available as a podcast. in which i wear that vest. follow and listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. stay where you are, my friend alex witt picks up our coverage right after this. right after this a very good day to all of you from the -- center here in los angeles. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. we begin with a major development, the supreme court said it will decide whether former president trump can be kept off the 2024 presidential ballot after colorado banned him. arguments will be heard in five weeks, and trump had this to say last night in iowa. >> the supreme court is taking the case from colorado. all i want is fair. i fought really hard to get

three very, very good people in. they're great people. very smart people. i just hope that they're going to be fair. because the other side please the ref. >> well, the courts decision coming shortly after president joe biden mentioned trump in the riot multiple times in a major campaign speech in pennsylvania. take a listen. >> trump said that there was a lot of love on january the 6th. the rest of the nation, including law enforcement, saw a lot of hate. and violence. one capitol police officer called it medieval battle. that same officer called -- vile racist names. he said it was more afraid in the capital of the united states of america in the chambers then when he was fighting as a soldier in the war in iraq. >> with today marking the third anniversary of the deadly riot,

new videos emerging of the mob gathered outside the house chamber door talking with two republican lawmakers, who had broken windows. what was said in just a moment for you. all of this is coming with just over a week to go before the iowa caucuses. donald trump's, nikki haley, ron desantis, and vivek ramaswamy all making campaign stops in that state today. chris christie focusing on new hampshire. so, we have a number of reporters and analysts come covering all the angles to the stories for you. we're gonna welcome you all and begin with nbc news supreme court reporter, lauren turley. and kristy greenberg, former federal prosecutor and former deputy chief of southern district of new york's criminal division. lawrence, you first year. what do you learn today about specific legal questions that the court is likely to consider in this colorado case? >> yeah, what's interesting about this case, when the court, yesterday announced it was gonna hear the case, the order that they put out that naturally specify what legal questions they were gonna be looking at. which is something they sometimes do.

instead, they just said they're gonna hear donald trump's appeal. and his appeal is basically a whole host of arguments throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. including whether the president is even covered by this provision of the 14th amendment that barr is people who engaged in insurrection from serving in the government. also, who gets to decide, even if they think that someone did engage in insurrection? who gets to decide that? and can you allow the colorado supreme court to do that? >> okay, to you, kristie, the colorado supreme court found that trump engaged in insurrection. so can the supreme court overrule that finding of fact? >> so, i don't think that's where they're going to go. i don't think they're going to get into the weeds of whether or not trump engaged in insurrection. i think that the supreme court is likely to keep trump on the ballot. i just, that's my prediction. i'm not saying that's what they should do, i think that's what they will do. and i think it's going to be on

a more technical basis. one of the arguments that donald trump makes, and this was an argument that was supported in the dissent in the colorado supreme court, is that the colorado supreme court, there was a violation here of the statutes in colorado state electoral code. for how this all was supposed to be applied. for example, there was a five-day requirement for a hearing. and then following those five days, there was a two-day period where they're supposed to then be a decision. both of those requirements were violated here. basically, the colorado process required more time. why did require more time? because this was more complicated than what you normally see with qualifications about something like age, whether you have a certain amount of signatures. this was a more complex constitutional question that required some delays. so, the dissent makes the argument, and donald trump picks this up as well, look,

the state electoral code really isn't made to be able to deal with questions like whether or not an individual engaged in an insurrection. so, i think on a technical issue like that, a due process concern, i think that's where you're going to see the supreme court go. >> so, lawrence, kristie just mentions timing. but in this instance, the schedule is being described as lightning-fast for the supreme court. what can you tell us about the meline, and you read anything to how quickly they are trying to expedite this? >> that's right. clearly, quickly they scheduled arguments for february 8th, just a few weeks ago. to go, i mean. they took up another case yesterday, just as a comparison in an abortion case from idaho. they're not gonna hear arguments in that until april. with a ruling by the end of june, when they normally finish up. this case of the colorado case, i'm sure they're gonna decide it quickly. after hearing the arguments so soon. they probably want to have an eye on the calendar, because obviously there's a lot of

