Transcript: The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, 11/22/21

Guests: Jennifer Palmieri, Jill Wine-Banks, Kim Schrier, Zoe Lofgren, Jared Bernstein

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Summary

Interview with Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California, the chair of the Committee on House Administration and a member of the Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Interview with Jared Bernstein, a member of President Biden`s Council of Economic Advisers. The Republican Party has no problem with an alleged wife beater running for a Republican nomination for senate in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. The first Republican to give up on Sean Parnell`s candidacy was Sean Parnell, who dropped out of the race today. On Friday, every House Republican voted against the life-saving provisions in President Biden`s social agenda bill.

Transcript

LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Rachel.

So, I know what I`ll be doing tomorrow at 9:00, watching you with Secretary Clinton, there is a lot of ground to cover now.

RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC HOST, "TRMS": Yeah. I mean I sort of can`t believe I haven`t talked to her since -- I haven`t been able to interview her since before the 2020 election. I know it`s been COVID and we haven`t been doing in-person interviews and all that stuff and we haven`t been traveling and do all those things that sometimes make big interviews like that come around.

But yeah, I`m really looking forward to that. There is a lot to talk about.

O`DONNELL: Well, we will be watching. Thank you, Rachel.

MADDOW: Thanks, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Thank you.

So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves so when our nation`s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause, united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future, and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.

And, of course, those are not my words. And if you`re old enough, you could easily guess whose words they are, because they are of a certain style that was president John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and that`s what was said in the last speech of the day, what he intended to say, what he planned to say in the last speech of the day in Texas exactly 58 years ago today.

That`s how he would have closed his evening speech on November 22nd, 1963 in Austin, Texas. But he did not live to deliver that speech. At the end of this hour, we will show you the last words that President Kennedy did deliver in his last speech on the morning of November 22nd, 1963. Senator John F. Kennedy won the presidency in 1960 by less than 1 percent of the vote.

He defeated the sitting vice president, Republican Richard Nixon, who was regarded at that time as one of the most if not the most malevolent politicians in Washington. But even Richard Nixon, known then as Tricky Dick, who would go on to win the presidency eight years later and then lose the presidency in a corruption scandal that forced him to become the only president in history who resigned, even that Richard Nixon did believe in the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Both parties believed in that fully in 1960.

And so when Richard Nixon lost his first presidential campaign by less than 1 percent of the vote, he didn`t lie about it and claim that he won. He didn`t organize a rally on the day the electoral votes would be counted in the Congress to try to change the electoral outcome. In fact, Richard Nixon in his role as vice president of the United States smiled his way through his official duties on January 6, 1961 when he presided over Congress` certification of Senator John F. Kennedy`s victory over Vice President Richard Nixon.

That scenario is now inconceivable, now that the Republican Party has sunk below even the Nixon level of honor and decency and become the Trump party. As long as the Republican Party is locked in its worship of Donald Trump, it is inconceivable that a Republican vice president would participate in certifying the electoral victory of a Democratic president again. The House Select Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol is at its most ambitious attempting to prevent such an attack from happening again, but it might simply be an investigation that shows us exactly what we should expect to happen the next time a Trump Republican loses a presidential election.

[22:05:05]

Today, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol issued five more subpoenas to witness involved in planning and organizing the Trump rally on January 6. Two prominent Trump allies are targeted in this batch of subpoenas. They are Roger Stone and Alex Jones. Roger Stone avoided serving the 40-month prison sentence that he got for his previous crimes on behalf of Donald Trump when Donald Trump commuted the sentence Roger Stone was scheduled to begin serving.

The committee`s letter to Roger Stone says, quote, you have stated that you were invited to lead a march to the Capitol from the ellipse rally on January 6 but did not end up doing so or going to the ellipse rally or the Capitol that day. Tonight roger stone issued this statement, saying, quote, I have said time and time again that I had no advance knowledge of the events that took place at the Capitol on that day. After the subpoena is served and after my counsel reviews the requests, he will make the determination of how I will proceed.

