who says jews don't have the right to practice their religion in america. and that we have to grapple with someone that worships a false god like mitt romney. we wrote back to the republican party tonight to ask if they understood that bryan fischer still works with the group that is going on this trip. they have not replied. we also asked the republican party today if it was true that they pressured the american family association to do this renunciation of some of the statements of bryan fischer. if they pressured him to fire him from his spokesman job from the group. we also, i should tell you asked them, sort of in italics if they really are still plans on going ahead with this trip. taking ranks previous and dozens of members of the republican national committee on a trip with the brian fischer group. they have not answered us about that. i have to say it is hard to believe they will go ahead with this trip. it is hard to know what it will do to the republican party for them to get on board in this explicit way for a trip to israel no less? this is the quote from david lane. we are a christian nation. what will it mean to the republican party going forward with a group that advocates that america is by christians and for christians only. christians exclusively. joining us now is robert pezner. thank you for joining us tonight. >> first i just want to ask your top line thoughts about the rnc taking this trip with the american family association. >> it is a real concern. it's a great thing the rnc is going to israel, but the afa, the american family association is considered a hate group and the views it espouses are anti-gay, anti-muslim, and anti-jewish. >> i don't know much about the republican party's internal politics and the relationships they have with other groups. through the rack, through your work with reformed judaism, and your connections to jewish american politics, can you describe if they have a good relationship with the jewish community? >> yes, there are right-thinking republicans in the jewish community, and right-thinking democrats. our love for the state of israel and the strong american-israel relationship is not a partisan issue. we celebrate religious freedom and the jewish community is active in both political parties. i think both of us are scratching our heads and it is not a jewish issue, it's an american issue. no american party should associate with a hate group, it's just not american. >> do you think there would be a negative response in israel if it became widely known who the republican party was taking this trip with? going to israel is a good thing at the surface, but the fact that they're taking the trip with this group, do you think it would be negatively received? >> yes, i think anyone that values religious freedom and tolerance, and they place religious freedom and democracy as a core value just like do in america. i think they would be upset with either political party if they associated themselves with any group that was anti-muslim, anti-gay, and anti-jewish. a couple years ago, former president george w. bush gave a speech to a group that appeared to be a pro-israel group on the surface, and their mission was actually to convert jews to christianity. i continue to believe that george w. bush didn't know who he was talking to when he gave that speech. sort of hoping that the republican national committee didn't know who they were getting in bed with either. still time to bail out of this too. i'm jerry bell the second. and i'm jerry bell the third. i'm like a big bear and he's my little cub. this little guy is non-stop. he's always hanging out with his friends. you've got to be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat and be ready to get up. there's no "deep couch sitting." definitely not good for my back. this is the part i really don't like right here. (doorbell) what's that? a package! it's a swiffer wetjet. it almost feels like it's moving itself. this is kind of fun. that comes from my floor? eww! this is deep couch sitting. [jerry bell iii] deep couch sitting! i was not expecting to get a ford. we went around the country talking to people who made the switch to ford. it felt nicer than my bmw. good gas mileage... ecoboost makes a four cylinder engine feel like a six cylinder. my dad went and turned in his lexus and got the exact same car as me. he had to have it... i'm very happy with my escape. i don't know if i'll ever not buy a ford. make the switch to america's favorite brand. check out special offers on ford escape at ford.com or see your local ford dealer. ♪ before earning enough cash back from bank of america to help pay for her kids' ice time. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time. and 2% back at the grocery store. even before she got 3% back on gas all with no hoops to jump through. katie used her bankamericard cash rewards credit card to stay warm and toasty during the heat of competition. that's the comfort of rewarding connections. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. we have a guest coming up on "the interview tonight" and i want to say something behind their back before they get in the chair and puts on the earpiece. the biggest question in capital d politics this year is what if hillary clinton doesn't run. everyone thinks she would be a favorite for the nomination if she ran for president, right? so what if she doesn't run. for whatever reason, what would happen on the democratic side? our next guest is here to talk with me about something totally unrelated to the 2016 race, our next guest has never talked about being interested in president. if hillary clinton didn't run, our next guest would give the democratic party the best chance of all other possible candidates in winning the white house in 2016. i think they would be the strongest candidate to run for president other than hillary. don't tell the person i said that, we'll have an interview about something else. and new blind spot monitor and a 2014 top safety pick plus rating. cost of entry? a fortune. until now. hey sarah, new jetta? yup. can i check it out? maybe at halftime? introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta. isn't it time for german engineering? when the game's on the line. hit him with a hard count, see if they'll tip their hand. the nfl trusts duracell quantum to their game day communication. they're blitzing up the gut! get out of the pocket! hut! duracell quantum. lasts up to 35% longer than the competition. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel tight like a vise. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like rocks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include, gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. bottom line, ask your doctor about linzess today. (announcer) don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... ...or four lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. hurry! offers end february 4th. only on verizon. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. once upon a time we the people of the united states spent money to buy afghanistan a fleet of planes. planes they could not fly or maintain. so we bought them those planes and they were dumped in a field full of weeds and they then were turned to scrap.fem4ñ it sold for six cents a pound. it is a loss of 99.93% on the investment if you're counting at home. and also this one, the amazing melting afghan police training center. we spent a half million dollars, but apparently it was not brake light to withstand rain. so when it rained the training center melted. these are just two exampled of really bad management. we would have neither known about either of those examples if it wasn't if this guy. the special investigator for afghanistan reconstructer. he asks questions like hey, what happened to those planes? how is that training center we built? there is something different about his latest report that officially comes out tomorrow. after 25 consecutive quarterly reports where he has laid out in detail the data about the u.s. mission in afghanistan, right? training the security forces, how well the horses are performing, after 25 of those reports in this report, this 26th report, all of that data is suddenly classified. inspector general calls this "unprecedented." he says for the first time in six years he is unable to report on most of the u.s. taxpayer efforts to train and equip afghan forces. that is pretty much the u.s. mission in afghanistan. because he is a little saucy, his latest report where everything is classified all of a sudden, it also contained something new. he included an appendix that includes every question that asked about afghanistan. every question for which the answer was classified. could you give us the definitions of the terms unavailable or present for duty? no, sorry that is classified. at one point they reportedly tried to classify the number of troops in afghanistan. it has been publicly announced by president obama. in a memo, the commander of coalition forces said why i cannot comment upon the resist reason why some information was considered unclassified in the past, we must avoid providing sensitive information that could endanger our forces. all of this new unprecedented classification relates to the training and equipping of afghan forces. but building up the afghan security forces, that really is the american mission in that country now. they say the war is ending while we still have all of those troops there, that's what we were doing. we were able to draw down our troop level somewhat. and the 9500 give or take american soldiers still in afghanistan along with thousands of american contractors are there to support the training of afghan forces, and now everything is classified. and just today in a horrible reminder of how dangerous the mission remains, today, three american contractors and one afghan national were killed at the kabul airplane. they were instructors shot dead by an afghan soldier. classifying this information ]ñd will make it difficult to report on what is happening in afghan. we'll know much less about what our government is doing, how much they're spending. but it will not make afghanistan even the troops working there, rgaó2 it won't make them go away or make their job easier, it will just make us know less. joining us now for the interview tonight is senator claire mccaskill tonight. and she endures me talking about her in an embarrassing way without me talking about it. thank you for being here. >> thank you, rachel. why all of this previously public information is all of a sudden classified now? >> it is important to remember why we have a special inspector general. we put this in the statute because the public needs to hold the government accountable about the way they spend money during the war. we saw in iraq tens on tens of billions of dollars wasted. and what we tried to do by putting him in there, she a great inspector general, the one before he was incompetent and he was fired. if the public can't know it, we cannot hold our government accountable about what they're doing in wartime and how effective it is. this is really a big deal. i'm hot about it and i'm going to get to the bottom of it. >> there has been this change, and what is worrying to me is the change where we're not allowed to know anything about afghan security forces is happening at the same time. and the whole mission is the afghan security forces. i'll worried this is an effort to disappear american information about our ongoing dangerous war-like efforts there so it seems like we're in a war but we're not and 10,000 troops are still there. >> look what happened in iraq. the ability of the army is to build up, sustain, and train and they crumbled under bad political leadership and isis ran over a great deal of that country with severe consequences. we need to keep track on if the ongoing mission is working. what is the force? what are the capabilities? now there may be some details that should be classified about location and various components, but the notion that general heitkamp -- campbell says it's classified. >> it is due to come up, everyone thinks he will sail through his confirmation proceedings, but might it become an issue? >> i will ask the question, why is this classified? i will expect him to have answers, and ash carter is someone that had a lot of experience in acquisitions. he understands the financial side of the military and the problems societied with that. i worked with him on issues like that in the past. i will expect him to have some answers. >> one of the things that the president called for in the state of the union address is that the republicans did not seem too opposed to, is the idea that there should be a debate, hopefully a vote around what is going on right no in iraq and syria. the current authorization for that force dates back to 9/11. into seemingly unrelated events in those very early, more than a decade old pieces of legislation. when that happens do you think that will be an occasion to talk about some of these bigger picture issues. 10,000 americans in afghanistan for another decade. it is seemingly rapidly expanding in iraq. do you think there will be a broad debate about how we're using force if and when that happens? >> i think so. i think force and intelligence. and you know the notion that we have an ongoing war that may be never ending because of the nature of terrorism and the global presence of it. but the bottom line is that we need to get at this use of force agreement. it is hard, it will be very difficult in this environment with a congress that seems more attracted to the idea of politically punching the president than getting things done, but we ought to do this. i think, i hope -- i think senator corker is serious about it and has good faith behind his effort. i'm hoping that we will be able to work on it and hammer out language that is not so open ended. >> last question for you, senator, i know you're completely committed to hillary clinton and her run for the presidency in 2016. if for some reason she does not run, would you consider running? >> i doubt it. i'm proud to be a democratic. i'm not ashamed to be a moderate. i think it is important for all of the democrats to remember it's hard for us to be in majority and hold the presidency.djnñ and we don't understand that independent voters in the middle are not interested in parties, they want us to compromise and get along. >> elegant dodge, you're way more conservative than i am -- >> yeah, the endorsers will be screaming at you. >> i know. i do get screamed at a lot, that's true. >> in stereo, thank you for being here, i appreciate it. just ahead, more of this, stay with us. [ female announcer ] knows her way around a miniskirt. can run in high heels. must be a supermodel, right? you don't know "aarp." because aarp is making finding the career you love no matter what your age, a real possibility. go to aarp.org/possibilities to check out life reimagined for tools, support, and connections. if you don't think "i've still got it" when you think aarp, then you don't know "aarp." find more surprising possibilities and get to know us at aarp.org/possibilities. i was not expecting to get a ford. we went around the country talking to people who made the switch to ford. it felt nicer than my bmw. good gas mileage... ecoboost makes a four cylinder engine feel like a six cylinder. my dad went and turned in his lexus and got the exact same car as me. he had to have it... i'm very happy with my escape. i don't know if i'll ever not buy a ford. make the switch to america's favorite brand. check out special offers on ford escape at ford.com or see your local ford dealer. ♪ push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips look another this little guy. he is a sierra nevada red sox. they're one of the most endangered species in the whole country. there are only 50 of them left in the whole united states. 