good to be but. i'm richard lui on this monday. we'll start with the trials of donald j. trump colliding with the political calendar. his attorneys called on the d.c.

appeals court to toss his 2020 election interference case arguing that he was carrying out white house duties at the time and therefore immune to prosecution. this move coming one day after the supreme court declined to rule on the immunity question for now. it is a blow for special counsel jack smith who sought a speedy decision. that trial like trump's three other criminal cases might play out while voters are casting ballots in the 2024 election meaning trump's political future could be determined before the juries decide his criminal fate. also new, trump's team is planning to challenge the colorado supreme court decision to disqualify the former president from the 2024 ballot for allegedly inciting the insurrection. a source with knowledge of trump's plans tells nbc news they intend to file an appeal after the christmas holiday. that could have implications far beyond colorado especially in the 16 other states with open

legal challenges to trump's eligibility for office. joining us now, dave aronberg, state attorney for palm beach county, florida. thanks for being with us. trump's attorney making the case that executive immunity was not meant to protect a president from legal responsibility, instead intended to prevent leaders from being falsely accused by political enemies. how do you decipher what is being said here? >> good to be with you. merry christmas. donald trump is trying to make himself a get out of jail free card permanently and the constitution gives no evidence that that exists. in fact that is why we left the crown is to avoid having a skink. and if trump committed crimes in office, he should be held accountable. no one is above the law. he is saying that no matter what he did as president, gets the immunity for it. but in this case he wasn't acting as president, he was acting as a candidate for office. but even if he was acting as

president, he still was violating the law allegedly and should be prosecuted for it. so i expect the courts to reject this claim pretty quickly. but for trump, it is about winning by losing. meaning if he can delay this matter past the 2024 election, he gets to call off the dogs if he becomes president again and order his attorney general to drop everything. so that is why he is pursuing this. it is not a matter of constitutional principles, it is about delay. >> so two possible responses from that which came from trump's attorney. number one the court of appeals in d.c., their response, their ruling. number two would be the doj. what will they do in terms of a response. they have until saturday. what is your thought on those two? >> i think that the doj is going to say similar to what i said, that there is no basis in the law and constitution to give the president this kind of power. we don't have a king. so i think that they are going to win that argument.

i think the district court of appeals will agree. the only loss for jack smith has been at the supreme court when the supreme court said no, we're not going big foot the district of columbia court of appeals to intervene, we'll let them to do it. but i think that that is okay because the appellate court will rule for jack smith and then the supreme cour even hear this case. so i think that this trial will happen well before the 2024 election. >> will this do anything to the january 9 hearing when both sides have to go to the circuit judges? >> well, it is an expedited hearing on january 9. normally they would not do it so quickly, but they agreed with jack smith this needs to be sped up. so this argument is going to be

heard then and then the court will rule and it will be up to the u.s. supreme court. to me the big question is whether the stay is extended. i think the appellate court will eliminate the stay and then it is game on again for this trial. and when judge chutkan gets the case back, she wants to make it happen. she's not messing around. >> let's go to colorado. you heard us in the introduction the state supreme court disqualifying trump from the ballot. it appears that the u.s. supreme court will have a say in this. as a state attorney, what are you watching on this? >> i think that the u.s. supreme court is going to overturn the colorado case. now, what i'm watching for is i want to see the reasoning. i think they want no part of the discussion of whether trump participated in an insurrection. that is a thorny issue, embarrassing for the former president who by the way appointed three of those justices. so i think that they will find a

procedural grounds to toss this and i think that they will focus on due process. it would be mass chaos if you allow 50 different states to establish their own procedures to knock someone off the ballot for insurrection. so i think that they will say since congress is the one empowered under the 14th amendment to establish rules and a process for this, that colorado can't do it even if congress says nothing, it is up to congress and not the states. so i think that they will overturn this. >> what are you watching in terms of the other 16 or so states that are considering this very issue? which one are you watching? >> the swing states are the most important because it really doesn't matter if you have a solidly blue state doing this. the election wasn't going to be decided in those states anyway. where this election will be decided is in a state like arizona or georgia where there are pending cases. and if the supreme court shuts it all down as i expect they will, it will be moot.

