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The only thing worse in politics
than being wrong,

is being boring.

I'm not sick of winning yet.

And we're crying out
as a nation.

♪ (MUSIC INTENSIFIES) ♪

Thank you for having me.

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

(dramatic,
patriotic music playing)

Narrator 1:
The Capitol is
the very heart

of our system
of representative
government.

Members of the
House of Representatives

are elected for short terms:
two years.

But since they have to
come up for reelection
so often,

they must constantly
be responsive to
the wishes of the voters.

Narrator 2: The American
people are very proud
of their government,

for it is a republic.

This means a form
of democratic government

where the people
are the rules of their l---

(TV clicks off)

Woman:
It's day eight of the
government shutdown,

and neither side
is willing to budge.

Man:
Discussions have broken down.

We do expect this
to go on for a while.

Matt Gaetz:
We are in, uh, what
used to be a work closet

for the former Congressman
that had this office.

Of the 435
members of Congress,

more than 100 actually
live in the building.

For some people,
it's an economic decision.

For me, frankly,
it's just that,
I like being at work,

and, uh, it gives me

the maximum opportunity to get
the most out of every day.

Gotta get the makeup on
first thing in the morning.
Got a lot of... hits.

We usually do our TV
in the morning from here
in the Capitol,

and there's no Fox News
makeup lady, so...

you gotta contour the sides.

Got my, uh,
weight loss chart here.

My mother joked that
the camera added 10 pounds,

so I needed to drop a few.

All right, this is
the critical choice
of the day, here.

The tie selection.

Gotta figure out
what shoes go with

purple and pewter.

(chuckles)

These are Ivanka's favorite.

She was telling me
she liked my shoes.

I wore 'em to the White House.

When a Congressional seat
came open,

I'd really started
to think about

what this country
would be like in
a Donald Trump Presidency,

and I knew that it would
not be like anything
we'd experienced before

with any other type of
Republican or Democrat.

I thought, this guy's got
some rough edges.

He is very uncharacteristic
as a politician,

but I felt like he was
exactly the type of person

that could bring
the fight to a town
that badly needed it.

That could be a change agent.

And if I could be there,
and be of assistance,

then I could contribute
to that change in
a positive way.

Newscaster 1:
Nine percent
of Americans

approve of the job
Congress is doing.

That's the lowest
in our history.

Newscaster 2:
All you see is gridlock.

No one can agree on anything.

Newscaster 3:
Congress is less popular

than a colonoscopy.

Man 4:
The American people
know that Congress

is broken.
And it is broken.

Woman:
I believe the voting system
is corrupt.

I believe the politicians
are corrupt.

I believe the Congress
is corrupt.

Man 6:
Each and every
piece of legislation

virtually has its own
price tag on it.

Elizabeth Warren:
Giant corporations have
bought off our government.

Bernie Sanders:
The American political system

has become totally corrupted,

and the foundations
of American democracy

are being undermined.

Donald Trump:
The unholy alliance of
lobbyists and donors

and special interests
is bleeding our country dry.

Man:
Trump is different because

he doesn't have to
answer to any donors,

and the lobbyists.

It's time to drain the swamp
in Washington, DC.

We are going to
drain the swamp...

It's time to drain the swamp
of corruption...

We're gonna drain the swamp
of Washington...

We're gonna have fun doing it,
and we're all doing it
together.

Crowd (chanting):
Drain the swamp!
Drain the swamp!

Drain the swamp!
Drain the swamp!

Gaetz:
You ask whether it's ever
possible to drain the swamp.

As President Trump
loves to say,

"We'll see."

Nancy Pelosi:
Thanks to you,

tomorrow will be
a new day in America.

Newscaster:
Democrats rode a blue wave
to the majority,

setting up what should be
a contentious atmosphere
in Washington,

in 2019 and beyond.

Kevin McCarthy:
Fellow citizens and friends,

let us lead together
to show the people that

we are truly their voice,
and their vote.

In that spirit,

I extend my hand of friendship

to every member of this body.

And to the
Speaker of the House,

Nancy Pelosi,

I extend to you this gavel.

-(cheering and applause)
-Thank you...

Gaetz:
There is an essence
of this place

that doesn't change
no matter who wins
the elections.

Republicans. Democrats.

And the majority party
is simply the party that
is first in line

to be the servant
to the special interest
overlords.

I think that machinery,
that infrastructure,

that's the swamp.

A member of Congress

cannot ask another
member of Congress

for money in this building.

We are in the
Longworth office building.

Or the Cannon office building,
or anywhere else.

Except the floor of the
House of Representatives.

So, like, when we were
on the floor today,

I had a more senior member
come to me,

and they gave me
my assessment card.

And so, your assessment card
lets you know

how much money you owe
the party bosses.

It says my name,
the Honorable Matt Gaetz,

that my spring dinner assessment

is $55,000.

This is a call
to wealthy people,

who, by virtue of
their commitment,
or their special interest,

would like to give me $55,000

to come have dinner
with me and my colleagues.

Now, like, I find myself
to be a very pleasant,

uh, dinner guest,

but I cannot imagine anyone,

uh, willing to pay $55,000
to have dinner with me.

This is my namesake,
Matt Gaetz, the first.

Uh, he built railroads
in North Dakota.

And this is my grandfather,
Jerry Gaetz.

He was a state Senator,

and, uh, ran for
lieutenant governor.

Gave the speech
to be nominated,

and as soon as he
walked off the stage,

had a heart attack and died.

My father served
as a state Senator,

and so I am the
fourth generation of Gaetz

to be in public life.

I keep this picture
of a bill signing
with President Trump,

mostly because I have
no idea why I was there.

This is a bill that I had
almost no role in crafting.

Uh, I think I voted for it,

but, uh, sometimes the President
just likes to be around
some of his buddies.

Trump:
You ever watch this guy
on television?

He's like a machine.
He's great.

Matt Gaetz.

(cheering, whistling)

Great guy.

Gaetz:
I think the President
is doing

all that he can to change
the ways of Washington.

And it'd be a hell of a note
if we'd have his back
in Congress

every once in a while.

Wolf Blitzer:
One hour from now,

President Trump's
former lawyer,

his confidante, his fixer,

will unleash a point-by-point
take down

like none seen against
a sitting President of
the United States.

Cohen made millions of dollars
by promising access

to his client, the President.

Mika Brzezinski:
Florida Congressman
Matt Gaetz,

a staunch defender
of President Trump,

took to Twitter
yesterday evening.

"Hey, Michael Cohen,
do your wife and father-in-law

"know about your girlfriends?

"Maybe tonight would be
a good time for that chat.

"I wonder if she'll
remain faithful
when you're in prison.

She's about to learn a lot."

A ll the replies and comments
on Twitter was like,

"That's witness intimidation.

That's witness tampering.
You're gonna go to jail."

Reporter: Were you
trying to intimidate him
with those tweets?

Listen, I didn't want
to intimidate Cohen.
I want Cohen here.

It's not intimidation
and it's entirely appropriate

to provide context for people

who have a history of lying
and likely a future of lying.

There were some
who thought it was threatening,

and that was absolutely
not my intent.

And so I deleted it
for that purpose.

Reporter 2:
Why did you come down
to the hearing today?

'Cause I'm a member of Congress.

Um, some people think
it was inappropriate
for you to be there

considering your tweet.
What do you have to say
about that?

-Nothing.
-Thank you.

I believe that right now,
with the start of
the Cohen hearing,

we're in the first quarter
of the impeachment.

I think that Democrats
are certain to impeach
the President,

and while it's terrible that
we're gonna go through
this impeachment process,

it will not result in
a conviction.

At least the forgotten
men and women of this country

will have every reason
to show up in 2020
and re-elect their President.

I think that's gonna be
the ultimate result.

Michael Cohen:
This conversation
with Mr. Trump started--

I didn't ask whether
you were a good fixer.

I asked whether you were
a good lawyer.

Sometimes you have to
meld both together.

Massie, he said he was gonna
yield me some of his time

if I'd been given unanimous
consent to participate.

I'm kind of glad he didn't.
His questions are very good.

Thomas Massie (over TV):
...good job. You said
you were a good lawyer, right?

Is that being a good lawyer?

To not even consider
whether it's legal or not?

Gaetz:
What do you think that
what we've seen now

does to the Democrats'
obvious desire to engage
in impeachment?

Um, I think if this
was the foundation,

it's, it's shifting
on them already.

(chuckling)
It's very unstable.

He admitted to being
a scumbag lawyer.

-Those are two
different things.
-(laughs)

-They're not blended.
-I'm not a lawyer. He is.
(chuckles)

Massie:
I'm an engineer at heart,
and by training.

Growing up, I liked
taking things apart

and putting them
back together.

So, I went to M.I.T.

to get an electrical
engineering degree,

and I hung around
and got a mechanical
engineering degree,

and started my own company.

When you hold the PHANTOM
in your hand,

you can actually feel the shape
that's on the computer screen.

I invented
a virtual reality device

that lets you touch and feel
three-dimensional objects.

So I started out in
the virtual reality industry,

and then after 10 years,
I sold my ownership in that,

moved back to Kentucky,
and got back to reality
on the farm.

But then I ran for Congress
and entered virtual reality
again.

I'm kind of a Libertarian,

but kind of prefer the label
Constitutional Conservative.

I think we should
get back to the Constitution,

and put government
within the bounds

that the founding
fathers put on it.

Newscaster:
After three months now
of bucking the system,

freshman Republican
Thomas Massie

has already earned a nickname
on Capitol Hill:

"Mr. No."

Massie:
Up here, they've called me
"Mr. No."

If you heard that nickname,
you'd think I vote no
all the time,

but I looked this up.

I only vote no, like,
25 percent of the time.

Twenty-five percent
dissension with your party

is a heretic in Washington, DC.

And if people are gonna
drain the swamp,

like the President
wants to do,

they need better information

about how
this place is broken.

And that's my mission
in Congress.

So, my friend Justin Amash--

he's a Congressman
from Michigan--

got me this for my birthday,

because we both kind of
look at the Capitol
as the Death Star.

("Star Wars" soundtrack playing)

I mean, if you come up here
to visit, there's scaffolding
on it all the time.

It looks like
it's being worked on,
but it's fully functional.

And it can destroy happiness
and life anywhere

on the globe.

(exploding)

What I'm doing up here
is looking for the one
weakness in the Death Star.

(soundtrack continues)

But sometimes I end up
in the trash compactor.

Interviewer:
Who's Darth Vader?

(Massie laughing)

Massie:
Well, Darth Vader
was Paul Ryan,

but now it's Nancy Pelosi.
(laughing)

(elevator dings)

So this one is reserved
for members of Congress.

Not many of us have the heart

to kick somebody off
who's not a member.

Virginia Foxx is notorious
for kicking people off,

but she won't just kick
the staffers off the elevator.

She asks them
who they work for,

'cause she tells on 'em, too.

Hey, Virginia.

I was just telling them,
you keep,

you keep our elevator
for members only.

-These folks are-- (laughs)
-I do my best.

Massie:
It's so exhausting

to run in place.

And to get nothing done.

That's the frustrating thing
to me.

The most frustrating thing
to me is the fact that

we know what's wrong.

Every year, we don't pass
a budget on time.

We wait until the day
before Christmas,

and everybody
wants to get out of town.

Everybody votes for this
ridiculous spending bill

that nobody's read.

And then we pretend that
we're fiscal Conservatives,

and the hypocrisy of,

uh, pretending that
we care about spending,

and "we," as the general "we,"
we care about spending.

-Massie: Please use
the general "we."
-Yeah.

-'Cause I don't like to think...
-It's not you and I.

-...we're doing any of that.
-Right.

Ken Buck:
My name is Ken Buck,

and I was the founding member

of the Freedom Caucus
in the House,

which is the
Conservative group
that was formed in 2015.

