With trumps Attorney General, both vilifying his former boss and also voting for him. And hes far from alone. What are revealing conversation tells us about the state of the race and the. State of the republican party. Also a new front and the flash point on College Campuses. As protesters are being told tonight, the time is up columbia beginning to suspend students and police in Riot Gear Making Hundreds Of Arrest across the country are source on this Movement Tonight is Michael Moore and did a potential trump Vice President ial pick just shoot ourselves in the foot. Theres who fall out tonight for south dakota governor kristi no matter her story about shooting her puppy on purpose, were digging into whats bazai behind her latest bizarre defense . Im kaitlan collins. And this is the source tonight an exclusive window directly into the disconnect at the heart of our Current National politics. A window that was thrown wide open by former Attorney General bill barr right here on the source i, think that ive said this all along. If faced with a choice between two people, neither of which i think should be president. I feel its my duty to pick the person who i think would do the least damage to the contrary and i think trump would do less damage than biden thats the rationale from a former Cabinet Member who had a Front Row Seat to the turbulent final weeks of the Trump Administration is donald trump was seeking to overturn the 2020 Election Results an act the bar himself has described and pretty frank terms before should a noisy aid and it is a horror show. He didnt really appear to care about the facts. Someone who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our selfgovernment it shouldnt be anywhere near the oval office bars justification of his support for trump. Now, despite what youve just listened to, their can kind of feel like a dizzying about face. But keep in mind that came after this moment when i asked him about trump flat out mocking bar after he said hed support him in november i have to ask you about something that trump posted about you this week because he responded in response to you saying you vote for the republican ticket wow, former ag bill barr who led a lot of great people down by not investigating voter fraud in our country has just endorsed me for president , despite the fact that i call him, called Him Week Slope so moving, lethargic, got less and lazy based on the fact that i greatly appreciate his wholehearted endorsement i am removing the word lethargic from my statement. Thank you. Bill yeah. Classic trump funny bars, personal humiliation, as well as his embrace of trumps autocratic wishes. Even The Revelation that talk of executions were not rare occurrences inside the trump white house. Barr told. Us all that explains the barrage of headlines you see here launched by that barrier but what also makes it different is from the others that hes done, the one that he did here with us on the source friday night is that we had the opportunity to dig beyond the soundbite, the talking point, and really press mr. Bar, whom i should note is one of the few who individuals to ever serve as the nations chief Law Enforcement officer twice on how he could vote for trump, given his previous blistering criticism of him. And we challenged him on his argument that the Biden Administrations policies are worse than his former bosses attempts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power parents are losing the freedom to control their childrens education and people cant speak their mind, but that losing their jobs and things like that this is worse than the mccarthy era. Wheres that coming from . Its coming from the right. Those two things that you just noted there you believe are worse than a president of the United States trying to subvert the will of the people by overturning the results dont know. I think i think a country all the things together like were not enforcing our borders, so we have open borders. We have lawlessness in our cities. We have regulations coming fast and furious. So telling people what kind of stoves they can use and what kinds of cars they have to drive and eliminating cars and so and so forth yeah, those are those are the threats to democracy President Biden is not in control of what some School Boards across the country, using the Administrator Argument that the same major changes are being made in our country without without the democratic process and theyre being made by bureaucrats in these agencies. Yeah. Okay. Pause. You can not argue that republicans across the country, and im doing that as well. My own hometown, theres a huge fight at the library forever, which books kids can read. This is not something that is always fight. Do you think there are . I dont you think there should be some limits on what people are able to read very young age. I just think people look at what youre saying and they dont maybe, maybe even republicans who have concerns about whats happening with School Boards or the culture and dont make abortion even dont equate that with, with january 6 and trumps efforts when you told him the election was not stolen and hes still went out there and said it was stolen and let a lot of people to believe that they dont those things arent equal. It feels like a false equivalency well, i disagree, i think and i think the country is much more susceptible to losing freedoms by the excesses of the left and they have been steadily and that, thats clear people lose their jobs. Kids cant speak out in the classroom. They have to go