50. but this guy, this picture, this guy was just spotted in yosemite national park. the first time one has been seen there in over 100 years. he is not only healthy, he is gorgeous. people say we never say nice things about fox. you need to catch the 4:10 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable. next. ♪♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ welcome back to showdown! i'm jerry rice here discussing the big race between the tortoise and the hare. my guest is stephanie branton. jerry, i'm going bunny. shocker. not really. you see, the hare's "thoracic limbs" allow for greater extension and elongated strides. look for the hare to leverage this advantage. ok. [coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine. i have the flu with a runny nose. [coughs] better take something. theraflu severe cold won't treat your runny nose. really? alka-seltzer severe cold and flu relieves your worst flu symptoms plus runny nose. [breath of relief] oh, what a relief it is. mommy! hey! i have never before wanted to work at the faa, but now i know it is someone's job to make things like this and i'm reconsidering. >> going to the big game? have fun. cheer on your team, and keep it a no drone zone. don't spoil the game. leave your drone at home. >> leave your drone at home if you're going to the super bowl and one of the things you were planning on bringing to the game was a drone. there is some precedence that suggests a warning like this might be in order. in october in a big soccer match, a big mele broke out. players were smashing chairs over each other's heads, fans ran on the field and punched each other out. the catalyst for that brawl in the soccer match was there. look. out of nowhere, someone flew a drone over the field, and attached to it was a very controversial albanist flag. that drone flew on to the game, one player grabbed the flag and pulled the drone down and everybody went nuts, a giant brawl broke out, they had to end the game right there. fans were throwing things as the players ran off of the field all because of that flag carrying drone. so yeah, albanian national flags on drones at the super bowl, nobody wants that. we also learned that nobody wants drones at the white house either. how they may get both of those things will be very interesting. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. in may 2005, two pilots on their way to a air show in north carolina caused a big problem when they were there. they flew their small plane into the nation's highest restricted air space. a black hawk helicopter and two f-16 jets went to neutralize the suspect. they ended up escorting the little plane away. some stern questioning ensued. dc is covered by a flight restricted zone which means that pilots are not supposed to fly over dc without permission. that applies anywhere near the white house. it is also against the law to fly an unmanned drone over dc. on tuesday night we talked about the federal employee that drunkingly flew his friend's drone over the fence and on to the grounds of the white house. he has not been charged. secret service appears to z believe his explanation, but it is not unreasonable to be worried about what happened there. it's not unreasonable to be worried and what it says about the safety of the first family when they're home on the white house grounds. this is the drone that crashed at the white house. it's fairly large, a four row for drone, about two feet across. you can tell that it doesn't appear to have been carrying anything, a camera or anything else. commercially available drones can carry things. that's the whole thinking about the amazon drone delivery thing, that "60 minutes" did that press release for a few months ago. this was recovered by authorities last week on the u.s.-mexico border near tijuana. the theory about why this drone crashed is because the six pounds of meth that this drone had strapped to it was a little too much for this little guy to carry. but you know what? had it been four pounds instead of six pounds of meth, this little guy may have been able to get to wherever it was going across the border. after that drone carrying meth crashed on the border last week, and after this week's drunk drone carrying nothing crashed at the white house, the company that makes this model of drone, the one that crashed at the white house, that company from china announced yesterday that they are changing the software that powers their drones so these drones will land themselves, they will override your commands and land themselves if you try to fly them across a national border or try to fly them into downtown washington, d.c. apparently they already have a patch many play that stops you from flying these near airports and they also have a patch in place that blocks you from flying these drones in tiananmen square and also a 15 1/2 square mile space over washington, d.c. after the drone crashed at the white house this week, one of the ideas that was floated for how we might protect the white house from that happening again, particularly of the threat of a drone carrying a dangerous payload, one of the ideas is that the white house might proactively jam the kinds of signals a person would use to steer a drone onto the white house grounds. maybe they'll do that. maybe that's impractical, i don't know. but for now, the drone companies themselves are using technology you never imagined might exist to basically create and enforce their own no-fly zones built into the drones. so weird. watch this space.@ i've been called a control freak... i like to think of myself as more of a control... enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. you show up. you stay up. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready start with us. doing the right thing has never been easier. legalzoom. legal help is here. i think she tried to kill us. are you kidding me? no, it's only 15 calories. with reddi wip fruit never sounded more delicious with 15 calories per serving and real cream the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. sunday dinners at my house... it's a full day for me, and i love it. but when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. i don't like asking for help. i took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. so my daughter brought over some aleve. it's just two pills, all day! and now, i'm back! aleve. two pills. all day strong, all day long. and now introducing aleve pm for a better am. the exhilaration of a new engine. painstakingly engineered without compromise. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering? i want my yoga pants to smell like i sweat money. i want to smell the way champagne tastes. i love champagne. infuse your laundry with... ...up to 12 weeks of luxurious long-lasting scents... ...unstopables in wash scent booster. many people clean their dentures with toothpaste or plain water. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday. veto watch. we are now about to enter into a new era in american politics, the likes we have not seen for years. we're now about to enter veto time. over the last six years, during the first six years that he's been in office, president obama has vetoed precisely two bills. neither of which are anything you've heard of. two noncontroversial vetoes made for basically technical reasons on two small scale pieces of legislation, and that's for the entire course of his entire presidency so far. that's it. that's all he's done. but now, for the first time, the congress is completely controlled by the republican party, and so it's veto time. the collision course between a republican controlled body that writes the bills and a democratic bill who has to sign those bills, that collision course is about to go boom. it starts with what happened today. today, the senate passed a bill to force the approval of the keystone pipeline. this bill was senate bill one. this is the first thing senate republicans wanted to do with their new majority and they got it done. they scheduled the vote in the middle of big pipeline spills and explosions across the line, including brand new pipelines spilling and exploding. but they went ahead with the keystone vote today any way and it passed. our previous guest this hour, conservative democratic missouri senator claire mccaskill is one of nine democrats who voted with republicans on this thing. it passed pretty easily. the house already passed their own version. they will now have to merge their bill with the senate's version, but it's basically done. we are set for a showdown, because president obama has already said that he will veto that bill as soon as he gets it. veto time is upon us. it's exciting. and this is really interesting. today's keystone vote means one other important thing is now set to happen. at the very end of the haste session of congress, you might remember that the senate tried and failed to pass something called the clay-hunt veterans suicide prevention act. we've talked about it a number of times on the show. this is a bill that veterans groups put together to end the epidemic that we have of veterans committing suicide at a terrible rate. 22 veterans committing suicide every single day in our country. this bill tries to make it so vets stop falling through the cracks, to tune up best practices and try to prevent the suicides. this little bill passed unanimously in the house last year. it had all but unanimous support in the senate. but one senator, tom coburn, blocked it. he refused to let it come up for a vote, even though he couldn't persuade another person of why he was doing it. he blocked the veterans suicide bill alone. but now tom coburn is gone, and because of that, we have some news to report. so they spent all week voting on this keystone thing that president obama is going to veto. but now that the keystone thing is done in the senate, the veterans suicide bill has already passed the house. it passed unanimously again. it passed the veterans committee in the senate unanimously. and now that keystone is off the senate floor now that that stuff is over. now we can report that the delayed one-man stymied veterans suicide bill that couldn't pass last year, the clay-hunt veterans suicide prevention act is going to get a vote on the senate floor on monday. you can put it in your calendar. you can put it in that app so your phone beeps at you, it's monday, 5:30 p.m. eastern time. they are going to get this thing done. when it happens, you can raise a glass to oklahoma senator tom coburn and then pour it out, because this could only happen because he quit and got out of the way. heck of a legacy, sir. 5:30 eastern, monday. you can count on it. that does it for us tonight. now time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." "american sniper" has been seen by more people than any other this year and is now turning into a political argument. >> is this a celebration of an american hero? >> bradley cooper's portrayal of kyle. >> you are in a country where you don't belong. >> they've lost momentum about where the villains on the war on terror.

Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20150129

pictures of him taken while he was in the act of stealing that money that day. over the course of five hours, on the night of february 19th, 2013, this individual man went from atm to atm to atm in manhattan, and he withdrew thousands of dollars. he stuffed the big stacks of $20 bills and $50 bills into his backpack, and then he would just move on to the atm and do it again. he did this for more than five hours. that one guy stole more than $30,000. mostly in 20s, over the course of that night. but he was not alone. he was not the only person stealing cash from atm machines in manhattan over the course of those five hours on that cold february night. the ten arrows here on this map point to the specific atm machines where that one guy we just showed you, where that one guy stole his $30,000 that night. but you see, there's a lot of other little dots all over this map. dots on this map that don't have the arrows on them, those are the other atm machines in manhattan, where other people, his co-conspirators in this massive heist were also at the exact same time also withdrawing stolen money from atm machines all over the city. it all happened that one night, all up and down manhattan, february 19th, 2013. there were 2,904 atm machines that were all hit across new york city. eight guys, 2,900 atms, over one night. they stole $2.5 million in cash. mostly in 20s. some machines apparently gave them 50s. but it turns out this was not just a coordinated scheme across new york city that night. it was a global thing. it was a big highly organized global plot. so while this one guy who we just showed you, and his friends were stealing from atm machines in new york in their coordinated attacks, in cities all over the world in two dozen countries around the world, these different cells of coordinated thieves were all doing the same thing, all at the same time, going atm to atm in cities in japan, canada, germany, romania, and lots of other countries, on that one day in february. they all acted all at once. they made 36,000 fraudulent atm transactions around the world that night, including the guys in new york city, that global atm heist netted more than $40 million. worldwide. all in cash. all in one day's work. that's a lot of cash. the thing about this heist that was so hard to believe at the time was that it was a mix of very modern cyber crime, hacking into financial data bases, stealing pre-paid atm card numbers, there's this sort of intensive technical part of this, but also linked with old-school stealing. stealing physical paper money. that guys had to stuff into backpacks and run away with. the level of coordination was impressive. whoever did the hacking hacked these financial institutions from which they got the prepaid debit card numbers, and hacked the withdrawal limits, to give unlimited withdrawal numbers. then distributed the numbers to the international networks of street level thieves including these doofuses in new york city who couldn't resist posing with their stacks of cash, and then they unleashed all these guys like this all at once on atms, all those cities, all around the globe. the guys on the street, the guys going to the atms with the backpacks, they used these fake atm cards with the doctored stolen numbers on them and simultaneously hit atms everywhere. they pocketed some of the cash, gave some to the hackers that gave them the information, they laundered the money by buying expensive items with the cash and either keeping the items or reselling them. a bunch of gucci boxes in the upper right-hand side of your screen. gucci was popular. so was on the lower right-hand side of your screen staging stacks of their stolen cash on coors light can and putting a baseball cap on top. nobody said these guys were geniuses. all told, that heist, that big global a trgs m heist netted just a breath breathtaking amount of money. it seemed like they were going to get away with it. this novel way of combining cyber crime, this advanced hacking, with good old-fashioned guy stuffing skash into his pants crime. that looked inpenetrable for a while. it seemed like they were going to get away with it, until they got caught. the guys who pulled off the new york city chapter of this global heist, the guys that hit all the atms around the city in one night, those eight guys got caught. they got caught by the office of the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. and her name was loretta lynch. >> the computer hackers steal or generate p.i.n. numbers. in a feat of coordination, all at the same time, send those p.i.n. numbers to the assembled cells in different cities all at the same time. the cells are waiting. they are standing by. they are standing by, they are assigned atms. and once they receive these p.i.n.s via e-mail or text, they become a criminal flash mob going from machine to machine, drawing as much money as they can before these accounts are shut down. >> it was loretta lynch's office that cracked that global atm heist case. loretta lynch is now president obama's nominee to be the attorney general of the united states. in her previous job, he current job as u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york, she has led very high-profile and very interesting prosecutions. her office prosecuted the most recent member of congress to have to resign from congress, because he had just been indicted on federal felony charges. just late last month, mr. congressman i'll break you like a boy michael grimm pled guilty to a federal count of tax fraud and resigned from congress. loretta lynch's office led the prosecution against him. and yes, michael grimm is a republican. but because loretta lynch has been the u.s. attorney in new york, when it comes to locking up public officials, who have a bad case of corruption, there are a lot more democrats to choose from than there are republicans in new york. and loretta lynch has had a great percentage on that. what grows in great numbers are democratic officials who really ought to be in jail. new york public officials prosecuted by loretta lynch's office is pedro jr., and sampson, according to prosecutors try to infiltrate loretta lynch's office and asking for the names of the cooperating witnesses against him, so he could arrange to, quote, take them out. serving state senator that guy. loretta lynch's office is also known for leading high-profile terrorism cases. the guy that pled guilty to providing support to al qaeda. her office prosecuted the guy who plotted the bottom at the federal reserve in new york. they caught him in one of the controversial cases that used an undercover fbi agent who was posing as an al qaeda facilitator. she's also prosecuted cases against law enforcement officials