Freedom Caucus
has always been
a loyal opposition

within the Republican party,

and so I don't expect, uh,
members of the Freedom Caucus

to get leadership positions.
That's not our role.

Our role is to try to be
the conscience of the party.

I had stage 4
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,

and my sense of purpose
is different

after cancer than before,
so I feel like

whether I get
reelected or not,

I'm here to do
the right thing.

And the right thing to me
was to expose what goes on
in Congress,

and make sure
the American public
knows about it.

For many of
the members of Congress,

it's a job that they
don't want to give up,

and so, their reelection
is more important than

the actual problem solving
that, that needs to go on in DC.

I wrote "Drain the Swamp"
during my first term
in Congress,

because we were
told by leadership
right from the beginning,

"Here are all the goodies
that you can enjoy

if you play the game
the way we want you
to play the game."

And the game is

agreeing with leadership.

Agreeing with
the special interest groups

on, on how to vote.

And, and how to govern.

I'm not one of those people
that's not very agreeable.

The problem with
the Republican party now is,

we have such a fresh history

of violating the Constitution,

of violating
fiscal responsibility,

of violating personal
accountability,

that we don't have a high ground

to stand and say,
"You guys are doing
the wrong thing."

Lawrence Lessig:
I'd spent many years
trying to push policy

that would make the regulation
of culture more sensible.

And the regulation
of the internet more effective.

And while in the courts
we made progress,

Congress was constantly
resisting.

At a certain point,
a friend of mine

basically said to me,
"So, why do you think

"you're ever going to
make any progress,

"so long as we have
this deep corruption

in our government?"

I realized he was
exactly right,

so literally that night,

I promised him I would
give up my old career,

and take up a new career.
That was about a dozen
years ago.

Before we were Republicans,

before we were Democrats,

we were citizens first.

We need citizen soldiers
fighting for a democracy

that is beyond party.

That is above party.

That is focused on
citizens first.

The Constitution,
in Article One,
sets up Congress.

Framers gave
the pride of place

to the most important
democratic institution

within our republic.

Madison describes Congress
as being a body
that would be, quote,

"...dependent on
the people alone."

And I think
the most important man

in the history of Congress,
after Madison,

is Newt Gingrich.

And I think Newt Gingrich
destroyed Congress.

Newt was a very ambitious
history professor

who came to Congress

and was keen to
turn the Republicans

into a kind of
militant opposition,

and then he won control
of the House for
the Republicans

for the first time in 40 years
in the 1994 election.

And starting in 1995,

he began to change the
institution fundamentally.

On the first day of
the 104th Congress,

the new Republican majority
will immediately pass

the following major reforms.

Lessig:
One of the ways
he changed the institution

was to basically
begin the process

of shifting Congress people over

to the life as fundraisers.

He told them, "Don't move
your families to Washington.

We'll work three days a week."

The rest of the time,
you know,

he said you could be
going home,
but what happens is,

the rest of the time,
they're out there
raising money.

It becomes their
perpetual campaign,

which dramatically increases
the amount of money

that both sides are
bringing into the process.

He has changed the culture,
changed the agenda,

changed the language,
and changed the dialogue.

Lessig: Gingrich's change
in the structure of power
in the House

was all about assuring
that the Speaker

could direct everything.

And the Democrats followed.
It's not like it's different

on the Democrats' side.

Buck:
The Speaker controls
the schedule,

what bills go to the floor,
what comes out of committee,

who the members are
of the committee.

Massie:
I think a lot of people would
be surprised to find out

that members of Congress

are expected
to pay their party

for their
committee assignments.

And this is, like,
$200,000, $500,000

every election cycle,

just to get a certain
committee seat.

Now, where are you
gonna get that money?

You're not gonna go back home
and have a fundraiser

in somebody's living room.
That just doesn't work.

The people that fund
your purchase of
the committee seat

are the people who have
an interest

in the work product
of that committee,

i.e. the lobbyists.

Gaetz:
Every committee
in the Congress

has a letter grade
associated with it--

A, B, or C.

That letter grade
is solely lashed to

that committee's ability
to generate campaign cash
for its members.

If you're on
the ways and means
committee,

then you have jurisdiction
over the entire tax code.

There is no lobbyist
in this town

that would not swim
across the Potomac

to deliver you
a $5,000 back check.

But if you're on
the Veterans Affairs Committee,

which is really important,

you just don't have the same
bevy of special interests

thirsting for your attention
with donations.

Lessig:
Under Newt Gingrich,
committee chairmanships

were increasingly assigned
to people who raised money.

And if you didn't
raise that money--

the Democrats did this,
Nancy Pelosi did this--

you kicked somebody off
the chairmanship.

So this is all about changing
what was supposed to be

a really critical
institutional role

played by a chairman--
somebody who knows
something about the field--

into just the most effective
fundraiser in that field.

Massie:
So there's a price tag
assigned to every committee.

But there's also a price tag
assigned to being the Speaker.

So, the Speaker up here
is expected to raise about
$80 million

every election cycle,
and dole that out.

Buck:
The Speaker and
the minority leader

control distribution
of funds to members,

so it's the rank-and-file
that chooses the leadership,

but people misunderstand
that somehow we're
choosing people,

you know, that we think
are the best at articulating
our positions.

That's not true.
It's who can raise the money,

and the special
interest groups
control the money.

So, the hierarchy of power
in Washington, DC,

is special interest groups,
leadership,
rank-and-file members.

Lessig:
That system is a system that
makes the members of Congress

so sensitive to what
the lobbyists want

that it's hard for them
to see above the water

and recognize what
the public needs.

And that dynamic

is the corruption,
I think of, as the swamp.

Gaetz:
The special interests

don't really want anything
to get done in this town,

because if we actually
started working together
on some stuff,

things would change.
And if things change,

the people who
are getting rich
off the current system

would not be getting rich
off that system.

That's why I think that
the greatest challenge we face

is not Republicans
versus Democrats.

It's reformers against
those who want to maintain
the status quo.

And we got Republicans
and Democrats in both groups.

Ro Khanna:
My view is,

we need a more progressive
vision for America,

but a vision is insufficient

if you don't get things done.

And I do think that
there is an appetite

among the newer generation
of members of Congress

to build broad coalitions,

and we always have to
listen to criticism

from the other side,
and understand that
they're representing

a particular
constituency in America

and a particular perspective.

Gaetz:
We would be sort of
an odd couple, politically.

I am a Tea Party Republican
from Florida.

Ro served in the
Obama administration and
represents Silicon Valley.

But folks like Ro even,
who maybe don't hold
my ideology

or my view on every subject,

understand that
this place has to change

if we want to do right
by the American people.

Khanna:
We came here to work for
the people who sent us here.

Not for the leadership,
not for committee chairs.

And not, certainly,
for the lobbyists.

All right, so, some reforms
that would surprise people
we would agree on.

-Would you vote
for term limits?
-I would.

I'm one of two Democrats
or so who will.

See, I would vote
for term limits.

Would you vote
for non-partisan
redistricting commissions?

-I would.
I think that would be great.
-I would vote for that.

Would you vote on
a lifetime ban on lobbying
for members of Congress?

I would. I think there
should be a--
no revolving door.

And would you ban lobbyists

from giving money
to members of Congress?

I would, and, and, uh,
I don't take lobbyists' money,

and I think we should
ban lobbyists from doing that.

See? That's the
"drain the swamp" agenda.
Khanna-Gaetz.

We could run on that
and unite 80 percent
of the country.

-Good morning.
-Massie: How you doing?

-I'm Diana Ohlbaum from FCNL.
-Oh, okay.

-Nice to meet you, Diana.
-Thank you so much for
your vote on this,

-and your support.
-Yeah, well...

Diana Ohlbaum:
You're a real key person.

Massie:
I think you might be surprised

how many Conservatives
are just done with war.

Right now,
as I'm serving in Congress,

this is one of my top issues,

is to reclaim the constitutional
power of Congress to declare war

back from the executive branch.

Newscaster:
California Democratic
Congresswoman Barbara Lee

and Kentucky Republican
Congressman Thomas Massie

want to repeal
the 2001 authorization

for the use of military force.

Massie:
After 9-11,

there was so much appetite
for doing something

that it was almost
political suicide

if you decided not to vote
for an AUMF

that was responsive
to the terrorist attacks.

George W. Bush:
We will make no distinction

between the terrorists
who committed these acts

and those who harbor them.

Barbara Lee:
As we act,

let us not become the evil
that we deplore.

Massie:
Barbara Lee was the lone vote
against the AUMF,

and she did prove that
you could stand on principle,

and eventually be right,

and still survive politically,

but a lot of the people
who went against the grain

did not survive politically.

Lee:
Our constituents
sent us to Congress

to make the hard decisions.

We owe it to the American people
to take these tough votes,

and repeal the 2001
authorization.

Ari Melber:
Bush invoked the bill
for potential actions

in over 11
different countries.

His successor
added nine more,

including places that had
no tie to 9-11.

The overreach here
began with Bush,

but the Pentagon
and Presidents in both parties

tend to hold on to major powers,
not just give them up.

Buck:
Our founding fathers
wanted to make sure

that a decision
that was as significant

as sending Americans
overseas to fight
and lose their lives

would only be made
with a vote

in the people's House,
and in the Senate,

and so I think it's really
important that we respect that.

I think it was the right move
in the Constitution,

and we've gotten away from that.

There's a reason that
our founders gave Congress

the power over war and peace.

Because we have to go
and answer to our constituents.

And I'll tell you something.
There's not a single American

who wouldn't want
the violence to end,

and allow food and medicine
to get to those kids

who are gonna face death
if we do nothing.

I built a coalition
in the House

to try to end support
for the war in Yemen,

and we passed
a war powers resolution,

and there were 16 Republicans
who helped with that effort.

Buck:
That was something
where we had

a number of
Freedom Caucus members

and a number of
progressive caucus members

working together to pass that.

When it comes to war powers,

those two groups
can work together.

Massie:
This is not a partisan issue
and that's why I'm here today.

There are only about
70 members of Congress
out of the 435

that are serving today
who were actually here

for the original AUMF vote.

And I can tell you,
those 70 who voted for it
never imagined,

except perhaps
Barbara Lee imagined,

that this would be used
to justify all of the wars

that have gone on since then,
and all of the military
engagements,

and possible future engagements
from here on out.

Gaetz:
I represent the district
that's got the highest

concentration of active duty
military in the country.

But I am no cheerleader
for war.

Emcee: I'd just like
to welcome to the stage
Congressman Matt Gaetz.

-Gaetz: Thank you.
Oh, thank you, guys.
-(applause)

Gaetz:
I've seen my whole life,
living in my district,

what the impacts of war
really are for families.

Parenting disrupted.
Marriages destroyed.

Drug abuse.
Domestic abuse.
Veteran suicide.

Caskets draped in flags.

As I travel home to
north Florida this week,

I will meet with
commanding officers.

They will brief me
on the missions and
preparations undertaken,

and if called to combat,
my neighbors will go first,

and they'll fight the hardest.

Now I'm at a place
with the President

where we speak
very regularly.

And so if I can be
a good advisor, supporter,

influencer to President Trump,

that will give me a chance
to impact the world by

contributing to, you know,
the most valuable real estate

that exists in Washington,

and that's between
the President's ears.

We're here in Seaside.

This is, uh, where my family
has spent our,

really most of our family time
most of my life.

This little gazebo up here,

critical spot in the life
of Matt Gaetz.

It's the, uh,
site of my first kiss,
right here.

I'd tell you who,
but it would probably be
very embarrassing for them.

So this is the Truman house,
and in the mid '90s,

one day some producer
just shows up in a golf cart,

and, uh, tells my mother
that they want to make
a movie in this house,

starring Jim Carrey.

