Return to Transcripts main page

Don Lemon Tonight

Powerful Winter Storm Headed to Northeast; Former Deputy White Press Secretary Subpoenaed; Pennsylvania With New Freedom Bill; Fourteen GOP Members Subpoenaed; Bridge Collapsed in Pennsylvania; President Biden to Move U.S. Troops to NATO Countries. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired January 28, 2022 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: I thought that was a very healthy development, you know, it shows you that people are paying attention at home and they're not buying what some of these characters on the fringe are selling. And you know, she has beclowned herself with all these conspiracy theories and so on, and there's good decent people at home.

And Don, you and I worry about this all day long, you know, is our country so messed up that we can't get out of this mess. And there are people paying attention. And they're smart. And they care about this country. They care about this democracy, and they're going to call these politicians out. And I think that the more that it happens, the better off we're going to be.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Well, I certainly hope that you're right. And I got to tell you, I have a warning, if you haven't been outside, brace yourself, sir. Brace yourself. I'm going to talk about this bomb cyclone that's coming to the northeast.

ACOSTA: I'm going to take cover.

LEMON: Jim Acosta, have a great weekend and be safe out there. I appreciate it.

ACOSTA: Great to see you, Don.

LEMON: You as well.

ACOSTA: Thank you so much.

LEMON: This is Don Lemon Tonight.

And this is the breaking news, an expected bomb cyclone bearing down on the east coast tonight. This is serious because look at the weather map, 75 million people. Seventy-five million people from the southeast all the way up to New England could face dangerous heavy snow, white out conditions, near hurricane strength winds.

All of this happening in the winter with the possibility of power outages, flooding as well, danger on the roads. It's really going to be tough getting around the northeast. I can tell you that many taxis have, you know, gone away for the evening. Car services are not taking people around. It's really serious stuff. People are going to get stranded.

So, if you don't have to be out, don't go out. But we're going to continue, we're going to talk about this. CNN's weather center gathering all the up to date, up to the minute information for you, all the data. And we're going to tell you what you need to know as you hunker down tonight. So please do stay in.

And we have an exclusive tonight. New details about a plot to overturn our free and fair election. Talk about a bomb cyclone, right? You know, it went so much farther than the insurrection on January 6th. That was only the most visible part of the plot. But we're learning more about what was hidden until now that is.

And the subpoenas are flying tonight. CNN has learned the January 6th committee has subpoenaed the former deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere. They want to talk to him about a staff meeting in the Oval Office the day before the violence at the capitol.

Quoting an account from the book "Peril" the then-president listening to a crowd outside and reportedly saying "there is a lot of anger out there." The committee also has documents portraying him asking what are your ideas for getting the rhinos to do the right thing tomorrow, how do we convince Congress?

Meaning, how do we convince Congress to overthrow the election? And there are a whole lot more subpoenas tonight. These are related to another part of that plot, the scheme to put forward fake Trump supporting electors in seven states.

This is -- this is probably the most egregious thing, these fake electors and these documents. Can you imagine the gall? The committee issuing subpoenas for 14 Republicans. The so-called chair and secretary from each bogus certificate, they want to ask them about who was behind the scheme to replace the legitimate electors if Republicans had succeeded in denying the certification of the actual electoral votes on January 6th.

That part of the plot failed when Mike Pence refused to play along. More on Mike Pence in just a moment.

But Trumpists have to laugh, fake elector certificates, signed, sealed, and delivered to the National Archives, Archives, as if they needed -- all they needed to do was just print them up, and then they could shape their own reality and it would be true.

Really indicative of the times we're living in. Like this one up on your screen now, signed by those fake electors, including Arizona Representative Jake Hoffman who seemed to have an awful lot of trouble recently explaining just how he got involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE HOFFMAN (R-AZ), STATE REPRESENTATIVE: So, in unprecedented times unprecedented action has occurred. There's no case law, there's no precedent that exists as to whether or not an election that is currently being litigated in the courts has due standing, which is why we felt it's appropriate to provide Congress and the vice president with dueling opinions.

