you expect oral arguments would be quick? >> they can do it. they can expedite this. if you remember bush v. gore. the election was november and the decision was a month later. so if they take the case, how quickly it moves it on the supreme court. they can expedite the briefing schedule. they can can expedite the oral arguments and the decision. if they don't, this trial is not happening. >> the waiting is the hardest part. if you're donald trump's team, you love the waiting because delay, delay, delay has been their tactic. thank you very much. always good to have you. and that is going to do it for me today. "deadline: white house" starts right now. hi, everyone. it's 4:00 here in new york. what we on this program like to call earth two, the world that

today's republican party lives in, is meeting the cold, hard reality of earth one today. one of the few things house republicans have done in the last year is expose not just a bunch of lice, but a vehicle for something far more sinister. questions are swirling about the fate of house republicans into joe biden. justice department now says that an fbi informant that made up corruption allegations about joe biden and his son hunter was actually fed information by russian intelligence. that shocking revelation came in a court filing in which special counsel davidwise asked a judge the to keep the informant detained pending trial. doj said, quote, during his custodial interview, he admitted that officials associated with russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about business person one, who is reportedly hunter biden. prosecutors say that smir november sits at the heart of

the disinformation campaign. his contacts extensive and extremely recent. more from the filing. his efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the united states continues. the court should consider this conduct as well when evaluating his personal history and characteristics. what this shows is that the misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. he is actively peddling new lies that could impact u.s. elections after meeting with russian investigation officials in november. these allegations, they would be troubling enough on their own, but you add to that the fact that he got a massive assistance in spreading disinformation from republican members of congress and the right wing media. >> this is the biggest political corruption scandal not only in my lifetime, but i would say the past 100 years. >> him doing a shakedown of bah rees reez ma, it's explosive.

>> the most corroborating evidence we have is that form from the highly credible confidential source. >> republicans were so eager to get their hands on that form, that fbi document, which contained the now debunked allegations that house oversight committee james comer even threatened to hold director wray in contempt. now with jim jordan's confidential human source expose ed as a serial liar with deep ties to russian intelligence, the calls to put an end to an investigation that was already on thin ice are growing louder. here's ranking member jamie raskin. >> i think it destroys the entire case. he was the foundation of the whole thing. he was the one who came forward to say that burisma had given joe biden $5 million the and that was concocted out of thin air.

so it was that foundation that the whole house of cards has been built on. and the entire thing has collapsed. but we don't even have to rely on his own words because there's been somewhere near a dozen witness who is is have completely repudiated and refuted these allegations. >> that's where we start this hour with investigations correspondent tom winter. also with us is former prosecutor at the justice department andrew wiesman. and writer at large and msnbc contributor tim miller. what are prosecutors saying about his ties to russian intelligence? >> you read the key quote there. effectively saying when he landed here, and we put him in handcuffs, we have him. he's in our grasp we asked him about it and he said russian intelligence officers gave him the information behind business pern one.

so it's clear as day in the documents. as far as this detention memo, i have not personally seen a detention memo that lays out an unclassified form the level of detail and the information that was gathered by smir november that was passed along to the fbi. this is not somebody that walked into the fbi a year or two ago and said i have all this stuff on joe biden and hunter biden. this is somebody who has a ten-year relationship with the fbi. opened out of the seattle field office led by a handler there, a handler who according to federal prosecutors, they spoke on a day by day basis. at one point had his personal cell phone. who got the video of him leaving. viewers have been hearing me click claking away here. they have been refreshing the docket on the l.a. case where

the federal prosecutors in the last hour or so have gone to the court there and are asking the court in california, which will ultimately control this case and the judge there to say, hey, we want you to reconsider this idea of him being out pending trial. here's everything we provided. it you need more evidence, we will provide it. certainly presented in a hearing if we can get one. they are waiting to see if a judge will give them that hearing. but i think when you look at this and the arc of it, this is somebody that had been providing information to the fbi for a long time. in speaking to people, just based on my experience and speaking to people who have done this work in the past, there's a point sometimes or somebody's personal biases get in the way. that's one of the things that handlers are trained to look