Good morning!

-Morning!
-Good morning!

Oh, and in case
I don't see you,

good afternoon,
good evening,
and good night.

Gaetz:
He made a few other movies
and then ended up

painting a portrait of me.

And so,
it wasn't the most flattering,

but nonetheless,
it was pretty cool
to see it come full circle.

So, this is the house
I grew up in,

and this was my bedroom
during my formative years.

And voila! Love America.

Hey, everyone.
This is Congressman
Matt Gaetz.

I'm out on Navarre Beach now,

but today is our
Won't Back Down
Town Hall tour.

("I Won't Back Down"
by Tom Petty playing)

Good to see you guys.

(cheering and applause)

I am proud of the fact that
I have been a leading member
of the Congress

to expose the 22-month
witch hunt,

lie, unfair investigation
of our President.

(cheering and applause)

What will it take
to reinitiate

going after Hillary Clinton
for obstruction of justice,

-and Benghazi?
-(all cheering)

We gotta call on more people
from the bar area.

They got it going on.

Woman: I'm concerned
about our young kids
in elementary school

that do not know
the Pledge of Allegiance.

And then when you go
to a football game and
they're in high school,

nobody sings the words.

Everybody just stand there
like a dummy.

(scattered applause)

You want to sing a few bar--
You want to sing a few bars
for us?

Both:
♪ O say, can you see ♪

♪ By the dawn's early light ♪

♪ What so proudly we hail ♪

♪ At the twilight's
last gleaming ♪

-(crowd joins in)
-♪ Whose bright stripes
and bright stars ♪

♪ Through the perilous fight ♪

Gaetz: My district is
one of the most Conservative
districts in the country.

But one of the little pockets
of liberalism that we have

is in downtown Pensacola.

It's the most urban area
of my district,

and so I guess it would be easy
for me to only go to the places

where everyone's
a Matt Gaetz cheerleader,

but I have an obligation

to serve and appear
before people who
don't agree with me.

Crowd (chanting):
Love, not hate!

Makes America great!

Love, not hate!

Makes America great!

Love, not hate!

Makes America great!

Love, not hate!

Makes America great!

Gaetz:
Thank you all for coming.

Appreciate seeing you here.

-(chanting continues)
-Woman: Love, not hate!

Gaetz:
Thank you all for coming.

Hey, good to see you all.
Thanks for coming.

Man: Hey, Matt,
thanks for coming.

Oh, I'm honored.
I'm honored.
Hey, thank you all for coming.

(applause)

Man:
Hallelujah!

-(cheering)
-Hey. Hey, it's good to see you.

I am concerned
for our government.

If there could ever be
a takeover or a coup,

it really bothers me, that,
uh, that this could happen.

You know, when I first
started to uncover this
troubling evidence

of people who didn't view
their obligations

as conducting investigations,

but instead thought that
their role was to remove

the duly elected President
of the United States.

I came out and said,
"That is what a coup is."

-Woman: Not true!
-That is what treason
looks like,

and that's what we're
gonna find out with
Attorney General Barr

who is gonna turn the tables
on the people

who are trying
to destroy our country.

Woman:
That's a lie!

Speak the truth!

Boo!

Crowd (chanting):
Hey hey! Ho ho!

Baby Gaetz has got to go!

Hey hey! Ho ho!

Baby Gaetz has got to go!

-Hey hey! Ho ho!
-Man: 1.2 million dollars!

Hey! Thank you all--

-(woman chanting)
-Who threw that?

Who threw that?
You go get them.

Woman (chanting):
Whose beach? Whose beach?

Whose beach?

Thank you all so much
for coming.

I'm grateful you're here.
Thank you.

-Whose beach? Whose beach?
-Our beach! Our beach!

Woman:
You're embarrassing us.

Luke Ball:
When that went viral
on social media,

we started seeing increasingly
violent responses to it.

And it led to people saying,

"We're gonna throw
urine on you,"

and then it led to
a death threat.

I'll play it for you.

Man (on phone):
Hey, Gaetz,

you pathetic piece of shit.

Do you know that I could
blow your fucking head

clean off your shoulders
from over a mile away?

You got your head
so far up Trump's ass...

Ha, ha, ha!
I could still take it
off your shoulders.

I'm coming after you
and your family, Gaetz.

This Congress,
we're on record
for 10,000 threats

against members of Congress,
and I condemn them,

whether they're against
Republicans, Democrats,

-Liberals, Conservatives.
-Of course.

You know, this is just no way

to operate within our country.

Lessig:
Congress operates

inside of a media environment,

that itself profits from
the politics of hate.

Everybody profits from
the politics of hate.

The liars in
the Democratic party,

you can never
trust these people, ever.

The Republican party is now
fully and totally responsible

for these racist, divisive,
un-American ideas.

Do you want people here
on merit, or not?

Do you want people to come here
to speak English, or not?

This is not just a group
of desperate migrants.

We have people
who are criminals,

thugs, special interest aliens,
jihadists.

You brought to the
State of the Union,
or you gave a ticket to,

somebody who is a fairly
notorious racist
and Holocaust denier.

Look, he's
a controversial figure.

There were plenty
of controversial folks at
the State of the Union.

The way that you're able
to elevate your profile
in Washington

is to drive conflict,

because conflict
is interesting.

And I think that the really
powerful people in this town

are the ones that can
go on television
and make an argument.

And that's power that
the leadership can
never take away from you.

-We're still on for Cuomo
tonight, right?
-Woman: Correct.

-In person?
-Right.

The right says that
all the time--

You think people
on the right are rooting for
more school shootings?

-I see it all the time,
and so you do.
-Wow, I have never--

You spend all this time
on fake news CNN,
and nobody watches you.

-Oh, man...
-And I'm like,
you're wasting your time.

Man-- Okay, true or false?

Lessig:
You know, you look at
the partisan spin

of cable television--

Fox News and MSNBC
and CNN.

Up until 2001,
they're basically the same.

And then beginning
in 2002 or 2003,

they start splitting
dramatically,

so that they are
deeply partisan.

And that bleeds into Congress.

You know,
you want to rally your base
against the other side.

You've gotta make sure
that the other side is devil,

and if you don't call
the other side the devil,

then they're not gonna be
interested in supporting you.

What you see from
the radical left today

is an attack on the democracy
of our country itself.

The radical left just
wants to de-platform,
demonize, destroy--

We have Democrats who have
no interest in legislating.

It is all about continuing
on the next witch hunt

with a new broomstick.

I don't think of
a television clip

about how it's going
to play on TV.

I think about a clip
that's on Twitter or YouTube,

and how do you create
an exciting or viral moment

that people are eager to share

and that might offer
some new insight.

Lessig:
On social media, everything
that increases engagement

increases the opportunity
to sell ads.

And people are more engaged

the more polarized
the environment becomes.

And that bleeds into Congress,
too.

If you look at
the number of bills
that it has passed

in a cross-partisan way,

it's gone in the 1970s

from a very significant
cross-partisan institution

to an institution now
that just literally cannot
do anything

in a cross-partisan way.

You know, compromise,
since Ronald Reagan,

has had this framing
of weakness,

or duplicity.

So, if you compromise,

as a member of Congress,
it's like you're lying
to your base.

And that's the dynamic
which Newt Gingrich
encouraged.

He knows that the way
you raise money

is to trigger the hatred
of the other side
in your favor.

Politics of hate is the most
productive technique

for fundraising we have.

I am sickened by
how unpatriotically

they undermine
the Constitution
of the United States.

Pelosi:
We are here today

because the Republicans
in the House are paralyzed

with hatred of
President Clinton.

And until the Republicans
free themselves of this hatred,

our country will suffer.

But of course,
an institution like Congress

is supposed to find
a common ground for
the nation as a whole.

And if you're not willing
to find a solution that
could represent America,

then you're not
doing your work
as a representative.

And if we get nothing done,
I tell you the status quo

will really love that,

because they benefit
from nothing getting done.

We're kind of slumming it here,
going to Longworth, you know.

The senior members
are in Rayburn.

Matt's still stuck over here,

but with the kind of
TV time he gets,

he'll have an office
in the Capitol soon.

Gaetz:
I've seen the way you've been
an independent member here.

I'm starting to get a sense that

when you don't always adhere
to kind of the establishment,

leadership viewpoint on things

that you see an impact
in your fundraising.

I raised about a couple
hundred thousand dollars

here in Washington, DC,
in my first term,

but after they found out
I wasn't here to go along
to get along,

it went almost to zero.

In fact, there was
a six-month period

where they ranked me
number 437 in the House
for fundraising.

Gaetz:
I thought there were
only 435 members.

There are only 435
voting members,

but Guam and Puerto Rico,

-their delegates
raised more money.
-They don't have a vote!

They don't have a vote,
and they raised more money

than me in that
six-month period.

But what have you got there?
Like, is this your
fundraising plan?

-Your campaign?
-This meeting I recently had,

I somewhat resented it,

I meet with these guys,
and they say, "Gaetz,

"you know, you're on TV,
people know who you are
in your state,

"and we really think
you can run for higher office,

but you don't
raise enough money."

And so, they write me this plan,
and it's just, like,

it's basically how to
whore yourself out for money.

And when I say, like,
"Who's, who's gonna do this?"

Like, "Who wants to
give me $100,000?"

They basically say,
"Well, what--"

The next question is,
"What committees are you on?"

How can you use
your Congressional pin

to go and, and help a lobbyist

as your primary objective.

It's demoralizing,
and folks like AOC,
Bernie Sanders,

have proven that
you don't need that.

Massie:
This is my Congressional pin,

and you'll see a lot of people
around here wearing them.

I started to call this pin
"Precious."

If you've ever seen
"Lord of the Rings"
or "The Hobbit"...

My Precious...

"Precious"?

Massie:
And the reason
I call it Precious is,

it affects how you think.

You can come here
as a hobbit,

and put this thing on,

and become Gollum
in very short order.

My... Precious!

Massie:
Just like Precious
made the hobbit invisible,

you walk past
the metal detectors here.

You don't go through them,
you walk around them
if you wear this.

The police do what you
tell them to do,

if you're wearing Precious.

The tourists figure out
what Precious is.

And if you're wearing
Precious,

they know that you
must be precious.

And so, because people
behave differently around you,

it gives you
a feeling of power.

An uncomfortable feeling
for me.

And so, I try not to wear it
any more than I have to,

because I think eventually
it will turn me from a hobbit

into a Gollum,
and I see that happen up here.

So, here's two
briefing sheets.

This morning,
it was reported that

Iran shot down
one of our drones.

-There's an in-depth Fox News
article in there--
-Call Charlie.

Just call Charlie.

Hey, man. It's Luke.

Um, I got the boss here.

Let me put you on speaker
for this part.

-Charlie.
-Charlie Truxal (on phone):
Yes, sir.

-Tell me what you know.
- It's confirmed that
one of our drones

was shot down over the evening
by the Iranians.

This one was a high-altitude
flying MQ-9

from what I am tracking,
one of the threads.

And they were able to hit it
effectively at high altitude,

-which is unbelievable.
-Gaetz: An MQ-9?

Truxal:
...I think ever done that
once before.

Gaetz:
Jesus. All right,
thanks, Charlie.

Jake Tapper:
The Pentagon is deploying

an additional thousand troops

to the region as
a deterrent against

what the Trump
administration calls,

"increased Iranian
aggressions."

Reporter:
Do you believe right now
that you have the authority

to strike Iran
without Congress?

Uh, I do like keeping them
abreast,

but I don't have
to do it legally.

I have not seen intel

that would justify utilizing
the 2001 Global War on Terror

authorization to use
military force against Iran.