for abusing their power. her office has broken up drug trafficking rings. her office announced the immigration bust in which more than a dozen franchise owners of 7-eleven stores were caught using immigrants essentially as slave labor. she called that a modern-day plantation system. public corruption, on terrorism, and all these high-profile and complicated cases, loretta lynch has been a vuk sesful prosecutor. that's her resume. the only way it's controversial is if you're sort of against law and order prosecutors. but her resume, her -- the length of the list of her successful prosecutions, and the types of cases that she's prosecuted, it's not the sort of thing that gets a lot of political criticism. by and large, her resume, her track record in her current job as a u.s. attorney, as a federal prosecutor, that is not what has been coming up during her confirmation hearing for attorney general today. before the newly controlled republican judiciary committee. instead, this is sort of the flavor of what senate republicans on her confirmation committee say wanted to talk about when they had questions to ask of loretta lynch. >> you're not eric holder, are you? >> no, i'm not, sir. >> no one is suggesting that you are, but of course, attorney general holder's record is heavy on our minds now. and the attorney general refers to himself as the president's wing man. suggesting that he is not -- does not exercise independent legal judgment as the chief law enforcement officer for the country. you wouldn't consider yourself to be a political arm of the white house as attorney general, would you? >> no, senator, that would be a totally inappropriate view of the position of attorney general. >> seriously, that was today. that was your judiciary on republican politics fixated on the guy who's no longer going to be attorney general. here's what's on top for tomorrow. here are some of the expert witnesses that senate republicans have called before the committee for the next attorney general. this is her confirmation hearing for attorney general. the republicans have called cheryl atkinson who worked for the site by the heritage foundation. her journalistic beat is how they're stone walling the republicans' benghazi investigation. she's also maybe the nation's foremost expert on the conspiracy theory that the justice department intentionally lost guns across the border in mexico, specifically so those guns would be used in gun violence here, so americans would then be outraged by that gun violence and would finally turn against the second amendment, and thus let eric holder take all their guns. that is the republican conspiracy theory about the so-called fast and furious scandal. and so republicans have summoned expert testimony on that conspiracy theory about eric holder. to weigh in on the nomination of our would-be new attorney general of the united states, who herself had a rather illustrious and complicated career. they're testifying on fast and furious, not because loretta lynch had anything to do with fast and furious, but i guess because that's what the republicans like to talk about when they get the chance to talk on this committee. the fast and if ur use false flag conspiracy theory will be followed by true the vote. true the vote is known to most people for the national attention they've had for being a group that creeps people out by watching them and following them when they go to vote. when attorney general eric holder announced that he was resigning as attorney general, the woman who will be testifying tomorrow from true the vote said she hoped his resignation would end eric holder's racialist assault on voting rights across america. eric holder's racialist assault. in addition to those go experts, republicans have also invited a sheriff from milwaukee who says he wants eric holder to apologize to police departments across the country. what does that have to do with loretta lynch? those are a few of the experts who will get to go to congress tomorrow and weigh in on whether or not we should have loretta lynch as the next attorney general of the united states. the job of attorney general is a really, really, really big, important job. it's a job honestly that people seem to agree loretta lynch is highly qualified for. the smart money says she will most likely win confirmation for the job. but senate republicans have decided that her confirmation hearing for attorney general will serve as a platform for people who specialize in conspiracy theories about our current attorney general. day two of loretta lynch's confirmation hearing starts tomorrow morning. we, of course, will be watching. but we'll probably be watching like this. joining us is jeffrey rosein, president of the national constitution center. mr. rossin, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> you have watched and reported on lots of attorney general confirmation hearings. it's a really, big important job, often very dramatic. it's a very important post. how would you assess loretta lynch's performance today in these hearings? >> it was striking that senator leahy said that out of all the attorney general confirmation hearings he's seen, loretta lynch is the most impressive. and it was also remarkable that despite all the theater that you accurately described in your great introduction, republicans as well as democrats seem essentially to concede that probably she will be confirmed, but that she should be. it was striking that they realized that she's a real prosecutor. i thought it was so helpful that you began with that complicated atm $40 million heist case, because that's her passion. cyber crime, going after the bad guys. the fact that she even engaged in immigration enforcement, which is the lightning rod of this hearing, since the republicans repeatedly pressed her about whether or not she thought that president obama's immigration orders were constitutional. and she in a very good lawyerly fashion said, the office of legal counsel has approved most of these orders. it's questioned some of them, and i think there's strong precedent to support most of them. she just showed herself to be a consummate professional. she wasn't all the rattled by the questions that as you suggested were more about eric holder, and attempt to resurrect republican frustration with his administration than her record. and you had republicans like senator graham saying, if not her, who, suggesting that he really would vote for her pretty enthusiastically. whether it was a great day for public discourse is another question. >> it's fair to say about the discussion about loretta lynch's qualifications for this job is edengsly a totally different discussion, happening in parallel at the same hearing alongside, basically unrelated set of questions and discussions, and we'll hear witness testimony tomorrow, about eric holder. they're not actually asking her about eric holder's tenure, just using him to talk about him in an unrelated way? >> that's absolutely the case. if you found that frustrating today, tomorrow will be either more frustrating or more theatrically amusing. because the witnesses as you suggested are an absolute gallery of holder critics who are determined to resurrect controversies that, as you suggested, have long been laid to rest. the inspector general's independent report found no basis for sheryl atkinson's claims about fast and furious, but she'll resurrect them. we'll hear about voter fraud, ferguson. it has to do about eric holder and nothing to do with loretta lynch. the republican frustration with their inability to investigate, i suppose, holder, is so great that now they've finally got the majority, they're determined to use this moment in the spotlight as a referendum on holder and not lynch. that's, of course, good for lynch, because it ensures she'll be confirmed. but it really ensures that the important issues that, as you suggested an attorney general deals with, won't be ventilated. i was more interested in the differences between lynch and holder on issues relating from nsa surveillance, to the death penalty, marijuana. on those issues she suggested she would be to the right of holder. she enthusiastically embraced the death penalty. and she said she thought it was an effective deterrent. she said that she would not support the decriminalization of pot. holder had moved in the other direction. on nsa surveillance, she called it effective and constitutional. holder had defended it but she seemed to go a little further. on all these matters, again, great for republicans, and doesn't call her professionalism into question, but it does suggest she may be a different attorney general than holder. and finally, there's this very important question that at the end of most presidential administrations, especially in the second term, there's often a scandal, especially with a republican senate, we can ensure there will be scandal mongering. holder did have a relationship with obama, lynch does not. if the scandals themselves get fast and furious, it will be interesting to see how exactly lynch responds. >> it will be fascinating just over the next days and weeks to figure out how we're going to learn those things about loretta lynch since i think the confirmation hearings are being used for a totally separate purpose. she's a fascinating character. she's had an amazing career. this will be a really interesting political process to watch. it's great to have you here. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. all right. lots ahead. including a little breaking news tonight about a very visible member of the far right in this country, who appears to have just been fired, and for a surprising reason. we've got that story coming up exclusively. stay with us. hey what are you doing? i was thinking about taking this speed test from comcast business. oh yeah? if they can't give us faster internet or save us money, they'll give us 150 bucks. sounds like a win win. guys! faster internet? i have never been on the internet and i am doing pretty well. does he even work here? don't listen to the naysayer. take the comcast business speed test. get faster speeds or more savings, or we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. in late september apple released a new fancy iphone, and they sold 74 million of them. 74 million. that means that apple sold nine iphones every second of every day, for the last three months. yesterday apple posted the biggest quarterly earnings ever. this fall, from october through december, apple made more money in one quarter than any company has ever made in the history of the earth. until now, the top record holders were all oil companies. but with an $18 billion profit over one quarter, this past quarter, apple just blew by royal dutch sell and exxon on the way to the top. beat exxon mobil's best quarterly profit by $4 billion. still, though, it felt like oil and gas companies are poor. they're just acting like it. in the united states, there have been five major pipeline spills or pipeline explosions just this month. what we just learned today about the biggest one of these spills is frickin' unbelievable. and that story is coming right up. stay with us. do you have excellent written and verbal communication skills? do you have individual initiative and ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people? are you adaptable to the northern plains climate? if you answered yes to all of those questions, then north dakota needs you. north dakota really, really needs you. this is a job listing for inspector for the smaller variety of pipelines that crisscross the state transferring oil and gas and saltwater and all other kinds of stuff related to drilling. there are 20,000 miles of what they call gathering pipelines, these smaller pipelines all across north dakota. 20,000 miles. they estimate there will be 50,000 miles before long. the total number of people currently employed by the state to inspect those pipelines is europe. the state posted for an inspector for the larger natural pipelines. that department is doing a little better. they've got two inspector jobs and one of them's filled. so, yeah, maybe it's not that surprising to learn that one of the five pipelines that has burst so far this month in this country, the one that spilled 3 million gallons of toxic drilling brine near the town of williston, north dakota, this month, that pipeline was never inspected. it has never had an inspection, ever. north dakota's in the midst of a drilling boom. obviously oil and gas companies flooding that state in recent years. and crisscrossed with a number of pipelines big and small. i would show you a map what that looks like, particularly the small pipelines, but the small pipelines, not the big long-distance ones that transport oil and gas to be sold, but for drilling infrastructure, state officials in north dakota don't actually know where all of those ones are. because until last year, if you were installing a smallish pipeline, you didn't actually have to tell anyone. knock yourself out. last year, that rule changed, thanks to the north dakota industrial commission. here they are, the three guys who oversee the gas and oil in the state. the commission approved new rules last year that said if you install a pipeline, you do at least have to tell the state where it is. and while you're at it, you have to tell the state that the pipeline is up to code, and installed properly. in order to tell the state that, what you have to do is submit this affidavit. you just promise, you just check that box right there next to where it says, the pipeline is in compliance with state rules. that's how they ensure of course's safe. you just sign this form. and you send it off to the industrial commission. i hereby swear my pipeline is installed properly, love, rachel. that's it. that's the rule. the commission did also improve three inspectors to check on those pipelines. but again, what is it? do you have slept written and verbal communications? ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people? are you acclimatable to the northern plains climate? those three positions for inspectors have remained unfilled since last summer. the new regulations went into effect in april. the four-inch brine pipeline in williston was installed in june. funding for the inspector was approved in july. this month with no inspectors actually hired and on the job, that pipeline which has never been inspected not even once, that is the pipeline that ruptured and spilled 3 million gallons of toxic saltwater brine in the worst spill of its kind in the state's history. in those april regulations, the company that operates that pipeline, they were required to submit information to the state about what safety mechanisms were in place, but under the rules, approved by the state, that information is not available to the general public. so we can't even check to see what they said they had in place, even though all they had to do was say it, and nobody had to verify what they said was true. this is the sort of policy that exists right now around pipelines. that pipeline in north dakota, that pipeline, as i said, was one of five to rupture or explode this month alone across the country. the latest one was this one, monday, in west virginia. and in the midst of that, in the midst of all these pipelines going kablooy across the country, that the pipelines we've got, even the new ones, are not particularly well managed. the united states senate took action staying at work late tonight in the hopes of building more pipelines. republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell held a voteathon tonight for proposed amendments to the keystone bill, so the senate can vote on approving the keystone pipeline itself tomorrow. the argument for the pipeline, of course, is that it will create jobs, and yes, maybe it will create a handful of jobs over time. but in north dakota, right now, there are a handful of open jobs that really, really, really need to be filled whether or not they force the construction of keystone. the conference call. the ultimate arena for business. hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. the only problem with conference calls: eventually they have to end. unless you have the comcast business voiceedge mobile app. it lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions. i've never felt so alive. get the future of phone and the phones are free. comcast business. built for business. i speak to the spirit of death in that child in the name of jesus, and i command you to lead that child. because the child says, and i say live in jesus' name. live! i see a child coughing, waking up, we saw that in pakistan. we saw a little boy raised from the dead just like that. god is on the move. >> that is cindy jacobs, an evangelical activist who said she is a prophet. and that she can raise people from the dead. on friday night's show