primaries coming up. and they want to get a decision out before. so whenever the court says there will be applied, not just in colorado, but potentially in other states if they do reach a more sweeping ruling that addresses the constitutional issue. >> yeah. i should, say we'll be talking about that idaho abortion case now in front of the supreme court in the next hour. colorado, kristie, is one of a growing number of states that are challenging trump's eligibility. maine secretary of state, we all know kicked him off the primary ballot. and then this week, the challenges were filed an illinois, massachusetts. will the supreme court ruling, however it goes, will the ruling on colorado, does that affect the efforts to keep trump off the ballot in other states? i mean, the ruling, is that really good going to be a blanket decision for all 50 states? >> so, i think the supreme court is going to look to having a narrow decision, but in terms of dealing with these particular circumstances, these facts of whether or not the

former president engaged in an insurrection, answer that narrow question. but then have it be able to be broadly applied to these other states. you have more than 60 lawsuits. you have more than 30 states there are engaging in these questions. they're not going to want to litigate each and every states particular electoral code as we are in an election year, as the primary season is underway. so, i do think it will be both narrow in terms of the question that they're answering, but also able to be broadly applied to the other states. one note on the timing in colorado at least, donald trump's certified to be on the ballot. and by the time of this argument, the deadline for the county clerks in colorado to mail ballots to the military and overseas voters, that's generate 20. with hill already be on that ballot. the next deadline is february 12th through the 16th. that's the period when the county clerks have to actually

mail the ballots to all active registered voters. in colorado, you can vote by mail. the first date for actual required in person voting in colorado's rubbery 26th. so for the february 8th oral argument, we're talking about a matter of days, a few weeks, for them to have a decision for them to actually be meaningful. >> it's time. yep. quick one last question to you, lawrence, with regard to the pressure which was certainly on for supreme court justices long before they are great to hear this case. even though they may not necessarily be very eager to share their opinions. there have been calls for justice thomas to recuse himself. and then trump himself mentioned the judges last night. what are you hearing about how this is being perceived inside those hallowed halls? >> well, i think one thing is clear from the order that the court put out yesterday, normally when they issue an order like that it'll say the justices are accusing themselves. from a certain case. there was nothing on there. i think we can assume that all

nine justices are gonna be on that case. of course, there is no nothing new for donald trump to say things about judges. he's been doing that for years. he's been doing it in some of the other cases that have been coming out recently. sometimes in ways that, you know, in a typical case would get people into trouble. potentially be held in contempt of court. and that's just kind of the norm when it comes to donald trump it seems. i think, in legal circles, it's frowned upon to do this kind of thing. but he's done it before. and i'm sure he'll continue doing. it the supreme court the justices don't like it. the father probably not gonna say anything about it or do anything about it. >> that interesting perspective. you know, you're probably right, lawrence, thanks so much for that. kristie, i'd like to stay with me, we're going to talk about donald trump's other fights, including the questions about his immunity, that will come up later on this hour. right now, the final push is on four gop candidates in iowa, with just nine days until the caucuses. it is a mad dash to try to

catch up to donald trump. most of the republican field spread across the hawkeye state today, making their cases to voters. let's go to nbc's aly vitaly joining us from indianola, iowa. i hope i said that one right. ali, i know you've been out with nikki haley today. how are things going for her and iowa? >> alex, you're right to pay this as a race of every other republican trying to catch up to donald trump. i think the reality here on the ground, for people like the former south carolina governor, who just left the stage by jaime, as well as the rest of the field, is the fact that trump is pulling in first for the rest of them coming in a strong second can mean a lot. that's true for nikki haley above all. especially because she never lead a metric down that iowa was must win. it was must finish strong. her team telling me, that's really the metric that they are applying in this home stretch as well. for haley, it's a question of parlaying what happens in iowa into a strong finish in new hampshire. that's where polls show her having serious momentum on the ground, to the point where even

the trump campaign itself is turning its sights on haley in attack ads. typically at this point the race, if you're on the receiving end of the attack ads, it means you're doing something right. and that your threat. haley always quick to remind about that, when you look at the polls consistently here, alex, you and i always know, we've got enough of these iowa caucuses, it always comes down to what happens on election night. the voters that are talking to here, even though iowa is largely seen as trump country, and the polls underscore that, there are people, including a woman that i spoke to here this morning, who senator first time seeing haley, she thinks that this is where the party needs to go. she's backing the former south carolina governor. but at the end of the day, if it's trump at the end of it, listen to what she told me. >> he is the nominee, would you vote for him? >> yeah. i mean, because i still feel like, i mean, i am a republican. and i do feel like there is a lot of things that he does well. a >> so, even those voters who