for. it's something they are trained to keep an eye to. the idea that 1023 form, it would be as if somebody was in the room with us leading up to the show starting and we're talking about microphones and ear pieces and they just wrote down what you and i said. but there would be no fact checking to figure out what tom said was correct or, but by memorializing those notes, it's so central to the indictment in what's alleged, they are able to say, okay, this person is saying they had the meetings at this time or phone calls of this specific time. a number of years ago. let's go back to what he was telling us at the time. does that add up? does that make sense? is that truthful? does he travel at that time. was hunter biden even in ukraine where this confidential human source says there might be tapes of him at this hotel. they say he's never even been to ukraine. this doesn't address the gun charge, this doesn't address the tax charges that hunter biden's team will be quick to point out we paid those back.

they have filed a number of motions to dismiss in those cases over the past 24 hours and earlier in the gun case. this doesn't address that. but as far as the central claim as you spoke to that congress has been putting forward, that we have this person who is providing information credibly, it does appear he did at different points and has sol knowledge of russian organized crime, which is how we became on the radar. i'm sure adrew is nodding to this. that's an area these individuals come forward to the fbi. and russian organized crime is totally intertwined with the russian intelligence community. there's a real sim bee yacht you can relationship there. but the idea of this individual kind of pivoting off of that and how does congress become aware of what alex ander smir november was saying. how do we get to a point that this is something congress is waving around and that's

apparently a key component to the republicans impeachment inquiry. certainly a lot of questions this afternoon. >> a lot of questions. in their filing yesterday, prosecutors said smirnov's anticipated travel from the united states on friday of last week, two days after his return, was for the purpose of meeting with russian intelligence officials. ohio help us understand why smirnov was released yesterday. >> i was actually quite surprised that he was released. it's worth noting that the magistrate judge who did that did impose gps monitoring, did insist that his passports be surrendered to pretrial services. so the magistrate judge did impose limits. i'm not surprised by tom's reporting that the government is appealing that.

it's an article three federal judge to oversee that and to rehear the case. the reason i'm not surprised is because the government laid out not just the, tensive ties to wealthy foreigners, not just this particular defendant's own wealth in somewhat masked forms that he has access to a lot of money, according to the government, but also he is actually a citizen of a foreign country and not just any foreign country. of israel, where it would be incredibly hard to extradite him if he were to flee to israel. there's many reasons to think that he is a flight risk, which is a key issue. there are also concerns he was less than candid with pretrial services in his interviews about his wealth and his connections. so wouldn't be surprised if a district judge reverses this and

we'll wait and see what happens there. >> andrew, earlier my colleague tom winter said ann true knows all about this. so let's remind folks why it is you'd know about this. you worked on the mueller probe. your reaction to this news that an fbi informant, who made explosive claims about bidens's ties to russian intelligence, are they meddling in our elections because donald trump, because republicans are welcoming it. >> sure. so let's first have everyone understand right now what we have is the government's submission. it's not evidence that has not been it'sed yet. so everything i'm going to say is assuming there's allegations are true and can be shown to be true. i sort of have two thoughts.

one goes to the fact that russian disinformation was something that was obviously uncovered and laid out not just in the mueller report, which i worked on, but also the in a senate bipartisan report that republicans and democrats signed on to talking about russian efforts to not meddle, meddle sounds so besign, to actually influence the 2016 election. but fast forward, what you're covering and the clips you played, that's something that's still going on, but it's inside the house. what you used to be 2016 interference that reallies and democrats understood was a threat to our country, it should be a bipartisan issue. you know who should get to decide american elections? americans who can vote. that's not a democratic or

republican issue. but what you're seeing now is that all of those concerns are now being weaponized in a way that is so fund thely at odds with what any person who believes in having a true and fair election based on facts and policy differences should be against. so that's sort of point one. point two is just about the department of justice and thinking about the current department of justice and the tpt of justice in the trump administration. because that's what we will be facing if he's reelected. all of the thoughts that many people have pointed out with respect to merrick garland, you have an administration that appointed a special counsel for the sitting president. you have an administration that appointed a special counsel for