we reported on cindy jacobs' roll in bobby jindal's campaign kickoff rally this weekend in baton rouge. but a funny thing has since happened to the relationship between the lady who said she can raise people from the dead, and bobby jindal who said he wants to be president. the story is fast moving. some of it just happening tonight. the news we have to break tonight is that beyond what just happened to cindy jacobs, after we reported the news about her involvement with bobby jindal's big prayer rally, it is also now tonight that one of the most well-known people on the far religious right in american politics has apparently also just lost his job tonight for a very surprising and surprisingly mainstream reason. we've got that reporting first here next. [ high-pitched ] nailed it! [ normal voice ] you're right, that was really easy. i know, i told you so. on progressive.com you can compare our progressive direct rates with our competitors' rates, so shopping is easy. you don't sound like flo. [high-pitched] yeah, i do. [ clears throat ] who you talking to? [ normal voice ] what? what's on your hand? noth-- my wedding ring. [chuckles] symbol of our love and understanding. comparing rates for you. now that's progressive. [ high-pitched ] nailed it! behold reince priebus. chairman of the national republican party, just reelected again last week. the huge vote in his reelection as party chairman put him on track for the longest serving on the republican party. reince priebus has gotten himself and the rnc into a big mess. now, the basis of the story was first reported about a month ago in "time" magazine by zeke miller. today it became a big problem for the republican party and reince priebus. i don't know how they're going to get themselves out of it. the basic story here, is a republican party organized trip to israel. reince priebus sent out a letter to members of the rnc in late november inviting them to go with the rnc on an expensive paid trip to israel. now, going on a trip to israel itself not a problem. going on this particular trip to israel, i think this really is going to be a problem. one of the things from the 2012 presidential campaign that we reported on this show with keen interest was a prayer rally that texas governor rick perry used as essentially the launch event for his presidential campaign for 2012. now, the fact that he wanted to start his campaign with a prayer rally, not itself a newsworthy thing. what was newsworthy about it is who he organized that prayer rally with. this is the organization that rick perry did that prayer rally with. >> counterfeit religions, alternative religions of christianity have no right to the free exercise of religion. >> brian fischer with the american family association. the american family association is not your typical conservative religious right organization, even for our conserative religious right in this country. it's pretty out there. >> this is like the ebola virus. it's deadly. it's lethal. and all you can do with a virus like that, there's no cure for it. i saw a video this morning kind of exploring the performance of beyonce at last year's halftime of the super bowl. and it's very clear that she was using a number of satanic symbols. >> beyonce? satan? bryan fischer from the american family association, the group that organized rick perry's prayer rally that kicked off his presidential campaign in 2012. that's the same group that paid for and organized the prayer rally that bobby jindal just used to apparently kick off his 2016 presidential race this weekend, this past weekend at lsu. so we reported on friday, on the views of the american family association, the fact that they were underwriting this rally, and organizing this rally for bobby jindal and we reported on some of the other people participating in this event with bobby jindal and the american family association including cindy jacobs who claims she is a living prophet who gets advance notice from god about terrorist attacks. she said she can stop those terrorist attacks if she wants to. she also claims she can raise children from the dead and says she has done so. we reported friday about her role in convening the bobby jindal prayer event in louisiana this past weekend. sometimes since then, her video inviting people to come to the bobby jindal prayer event that has been taken down off the event's website. people for the american way noticed that cindy jacobs had been disappeared off the group's website. turns out you can still sign with the cindy jacobs video if you go through all cached versions of the website. they apparently made that video private so you're never going to come across it unless you know to look for it. turns out i guess it's one thing to tell people you can raise people from the dead, and to try to convince people of your status as a living prophet on earth. it's another thing for you then to be associated with a campaign for the presidency of the united states. and so, cindy jacobs, as of today, has been disappeared from the bobby jindal presidential campaign online footprint. they didn't do a very good job of disappearing her, but it appears today they did try. now the rnc, republican national committee, getting in bed with the same fringe folks, the american family association. that has caused another similar problem on the religious right. because of what reince priebus and the rnc are doing with the american family association is they're having the american family association pay for and organize the national republican party to send its members, members of the rnc, to go on a trip to israel. israel. even though bryan fischer from the american family situation says jews have no right to practice judaism in the united states. >> alternative religions to christianity have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders, but that homosexual soldiers basically had no limits of the savagery and brutality they were willing to inflict on whoever hitler sent them after. so he surrounded himself with the troopers, the brown shirts, were male homosexuals. >> he can go on about this at length. bryan fischer at the american family association, long had this elaborate theory about how nazism and holocaust wasn't so much a german thing or nazi thing, it was really a gay thing. it's one thing to try to sell that on talk radio in mississippi, trying to get people to send you money for the american family association, it's another thing to take that line of reasoning, say, to israel. well, today the israeli press, reported on reince priebus and the rnc taking a trip to israel, that has been paid for by this group, that thinks that jews don't have a right to practice their religion, and it wasn't really the nazis that did the holocaust, that was a gay thing. today that news got its first press in israel. and perhaps coincidentally today, tonight, the american family association told us that they are firing bryan fischer. bryan fischer has been their director of issue analysis for the american family association, for years now as the organization's spokesman. all through the rick perry prayer rally controversy, all through the new bobby jindal controversy, all through all of the other controversies that they have gotten into, that the american family association has gotten itself into, which is very far right-wing politics over the years, but taking the chairman of the national republican party and a third of the membership of the republican national committee on a trip to israel? and the israeli press realizing that the republican party of the united states is coming to israel as a guest of the bryan fischer group? who says that jews have no right to practice their religion in america? that apparently finally is a bridge too far for his long career. the president of the american family association telling us tonight that as of day, bryan fischer should never be described as the director for that group, or a spokesman for the group. the american family association tells us that bryan fischer is, and i quote, just a talk show host. when we asked the president what suddenly bothers them now about bryan fischer that didn't bother them all these previous years he's been saying all these things, the president of the group specifically singled out bryan fischer's comments on hitler and homosexuality, which we highlighted on this show on friday night. the american family association now says that even though bryan fischer made those remarks years ago, and has made them consistently over a period of years, they now say, quote, we reject that. the american family association rejects that. officially as of today. bryan fischer is fired as of today. as of tonight this is what you get when you go to the american family association web page, that used to feature bryan fischer. the republican party, including a chairman, the chairman of the republican party and third of the rnc members are due to go to israel with that group that just fired bryan fischer today on a flight that leaves on saturday. here's the ongoing problem for reince priebus and the national republican party. aside from the judgment it shows to put the republican national convention into bed with this group in the first place, cohen called the american family association for their report. and they called the rnc today to ask about the trip that these two groups are planning to israel together. the american family association was smart enough to not put bryan fischer, their spokesperson until today, on the phone with her. after all, after today, he's no longer a spokesman. they did, however, put her in touch with david lane, who is the american family association guy who led the bobby jindal prayer rally this weekend and who is directly organizing this event in israel, starting on saturday. and he told deborah today about the basic premise of this trip, that he is leading for the national republican party. quote, america was founded by christians, for the glory of god and the christian faith. quote, we were established as a christian nation in the name of god and for the advancement of the christian faith. if the united states is a country for christians only and the purpose of the united states is specifically to advance the faith of christians, and incidentally not jews, how does that fly in israel? let alone among american jews. and muslims. and anybody else who's not christian. anybody. what is the republican party advertising about itself to be taking this kind of a trip with this kind of a group? do they really think the firing of bryan fischer will end this story. joining us is a reporter. thank you very much for being here. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. i have to ask you about your reporting process for this story. the american family association made davis lane available to you to explain his premise for the trip. did they ever put you in touch with bryan fischer or any other member of the organization? >> no, i tried for a week to get through to them and the rnc. and got strung along for a week. finally at that point, david lane was made available to me. he runs a different group. it's called the american renewal project. it's funneled through the american family association. >> that's important to clarify. i think it's fair and the american family association would consider them to be essentially a subsidiary organization, given especially that they're housed within. david lane was also the organizer of those american family association prayer rallies we reported on previously. did the rnc give you a comment on this? >> no, they didn't. >> do you know if there's any connection between bryan fischer being fired and your inquiries around this story? >> i don't. it would be awfully nice to think so. but i have no idea. >> you gasped when i said so. >> i was surprised. because as you pointed out he's been around for a long time saying essentially the same thing for many years. so it does seem surprising that at this juncture, at this moment, he would be fired. >> can i ask you about the quote that david lane gave you? again, he's the organizer of this event with the rnc. his group is paying for a third of the members of the rnc and the chairman to go to israel. he told you, america was founded for the glory of god and the christian faith. do you have the sense that there's any cognizance that that might be a little oogy for a group traveling to israel? was he cognizant of that context? was he telling you this is going to be a controversial thing but i'm willing to -- >> no, look, we all live in our own bubbles in many ways. and this is true for that community. the community that he's part of. so he was -- he seems completely unaware of how that would play in the american jewish community. >> have you had any response in the american-jewish community, from israeli groups, in the israeli press, any sponsor do you think it's just sinking in today? >> the jewish democratic group here in the states just at the end of the day today put out a statement calling on the rnc to no longer go with this group, on an israel trip funded by them. but other than that, i think it's beginning to roll out and we'll see in the coming days. >> deborah, thanks for this reporting, which advanced the story in a very dramatic way today. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> we'll be right back. stay with us. programming note from my office. those are all the clothes that i keep in my office to wear on tv. susan calls that all the colors of the german rainbow. tonight, i'm going to be on the david letterman show on cbs, which is very exciting. and to interrupt my usual -- i don't know, array of gray, i'm going to be wearing these shoes. ta-dah. you heard it here first. with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover. man (sternly): where do you think you're going? mr. mucus: to work, with you. it's taco tuesday. man: you're not coming. i took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. i'm good all day. [announcer:] mucinex keeps working. not 4, not 6 but 12 hours. let's end this hey matt, what's up? i'm just looking over the company bills. is that what we pay for internet? yup. dsl is about 90 bucks a month. that's funny, for that price with comcast business, i think you get like 50 megabits. wow, that's fast. personally, i prefer a slow internet. there is something about the sweet meditative glow of a loading website. don't listen to the naysayer. switch to comcast business today and get 50 megabits per second for $89.95. comcast business. built for business. i've mentioned a few times on the show before that i come from a family that's rich in nuns. that's occasionally caused me some trouble over the years, given some of the un-nunly subject matter we sometimes cover. but not tonight. tonight, we have excellence and nationally important nun news. that's straight ahead. best new thing in the world. this is the website for a monastery in arizona called our lady of gautlupe. their religious mission is contemplation, prayer and providing for the needy. that's one great thing, nuns running a beautiful retreat from the world, doing good works. right under their nice mission statement on their website is something that, combined with the nuns, is better than either one of these things could be alone. football. specifically, this weekend's super bowl. turns out the monastery is about five miles from the stadium in glendale where the super bowl will be played this year. the nuns, it turns out, are psyched about that. the monastery's leader is sister linda campbell, a football fan of the highest order. when the local paper asked her about the patriots and the deflated football scandal, she had a ready opinion saying -- it doesn't make any sense tom brady wouldn't have known it when he felt it. they have now decided if you're going to glendale to watch the super bowl, you can rent their monastery for your stay, for $300 a night, you get a bed, a bathroom you have to share, free sci-fi, no alcohol, no smoking, no swearing. the last time phoenix hosted the football, she said they made about $12,000 by renting out the monastery by fans. they put that money back into the community. we asked sister linda today if she has any rooms available since the game is this weekend. she said yes, you can still get a room. so come on, football and nuns! chaos and contemplation. best new thing in the world today. if you need her number, please let us know. good thursday morning. right now a sun set deadline is quickly approaching but will isis hand over a yor dane yan pilot in exchange for a suicide bomber? 20 twitter threats against passenger planes in the past few days this as the fbi is scrambling jets and agents. a warning from homeland security to keep drones away from sunday's super bowl. plus check out incredible images mother nature has wrought on new england. good morning. thanks for joining us. let's get to the top story. the jordanian government is fast approaching a deadline from isis. they are once again threatening to kill a pilot if an

Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20150130

straight up pornography on network television. >> i don't think that this year's lady eating a hamburger ad will lead to a wide spread boycott of the chain running that ad. i don't think it will, but that boycott effort was announced on an american family association. they have been in the news because they're taking the chairman of the national republican party and apparently dozens of other mens of the republican national committee on an all expenses paid trip to israel. they're due to leave on saturday and they will be gone for nine days. members of the rnc are not a free school lunch kind of bunch. they're well off. if they want to go to israel, nothing is stopping them from paying for themselves. who cares. what people care about, and what i think has become an interesting story this week, the rnc decided not to go on their own dime, but to go as guests of the american family association which hosts these radio shows. >> hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage, brutal, and vicious enough to carry out his orders. but homosexual soldiers had no limits for the brutality they were willing to inflict on whoever hitler sent him after. so he surrounded himself with male homosexuals. that was brian fisher and he was fired from his job yesterday as the director of issue analysis. the president told us yesterday that bryan fischer had been fired in that capacity, but he would continue with his radio show. he is, still, their talk show host. the american family association confirmed to us that even though they fired him from his other jobs, they're still paying him to maybe his bryan fischer magic on the radio. >> they have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. >> the national republican party from the united states was sending it's national committee members and chairman on a trip funded by and led by this group which among other things promoted the idea on their radio shows that they have no first amendment right to practice judaism. why would they partner with an organization like that. how is the national republican party going to explain why the national republican party is partnering with this group, taking a trip with this group, that if, direction, you're a jewish immigrant, your condition is that you must convert to christianity. number one, those who came to our shores would be expected to adopt our religious values and traditions. the god of their homeland they would leave behind. >> immigrants of the world, you can immigrant to the united states, you just have to stop being a jew. you have to be a christian if you want to be allowed into this country. that is who the republican party is taking this trip with, leaving on saturday. i don't know if the republican party just didn't think people would notice that this is who they're doing this trip with, but people have noticed. and the resulting publicity and uproar over the republican party doing this is putting a little heat on this partnership. the american family partnership said this, it gave the southern poverty law center a bullet pointed list of the positions taken by brian fischer that his employer no longer wants to be associated with. it is a list of things he has said. most of them were years ago and they were fine with until now. now that they're doing this, they're renouncing this specific list of things that brian fischer has said, and he has been fired with one of his jobs. they don't want him described as a spokesperson any more but they're keeping him on the payroll and on the radio. after days of refusing to comment on this controversy, after days of refusing to give any comment about why the national republican party would partner with a group like this, finally the rnc has given us a comment on the matter. this was their full statement. we don't agree with brian fischer comments and we're glad to have severed ties with him. here is the problem, they have not severed ties with him. they fired him from one of his jobs and kept him in his ore one nap is one yet unresolved problem for chairman ranked previous in the national republican party. they're not associated with that bryan fischer, they still are in bed with him. that is still a problem, that's one problem. the other problem, which the republican party has not addressed at all, is specifically who is taking rights previous and all of the other committee members on this trip. who is personally leading this trip and organizing it and going with them. taking all of the top republicans away on a jet plane the day after tomorrow. his name is david lane. he works for part of the american family association called the american renewal project. if you follow this kind of stuff, you might recognize some of the events that he has been associated with. he was in the prayer rally that happened this past weekend in louisiana and that attracted protestors from all over the state. he also organized the rick perry prayer kick off event in the 2012 campaign. here is why it is hard to believe that the republican party can go ahead with this trip on saturday. here is why. during the 2012 presidential campaign when it became clear that mitt romney would be the nominee from the republican party, luckily this did not go on for too long and it was not too widespread. there was one burst of really ugly bigotry that was slung at mitt romney, and that was about his religion. at an event in october 2011, that was hosted in part by the american family association, rick perry, fresh off of his stadium prayer rally, he was introduced at this event by this texas pastor, and that ended up being a real dark moment. a real low moment not just in this presidential campaign, but i would say in the history of presidential campaigning. this introduction at this event, the this association, was something that got national attention and that rattled the campaign at the time and rattled the republican party. in that introduction, the pastor introducing rick perry called rick perry a genuine follower of christ. emphasis on genuine, and that raised questions about what he was implying about other candidates beliefs. he made is crystal clear, yes, what it sounded like he was implying is really what he was implying. what he meant to say and what he meant by that introduction. that rick perry is a real christian and mitt romney is something else. he called mitt romney a member of a cult. he said that mitt romney is, quote, not a christian. the reason this was such an ugly moment is not because of the theological nature. your religious beliefs are your religious beliefs. they were making an overt argument that mitt romney should not be elected to office specifically because of his religion. >> the value of electing a christian goes beyond the public policies that he or she may enact. we make a grave mistake in under estimating the value of having a christian in office. followers of mormonism, hinduism, islam, they're not worshipping the same god in a different way, we believe their following false gods. >> this is not a christian faith. it is a false religion. what this would mean for the spiritual health of the united states of america, the worshipper of a false god occupied the white house. >> it was an ugly strange of religious bigotry by certain parts of the religious right including the american family association. at the height of that ugliness, the daily beast obtained e-mails written by david lane, that led the rick perry prayer rally. the same guy about to lead the top leadership of the national republican party on this trip this weekend. in these e-mails, david lane said that pro rick perry pastor, the one that called mormonism a cult, he said about that pastor, quote, we owe dr. jeffress a big thank you. he said quote, let me go on the record i won't vote for mitt romney as republican nominee in 2012. >> why is the national republican party sending it's chairman and national leadership on a trip led by that guy who said he wanted to be on the record about the fact that he wouldn't vote for mitt romney on religious grounds, because of mitt romney's religion. it's not like the bigot line was a mainstream thing. it was around, but it was a short, shrill ugly little thing that rick perry did real harm to himself by flirting with and getting close to in the campaign. it was not a widespread thing. the republican party is now embracing these guys. not just people related to people who are related to these guys. the one that says i will not vote for mitt romney is the exact same guy who is taking the republican party on this trip the day after tomorrow. tonight is the sum total of the republican party's comments on this matter to date. they sent us this generous comment tonight, we wrote back to say the factual basis of their statement is wrong. they have not severed ties with this bryan fischer guy. who says jews don't have the right to practice their religion in america. and that we have to grapple with someone that worships a false god like mitt romney. we wrote back to the republican party tonight to ask if they understood that bryan fischer still works with the group that is going on this trip. they have not replied. we also asked the republican party today if it was true that they pressured the american family association to do this renunciation of some of the statements of bryan fischer. if they pressured him to fire him from his spokesman job from the group. we also, i should tell you asked them, sort of in italics if they really are still plans on going ahead with this trip. taking ranks previous and dozens of members of the republican national committee on a trip with the brian fischer group. they have not answered us about that. i have to say it is hard to believe they will go ahead with this trip. it is hard to know what it will do to the republican party for them to get on board in this explicit way for a trip to israel no less? this is the quote from david lane. we are a christian nation. what will it mean to the republican party going forward with a group that advocates that america is by christians and for christians only. christians exclusively. joining us now is robert pezner. thank you for joining us tonight. >> first i just want to ask your top line thoughts about the rnc taking this trip with the american family association. >> it is a real concern. it's a great thing the rnc is going to israel, but the afa, the american family association is considered a hate group and the views it espouses are anti-gay, anti-muslim, and anti-jewish. >> i don't know much about the republican party's internal politics and the relationships they have with other groups. through the rack, through your work with reformed judaism, and your connections to jewish american politics, can you describe if they have a good relationship with the jewish community? >> yes, there are right-thinking republicans in the jewish community, and right-thinking democrats. our love for the state of israel and the strong american-israel relationship is not a partisan issue. we celebrate religious freedom and the jewish community is active in both political parties. i think both of us are scratching our heads and it is not a jewish issue, it's an american issue. no american party should associate with a hate group, it's just not american. >> do you think there would be a negative response in israel if it became widely known who the republican party was taking this trip with? going to israel is a good thing at the surface, but the fact that they're taking the trip with this group, do you think it would be negatively received? >> yes, i think anyone that values religious freedom and tolerance, and they place religious freedom and democracy as a core value just like do in america. i think they would be upset with either political party if they associated themselves with any group that was anti-muslim, anti-gay, and anti-jewish. a couple years ago, former president george w. bush gave a speech to a group that appeared to be a pro-israel group on the surface, and their mission was actually to convert jews to christianity. i continue to believe that george w. bush didn't know who he was talking to when he gave that speech. sort of hoping that the republican national committee didn't know who they were getting in bed with either. still time to bail out of this too. we have a guest coming up on "the interview tonight" and i want to say something behind their back before they get in the chair and puts on the earpiece. the biggest question in capital d politics this year is what if hillary clinton doesn't run. everyone thinks she would be a favorite for the nomination if she ran for president, right? so what if she doesn't run. for whatever reason, what would happen on the democratic side? our next guest is here to talk with me about something totally unrelated to the 2016 race, our next guest has never talked about being interested in president. if hillary clinton didn't run, our next guest would give the democratic party the best chance of all other possible candidates in winning the white house in 2016. i think they would be the strongest candidate to run for president other than hillary. don't tell the person i said that, we'll have an interview about something else. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. [ male announcer ] are you so stuffed up, you feel like you're underwater? try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. once upon a time we the people of the united states spent money to buy afghanistan a fleet of planes. planes they could not fly or maintain. so we bought them those planes and they were dumped in a field full of weeds and they then were turned to scrap. it sold for six cents a pound. it is a loss of 99.93% on the investment if you're counting at home. and also this one, the amazing melting afghan police training center. we spent a half million dollars, but apparently it was not brake light to withstand rain. so when it rained the training center melted. these are just two exampled of really bad management. we would have neither known about either of those examples if it wasn't if this guy. the special investigator for afghanistan reconstructer. he asks questions like hey, what happened to those planes? how is that training center we built? there is something different about his latest report that officially comes out tomorrow. after 25 consecutive quarterly reports where he has laid out in detail the data about the u.s. mission in afghanistan, right? training the security forces, how well the horses are performing, after 25 of those reports in this report, this 26th report, all of that data is suddenly classified. inspector general calls this "unprecedented." he says for the first time in six years he is unable to report on most of the u.s. taxpayer efforts to train and equip afghan forces. that is pretty much the u.s. mission in afghanistan. because he is a little saucy, his latest report where everything is classified all of a sudden, it also contained something new. he included an appendix that includes every question that asked about afghanistan. every question for which the answer was classified. could you give us the definitions of the terms unavailable or present for duty? no, sorry that is classified. at one point they reportedly tried to classify the number of troops in afghanistan. it has been publicly announced by president obama. in a memo, the commander of coalition forces said why i cannot comment upon the resist reason why some information was considered unclassified in the past, we must avoid providing sensitive information that could endanger our forces. all of this new unprecedented classification relates to the training and equipping of afghan forces. but building up the afghan security forces, that really is the american mission in that country now. they say the war is ending while we still have all of those troops there, that's what we were doing. we were able to draw down our troop level somewhat. and the 9500 give or take american soldiers still in afghanistan along with thousands of american contractors are there to support the training of afghan forces, and now everything is classified. and just today in a horrible reminder of how dangerous the mission remains, today, three american contractors and one afghan national were killed at the kabul airplane. they were instructors shot dead by an afghan soldier. classifying this information will make it difficult to report on what is happening in afghan. we'll know much less about what our government is doing, how much they're spending. but it will not make afghanistan even the troops working there, it won't make them go away or make their job easier, it will just make us know less. joining us now for the interview tonight is senator claire mccaskill tonight. and