think that trump is not with the future of the party should be, acknowledge the fact that if at the end of the day, republican could vote republican in a general election. of course, we are far from that. and one of nikki haley's favorite things to remind voters of, don't complain about who you get a general action if you are not turning out to vote in a primary. of course, for all these candidates, as it always is, it's a question of turnout. and here in iowa, it's also a question of loyalty. you and i both know what that caucus system looks like, it's a matter of trying to get your neighbors as well to your cause when you're standing in gyms and classrooms across the hawkeye state, just over a week from today, alex? >> i think there's a goal of everybody trying to bring in ten friends with them. which is an extraordinary effort. and potential event. okay, ali vitali, thank, you my friend. coming up next, two very important stories. first, unbelievable video of what happened to a plane prompting an emergency landing, dozens of planes are now grounded. plus, what was said in that new video from the insurrection on january 6th. three years ago today. we're back in 60 seconds.

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emergency in alaska airlines flight to california abruptly landed last night after a piece of the plane blew out and left a gaping hole. overnight, the airline grounded and inspected dozens of planes, approving some of them to continue flying. let's get nbc's priscilla thompson, who's been following this story from houston. what a story it is, priscilla. this video, seriously, it is a passenger's worst nightmare. tell us what happened on this flight. >> yeah, alex. worst nightmare, indeed. that is what officials are trying to figure out. what happened. we know from some of the flight crew communication, it may have been a pressurization issue. today, the faa and the ntsb are both investigating. officials already on the ground there trying to get to the bottom of this. and what led to those terrifying moments on board that alaska airlines flight. what you're seeing there is

what appears to have been a panel on the side of the plane that just completely blew out mid air. leaving a gaping hole on the side of the plane. one passenger described it as about the size of a refrigerator. we saw throughout the plane there were oxygen masks that were deployed. you could just see how strong that wind was as it was gushing in. some passengers even their hair blowing from that wind as they're trying to make that emergency landing. i want to play for you some of the sound for that call to air traffic control. also, i want to let you hear how one passenger described what happened. take a listen. >> we just depressurized, were declaring emergency. we're dissenting got a 10,000. >> yes, we are emergency. we are depressurized. we need to return back to. we have 177 passengers. >> -- we are like a bang, a boom. i look up, and air masks or out,

pop down. i look to my left, there is a huge gaping hole. >> alex, this happened just minutes after that flight took off from portland, oregon, bound for ontario, california. thankfully, there were no serious injuries. although there were some personal items that were sucked out in lost as a result of that. this morning, alaska airlines said they were grounding all of their boeing 737 max nine fleet. we know that we just got an update for them a short while ago. about a quarter of those airplanes have been inspected. they've gone through maintenance and safety. inspections. they did not find any issues. a quarter of that fleet is now back flying. they're still continuing to do those checks on the rest of them. we could certainly see some cancel relations and delays today with those airlines, or those airplanes out of the mix. alex?

>> i mean, wow. what a story. i'm glad the check everything right now. thank you so much, priscilla thompson. yeah. the new today as the country marks three years since january 6th. newly-released video from that day shows to republican lawmakers confronted by an angry mob. let's go right to nbc's ryan riley for a closer look at this. ryan, welcome. okay, who shot this video? and why are we just seeing it now? it's been three years since that date. >> you know, evidence continues to roll in. as these cases make their way through courts. in this case, it was a rider whose name is damon beckley. he said to be sentenced now in early february. he shot this really dramatic video that actually captures the conversation between capitol rioters and republicans on the floor of the house of representatives. you see guns pointed at the rioters through that broken window. you hear part of the conversation. take a listen. >> law enforcement detectives for 30 years. >> that's because you've never seen corruption like we've seen