the son of the sitting president. you have charges that were brought by the special counsel with respect to the sob of the sitting president. you know what you didn't have? you didn't have a misleading summary by the attorney general spinning any sort of report. you didn't have is what we had to deal with when worked with special counsel muellerer, which was day in and day out worrying about the president of of the united states pulling the plug and ending the investigation or obstructing the investigation. and so think what you're seeing here is you have a special counsel who has brought charges with respect to hunter biden, but also which obviously you could have people who were democrats thinking they are upset by that, but you also have charges against an informant who was really trying to solicit russian disinformation and weaponize that. so it's a very bipartisan effort

on the special counsel's part, which is how the department of justice is supposed to work. it's a testament to them that that is what they are doing. regardless of whether it sort of helps or or hurts democrats or republicans. >> i thinken andrew weisman hit the nail on the head. election interference has been and should be a bipartisan issue. yet here we are. we find ourselves with republican leadership that in no way wants to reckon with the foundation of what is happening here. >> absolutely. i want to put a finer point opt how this is coming from inside the house of representatives. inside the republican conference. this is ab unprecedented and historic moment if what is alleged is true. what we have is an impeachment inquiry -- we have not had that

many of those, an impeachment investigation against the president of the united states premised on totally false the information that allegedly was sourced from russian intelligence. it was source tropical depression our foe. and frankly, kind of preposterous information, let's be honest. the notion that joe biden took $5 million and had some web of bank accounts that were so complex that it would take ten years to unravel, that was one smirnov's claims. it's laughable. the cia could not have uncovered this but elise stefanik and byron donalds could. it was a preposterous accusation. for republicans to push this false information about the sitting president and become tools in a foreign power, in a foe's effort to interfere in our elections, to tear down the sitting president of the united states, to prop up his rival and

it is, again, assuming that what is in the government's claims here are accurate, and don't see any reason to not assume that, but assuming they are accurate, this is the scan the dal of historic proportions. i would like to put it in context. it's akin to imagine if during the cold war in the '80s, the soviets had trumped up some fake information about ronald reagan being on the take and the democratic house had opened up ab inquiry into him. that would be something that would be echoing and talked about in conservative media. so the fact that this is happening now that there's one party that's complicit in this, i don't think the significance can be understated. >> to put an even finer point on your fine point, you say it could have been a scandal of epic proportions. i want you to take a listen by contrast to what jim jordan had to say about it today. take a listen. >> what do you think of the smirnov indictment? >> it is what it is.

it doesn't dhang the fundamental facts. >> it does change the facts. they are not true. >> the things i just said are absolutely true. >> tim, is what it is? >> it is what it is. the russians are trying to take down the sitting president with fake information. and it is what it is has cover for say whag he really thinks which is good. which is that we want the that. and that's really the dark underbelly of this. many members of the republican party are happy to use russian information in order to take down joe biden and prop up donald trump. it's just that they have bye-bye caught this time. and there's a factual matter. i have seen the longer version of that press conference and the four points that remain true, a couple of those are not true too. he continues to rely on this notion that joe biden was somehow influencing the ukrainian prosecutor that has been debunked.

it hasn't been debunked as clearly as this fabricated claim by smirnov about the $5 million corruption. >> thank you all so much for getting us started. andrew is sticking with me. we have a lot more stories to cover today. up next, donald trump, again, says it out loud that he knowingly just did not comply with turning over his classified documents. and there's now real tension between jack smith and the judge on the future of this case. plus the other jack smith criminal case into the ex-president, who the special prosecutor spoke with about trump's efforts to overturn the election loss. an update on both of those cases coming up. and later in the show, the new york a.g. is ready to seize donald trump's buildings in new york city. all those stoies and more when "deadline: white house" continues after this. "deadline: white house" continues after this with a streamlined shipping network. and new, high-speed processing and delivery centers.

for more value. more reliability. and more on-time deliveries. the united states postal service is built for how you business. and how you business is with simple, affordable and reliable shipping. usps ground advantage. sometimes, the lows of bipolar depression feel darkest before dawn. with caplyta, there's a chance to let in the lyte™. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte™. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com