she endures me talking about her in an embarrassing way without me talking about it. thank you for being here. >> thank you, rachel. why all of this previously public information is all of a sudden classified now? >> it is important to remember why we have a special inspector general. we put this in the statute because the public needs to hold the government accountable about the way they spend money during the war. we saw in iraq tens on tens of billions of dollars wasted. and what we tried to do by putting him in there, she a great inspector general, the one before he was incompetent and he was fired. if the public can't know it, we cannot hold our government accountable about what they're doing in wartime and how effective it is. this is really a big deal. i'm hot about it and i'm going to get to the bottom of it. >> there has been this change, and what is worrying to me is the change where we're not allowed to know anything about afghan security forces is happening at the same time. and the whole mission is the afghan security forces. i'll worried this is an effort to disappear american information about our ongoing dangerous war-like efforts there so it seems like we're in a war but we're not and 10,000 troops are still there. >> look what happened in iraq. the ability of the army is to build up, sustain, and train and they crumbled under bad political leadership and isis ran over a great deal of that country with severe consequences. we need to keep track on if the ongoing mission is working. what is the force? what are the capabilities? now there may be some details that should be classified about location and various components, but the notion that general heitkamp -- campbell says it's classified. >> it is due to come up, everyone thinks he will sail through his confirmation proceedings, but might it become an issue? >> i will ask the question, why is this classified? i will expect him to have answers, and ash carter is someone that had a lot of experience in acquisitions. he understands the financial side of the military and the problems societied with that. i worked with him on issues like that in the past. i will expect him to have some answers. >> one of the things that the president called for in the state of the union address is that the republicans did not seem too opposed to, is the idea that there should be a debate, hopefully a vote around what is going on right no in iraq and syria. the current authorization for that force dates back to 9/11. into seemingly unrelated events in those very early, more than a decade old pieces of legislation. when that happens do you think that will be an occasion to talk about some of these bigger pigture issues. 10,000 americans in afghanistan for another decade. it is seemingly rapidly expanding in iraq. do you think there will be a broad debate about how we're using force if and when that happens? >> i think so. i think force and intelligence. and you know the notion that we have an ongoing war that may be never ending because of the nature of terrorism and the global presence of it. but the bottom line is that we need to get at this use of force agreement. it is hard, it will be very difficult in this environment with a congress that seems more attracted to the idea of politically punching the president than getting things done, but we ought to do this. i think, i hope -- i think senator corker is serious about it and has good faith behind his effort. i'm hoping that we will be able to work on it and hammer out language that is not so open ended. >> last question for you, senator, i know you're completely committed to hillary clinton and her run for the presidency in 2016. if for some reason she does not run, would you consider running? >> i doubt it. i'm proud to be a democratic. i'm not ashamed to be a moderate. i think it is important for all of the democrats to remember it's hard for us to be in majority and hold the presidency. and we don't understand that independent voters in the middle are not interested in parties, they want us to compromise and get along. >> elegant dodge, you're way more conservative than i am -- >> yeah, the endorsers will be screaming at you. >> i know. i do get screamed at a lot, that's true. >> in stereo, thank you for being here, i appreciate it. just ahead, more of this, stay with us. ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our angie's list app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ look another this little guy. he is a sierra nevada red sox. they're one of the most endangered species in the whole country. there are only 50 of them left in the whole united states. 50. but this guy, this picture, this guy was just spotted in yosemite national park. the first time one has been seen there in over 100 years. he is not only healthy, he is gorgeous. people say we never say nice things about fox. i have never before wanted to work at the faa, but now i know it is someone's job to make things like this and i'm reconsidering. >> going to the big game? have fun. cheer on your team, and keep it a no drone zone. don't spoil the game. leave your drone at home. >> leave your drone at home if you're going to the super bowl and one of the things you were planning on bringing to the game was a drone. there is some precedence that suggests a warning like this might be in order. in october in a big soccer match, a big mele broke out. players were smashing chairs over each other's heads, fans ran on the field and punched each other out. the catalyst for that brawl in the soccer match was there. look. out of nowhere, someone flew a drone over the field, and attached to it was a very controversial albanist flag. that drone flew on to the game, one player grabbed the flag and pulled the drone down and everybody went nuts, a giant brawl broke out, they had to end the game right there. fans were throwing things as the players ran off of the field all because of that flag carrying drone. so yeah, albanian national flags on drones at the super bowl, nobody wants that. we also learned that nobody wants drones at the white house either. how they may get both of those things will be very interesting. and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. you know i tried one of those bargain paper towels but the roll just disappeared. bounty is 2x more absorbent so one roll lasts longer. bounty. the long lasting picker upper in may 2005, two pilots on their way to a air show in north carolina caused a big problem when they were there. they flew their small plane into the nation's highest restricted air space. a black hawk helicopter and two f-16 jets went to neutralize the suspect. they ended up escorting the little plane away. some stern questioning ensued. dc is covered by a flight restricted zone which means that pilots are not supposed to fly over dc without permission. that applies anywhere near the white house. it is also against the law to fly an unmanned drone over dc. on tuesday night we talked about the federal employee that drunkingly flew his friend's drone over the fence and on to the grounds of the white house. he has not been charged. secret service appears to believe his explanation, but it is not unreasonable to be worried about what happened there. the white house was evacuated. the supreme court was evacuated. the u.s. capitol was evacuated. a black hawk helicopter and two jets were dispatched to neutralized the perceived threat and they ended up escorting the cessna away from washington, d.c. they made it land at an airport four rotor drone, about four feet across. the drone doesn't appear to have been carrying anything. commercially available drones they can carry things that's the whole this i go about the dumb amazon delivery things that 60 minutes did that fluffy awkward press release for a couple months ago. this was a drone that was covered by authorities on the u.s. mexico border. the working theory about why this drone crashed is because of six pounds of meth that this drone had drapd to it was a little too much for this little guy to carry. had had it been four points of meth instead of six pounds of meth this little guy may have been 5ib8ing able to get to where it was going across the border. after that crashed on the border last week and after this week's drunk droin carrying nothing crashed at the white house the company that makes this model of drone, wunt that crashed he at the white house, that company sis called szdgi tech nothing from china, they allowanced yesterday that they are changing the software that powers their drones so that these drones will land themselves override your commands and land themselves if you try to fly them across a national border or if you try to fly them into downtown washington, d.c. apparently they already have a patch in place that stops you from flying this kind of drone near airports and because they're a chinese company they also have a watch in place that blocks you from flying these phones in tina minute square but now they say they're going to include international borders and also 15 1/2 square mile space over washington, d.c. after the drone crashed at the white house this week one of the ideas that was floated for how we might protect the white house from that happening again, particularly from the threat of a drone carrying dangerous payload or surveillance cameras, one of the ideas was that the white house might proactively jam the kinds of signals that a person would use to steer a drone on to the white house grounds. maybe they will do at that. maybe that's impractical. i don't know. but for now at least the drone companies themselves are using technology you never imagined might exist to basically create and enforce their own no fly zones built into the drones. so weird. watch this space. with secret outlast clear gel, you're ready no matter how long your day gets. stay still, like a statue. alright sweetie. just like a statue. just one more. hold still, like a statue! really? look here! ok sweetie. alright. our new formula gives you 48 hour odor protection and goes on clear for no white marks. secret outlast clear gel. [ male announcer ] you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. but a lot of us leave our identities unprotected. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012, but for every car stolen 34 people had their identities stolen. identity thieves can steal your money, damage your credit and wreak havoc on your life. why risk it when you can help protect yourself from identity theft with one call to lifelock, the leader in identity-theft protection? lifelock actively patrols your sensitive, personal information every second of every day, helping to guard your social security number, your bank accounts and credit, even the equity in your home -- your valuable personal assets. look. your bank may alert you to suspicious activity on your credit or debit card. but that still may leave you vulnerable to big losses if a thief opens new accounts in your name or decides to drain your savings, home equity, or retirement accounts. and your credit report may only tell you after your identity's been compromised. but lifelock is proactive protection and watches out for you in ways that banks and credit-card companies alone just can't giving you the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. whenever the patented lifelock identity alert system detects a threat to your identity you'll be notified by phone, text, or e-mail, helping you to stop identity thieves before they do damage. you even get a $1 million service guarantee. that's right. if your identity is ever compromised, lifelock will spend up to $1 million on experts to help restore it. you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. don't leave your money, credit and good name unprotected. call now, and try lifelock risk-free for 60 days. act now, and get this document shredder free. a try lifelock risk-free for 60 days and get this document shredder free -- a $29 value -- when you use promo code go. call now. veto watch. we are now about to en it ter into a thu era in american politics the likes of which we have not seen for years. we are now about to enter veto time. over the last six years during the first six years that he has been in office president obama has vetoed precisely two bills, neither of which are anything you have heard of they were two non controversial vetoes made for technical reasons on two pieces of small scale legislation. that's all he's done. but now for the first time the congress is completely controlled by the republican party and so it's veto time. the collision course between a republican controlled body at that writes the bills and a democratic president that has to sign those bills that collision course is about to be boom and it starts with what happened today. the senate by a vote of 62-36 they passed a bill to force the approval of the keystone pipeline. this bill was senate bill 1. this is the first thing senate republicans wanted to do about their new majority and today at the got it done. awkwardly they scheduled the vote right in the middle of a troubling rash of big pipeline spills and explosions all across the country, including some brand new pipelines that are spilling and exploding. there have been at least five big explosions just in the past couple of weeks but they went ahead head with the keystone vote and it passed. our previous guest conservative rat tick missouri senator claire mccaskill was one of nine democrats who voted with republicans on this things. it passed pretty easily. the house already passed its own version of the keystone bill earlier this month, they will have to merge their bill with the senate's version but it is basically down. we are still for a show down because president obama has already said that he will veto that bill as soon as he gets it. veto time is upon t it's exciting. and this is really interesting, today's keystone vote also means that one other important thing is now set to happen at the very end of the last session of congress you might remember that the senate tried and failed to pass something called the clay hunt veterans suicide prevention act, we've talked about it a number of times on this show. it was a bill that veterans groups put together to tried try to end the epidemic that we have to end veterans committing suicide. 22 veterans commit suicide every day. to try to make it so the vets stop falling through the cracks to tune up best practices, this little bill passed unanimously in the house last year it had all but unanimous support in the senate but when it reached the senate, one senator republican tom co burn of oklahoma, he blocked it. he refused to let it come up for a vote even though he couldn't persuade another single person of why he was doing it. he blocked the veterans suicide bill alone. but now tom co burn is gone and because of that we have some news to report. so they spent all week voting on this keystone thing that president obama is going to veto anyway but now that the keystone thing is done in the senate the veteran suicide bill you should know has already passed the house, it passed the house unanimously again, it passed the veterans committee in the senate again unanimously and now that keystone is off the senate floor, now that that stuff is over now we can report that the inn ex police blee delayed veteran suicide bill that couldn't pass last year the clay hunt suicide prevention act is going to get its vote it's going to get a vote on the senate floor on monday. you can put it in your calendar put it in that app so your phone bieps at you or whatever when it's going to happen. it's monday 5:30 p.m. eastern time. they are finally going to get this thing done. and when it apps you can raise a glass to oklahoma senator tom co burn you can raise a glass and then pure it out because this could only happen because he finally quit and got out of the way. heck of a legacy sir. 5:30 eastern monday. you can count on. right ou on first look super sunday is looming large from the counterfeit jerseys to fake tickets to katie perry prepping for a global audience, we will take you to phoenix. then senator john mccain blasts protesters as low life scum. new information about alcohol and strokes. and the links some will go for a hot commercial. yoorng and naings for joining us i'm betty nguyen. it's friday. super bowl weekend the patriots and seahawks square off on sunday night. if you're still looking to get to the game the cheapest tickets listed on the nfl site nierl $7,000, that's the cheapest remember the most expensive more than

Transcripts For MSNBCW The Rachel Maddow Show 20150130

