>>> WE DID NOT GET A DECISION IN THE DONALD TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE TODAY. IT HAS BEEN SIX WEEKS SINCE THE SUPREME COURT HEARD ARGUMENTS ON TRUMP'S CLAIM OF ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY ON CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR HIS ATTEMPTS TO STEAL THE ELECTION. THIS MEANS THE COURT IS DELAYING IT AND THEY KNOW THAT THAT INEVITABLY HELPS TRUMP. WHAT MAKES THIS ALL THE MORE PREPOSTEROUS IS THAT TWO JUSTICES SHOULD HAVE RECUSED THEMSELVES ALREADY. ONE, SAMUEL ALITO WHO HAD TWO DIFFERENT COO FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE HIS HOME, AND CLARENCE THOMAS WHOSE WIFE TESTIFIED TO THE JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE ABOUT HER EFFORTS IN SUPPORT OF THE GOUT. THAT IS THE FIRST LEVEL. NEW DATA OUT TODAY FROM FIX THE COURT TAKES A LOOK AT THE VALUE OF GIFTS TO JUSTICES OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, BOTH DISCLOSED AND UNDISCLOSED GIFTS. I WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH A HANDFUL TO GIVE YOU A SENSE. JUSTICE KAGAN, $1200 OVER 20 YEARS. AGAIN, $3000 PER YEAR. JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, TAKING QUITE A BIT MORE. $170,000 OVER 20 YEARS, BUT NONE OF THAT IS IN THE ZIP CODE OF THE BALLPARK OF JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, WHOSE GIFTS TOTALED OVER $4 MILLION. TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW THAT LOOKS IN CHART FORM, TAKE A LOOK. CAN YOU SEE WHERE JUSTICE THOMAS IS ON THAT BAR CHART? THAT BIG BAR ON THE LEFT IS CLARENCE THOMAS COMPARED TO ALL OTHER JUSTICES WHO SERVED DURING THIS TIME. MELISSA MURRAY IS A PROFESSOR AT THE NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW. COHOST OF THE STRICT SCRUTINY PODCAST. SHE JOINS ME NOW. I HAVE TO SAY AT SOME LEVEL WE NEW BITS AND PIECES OF THIS. THERE HAS BEEN AN AMAZING SERIES OF ARTICLES THAT WON THE PULITZER ABOUT ALL OF THE GIFTS THOMAS HAS GOTTEN, BUT AM I WRONG TO SAY GENERATIONAL SCANDAL FOR THE COURT? >> I THINK YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT. WE HAVE SEEN THIS TRICKLE OUT PIECEMEAL, BUT HAVING IT IN THE AGGREGATE REALLY DOES MAKE CLEAR THE EXPANSE OF THE GRIFT. I THINK THAT IS THE RIGHT TERM FOR IT. IT IS A GRAFT AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THOMASES SALARY, IT IS ROUGHLY EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF THE GIFTS THAT FIX THE COURT HAS IDENTIFIED. THAT IS ACTUALLY QUITE STAGGERING. HE HAS MANAGED TO AMASS DAY >> THE CUMULATIVE GROSS PAY OVER THAT PERIOD IS ABOUT $4.6 MILLION. TOTAL GIFTS OVER $4 MILLION. HE IS SERVING TWO MASTERS. HE IS WORKING FOR, YOU KNOW, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THEN HE'S GOT -- >> WHICH AMERICAN PEOPLE? LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT. IT HAS BEEN SAID, LOOK WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, FOR THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO. IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS LINKED TO THESE GIFTS, LIKE THE KOCH BROTHERS NETWORK WHICH HAS HAD CLARENCE THOMAS SPEAK AT DONOR EVENTS FOR EXAMPLE, HAPPENS TO BE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN A SET OF CHALLENGES TO THE REGULATORY STATE. THESE ARE CASES WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE COURT TO DECIDE, BUT WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE THE KOCH BROTHERS WOULD LIKE JUSTICE THOMAS TO BE. NOW WE ARE WAITING TO FIND OUT, HAVE THEY MADE ENOUGH PAYMENTS? WE DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT IS WHERE ALL OF THIS IS GOING. >> PART OF THE ARGUMENT PEOPLE MAKE IN DEFENSE OF THOMASES THAT HE WAS ALWAYS A CONSERVATIVE ANYWAY AND THESE ARE HIS FRIENDS HOOKING HIM UP. >> IT IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO HAVE FRIENDS. I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO HAVE FRIENDS, EVEN RICH FRIENDS. I THINK WHERE THE OPTICS BECOME MORE PROBLEMATIC IS THAT WE ARE SEEING INDIVIDUALS ESSENTIALLY DONATE FUNDS TO THE COURT TO KEEP THE CONSERVATIVE SUPER MAJORITY IN PLAY. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF REPORTING BY THE NEW YORK TIMES LAST YEAR ABOUT JUSTICE THOMAS COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS SMALL JUDICIAL SALARY, WHICH IS ACTUALLY QUITE SIGNIFICANT RELEVANT -- RELATIVE TO WHAT OTHER AMERICANS MAKE. MAYBE HE WOULD NOT STAY ON THE COURT AND THESE WEALTHY INTERESTS WIND, NO, NO, NO, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP YOU ON THE COURT AND KEEP YOU HAPPY AND SUDDENLY YOU SEE THE MONEY ROLLING IN. >> THIS IS A KEY POINT. I ALSO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE DELAY ON THE IMMUNITY CASE, BECAUSE IT IS NOT SURPRISING. I THINK THEY TIPPED THEIR HAND. FIRST THEY WOULD NOT LET JACK SMITH JUMPED TO THE SUPREME COURT, EVEN THOUGH WE KNEW THEY WOULD WANT TO WEIGH IN. EVEN THOUGH THEY DID IT ON COVID CASES AND STUDENT DEBT. THEN THEY SAT ON IT FOR A WHILE BEFORE THE ANNOUNCED ARGUMENTS. THEN THEY ANNOUNCED ARGUMENTS ON THE LAST DAY. NOW IT HAS BEEN SIX WEEKS. >> I SAID THIS A MILLION TIMES. BY THE TIME THE SUPREME COURT WEIGHS IN ON THIS, THIS COURT MUST SAY AT SOME POINT THAT THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY FOR ANY PRESIDENT, BUT THERE MAY BE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT IS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE AND ON THE OUTER PERIMETER. >> A HOLY INVENTED DOCTRINE, TO BE CLEAR. >> WHATEVER THEY DECIDE IS PURELY EPIDEMIC -- PURELY ACADEMIC BECAUSE THEY HAVE IMMUNIZED THIS DEFENDANT FROM LIABILITY FROM THESE CRIMINAL CHARGES AND THAT IS KIND OF ALL THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW. >> I WANT TO PLAY YOU THIS CLIP FROM ALITO'S NEIGHBOR WHO WAS IN A SORT OF VERBAL ALTERCATION WITH HIM AND HIS WIFE AND GAVE AN INTERVIEW. SHE IS MAKING THIS POINT THAT WHEN THE FLAG WENT UP, ALITO SAYS IT WAS ABOUT THIS VERBAL ALTERCATION. HE WENT TO A FOX NEWS REPORTER WHO REPORTED EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID AND DID NOT DO ADDITIONAL REPORTING. HERE IS HIS NEIGHBOR TALKING ABOUT THE VERBAL BACK AND FORTH. >> I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE INTERACTION THAT HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 15 IS THE ONE THEY ARE USING AS AN EXCUSE FOR WHY THEY FLEW THE FLAG AND I REALLY WANT TO HAMMER HOME THE FACT THAT THAT HAPPENED ON FEBRUARY 15 AND THEIR FLAG WENT UP TWO OR THREE WEEKS BEFORE THAT. >> DATES ARE CONFIRMED BY TEXT MESSAGES AND A POLICE CALL. AGAIN, THIS MAY BE MISREMEMBERED, BUT WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHY THEY WERE FLYING THE FLAG UPSIDE DOWN ON JOE BIDEN'S INAUGURATION, RIGHT? >> WE DON'T. MY COLLEAGUE MADE A GOOD POINT ABOUT THIS. JUSTICE ALITO LAST WEEK ISSUED THIS LETTER EXPLAINING HE WAS NOT GOING TO RECUSE HIMSELF FROM THESE JANUARY 6 CASES. HE HAS NO OBLIGATION TO RECUSE HIMSELF. IF THIS IS CORRECT THAT THE TIMELINE IS WRONG AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE TIMELINE IS WRONG. THERE IS A REAL DISCREPANCY BETWEEN HER TIMELINE. HE HAS ESSENTIALLY LIED TO CONGRESS AND RYAN GOODMAN, MY COLLEAGUE, HAS SUGGESTED MAYBE THAT IS SOMETHING WORTH INVESTIGATING AS A CRIMINAL MATTER. THERE IS A LOT GOING ON. ARE THEY WAITING BECAUSE OF THE PROXIMITY OF THE SCANDAL TO THE CASES? WHO KNOWS. IF THAT'S THE CASE WE HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED MY JUSTICE ALITO SHOULD RECUSE, BECAUSE