♪ you need t-mobile... ♪ ♪ home internet with 5g. ♪ wait! t-mobile has home internet? ♪ what a feeling! ♪ ♪ to have t-mobile now! ♪ so, you've got the power of xfinity at home. now take it outside with xfinity mobile. ♪ what a feeling! ♪ like speed? it's the fastest mobile service around... and right now, you can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan. all on the most reliable 5g network nationwide. ditch the other guys and you'll save hundreds. get a free line of unlimited intro for 1 year when you buy one unlimited line. and for a limited time, get the new samsung galaxy s24 on us.

nothing makes a gathering great like eggland's best eggs. they're just so delicious. with better nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire

i was allowed to do what i did. absolutely allowed. >> they requested them. you could have just handed them over. you have saved yourself a lot of trouble. >> i didn't have to hand them over. i would have done that. we were talking and then all of a sudden they raided mar-a-lago. >> donald trump showing once again that he truly believes he is above the law claiming at the ta town hall on fox news he was allowed to take classified document him when he left the white house and had zero obligation to turn them over, when in fact, those documents belong to the the government. whether he sbepded to or not, had he gave jack smith fresh

proof he wrongly kept classified documents at mar-a-lago. trump's comments come as tensions between jack smith and the judge could be coming to ahead. smith is expected to go to possibly overturn two of the judge's decisions, including her decision to unseal the identities of two dozen potential witnesses. he has already asked for reconsideration of her decision. a case previews what could happen with that decision saying it will be a dramatic ruling. either she reverses her position, which would be an admission she was mistaken about the law, or she leaves her ruling in place, putting individuals in jeopardy and twisting the law to help trump. at that point, smith may have enough ammunition to seek her reassignment. joining me at the table is lisa rubin. andrew weisman is back with us. do you buy that smith could be contemplating having the case reassigned?

>> i think contemplate is possible. whether he is planning on it is a different story. a lot handles. . how she handles things in the pipeline. one is as discussed in that piece you were just referencing, how she handles these classified information procedure act highway hearings that have happened. another turns on this motion toment compel that trump and the other defendants have where they are trying to get additional discovery and it turns out that the reason they want this discovery isn't because they are entitled to it as a part of their defense against the claims, but because they want to support a motion to dismiss for selective and vindictive prosecution, something they only admitted last week. so a lot turns on how the judge handle all of these things. there's some hardening news. she told the party's last night

on the motions to dismiss that trump folks can cannot file them publicly unless they have no redactions whatsoever. but she's not entrusting them to make the determination about what material in the motions needs to be redacted or sealed. she wants them to exchange it with the court and with the government first. that's unsatisfying to people like andrew, you and me who want desperately to get our hands on this, but it shows she's proceeding with caution. on the other hand, she's also told them you can file each of these motions separately. each one of them can be 25 pages long. that will allow me to to thoroughly deal with each one of them. you can imagine a is scenario they are moving on multiple grounds. and yet compile a stack of paper this high because they are allowed a 25-page brief on each one, which can only elongate and further delay the pretrial proceedings. i think some remains to be seen, but i was convinced by the slate

piece they are building a case for her. >> were you convinced, andrew? >> i wouldn't go that far at this point. i i agree with lisa that it really depends on how she rules. she's already done something unusual. she revealed information and required the government to reveal information about the identity of somebody under criminal investigation. and the government ended up complying with that. the government, as lisa said, has sought reconsideration with respect to identifying publicly the names of people and their statements that they gave to the government giving the ideas that the government said that should not be something that is put into the public realm. it's something that's known to the trump camp, but it shouldn't be made public because they have seen what has happened to

witnesses like many other people who are subjected to harassment. and so the government is trying to protect those witnesses and the truth-seeking function of the trial, that is where there's this back and forth and a motion for reconsideration. there's no question in my mind if the judge does not reverse herself, that jack smith has to take that up to the 11th circuit. why? because it has to do with the safety of witnesses. that is why you go into the government. you go in to make sure that trials are truth seeking. that people are not harmed. by doing their duty to the government and trials. that's one where if she does not reverse herself, it will go to the circuit. it is hard to imagine that the circuit would not reverse her.