UNKNOWN: Did you have direction from anybody in doing this? Was it you 11 yourselves doing this, or did someone give you advice on the manner in which you do it?

HOFFMAN: So, I'm simply I was one of the electors. Right?

UNKNOWN: Right.

HOFFMAN: I'm not in charge of the electors --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: How did you hear about the plan?

HOFFMAN: You would need to ask the party chair that question.

UNKNOWN: How did you hear about the plan?

HOFFMAN: You would need to ask the party chair that question

UNKNOWN: But you're the person who received the call. You showed up, right? How did you know to show up that day?

HOFFMAN: So, as I said, you can go ahead and ask the party chair the logistics of it.

[22:05:02]

UNKNOWN: Ask them how you got a phone call?

HOFFMAN: So, you're welcome to talk to them about the logistics.

UNKNOWN: Do you not know how you arrived at a place?

HOFFMAN: Thank you. I appreciate your question.

UNKNOWN: Do you really not know how you got a call?

HOFFMAN: Have a great one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I hope that reporter brought his boots along for that interview because that guy is shoveling a whole bunch of you know what.

So, when he won't say how he heard about the plan, he won't say how he knew to even show up. He won't say much beyond ask the party chair. Sounds like he just doesn't really want to talk about it.

But there are some people who have actually bragged about it. I want you to listen to the co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party at a public event boasting that the Trump campaign directed the entire thing.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

MESHAWN MADDOCK, CO-CHAIR, Michigan REPUBLICAN PARTY: We thought for investigations into every part of the election we could. We fought for a team of people to come and testify in front of the committee. We fought to see the electors, the Trump campaign asked us to do that, under a lot of scrutiny for that today.

(END VOICE CLIP)

LEMON: Sources telling CNN Trump campaign officials led by Rudy Giuliani oversaw the fake elector's plot. A former Trump campaign staffer saying, quote, "it was Rudy and these misfit characters who started calling the shots. The campaign was throwing enough s-h-i-t at the wall to see what would stick."

Sure looks that way, right? Remember what happened when a bunch of Republicans who claimed that they were legitimate electors in Michigan tried to get into the state senate building while the real electors were already inside? And a Michigan state police officer held the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: (Inaudible) The Speaker of the House, the speaker of the Senate. The capitol is closed unless you have an office here to conduct business today or if you're taking part in the Electoral College contract. Anybody else is not allowed to come in.

UNKNOWN: They are here to --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: They are electors.

UNKNOWN: The electors are already here. They've been checked in.

UNKNOWN: They're also electors.

UNKNOWN: The capitol is closed. All 16 electors have been advised by the governor's staff that we're going to be here to vote in Electoral College have been checked in. They are already here.

UNKNOWN: But these are the --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: But these are the rest of the electors.

UNKNOWN: I understand. The capitol is closed.

UNKNOWN: Captain, --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Captain, the electors are also -- the GOP electors are also on the governor's certificate --

UNKNOWN: I'm not going to get into a political debate. I'm following orders.

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: These are not political debate.

UNKNOWN: OK.

UNKNOWN: It's the official seal document. The certificate has ascertained. It has also the GOP electors, they are here, they're trying to do their constitutional duty.

UNKNOWN: I understand.

UNKNOWN: And their constitutional duty requires them to be at the Senate chamber today at 2 p.m.

UNKNOWN: OK.

UNKNOWN: They're here.

UNKNOWN: They're not -- I understand they're not being permitted in, if you have a problem, you can contact the governor's office, the Speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader or --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: I saw the press release this morning that said due to COVID, is that the reason they're being (Inaudible)?

UNKNOWN: No.

UNKNOWN: All right. That's what the press really said. Is there another reason why --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: You'd have to ask -- you'd have to ask the governor's office to answer that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They stood behind their B.S. They might actually think that they are legitimate. A whole lot of that's happening. A whole lot. They might actually think it even though it's not true, and it's happening all over the country. Pay attention.