Today`s subpoena will add to Alex Jones` mounting legal bills. Last week, a Connecticut court found Alex Jones liable for money damages in the defamation lawsuit brought by the parents of children killed in the 2012 massacre at sandy hook elementary school. Alex Jones famously lied about the murder of those children and their teachers.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have removed pages associated with Alex Jones for violating the services community standards by insane and malicious lying. The committee`s letter to Alex Jones quotes this statement that he made on his show the day after the attack on the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX JONES, INFOWARS HOST: The White House told me three days before, we`re going to have you lead the march. The Secret Service before Trump finishes, 30 minutes before. So, we`ll lead you to a point, take you out of the front row and lead you to the place where they want you to start the march and Trump will tell people go and I`m going meet you at the Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: The committee`s letter to Alex Jones also references this video of Alex Jones at the Capitol on January 6.

(BEGIN VIVDOE CLIP)

JONES: You better not certify the fake election of Joe Biden.

(INAUDIBLE)

JONES: I salute you! Everyone unite! Go to the other side of the Capitol. That`s where Trump`s going to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California. She is the chair of the Committee on House Administration and a member of the Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Congresswoman, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

Congresswoman, I want to begin with we ended there with Alex Jones. You have video of him saying to people at the Capitol go over to the other side. That`s where Trump is coming.

Alex Jones believed apparently what he was told by the White House, that Donald Trump was going to come up to the Capitol to join that part of his then movable rally.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Well, yes. I mean, we want to learn a lot more about that. Also, each one of the individuals who received a subpoena today apparently had a role in raising money for the rally on the 6th, and in some cases, so-called stop the steal rallies earlier in December. And so we want to follow the money, find out how this whole riot was planned and paid for and the like.

And we think Mr. Stone and Mr. Jones have information that we need.

O`DONNELL: Did the committee make any attempt to get testimony from Roger Stone or Alex Jones without subpoenas?

LOFGREN: I think they made it pretty clear that they`re not going willingly come in. And we, as you have noticed I`m sure, are moving quickly. We have don`t want to engage in lengthy unproductive negotiations.

You know, when someone indicates a willingness to work out issues, we`ll do that. But we`re not going to spend a lot of time on people who are defiant.

O`DONNELL: Dustin Stockton, who was one of the three not so well-known people added to the subpoena list today is quoted by the question in the letter to him as having warned the White House that this could be a dangerous situation.

[22:10:11]

He said -- he said the suggestion of moving the crowd without a permit to the Capitol felt unsafe. He suggested that there was possible danger, and that was communicated to Mark Meadows. What do you know about that communication to Mark Meadows?

LOFGREN: Well, not as much as we need to know. We need to hear from Mr. Stockton exactly when he said that, Mark Meadows` reaction. How much of this was in fact directed by the White House and Mr. Trump or his staff? We need to find that out.

And as you know, we are pursuing Mark Meadows` testimony. But we can also get the information from Mr. Stockton. And by the way, he and his fiancee also played a role in fundraising for this riot.

O`DONNELL: There was surprising specificity on Alex Jones` show, but it was delivered by a substitute host on his show on December 31st, 2020, just seven days before the attack on the Capitol. Let`s listen to what he told the audience then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT BRACKEN, THE ALEX JONES SHOW GUEST HOST: We`re going to only be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if necessary, storming right into the Capitol. We know the rules of engagement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Storming right into the Capitol. That`s the week before. That`s being communicated directly to the kinds of people who showed up that day.

LOFGREN: Exactly right. It was not only predicting, but perhaps incenting people to do exactly what they did, which was to try and overthrow the election through violence. We need to find out everything about that so that we cannot only shine a light on it, but see what steps we can take through legislation or other administrative steps so this never happens again.

This mob tried to essentially overthrow the government, and they came remarkably close. People don`t realize how close this was.

And so it`s really important that we get all of this information and prevent this from happening in the future.

O`DONNELL: Well, it does seem that -- given what we now know about it -- you could establish a security perimeter around the Capitol that would prevent this event from happening again on another January 6. But it doesn`t seem that you can change the direction of the Republican Party where it is now inconceivable that the next Republican vice president that we have would participate in a process that would give the electoral result to a Democrat in a presidential election.

LOFGREN: Well, one of the things we`re looking at is the Electoral Account Act which was drafted in the 1800s, and is not very specific and is not really -- it is not required in the way it`s drafted by the 12th Amendment.

So we`re going take a look at crafting the law so that the room for mischief is quite minimal.