this last month. >> i'm ashamed. >> i'm ashamed of my congresspeople. they don't even stand up for it. >> you need a backup. >> freedom is at hand. >> go find another door, everybody. >> do you understand we're fighting for you? >> you guys can get the same paycheck, the governor gets replaced with real governors. >> this is not gonna be good for your future, man. >> they are fake, it's all fake. >> if this doesn't happen, there is going to be a bigger -- a lot of bloodshed. we don't want that. >> what's remarkable about that video, that congressman troy nehls. he's still a donald trump supporter. he said in that video, that was the worst that he had seen people act despite spending 30 years in law enforcement. now, he's in a much different category. as are a lot of republicans about denying what happened on january 6th itself. in fact, he's actually called the death of ashley babbitt a murder. on a segment with tucker

carlson. so a big change for a lot of republicans in three years since january 6th. >> yeah, absolutely. and i understand you have a package because there's so much that happened. we got more to tell, right? in the last three years? a lot of people been arrested. a lot of people still waiting for trial. >> yeah, these investigations are still going. down here's a look at where things stand. three years and into the investigation. >> the third year of the sprawling investigation into the january 6th attack saw some major achievements for federal prosecutions in the fbi. oath keepers founder stewart rhodes, one of the first january 6th rioters convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. with a judge calling him an ongoing threat and a peril to this country. former proud boys chairman enrique tarrio is convicted of seditious conspiracy. along with three other proud boys. well a fifth proud boy, seen here smashing a capitol window, was convicted on other charges.

their sentences range from ten years to 22 years for tarrio, the longest sentence imposed in a january 6th case to date. >> we have charged over 1250 individuals and obtained over 890 convictions. >> nearly every day of the week, at the federal courthouse in washington, january 6th rioters are facing federal juries and judges at trials, plea hearings, and sentencing's. richard big bow barnett, featured placing his feet on nancy pelosi's desk, received 4.5 years in federal prison. a retired firefighter, who sought -- cold deprogramming after falling for 2020 election lies, received a four year sentence. a mega headed rioter who drove a stun gun into the neck of former metropolitan police officer michael fanone was sentenced to 12.5 years. his words to the courtroom, as the u.s. marshals led him away, trump won. >> arrests continue to roll in. among them, prominent actor, jay johnston. a man dubbed conan o'brien for

his resemblance to the former law that comedian. a former boston canine officer. they even arrested a former fbi special agent, who had been a member of the fbi's joint terrorism task force in new york. prosecutors say he stormed the capitol, and yelled as other members of the mob attacked officers. of those who have entered pleas, all have pleaded not guilty. sedition hunters, the online sleuths who have aided the fbi in hundreds of cases, told nbc news that there are about 1000 other january 6th participants who have been identified but not yet arrested. nbc news spoke with one of the sleuths who is pleading a major role in the investigation. who agreed to speak anonymously due to ongoing threats. >> yeah, we've had, for example -- he's been identified for over 700 days. hopefully we'll see some movement on him. soon >> matthew graves, the top federal prosecutor in washington, spoke this week about the investigation. >> many citizens from around the country have already come forward to identify individuals

who were in the january 6th attacks. as a result of these tips, scores of individuals have been identified and will soon be prosecuted for violent acts at the capitol. and other violations of federal law. >> online sleuths say the clock is ticking, and they want to not only hold riders accountable, but law enforcement as well. >> my case for the fbi is like i feel like everybody else. they have a job. some of them do it well. some of them do it poorly. some of them don't really feel like they do it at all. >> there is a lot of work ahead. even as the trial of the most prominent january 6th defendant, former president donald trump, is set for as soon as march. >> these arrests continue even to this very day, alex. just this, morning the fbi arrested three january 6th fugitives in a camp in florida. back to you. >> okay, ryan reilly, thank you so much i wanna remind all of our viewers that you have a new book out, it is called sedition hunters. how january 6th broke the

justice system, it is quite after eating. on a day like today thank you for that. in the meantime, the gloves sure came off. what was behind the biggest message in president biden's forceful campaign speech.

to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. i think he's having a midlife crisis join the mi'm not.of people taking back their privacy you got us t-mobile home internet lite. after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre-- i like watching the puddles gather rain. -hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. donald trump's campaign is

i know what year it is. obsessed with the past. not the future. he's willing to sacrifice our democracy. put himself in power. a contest, if you see politics

