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Laura Coates Live

Trump Fumes As Pratt Fails To Advance In L.A. Mayor's Race; Ex- Paxton Attorney Backs Talarico; Trump Booed At NBA Finals In New York. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

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LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Spencer Pratt's viral campaign comes crashing down as he fails to make the runoff for L.A. mayor. Will he admit defeat or will he join Trump's claims of cheating? Plus, the Texas attorney who defended Ken Paxton at his impeachment trial now coming out against him and endorsing James Talarico. That attorney will be my guest tonight. Plus, Trump makes NBA history at Madison Square Garden and gets booed in the process. We're live outside the garden with reaction. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

Well, my opening statement tonight, you know what? It's never a good sign when you storm out of an interview. It's even worse when the question you're walking away from is, where's the evidence? But President Trump did just that after making false claims that California's slow vote count was proof of fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's four days in California.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Republicans are doing well in California.

TRUMP: It's -- no, they're not. They're dropping fast because it's a rigged election. Let me tell you, it's four days, and they aren't even close. They're coming up with --

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's how they -- that's how they count the votes in California.

TRUMP: You know why they're doing that? Because they're cheating on the election.

WELKER: There's -- what -- do you have evidence to support that?

TRUMP: All I have to do is look. There's more evidence than ever presented.

WELKER: Let's talk about -- TRUMP: Your elections in this country -- we're like a third world country. Your elections are crooked, and you're crooked, and "Meet the Press" is crooked --

WELKER: But, Mr. President --

TRUMP: And so is ABC and CBS and CNN.

WELKER: But, Mr. President --

TRUMP: You're one-sided crooked network. Let's call it quits because I've had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Did he answer the question? Did I -- I must have missed it. Look, California's count, it is going slow. But it's not fraud. It's how the system works there. The state keeps processing mail-in ballots after election night. That's the policy. It's as long as those votes were postmarked on election day. When they come in, different story.

And that pace, I mean, it absolutely is having a real impact, especially in Los Angeles, because we can now predict that Councilwoman Nithya Raman will advance to the mayoral runoff with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. That means Spencer Pratt is out after falling from the second spot to the third.

But the president has made it very clear that he is not happy about that. He's claiming the same thing is going to happen to the Republican candidate for governor, Steve Hilton. He's also not happy about something else, the status of the DOJ anti-weaponization fund, the one he's outright saying would give payouts to January 6th rioters if he got his way.

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TRUMP: It was up to me. I'd pay them the kind of money that they deserve. So, me, personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that's great. If they don't get it approved, I'd be disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Disappointed? You might want to tell that to his acting attorney general, the one he just officially nominated to be the permanent A.G, because Todd Blanche has said that that fund is dead. And, by the way, so his own DOJ in actual court filings. It's in writing.

But that was the theme of Trump's NBC interview. Ask what is true and get what Trump wants to be true. Take the cost of living. He was pressed on how farmers are struggling, and they are, to make ends meet. He says they love him, and they'll understand why prices are going up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The farmers were doing great. Fertilizer was very cheap. Everything was cheap. Gasoline was very low. Everything was very low. I could have kept it that way, but I said I have to take a little bit of a turn. The farmers are going to understand it better than anybody. We're going to have higher gasoline. We're going to have a little higher fertilizer, etcetera, etcetera. But I'm going to get rid of a nuclear weapon in the hands of very dangerous people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Farmers understand. But do they agree with the impact that it's having on themselves and the communities that they serve?

[23:05:01]

I mean, it might be wishful thinking when poll after poll shows voters souring on the economy and when GOP voters in Iowa rejected the Trump- endorsed candidate for governor. It's also asking a lot for Americans to swallow the price of the war with Iran just to say you understand, right? Didn't the president promise there were no new wars?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WELKER: What changed because you insisted no new wars?

TRUMP: First of all, I didn't guarantee no war.

No new wars! Under Trump, we will have no more wars.

I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars.

Make sure that Trump gets re-elected president, and you're not going to have any more wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: That's called receipts. Good for you, Kristen. Let's get right to CNN anchor Elex Michaelson in Los Angeles. Elex, look, Spencer Pratt is out. Mayor Karen Bass is officially going up against the progressive council member, Nithya Raman. So, what are you hearing from the candidates tonight?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, Spencer Pratt hasn't said anything. He put out a statement earlier in the night before the race was called basically telling everybody to be patient, that we have time to keep counting the votes. We have not heard from him.