Now the DOJ is looking into the whole fake elector's plot to see if there was criminal wrongdoing. Those people probably look like your friends and neighbors, right? And I mentioned Mike Pence earlier. Just listen to what he says now about January 6th and his former boss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE WATTERS, HOST, FOX NEWS: When is the last time you talked to former President Trump? You guys good?

MICHAEL PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You know, we talked last summer, and you know, I've said many times we -- you know, it was difficult. January 6th was difficult. It was a tragic day in the life of the nation. I know I did my duty under the Constitution of the United States, but the president and I sat down in the days that followed that. We spoke about it, talked through it. We parted amicably.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow, Mike Pence looks different. Boy. He hasn't spoken to him since last summer. That sure sounds amicable, doesn't it? Seems like Mike Pence would rather talk about just about anything that what happened on January 6th. But really what do you say to the guy who moments after Pence was hustled out of the capitol while rioters shouted about hanging him --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Moments after that the then president tweeting an attack on his own vice president saying that he didn't have the courage to do what needed to be done, meaning overthrowing the election. And the former president is at it again just last month. He said Pence had been, quote, "mortally wounded by January 6th."

[22:10:01]

Interesting choice of words, isn't it? All that tonight and there's a bomb cyclone headed for the northeast. Boy. Right to CNN's Derek van Dam in the weather center. Derek, bomb cyclone on top of everything. What's the latest on this massive storm, sir?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, I see a storm just set to explode into this monster nor'easter. It is located right now just off the coast of Virginia. You can see it on this water vapor imagery. You can see the latest few images there. That is the low pressure that is riding that sweet spot, that 40, 70 bench mark meteorologists use to determine where the heaviest snow sets up.

And it, guess what. It is actually taking advantage of the warm ocean waters from the gulf of -- the gulf stream. That gives it the fuel necessary to strengthen, to deepen and become this powerful northeaster that we have been forecasting for several days in advance. We call it a bomb cyclone because it meets the set of parameters that meteorologists use dropping a certain amount of pressure in 24 hours. That gives us an indication how big this storm will be.

The threats going forward, heavy snow, strong winds, coastal flooding, power outages, and we can't forget about the travel disruptions. Already over 3,000 flights canceled or delayed tomorrow along the east coast. We have over 75 million Americans under some sort of winter weather alert stretching from, get this, Alabama all the way to Maine.

This storm is huge, focusing in on the blizzard warnings where you see that shading of red, coastal Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Long Island into the Delmar of a peninsula, the coastal areas of New Jersey. That's over 10 million Americans.

Remember, blizzard warnings you need to have reduced visibility for over three hours, falling or blowing snow, and that is going to cause serious white out problems and concerns. The low pressure, again, just off the coast of Virginia. The snow band or snow shield just entering into Long Island, New York and that i-95 corridor. A few flights flying near Boston, but this is just the beginning.

So, if we're going to time this out for you and give you this time frame what you can expect Saturday morning. This is going to be your worst morning in terms of snowstorm for Philadelphia and New York. Peaking right around that 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. time slot.

This is not in Albany. Pittsburgh, this is not a Buffalo snowstorm. This is Boston, New York to Philadelphia snowstorm. And look at this, Boston 18 to 24 inches, your peak time frame is 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. That is when we expect the heaviest of snow to setup.

Will we break records? Well, it is certainly possible. We remember back in 1978, two-day total over 27 inches. And then 2003 we had even more snow than that. So, certainly, historic nature to that storm. It is possible it is all about where that heavy band sets up. Remember, this is a game of miles.

Fifty miles to the west we could see significantly less snow. Fifty miles to the east we can significantly more. It just depends on where that band sets up, and we do believe ground zero will be right across the eastern coastal regions of Massachusetts, centering in on Moston and the greater metropolitan area. Dan -- Don, excuse me.

LEMON: That's all right. I'm at a loss for words. Thank you, Derek, I appreciate that. We're going to be watching the path of the storm all night, so make sure you stick around, everyone.