The vice president actually doesn`t have any role in the Constitution, the 12th Amendment, except that he opens the envelopes. That`s all the Constitution says. He doesn`t really have a right to reject ballots, as Vice President Pence made clear. But I think we can take a look at the statute and have some success in narrowing the opportunity for mischief. You know, in the end --

O`DONNELL: Go ahead.

LOFGREN: Its voters. It`s the voters of America who`s will needs to be adhered to, not the Republicans saying, well, our guy lost. So we want to reinstate him anyhow. It`s not up to me or Republican members to decide who`s going to be the president. It`s up to the voters of America.

O`DONNELL: As we close out this discussion tonight on this November 22nd, 58 years after the assassination of President Kennedy, all of us who lived through that moment remember it vividly, remember everything about that day. And when you think about that presidential election, the Nixon-Kennedy election being decided by less than 1 percent of the vote, then the peaceful transfer of power was never, ever in question in 1960-1961 going into January. It is a long way we have come since where we were and our politics. Go ahead.

LOFGREN: I was never a fan of Richard Nixon, but he did the right thing. It wasn`t up to him to try and overturn the election. It was a very close election in 1960. But the people spoke and he did his job. This election in last year was not that close actually.

But former president started talking in April of 2020 about not -- maybe not adhering to the results of the election. So this is something that is a very alarming phenomenon, and really, Trump is the only one who`s ever done anything like this.

O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, thank you very much for starting off our discussions tonight. Thank you.

LOFGREN: Have a good Thanksgiving.

O`DONNELL: Thank you. You too. Thank you.

Coming up earlier tonight, President Biden and the first lady helped serve an early thanksgiving dinner to service members and their families at Ft. Bragg. Tomorrow afternoon before he leaves for his Thanksgiving holiday, the president will speak to Americans about the economy and lowering prices ahead of the holiday shopping season. And today, the president decided who will be his field general in the fight against inflation. And some Democrats are opposed to his choice.

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House council of economic advisers, will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:20:48]

O`DONNELL: Today, President Joe Biden decided to keep an Obama appointee who was promoted by Donald Trump. President Barack Obama appointed Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2011, and in 2017, Donald Trump appointed Jerome Powell to be the chair of the Federal Reserve.

President Biden announced that he will re-nominate Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term as chair of the Federal Reserve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some will no doubt question why I`m renominating Jay, when he was choice of a Republican predecessor. Why am I not picking a Democrat? Why am I not picking fresh blood or taking the Fed in a different direction?

Put directly, at this moment both of both enormous potential and enormous uncertainty for our economy, we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: At least three Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren have announce they`d will vote against the Powell nomination, but that is unlikely to change the outcome in the Senate since a majority of Democrats and almost every Republican senator voted to confirm Powell four years ago when the Senate vote was 84-13.

Today, Jerome Powell became President Biden`s field general in the fight against inflation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We know that high inflation takes a toll on families, especially those less able to meet the higher costs of essentials, like food, housing and transportation. We will use our tools both to support the economy and strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: Joining us now, Jared Bernstein, a member of President Biden`s Council of Economic Advisers.

Thank you very much for joining us tonight. The president`s choice seemed to please Wall Street. The stock market had a great day upon this news, and perhaps was going have a great day any way. But what does it mean to Biden economic policy?

JARED BERNSTEIN, MEMBER, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: Yeah, I think that`s really the central question. What does this mean for working people, for the Biden bottom-up, middle-out economic agenda, the agenda that`s helped to get this economy really rolling again with an unemployment rate, 4.6 percent, 5.6 million jobs since the president`s gotten here. I think the reason why Jay Powell is such a great choice for Fed in that context, he has always put full employment at the core of his goal in realizing the Fed`s dual mandate, full employment, stable prices.

But, you know, I`m old enough to remember when fed chairs thought full employment was 6 percent, 5 percent. Jay Powell was willing to test the waters and let the rate foul to 3.5 percent before the pandemic, and inflation was quite quiescent. So, he`s been a real champion of working people, and he`s been explicit about that. He`s talked about the importance of monetary policy reaching people and places and communities that have been historically left behind.