We have heard from Nithya Raman and from Karen Bass. Let's first put up on the screen what we've heard from Nithya Raman, who says that for far too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents. She goes on to say debt-pleaded services in a city that has stopped working for them. If you're as frustrated by the broken status quo as I am, I hope you'll join our movement to build a city that works for everyone.

Karen Bass just put out a tweet of her own explaining where she goes from here. In it, she says -- quote -- "We won on Tuesday -- and L.A. rejected Spencer Pratt and the MAGA agenda. Next, we'll win in November because this is an election with a choice between whether we keep making change together or Nithya Raman who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades L.A."

I'm sure Raman would push back on some of that, but you already start to see the outlines of this race between Bass and Raman. A very different race than it would be between Bass and Pratt, which would have been a lot about Donald Trump. Karen Bass can't really make that argument against Nithya Raman. But it is important to talk about this extraordinary Pratt campaign, Laura --

COATES: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- which got so much attention online, was featured so much, especially by our friends over on Fox News channel, talking about it every single hour, day after day after day. And the big question was, would that translate into votes on the ground in L.A., especially in some of L.A.'s poorer, more diverse neighborhoods? And from what we can see so far, it does not appear that he was able to do that.

COATES: I'm curious whether he will accept the results as well and also whether those two remaining candidates are now going to take some lessons from the -- really the force he was at this point in time.

Let's talk about the governor's race though, Alex, because there has not been a projection yet on who will advance along with Democrat Xavier Becerra. And, of course, the slow count that everyone is talking about, it's breathing new life into President Trump's vote fraud claims. How are candidates like Steve Hilton navigating this?

MICHAELSON: It's interesting. Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer are sort of the two remaining candidates. Tom Steyer has essentially kind of gone MIA. He hasn't done a lot of public appearances or interviews, put out a few statements. Steve Hilton is everywhere. He's acting like he has already moved on. He's doing press conferences, he's doing media appearances, he's doing interviews, including with our own Erin Burnett earlier today, where he talked about this idea of fraud and said he hasn't seen any.

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STEVE HILTON, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, BUSINESSMAN, FORMER T.V. HOST: We've got teams standing by, lawyers standing by. And actually, it's the same answer that actually I've been giving for a few days now. We've seen nothing that would give us cause to intervene in that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So, that's the comment from Steve Hilton. But right now, the numbers are looking pretty good for him.

(LAUGHTER)

So, you know, it's -- oftentimes, you don't often hear the Republicans claiming fraud when they win. It's often just when they lose. And right now, it looks like Steve Hilton is on his way to a second-place finish, which would be a spot in the general election.

COATES: Well, we will see. Elex, I'll see you at the top of the hour. OK?

MICHAELSON: All right, Laura. See you then.

COATES: I want to turn now to CNN political commentator Xochitl Hinojosa and Shermichael Singleton. Xochitl's sister is running as a Democrat for the governor of Texas. I want to begin with you guys here because look, I mean, you heard that heated interview.

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The world has heard it now with "Meet the Press" Kristen Welker. And the president was challenged to back up his claims of a rigged vote count in California. And he said -- quote -- "All I have to do is look and listen to people." I mean, are any voters going be persuaded by that? And, frankly, what is the risk if Republican voters believe that and don't turn out?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, no one believes that, Laura. Look, we lost when the president ran against Biden. It is what it is. That's the -- that's the process sometimes. And to me, if I'm advising Trump, I'm going to say, look, it is what it is, but look at the victory you had when you came back. I mean, look at the groups you turned out that John McCain couldn't get, Mitt Romney, campaign I worked on, couldn't get. You got numbers that Republicans just never get with demographics that we've been wanting to reach out to and target for 40, 50 years.

COATES: Well, let me go on a limb for you. He doesn't want to hear that. He's going to reject that because in the last couple years, he has. So, what would you tell him now?

SINGLETON: Then I would tell him it's time to move on. No one wants to hear that, number one. And then number two, I mean, do you run the risk of Republicans feeling that their votes aren't going to count at all? Don't matter, won't matter, so maybe I just shouldn't vote because they're going to cheat, anyway. That's not what we want. We want to maximize turnout amongst our people.