So I'm proud to work
with Ro Khanna

and other folks
on the political left

to try to achieve
a bipartisan consensus,

because if my constituents
have to have the courage
and bravery

to go and fight these wars
and die in these wars,

then politicians in Washington

need the courage
to actually vote on them,

and decide what's worthy
of spilling American blood,

and what isn't.

Khanna:
We're at risk of
a serious escalation

that could spiral
out of control.

Congress has to be the check,

and that's why I've been
working with Matt Gaetz

to have an amendment
that we're going to
introduce tomorrow.

And the amendment is going
to make it very clear.

The President can't take
any action in declaring
war in Iran,

uh, without Congressional
authorization,

and we will defund
any such activity.

-Gaetz: Jillian?
-Jillian Lane Wyant:
I'm here.

-I knew this would happen.
-Wyant: I had this--

I asked you, I said three times,
I said, "We will get down here,

and we will not have
a person here."

I specifically
want to reference

information that
we've received
in a classified setting,

and so for us to discuss that,

there are rooms tucked
throughout the basements

and tunnels at
the Capitol complex

that are available for a more
secure discussion or brief.

Sir, are all your, uh,
electronics--

You can take the key
of one of those.

-No Apple watch, Ro?
-I mean...

-What kind of Silicon Valley
Congressman are you?
-You know.

Gaetz:
So have you done this with
a lot of your legislation?

-File it directly in the Hopper?
-Khanna: No.

We are going to submit
our joint amendment
to the Hopper,

which is, uh, how you submit
an amendment or a bill

to the House floor
to get it for a vote.

We're coming together
with this unique coalition

in constitutional prerogative
to prevent war.

So, I, I actually think this
is a great example of
Congress actually working.

Wyant:
Trump just came out
with a statement

while you guys were
talking about Iran.

-Oh. What'd he say?
-"Any attack by Iran

"on anything American

"will be met with great
and overwhelming force.

"In some areas,
overwhelming will mean
obliteration.

No more John Kerry
and Obama."

We better hurry.

Neil Cavuto:
I was just checking.
Are pigs flying?

Because Democrats
and Republicans

have apparently found
something to agree on.

Or at least,
these next two gentlemen have.

Recent reporting
that was in "The Hill,"

I believe, showed that by
a margin of two-to-one,

Americans favored diplomacy
and negotiation over war.

Newscaster:
President Trump says the
military was cocked and loaded

to carry out air strikes
against Iran overnight

when he suddenly
decided not to do it.

Trump:
I'm not looking for war,

and if there is,
it'll be obliteration

like you've never seen before.

Newscaster:
Tonight, senior administration
officials say

all options are still
on the table.

Buck:
As long as the President
is engaging in wars,

we don't have to vote
on a war.

And if some
American soldier,

a Marine airman dies,

we don't have to accept
the blame for that.
We can point a finger.

So, all the tough decisions
are pushed off

to the executive branch,
and power has shifted
as a result.

Massie:
The military
industrial complex,

they got a lot
of money to make
when we're in war.

They're up here donating
to Congressmen.

And so that's a force
that keeps war going.

And unfortunately,
I serve with some real cowards.

They would rather not ever
have to take that vote.

(applause)

Khanna:
The biggest thing I found
in Washington

is just this total
risk aversion.

I mean, people, they don't
want to rock the boat.

And people who are in power

have a stake in
preserving that power.

(explosion)

(lawnmower puttering)

Gaetz:
How many media
appearances today,

including Facebook Lives?

-Four? Five?
-Wyant: Uh, I think four.

Gaetz:
Charles, it's like we're
going through "Groundhog Day"

each and every week in the
House Judiciary Committee.

We are going over the same facts
that were in the Mueller Report.

And it doesn't seem to be
moving, uh, the fact that

sixty percent of the country
doesn't want to see impeachment
go forward.

There was no collusion
with Russia.

There was no obstruction,

and none whatsoever.

Newscaster:
On the collusion
conspiracy issue,

the President is right.

The Mueller Report
does not establish

any such wrongdoing.

But on the issue of obstruction,

Mueller does not agree
with the President.

Jerry Nadler:
Responsibility
now falls to Congress

to hold the President
accountable for his actions.

This has nothing to do with
volume one or volume two
of the Mueller Report.

(indistinct arguing)

Man:
They don't know anything
about the Mueller Report!

Nadler:
Gentleman will suspend.

Gaetz:
Chairman Nadler
and the Democrats

on the Judiciary Committee

are dying to impeach
Donald Trump.

They would have impeached
him yesterday if they could.

But Nancy Pelosi knows

that impeachment is like
poisonous candy.

You know,
you can look at the candy,
you can want the candy,

but if you eat the candy,
you're gonna die.

Newscaster:
She doesn't want Democrats
in swing districts

having to take a tough vote
on impeachment.

That's a really ugly vote.

Gaetz:
It's my view that
the Mueller Report

was the dispositive word
on collusion,

and that we all ought
to move on as a country.

But if Democrats really want
to probe these issues,

why are we eating
around the edges?

Why don't they just
call Robert Mueller?

(news theme playing)

Newscaster:
The former special counsel
is about to make

back-to-back appearances
before the House Judiciary

and Intelligence committees.

Gaetz:
I don't think I slept
very much last night.

This is kind of our version
of the Super Bowl.

Getting ready for
an opportunity to

display the work of our office
over the last two years

in a very condensed, uh,
high-intensity setting.

All right.

Off to see the wizard.

For the last couple weekends,

I have, uh,
spent a lot of time
on the phone

with some of my colleagues:
Jim Jordan, John Ratcliffe.

We have had a number
of mock sessions

where I'll pretend
it's my five minutes,

and ask one of my colleagues,
as if they're Mueller,
the questions I have,

and then they'll turn around
and ask those questions of me.

Who's the one member of
the Judiciary Committee

who has refused to show up
to a single prep session,

a single practice,
a single mood court?

Ken Buck. Ken Buck.
A gamer.

Doesn't wanna leave
any on the practice field.

Christopher Jaarda:
Um, what we're doing is
we're laying forward that

there are ten separate
fact patterns covered
in the Mueller Report.

And in many of those,

Mueller could have reached
a prosecutorial decision,

which he did not do,
even though the regulations

require him to make
that decision.

Newscaster:
This is really a critical
test for Democrats,

who are looking to impeach
this President.

This may be their
final moment to lay out
for the American public

why that is something, uh,
that should be on the table.

Newscaster 2:
Now, when it
comes to Republicans,

they are going to focus
on the origins

of the Mueller investigation.

I think there were
a lot of facts, uh,

regarding the interaction
of people who didn't like
the President and Russians...

-that weren't fully developed.
-Reporter: Who do you mean,
specifically?

Well, uh, you'll,
you'll see in just a moment.

Do you have any basis
as you sit here today

to believe that Steele
was lying?

As I said before
and I'll say again,

it's not my purview.
Others are investigating
what you--

Gaetz (on TV):
So it's not your purview
to look into

whether or not Steele's lying.

It's not your purview to
look into whether or not

anti-Trump Russians
are lying to Steele.

And here's what
I'm kind of noticing,
Director Mueller.

When people associated
with Trump lied,
you threw the book at 'em.

When Christopher Steele lied,
nothing.

Maybe the reason why
there are this discrepancies
in what you focused on,

because the team
is so biased...

-Man: Time of the gentlemen
has expired.
-... pledge to stop Trump.

Man:
Mr. Jeffries of New York
is recognized.

I guess he didn't
get to the closing.

- All right. I'm gonna
start pulling it.
-Yeah.

All right, uh,
we're starting to pull,

go on critical mention,

try to search for that
Florida keyword that I found,

and then you should be able
to copy and paste

-the transcript portion.
-Is it up here?

Wyant:
This is a huge moment.

Now I don't just think
in Congress, though.

I think this is
in the country, as well.

Because this kind of can dictate
where we go next.

Buck:
Was there sufficient evidence
to convict President Trump,

or anyone else,
with obstruction of justice?

In Office of Legal Counsel,

indicates that we cannot
indict a sitting President.

Could you charge the President
with a crime

-after he left office?
-Yes.

You believe that he committed--

You could charge the President
of the United States

-with obstruction of justice
after he left office.
-Yes.

Buck:
The liberals will use
the answers

that Mueller gave
on his report,

and they will allege that
the President committed
obstruction,

and it's an impeachable
offense.

The Republicans will talk
about how unfair this
investigation was,

that the people that were
involved in the investigation
were biased.

So, I think both sides
have takeaways,

and depending on which
news organization you listen to,

you're gonna hear,
uh, that takeaway.

Ritika Robertson:
I think the people that were
pro-impeachment before

are still pro-impeachment.
The people that were
anti-impeachment

are still anti-impeachment.
And most of the country
just doesn't care.

Newscaster:
This is absolutely not the day

the Democrats
had wanted it to be.
I agree...

The Democrats in
the committee on the dais

looked like they had been held
at a funeral for too long.

Newscaster:
The President, by the way,
we know is watching this.

He's been doing so, we're told,
from inside the residence.

not in the West Wing
of the White House here.

(voice over phone)

Hey, Mr. President.
It's your favorite Congressman,
Matt Gaetz.

Great day to be an American.
Give me a ring at your
convenience.

I'll call him at the office.

Mr. President.

I think we won the day, sir.

(Trump speaking)

No, I, I--

Yeah, he is.

No, I think we--

Well, I think the--
the biggest mistake
was Nadler.

Bringing this guy in.
I mean, this was--

this was a train wreck for them.

I will guarantee you
that when, uh,
they are polling,

you know, ten days,
two weeks from now,

that the Democrats will have
gained zero momentum

in their push for impeachment.

(Trump speaking)

We'll tell 'em, sir.
Well, hey, thank you.

Oh, Melania said I was handsome.

You keep telling me that,
but she never confirms it.

(Trump speaking)

Take care.

He's very happy.

Massie:
I haven't read the whole
Mueller Report.

I've probably only read
about 20 percent of it,

but I read enough
of it to decide that
it didn't matter.

It's a weapon of
mass distraction.

I don't think this is gonna
change anything here, really.

We have wasted a lot of time,

but that's what Congress
sort of does on its own--

it wastes time.

We're at a very
important location

that defines the edge of where,

uh, Congress does
official business,

and where Congress switches
into fundraising mode.

I can't ask anybody for money
on federal property,

so, when you want
a new committee assignment,

let's say you're tired of being
stuck on the Ethics Committee,

and you want on the powerful
Ways and Means Committee,

the first thing the Speaker
is gonna tell you is--

They're gonna get out
the fundraising numbers
and say,

"You're not doing enough work
across the street."

So when you hear
that code sentence,
we all know what it means.

Come down here,
cross the street,
get a list of rich people,

and start begging for money.

Not for yourself,
not for your own reelection,

but for the party.

Gaetz:
We just concluded
our monthly meeting.

I got the, uh, somewhat
unfortunate news that

I have $124,500 left
that I owe to pay
the party for my dues.

And a lot of times
they're telling you,

"Hey, if you're on
this committee,

these are the lobbying groups
that you need to go see."

Or, "These are
the lobbying firms
that are most likely

to give to your campaigns."

Taking just a candid look at
where you've told me we are,

-we will be out of money
in a few months.
-Wyant: Yeah.

-We'll be, we'll be broke.
-Yes.

If you make me do
the typical Washington thing

where I have to go and sit
with these lobbyists...

-Yeah.
-...and PAC fundraisers,
I will quit.

I really think we need
to hire a fundraiser.

Is there any projection
in which,

if we grow that renewable

-small dollar donor base,
-Yeah.

-people who give me
$50 from, you know--
-Well, that's the whole point.

The whole point is to
one day not need to hire
a fundraiser at all.

It really--
The whole point
is to get there,

but it just takes time,
because you need to get
that database.

And at our current
operational spend, we'll
be broke in a few months.