>> they're putting on a sleazy ad in the middle of the super bowl on sunday. so when you sit down with your family, wife daughters to watch this, you may be exposed to pornography. straight up pornography on network television. >> i don't think that this year's lady eating a hamburger ad will lead to a wide spread boycott of the chain running that ad. i don't think it will, but that boycott effort was announced on an american family association. they have been in the news because they're taking the chairman of the national republican party and apparently dozens of other mens of the republican national committee on an all expenses paid trip to israel. they're due to leave on saturday and they will be gone for nine days. members of the rnc are not a free school lunch kind of bunch. they're well off. if they want to go to israel nothing is stopping them from paying for themselves. who cares. what people care about, and what i think has become an interesting story this week, the rnc decided not to go on their own dime, but to go as guests of the american family association which hosts these radio shows. >> hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders. but homosexual soldiers had no limits for7< the brutality they were willing to inflict on whoever hitler sent him after. so he surrounded himself with male homosexuals. that was brian fisher and he was fired from his job yesterday as the director of issue analysis. the president told us yesterday that bryan fischer had been fired in that capacity, but he would continue with his radio show. he is still their talk show host. the american family association confirmed to us that even though they fired him from his other jobs, they're still paying him to maybe his bryan fischer magic on the radio. >> they have no first amendment right to the free exercise of religion. >> the national republican party from the united states was sending it's national committee members and chairman on a trip funded by and led by this group which among other things promoted the idea on their radio shows that they have no first amendment right to practice judaism. why would they partner with an organization like that. how is the national republican party going to explain why the national republican party is partnering with this group taking a trip with this group, that if, direction, you're a jewish immigrant your condition is that you must convert to christianity. number one, those who came to our shores would be expected to adopt our religious values and traditions. the god of their homeland they would leave behind. >> immigrants of the world, you can immigrant to the united states, you just have to stopde a being a jew. you have to be a christian if you want to be allowed into this country. that is who the republican party is taking this trip with, leaving on saturday. i don't know if the republican party just didn't think people would notice that this is who they're doing this trip with, but people have noticed. and the resulting publicity and uproar over the republican party doing this is putting a little heat on this partnership. the american family partnership said this it gave the southern poverty law center a bullet pointed list of the positions taken by brian faischer that his employer no longer wants to be associated with. it is a list of things he has said. most of them were years ago and they were fine with until now. now that they're doing this they're renouncing this specific list of things that brian fischer has said and he has been fired with one of his jobs. they don't want him described as a spokesperson any more but they're keeping him on the payroll and on the radio. after days of refusing to comment on this controversy after days of refusing to give any comment about why the national republican party would partner with a group like this finally the rnc has given us a comment on the matter. this was their full statement. we don't%iiñ agree with brian fischer comments and we're glad to have severed ties with him. here is the problem they have not severed ties with him. they fired him from one of his jobs and kept him in his ore one nap is one yet unresolved problem for chairman ranked previous in the national republican party. they're not associated with that bryan fischer they still are in bed with him. that is still a problem, that's one problem. the other problem which the republican party has not addressed at all, is specifically who is taking rights previous and all of the other committee members on this trip. who is personally leading this trip and organizing it and going with them. taking all of the top republicans away on a jet plane the day after tomorrow. his name is david lane. he works for part of the american family association called the american renewal project. if you follow this kind of stuff, you might recognize some of the events that he has been associated with. he was in the prayer rally that happened this past weekend in louisiana and that attracted protestors from all over the state. he also organized the rick perry prayer kick off event in the 2012 campaign. here is why it is hard to believe that the republican party can go ahead with this trip on saturday. here is why. during the 2012 presidential campaign when it became clear that mitt romney woul6"ó8÷ be the nominee from the republican party, luckily this did not go on for too long and it was not too widespread. there was one burst of really ugly bigotry that was slung at mitt romney, and th2 christ. emphasis on jengenuine, and that raised questions about what he was implying about other candidates beliefs. he made is crystal clear, yes, what it sounded like he was implying is really what he was implying. what he meant to say and what he meant by that introduction. that rick perry is a real christian and mitt romney is something else. he called mitt romney ami1i member of a cult. he said that mitt romney is, quote, not a christian. the reason this was such an ugly moment is not because of the theological nature. your religious beliefs are your religious religious beliefs. they were making an overt argument that mitt romney should not be elected to office specifically because of his religion. >> the value of electing a christian goes beyond the public policies that he or she may enact. we make a grave mistake in under estimating the value of having a christian in office.xójr followers of mormonism hinduism islam they're not worshipping the same god in a different way, we believe their following false gods. >> this is not a christian faith. it is a false religion. what this would mean for the spiritual health of the united states of america, the worshipper of a false god occupied the white house. >> it was an ugly strange of religious bigotry by certain parts of the religious right including the american family association. at the height of that ugliness the daily beast obtained e-mails written by david lane, that led the rick perry prayer rally. the same guy about to lead the top leadership of the national republican party on this trip this weekend. in these e-mails david lane said that pro rick perry pastor the one that called mormonism a cult, he said about that pastor, quote, we owe dr. jeffress a big thank you. he said quote, let me go on the record i won't vote for mitt romney as republican nominee in 2012. >> why is the national republican party sending it's chairman and national leadership on a trip led by that guy who said he wanted to be on the record about the fact that he wouldn't vote for mitt romney on religious grounds, because of mitt romney's religion. it's not like the bigot line was a mainstream thing. it was around but it was a short, shrill ugly little thing that rick perry did real harm to himself by flirting with and getting close to in the campaign. it was not a widespread thing. the republican party is now embracing these guys. not just people related to people who are related to these guys. the one that says i will not vote for mitt romney is the exact same guy who is taking the republican party on this trip the day after tomorrow. tonight is the sum total of the republican party's comments on this matter to date. they sent us this generous comment tonight, we wrote back to say the factual basis of their statement is wrong. they have not severed ties with this bryan fischer guy. who says jews don't have the right to practice their religion in america. and that we have to grapple with someone that worships a false god like mitt romney. we wrote back to the republican party tonight to ask if they understood that bryan fischer still works with the group that is going on this trip. they have not replied. we also asked the republican party today if it was true that they pressured the american family association to do this renunciation of some of the statements of bryan r if they pressured him to fire him from his spokesman job from the group. we also i should tell you asked them sort of in ietalics if they really are still plans on going ahead with this trip. taking ranks previous and dozens of members of the republican national committee on a trip with the brian fischer group. they have not answered us about that. i have to say it is hard to believe they will go ahead with this trip. it is hard to know what it will do to the republican party for them to get on board in this explicit way for a trip to israel no less? this is the quote from david lane. we are a christian nation. what will it mean to the republican party going forward with a group that advocates that america is by christians and for christians only. christians exclusively. joining us now is robert pezner. thank you for joining us tonight. >> first i just want to ask your top line thoughts about the rnc taking this trip with the american family association. >> it is a real concern. it's a great thing the rnc is going to israel, but the afa, the american family association is considered a hate group and the views it espouses are anti-gay, anti-muslim, and anti- anti-jewish. >> i don't know much about the republican party's internal politics and the relationships they have with other groups. through the rack, through your work with reformed judaism, and your connections to jewish american politics can you describe if they have a good relationship with the jewish community? >> yes, there are right-thinking republicans in the jewish community, and right-thinking democrats. our love for the state of israel and the strong american-israel relationship is not a partisan issue. we celebrate religious freedom and the jewish community is active in both political parties. i think both of us are scratching our heads and it is not a jewish issue it's an american issue. no american party should associate with a hate group, it's just not american. >> do you think there would be a negative response in israel if it became widely known who the republican party was taking this trip with? going to israel is a good thing at the surface, but the fact that they're taking the trip with this group, do you think it would be negatively received? >> yes, i think anyone that values religious freedom and tolerance, and they place religious freedom and democracy as a core value just like do in america. i think they would be upset with either political party if they associated themselves with any group that was anti-muslim anti-gay, and anti-jewish. a couple years ago, former president george w. bush gave a speech to a group that appeared to be a pro-israel group on the surface, and their mission was actually to convert jews to christianity. i continue to believe that george w. bush didn't know who he was talking to when he gave that speech. sort of hoping that the republican national committee didn't know who they were getting in bed with either. still time to bail out of this too. phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips he trains. he's psyched. ready for the knockout? you don't know "aarp." he's staying in shape by keeping his brain healthy and focused with aarp's staying sharp. with online mind sharpening exercises developed by the top minds in brain science. and exercise and stress reduction tips that can impact brain health. so he's ready for the real possibilities ahead. if you don't think top of my game when you think aarp then you don't know "aarp". find more surprisng possibilities and get to know us at aarp.org/possibilities. good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. we have a guest coming up on "the interview tonight" and i want to say something behind their back before they get in the chair and puts on the earpiece. the biggest question in capital d politics this year is what if hillary clinton doesn't run. everyone thinks she would be a favorite for the nomination if she ran for president right? so what if she doesn't run. for whatever reason what would happen on the democratic side? our next guest is here to talk with me about something totally unrelated to the 2016 race our next guest has never talked about being interested in president. if hillary clinton didn't run our next guest would give the democratic party the best chance of all other possible candidates in winning the white house in 2016. i think they would be the strongest candidate to run for president other than hillary. don't tell the person i said that, we'll have an interview about something else. crafted with two ristretto shots for bolder caramel-ly espresso. whole milk... steamed to a sweet velvety microfoam delicately poured, so the espresso rises to the top. the perfect union of bold and sweet. simplicity is its own artistry. many people clean their dentures with toothpaste or plain water. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday. you're giving away pie? what would you like, apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? definitely cream. [reddi wip spray sound] never made with hydrogenated oil, oh, yeah... always made with real cream. the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. next. ♪♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. ♪ ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. once upon a time we the people of the united states spent money to buy afghanistan a fleet of planes. planes they could not fly or maintain. so weak and they were dumped in a field full of weeds and they then were turned to scrap. it sold for six cents a pound. it is a loss of 99.93% on the investment if you're counting at home. and also this one, the amazing melting afghan police training center. we spent a half million dollars but apparently it was not brake light to withstand rain. so when it rained the training center melted. these are just two damplexampled of really bad management. we would have neither known about either of those examples if it wasn't if this guy. the special investigator for afghanistan reconstructer. he asks questions like hey, what happened to those planes? how is that training center we built? there is something different about his latest report that officially comes out tomorrow. after 25 consecutive quarterly reports where he has laid out in detail the data about the u.s. mission in afghanistan, right? training the security forces how well the horses are performing, after 25 of those reports in this report, this 26th report, all of that data is suddenly classified. inspector general calls this "unprecedented." he says for the first time in six years he is unable to report on most of the u.s. taxpayer efforts to train and equip afghan forces. that is pretty much the u.s. mission in afghanistan. because he is a little saucy, his latest report where everything is classified all of a sudden, it also contained something new. he included an appendix that includes every question that asked about afghanistan. every question for which the answer was classified. could you give us the definitions of the terms unavailable or present for duty? no sorry that is classified. at one point they reportedly tried to classify the number of troops in afghanistan. it has been publicly announced by president obama. in a memo, the commander of coalition forces said why i cannot comment upon the resist reason why some information was considered unclassified in the past, we must avoid providing since sensitive information that could en endanger our forces. all of this new unprecedented classification relates to the training and equipping of afghan forces. but building up the afghan security forces that really is the american mission in that country now. they say the war is ending while we still have all of those troops there, that's what we were doing. we were able to draw down our troop level somewhat. and the 9500 give or take american soldiers still in afghanistan along with thousands of american contractors are there to support the training of afghan forces, and now everything is classified. and just today in a horrible reminder of how dangerous the mission remains today, three american contractors and one afghan national were killed at the kabul airplane. they were instructors shot dead by an afghan soldier. classifying this information will make it difficult to report on what is happening in afghan. we'll know much less about what our government is doing, how much they're spending. but