remember, this would be three times a charm because there's already been two times that the 11th circuit in conservative panels have issued what can only be described as scathing rulings against judge cannon. so in that connection, it is possible that jack smith seeks to have her recused. i think at this point, it's speculative to know what he would do. it's also possible that the 11th circuit will do something that happens -- i won't say routinely, but you do see happen, which is sort of a polite recusal, where the court decides against the trial judge and then says, just for the appearance sake, this is going to be reassigned to someone else. and nobody actually moves for recusal, but the court sort of does it as quietly and politely as possible. i would think that if this happens for a third time where

the court of peels is reversing judge cannon, either because the court judge said on its own or jack smith actually moves to recuse, you could see what it is that is being reportedment coming to fruition. we justen don't know enough right now to make that prediction. >> when it comes to the comments from trump last night that he was allowed to do what he did with classifiedment documents, if you were jack smith, your ears perk up. >> yes, although it's not unlike things he said in the past. he say it is in a code words. they were my documents. he completely misreads that decision having to do with former president clinton that had to do with diaries that he took during this time in the white house to memorialize conversations with with someone with whom he planned on writing an oral history. that decision turns on the status of those documents as diaries, not the fact that they

were presidential and he got to keep them. i think jack smith is sort of building a library full of trump admissions. andrew knows better than i do that admissions are always admissible. so jack smith is building that. i want to respond to something that andrew said that is really important. the 11th circuit ruled against judge cannon twice in what he described accurately as scathing opinions. that's why i think reconsideration is not out of the realm of possibility. better to correct yourself than have a circuit smack you down for the third time, and a good judge will issue a reconsideration of a prior opinion. i clerked for a district court judge during the early months of my clerkship. i said i think we got this wrong. there's a motion for reconsideration. to my surprise rather than being angry, she said, i agree. she issued that opinion, reconsidering her own motion and finding that her prior decision

was in clear error. i'm not holding out hope that judge cannon will do so here, but a good judge takes a motion for reconsideration seriously. >> happy to have that standard set up. a georgia plays into the federal election interference case. what with know, that's next. e case what with know, that's next. as you get older, your brain slows down and i had a fear that i wouldn't be able to keep up. i heard about prevagen from a friend. i read the clinical study on it and it had good reviews. i've been taking prevagen now for five years and it's really helped me stay sharp and present. it's really worked for me. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting

and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. alice loves the scent of gain so much, whose resumes on indeed she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice

and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain!

when did you sit down with jack smith's office? >> i don't know exactly when that was.

it's been months ago. it really didn't last that long. i basically told them the same thing i told the special grand jury that i followed the law and the constitution and absentee answered all their questions truthly. >> brian kemp revealing in an interview last night he sat down for an interview with smith's office regarding donald trump's efforts to subvert the election. nbc news reported that the governor had been in contact with smith's office. kemp spokesperson declined to provide comment at the time. governor kemp resisted intense pressure from trump in the wake of the 2020 election. the ex-president called the governor to ask him to overturn joe biden's victory in the state. we are back with lisa rubin and andrew weisman. what is it that jack smith wants to know from governor kemp? >> i think what he wants to know is what governor kemp may have known from other participants in dpa. we know that donald trump called

brad raffensperger in that infamous call on january 2nd or 3rd. we also now know that donald trump reached out to then georgia speaker david ralston, who has since passed away, and tried to get the legislature to do something. think what they want to know is what did you know about those conversations and to what extent did he try to reach you too and get you vfled in some sort of scheme to overturn the will of the people in your state and to send to congress an alternate or fake slate of lek torts that they could use to keep donald trump in power. >> i want to read just a little bit from the january 6th report on trump's pressure on kemp. on december 5, president trump traveled to georgia to headline a rally, but the president's day started with a call to brian kemp, during when they discussed reconvening the legislature in a special session.