-Right. Exactly.
-Great talk.

Yeah, exactly.

Well, here we are,
across the street
at the NRCC.

I'm sort of persona non grata
in this building.

They don't want me in there,
because I haven't been
doing my work in there

for the past six years.

If you go in there,

you're gonna see Congressmen
sitting in cubicles

going down lists of people
who've donated to Republicans
before.

In many cases,
cold calling them.

Basically glorified
telemarketers,

and the same exact thing
goes on at the D-triple-C

as goes on here at the NRCC.

I'm not gonna lie to you.
I crossed the street myself.

Like, my campaign
doesn't run on fairy dust.

So, even though I don't
spend any time there,

there's another building
right next to us

where I do spend a lot of time
wining and dining.

The difference is,
I don't pay the extortion

that my party asks of me.

There's somebody doing
their work across the street.

His district borders mine.

(light guitar music playing)

I think the topography here

shaped my thinking
about government.

We're organized in hollers.

There's a holler,
there's a holler.
This is a main holler.

And as long as you're
minding your own business
in your holler,

you don't go over
in your neighbor's holler
and tell them what to do.

Hey!

Hey, cows!

(mooing)

It's not very Libertarian
of somebody

to throw their trash
on my field.

Oh. They were having
a Budweiser here.

I'm definitely the greenest
member of Congress.

I've put that on
my Twitter profile.

Nobody will even challenge me
on that point.

Everything in my house
runs off solar power.

We're off the grid.

My whole house right now
is running off of

7,104 little batteries
out of a wrecked
Tesla model S.

I hate pollution, okay?

Lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide...

All the things that
we can prove are bad,

I, I'm against.

One of the things that
I disagree on, though,
is carbon dioxide.

One of the best things
that could happen

for the life on this farm
to flourish

is that CO2 goes up.

People forget that.
They forget that CO2
is a plant food,

and we're now calling it
a pollutant.

Interviewer:
You don't think that
climate change

is an existential threat
to human beings?

I absolutely don't think
that CO2,

uh, man-made
or man-produced CO2,

is an existential threat
to us.

And even if we thought CO2
was not good for the planet,

it's probably not
the best place
to spend your money,

or to spend other
people's money that
you're taxing them on.

Where's the cost benefit?

Interviewer:
What do you say to
the people who might say,

"Oh, well,
you're from Kentucky.

Are you just protecting
the coal miners?"

So, it's true
I'm from Kentucky,

but there's not a single
operating coal mine
in my Congressional district.

Do I have a parochial interest

because of coal-fired
electricity generation?

Yes, I do.

But we look to the government
to solve every problem,

and I think that's wrong.

Lessig:
In 2010,

the Koch brothers signaled

that any Republican who
acknowledged climate change

would be taken out.
They'd be primaried.

And what that demonstrates
is the extraordinary power

of the threat value of money.

The iceberg effect is

we see a tiny bit
of the contributions
on the surface.

But below the water,
there's an extraordinary
amount of

threatened contributions

that have the effect
of disciplining members
of Congress,

and that's what happening
with climate change.

But whether or not
the Republicans
are more extreme,

the Democrats are also
extremely sensitive,

and constrained,

by the way they
need to raise money.

Newscaster:
Senate Democrats have
a super majority of 60.

Republicans will be powerless
to stop them.

Lessig:
The Democrats couldn't bring
climate change legislation

when they had
a super majority

in the House and in the Senate,

because they knew the cost
from the carbon industries

jumping in and defeating
Democrats would be too great.

And what we need is an
opportunity for Congressmen

to decide what to do
on the basis of what
they think is right,

independent of this anxiety

that these tiny numbers
of very powerful funders

will make it so that
their decision is too costly

for them and their party.

Announcer:
Chipping away at your rights.

Chipping away at your freedom.

And now they're attacking
our Second Amendment rights.

Chipping away at your future.

But you can stop them
right now.

On November 2nd,
vote Ken Buck.

He defends our
Second Amendment rights.

The NRA Political Victory Fund
is responsible for the content
of this advertising.

Sure, I ran for
the Senate in 2010,

and the NRA spent a lot of money
in that campaign.

The truth is that
I've never received, um,

more than one or two percent

of my total campaign
contributions from, uh, the NRA.

I'm not influenced by anybody
in the gun area.

I am a firm believer
in our Second Amendment rights,

and that's why I vote
the way I do.

I was a district attorney
for 10 years,

and it's the best job
I've had.

As a district attorney,
you really get
the 30,000-foot view

of crime in a community,

and what can you do
to solve that crime,

and to change the way
a community looks at crime.

Man:
You wanna shoot bad guys,
or you wanna shoot targets, or--

-Buck: Bad guys.
-Chief of Staff?
What do you say?

-Oh.
-Woman: Do you
have any terrorists?

Um, do we have any Osamas left?

That, that guy looks great.
The third from the bottom there
looks great.

I think candidates,

elected officials,
and political parties

all react to
a narrative created by
special interest groups.

And that narrative is often
single issue.

And the narrative
is often extreme.

Woman:
The only way
we save our country

and our freedom is to fight
this violence of lies

with the clenched fist of truth.

I'm the National
Rifle Association of America.

And I'm freedom's
safest place.

(fires)

(shots firing)

Man: Boom!
That's what I'm talking about.

Buck:
And if you don't conform
to that narrative,

you lose support financially,

you lose support of
a certain group of voters,

who say, "I'm not gonna
vote for that candidate.

"I want this person
who is the most extreme,

the, the person who's gonna
throw out the most red meat."

So, yes, I think, that,
uh, part of the problem

with nuancing is that
people expect to hear
red meat,

or they consider it a weakness.

(firing)

Newscaster:
Panic in El Paso this morning

when a day of shopping
turned into horror,

with an active shooter
on the loose.

Newscaster 2 :
Law enforcement officials
in Texas say

they believe the attack
was motivated by
anti-immigrant hatred.

The weapon used
in today's shooting
was an AK-47

semi-automatic
assault-style rifle.

You know, I'm a proud
lifetime member of the NRA.

I'm a gun owner.

America has nothing to fear

from law-abiding gun owners.

Newscaster:
Right now, here in studio,

Congressman Matt Gaetz
from, uh, the great state
of Florida.

Gaetz:
It is a tough time
for our country

in these instances
of great casualty.

President Trump was right
when he said that,

"It's not the gun
that pulls the trigger."

It is this hate-filled
motivation

that we've gotta
get to the bottom of.

-Man: Always a pleasure.
-Thank you guys
for having us on.

-Yeah, thanks again, Todd.
-Absolutely.

Gaetz: All right.
Best of luck to you.

Hi, there. Matt Gaetz.

-Marlene. Marlene June.
-Where are you guys from?

-Red Bank, New Jersey.
-Oh, wonderful.

-Happy to see you, meet you.
-Nice to see you, as well.

I want to be thin,
sexy, happy...
Republican.

I want to be all
those things, too.

-(laughing)
-We'll use the soft lens.

-Marlene June:
Thank you so much.
-No, thank you guys.

-Man: Are you gonna do anything?
-I appreciate you.
Have a great day.

Man: Or you just gonna
do the same thing?
Sit on your hands?

Do something!
Stop letting people
die all the time

from these white
supremacist terrorists!

John Sarbanes:
If you're angry and passionate

about the fact that
we can't get the most basic,

common sense gun
safety measures in place,

then be angry about the fact
that the gun lobby and the NRA

have been spending
millions of dollars up here

to advance their agenda.

That's just connecting the dots.

You care about tax policy,
health care, the environment,

you gotta care about
where the money's coming from.

And members of the public,

voters out there,
they're starting to
connect these dots.

Somewhere in America,

there's a family
in their living room

hearing another report
about how billionaires

and super PACs and insiders
are running Washington,

and calling the shots
on what happens
in their lives.

And they're asking themselves,
"Do we matter anymore?"

H.R. 1 says to that family,

and millions of families
across the country

who feel the same way,

"We get it. We hear you.

We want to change this place."

Lessig:
Nancy Pelosi was convinced
by John Sarbanes

to make H.R. 1 the first thing
that Congress took up
after 2018.

And H.R. 1 was
the most important

reform legislation
that Congress has considered

since the Voting Rights Act
of 1965.

Sarbanes:
The reforms we proposed:

fixing partisan
gerrymandering,

making it easier
for people to vote,

boosting election security,

more disclosure on where
dark money is coming from,

public financing to power
campaigns in this country,

so we don't have to go
hat in hand

to lobbyists
and big money donors.

Every single one of those
polls at 75, 80, 85 percent
in the public,

so there's a lot of Republicans
that support these reforms.

It's just a matter of getting
their representatives
in Washington

to pay more attention to that
and deliver on that.

Newscaster:
House Democrats passed
sweeping anti-corruption

and voting rights legislation,

234 to 193 on party lines.

Massie:
There are these
messaging bills, like H.R. 1,

where the party in power
in the House

never really intends for them
to pass the Senate.

They're just trying
to send a message.

Buck:
It was a Democrat bill

that focused on getting folks
that had low turnout

to turn out to vote,
because they believe that

if they could turn out
those voters, they would
win more elections.

Gaetz:
I voted against H.R. 1

because I do not support
public financing of campaigns.

It is taking money
away from taxpayers

to fund efforts that annoy
the shit out of taxpayers.

Lessig:
If you are not willing
to take on the role of money

in the election of members
to Congress,

you're not a serious reformer.

Like, you can call yourself
a reformer.

But you're not changing anything

if you don't change
the core dynamic of incentives

for electing people
into Congress.

A party line vote,
Republicans have been
killing it,

noting it would use
taxpayer dollars

to help fund
political campaigns.

Majority leader
Mitch McConnell says

it's dead on arrival
in the Senate.

A power grab

is smelling more and more

like exactly what it is.

Lessig:
Mitch McConnell called H.R. 1
a Democratic power grab.

And it is, in a small "d,"
democratic sense,

because the existing system
we have right now

disables incredibly important
swaths of Americans

from being able to
participate equally

in our political system.

Pelosi:
H.R. 1 restores
the people's faith

that government works
for the people's interest.

Not the special interests.

I've been critical
of Nancy Pelosi.

I think in many ways,
she practiced exactly
the kind of corruption

that I care about addressing.

I don't think she was
ever personally corrupt.

But she was one of
the biggest fundraisers
in Congress.

But I know that many
in that Democratic caucus

did not want to vote in favor
of H.R. 1.

And she basically
made it a requirement.

Sarbanes:
The hardest thing
in the world to do

would be to get
these reforms passed.

Even if Democrats end up
getting the opportunity

to do it across the Capitol
and in the White House,

because it's human nature
to feel like

if you're in control,
order has been restored,

and maybe you don't
have to go do all those
dramatic things

that you talked about.

But the power of this message,
as it's been used,

this fighting corruption,
fixing democracy,

draining the swamp,
whatever you want to call it,

the electoral power of that
is a validation

that the public
across the spectrum

wants to see these changes.

(cheering and applause)

Trump:
The special interests,
Wall Street,

the career politicians...

The system is rigged,

and I've been saying it
for a long time.

The super PACs are a scam.

They have total control
over the candidates.

These interests have rigged

our political
and economic system

for their exclusive benefit.

But with your help,
we're going to beat the system,

and we're gonna
un-rig the system.

John Roberts:
Congratulations,
Mr. President.

Lesley Stahl:
You said that lobbyists
own politicians

because they give them money.

-You admitted you
used to do it yourself.
-Sure.

But your own transition team,
filled with lobbyists.

Everybody's a lobbyist
down there.

-That's what they are.
They're lobbyists
-No, wait!

On your own transition team--

We're trying to clean up
Washington. Look--

How can you clean it up--

Everything--
everything down there...