I look at the Spencer Pratt race. Only 18 percent of voters there are Republicans countywide, only 15 percent in the city of Los Angeles. It doesn't matter. And the process, by the way, is crappy. They got to figure this out. I mean, this is a disaster. But even when they do figure it out, there's no way we're going to win in Los Angeles.

But the fact that he did perform so well to me, I would argue, should send a signal to my Democratic friends that the strength that they have might not be as strong as they think, have presumed, because of the 30 plus special elections they've won.

Look at how angry people are. They still have, I would argue, a long way to go to convince people that Republicans and Trump are as bad as they say they are by virtue of looking at Pratt's success.

COATES: I mean, Xochitl, one of the great unifiers, sadly, in California, which Spencer Pratt was keyed in on, was the impact of the wildfires, the devastation. And I'm not talking just the wealthy elite homes. I mean, it was -- the scope was unbelievable. And he tried to key on that very point.

But now, you've got the Bass and Raman race, and the Democratic establishment, frankly, is on a bit of a collision course, very different in their politics. And, of course, the progressives versus the more moderates are going to have to decide who the identity of an L.A. mayor is. Is this on the ballot, who the Democrats really are?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR FOR DNC: Well, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. But I also think it is somewhat of a signal to what is happening in the Republican primaries as well. There is this anti-incumbent sentiment happening around the country. And it is not just in Republican primaries, but it's also happening on the Democratic side in some instances, too.

And I think that part of the anti-incumbent sentiment around the country is also why Democrats are doing so well ahead of the midterm elections. I think people generally are frustrated with the status quo. They're frustrated with what is happening in their cities. There's something going -- if there's something that is going wrong, you're going to have -- you're going to have someone point out. And I think with the cost of living in California that is very high with the wildfires, all of that stuff, you are going to have -- you are going to have a mayor who will have to defend herself. I think it will be interesting to see. I mean, I think that, obviously, Democrats would have preferred to have a, you know, Democrat versus Republican situation there in a city that is largely Democratic.

But, at the same time, you know, Democrats also ran the risk of potentially having Spencer Pratt who -- be the mayor of Los Angeles, who was taking off, no pun intended, like wildfire there. But, you know, I think there was some concern that because of his social media presence and because he was sort of this anti-political establishment, anti-political figure that maybe he could be successful.

So, Democrats are somewhat breathing a sigh of relief in that sense. They're also somewhat breathing a sigh of relief that they're not going to have a Democrat on Democratic gubernatorial race likely, even though it hasn't been called there. People feel confident that Xavier Becerra will win that race against Hilton given that California is a Democratic state and they're not going to have to spend millions of dollars in a state like California.

COATES: Well, they may be sighing a breath of relief. But how about holding their breath in Maine? Because the Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner, supporters, they're standing by him. I mean, almost full stop on that. I mean, many signed a poster board with messages like everyone has a past, keep going. And this, of course, is at a time when Platner is insisting that this race is not about him specifically.

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GRAHAM PLATNER, MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I think a lot of folks at the national level misunderstand that the reason they keep getting everything wrong is they think this is a race about me, but it isn't.

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This is a race about us.

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COATES: Is that a valid point? Sounds like he's talking about compartmentalization.

SINGLETON: A little bit.

COATES: Oh, really?

SINGLETON: This is really sort of Machiavellian in many ways to me for Democrats. And what I mean by that is you have like this sort of moral righteousness, this more absolutism by many from Trump's first term, during the Biden years to Trump's second term of how he is ethically flawed, more objectionable on many fronts. The Republicans supported him. They've empowered him regardless. And look at what that has done to the country.

And now, you have Democrats who say, wait a minute here, the ends justify the means merely because we want to take control in the U.S. Senate. It's an unfortunate schism in our national politics that, just to be honest, a partisanship had off. I'm just not happy about this, Laura, that we're going to the very bottom just to inoculate ourselves and maximize political power. To what ends?

I mean, I get winning. I'm a strategist. You're a strategist. Hell, I love winning. I wish I could win all the time. But sometimes, you have to think about the toll of winning and where that puts the country in the long run. And to me, I just find these flaws on my side. I'm now seeing the flaws on the side of my friends on the left. And I just would ask them, is it worth it? Because I've raised this question to my own folks. Is it truly worth these temporary gains in the long run? I don't think they are.

COATES: Well, some would argue the stakes are high enough such that they are going to look past the personal, perhaps, flaws to get Susan Collins out.