Up next, though, what the committee learned about how high the plot went to overturn our free and fair election and what do they hope to get from this latest subpoena of the former White House deputy press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Whatever the president was thinking, what he was doing and most importantly, what he was not doing when we were being attacked in the capitol, he could shed a lot of light on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: January 6th select committee is zeroing in on the people who

served as phony electors as part of the former president's push to overturn the election results. Fourteen of those Republicans hit with subpoenas tonight.

So, joining me now former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent. He is now a CNN political commentator, and former federal prosecutor Kim Wehle.

Good evening to both of you.

Kim, the January 6th committee rocking rolling right now, issuing these subpoenas to 14 Republicans from seven states, all part of the former president's efforts to subvert the electoral certification. Are we going to find out exactly how this plan was hatched?

KIM WEHLE, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, I think so. I think why we're seeing so much activity is because the United States Supreme Court last week rejected Donald Trump's claim that that these documents or some of these documents were privileged. So, 700 documents went from the National Archives to the January 6th committee, and they're reading them and they're finding out how to connect some of these dots.

And the seven fake electors -- just so people understand, and we know going around in our everyday life you cannot use a counterfeit $20 bill. You can be arrested and go to jail for that. These are counterfeit documents to take the election not from the Democrats, not from Joe Biden but from the American people. There are crimes that are involved here.

The question is, can the January 6th committee get to the bottom of this mountain of information? These are not people close to Donald Trump. These are people with families that have to hire expensive lawyers to go this. They will get information. Can they get what the American people need before the mid-terms?

And then I think the baton will be handed off to the Department of Justice, which as we heard from Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general, is simultaneously looking into these seven fake electoral slates. A very, very big deal, Don.

LEMON: So, let's talk about that a little bit more about Lisa Monaco, what she said CNN that Justice Department is looking into this as you said, but do you believe laws were broken? That's the question.

WEHLE: Well, you know, it's hard to -- it's impossible to speculate without access to all of the information that they have. But what we do know is that it looks like these were forged documents that were submitted to the National Archives. It certainly smacks of some version of state and/or federal fraud, potentially election fraud.

[22:19:57]

And then, of course, the bigger question we already know there's an allegation of conspiracy amongst the insurrectionists, seditious conspiracy. How big did that conspiracy go?

We also know that Donald Trump held a meeting on January 5th. It sounds like from the deputy press secretary's testimony or at least what we heard that he will testify too, where he said how do we get these rhinos, Republicans in name only, to do the right thing tomorrow. He also kind of attacked Mike Pence as things were happening, unfolding in the capitol.

So, you know, Don, it's very odd to be speculating when we have so much information that's publicly out there. But of course, there's a big difference between, here's the story and is there enough to prove crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. And that's a high bar. And I think the attorney general is going to be very, very careful to make sure he has all his ducks in a row before he goes after any of these big fish.

LEMON: Charlie, let me ask you because something that struck me as I was watching the video of those folks trying to get into the statehouse there and I said they look, probably look like your friends and neighbors. These -- these people believe -- I think they actually believe that what they're doing is right. Do you think I'm wrong about that?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think you're right, Don, they thought they were doing -- they thought they were completely within their rights to do what they're doing. In fact, in Pennsylvania where I am, I'll tell you the leaders of the Pennsylvania legislature, the Republican leaders said under Pennsylvania law and under the Pennsylvania Constitution they did not have the authority to offer an alternative slate of electors, that they could not, should not and would not do anything.

So, these private citizens presumably on their own offer these slates. I mean, it's simply stunning to me. I'm not, again, I don't know if crimes were committed here, but this is a major problem. And you're right, they think they're -- they thought they were doing something noble and honorable.

LEMON: Unbelievable.

DENT: (Inaudible) election.

LEMON: Charlie, the previous -- we previously reported, CNN previously reported that Rudy Giuliani coordinated the effort among the Republican and these seven states. And apparently according to the committee two days after the election Mark Meadows said, I love it, in a text exchange with a member of Congress about the possibility of appointing alternative electors in certain states.

The committee wants to know how high this whole scheme goes and whether members of Congress were implicated here.