There are no people.
They're all people that work--

That's the problem
with the system.

Interviewer:
What has President Trump done
to drain the swamp?

President Trump's most,
I think, uh,

antiseptic impact on the swamp

has come through a mentality

that the professional
class around here
is not in charge anymore.

Interviewer:
But we're talking about
draining the swamp.

I thought he was talking about
getting rid of the lobbyists

and special interests'
hold on this town.

With President Trump in office,

the lobbyists
and special interests

have never been
less empowered.

Reporter 1:
President Trump said that
he would "drain the swamp,"

taking power away from
Washington lobbyists
and special interests.

Now, more of them
have seats at his table
in his cabinet.

Reporter 2: In total,
more than 300 lobbyists

now work in the Trump
administration,

many overseeing the industries
they used to lobby for.

Reporter 3:
They've essentially sold out
government agencies,

and the White House,
to industry.

Reporter 4:
Wall Street
loves Donald Trump.

Reporter 5:
Big money contributions
from friendly donors

are paying off for them.

Reporter 6:
Large political contributors

buy access to President Trump

using political contributions
to Trump's super PAC...

Reporter 7:
Trump businesses
are making a killing

from political groups
and federal agencies.

Reporter 8:
President Trump's landmark
Washington, DC, hotel.

It's been a hot spot
for lobbyists

who want to gain favor
with the Trump administration.

But if you look at
drain the swamp,
I am draining the swamp.

Thank you very much.

So what are you hearing
about our amendment?

Khanna:
That it's still
a little bit uphill,

but, uh, they're pushing it.

-What are you hearing
on your side?
-Same thing.

I'm hearing that there
are definitely some
members of the war lobby

who are singularly focused on

ensuring that our
work product's not included.

Gaetz:
The Khanna-Gaetz amendment
passed

in the
House of Representatives.

Woman:
The "yeas" are 251,

and the "nays" are 170.

The amendment is adopted.

Gaetz:
We got essentially
every Democrat vote,

and we got 27 Republicans
to vote for it,

so it is in the House version
of the NDAA,

and when it was voted on
in the Senate,

we got 50 votes,
and there were fewer
than 50 votes against it.

But in the crazy rules
of the United States Senate,

even when you get
the most votes,
you can still lose

if you have not reached
a 60-vote threshold.

And we're making the case that

because of the broad
bipartisan support of
Khanna-Gaetz in the House,

and because more people
voted for it than against it
in the Senate,

it should absolutely be
presented to the President
for his signature.

Where has McConnell
traditionally been on these
war powers issues?

I think the best guess
of where he's gonna be
on this issue

is, uh, where the President
wants him to be on this issue.

And the President sees this

as an important part of his
rebuilding the military,

and he's not gonna
send the signal
to Mitch McConnell to,

to, uh, work with us on this.

Huh.

Trump:
This destructive cycle

of intervention and chaos

must finally, folks,
come to an end.

Come to an end.

We need to ask those
who voted for the war

how can you give the President
a blank check,

and then act surprised
when he cashes it?

We keep trying to
elect Presidents to end wars.

It's no coincidence
that Donald Trump

became President
in the Republican field.

He said that the war in Iraq
was a blunder

in the Republican primary.

The war in Iraq was
a big, fat mistake.

And yet, we've been too slow
to roll back these wars.

And I think we need a Congress

willing to stand up
to a President,
regardless of party.

Massie:
It would be a very solid
brick in the wall

in reestablishing

our Congressional war powers

if something like
Ro Khanna's amendment

could get placed in
the National Defense
Authorization Act.

But it always feels like
Charlie Brown and Lucy.

We get ready to
kick the football,
and Lucy pulls it away.

Charlie Brown:
(screams) Ugh!

-(thuds)
-(grunts)

Announcer:
This is an "ABC News"
Special Report.

George Stephanopoulos:
Good afternoon.

We're coming on
the air right now

with major breaking news
from Capitol Hill.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
has made that dramatic shift

to decide to open a formal
impeachment inquiry
of President Trump.

It comes in the wake of
President Trump's confirmation

that he withheld
military aid from Ukraine

about a week before
a July 25th phone call

with the Ukrainian
President,

where he was reported
to have encouraged
the Ukrainian President

to investigate Joe Biden
and his son Hunter,

who had business interests
in the Ukraine.

Newscaster:
Zelensky was interested in
Javelin anti-tank missiles

to defend himself from
Russian-backed rebels.

Mr. Trump replied,

"I would like you to
do us a favor, though."

What you just described
is a quid pro quo.

We do that all the time.
Get over it.

The fact that Trump
called Zelensky a day
after Mueller testified,

tells you everything
you need to know

about the hubris
of this President.

-He's very happy.
-Pelosi: The President
of the United States

used taxpayer dollars

to shake down the leader
of another country

for his own political gain.

Gaetz:
Why are Nancy Pelosi
and today's House Democrats

not giving President Trump
the same due process rights

that Newt Gingrich
and Republicans

gave to Bill Clinton during
his impeachment process?

Instead, what you see
are secret hearings,
secret depositions,

and then selective leaks
to try to fit a predetermined
narrative.

What we see in this impeachment

is a kangaroo court.

And Chairman Schiff
is acting like

a malicious Captain Kangaroo.

"Chairman Schiff is acting like
a malicious Captain Kangaroo."

Trump's being railroaded
by the terrifying
Thomas the Tank engine.

This whole thing is
a load of Howdy Doody,

and is brought to you
by the letters "F" and "U."

Gaetz:
A lot of younger Republicans

who've just been elected
come to me,

asking for advice about
how to grow their profile

and become more proficient
in media, and online.

And I tell 'em at the outset,

"You make yourself a target
when you live like I live."

I mean, if you want to
really get in the fight,

there's going to be
some return fire.

And most of the time,
when I let folks know
that that's the case,

they're not interested
in any more advice
about how to do it.

I, uh, don't go out
to eat much, because...

in this town, you know,
if you go out to eat,

it's always the opportunity,
for...

you know, someone with
an iPhone and an axe to grind

to come up and try
to have their viral moment

at your expense, so...

Most nights, it's not,
uh, any fancy restaurant.

It's Uber Eats.

And, uh, I'm feeling
lamb chops tonight.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

(elevator dings)

This Ukraine stuff

is not impeachable conduct.

But it is a different dynamic
to litigate for us

as members of Congress
than the Russia probe,

because so many of us
were involved in the
President's campaign.

Gotta watch a little CNN.
Opposition research.

In 2016, I was speaking
at Trump rallies all over
the country,

I was communicating
with people who were

running the President's campaign
in various states.

And so I had an insight
that this was not someone
who was engaged

in some vast criminal
conspiracy with
the Russian Federation

to negatively impact
the US election.

But this ain't Russia.

(TV playing indistinctly)

Hey, Mr. President.
It's Matt Gaetz.

I don't need anything, sir.
Just calling to tell you

you did a great job today.

Don't let these people
get you down.

We're gonna keep fighting
for you with all we got.

(Trump speaking)

Well, thank you.

(Trump speaking)

(chuckles)

All right.

Yeah.

Well, wait till you see
what we got for tomorrow.

Right.

Well, and, and Zelensky
was shit-talking Macron
and Merkel.

About how they don't
do anything, and it's
the United States,

it's your movement
to drain the swamp

that inspired Ukraine
to better days.

Thank you. You're the best,
Mr. President.

Will do.

We will. See you.

(TV unmutes)

Gaetz:
Our central point is that

regardless of how people
feel about the President,

this is no way
to run a railroad.

You know, that we
should not be, uh,

hiding things from
the American people,
and from members of Congress.

So, uh, those who want
to say a piece, say that.

Just kind of keep on
that message.

And then, after we're done,
we roll back there.

Andy Biggs:
It's another moment
in history, actually.

Ten years from now,
you'll be able to say,
we went down there.

We demanded it.

And we're not--
And we're not allowed in.

Yeah, we weren't allowed in.

-Let's do it!
-(indistinct chatter)

Gaetz:
I'm gathered here
with dozens

of my Congressional
colleagues

in the basement
of the Capitol.

because if
behind those doors,

they intend
to overturn the results

of an American
Presidential election,

we want to know
what's going on.

And so we're gonna
try to go in there

on behalf of
the millions of Americans

that we represent

that want to see this Congress
working for them,

and not obsessed with
attacking a President

who we believe
has not done anything
to deserve impeachment.

We're gonna go,
and see if we can get inside.
So...

Let's, uh...
Let's see if we can get in.

Newscaster:
Congressional Republicans

stormed this closed-door
deposition in a secure room

and disrupted the testimony

of the Deputy Assistant
Defense Secretary.

Congressman:
Do it in front of everybody!

In public! In public!

We just want to see
what you're doing!
Why are you hiding?

(indistinct chatter)

There's three doors to
get into the actual SCIF,

into the actual
intel committee.

So after the press conference

they all went to
the second door,

which is where
the police officer
actually is,

and he won't let anyone in.

But then they start chanting,
"Let us in,"

over and over again.

And then they kind of
bum-rush the door,

to where all the members
just kind of went past
the police officer,

and they weren't, obviously,
going to arrest them.

Newscaster:
It isn't over yet.

Those Republicans are still
in that secure room,

refusing to leave.

One Democratic Congressman
tells CNN that snacks were
brought in,

and they are now eating pizza.

We're happy that everything
turned out favorably, and...

-Khanna:
Making news all over the place.
-Gaetz: Hey, man.

Um, I, uh, I talked to Smith,

and, uh, you know, I mean...

-Yeah.
-News looks bad.

-Does it?
-Yeah. I mean, I don't
know if they're, like,

getting ready to give up
fighting or what, but,

-doesn't look good.
-I haven't, I haven't heard.

-Yeah, he just said that--
-He keeps telling me that

-they're still fighting,
pushing, so--
-Yeah.

-Maybe he's just trying
to encourage me.
-(laughs)

-All right.
-See you, Ro.

Well, it was a scene not in
the United States Congress,

but at a fraternity.

I mean, you had about
20 Republicans come in.

They were yelling,
they brought in

their phones
into the SCIF,

which everyone knows
is against, uh, the law.

Uh, and then they started
ordering pizza, and there
were pizza boxes

strewn all over the SCIF.

I mean,
they didn't even clean up.

I mean, it was really
just an embarrassment.

And by the way,
Republicans are in that room,

they get to ask questions,
they get equal time
as the Democrats,

so it's the height
of hypocrisy

for Republicans to complain.

Passerby 1:
Shame!

Passerby 2:
What an asshole.

TMZ reporter: You know,
you just single-handedly

led a group to shut down
this entire impeachment
investigation.

What-- What were
you thinking, man?

We were, uh, like,
you know, the 300,

standing in the breach,
to try to stop the radical left

from starm--
storming over our democracy.

Did the President
tell you guys to do this
or did you decide on your own?

No, I, uh, haven't chatted
with the President about it,

thought I suspect he may
have a view he might
want to share after today.

Lou Dobbs:
The President tweeted this:

"Thank you
to House Republicans
for being tough, smart,

"and understanding in detail

the greatest witch hunt
in American history."

Khanna:
You know, when you read
Madison's "Federalist 51,"

his theory of separation
of powers was very simple.

He said,
"Politicians are ambitious,

and ambition will
counteract ambition."

You don't really have to
worry about the President
being too powerful,

because there will be
ambitious people in Congress.

They'll want to have
their own power,

and they'll make sure
that they put a check

on the Presidency.

Madison didn't
count on partisanship.

He didn't anticipate that
people would be less loyal

to the institution they serve in
and more loyal to their party.

And what you've seen now
is a total abdication
by Republicans

of willingness to hold
the President accountable.

Gaetz:
I didn't run as someone
to unify Washington.

I ran to change Washington.