along with what the professor says in order to get good grades and so forth. Its become like Nation Being Directed by Progressive Elise of Course Mccarthyism was one of the darkest chapters in american history. Its also republican governors who have led the nationwide effort to ban certain topics from classrooms what you agree or disagree with what theyre saying at this very moment, students on College Campuses across this country are certainly speaking out. Well talk more about that in a moment. But six months out from a president ial election, mr. Bars position is far from the only one in his party. Look at this, a new cnn poll shows that 92 republicans believed that trumps first term in office was a success. Four criminal indictments later that is actually higher than it was when he left the white house in 2021. Look no further than what trump himself is saying tonight touting what he says that the fool and enthusiastic support of Governor Ron Desantis trump met with desantis and florida yesterday to talk about how he can help with Trumps Campaign this is the first time theyve spoken since desantis dropped out of that ugly primary race. But we see this paradox echoed by republican, after republican, the donald trump is to blame for january 6 and everything that entailed in that period. If they are still going on to vote to put him back in the oval office. And most certainly they arent casting their ballots for President Joe BidenPresident Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the event of the day that would support the nominee of the party. Whoever that was and i do. You said it is clear the President Trumps rhetoric and add actions contributed to the insurrection. The domestic terrorists who attack United States capital must be held accountable and prosecuted. Do you stand by that statement 100 . Im going to split the ticket. Im going to support donald trump. Trump is not fit to be president if i could start a nationwide writein campaign for dick cheney . Maybe i should do that we begin with a source tonight, who served in the Trump Administration alongside bill barr, Alyssa Farah Griffin was the White House Communications director, and is now a cnn political commentator. And i just wonder what you made of what bill barr had to say i could spend the whole hour unpacking that historic stunning, and bizarre interview with the former Attorney General. I want to say one thing. He made this point that in fact the left and joe biden are more dangerous than the right because a talker seas dont emerge from the right. I would point to viktor orban, who donald trump regularly praises bolsonaro and brazil also came from the right. Its an absurd historically inaccurate claim that hes making. But i dont know bill barr. Well, i served alongside him. I was in high level meetings with him in the west wing. He matteroffactly admitted to you that donald trump talked regularly about executing people . I knew of the one instance i personally witnessed, i had heard of other examples secondhand but he seemed to dismiss it and then goes into this line of like, oh, dont take him literally well, we didnt take them literally when he wanted to steal the election or one hand cited a mob to go to the capital and it turned violent. Its time that people start taking donald trump much more literally at his word i would just also add donald trump has an a masterful job and with i would say, his friends and the rightwing media of Painting America as being in this hellscape right now, we cant survive another four years of joe biden. Weve survived nine, 11 world war ii economic downturns. I dont like joe bidens policies. That is demonstrably true . The board whether its the border crime is down republicans were blocking a border bill right now. We can survive bad policies. You cannot necessarily as democracy survive and anticonstitutional president , again, like donald trump. But when he brought up Gas Stove Regulations and truly was legitimately saying that that is as dangerous as what he personally witnessed and spoke out against an angered trump when he spoke to the Associated Press and december and said there was no widespread voter fraud here in the honestly, the interview felt like a Hostage Video i noticed that he was not regularly making eye contact with you, especially when he was making some of the more bizarre claims like gas stoves, it felt like he was kinda clinging to some rightwing Talking Points that nobody is turning out this election because of electric vehicles or gas stoves, rather than talking about issues that he knows are fundamental. Donald trump was to fire him, his Attorney General had he not step down, you wanted a loyalist in that role who is going to lie about the election and whats going to help them try to carry out overturning it. Bill barr knows that. I mean, its its frankly disgraceful that hes doing this about face now what you just mentioned there, you posted this last week and said that on an occasion where bill barr was present, you heard donald trump talk about suggesting executing a leaker, who from the white house we i brought that up with bar and this is what he said. But Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was occasions stricter, posted yesterday and said that you are present at a moment when trump suggested executing the person who leaked information that he went to the white house bunker when those George Floyd Protests were happening outside the white house do you remember that i remember and being very mad about that, i actually dont remember him saying