HINOJOSA: I think a lot of people in the party, as you've seen, and a lot of them have been men in the Democratic Party, who are just saying, listen, this is going to ultimately be the choice of main voters. This is not about the Democratic Party establishment and what they think. And they're not really speaking out against the allegations that are, you know, out there on him.

I think one of the biggest concerns is not just that there is -- it's not just one incident. It has been several instances where, you know, Platner has said that, you know, no, there isn't anything else coming out or has lied about his history. And then that erodes trust with the voters ultimately.

Here, it seems like it -- I'm not sure. The people of Maine, I think, see this anti-incumbent sentiment that I have been talking about, see him as he is not a politician, see him as someone who is very real, who is out there, who was happy that he was talking about his story with his wife when it came to IVF. He is someone who they can relate to generally. And at the end of the day, I think that might overcome all of this other stuff.

SINGLETON: Possible.

HINOJOSA: It's -- I think it's very possible. At the same time, I think that it's -- you know, a lot of -- not you, but other Republicans aren't willing to speak out against Paxton and others, but they're willing to go and point a finger at Graham Platner. So --

COATES: Xochitl, Shermichael, please, stand by. I want to hear more from you. Still ahead, a stunner out of Texas. Speaking of Ken Paxton, the lawyer who defended him at his impeachment trial, he's now ditching him and endorsing James Talarico for Senate instead, and that lawyer is my guest tonight to explain it all, next. And later, Trump gets booed at Madison Square Garden as Knicks's fans give him an earful for showing up to game three of the finals. We are live outside of MSG with reaction tonight.

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STEPHEN A. SMITH, AMERICAN T.V. PERSONALITY: This president has no business showing up in New York City. I am dead serious. It is selfish.

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DAN COGDELL, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR KEN PAXTON: I defended Ken Paxton for years. I think Ken has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.

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COATES: That's lawyer Don Cogdell turning his back on his former client and current Republican nominee for Senate from Texas, Ken Paxton. Paxton, of course, won the nomination just last month. And Cogdell has stood by Paxton through his toughest trials. First, his fraud case in 2015 and as a lawyer defending him in his 2023 impeachment trial where he was ultimately acquitted. But now, Cogdell is endorsing Paxton's opponent, Democrat James Talarico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COGDELL: And unlike Ken, I believe to my core, James, that you -- you believe in unity over division and that you know how to assemble not only Democrats but independents and Republicans. And we need that right now. We need it more than in my lifetime. And I'm old as dirt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I don't know about that. But here to explain why he endorsed Talarico, Dan Cogdell. Thank you so much for joining us. I was commenting on your age, nothing else, just so we're clear. But I want to get to this question here because, you know, it's very curious. You were Ken Paxton's lawyer for nearly a decade. You even donated to his campaign just as recently as last year. What made you decide to come out against him and endorse a Democrat?

COGDELL: Well, a couple things. Number one, although my practice has evolved a little bit over the last couple years, Laura, you know, for 40 plus years, I was a criminal defense lawyer. And truth be told, and no offense to Ken or any of my other former clients, I probably wouldn't endorse 95 percent of my former clients if they were running for political office. Defending somebody in the courtroom and endorsing them for a Senate is -- those are two different roads. So, the fact that I am not endorsing him is not the shock I think most people believe it to be.

That having been said, I did spend some time with James Talarico. I have seen him interviewed on a number of occasions. I've been to a couple of fundraisers for him. I had him on my podcast. And, you know, he changed my mind. I sincerely believe that James is focused on the things that Texans are focused on, and I think that he's going to be a great senator.

COATES: You said changed your mind.

[23:25:00]

Was there a moment that you were going to endorse and support Ken Paxton and something changed?

COGDELL: Well, look, it was an evolution. Like most changes in my life, it wasn't binary that happened overnight. I began to listen to what James was talking about. I began to hear him. And when I met with him, I really thought he has convinced me that he cares about the things that Texans care about.

Let's step back. In Texas, we are first in the country in school shooting, we are first in uninsured motorists, we are near the bottom in education, and we are last in health care. I think all those things matter to Talarico.

And without violating the privilege, I can tell you that not one time in my nine or 10 years of representing Paxton that I will hear him talk about school shootings, uninsured motorists, education or health care. And while our conversations didn't focus on, you know, political things, that's not what he talks about. What he talks about is endorsing President Trump and being behind President Trump. It's Trump, Trump, Trump.