And I do believe that
there is a consensus
in the country

that that is necessary.

Interviewer:
Do you think that you
exacerbate partisanship?

(laughs)
Uh...

You know, I, I, I'm sure
that there are days

when I advance partisanship.

I think there are days
when I advance
bipartisanship.

I don't think you
sort of choose one style
or the other.

I think you can be partisan,
bipartisan fluid.

(wind whistling)

Pelosi:
Today, the House takes
the next step forward

as we establish the procedures

for open hearings

conducted by the
House Intelligence Committee,

so that the public can see
the facts for themselves.

Jackie Speier (on TV):
You have endured
and orchestrated

character assassination

that was laced with
enormous campaign
contributions

to the President's
reelection campaign.

Gaetz:
Honestly, I did not
sleep last night.

So frustrated that I am
not able to participate

in these hearings
as a questioner.

If we were doing this
with all cards face up
as a fair process,

this would actually be going on
in the House Judiciary Committee
where I serve.

But because we kicked
the Democrats' ass on Mueller,

they've moved to the
Intelligence Committee.

You confirmed to
President Trump
that you were in

Ukraine at the time.

And that President Zelensky,
quote, "Loves your ass."
Unquote.

Do you recall saying that?

Yeah, it sounds like
something I would say.

(laughs)

Massie:
Can you get a number
from Jonathan

how many people have completed
our impeachment poll?

John Ferland:
Yeah. I'll get that for us.

Massie:
Has the impeachment
been a fundraising boon

for both sides?
Absolutely.

But I have resisted
the temptation

to raise any money
off of impeachment.

I haven't even sent out
a fundraising letter

since the impeachment started.

Ferland:
So, around 3:40,
you head down to the HVC.

What's the meeting in HVC?

-Um, it's all impeachment.
-(scoffs)

-Okay.
-Impeachment,
impeachment.

Then 4:30, we're planning
on vote times.

-That'll run till about 5:30.
-There're, there're--

-There are no
committee hearings?
-Not a single one.

-Mm, okay. Makes it easy.
-Yeah.

-I'll just take some more
phone calls, then.
-Let's do it.

Woman (on phone):
Yes, hello?

Hi, this is Thomas Massie.
Who am I talking to?

This is like
Russian roulette.

I don't know
if they are happy,
or angry,

or undecided.

I'm just taking their call
straight up.

Hi. This is Congressman
Ken Buck's office.

(woman speaking on phone)

This is Congressman Ken Buck.

(woman speaking on phone)

Tell me why you believe
I don't understand
the rule of law.

(man speaking on phone)

Mm-hmm.

(woman speaking on phone)

Here's, here's what
you have from me.

You have my commitment
to keep an open mind.

I'm gonna watch as much
of this hearing as I can today,

while I'm taking phone calls.

(man speaking on phone)

Buck:
I'm sorry.

(woman speaking on phone)

Massie:
Okay, well, I'm trying
not to interrupt you, but I do,

-I do have other people
I need to take calls from.
-Woman (on phone): I know.

(man speaking on phone)

Well, I appreciate--

I appreciate your feedback
very much.

-You have a great day.
-(man speaking on phone)

That's great. Take care.

Bye.

I've had enough.

I have to tell you,
I think that this place
has drained me

of a certain amount of life.

After having been here
for five years,

I have no illusion

that what I say
anybody cares about.

I have thought about leaving
and I don't know whether

this is my last term
or whether I'll run
for one more term.

Uh, I do know that a lot of
the folks at home

will not understand
the long-term implications

of what's happening
here in DC.

Throughout the White House
right now, they're going
to do an omni

that apparently is going
to bust the budget caps.

I just heard.

Buck:
This President has
presented budgets

that are huge.

Typically, the Freedom Caucus
would be leading the charge

to criticize an
executive branch proposal

that costs that much money.

Now, that's just not the case.

And it's not the case because

when Freedom Caucus members
look at their political base,

they realize that so much
of their base are Trump lovers,

where nothing
this President does
can possibly be wrong,

that they can't
criticize the President.

So, we did 40k
for October. 40k.

-Net?
-Yes, netted.

-Wow.
-And then for Nove--

So from November,
right now,

we are already at 15.

-Netted.
-Netted.

-Yeah, 15,000.
-So, what do you think we'll

-net then, this month?
-I think we're gonna get
around 40.

-That's amazing.
-Yeah.

So, when we met last
on fundraising,

you said we were
functionally bankrupt,

and now what has saved us
has been impeachment?

Yeah, so all of it
is mostly small dollar,

but everyone's
doing well off of it.

It's not just our office.

Some lobbyists have
randomly texted me

that they've donated
or given money.

Has there been any
revenue from the
special interest community?

I would say about $3,000.
Not much.

-(laughs)
As is usual, then.
-Yeah.

But, you know, I mean,
if we were to make
some announcement

that, like, we,
we have converted
to this new faith

that, that is absent
any lobbyist or PAC money--

I mean, once you
cross the Rubicon,
you can't go back.

Well, that's,
that's my only
concern with it.

What I don't want you to do
is shoot yourself in the foot

for a later time
in 20 years from now

when you want to run for
something that's bigger,
you know?

I assure you, I will not
be running for anything
in 20 years.

Never say never.

Sarbanes:
Before January,

there were seven
members of Congress

who were corporate PAC free.

And today it's 60. Six-zero.

So, in one election,

we've brought in
a whole new cohort

of members that are saying,

"We want to do something
different here."

So we have a proposal
in H.R. 1

to create a small donor
matching system.

This is something Larry Lessig
has worked on with me.

If voters give $50,
or $25,

a six-to-one match
comes in behind that
from the government

on those small donations.

When they go to candidates
who say, "You know what?

"I'm not gonna take
the big money.

"I'm not gonna take
the PAC money,

"and I'm gonna
step into a system

"where it's the average citizen

who's the most important
person to me."

I'm not a career politician.

Party leaders don't control me,
and they never will.

Corporations do not
run my campaign.

Gaetz:
Katie Hill was a new
member of Congress.

A freshman. She ran
a very different kind of
upstart campaign

without corporate PAC money,

and she was on the
Armed Services Committee
with me.

And then suddenly
Katie Hill was victimized

by a husband who had
pictures of her,

uh, where she wasn't
wearing any clothes,

or doing other weird stuff,

and he leaked them.

And she had to resign
from Congress as a result.

Newscaster:
You said about this situation,
"This is absurd."

"Who among us
would look perfect

if every ex leaked every
photo and text?"

I don't think these issues
should be partisan in nature.

I think that if someone
is trying to destroy

one of your coworkers,

you should sympathize
with the fact that
the only reason

that this information
is in the public square

is because someone is committing
the crime of revenge porn.

So I sent out a tweet
defending President Trump

and Katie Hill
in the same tweet.

So, Katie just saw the tweet
and texted me,

"Thanks for the shout out,

though I defs disagree
with you on Trump."

To which I replied,
"It's okay.

He disagrees with me
about you, too."

And she wrote back,
"LOL. You're a true
bridge builder."

Do you think that the way
money is raised here,

the way the lobbyists
and PACs operate

hurts us or helps us?
Like, what's the play

if you're a young person
and you're trying to
make it in DC,

'cause I'm not sure
I've figured it out from

the fundraising
side of things.

Well, a lot of my fundraising
was literally in a backlash
to Trump.

So we're coming from
very different places--

Yeah, but you weren't
raising money from lobbyists.

No, that's my point is
that, like, I came--

I, I was able to raise money
from individuals.

I didn't take a dime
of corporate money.

There are more Democrats
that are not taking corporate
PAC money

-than have ever happened.
-Right. How many are there now?

I think there, I--
The last I heard,
there were, like,

-over 65 or something like that.
-I think the only--

I think there are not many
Republicans who don't do it.

Right. Are you--
Do you not?

-Kinda?
-I'm thinking about it.

I think you'd be the first,
on the Republican side.
I'm pretty sure.

The first thing that
we have to do
to change things

is to get money
out of politics.

And so that's why, you know,

I feel strongly about
other parts of H.R. 1,
as well,

including the way
that districts are drawn.

-I think gerrymandering
needs to be gone.
-I agree.

-Do you?
-Yes.

Well, then,
why are you not for H.R. 1?

I don't like taking money
from the taxpayers

to fund political campaigns,

because I think that
that's like welfare
for politicians.

The reason that I'm for this,

and again,
I think even a few years ago

I would have been
differently--

By the way, I'm a fucking
good fundraiser.

-Yeah.
-So, like, I don't need

public financing.
It's not for me.

It's for people who couldn't
have access to that.

And you're talking about
people from, like,
North Dakota.

If you're not willing
to take oil money
from North Dakota,

like, how are you gonna
have a chance?

You know, I came from
a political family.

I had advantages other people
didn't have.

But, but I do think that,
like,

if you just say everybody gets
the same amount of cash,

-it does, like, shave off--
-But it's not about everybody
gets the same amount of cash.

Because, like,
you have to raise a certain
amount on your own,

-and then it's matched,
and it's like, one to five.
-That's a fair clarification.

So, you know, I--
So I think you have to show
a certain amount of grit.

And I was able to jump in
at the right moment

because women particularly,

were mobilized around the fact
that fucking Trump had
become President.

And I, and I was the,
I was the, like, antidote.

I was the thing that
they saw that, like,
could help

protect our country
from the guy
you're pals with.

-But, um--
-He's so great.

I'll never love
another President again.

-I love him so much.
-I remember you telling me that

like one of the first times
I talked to you as we were
getting on the elevator,

-and I'm like, is this real?
-I was trying to trigger you.

Like, do you really
believe this?

-I do.
-But, um... whatever.
(laughs)

You know, I, I, I,
I defend flawed people.

-It's sort of my thing
around here.
-I mean, that's fine.

I defend flawed people, too.

I just feel like I--
I'd have to defend
our Constitution.

But, um...

Can I get a picture
for the camera?

Oh, sure. Happy to.

I actually met you
at Janine's party

-two weeks ago.
-Yeah, yeah!
That was a great party.

All right.
Here, I got the selfie arm.

-Do we get some light?
-We'll see, see where
we can get a little Trump light

-in our background.
-Sounds good to me.

Gaetz:
All right, there you go.
Thank you.

-Good seeing you again.
-Keep up the great work.

(laughs) Will do.
We need more fighters.

-Nice seeing you.
-Nice seeing you.

("Deck the Halls" playing)

Hey. Good to see you,
my man.

Thanks for welcoming us again.

-All right, man.
-(laughing)

-You're awesome.
-(laughing)

♪ Don we now
our gay apparel ♪

♪ Fa la la, la la la, la la ♪

Thank you for what
you're doing every day.
You fight our fight.

And thanks for giving it
to 'em in those hearings.

♪ Fa la la la la,
la la, la la ♪

This is only the fourth time
that the House judiciary

has begun considering
articles of impeachment.

-There's my man.
Cheers to that.
-(glasses clink)

Chris Cuomo. He's one of
the great adversaries I have.

♪ Fa la la la la,
la la, la la ♪

♪ See the blazing
yule before us ♪

♪ Fa la la la la,
la la, la la ♪

I watch you
every night on Fox.

I thought you
were the bomb.

-Oh, thanks for saying so.
-Literally the bomb.

♪ Follow me in merry measure ♪

♪ Fa la la, la la la,
la la la ♪

♪ While I tell of
yuletide treasure ♪

♪ Fa la la la la,
la la, la la ♪

♪ Fa la la la la, la la,
la la ♪

Nadler:
Today, we begin consideration

of two articles
of impeachment against
President Donald J. Trump.

The first article charges
that the President

used the powers
of his public office

to demand that
a foreign government

attack his political rivals.

The second article charges
that the President

obstructed the Congressional
investigation into his conduct.