DENT: Well, I think -- I think what the committee needs to find out is who put these people up to it. I mean, I have my own suspicions, but I'm sure that there were people involved with the Trump campaign and people close to the president himself, maybe the president himself all were trying to encourage these people to provide this alternative slate of electors in various states.

I mean, that's what the committee needs to find out. These people were used in many cases, some wittingly and some perhaps unwittingly. But I think they all are in trouble. They have to lawyer up. These people are going to now going to be under tremendous pressure legally and financially to defend themselves.

LEMON: But don't you know one of the people subpoenaed, Bill Bachenberg --

DENT: Yes.

LEMON: -- he kicked you out --

DENT: Yes.

LEMON: -- of his gun club or something like that, right?

DENT: He did. Because he was upset with me because he said I wasn't sufficiently loyal to the president, and he was mad at me. And I would do a fund raise at his golf -- at his gun club, which is sporting class, it's actually kind of like golf with guns. I'm actually a pretty good shot.

So, he kicked me out of the club because they wouldn't let me -- they wouldn't let me held an event there like I hold every year. It's a lot of fun, but he was upset and he was one of the people, he was I guess the chairman of the group of false electors in Pennsylvania, and now he's got a real problem on his hands.

LEMON: Yes, well, there you go. Kim -- I'm sorry, you were kicked out, but I'm sure -- I'm sure you'll be OK. You're doing just fine. Kim, CNN --

(CROSSTALK)

DENT: I'm a good shot, by the way.

LEMON: OK. CNN is exclusively learning that former White House spokesman Judd Deere was subpoenaed as well. They want to talk to him about the January 5th oval office meeting where Trump repeatedly asked how they were going to convince the rhinos to do the right thing the next day. How they're going to convince Congress.

I mean, at every step we keep learning how Trump was trying to turn the election around, and this meeting was a critical moment. And quite frankly, I can't believe I'm sitting here and saying a sitting president was trying to do this madness and that it could have worked, Kim. I mean, this is crazy.

WEHLE: Yes, it would have worked but for frankly the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence. The other thing that happened this week is a federal judge in California rejected lawyer John Eastman's arguments that documents relating to now his infamous two memos, that Don, listed point after point how this fake -- this rouse that there was somehow confusion in these seven states would then -- and I'm paraphrasing -- force -- justify Mike Pence gaveling in Donald Trump as president.

[22:25:07]

Mr. Eastman reportedly pled the fifth amendment, took the fifth amendment 146 times in his testimony before the January 6th committee. And here's a federal judge roundly rejecting all of his arguments to keep documents and testimony, more testimony from the committee and put him, frankly, almost on a patronizing type step by step obligation to review a certain number of documents every day and report back to the court.

I mean, this judge understands the game here is delay and cute manipulation to outmaneuver things. I just don't think -- you know, I mean, it's not going to work. The train has left the station. This is -- this is going to as Jamie Raskin said blow the roof off the house, and then the question, Don, and as the congressman's comments point out as well, will the American people finally wake up and see the truth and reality of this and get back to the business of being we, the people and have -- you know, get the cronyism and the corruption out of the United States government and have people that are going to start governing by the rule of law and the Constitution.

And I don't care if it's Democrats or Republicans, but people that are against this are the only ones in my mind that should be in office. And I hope how people are paying attention to this tonight.

LEMON: Yes, certainly. Kim, thank you. I learned a lot. Charlie, I learned a lot including that Charlie Dent is a good shot. So, keep that in mind, folks.

WEHLE: You want him on our tenor team.

LEMON: Thank you, Charlie. Thank you, Kim.

We're going to talk about something else that happened in Pennsylvania as well. I'm talking about a Pittsburgh bridge collapsing today right before the president's scheduled visit to talk infrastructure. We'll discuss that right after this.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, I want you to take a look at this. We'll put up drone video showing the collapsed bridge. Look at that. It's in Pittsburgh. Just imagine how terrifying it was to be on that bridge this morning as it buckled.