And that's not -- that's not the job of a senator. A job of a senator is to represent the citizens of the state. I think Ken is focused on Trump, and I think Talarico is focused on Texans.

COATES: You know, you have another member of Ken Paxton's legal team. I'm talking about Attorney Tony Buzbee, who seems to believe that you oppose Paxton not because you support Talarico, but because of a personal issue. He claims you are a lifelong Democrat. Others have looked at your donations in the past.

You yourself have told "The New York Times" that you have only ever voted in Democratic primaries, although you have voted for some Republicans in general elections. Was your endorsement of a Democrat a foregone conclusion that should be discounted or is this the result of something personal or strategic?

COGDELL: Well, first off, Tony is a good lawyer. Second, I find it pretty amusing that Tony is calling me a lifelong Democrat when he himself, Buzbee, ran as a Democrat and lost that election. He's one for three, and (INAUDIBLE) three. So, for Buzbee to carpet somebody as a Democrat (INAUDIBLE) their endorsement is pretty funny.

No, I'm not voting for Talarico or endorsing Talarico because he has opposed or against Paxton. I think he's a superior candidate.

COATES: You would have voted or endorsed Talarico over James -- excuse me, over John Cornyn?

COGDELL: You know, I think Cornyn -- that's a good question. I really haven't given it much thought. I knew that Paxton has -- whatever you can say about Ken, he is an effective politician in the sense that he keeps getting elected in the face of a number of controversies. I never really considered if I would vote for Talarico over Cornyn. I don't know. But that's, you know, the hypothetical that I'm not going to spend a lot of time on right now.

COATES: Well, here's a reality. You spoke with Talarico on your podcast. You said that you support him in part because he supports unity over division. Is that a sentiment that others, you think, share in Texas? And if so, how do you think Talarico will translate that into votes for him?

COGDELL: That's the question. We haven't elected a Democrat in Texas for 30 years.

COATES: Right. COGDELL: That's a long time. It is a steep hill for James to climb. I get that part. I really do. But I think if not now for a Democrat win, I think that Paxton is vulnerable because of some of his history and because of some of the things he has done. I don't believe he has done anything criminal, but I think he has done some things that are, you know, questionable.

But I think Paxton -- I think Talarico rather has the inertia. There's a groundswell of support that you see and feel when you're around the man. So, we'll see. You know, if I could predict the future, I'd be in Las Vegas, I wouldn't be behind the desk, but we'll see.

COATES: Do you regret having defended him in his impeachment?

COGDELL: Not at all. Not at all. I was proud of the work that I did for Ken. I was proud of the results that we obtained in front of the Senate and were obtained in his criminal cases. I don't regret it at all. It's what I do. I fight like hell for my clients. I don't regret a minute of it. But my passion for defending the falsely accused or an accused person is not the same matrix as, again, just believing the right person to be a senator.

COATES: Have you heard from Ken Paxson since you decided to endorse Talarico?

COGDELL: I have not, and that doesn't surprise me. I mean, his team has put out the fact that I'm a lifelong Democrat. But the reality of it is, Laura, I have raised more money and donated more money to far more Republican candidates in my almost 70 years of walking around on this planet than I have for Democratic candidates. So, you can call me whatever you want. Don't call me late for dinner, as the expression is. But I don't care what they call me.

[23:30:00]

I'm doing the right thing. I'm voting my conscience and nothing more.

COATES: Dan Cogdell, thank you so much.

COGDELL: Any time. Thanks for having me.

COATES: And still ahead, Todd Blanche now officially nominated for the attorney general. The confirmation fight was already going to be tough. And now, a new book on the chaos inside the DOJ may have made it even tougher. The author behind it is going to join me tonight. But first --

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(BOOEING)

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COATES: Trump booed at game three of the NBA Finals after much debate on whether he should have gone in the first place. So, how do Knicks fans feel right now? We're live outside Madison Square Garden with that and more, next.

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[23:35:00]

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COATES: Breaking tonight, the San Antonio Spurs take game three of the NBA Finals, defeating the Knicks by just four points. The Knicks still led the series -- to lead the series two to one. Fans, of course, were hoping for a clean sweep in New York this Wednesday but will have to wake maybe little, maybe a lot longer, maybe at all.

