>> Democrats have held the
senate, but Republicans clenched
the house this week, setting off
a seismic shift within that
leadership.
To discuss that and more, we
turn to the analysis of
Abernethy.
Washington post associate editor
and his post-colleague Gary
Abernethy.
Avery brooks is away.
>> A busy week.
A busy Friday.
We have the attorney general of
the United States appointing a
general counsel to investigate a
former president.
The wayhe did it, what does it
say how the department of
justice feels?
>> This is huge news.
How the justice department is
viewing this.
Th view it as a significant
case that needs to be looked
into by a significant person in
American life and American
political life for a former
president who just announced
he's seeking the Republican
nomination for the next
presidential cycle the attorney
general said was the thing that
happened that necessitated the
move.
It should say to the American
people and the attorney general
announced we have been
investigating, but we are taking
it so seriously we are giving it
to a special counsel who is out
of the justice department and
over at The Hague.
This person will be in charge of
running the rest of the
investigation.
It is an attempt by the justice
department, by the attorney
general to give the American
people confidence that the
investigations are being done
fairly and being done
impartially and no favor is
being given or taken away from
Donald Trump.
>> As part of this work, they
will determine if there is
sufficient evidence to bring
criminal charges.
If there are criminal charges,
do you think president trump
should run for office?
>> Merrick Garland has been
under tremendous pressure to do
more to take a more aggressive
stance in the investigations.
A lot of folks, this is an
excellent -- escalation of that.
I feel bad for the American
people.
We are in now for day after day
headlines.
And breaking news and leaks
about what the special counsel
is investigating, or which
direction it is going and what
it means for us all.
Not to say this wasn't a proper
step.
But it would be nice if the
prosecutor can do his work and
announce what he's found without
the speculation of headlines in
between.
But we know how this is going to
play out.
We know that the post reported a
couple of days ago justice
doesn't think trump had these
unclassified documents or these
classified documents because of
any interest in trying to profit
from it or any nefarious reason
other than he thinks they are
his.
He is wrong.
That is not a strong legal case
to make against him.
Same with the January 6
investigation.
Things came out of the
committee.
Nothing that really seems to
rise to the level of
criminality.
People will disagree about that.
We will see what comes out with
it.
If there is a way to take trump
sways back to him at a moment
when it seems like they have
reason to separate, this is the
type of thing that does just
that.
>> People disagree, I'm going to
disagree.
President trump took the papers,
not for any monetary
advancement, but he just wanted
to have them.
It is still illegal.
The papers did not belong to
him.
They belong to the American
people.
That is why there are laws
against taking classified
material.
To the point of leaks happening,
it is not bad for the American
people because a special counsel
was appointed, it is fantastic
because it tells the American
people the gears of justice are
grinding on Donald Trump in the
sense that he's not above the
law.
He is being held accountable
through the special counsel
process.
If the special counsel says we
don't have enough to indict him,
at least the American people
will know and evidence will be
laid out the reasons why or why
not.
The one thing that is different
between this special counsel and
what happened with Robert muller
is we have an attorney general
who when he gets this report,
he's not going to hold onto it,
recast it in a way it
mischaracterizes what the report
says, and releases it long after
the narrative has been baked and
is almost impossible to tell the
American people, show the
American people what really
happened.
>> You look at Republican
leadership, and you have talked
about more leaders willing to
break with president trump.
Coming off of the midterms were
Republicans recaptured the
house, but underperformed.
Largely because of trump backed
candidates.
Do you think Republicans stand
by him as the probe moves
forward?
>> I don't think Republican
leaders will coalesce around
him.
I have been wrong about that
before.
What I'm talking about are the
grassroots Republicans in trump
world across the country looking
at Ron Desantis, other
candidates who might be good
alternatives.
Especially based on performance
of the midterms and on trump
bizarrely attacking Ron
Desantis, calling him to saint
timotheus before the election,
which seems strange.
It seems like anytime trump
comes under attack, the base
wraps themselves around him
again like a wall of protection.
It is the type of thing that can
cause that.
We will see what degree you may
happen.
>> I want to get to congress.
And as we move into this next
congress, a lot of activity on
the democratic side, speaker
Pelosi stepping down.