Ten people were injured when it collapsed just hours before President Joe Biden visited the city to hold events on infrastructure. The president visiting the site of the collapse and vowing to fix all of the nation's deficient bridges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going to fix them all, not a joke. This is going to be a gigantic change. And there's 43,000 nationwide, and we're sending the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman joins me now. Lieutenant Governor, good to see you again. Sorry it's under these circumstances. I hope you're well. Thanks for joining us.

This could have been a whole lot worse, and we are so glad it wasn't. First, tell us about the people who were hurt. How are they doing?

JOHN FETTERMAN, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, PENNSYLVANIA: Sure, I mean just to set the stage for your viewers, this is one of the most critical bridges, you know, in Pittsburgh. It allows you to move between two major neighborhoods of Regent Square and Squirrel Hill. And in fact, I drove over the bridge just yesterday.

So, there was a port authority bus on it and a couple vehicles when it collapsed. Thankfully, there was a two-hour delay for the public schools, so there weren't nearly the kind of volume of cars, so we got lucky in that sense as well, too. But it was surreal. It was a complete collapse. It wasn't a partial or where a segment of the bridge just fell down. It was a complete collapse.

LEMON: Wow. I mean, the images of these drone shots are really just incredible. President Biden toured that damage. You were there with him. He was already scheduled to be in Pittsburgh today to promote the bipartisan infrastructure package. Is what happened there proof?

FETTERMAN: Yes.

LEMON: I think it is that the improvements need to happen and they need to happen like yesterday.

FETTERMAN: Yes. I live -- I live close by, and I ran there early this morning right a little bit after we got word, and it's like -- it just demonstrates how Joe Biden campaigned on infrastructure. He was ahead of the curve and delivered the resources in the bipartisan infrastructure bill to fix and replace this bridge and the 3,000-plus structurally deficient bridges that we have in Pennsylvania.

It's -- it's jarring visually to see that happen especially when you drive it every day or, you know, as I do fairly frequently. But there's a lot of relief knowing, too, that we now have the resources in Pennsylvania and in other states to address these issues and fix or rebuild or replace these bridges.

LEMON: I can't imagine being on that bridge. I mean, the folks -- just how incredibly frightening that was.

FETTERMAN: They interviewed the bus driver, and he was, you know, thumbs up. He was just like -- you would think that just pure Pittsburgh, and he was in remarkable spirits. And I talked to some of the first responding paramedics there, and they actually met one of the motorists halfway up the ravine. He was climbing out from the car under his own power. So, there was a lot of Pittsburgh grit on display. But without a doubt

a different time of the career, different time of the day, we could have had a much more tragic outcome, for sure. We were very fortunate.

[22:35:06]

LEMON: You know, there's so much infighting in Washington, and you know too well the chaos at the state and local governments -- government levels over critical race theory and parental rights. Is there enough attention on infrastructure, right, because you get these sort of wedge issues that everybody starts to fight over. Infrastructure impacts every single person every single day and is actually, right, can be life threatening as we saw today.

FETTERMAN: Yes. I don't praise President Biden in his bipartisan infrastructure bill as a Democrat or as a lieutenant governor. I praise it as a dude that drives over a bridge with his kids in the back seat. You know, and I just think that's the common ground that we should seize on in the American political discussion right now.

Red county bridges, blue county bridges, you know, independents. I mean, we all deserve a level of physical security in our infrastructure. And today in Pittsburgh was exhibit a through z on the condition that infrastructure is in many parts of this country.

And to come together and deliver a package that is going to address that at a very fundamental level I think is something that we can all be proud of politically in a sea of division, and as you just alluded to earlier, just all kinds of bizarre and crazy arguments and political infighting.

LEMON: I want to turn to voting rights. There's a Pennsylvania court striking down a law that allows no excuse absentee voting. It was enacted --

FETTERMAN: That was their law. The Republicans, that was their law. They passed it unanimously, which is bizarre. They filed a lawsuit to get their own law dismissed. It's bizarre.

LEMON: Yes. I was going to say it was bipartisan support and Republicans who voted for it filed a suit to block it. What --

(CROSSTALK)

FETTERMAN: Yes, all of them did. All of them voted for it. Yes.

LEMON: OK.