CNN reporter Mark Morales is live for us in New York City right outside Madison Square Garden. Mark, good to see you. A tough loss for the Knicks at home. Give us sense of the mood outside. How are the fans feeling?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, with about 12 seconds left to go in the game, that's when you started seeing the first group of fans leaving that door right behind me where we see the Penn station sign. Now that the game is over, you'll see the streets flooded out. And if you notice, it is being -- the crowd is being funneled out in exactly the way that they came in. And that's what was designed by the security plan from the NYPD and the secret surface. The idea was they wanted to mitigate any wild behavior. But that's a situation that's actually, depending on where you are, might be happening right now.

So, as we know, watch parties have been sort of front and center because of Trump being here at Madison Square Garden. There was a watch party not too far from here over in Bryant Park. That one got a little rowdy where there were some arrests and the NYPD's strategic response group had to go in and break things up.

And if we'll pan over here, you'll see some of these other officers. You'll notice that they're wearing helmets, that they have their riot gear. Not that anything is actually going on here, but it's almost in preparation and as a deterrent for what's happening. Now, you'll also see, off in the distance, the NYPD trucks. You'll see the blocker vehicles.

And then if you turn around, Rod, you just go right over here, completely to the other side, you'll see some groups that are actually running around, bouncing around, and it's kind of this -- there's this rowdiness that you're seeing that's not only happening here, but has also happened in Bryant Park.

So, when we talk about the mood post-game, you have a mix. You have the people that are here just to watch the game. You have those that are here that are rowdy. At least one person in the crowd yelled, and they started to blame Trump. And at least another person yelled, Nixon five. So, right now, outside of Madison Square Garden, you kind of have a little bit of everything.

COATES: We see a person on top of the object. We see rallying of the crowd as well. Someone pulling on things as well. What we're hearing right now? What are they chanting? Oh, Knicks. I hear it. OK, saying Knicks. All right.

MORALES: They're chanting Knicks.

COATES: All right. Well, they were -- they were booing earlier today. As you know, the president loomed large over tonight's game. We saw him get booed by the crowd during the national anthem. How did that impact the scene?

MORALES: Well, at least one person could be heard blaming -- blaming Trump for that. People that we spoke to today were upset that his presence actually cut the watch party that usually happens just outside of Madison Square Garden.

But when you talk about the mood and you talk about the vibe, it's this kind of tension that has been going on throughout the day where you went from people being really excited and joyous. And now, this is kind of what you have.

But this has kind of been the standard when you watch around to some of the social media videos that have happened post-game. You've seen stuff like this. So, this isn't necessarily new. It's just -- it's happening on a larger scale because as we've seen with the watch parties, they've been growing and growing.

COATES: What are they pulling and tugging on? Is it like a jersey or something? Do you know what they're pulling on over there? I can't really see.

MORALES: It looks to be about a -- it's hard to see. It looks to be something like a jersey. Usually, they grab like a jersey or some sort of banner or something that says San Antonio Spurs and just -- I just usually tug at that. You know, some -- usually, somebody that has been an adversary to the team. But it's hard to know with these crowds how these things go.

COATES: Mark Morales, thank you so much. Hey, my next guest knows all about mixing sports and politics. Chris Dudley was the center on the last Knicks team to make it to the NBA Finals in 1999, and he just ran for governor in Oregon as a Republican last month. Good to see you, Chris. It must have been very interesting to watch the game next to you tonight. Another incredible, thrilling game that came down to the final seconds, this time at Madison Square Garden. Where did they fall short tonight?

[23:39:58]

CHRIS DUDLEY, FORMER NEW YORK KNICKS CENTER: You know, just in that third quarter coming out at halftime. They had such great momentum in the second quarter going into halftime. It felt great. But coming out at halftime, Spurs came out with more force. They erased the lead and then, obviously, extended it. And Knicks just couldn't match and kind of let it get away from them.

You know, it's hard to sweep a team, especially a really good team. And so, you had to be prepared for that. The Spurs, to their credit, they played better tonight. So, Knicks got to take care of business on Wednesday in game four and still control the series.

COATES: Well, you ran in Oregon, talking about how they need a rebound. Obviously, you were known for your dominating rebounds and your defense while you were Knick and also other teams as well. So, how did the Knicks regroup after tonight's loss?

DUDLEY: Well, just realized it's one game. And it's so much of the -- you can't get too high or too low. You got to say, all right, we lost one game. We didn't play well, especially in the second half, they did not have a good second half, and just say we regroup -- we regroup, we take care of business. On Wednesday, we're up 3-1 in a dominating position. And so, I just think it's just come back, and they'll know what to do.