-- as an all out war instead of a peaceful way to resolve our differences. all out war is what trump once. once again, he saying he won't honor the results of the election. if he loses. trump says he doesn't understand, we still doesn't understand the basic truth, that is, you can't love your country only when you win. president biden there delivering his first major reelection speech for 2024. as the country mark three years since that riot on capitol hill. the presidents remarks display his campaign's latest strategy. remind the american people that donald trump is a threat to democracy. joining me now, peter baker, msnbc political analyst. chief white house correspondent in the new york times and coauthor of the terrific book, the divider, trump in the white house. welcome, my friend. look, this is kind of a pivot for the biden campaign. which until recently, focused less on trump and more on touting the administration's

accomplishments. so, do you see this as a significant new approach for the campaign? >> well, look, he would've had to say something on the anniversary of january 6th no matter what. the fact that it comes at the beginning of the election year does sort of send a signal. i think they recognize that the efforts in 2023 to build on his record to try to get credit from the public for the various things he's done, and he has had a lot of legislation, a lot of success to talk about. hasn't actually worked. it hasn't moved his numbers. at least not yet. and if you ask the people near biden, what they think he's gonna win this election. they think it's gonna be the contrast with donald trump. they think it's gonna be that the country is not going to want a donald trump back in the white house. and that's the sharp contrast with the biden people gonna have to make. democracy being, obviously, the most important issue in that contrast. this is the beginning, i think of a more sharply honed message that will say there is a choice. remember, it's the president says all the, time don't compare me to the almighty. compared to the alternative. he's now comparing himself to

the alternative. and reminding those people who voted for him last time, why they might not one of over donald trump next time. >> look, setting the calendar aside, january 6th being today. you wrote an article it was titled top trump dictatorship charges the american political debate. and that reporting, peter, came on the heels of trump saying, if reelected, he would be a dictator on day one. maybe that was the moment when the biden campaign decided it had to shift messaging? well, they've been taking note of that and things the former president has said. for instance, when you call his opponents vermin, when he said that immigrants are poisoning the blood of america, these are the kind of freezes that are reminiscent of many people of, you know, the worst of human history, including not see germany. that's what the president's campaign has said in his messaging, but you're right to say that it's the president himself who has to get out to make this point. and wanting to have aids or advisers are allies when the president himself, he's going

to have to take that message to the american people, and this is, i think, a high-profile way for him to do it. >> so, as you well know in 2023, campaign spent a lot of time trying to highlight the presidents economic accomplishments. they gave the name, calling it bidenomics. the polls show that the many ways the improving economy is not translating to voters. many still believe the economy is in trouble. so, why hasn't biden caught in the credit for the economy? why isn't it being interpreted as a success? and will the economy remain the focus of the campaign? doesn't it have to? >> well, it's interesting. historically, what campaign people will tell you if the economy is the most important factor in any presidential campaign outside of a war. if we're not in a more at that moment. and it's the 1990s, the campaign slogan for the clinton campaign was the economy. but i think the history doesn't apply here in the same way it used to. i don't think the economy is the salient figure that it, the salient factor that is moving

voters at this point, because people are seeing economy through their own lens, right? you see 46% of american public say the economy is in recession or depression, that is factually not true. it's a stark reminder that we look through our tribal perspectives these days, even on things like the economy. the economy, by measure, is the economy any incumbent president would want coming into a reelection year. 3% some on inflation, 3% some on unemployment, two or 7 million jobs created last year alone. that's more than any single year in the trump presidency, more than any single you're going back to 1999, with one exception. you stop market, obviously, finished high. so, a lot of good economic indicators he. right. president biden is not gonna credit for it because i think we're in a very ideological, polarized moment. so, the effort to claim credit for bidenomics didn't really get into far. i think you are going back to the idea they have to make contrast with trump in order to alert back the disenchanted biden voters. >> well, we'll see if the next