but if the supreme court somehow gives an opening for states to act, then you will see this come to play in those very important swing states. but i don't think it will happen. i think the supreme court will say no, states can't do it, let congress do it. >> michigan, what will happen with the tapes that the detroit news found in terms of what might be a bribery case or not, what the president had discussed with the individuals around the counting of votes in michigan? >> it is incredible when you think that the former president was so determined to overturn the election that he was calling these low level officials himself. he didn't have mark meadows do it, he was doing it himself. and -- >> is there something there though? is there something there in what they are reporting right now? of course we don't have all the tapes. >> i don't think that they can get him on bribery. a lot of people are saying that

he offered something of value meaning legal services. but really for prosecutors, bribery is if you don't certify the election, i'll buy you a car. not really if you say if you don't certify and you get in trouble i'll pay for your legal fees. i don't think that that is enough to move the needle for prosecutors. but it could be a crime to interfere with local election officials. that is what you saw in georgia. you could see that down the line in michigan. but i think the real import here is how this information will be used in trump's existing cases. the one in d.c. and fulton county. that is where it could hurt donald trump. >> thank you so much, david aronberg. appreciate your time. let's continue this conversation with tia mitchell and david jolly. tia, you heard the state attorney.

what is your reflection on his views from the d.c. court of appeals in terms of the challenge coming from trump's lawyers? >> well, i think that the state attorney is right that it buys trump a little bit of time for now, but it is still on an expedited track. as he noted, there are the motions and briefings are due quite frankly over the new year's holiday. there is a hearing set for january 9. so it could be just a temporary re reprieve, but it does stretch things out. we're looking at trump being in and out of courts from new york, d.c., florida, georgia, most of 2024 quite frankly. >> and what this brings up, david, what will happen to for instance the justices as they

decide should -- and one in particular that might decide to recuse himself or not. but this really brings to the attention exactly what the supreme court will be deciding related to the election for 2024. >> it really does. and i think dave had an interesting insight that i agree with. part of the sprooek having the d.c. circuit take time to rule on this, the supreme court might just defer to the appeals court and say we agree with their ruling. but if they take it, it puts a lot of spotlight on some of the justices but suggests that we're in this a little longer. and three inflection points politically. securing the nomination sometime in late march, the actual republican national convention where delegates confirm him as nominee and then the election date. so does the election occur after he secures basically super

tuesday but before the convention, does it occur before the convention and november? that is where the race could change any number of ways. i still agree with the scholars that there is no way that the supreme court provides immunity. but i think there is still a small chance they might. one of the president's arguments is that he was acting in the outer perimeter of the office. the calls in michigan suggest no, that was a personal vendetta. but is there a scenario where the president should care with the proper administration of elections? there is. but the supreme court is 6-3, so we can't rule out a big surprise. i don't think that it happens, but we can't rule it out. >> and the discussion that we had about just colorado, we have 16 other states that are watching what is happening this colorado, does that decision there help or hurt the arguments that might be made for or against the argument that the

president did undertake insurrection activities? >> colorado is really the first state to affirm the 14th amendment challenges that trump and quite frankly other republicans who were involved in the stop the steal efforts have faced in other states. for example marjorie taylor greene, there was an effort to get her taken off the ballot in 2020 in georgia, that did not succeed. and others have not succeeded. so the fact that they have in colorado i think will reinvigorate the watchdog organizations that are behind a lot of these challenges to say, hey, we find the right jurisdiction, it might work. again, we don't know if ultimately the supreme court will uphold colorado. it is an outlier right now. but i do think that it emboldens those to keep trying in other states and other jurisdictions. >> and we're seeing more news

coming out of these other jurisdictions. if you have stepped away and you are coming back to the discussion of the topic that we're on, and david jolly, michigan is one of those that i brought up with the state attorney. we had heard about this very early on, but we're now hearing potentially what was said, a portion of it at least. what i understand two to three minutes of what might be ten minutes or so. what do you make of what could come from that? is this something that jack smith will go okay, this gives me another feather in the cap? >> this is a critical piece of evidence, exactly right. we don't know what else jack smith has, but this is a smoking gun. but donald trump in his own words apparently on tape offering some type of conversion for a decertification or unwillingness for republicans to certify joe biden. confirms that this was insurrection that he engaged in.

so it helps the jack smith case. i think that it comes down to when does jack smith take it to trial and is there any political impact at all. do americans care that we saw donald trump engage in an insurrection. thus far we haven't persuaables move one way or the other. >> and if there are other michigans which i guess we'll see as the year goes on. tia mitchell, david jolly, thank you both so much. coming up, a missing political rival of vladimir putin has been found. what russian officials are saying about alexei navalny. plus one of the holiest places on earth shut down on christmas, what the ongoing israel-hamas war has meant for the people of bethlehem. but first, military campaign in gaza appears to be intensifying. we're back in 60 seconds. ifying we're back in 60 seconds get 6x longer-lasting freshness, plus odor protection. try for under $5!