They've responded so well throughout these playoffs, playing at such a high clip. There was so much emotion going into this game. You could see it early. They were a little rough coming out of the -- coming out of the game tip offed (ph). And then I thought we group second half. Second quarter looked really good. And I thought second half would be able to take care of business, but Spurs outplayed them and, unfortunately, didn't get it done. But just got to take care of business on -- we take care of business on Wednesday, being in great shape.

COATES: Well, the Spurs fans must be thrilled. The New York Knicks fans, they remained thrilled. They are very, very for their team. I'll just say that.

And President Trump, he was at the game today. He was actually booed, if you saw, when he was shown on the big Jumbotron during the national anthem. Did you predict or expect that reaction?

DUDLEY: You know, I'm not shocked. I mean, it's because -- I remember, even when I was playing, back then, it was President Clinton. Every time he came to New York, it was (INAUDIBLE). And people -- you know, it's hard. It puts them in a tough position because it causes such problems for everybody.

You know, probably the worst thing was the watch party outside. You wanted that to happen. But you want to -- you know, I know the president is a fan. He was -- he was a season ticket holder back in the 90s. So, I -- he was at the game. So, it's not like he doesn't care about it, but it's unfortunate that it disrupts it for so many other people.

COATES: Can you imagine the prices that they're charging today, even then?

DUDLEY: No. It's -- you know, you thought it was crazy then, but it's nothing like it is now. It's -- you know, it's -- New York wants the championship so badly. It has been so long. You know, we wanted it so bad in '99. And here it is 27 years later. It will be great when they get it.

You know, obviously, we all love for more fans to be able to get in and see it. You know, the good news is you got to watch parties, you got the celebrations, you're able to see it in other places, but wish more fans could get in and see it live.

COATES: Chris Dudley, thanks for joining tonight.

DUDLEY: I really appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate it. Go Knicks!

(LAUGHTER)

COATES: I want to bring in Xochitl Hinojosa and Shermichael Singleton. I know one of you is probably a Spurs fan. So, there you go. Everyone --

HINOJOSA: We're both Texans.

SINGLETON: I wasn't watching. I got to be honest. I was not watching.

COATES: Yet you're both happy. I see it on your faces. Talk to me about this moment, though. I mean Trump, he did loom large tonight. People wondering what was going to happen. He was booed. You're not shocked.

HINOJOSA: Yes, I'm not shocked. Also, if he would have attended this game in San Antonio, he would have also been booed. I think probably the only thing that the Knicks and the Spurs have in common is that there is not this like of Trump in a city like New York City and San Antonio, Texas. And so, it's not shocking to me. His team had to have known that going in. First of all, I'm excited about the Spurs. But also, we have an NBA Finals game that is going on further, and it's not just going to be the first four games. So, that's exciting.

SINGLETON: He's a New Yorker. I'm not surprised that he wanted to attend. And I'm sure he knew the crowd was not going to applaud him as opposed to when he goes to a football game like Alabama, Mississippi where for the most part he's lauded. No big surprise there. Nevertheless, you know, go Spurs!

COATES: You know where he's not going to get booed? This Sunday at the White House for the UFC. So, I'm just saying. Xochitl, Shermichael, thank you both so much.

[23:44:57]

Up next, Trump makes it official and nominates Todd Blanche for attorney general. And my next guest has some required reading for the senators who will be asking questions of his confirmation. He wrote a new book, chock-full of details that are stunning about Trump's rewiring of the DOJ, including Blanche's role in it and other never reported details on just how chaotic the department has become. New York Times reporter Devlin Barrett with me, next.

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COATES: A confirmation battle has officially been set. President Trump just formally nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general full time. But Blanche could face scrutiny from senators over his current record at the DOJ. Case in point, his handling of the Epstein files or the $1.8 billion weaponization fund, and the prosecution of Trump's enemies like James Comey.

[23:50:00]

Well, New York Times reporter Devlin Barrett writes all about this in his brand-new book called "The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice." He goes deep inside the administration's efforts to remake the DOJ in Trump's image. He spoke to many sources from within the department, one of whom told him, "There are times I think what's happening is the result of incredible malevolence and incompetence. And there are times I think I'm witnessing a criminal conspiracy within the government to violate people's rights, and nobody in a position of responsibility seems to care where the 'F' is Congress."