FETTERMAN: It's surreal. It's like that was the Republican bill. Far more Republicans voted for it unanimously, and many Democrats voted against it. And then they didn't like the bill including, you know, one of the -- one of the senators that was seen at the -- at the insurrection at January 6th actually voted for it.

So, it's strange days, you know, with mail-in voting, but I'm optimistic that the P.A. Supreme Court is going to strike down the commonwealth. The commonwealth court in Pennsylvania has a notoriously hard Republican slant, and we believe that the Supreme Court is going to rectify that decision.

LEMON: Listen, thanks so much for joining us tonight to discuss the latest developments in your state, and we would love to have you come back soon to discuss your Senate campaign. OK?

FETTERMAN: I would love that. Thank you so much for having me on. It's a pleasure.

LEMON: All right. We appreciate it.

The so-called discomfort bill advancing in Florida, you know the one that bans schools and businesses from making feel uncomfortable about race but not without protests from my next guest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. RAMON ALEXANDER (D-FL): If race didn't matter and this stuff didn't poll well to get people to come out and vote and cause a dadgum insurrection, we wouldn't have these type of bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A bill that would ban Florida public schools and private businesses from making people feel discomfort based on their race is moving through the state legislature this week. Critics say that the bill back by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is really all about shielding white people. One state representative speaking out passionately about the bill on -- against the bill on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER: If race didn't matter, and this stuff didn't poll well to get people to come out and vote and cause a dadgum insurrection, we wouldn't have these types of bills. And so, we do it over and over again and we find the next boogeyman to distract from the reality that 28 of these 29 counties keep voting for you. Instead of addressing the issues that impact people's quality of life every day.

I don't want to do this, but I don't think you can handle the truth. I do not like having conversations like this. What I'm trying to tell you is that I'm not anti-American, but I am an American. And my voice matters just as much as your voice. My opinion remains just as much your opinion. My reality matters just as much as your opinion, and you can't handle the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Florida House Representative Ramon Alexander joins me now. Representative, thank you. Thank you.

ALEXANDER: It's great to be with you, Don.

LEMON: Absolutely great to have you here. That was -- that was big and that was important. The bill is named individual freedom. and nowhere in the text is critical race theory mentioned, but it is pretty clear that is the bogeyman that Governor DeSantis and his allies are going after.

ALEXANDER: Absolutely. It's another distraction tool being used by the Republican Party in order to distract from real issues. You know, every day people are struggling. Right now, in the state of Florida 3.4 million Floridians are asset-limited, income constrained, and are underemployed.

They are living pay to paycheck. They're trying to figure out ways to put gas in the car, to put food on table, to provide for their families, and once again the Republican Party of Florida are continuing to use methods of distraction to not talk about real issues that impact real people.

LEMON: This isn't the only troubling bill in Florida, we have been covering the so-called don't say gay bill that would limit the discussion of gender and sexual identity in schools. What -- what is happening in your state, Representative?

ALEXANDER: It's wild. You know, the governor has no shame. These are radical culture war agendas pushed by the Republican Party. It's clear that they have hunkered down with feeding red meat to their base.

[22:45:05]

When you look at the last four gubernatorial elections in the state of Florida, they've all been determined on average by less than 1 percent on the vote, and they have a serious geographic and demographic problem.

Back in 2010 we called a referendum called fear districts to cut down on gerrymandering, and the inappropriate cutting up our districts to have full representation. And if you look at the physically constrained counties, Don, in the state of Florida, 29 of the 67 counties are physically constrained. Twenty-eight of them vote Republican every single time.

And so, they are struggling. They're having issues with infrastructure. They're having issues with putting quality of life resources to their constituents. And so, they use race as a tool to distract. Every day working people are missing out on the basic representation they need to have a fighting chance.

And I call it fake conservatism. They aren't real conservatives. In fact, what they're pushing forward is the exact opposite, and I believe that we have a responsibility to fight back against it and fight for truth for power. You know, arrogance is a very powerful tool for self-destruction. And obviously arrogance is running them off the cliff.