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today we're getting images of devastation from the gaza strip where the palestinian health ministry, which is run by hamas, says israeli strikes killed at least 250 people in just 24 hours. they say 70 of those deaths happened on christmas eve at a refugee camp where families say they hope to find safety. and fresh off a visit to idf troops in northern gaza, benjamin netanyahu is vowing to intensify fighting even further. israel's war cabinet set to meet tonight to discuss the hostage situation. joining us now is jay gray. netanyahu doubling down on continuing attacks, developments, headlines just this past couple of days which you have been reporting on, but still there is pressure mounting. not only from those in the united states, but from other countries. >> reporter: no, you're right. there has been a global call for a ceasefire. and if not that, more protection

for civilians inside of gaza. and today addressing parliament, netanyahu was booed and heckled by the families of hostages in gaza and others in the gallery as he started to talk about bringing the hostages home. that booing intensified as he said commanders in the warzone said it will take more time for this battle. he responded to those heckles, to that booing, by saying "we wouldn't have succeeded up until now to release more than 100 hostages without military pressure and we won't succeed at releasing all of the hostages without military pressure. ." as you touched on, this is on a day when netanyahu spent time with troops in the north of gaza while attacks intensified to the south. airstrikes there including one that the idf says too being out a senior member of hamas leadership though they have not identified who that might be.

and on the ground as troops continue to try to about pose command and control centers and some of those underground tunnel networks to the south. >> as we hear about the military onslaught, are discussions still happening? you're saying that netanyahu is saying that you must be a strong forward movement of military attacks to have productive peace talks. so what is the news on that? >> reporter: well, it appears that talks have fallen apart to be frank. what hamas said, they will not come to the table until there is a stoppage of the aggression. and won't talk about releasing anymore hostages and what israel has said from the start of all this is that they won't stop this until hamas is gone and that the hostages are released. and in that order.

now, we know the president of israel has said that he would like to see another pause in the fighting. it seems that lot of israelis are agreeable to that, but that namazi has said they are not willing to talk. >> and the word pause versus ceasefire, two different words and two different ramifications based on the usage of those very terms. jay gray, thank you so much. joining us now, military analyst barry mccaffrey. what do you make of the reporting from jay gray as we're seeing intensity continuing there in the gaza strip against hamas and the question from the families who have hostages kept by and held by hamas? what is your reflection on the reporting today? >> jay's report is very comprehensive. i think that he correctly

characterizes the dilemma, the tragedy ongoing. no question that it has been devastating on the civilian population of gaza. 2.4 million people, majority are refugees. the infrastructure and to a large extent has been shattered. and although hamas is running an information war, there is no question civilian casualties have been catastrophic. having said that, israel is responding to the 7 october brutal murder, rape, torture, hostage taking of hamas. hamas is hiding among the civilian population. they are bombarding israel with rockets. they can bring it all to a halt immediately by releasing the hostages and stopping the fight. that is not going to happen. richard, i think the primary thing that bothers me is where is the political solution the

day the war stops. where is the receivership. israel can't create that. perhaps the united states with our jordan, [ inaudible question ] egypt, could. but we don't have a political solution on the horizon. >> so what you're saying is we need to know where we're going to so we can correctly address what we're facing today. >> no question. and the idf has four divisions, probably pushing into gaza right now. they won't get 3,000 -- they killed 7,000 that they are claiming. they won't win the war underground without weeks of sitting on top of the tunnel complex. so the political situation, humanitarian crisis, is going to get worse over time. >> the war cabinet set to meet