ten months brings an upward trajectory even further. that's a long time for things to get better. biden could claim a lot of success then, but let me ask you quickly about the shutdown that you know is looming on capitol hill. the border seems to be the main sticking point right now. political reports at the white house is preparing for a border battle. is there prevailing sense, peter, whether congress will come to an agreement before a potential partial government shutdown? let's see, there's not january 19th and this won february 2nd. >> yeah, i mean, we don't know, obviously. it's a new speaker. it's his first time in this kind of a circumstance. he indicated, i think at the end of last year, he didn't want to have a kind of shut down by pushing this issue past the holidays into the new year. that doesn't mean we won't go there if he feels like it's in their political interest to do that. and i feel the border issue is at the top one. it's a bad issue for president biden. he has managed to control that situation down there. the numbers down there are at or near record highs. he has alienated not just republicans who would like to

make that an issue, but even democrats like eric adams, the mayor of new york, and democrats in places like illinois, who are feeling the impact of the flow of the border. he needs, for his interest, to find a deal that could help solve that problem, or at least ameliorate that problem and minimize it going into the election year, and maybe republicans don't want to give him the help. >> okay, peter baker, happy new year to, my friend. we have along your head office until november. here -- i'll be really glad to see you every weekend. thank you. coming up next, the most significant court dates donald trump is facing next week. acing next week. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible. talk to a doctor about nurtec odt. (dad) it's our phone bill... relief is possible. we pay for things that we don't need.

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the nbc is reporting united airlines is prepared to ground thousands of boeing 737 max nine aircraft for inspections. this is according to a person familiar with the matter. it comes one day after this, a panel blew out of the same type of aircraft, this on an alaskan airlines flight. alaska is right now inspecting its entire 737 max nine fleet. some will be returning to service after being cleared. we're going to have a full report of the top of the hour on all of this to you. let's go right now to another big week in cour donald trump. monday is the deadline for

pretrial motions challenging his charges in georgia. tuesday, he plans to be in d.c. when the circuit court of appeals hears his claims of immunity on january six related charges. the, two days later, closing arguments will begin in his new york civil fraud trial. and there might be in new york on january 16th, for the e. jean carroll defamation trial. christopher greenberg is back with me with a lot on her plate discuss. so, here we go, kristie. tuesdays immunity hearing, that one is potentially the most significant, because the political, legal implications are huge. and trump claims he enjoys presidential i'm unity for actions performed within the quote, outer perimeter of his official responsibility. how far do you think he can get with this argument, and what do you expect to see, if he shows up on court tuesday? >> so, donald trump's argument is a loser. but d.c. court of appeals is not going to find that he has absolute immunity from federal criminal prosecution, or that

he has immunity, i think, from this outer perimeter of his duties. but even if the d.c. court of appeals were to find that was the standard, what donald trump did here was not within the after perimeter of his official duties. he was trying to interfere with the electoral count. and tried to make sure he was the one that was installed instead of the properly elected candidate. so, i really think that this is not going to go anywhere. i expected the argument, you're going to hear a lot of questions about the text of the constitution. nowhere in the constitution's presidential immunity addressed. where is donald trump getting this from? where are his lawyers getting these arguments from? history, there's no evidence from the founders that immunity existed. presidents were pardon, former president nixon, to prevent the prosecution, suggesting there was this, there was no understanding of history, at least, that there was such presidential immunity. i also think you're going to see a lot of hypotheticals presented by the special counsel's office, in the

briefing, and i think those hypotheticals are going to be put forth from the judges to trump's lawyers. things like could the president ordered the national guard to murder his most prominent critics? could he do that as commander-in-chief? is that within his official duties, or is that something that is well beyond something he would give immunity for? could he sell nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary? things like that, when donald trump is in the courtroom, even donald trump saying he could shoot someone in the middle of fifth avenue. his own words. those are the kinds of hypotheticals, i think, the judges are really going to press donald trump's lawyers on. >>list, if all three of those questions he posts, if the answer is not a flat out no, immediately, we are all in trouble. so, let me ask you about. this new today, jack smith is responding to trump's effort to hold him icoempt of court. smith filed his opposition to trump's contempt motion late friday, saying prosecutors have not violated any court orde adding they ll continue to meet pretrial delines,