Devlin Barrett joins me now. Devlin, good to see you. This new book, I mean, it is quite the page-turner and it has brand-new reporting on the pressure that DOJ prosecutors are facing in bringing charges against people like James Comey or Letitia James. Tell me, what was Todd Blanche's role in all of these?

DEVLIN BARRETT, AUTHOR, JUSTICE AND FBI REPORTER AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, it's pretty clear from the folks I talked to who touched these investigations, who were drawn into these investigations, that Blanche's office pushed and prodded career prosecutors to pursue James Comey, to pursue Letitia James.

And there wasn't always agreement on every part of every case, but there was a sort of an unrelenting demand, which you saw at one point very visibly publicly from the president himself, that Comey must be pursued and Letitia James must be pursued, and other people who the president disliked so intently also should be investigated and, in his mind, prosecuted.

COATES: So, where was the discretion for the prosecutors? Not there?

BARRETT: Well, one of the things that so many of the people I talked to for this book complained about and worried about was there's a basic principle at the Justice Department called prosecutorial discretion, which means that besides just the rules in the law, besides just the precedents in court, there is the notion that prosecutors should treat light cases the same, and they should not come up with different charges or different punishments for people that they either like or dislike.

And what I was told over and over and over again is that basic principles of prosecutorial discretion are being chucked out the window when it comes to the types of cases that the White House cares about.

COATES: I was surprised that you reported that at one point, it was Todd Blanche who was actually against charging Letitia James. That's surprising. Why did they go forward still?

BARRETT: Right. And I think that's a really interesting and important point in sort of understanding what this new Justice Department is and how it works because what I reported is that there was a meeting last summer in which Todd Blanche met with some of the other administration folks who wanted to pursue a criminal case against Letitia James, the New York State attorney general. And after a presentation of the FBI's evidence, Todd Blanche said very emphatically, there's no prosecution to bring here, the case is not strong enough for a prosecution with the evidence we have in front of us. And at the moment --

COATES: And yet?

BARRETT: And yet, and yet, within, you know, a couple months of that decision ostensibly by the number two official in the Justice Department, Letitia James was, in fact, indicted. And, you know, to a lot of veterans of the Justice Department, that felt like a pretty telling indicator that some of the big decisions are just not going to get made in the Justice Department anymore.

COATES: In fact, you write about a meeting at Mar-a-Lago that happened before Trump's inauguration where it was Stephen Miller who made it clear how the DOJ was going to be run in the second administration, the second term. What did he say in that meeting?

BARRETT: So, what he said to the lawyers, the lawyers who are under consideration for senior jobs in the administration, and repeated more than once was that the folks running the Justice Department in the Trump administration would report to Stephen Miller and would take direction from Stephen Miller. And, you know, some lawyers were OK with that, some lawyers had concerns about that. But Stephen Miller has obviously, I think it's clear now, maybe not what wasn't clear immediately in the administration, he has an incredible amount of say over what the Justice Department does and what the FBI does.

COATES: You know I was a career prosecutor. So, hearing this and reading this book has been disheartening for so many and thinking about what it's like behind the scenes. And you spoke to so many sources within the department about what it's currently like being there, writing, "More than 100 current and former law enforcement officials expressed the view that the Justice Department as they knew it was dead, or that the FBI as it had functioned for half a century no longer existed."

[23:55:06]

I mean, what can you tell us about the morale of employees who have chosen to stay?

BARRETT: Well, look, I think one of the really hard and confusing things about the Justice Department right now is that there are people who are doing important work, there are people who are doing good prosecutorial work, good investigative work, and bringing solid cases. All around the Justice Department, if you think about all the things the Justice Department prosecutes, there are so many things that really aren't political at all.

COATES: Right.

BARRETT: But what a number of folks described to me was this sort of operating, sort of hunched over with your head down and hoping that no part of the administration someday decides to care about what you're working on because then, things can go south very, very fast like, for example, the career prosecutors in Norfolk found when they were tasked with the Letitia James investigation. But what you see time and time again is all these people who are just trying to do their jobs the right way worry and dread, you know, the phone call that may come telling them to take on some very political case.

COATES: Devlin Barrett, thank you so much. His book again is "The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice."

Thank you all so much for watching. One more look at MSG tonight with the Knicks lost to the Spurs in game three of the NBA Finals. New York is up in the series two to one. "The Story is with Elex Michaelson" is next.

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