Buck:
How will history judge
this impeachment?

I believe the American people

will remember this
impeachment effort unkindly,

instead remembering Democrats
have been resisting,

and looking for an excuse
to impeach this President

since the day he was elected.

I hope you've had your fun.

Say goodbye to your
majority status,

and please join us
in January of 2021

when President Trump
is inaugurated again.

I yield back.

Man:
Gentleman yields back.
Mr. Gaetz.

House Democrats aren't
clarifying that no one's
above the law.

They're just clarifying
that none of them

are above partisanship,
and politics.

The only relevant quid pro quo

is the American
people's decision

to send President Trump
to the White House,

in exchange for Trump's
commitment to support
our workers,

restore our economy,
defend our troops,

and drain the swamp.

(crowd cheering)

We are going
to Washington, DC,

and we are going to do what?

Drain. The. Swamp.

I don't know those gentlemen.

Newscaster:
Fruman and Parnas
are charged with making

$325,000

in illegal straw donations
to a Trump super PAC.

Newscaster 2:
After making these
political contributions,

they were setting up
meetings

in order to push
for the removal

of Ambassador Yovanovitch.

Marie Yovanovitch:
Ukrainians who prefer
to play by the old,

corrupt rules,
sought to remove me.

Newscaster:
Her removal allowed
someone else to step in--

a Trump donor
and EU ambassador

who urged the Ukrainians

to look into the President's
campaign rival.

Was there a quid pro quo?
The answer is yes.

Newscaster:
The hotel mogul
donated a million dollars

to President Trump's
inaugural committee,

which helped him secure
his diplomatic post.

Lessig:
It's astonishing to think that
we went into the 2016 election

with Donald Trump appearing
to be the anti-corruption
crusader,

because he had called out
super PACs,

he had said politicians
were all owned by
the special interests.

But what's so tragic
about Donald Trump is

there was an opportunity
for him to change
the status quo.

But he was never interested
in doing it.

Crowd (chanting):
Drain the swamp!

Drain the swamp!
Drain the swamp!

You know, when I first
heard that term, I hated it.

I said,
"Oh, that's so hokey."

I said, "Oh, that's so hokey."

But I said,
"Look, let's give it a shot."

I tried to--
The place went crazy.

This place went crazy.
I said, "Whoa.

What's this?"
Then I said it again.

The place went crazy.

Then I started saying it
like I meant it, right?

Gaetz:
We will face this
illegitimate impeachment

with our heads high,
our facts straight,

and our commitment
to our transformational
President

deeply intensified.

We'll see you on the field
in 2020.

Lessig:
It's not clear it's possible

to get us beyond that blinder
of hyper-partisanship today.

There are real differences
we have to work out.

But Donald Trump
is a short-term problem.

Whether he gets reelected
or not, he will be gone.

And I am so
absolutely convinced

that we have broken
the core institution
of our democracy.

And at a certain point,

winning elections in
a broken system
doesn't get you anything.

It might get you a victory
on election night.

But it doesn't give you
the capacity to govern.

And if we can't rise above
the partisan difference,

country over party,
for the single purpose

of fixing the institution
of Congress,

then our government
will just continue to fail.

Massie:
We're looking at 3,488 pages

of the National Defense
Authorization Act

for the fiscal year 2020.

They introduced it at 10 p.m.

the night before
we had to vote on it.

The leadership assures you
that you do not need to read
this bill.

Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy

each have their own
summary of this bill

which is only two pages long.

One page front and back.

And it says, "Oh,

there's a pay raise in here
for the military."

The efforts that
I've undertaken

with Barbara Lee on
the other side of the aisle

to curb the wars
that we are in,

none of that made it
into this NDAA.

But the NDAA has never failed.

It's one of those trains that
when it leaves the station,

it's going to its destination.

And so, the vast majority
of the money in this bill

goes to the military
industrial complex,
not the soldiers,

but because they've got
a pay raise for soldiers

in this 3,488-page bill,

a lot of people don't
need to read any further.

Like, "Man,
I can't vote against that."

Gaetz:
We've just
stepped off the floor

where the National Defense
Authorization Act passed,

and pretty bittersweet for me,
you know.

I'm glad to see our troops
get a raise, I'm glad
to see a lot of

positive things
for our military families
in that bill,

but it is deeply saddening
that Khanna-Gaetz was left out,

despite having the support
of the people,

the support of the
House of Representatives,

and more votes
for it than against it
in the Senate.

The bipartisan amendment

to stop the war in Iran

stripped by the White House.

At some time,

we can't just rhetorically
give standing ovations

when the President says
we're gonna end endless wars,

and continue to vote
to fund them.

I voted no.
The defense budget
was too high in my view,

and the fact that
they had stripped
the Iran amendment,

and they had stripped
the Yemen amendment,

uh, I couldn't vote for it.

Now, I understand
it was a tough vote for people,

because they did have
increase for the troops,

and they did have,
uh, increase

in terms of parental leave
for federal employees.

But the fact is,
we shouldn't be having
these kind of votes.

We should have clean votes
on these issues,

as opposed to what they do,

which is force you
to cast a tough vote

because they lump in
pay increases for the troops

with, uh, not stopping
the war in Iran.

Gaetz:
I thought there was more
good than bad in the bill,

and so I voted for it,
but I also can understand why

someone would,
uh, would take
a different position,

because there's just
so much more that,

that should have
occurred here

to reflect the overwhelming
will of the people
in this country.

You know, anytime you see
the votes line up with
the people,

and yet the outcome
doesn't happen,

it is a reflection of
a broken system.

-Man 1: Are you
Congressman Gaetz?
-Yeah.

You have got be kidding me
with this defense of Trump.

-The guy used taxpayer money--
-I'm not kidding at all, man.

-Man 2: Don't listen to him.
-Man 1: No, no, no, no,
Wait a second.

-I'm an attorney--
-Man 3: We're with you,
Congressman Gaetz.

Don't listen to him.
The American people
are with you.

Man 2:
We need more people
like you in Congress.

Man 3:
The American people
are with you, sir.

Man 1: You don't think
that this man used
taxpayer money

to try to front
the Ukrainian government?

-To try to engage
the Biden administration?
-Man 3: What about Joe Biden?

What about Joe Biden?

Man 1:
Answer the question!

Khanna:
I think what frustrates
people today is,

it seems that we're unable
to find a sense of,

what can we do together?

But at our best,

our country has risen
to the challenge

of finding common purpose,
or the common good.

We've done it when
we have defeated tyranny

in World War II,

when we've helped establish
the international order.

We've done it in building
the interstate highways,

winning the Cold War,

inventing the internet,

and sending a man to the moon.

Our country has done
extraordinary things,

and most of those
extraordinary achievements
have been bipartisan.

So the idea that we can't
rise to the occasion again

defies American history.

Lessig:
I don't know how to say this

as strongly as I feel it.

Because, you know,
I'm this sappy patriot,

who deeply loves
the traditions of our country.

Not that there aren't
things to criticize,

and I spend most of my time
finding how to criticize them,

but the dream, the ideals,

of this republic,

are things we all
should be proud of.

And we have to find a way
to convince people
to fix it,

because it's not as if
there aren't hard problems

in the future
we need to solve.

Everybody's so obsessed
in deciding what we should do,

as if we can do something.

Everybody's arguing about,
you know, should we have
single-payer health care,

or climate change legislation,

as if it's possible
to get those things done.

None of these issues
can be addressed sensibly

until we address the deep
corruption inside of
our government.

Sarbanes:
There are people
in the country,

and I can understand it,
I relate to it,

who are so angry
at Washington

that just the simple act
of handing someone
a baseball bat

and saying go up there
and poof...

shake things up.

gives them a certain
amount of satisfaction.

I, I understand that.

And what we're trying to do
with our reforms is say

these can be
as consequential

as any baseball bat
could ever be.

Because instead of tearing
your democracy down

to satisfy your anger,

we're gonna build it up,

and we're gonna put you
right back in the middle of it.

Buck:
There is no incentive
for leadership

to reduce its own power
by reforming Congress.

But Congress will react
when the people stand up
and demand action.

Massie:
The force than runs everything
is the electorate.

Everybody up here
can lose an election.

It doesn't matter
how powerful you are.

So, the final arbiters
of who holds power here

are still the voters back home.

Gaetz:
So many of the challenges
that are impacting our country

aren't going to impact
Republicans and Democrats
differently.

They're going to impact
us all the same.

And so I think
the thing we can do

to drain the swamp the most

would be to just achieve
some common understanding

that on a lot of this stuff,
we are in the same rowboat.

And if we're rowing
different directions
the whole time,

we're just gonna spin
on the top of the water.

Reporter:
In 230 years,

since the
US House of Representatives
began its work,

only twice has it launched
the debate we will
witness today.

Democrats will bring
to the full House

two articles of impeachment
against President Trump.

("Impeach the President"
by The Honey Drippers playing)

♪ Some people say
that he's guilty ♪

♪ That he's guilty ♪

♪ Some people say
I don't know ♪

♪ I don't know ♪

♪ Some people say
give him a chance ♪

♪ Give him a chance ♪

♪ Aw, some people say
wait till they convict him ♪

♪ Till they convict him ♪

♪ Impeach the President ♪

♪ Impeach
the President ♪

♪ Impeach the President ♪

Woman 1:
Matt Gaetz,
country over party.

Come on, where's your soul?

Right here.

Matt Gaetz. Matt Gaetz...

Save our country.
You could be a hero, dude.

-You could be a hero.
-Woman 2: That's the
funny thing. He is a hero.

You could stand up
for our country.

-The Constitution, dude.
-Woman 3: Go back to Russia!

Oh, my goodness.
Oh, my goodness.
You people are something.

Come on, Matt.
You can do it!
I believe in you.

Go, Matt, go! Truth! Truth!

Truth, Matt!

♪ Impeach the President ♪

♪ Aw nah,
we can't do that, man ♪

♪ Impeach the President ♪

♪ Impeach
the President ♪

Article one is adopted.

Mitch McConnell:
I'm coordinating with
White House counsel.

There will be
no difference between

the President's position
and our position.

We all know how it's gonna end.

There is no chance

the President's gonna be
removed from office.

♪ There's a lot of things ♪

♪ That we don't know about ♪

Khanna:
The President should not have
taken an offensive action

against Iran without
coming to Congress,

and this could get us into
another Middle East war

where American lives
are at risk,

and trillions of dollars
are wasted.

♪ Impeach the President ♪

♪ Impeach
the President ♪

♪ Impeach the President ♪

Massie:
An hour before I went
to vote on that,

I got a call from
the President,

and he wanted me to vote
with the party,

or I was gonna get
a primary challenge.

And sure enough,
within 12 hours of voting

the way that I felt
I should vote,

I got a primary opponent.

And now,
the next 90 days of my life

are gonna be a sort of hell

where I have to go do
what I hate to do

which is get on the phone,
grovel,

raise money,
and try to beat this guy.

And I can trace it all back
to that one vote.

Interviewer:
Do you regret your vote?

I don't regret that vote at all.
I told the President,

"Look, if the worst thing that
happens to me for this vote

"is I have to go back
to my farm and live out
my days,

I'm okay with that!"

Buck:
Taking on President Trump
is unwise.

And President Trump
has no problem doing
a touchdown dance

every time a Republican
critic loses.

And so he reinforces the idea

that it is a bad idea
to take him on.

Gaetz:
I will never again

accept a donation from
a federal political action
committee.

Not one red cent.

The American people
are my one and only
special interest.

(cheering and applause)

Interviewer:
How do you feel?

I feel great, man.
Feel relieved.
Feel like, uh...

Just like a tremendous weight
has been lifted.

Don't know what
it's gonna mean, but

I tell you, it's one of
my best days in Congress.

(dramatic orchestral
music playing)