later today to discuss the hostage situation which jay was covering for us. and what are some of the important decisions they have to make? >> i think that the pause is appropriate for israel. those families are in agony. many of these hostages have been killed. i think many of the women hostages have been so brutally abused, they may never get released. i don't think that hamas will ever release the israeli soldiers they hold, a couple dozen. so it is a grim situation. i think at the end of the day, israelis will never leave gaza on a bet until someone else steps in and governs the strip. two state solution is absolutely laughable for ten years or more

until the arab region steps -- rebuilds gaza and governs the space politically until there is some responsible agency. hamas is dedicated to the destruction of israel. they are not going to participate in their own demise. >> general, two potential topics that the war cabinet may discuss, number one which happened yesterday afternoon eastern time was the news that five military hostages were found dead. number two is the timing of the release of those civilian hostages by hamas. if it is later, does that allow them to further their military objectives because if they were released earlier, that may not have the hearts and minds of israelis to continue their military activity? >> well, hamas politically quite clever. the information war they are running is having an impact. they are distorting statistics.

but the largest issue to me is hamas won't stop fighting, nor will they stop hiding among the civilian population. nor will they state publicly we're no longer committed to the annihilation of israel. so israelis have a political tragedy facing them. what do they do. they won't get back those hostages without military pressure. i agree. even so, unlikely that they will get many of these poor hostages back alive. so the israeli public i think, polling is saying, is utterly committed to the destruction of hamas. militarily that is achievable, but the political outcome is still a question. who is going to be in charge the day the fighting stops. and it will stop within days, weeks or months. >> barry mccaffrey, thank you so much and have a great christmas. >> same to you.

coming up, a message from pope francis, what he says about the ongoing war in the holy land. but first alexei navalny has been found. what his allies say about his nearly three week long disappearance. ppearance.

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his associates say he has been removed to a remote prison colony inside siberia where he will be extremely isolated. joining us is ali arouzi. what else do we know about in a a -- navalny's whereabouts and how did his lawyers find him? >> reporter: his spokesman says he is alive and in the penal colony in the north of russia. he went missing on december 6 and his supporters, his lawyers, were frantically searching for him because there was no word from him. he was nowhere to be seen. they relentlessly kept up the pursuit to try to find them and he has shown up today on the 25th of december in a penal colony in the northernmost part of russia. it is known as one of the hardest penal colonies in russia, a permafrost there, a

tough regime for inmates there. and most of the inmates that are there are convicted criminals that are serving sentences for some truly heinous crimes. now, navalny supporters say that he has been sent there to keep him quiet. and they say it is no coincidence he went missing on december 6 because two days after he went missing, vladimir putin announced his intentions to run in elections again and navalny's supporters say that the kremlin just doesn't want him to be able to vocalize at all. and that is why he has been sent to this very remote prison. also known as the polar wolf, rather ominously. conditions there are very difficult, it is very difficult to get there. and inmates there basically have no contact with the outside world. they are not even allowed to send or receive letters. so as far as the kremlin is concerned, that is the perfect place to keep their most vocal

critic, a man who has been able to galvanize a lot of support against the kremlin and a man that has been able to mobilize people to protest against vladimir putin. something that no other russian activist has really been able to do. the conditions in this prison are meant to be very bad. he is said to have some stomach conditions. and they don't think that any of these are going to be seen to at that penal colony. so what happens to him here remain as question. there was some access to him at that prison about 150 miles east of moscow, but this is a game changer for navalny. >> ali arouzi, thank you so much. pope francis lamented that the message of peace is being drowned out by the futile logic of war. he called for an end to the military campaign in gaza and said he grieved the attack of

hamas on october 7. and called for therelease of hostages. and he says the weapons industry is war. christmas celebrations in bethlehem are canceled in solidarity with the people of gaza. and chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the latest. >> reporter: christian faithful believe a star guided the three wise men to bethlehem carrying gifts of cold, frankincense and myrrh for the newborn christ. this year the wisemen would find the little town closed. christmas celebrations are officially canceled by the mayor and churches in solidarity with the 2.3 million people of gaza.