And that`s also at the core of Biden economics. I think there is some important commonalities there, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Senator Warren said it`s no secret I oppose Chair Jerome Powell`s renomination and I will vote against him. Powell`s failures on regulation, climate and ethics make the still vacant position of vice chair of supervision critically important. This position must be filled by a strong regulator with a track record of tough enforcement and it must be done quickly.

Do you agree with Senator Warren about that vice chair of supervision and what that job entails and the kind of person that should be?

BERNSTEIN: I very much agree with that, and that the vice chair supervision is so important in doing another part of the job that is very important to the president, which is overseeing Wall Street and making sure that there is a real oversight on the reckless behavior that`s taken this economy downtime in the past.

I think where we disagree is that we obviously view Chair Powell and let`s not forget Lael Brainard who has been nominated for vice chair, she has been a great voice for financial regulation. But we think Chair Powell is also going to be and continue to be implementing the kind of Wall Street oversight that this president I think holds to be a very important characteristic for a Fed chair.

I should mention that Powell`s support is quite widespread. Representative Jayapal and the congressional caucus were congratulating Powell and Brainard today, supportive of those choices. Of course, Senator Brown who chairs the banking committee dealing with these nominations is very supportive of Powell.

And yes, as you mentioned, you also have Senators Toomey and Romney on the other side. So I think that support is going to be very helpful in making this a fast confirmation.

O`DONNELL: Well, Mitch McConnell voted to confirm him last time you. He had over 80 votes for his confirmation the last time.

BERNSTEIN: Right.

O`DONNELL: Presumably, all of those Republican votes will come back. Although who knows with the crazy party whether they will all come back. So wasn`t this first and foremost just a really easy confirmation choice Joe Biden was going to have one easy confirmation, possibly his only easy confirmation in the Senate?

BERNSTEIN: I guess that`s really not the way I was thinking about it, and I don`t think it`s how the president was thinking about it. It`s obviously in the mix. I`m not trying to be too cute here.

If he thought that Jay Powell could be confirmed, but he didn`t have the characteristics that he was looking for, we wouldn`t be talking about Jay Powell tonight. You know, when the president talked to Chairman Powell, they talked about the importance of centering climate change in the Federal Reserve`s work, in their overnight of financial markets, in their networking with other banks where Powell has been working on climate change, recognizing that this is a real risk to the economy.

And Powell and Brainard have articulated the importance of taking that risk very seriously. Again, on financial regulation, they know that a reckless Wall Street can take down an economy like ours and has done so in the past. And that kind of oversight is essential to President Biden.

Remember, he is all about middle-out, bottom-up economics. And if the growth is only flowing to the top and they`re engaged in reckless financial behavior, that`s not okay with him. And that`s -- I know that was a topic of conversation with both Powell and Brainard.

O`DONNELL: I have to say, I`ve never heard a discussion of the Federal Reserve`s involvement in climate change, but I`m open to it. What can the Federal Reserve do about climate change?

BERNSTEIN: Very important question. First of all, one of the things first of all, one of the things that they do right out of the gate is they recognize that climate change is increasingly a serious threat to the macro economy and to financial markets. It can be a threat to the value of assets when those assets are sunk into fossil fuels.

So that means that it might have to become part of stress testing, for example. When you`re evaluating the kinds of stressors on the financial sector, you have to put climate issues on the list. You detail your 100- plus PhD economist to start doing work on those connections between climate change and the macro economy.

And by the way, we`re doing the same thing at the White House. We`re making sure that we try to start factoring in the impact of climate change in our economic forecasting and our budgeting, because this is not just a -- this is an issue the president stresses can come to $100 billion a years in terms of cost to the economy. So that is not something that we can ignore, that the Fed can ignore.

O`DONNELL: Jared Bernstein, thank you very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it.

BERNSTEIN: My pleasure.

O`DONNELL: Thank you.

And coming up, Donald Trump endorsed a Republican candidate for United States Senate in Pennsylvania who was accused of physical and verbal abuse of his wife. Donald Trump, of course, was accused of the same thing by the first Mrs. Trump, and that didn`t stop him from running for president. That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:33:27]

LAWRENCE O`DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Donald Trump picked a winner in the Republican primary for United States senate in Pennsylvania, and he picked that winner the year before the Republican primary.