including filing a witness list. that will happen on february 19th. so, kristie, the filing that annoyed trump was jack smith asking judge tanya chutkan to prevent him from quote, raising a relevant political issues or arguments in front of the jury. was that unusual? i'm curious how you rationalize it. what are chances jack smith could still face contempt charges? >> so, the motion that was filed by jack smith's team is a standard motion. it's called a motion illuminate. it's to exclude certain evidence from being before the jury, as opposed to arguments before the court. one of the arguments that donald trump has made is a motion to dismiss on the basis of it be vindictive prosecution. that this is the in justice department. this is the biden indictment. that is an issue for the court to decide. that is not an issue that goes towards his guilt or innocence on the criminal charges. it's not a defense that the jury would be permitted to

hear. so, what jack smith is doing in that direction is entirely proper. this is not a campaign trail. this is a trial. it's not a political arena, it is a courtroom. there's certain evidence it's not permissible for a charade here, but you don't want the jury to be considering politics when deciding these matters. he wants to focus on the evidence, and you want them to focus on the legal standards, as to whether or not he's guilty or innocent, that whether they think they like donald trump's politics and that's the basis for their decision. so, it's a perfectly appropriate motion for him to have made. now, there is a stay in the district court case, and that means everything is on hold. and jack smith filed this anyway. so donald trump is saying he should be held in contempt for having filed this motion, when there is a hold on everything. that is ludicrous. generally speaking, there is no requirement because there is a stay in place for donald trump and his lawyers to do anything.

they don't have to respond to this motion at this time. they don't have to review the discovery and evidence that the special counsel's office is providing. there is no requirement for them to do anything. and typically, defense attorneys like what the arguments are. they like to get discovery. these are things they want to have. so, there is no harm to them and there, certainly no contempt, because jack smith said to the court, even though there is this stay, i'm going to continue to meet with headlines anyway. at no point of the church say don't do that. he was transparent about it. so, there's no contempt here. it's a completely focus claim by his defense. >> at least ump's defense attorneys are sticking with the program. usually it's the light, the light, light, or throw everything you can at the wall and see what sticks. clearly, they are continuing in those vans. let me ask you about what some analysts expect the d.c. circuit to do, which is to punt the unity issue to the supreme court. how do you expect the d.c. appeals judges to handle this? do you think it could be resolved in time to hold a

trial before november election day? >> so, i expect the d.c. court of appeals, after tuesday, will issue an order quickly. by the end of the month. just a matter of a few weeks, and they will affirm the district court's decision finding, donald trump does not have immunity from federal criminal prosecution. in this, case can go forward. i expect with the d.c. court of appeals will also do is put its decision on hold, for some brief period of time. a week to two weeks. unless donald trump petitions the supreme court in that timeframe. what that will do is that it's going to eliminate the normal rules to apply. under the normal rules, he'll get 45 days to seek a re-hearing before the entire d.c. court of appeals. he also gets 90 days to petition to the supreme court. if the d.c. court of appeals preempts that's, and says we're putting this on a hold, unless you petition to the supreme court, it fast-tracks us straight to the supreme court.

i think that's what the d.c. court of appeals will do. then, the question is, what will the supreme court do when this is before them? will they take it up quickly, or will they drag this out? i think the supreme court will take this up quickly, especially because they have this other issue that they're dealing with, that is disqualification from the ballot. i think the supreme court is going to find -- comes out donald trump's way. going to want to be able to not say they are tipping the scales one way or another, so, i think they will also take this issue of immunity, which is clearly a loser for donald trump, up quickly. >> okay, christian greenberg, we'll see if your predictions are correct, as they usually are. thank you so much. well, he has one job, in the world is watching him this weekend. that story is next. is next (music) have heart failure with unresolved symptoms? it may be time to see the bigger picture. heart failure and seemingly unrelated symptoms, like carpal tunnel syndrome,