in manger square, there is no tree nor lights. instead baby jesus in a destroyed building to represent the victims of gaza. beth will last help is in the west bank. the people here palestinians. gaza is only 50 miles away. richard, a palestinian christian, owns one of the biggest stores in bethlehem. a lot of your carvings are for obvious reasons of the nativity scene. >> you about a this is what represents bethlehem, this is where all the story started. >> reporter: he said he'd normally see up to ten bus loads of visitors during the holiday season. when was the last time you had a single customer? >> on 6 of october just the day before the war. and from the 7th up to today, zero business. >> reporter: and we met his wife and daughters at their home. no wreath or present this is year. 9-year-old sophia says the holiday is not about toys

anyway. >> we didn't decorate because of the war and innocent people are dying. and i feel so bad for them. >> so no present for you? >> no. >> does that bother you? >> no. children in gaza, they don't get gifts or anything because of the war. >> reporter: at the heart of bethlehem is the church of the nativity. but pass through the door of humility now and you will find almost no one. we met a reverend. in this sacred place, do you have a christmas message for our viewers? >> my christmas message is jesus was born to bring peace to this world. and the ball is in our court. we are all invited to be peace makers. we are fed up with peace talkers and peace talks. it is time for peace making. >> reporter: below the altar is

the grotto, the spot where tradition says jesus was born. pilgrims can wait up to four hours for a glimpse of this. we were alone to witness the rituals that have continued uninterrupted for roughly 2,000 years. spiritually, christmas is not canceled. but no one is in the mood here for a celebration. not even for jesus' birthday. richard engel, nbc news, bethlehem. coming, a look back at some of the crimes and headlines that captured our attention this year from alex murdaugh to the idaho college murders. the cases we could not stop talking about. inter gene. i wonder if you have it or that's why you didn't make the team. let me see. let me pull it up. don't have it. yup, i knew it. what else does it tell you? no, hold on, i'm going to find some athletic gene in here. endurance, no.

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over the course of the year, a series of crimes grabbing the country's attention, dateline's keith morrison takes a look back for us at the cases americans could not stop talking about. >> reporter: disturbing new details in the alex murdaugh murder trial. >> the killing of four idaho students. >> rex heuermann accused of being the gilgo beach killer. >> reporter: every year, there are crimes that draw our attention, stories from which we cannot look away. and this year was no exception. in january, all ice turned to a

south carolina courtroom for one of the biggest trials in decades.turned to a south carolina courtroom for one of the biggest trials in decades. alex murdaugh stood accused of killing his wife and son. >> you will reach the conclusion that he was the didn't do it. >> reporter: and it hinged on one key piece of evidence, a cellphone video that proved that alex lied about where he was when the murders took place. alex himself took the stand for two days of riveting testimony and admitted that he hadn't told the truth about that night. >> what a tangled web we weave. >> reporter: but he said he was not a killer. >> are you a family annihilator? >> a family annihilator, you mean did i shoot my wife and my son? >> yes. >> no. >> do you think putting him on the stand hurt their case? >> i don't think it helped. >> reporter: it took just three hours for the jury to convict him. >> i sentence you for term of

the rest of your natural life. >> reporter: this year also brought us face-to-face with the man who police say committed acts of unspeakable horror in idaho. bryan kohberger has been charged with stabbing to death four college students in the middle of the night. >> maximum penalty for this offense is death and/or imprisonment for life. do you understand? >> yes. >> reporter: the victim's heartbroken parents were there in court to watch. >> if he is the person, i feel that no mercy should be given to him. >> reporter: police say that dna ties kohberger to the murders. as does akohberger was seen driving captured on security video. the judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. the victims' families and friends now wait for a jury to decide his fate. >> just hurts.

they should still be here, you know. >> we wake up knowing that we have reached justice no natalie. >> reporter: and 2023 also saw the end of a near 20 year mystery. the disappearance of alabama teen natalee holloway in aruba, the source of so much pain for her mother beth who spoke to "dateline" in 2008. >> not knowing is the daily torture. >> reporter: van der sloot long suspected of killing natalee was sxe expedited to the u.s. charged with trying to export natalee's family and as part of a plea deal he agreed to confess. >> i was with her along the beach. >> reporter: he said he hit her in the head with a cinder block. >> and i push her off into the sea. >> a long and painful journey,

but we finally got the answers we've been searching for. >> rex, did you do it? >> reporter: another years long saga took a stunning turn this summer when police announced they discovered the identity of the long island serial killer. >> rex heuermann, an architectural consultants. >> reporter: police arrested 59-year-old father of two rex heuermann outside his manhattan office. few who knew him could believe it. >> completely bone chilling. >> if this is true, he's lied to us. >> i mean, he was just a normal guy. >> reporter: in july, heuermann was charged with murdering three women along gilgo beach and police said he was strongly suspected of killing a fourth. he pleaded not guilty. >> trial still a long way off. are you confident that rex heuermann will spend the rest of his life behind bars? >> if you ask me, i'm sure he'll never see the light of day again. >> reporter: keith morrison, date line, nbc. and coming up, no white christmas here in, no, but is