after the call, kemp took to twitter saying he had spoken to the president and told the president he supported the idea of and have already called for a signature audit in georgia. president trump responded later that night by complaining that georgia had not yet done a signature verification audit and insisted that the governor should at least immediately ask for a special session of the legislature. the following day, jeff duncan issued a statement rejecting president trump and his alies calls to overturn the results in georgia. just from that, how much do you think kemp could speak to trump's criminal intent? >> a lot. you want to make sure that people understand that jack smith and his team are going to scour the earth with respect to any effort by donald trump or his conspirators to reach out to thes various states at issue of which georgia is one, that's just one. they will have contacted everyone they can possibly think of who had had those direct

communications, whether oral or in writing, and remember there can be either donald trump himself having conversations as we correctly noted various people in georgia, obviously the famous taped phone call with brad raffensperger, but it doesn't have to be trump himself that can be people on his behalf on the trump cam pane, it can be mark meadows. all of that would be admissible under what's called the coconspirator exception to the hearsay the rule. so this reporting is important, but i want to make sure people understand that there's going to be a whole lot more than this at various staut levels, whether it's nevada, arizona, michigan, georgia, pennsylvania, that jack smut will have in his quiver and will have interviewed these people and made a decision about who to call as witnesses and thoroughly prep them.

the standard he he has to meet is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. as somebody who is experienced, he knows he has to have all these ducks in a row. i'm not surprised by the reporting. but this is very much the tip of the iceberg. it's what we can expect if and when the d.c. federal trial begins. >> if and when, thank you for that important caveat. governor kemp previously fought testifying fani willis' team for over a year until a judge ordered his appearance. why do you think he fought that and not meeting with jack smith? >> i don't know except to say that his testimony to fani willis' special purpose grand jury occurred in 2022. it maybe that having lost that battle he felt like he would similarly lose a battle over his testimony particularly served with the grand jury subpoena in jack smith's investigation. it's also a possibility that

what plays in the home state with respect to one of these investigations, it's a very different set of circumstances when jack smith's office is asking for your informal cooperation. he got to do this behind the scenes. people suspected that he had talked to them. but none of us knew that until last night or today. so as opposed towell will, where that played out publicly, brian kemp wanted to take a stand. he has claimed some ground for himself where nobody doubts his republican and yet he, like brad raffensperger, has carved out significant distance from donald trump in ways that aren't tenable for most elected republicans in other states. the other thing i want to add to what andrew said is that if you look at the federal election interference indictment, there aren't mentions of what you read from the january 6th report in their indictment in terms of the

reach out to brian kemp. that maybe at that time, they didn't yet have what they have now it could also be that they are holding some of their cards, that the facts laid out an indictment don't necessarily represent the totality of what the government is ready to prove and can prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. so i urge people to take this as a floor, not a ceiling, in terms of what jack and his team have up their sleeves. >> i love that usual casually walking around with that indictment. lisa rubin, andrew, thank you for spending time with us. coming up, a landmark ruling in alabama showing what living in a post rural america could look like. embryos created through ivf, a method millions of people use to start their famiies are ushd state law considered children. one doctor in the state says she's more concerned than ever for her patients and the future of fertility treatment. she's going to join us, next. tt she's going to join us, next

ah, you're adorable. oww! violence makes our tummies tingle. violence. violence. violence. children are the greatest joy and our best hope for a better future. friends, they are the future. but did you know that millions of kids

right here in our own backyard are facing hunger every day without healthy food it's harder to grow, to thrive, to feel their best. the impact when children don't have enough to eat is tremendous, because when you're hungry and your basic needs aren't being met, you cannot learn. that's why i'm here now, asking you to join me in helping end child hunger in america. this is a problem we know how to solve and we can do it better by supporting no kid hungry for just $0.63 a day, only $19 a month. you can help provide healthy meals like a good breakfast in class to power kids through their days. breakfast in the classroom contributes to kids being more focused, which leads to higher grades, test scores and simply just their well-being. ensuring all kids get a good breakfast and other nutritious food is a beautiful thing. it's a game changer and you can help make it happen when you join me in supporting