it will not make afghanistan even the troops working there, it won't make them go away or make their job easier it will just make us know less. joining us now for the interview tonight is senator claire mccaskill tonight. and she endures me talking about her in an embarrassing way without me talking about it. thank you for being here. >> thank you, rachel. why all of this previously public information is all of a sudden classified now? >> it is important to remember why we have a special inspector general. we put this in the statute because the public needs to hold the government accountable about the way they spend money during the war. we saw in iraq tens on tens of billions of dollars wasted. and what we tried to do by putting him in there she a great inspector general, the one before he was incompetent and he was fired. if the public can't know it we cannot hold our government=3g accountable about what they're doing in wartime and how effective it is. this is really a big deal. i'm hot about it and i'm going to get to the bottom of it. >> there has been this change and what is worrying to me is the change where we're not allowed to know anything about afghan security forces is happening the happening at the same time. and the whole mission is the afghan security forces. i'll worried this is an effort to disappear american information about our ongoing dangerous war-like efforts there so it seems like we're in a war but we're not and 10,000 troops are still there. >> look what happened in iraq. the ability of the army is to build up sustain, and train and they crumbled under bad political leadership and isis ran over a great deal of that country with severe consequences. we need to keep track on if the ongoing mission is working. what is the force? what are the capabilities? now there may be some details that should be classified about location and various components, but the notion that general heitkamp bell-- campbell says it's classified. >> it is due to come up, everyone thinks he will sail through his confirmation proceedings, but might it become an issue? >> i will ask the question why is this classified? i will expect him to have answers, and ash carter is someone that had a lot of experience in acquisitions. he understands the financial side of the military and the problems societied with that. i woshrked with him on issues like that in the past. i will expect him to have some answers. >> one of the things that the president called for in the state of the union address is that the republicans did not seem too opposed to is the idea that there should be a debate hopefully a vote around what is going on right no in iraq and syria. the current authorization for that force dates back to 9/11. into seemingly unrelated events in those very early more than a decade old pieces of legislation. when that happens do you think that will be an occasion to talk about some of these bigger pigture issues. 10,000 americans in afghanistan for another decade. it is seemingly rapidly expanding in iraq. do you think there will be a broad debate about how we're using force if and when that happens? >> i think so. i think force and intelligence. and you know the notion that we have an ongoing war that may be never ending because of the nature of terrorism and the global presence of it. but the bottom line is that we need to get at this use of force agreement. it is hard, it will be very difficult in this environment with a congress that seems more attracted to the idea of politically punching the president than getting things done, but we ought to do this. i think i hope -- i think senator corker is serious about it and has good faith behind his effort. i'm hoping that we will be able to work on it and hammer out language that is not so open ended. >> last question for you senator, i know you're completely committed to hillary clinton and her run for the presidency in 2016. if for some reason she does not run, would you consider running? >> i doubt it. i'm proud to be a democratic. i'm not ashamed to be a moderate. i think it is important for all of the democrats to remember it's hard for us to be in majority and hold the presidency. and we don't understand that independent voters in the middle are not interested in parties, they want us to compromise and get along. >> elegant dodge you're way more conservative than i am -- >> yeah, the endorsers will be screaming at you. >> i know. i do get screamed at a lot that's true. >> in stereo thank you for being here i appreciate it. just ahead, more of this, stay with us. in my world, wall isn't a street. return on investment isn't the only return i'm looking forward to. for some every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. start investing with as little as fifty dollars. push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come. our eyes they have a 200-degree range of sight. which is good for me. hey! and bad for the barkley twins. your brain can send information to the rest of your body at 268 mph. three times the speed of a fastball. take care of your most important parts with centrum. multivitamins expertly designed with nutrients people don't get enough of from food alone. centrum. for the most important parts of you. ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our angie's list app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ look another this little guy. he is a sierra nevada red sox. they're one of the most endangered species in the whole country. there are only 50 of them left in the whole united states. 50. but this guy this picture, this guy was just spotted in yosemite national park. the first time one has been seen there in over 100 years. he is not only healthy, he is gorgeous. people say we never say nice things about fox. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. why pause the moment? ask your doctor about cialis for daily use. for a free 30-tablet trial go to cialis.com (announcer) don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... ...or four lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. hurry! offers end february 4th. only on verizon. i have never before wanted to work at the faa, but now i know it is someone's job to make things like this and i'm reconsidering. >> going to the big game? have fun. cheer on your team, and keep it a no drone zone. don't spoil the game. leave your drone at home. >> leave your drone at home if you're going to the super bowl and one of the things you were planning on bringing to the game was a drone. there is some precedence that suggests a warning like this might be in order. in october in a big soccer match, a big mele broke out. players were smashing chairs over each other's heads, fans ran on the field and punched each other out. the catalyst for that brawl in the soccer match was there. look. out of nowhere, someone flew a drone over the field and attached to it was a very controversial albanist flag. that drone flew on to the game one player grabbed the flag and pulled the drone down and everybody went nuts, a giant brawl broke out they had to end the game right there. fans were throwing things as the players ran off of the field all because of that flag carrying drone. so yeah, albanian national flags on drones at the super bowl nobody wants that. we also learned that nobody wants drones at the white house either. how they may get both of those things will be very interesting. enthusiast. mmm, a perfect 177-degrees. and that's why this road warrior rents from national. i can bypass the counter and go straight to my car. and i don't have to talk to any humans, unless i want to. and i don't. and national lets me choose any car in the aisle. control. it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. in may 2005, two pilots on their way to a air show in north carolina caused a big problem when they were there. they flew their small plane into the nation's highest restricted air space. a black hawk helicopter and two f-16 jets went to neutralize the suspect. they ended up escorting the little plane away. some stern questioning ensued. dc is covered by a flight restricted zone which means that pilots are not supposed to fly over dc without permission. that applies anywhere near the white house. it is also against the law to fly an unmanned drone over dc. on tuesday night we talked about the federal employee that drunkingly flew his friend's drone over the fence and on to the grounds of the white house. he has not been charged. secret service appears to believe his explanation, but it but it's not unreasonable to be worried and what it says about the safety of the first family when they're home on the white house grounds. this is the drone that crashed at the white house. it's fairly large, a four row for drone about two feet across. you can tell that it doesn't appear to have been carrying anything, a camera or anything else. commercially available drones can carry things. that's the whole thinkingwj"h÷ about the amazon drone delivery thing that "60 minutes" did that press release for a few months ago. this was drecovered by authorities last week on the u.s.-mexico border near tijuana. the theory about why this drone crashed is because the six pounds of meth that this drone had strapped to it was a little too much for this little guy to carry. but you know what? had it been four pounds instead of six pounds of meth, this little guy may have been able to get to wherever it was going across the border. after that drone carrying meth crashed on the border last week and after this week's drunk drone carrying nothing crashed at the white house the company that makes this model of drone, the one that crashed at the white house, that company from china announced yesterday that they are changing the software that powers their drones so these drones will land themselves, they will override your commands and land themselves if you try to fly them across a national border or try to fly them into downtown washington, d.c. apparently they already have a patch many play that stops you from flying these near airports and they also have a patch in place that blocks you from flying these drones in tiananmen square and also a 15 1/2 square mile space over washington, d.c.%p:@ñ after the drone crashed at the white house this week, one of the ideas that was floated for how we might protect the white house from that happening again, particularly of the threat of a drone carrying a dangerous payload, one of the ideas is that the white house might proactively jam the kinds of signals a person would use to steer a drone onto the white house grounds. maybe they'll do that. maybe that's impractical, i don't know. but for now, the drone companies themselves are using technology you never imagined might exist to basically create and enforce their own no-fly zones built into the drones. so weird. watch this space. your mom's got your back. your friends have your back. your dog's definitely got your back. but who's got your back when you need legal help? we do. we're legalzoom, and over the last 10 years, we've helped millions of people protect their families and run their businesses. we have the right people on-hand to answer your questions backed by a trusted network of attorneys. so visit us today for legal help you can count on. legalzoom. legal help is here. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. i better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is. they're still after me. get to the terminal across town. are all the green lights you? no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51. ♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids make the world predictable. thrillingly predictable. vo: introducing the starbucks flat white. crafted with two ristretto shots for bolder caramel-ly espresso. whole milk... steamed to a sweet velvety microfoam delicately poured, so the espresso rises to the top. the perfect union of bold and sweet. simplicity is its own artistry. many people clean their dentures with toothpaste or plain water. and even though their dentures look clean, in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday. veto watch. we are now about to enter into a new era in american politics, the likes we have not seen for years. we're now about to enter ve ñ time. over the last six years during the first six years that he's been in office, president obama has vetoed precisely two bills. neither of which are anything you've heard of. two noncontroversial vetoes made for basically technical reasons on two small scale pieces of legislation, and that's for the entire course of his entire presidency so far. that's it. that's all he's done. but now for the first time the congress is completely controlled by the republican party, and so it's veto time. the collision course between a republican controlled body that writes the bills and a democratic bill who has to sign those bills, that collision course is about to go boom. it starts with what happened today. today, the senate passed a bill to force the approval of the keystone pipeline. this bill was senate bill one. this is the first thing senate republicans wanted to do with their new majority and they got it done. they scheduled the vote in the middle of big pipeline spills and explosions across the line including brand new pipelines spilling and exploding. but they went ahead with the keystone vote today any way and it passed. our previous guest this hour conservative democratic missouri senator claire mccaskill is one of nine democrats who voted with republicans on this thing. it passed pretty easily. the house already passed their own version. they will now have to merge their bill with the senate's version, but it's basically done. we are set for a showdown, because president obama has already said that he will veto that bill as soon as he gets it. veto time is upon us. it's exciting. and this is really interesting. today's keystone vote means one other important thing is no ó to happen. at the very end of the haste session of congress, you might remember that the senate tried and failed to pass something called the clay-hunt veterans suicide prevention act. we've talked about it a number of times on the show. this is a bill that veterans groups put together to end the epidemic that we have of veterans committing suicide at a terrible rate. 22 veterans committing suicide every single day in our country. this bill tries to make it so vets stop falling through the cracks, to tune up best practices and try to prevent the suicides. this little bill passed unanimously in the house last year. it had all but unanimous support in the senate. but one senator, tom coburn, blocked it. he refused to let it come up for a vote even though he couldn't persuade another person of why he was doing it. he blocked the veterans suicide bill alone. but now tom coburn is gone, and because of that, we have some news to report. so they spent all week voting on this keystone thing that president obama is going to veto. but now that the keystone thing is done in the senate the veterans suicide bill has already passed the house. it passed unanimously again. it passed the veterans committee in the senate unanimously. and now that keystone is off the senate floor now that that stuff is over. now we can report that the delayed one-man stymied veterans suicide bill that couldn't pass last year, the clay-hunt veterans suicide prevention act is going to get a vote on the senate floor on monday. you can put it in your calendar. you can put it in that app so your phone beeps at you, it's monday, 5:30 p.m. eastern time. they are going to get this thing done. when it happens, you can raise a glass to oklahoma senator tom coburn and then pour it out, because this could only happen because he quit and got out of the way. heck of a legacy sir. 5:30 eastern, monday. you can count on it. that does it for us tonight. now time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." "american sniper" has been seen by more people than any other this year and is now turning into a political argument. >> is this a celebration of an american hero? >> bradleyq

NY Senate confirms Martuscello as DOCCS commissioner

After serving for nearly a year as acting commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the state Senate has confirmed Daniel Martuscello III to lead the agency.

Silent retreat is healing and can be encounter with God's love, say retreatants

Prince George's Co. police questioned over body-worn cameras falling off during arrests

Sharon High School robotics ends season on high note

SHARON – The neat part about robotics is that whatever field students decide to go into, they can use any of the skills they have learned during their time in

Sharon High School robotics ends season on high note

SHARON – The neat part about robotics is that whatever field students decide to go into, they can use any of the skills they have learned during their time in