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oh, not exactly what many hoped for. >> just hoping for a weis christmas. >> i would absolutely love to see a white christmas. >> a white christmas. been a while. >> people dreaming of the west

coast on the east coast, disappointed again. it stipes may be 30 to 40 degrees warmer than last christmas. compared to past decades, chicago has seen drop in white christmas chances from 31% to 41%. this year, many of the locations used to a white christmas, like the upper midwest and great lakes, are racking up record-warm temperatures rather than inches of snow. >> winters are not like when i was a kid back in the '70s. no blizzard of '78 or anything like that. >> reporter: about 3.6 million people could get a white christmas this year. that's only 1% of the country. >> where is the snow? >> i don't know. what? do i look like al roker?

>> reporter: and there may be a picture-perfect christmas day, for more, not a little white. >> hope, wait, maybe a few flurries will come down. >> all right. angie lassman, thank you for that. michelle grossman, nbc meteorologist did not look like al roker. probably didn't have the same sense of humor. the great sense of humor she does. ten states we're looking at right now. right? potentially could get snow this day or in the coming days? >> yeah. we do have a white christmas for some out there. a really white christmas. blizzard conditions and icy spots, merry christmas, richard, icy spots seeing plain rain midwest to southeast. a lot of precipitation out there. pacific northwest looking at storm moving onshore. snow to higher elevations, icy rain and look at the outlook for today. a large storm in the middle of the country. where you see blue, where the

snow is falling. show you radar in a minute, because looking at that snow already falling. heavy rain from midwest to southeast. dry in the northeast. actually above normal for this time of year. dry in the south central states. southwest dry although chill any parts of the southwest. 40 in albuquerque and a storm in the pacific northwest. in place the next couple days. plenty of clouds the middle of the country and looking at snow falling where you see the blue is the snow. lighter blue, heavier snow. could see even 18 inches of snow in some spots in addition to gusty winds. 35 to 55 miles per hour gusts. creating blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and bringing power outages. all the rain. you need umbrellas to head out on christmas day from the midwest to the tennessee valley and portions of the south east. returns of yellow, red, oranges, seeing heaviest rain falling. watch that today and tomorrow.

plenty of winter alerts in place. these in place through wednesday, because we expect the storm to stick around and where you see that darker purple color, looking at blizzard warnings. valentine, north platte, seeing really tough conditions. hunker down. stay in doors, on the couch. watching movies. generally six inches to a foot of snow. rainfall, heavy rain throughout portions of the midwest through the carolinas and southeast. through tomorrow, see a shift off to the east, but for today heavy snow falls along the northern plains, portions of central high plains and rain in christmas from great lakes to the southeast. throughout tomorrow looking at that storm moving off to the east. still blizzard conditions through the northern and central plains. heavy rain from interior parts of the northeast down to the carolinas. headed back from your holiday celebrations today, you have tough travel there's. plenty of sunshine in the

southwest. looking at storms still in the pacific northwest. notice green along the coast. higher elevation snow. middle of the week a storm to the east. talking about northeast showers and, richard, heavy rain throughout the mid-atlantic wednesday and also parts of the northeast. certainly most of us not seeing a white christmas, some are, and seeing a lot of it. >> getting a christmas buffet of weather certainly on that map you're showing us. michelle grossman. thank you. before we go look at this. a christmas tree in space. nasa releasing this composite image of a cluster of young stars in a green gas known as the christmas tree cluster. it's in our gallicses, 2,500 light years away from earth. put the tree upright and animated image enhancing the festive nature with blinking blue and white lights x-ray lights from young stars. merry christmas, space! coming up, another hour of live coverage right here on

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and great to be with you on this monday. i'm richard lui. israel's war cabinet meeting tonight to discuss the urgent need to free hostages hours after families of those kidnapped by hamas heckled prime minister netanyahu when he said more time needed to ensure their