Their party has been hijacked by extremes, and we have a responsibility to speak truth to power and to move our straightforward to fight with people who don't have a voice.

LEMON: You know, Representative, in Virginia their new Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, setup a snitch line so parents and students can report teachers who bring up divisive topics. We're seeing some schools even banning books that deal with race and tough issue. Are they trying to whitewash history and turn classrooms into the front lines of the culture wars?

ALEXANDER: Absolutely. It is -- it is a wild reality -- a wild reality to think that we can't speak until the full truth. And we have a responsibility to make sure that we don't repeat history, and we have to tell the full history. And I'm an American and my history is just as important as anybody else's history.

And so, they'll continue to use to find the next boogeyman, Don, to distract from the real issues. I'm thinking about schoolteachers and my grandmother was a schoolteacher in the Gadsden County schools for over 20 years, and she has her own life experiences. There's no way you can dictate and control implicit bias.

And so, it's important that we understand we're teaching our young people to think for themselves so they can determine what is and what's not. And I think we'll have a healthier better Florida, a better country if we do that. So many people have been brainwashed by the big lie, by Donald Trump.

You know, we have Governor Ron DeSantis who is literally auditioning to be the air panic to Donald Trump. And he will say anything, he would do anything to try to earn that next opportunity to lead the Republican Party off the cliff.

LEMON: Is there concern -- are you worried that if they could get away with this in Florida, that they're going to try this in every GOP-run state? That is a -- that is a real possibility.

ALEXANDER: Absolutely. But I have hope for the future, and I've seen the outpouring, the next generation. They're sick and tired of the pandering. I mean, look at the insurrection that was led by Donald Trump supporters. I believe in our future.

You know, I work with young people every single day, and they are recognizing, they're seeing straight through the rhetoric, the division, the hate. And I think we have a responsibility to speak truth to power, to help people understand that regardless of what your political affiliation is, that you can do things with dignity and respect, that you can deal with real issues that impact people every single day.

You know, I didn't run for office to throw meat to my base. I ran for office to help people. And I think we need more genuine people, sincere people in the process that are not focused on attacking people but attacking issues. And I'm deeply concerned about that. And I believe the future of our country is concerned about that as well.

LEMON: Representative, thank you very much. We appreciate you appearing. Be well. ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

LEMON: Thank you.

President Biden telling reporters late tonight, take this, he'll be moving troops into Eastern Europe amid Russian tensions.

[22:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Take this. President Joe Biden saying toning that he will be moving U.S. troops into Eastern Europe as tensions with Russia escalate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'll be moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Boy, here we go. That is happening as the nation's top general warns just how dire the situation would be for civilians in Ukraine if Russia invades. General Mark Milley using terms like horrific to describe what may happen. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MILLEY, U.S. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Given the type of forces that are raid, the ground maneuver forces, the artillery, the ballistic missiles, the air forces. All of if package together. If that was unleashed on Ukraine it would be significant, very significant and it would result in a significant amount of casualties and you can imagine what that might look like in dense areas along roads, and so on and so forth. It would be horrific. It would be terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This is serious, folks. Tens of thousands of troops massing on the Russian border with Ukraine in recent months. In a rare briefing today the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin appeared alongside General Milley. He had this to say what comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We don't believe that President Putin made a final decision to use these forces against Ukraine. He clearly now has that capability. Conflict is not inevitable. There is still time and space for diplomacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:55:06]

LEMON: The defense sectary making it clear that there is still an off ramp for Putin.

Up next, blizzards and hurricane force winds heading to the northeast tonight. Overnight, I should say, a new forecast is coming in now and we'll bring it to you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So here is the breaking news, an expected bomb cyclone taking aim right at the east coast tonight. Seventy-five million people could face dangerously heavy snow and near hurricane-strength winds. We're going to have the very latest forecast for you in moments.

Plus, the January 6th select committee issuing subpoenas to 14 Republicans who served as fake electors in the plot to overturn the election results. They are also going after the former president's one-time spokesman who was with him leading up to the insurrection.

[23:00:03]

And why is the right so angry that President Biden is promising to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court?