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to reverse the signs of early gum disease. parodontax, the gum experts. secretary of state antony blinken kicked off his middle east today with a meeting with turkish president, receptive erdogan. it was the first stop of another whirlwind diplomatic tour aimed at the escalating the rising tensions in the middle east. well, today, shelling between israel and lebanese militant group hezbollah intensified. hezbollah says e strikes were a preliminary response, to the assassination of a top hamas leader in beirut this week. blinken's weeklong trip will include stops in israel, the occupied west bank, and for arab nations. joining me now, happily here in studio, democratic congresswoman from --

sits on the firm -- glad to welcome you here my, fellow l.a. girl. so, let me ask you about secretary blinken, who's got a heck of a challenging week ahead of him. what do you see as the biggest risk right now he's got to address? >> he is definitely going to be wrapping up some more miles. he has to go there. he has to remind israel that a stop to the indiscriminate violence is important, making sure that we are not only getting more aid into gaza, but distributing it, it's incredibly important. thankfully, he and the biden administration were able to convince israel to open up the kerem shalom crossing, so we can get more aid in. but we're looking at an acute risk of famine, food and water insecurity, and we've also seen the houthis are acting up in the red sea, impacting our supply chain. so, he's got a lot of conversations we have to have. not just with israel, but also with partners in the region. >> the fact is, he has to protect our interests as well. the u.s. interests. and you bring up the point about the houthis, and i'm sick urias about how secretary blinken can go about addressing that, and iran-backed militant

group. and the secretary said we do not want to take up issues with iran. but the houthis, we have to figure out what we're going to do. is the question to launch military attacks on the houthis, and how to keep it clear, this is houthi-oriented, not iran-oriented? >> it's definitely an exercise in compartmentalization, right? you do not want to have an expansiveness happen with regards to the conflict in the region. the reality is, i think they're recruiting, so, they are using these attacks on the commercial vessels as a way to drive up recruitment. we know 30% of all of the cargo that ships through the, to us, comes through the red sea. we could see an impact with inflation. obviously, an increase in fuel supplies, and a delay in all the goodies that we want, right? so, he has to tell them, along with some of our western allies, back off. stop doing this. you are not doing this because you care about the palestinians, you are doing this because you have your own agenda, and we're watching you.

>> so, there is, no the big shipping giants are four and, to having her tail, that it does add time. it does that money. but that then constitutes and argument for blinken to go into this area and say, this is the u.s. interest. maybe just economic, but this falls under his perimeter as well? >> absolutely. i mean, we also have to take into consideration russia and china are behind the scenes, right? acting as agents, trying to drive up a lot of this conflict, because they have interest as well, to really impact our democracy. and the economic market. so, while you may not think it has anything to do with the secretary of state's responsibilities, it does. >> is this. let's talk about gaza, because you mentioned just the tragedy, a humanitarian crisis there as well. the united nations is saying nearly half of the population is at risk of survey shun. you have over 85% of the gazans that are now being displaced, unicef's executive director

says children in gaza are caught in a nightmare that worsens with every passing day. congress, you are part of that esteemed body. what can congress do to address this humanitarian issue? >> we have to continue to talk about it. the fact that you have seen indiscriminate violence, we have to talk about it, and we have to encourage israel to lower its intensity, to be more targeted and decisive with its military operations, to recognize the world is watching, to remind them that they have to be doing all of this in accordance with international law, and also, to talk about international aid, and humanitarian aid into gaza. then, we also need to be encouraging our partners around the world to come to the table with the arab world to talk about what comes next for the palestinians. >> let's talk about what individuals are talking about. i'm going to ask my director to put up what is under elizabeth warren posted on x, because she's talking about the potential of conditions being added to the military and

financial aid we are giving to israel right now. here's what she posted. the u.s. cannot write a blank check for a right-wing government that's demonstrated an appalling disregard for palestinian lives. the u.s. should use all the tools that its disposal to condition aid and move the parties towards a lasting peace. let's move to what senator bernie sanders went on to say, which was, the u.s. should end any further aid to netanyahu's government. where do you land on the spectrum? >> yeah, big words. i think if you are writing checks, you have a right in the responsibility to ask questions. aid is important. the iron dome is important. doing things in accordance with international law is also important, and if you're not afraid of the truth, you shouldn't be afraid of the questions. >> okay. representative sidney kim walker, dog, let me see, wearing the gold next time, over the cargo. we are usc girls. it is one of those. all right, sorry, ucla. thank you. team trump puts pressure by name on the supreme court

justices. that story ahead, and our next hour. hour

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