executing, but i wouldnt dispute it i mean, it doesnt sound the president would lose his temper and say things like that. Taotie would have actually carried it out. I dont you know, but he would say that on other occasions you said the president had a i think people sometimes took them to literally and he would say things like similar to that in occasions to blow off steam. But i wouldnt take them literally every time he did it. Why not . Because at the end of the de it wouldnt be carried out and you could talk sense just because its not carried out and you could talk since sen. Tim doesnt that still mean that the threat is there . No. I mean, i think i dont think the threat is there. I can i the thing that i worry about, President Trump is not that hes going to become an autocrat and do those kinds of why not . Because i dont think he would vote the end of the day. Whats the basis for that . That that understanding that you have well i . Just your own hunch thats my feeling having worked for him, seen him in action. I dont think he would actually go and kill political rivals and things like that. I mean, are people that desensitized and the Trump Administration that he was like, oh, its just blowing off steam i mean, maybe in the moment, but with the hindsight of history, i mean, and the moment by the way, he was sitting to the left of the resolute desk. Bill barr was in the conversation was about invoking the Insurrection Act to try to quell domestic lets take protests. Bill barr having been Attorney General during rodney king, was talking the former president out of it, and he then launched into a tirade saying we needed to execute somebody who leaked this. Its treason. I dont know how he couldnt remember that moment. I think that thats lawyer speak for i dont want to answer it, but thats even more shocking if it was something that he didnt even see a significant and didnt file away history. I remember that day because that was when trump was upset that someone had leaked that. Thats why trump did that walk across the white house grounds where they cleared the protesters. He held the bible upside down. I remember all of that i mean, we were told by sources. I think kevin liptak reported trump did that because he was embarrassed that it had been reported. He went to the bunker very much so when there were two at least a dozen other people in that meeting who witnessed that same statement by the former president lets farah griffin. Thank you for your perspective on that also here tonight, as we were talking about this bill barr, at one point in that interview said that the Biden Administration he believes is a real threat to democracy. My next source is republican, who might disagree with that. Adam kinzinger investigated that threat to democracy around january 6, as a member of the House Select Committee and is now also a cnn senior political commentator. Congressman just i want you to listen to how bar tried to equate the threat that was posed by that a period of leading up to january 6 with the policies that are being implemented by President Biden how can you equate the border is a real issue. Ive been to the border. No ones denying that. But is that the same thing . Is what you said recently, which was that . The conduct that was involved with donald trump, you said trying to subvert and prevent the progress, the execution of probably the most important process we have, which is the peaceful transfer of power after an election. Name one thing that biden has done thats worse than that i think hes hello, administration is a disaster for the company is worse than subverting the peaceful transfer of power in did he succeed . Only because Vice President mike pence and now the people who are lining up the vichy again say that they will not do what mike pence did. Look, i was very loud and saying i thought it was a whole episode was shameful. And im very troubled by and thats why its not an easy decision. But i think when you have a hobsons choice, you have to pick the lesser of two evils. You dont see this is the definition of putting party over country no no, not because unfortunately, were having were in a situation where the policy differences between the two parties are very, very vast. Theres a huge gulf. And so in that trump can achieve the policies i think hes gonna have a harder time shaving them, but youre voting for so just to be clear, youre voting for someone who you believe tried to subvert the peaceful transfer of power that can even achieve his own policies that lied about the election even after his Attorney General told him that the election wasnt stolen. And as the former chief Law Enforcement in this country, youre going to vote for for someone who is facing 88 criminal counts look, the ada criminal counts, a lot of those are ten of them are accurate he answered the question is yes. Im supporting im supporting the republican Ticket Congressman i mean i just the only person happy about that interview was probably kris and new knew because he actually looked worse than him because sununu was doing the same thing. I just i cannot. When you ask him, isnt that the definition of putting party over country . It absolutely is the definition of putting party over country, not because he got to come back and said, well, look, if i was going to vote on the economy, like i agree with republican economics more than democratic, i can economic. But he was talking talking about who was a bigger threat to democracy to democracy. Look, you can have an outofcontrol border, an outofcontrol border do