Donald Trump picked frequent Fox News guest Sean Parnell, who has never been elected to anything as the winner of next year`s Republican primary in Pennsylvania. And then of course the general election when Donald Trump endorsed Sean Parnell on September 1st, nine months before the Republican - - well, maybe it`s actually technically not scheduled yet next year, but it`s about nine months before.

After Donald Trump`s endorsement, Sean Parnell started to get into a little trouble when he was accused of something that Donald Trump was accused of himself. In divorce litigation with his wife, Sean Parnell was accused of physically and verbally abusing her and their children. Donald Trump`s first wife accused Donald Trump of physically and verbally abusing her. And Sean Parnell`s wife made those accusations under oath in divorce litigation.

After she did that, Donald Trump happily scheduled a fundraiser for Sean Parnell at Mar-a-Lago where there is no policy against Republican fundraisers for wife beaters.

Republican Senator Rick Scott, who is now the chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee obviously had no problem with a Republican Senate candidate accused of beating his wife, especially since Rick Scott supported a Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, accused of the same thing.

[22:34:59]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR RICK SCOTT (R-FL): We`ll see who comes out of the primary. If facts will come out, we`ll find out exactly what people think.

I think what ultimately happens is people are going to look at somebody`s background and say is that the type of person they want? And also are they talking about the issues that I care about.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You have someone whose wife is saying that he strangled them and that he left welts on their child. I mean that`s -- think that`s a fair question to ask you if this is the right guy for this job.

SCOTT: Brianna, I`m not supporting or opposing people in primary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: And so as you saw right there, the Republican Party had no problem and has no problem with an alleged wife beater running for a Republican nomination for senate in Pennsylvania or anywhere else.

The first Republican to give up on Sean Parnell`s candidacy was Sean Parnell, who dropped out of the race today after a judge granted sole custody of their three children to his wife.

Joining us now Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for the Obama White House and Hillary Clinton`s presidential campaign. She is co- host of showtime`s the circus. Also with us Jill Wine-Banks, former assistant Watergate special prosecutor and former general counsel of the Army.

Jill, I want to begin with you as a lawyer, just to discuss how difficult it is and how much evidence has to be established for a judge to give sole custody to one parent, sole custody in this case to the mother who is telling this judge that this man has beaten her and her children.

JILL WINE-BANKS, FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL TO THE ARMY: Well, let`s put it this way. The judge made a very clear pronouncement that he believed Parnell`s wife. And that he did not think that there was much credibility in the denials by Parnell, that he wasn`t credible, that he didn`t have any specific facts where she had dates, times, places, photographs.

And he was also criticized for showing disrespect for the court by dressing in jeans and an untucked shirt, again saying that hurt his credibility. So here is a man who can`t be believed in denying accusations of physical and emotional abuse of his family, and who was being supported by the Republican Party, by the former president, by the senate candidacy committee.

And it is a very heavy standard when you`re debating whether to give sole custody to one parent. And the judge acted in what seems like a very well based conclusion.

O`DONNELL: Jennifer, it seems, among other things that Donald Trump would like to normalize these kinds of accusations against men since he has been the subject of exactly the same accusation from his first wife.

And if he`s trying to create a world in which, well, if we`re all accused of it, then none of us are guilty.

JENNIFER PALMIERI, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Right. And so that works for him to endorse these candidates, and these candidates think, you know, the Republican Party is a consequence-free zone. I can get in on this too.

It`s not just the Pennsylvania senate race. In Missouri, Eric Greitens who`s the former Republican governor of Missouri that had to resign after some pretty disturbing sexual assault charges were made against him.

In Georgia, Herschel Walker, Republican Senate candidate, former very famous football player who is running also has abuse -- you know, history of abuse accusations. And his background, things that he said he has come to terms with.

But people think if Donald Trump can get away with it, I can too. And you know, I think this is why while Democrats are very concerned, rightfully so, that the historic trends of how midterms turn out badly for the party in power, Republicans have to get through their primaries.

And in these primaries they`re going to face these kinds of decisions about are they willing to support men with these kinds of -- you know, sometimes charges, sometimes actual history, convictions and backgrounds of assault.

O`DONNELL: Michelle Caudill wrote in the "New York Times" it is not simply that Mr. Trump has long worn his shabby treatment of women like a perverse merit badge, a symbol of how the rules of decent society do not apply to him."