A huge generational shift.
Hakeem Jeffries hop -- offering
his bid for reelection.
She said the hour has come for a
new generation to lead the
democratic caucus I so deeply
respect.
I'm grateful so many are ready
and willing to shoulder this
awesome responsibility.
Republicans are now taking
control, we have a divided
congress.
What is ahead, gridlock,
possibility for shared goals?
>> There is always a possibility
for shared goals.
Whether it happens remains to be
seen.
Let me deal with speaker Pelosi.
I agree with president Biden
when he said she was the most
consequential speaker in
history.
There is no denying that.
You look at what she has been
able to do, most notably getting
affordable care act passed
through the house without a
single Republican vote every
time I have interviewed speaker
Pelosi and talked to her about
the machinations of the house
and whether she gets something
over the finish line, she will
always say I got the ACA through
without a single Republican
vote.
That is a huge accomplishment.
Millions of Americans are very
happy she was able to do that.
The other thing I want to note
is speaker Pelosi, she says the
hour has come for the next
generation.
She's been bringing the next
generation along since 2018 in
the sense she promised,
Democrats retook the house, that
she was stay for a finite period
of time.
But what did she do?
Katherine Clark, hakeem
Jeffries, Pete Avila was deputy
whip to with Clyburn.
The old three and the new three
have been working together for
years now.
The fact each one of them today
or late yesterday announced they
were running for leadership
positions, Jeffries for Pelosi,
Clark, Steny Hoyer, Aguilar for
Clyburn, it shows free Democrats
in disarray, this is probably
going to be one of the smoothest
transitions of power within the
democratic caucus perhaps ever.
I will leave Gary to talk about
it.
>> Let's talk about the
Republican transmission.
Some Republicans like Marjorie
Taylor Greene saying our
priority is to investigate.
We want to look into hunter
Biden, the search at mar-a-lago.
Other new members coming in.
I was elected to fix inflation,
gas prices, so on.
How does a leader, likely Kevin
Mccarthy, how do you hurt
everyone the same direction in
the caucus?
>> It is not easy.
Republicans got elected because
they campaigned on how bad
inflation was, how high gas
prices were, that we need to
address the southern border.
One of the first things I do is
hold a press conference and talk
about the hunter Biden hearing
investigation.
That is a legitimate
investigation in my opinion.
There are other legitimate
investigations.
That is not -- not why you got
returned to control of the
house.
So the focus publicly on the
things you campaigned on that
you tackle those things, you are
not going to be there for very
long.
It will be a short time before
they go back to power.
One item of agreement they can
look at and start working on
together would be the
immigration problem.
Both sides have a stake in
fixing that.
We have a humanitarian reason to
fix it for the people coming
across the border.
If people with get serious and
say we do need to tighten our
security at the southern border,
we need to do something, some
kind of a path to citizenship
for folks who are already here.
Let's get serious for the fist
time in 15 or 20 years and sit
down, it will take copper mines
on both sides.
That is an area worth saying can
we bring both sides together and
do something about the
immigration issue?
>> There is a lot of consensus.
Immigration needs to be fixed.
I want to come to both of you
before we go.
If you would like to say
something about a man who sat at
this table, the late Michael
Gerson.
You both know his work.
I would like to give each of you
an opportunity to say something.
>> I didn't know Michael
personally.
The only time was at this desk.
I got to know him through his
writing.
Going back and reading his
writing, I came away and
believed it was a calling for
him.
And his writing called us to
higher ideals.
He always talked to what we have
in common.
Even on opposite sides of the
ideological spectrum.
He had conviction, passion,
compassion, that is what I'm
going to miss the most, his
voice.
>> I would agree with Jonathan.
Michael was a guy who wrote with
empathy and deep intelligence.
He was an even shallow
Christian, and I consider myself
one too.
When there were disk --
disagreements about how they
dealt with trump and so on, this
is a guy who wrote very
personally.
He wrote with great empathy.
When you came away reading him,
whether you agreed with what he
was writing, you came away
thinking there was something
thoughtful.
It is a voice we are going to%
miss.
>> I can't think of a better
note with which to end this