On Tuesday night, after the Department of Justice announcement of a fraud indictment against the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center for wire fraud. the host of All In on MS NOW, Chris Hayes, accused the DOJ of a political indictment and “outright assault” on democracy, without mention of a single detail of the indictment.
He posed the question to former attorney general and President Obama’s “wingman,” Eric Holder, amid a discussion of the Virginia redistricting vote.
Hayes introduced the indictment with, “We've seen a lot of abuses of power and a lot of outright assaults and threats to democracy,” as he called the “criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center” one of them.
On MS NOW's All In, Chris Hayes, along with Eric Holder, called the DOJ indictment of the SPLC for alleged fraud a "threat to democracy" with an explicit non-mention of the details of the indictment, which alleged the SPLC funneled money to white supremacist and extremist groups. pic.twitter.com/NiQyL0ajuJ
— Nick (@nspin310) April 22, 2026
The MS NOW host did not read or mention any of the details, as he clearly did not want to share any detailed allegations, and instead blamed it on a perception of politics: “And without commenting on the details, I mean, a lot of legal observers find them dubious, but it's been striking how clearly directed the prosecutions are from the top down in this administration."
Here are some details for Chris Hayes. According to a DOJ Press Release, the “SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups” which include the KKK, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, the American Nazi Party, and more, including organizers of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” far-right rally.
Essentially, they funded the same white supremacists and far-right extremists they fought against.
🚨HAPPENING NOW: Justice Department announces indictment against Southern Poverty Law Center ("SPLC"). Our indictment alleges SPLC secretly funneled MORE THAN $3 MILLION in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups. pic.twitter.com/Ifpda94f7D
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) April 21, 2026
Holder also did not know any details of the indictment, but still called it a political persecution:
Yeah. I don't know the facts around this latest indictment, but given the way in which this Justice Department has conducted itself, a prosecution like this gives me pause.
The former AG went on about other DOJ investigations during the Trump administration, including former FBI Director Comey, New York AG Letitia James about mortgage fraud, and, of course, the six Democrats who called on American troops not to follow the President’s orders in the now infamous illegal orders video.
Holder then minimized any legal action used by the Trump DOJ as non-credible, despite the facts:
You know, they go after the people who Donald Trump perceives as enemies without regard to whether or not there are facts, without regard to what the law is, and they've lost credibility.
Holder ended as he claimed Donald Trump runs the DOJ himself:
You know, Donald Trump is running the United States Department of Justice. Don't kid yourself. That's what's going on right now.
In all honesty, it did not seem likely that the President had the time to fully investigate the SPLC himself, as there was a war he may be currently focused on instead.
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
MS NOW’s All In with Chris Hayes
April 21, 2026
8:15:23 PM Eastern
(...)
CHRIS HAYES: We've seen a lot of abuses of power and a lot of outright assaults and threats to democracy. One of them today, I want to ask you, as the former attorney general of this country. An announcement by the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, the former personal lawyer of the President of the United States, and Kash Patel, of these criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center.
And without commenting on the details, I mean, a lot of legal observers find them dubious, but it's been striking how clearly directed the prosecutions are from the top down in this administration. And today, it seems like this SPLC indictment, another example of, you know, a list of ideological foes or political opponents or organizations he finds ideologically opposed and using the Department of Justice as essentially a tool and criminal law as a tool to go after those people.
ERIC HOLDER (FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL): Yeah. I don't know the facts around this latest indictment, but given the way in which this Justice Department has conducted itself, a prosecution like this gives me pause. They went after Jim Comey. They went after Letitia James. They went after the six members of Congress who told members of the armed forces not to follow unlawful orders. You know, they go after the people who Donald Trump perceives as enemies without regard to whether or not there are facts, without regard to what the law is, and they've lost credibility.
And they are trying to fight, I guess, to see who will be the next attorney general. Pam Bondi fought to try to hold on to her job by pleasing the puppet master who sits in the White House and who has everybody in the Justice Department dancing on strings, inconsistent with what the Justice Department is supposed to be about. The AG is different than all other cabinet members. You have to be - there has to be a degree of Independence there that we certainly have not seen with regard to this administration.
And that is different than certainly when I served as AG. And I would say certainly true of the vast majority of people who served in Republican administrations as well. You know, Donald Trump is running the United States Department of Justice. Don't kid yourself. That's what's going on right now.
(...)