Jill, that seems to be a way that Donald Trump uses to identify the men in his party who he wants to support. It almost seems that in Donald Trump`s perversion, these accusations against this man solidified Donald Trump`s sense of this is the kind of person we want.

[22:40:02]

WINE-BANKS: That`s such a good point, Lawrence. And I think that I would go further than Jennifer went which is not just that this is something that people think they can get away with.

They actually think this is valued, that Donald Trump has set the tone, that he admires people who do this. He has spoken out for someone who body slammed someone. These are the type of candidates that Donald Trump supports. It`s what the Republican Party has become, and it`s a real shame.

So I think it`s a really bad thing and way beyond just that we`re imitating him. It`s that we`re trying to get his attention and his support, and that`s what we have to do.

They`ve all become real -- I`m wearing a pig pin tonight because I think they have all become male chauvinist pigs.

O`DONNELL: Yes, Jennifer, you saw Rick Scott. There wasn`t a Republican who knew what to say about this on the side of decency, and it was apparently never going to happen. This guy was either going to drop out on his own or not.

PALMIERI: Yes. And they have -- I mean, and it is -- it`s repeated in the house chamber, right. You see with Gosar and the, you know, truly horrific video of him, you know, as a character murdering Congresswoman Ocasio- Cortez.

You know, Matt Gaetz, who has been charged with underaged sex, is still walking around as a Republican member of Congress. Certainly welcome in the Republican House Caucus.

This is -- it is -- and Kevin McCarthy tolerates it. Rick Scott tolerates it. They are all -- everyone got -- a lot of people in the Republican Party were very excited with Glenn Youngkin`s win, but -- and it`s showing that someone can both win over moderate Republicans and the Trump base, but when it comes to national -- the national scene, the national politics of the leaders like Rick Scott, leaders like Kevin McCarthy, they continue to be terrified of Trump and back up anyone that is endorsed by him or that they are concerned they will suffer Trump-like backlash if they don`t back them.

And they`re, you know, they`re held hostage, and they in turn are enabling these, you know, sort of vestiges of the time where men -- where men thought they could get away with this.

And Trump is trying to -- I mean, I think you`re both right. He is trying to make it acceptable so he would never be questioned.

O`DONNELL: Yes. And Matt Gaetz, who is under investigation as far as we know, federal investigation for things involving his associations with underaged girls has not yet been charged with any crimes.

But Anthony Weiner was not charged with a crime either when Nancy Pelosi summoned him to her office and told him to clear out and quit the House of Representatives within hours of the first uncomfortable photograph of him being made public.

She didn`t give him an ethics committee hearing. She didn`t give him a vote. She didn`t give him anything except the route out the door as fast as possible. And the difference between that and Matt Gaetz, who`s actually under federal investigation is really quite striking.

Jennifer Palmieri, Jill Wine-Banks -- thank you both very much for joining our discussion tonight.

PALMIERI: Thanks, Lawrence.

O`DONNELL: Thank you.

WINE-BANKS: Thank you.

O`DONNELL: Coming up, Kevin McCarthy spoke for 8 hours and 32 minutes on the House floor to try to stop Democrats from lowering the monthly cost of life-saving insulin to $35 or less. That`s what Kevin McCarthy was fighting against, among other things. Congresswoman and physician Kim Schrier will join us next.

[22:44:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (R-CA): On this vote, the yeas are 220. The nays are 213. The Build Back Better Bill is passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O`DONNELL: On Friday, every House Republican voted against the life-saving provisions in President Biden`s social agenda bill. Highlighting one of those life-saving provisions, President Biden wrote this on Twitter. "Millions of folks across the country have diabetes, sometimes paying around $1,000 a month for insulin. It`s outrageous. With my Build Back Better Act, we`re going to ensure no one will pay more than $35 a month for their insulin."

Before the bill passed, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy spoke on the House floor for 8 hours and 32 minutes to try to stop the Build Back Better Bill which is a bill that will save lives.

Our next guest, Democratic Congresswoman Kim Schrier of Washington is a pediatrician and has type 1 diabetes, which requires her to take insulin. Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Kim Schrier of Washington state. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it.

Take us through this provision on insulin, how it works, what it means to Americans, and what it personally means to you.

REP. KIM SCHRIER (D-WA): Lawrence, thank you for having me. This is a really big deal. I want to, you know -- how do I communicate how much insulin is in a bottle. And I thought I would just bring one bottle out and show you it is tiny. There is two teaspoons that fit in a bottle of insulin.

And the price at this point -- I`ve had diabetes for 37 years. I remember when it was about $10 a bottle. In the year 2000 it was about $40 a bottle. And now this same bottle of insulin is over $300.

[22:49:59]

SCHRIER: And that has moved it from being a medicine that is affordable and life-saving to unaffordable and life-threatening. And so we hear about people rationing their insulin, or even dying because they`re waiting for their next paycheck. And $35 a month insulin is affordable and will save lives.

O`DONNELL: To see the price go in 20 years from $20 to $300 is a form of inflation that Republicans don`t seem to care about at all.

SCHRIER: Well, I hate to speak for Republicans, but I would say that, you know, insulin is a particularly egregious example of what has happened with drug pricing in our country. It is not the only medication that has gone out of control in terms of pricing, but we have a system that is opaque to say the least.

And where there`s a lot of hands along the way that are taking profit while the American people pay prices that are three to four times higher than the rest of the world. And insulin is particularly egregious.

O`DONNELL: So how is this going to work? If I`m a diabetes patient now and presumably I`m getting some, if I`m lucky, I`m getting some kind of coverage for this in my health insurance. How`s it going to work for me?

SCHRIER: So if you`re a patient now, you are paying a co-pay or co- insurance when you go and pick up your medicine. If you`re a person with a high deductible you`re going -- and you are paying full cost until you get up to your deductible.

Now you will pay no more than $35 per month. And that is a really big deal. You know, the people who pay the most for insulin are those without insurance and those with high deductible insurance. And this is going to particularly help them.

O`DONNELL: There`s one survey indicated that about 25 percent of the patients in this country have to hoard or manage their insulin supply in some way, not -- use less of it on schedule than they are supposed to.

SCHRIER: Yes. Let me explain what that means. You know, you need a certain amount of insulin just to stay alive. But to have really good control, to have the kind of control that will keep you healthy for many years, that will keep you out of the hospital, that will have you living a long, productive life, you need more insulin and you need to use it carefully.

And so you know, the notion that people are rationing at the end of the month, that means they are compromising their health. And when that happens, ultimately we all pay because they end up in the hospital and, you know, none of us should tolerate that.

O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Kim Schrier, thank you for your uniquely important perspective on this. We really appreciate it.

SCHRIER: Thank you.

O`DONNELL: Thank you.

And coming up, President Kennedy will get tonight`s LAST WORD with the last speech that he gave on what turned out to be the last day of his life, exactly 58 years ago today.

[22:53:00]

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JOHN F. KENNEDY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two years ago I said that -- introduced myself in Paris by saying that I was the man who had accompanied Mrs. Kennedy to Paris. I`m getting somewhat that same sensation as I travel around Texas.

Nobody wonders what Lyndon and I wear.

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O`DONNELL: That was the beginning of the last speech of President John F. Kennedy`s life. He was assassinated in Dallas later that day, which was exactly 58 years ago today.

President Kennedy began the day with a breakfast speech in the neighboring city of Fort Worth accompanied by Vice President Lyndon Johnson and the first lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy, who was wearing what would turn out to be the most memorable outfit in the history of first lady fashion-watching. A pink suit that became so indelibly memorable when it was covered with her husband`s blood.

The first lady refused to change her clothes until she returned to the White House late that night. When offered a change of clothes on Air Force One she said, "No. I want them to see what they did to him."

Here are the last words of President Kennedy`s last speech on that morning in Texas on November 22nd, 1963.

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KENNEDY: I`m confident as I look to the future that our chances for security, our chances for peace are better than they`ve been in the past, and the reason is because we`re stronger.

And with that strength is a determination to not only maintain the peace but also the vital interests of the United States. To that great cause Texas and the United States are committed. Thank you.

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O`DONNELL: President John Fitzgerald Kennedy gets tonight`s LAST WORD and his last standing ovation.

"THE 11TH HOUR WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS" starts now.