no kid hungry today. that food is not just food. it's energy, health, confidence, hope, and even love. yes, love. so please call now or go online to helpnokidhungry.org right now give $19 a month, only $0.63 a day. and when you use your credit card, you'll get this special team t-shirt to show that you're helping kids build a brighter future for themselves. thank you. families are struggling to make ends meet. these are hard times, but together we can help connect america's kids with meals. so please call now or go online to give. thank you. it's hard to explain what this feels like. ♪♪ moving piles of earth, just by moving a lever. ♪♪ towing up to 4,000 lbs with a machine that weighs

less than half that. cutting grass, clearing the way, and perfecting every inch of your land. ♪♪ we could keep trying to put it into words. ♪♪ but nothing compares to experiencing it for yourself. ♪♪ you just have to get in the seat. learn more at johndeere.com/getintheseat never envisioned that anybody would question the morality of ivf. i don't necessarily want to implant a child i know is going to miscare. what does that mean? does it mean we're allowed to let them pass or is it that seen as illegal? >> doctors and patients are sounding the alarm this week about what could be devastating and far-reaching consequences of the latest republican-led

assault on reproductive rights. the alabama supreme court ruld on friday that frozen embryos created through ivf are considered children under state law. the figs of its kind ruling that's left patients and doctors in alabama confused and fearful as they proceed with ivf. theoretically under that ruling could be sued for destroying an embryo. and forced to use they decide they don't need. or to store them, which can cost up to $1 yearly. ruling is impacing the availability of fertility services. the university of alabama paused procedures as it evaluates the ruling and the potential that patients and doctors could be prosecuted criminally. quote, following the standard of care for ivf treatments. joining me now is a reproductive health physician at alabama fertility. thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. talk to us about what it is you're hearing from your patients, the chilling

consequences you expect, what it is you're already seeing. >> gosh, we have seen so much sadness, anger, worry on the part of our patients. we're getting e-mails and phone the calls from patients who are ready to become pregnant. they are in the middle of their treatments, and we just don't have answers for them about what is safe or legal here in alabama. >> are you concerned about the survival of ivf services in alabama across this country? we have talked a lot about what reproductive care looks like in blue states, predicated on what is happening in red states. what becomes of people in alabama who are looking for ivf services. >> i'm very concerned about the ability for modern day ivf to continue in alabama. this will translate to fewer babies born in our state. >> pew research found 4 in 10 americans say they have had fertility treatments or know

someone who has. if you were of a certain age, this is about 50% of the conversations that you have with your girlfriends, your neighbors, the other moms this the neighborhood. talk about the confusion and the decisions specifically that ivf patients now have to make before this ruling. >> so our patients right now are making the decision about if it's safe for them to proceed with ivf, but frankly, it's the physicians who are trying to decide is this something we can offer our patients. one of my partners had to call her patients today to cancel their transfer. so these patients were ready. they were hoping and planning for this pregnancy for so long. ultimately, they were not able to undergo their transfer today. so again, there's fewer pregnancies. there's going to be fewer babies born to couples who desperately want to become parents.

>> we have heard in other states where legislation has been enacted to reduce access to reproductive care. a lot of folks who just thought this isn't going to apply to me. i'm following what is happening in the news, but i don't see how it is applicable to me and to my family. it's not until that moment of reckoning comes that it becomes very, very real. i have to imagine that there are a lot of perspective parents who have been moving through a journey that is often already emotionally very fraught, can be very expensive, to now layer on the complicated reality that the government is going to weigh in on the morality of those choices. i have to imagine you have a lot of patients who just feel absolutely sideswiped. >> correct. i think these patients say these are my embryos. why can't i make decision about

when to transfer them, when to become pregnant, patients are concerned that when they are ready to be parents, that may not be an option for them in the state of alabama. so we're worried about the viability of ivf, the viability of ivf clinics to continue in alabama. and that's bad for our state. that's bad for our patients. >> i imagine you're having a lot of conversations with attorneys right now. we have heard from a number of other prereproductive health care providers who are in a moment where i'm supposed to be making a life or death decision. and instead of being focused on my patient, i'm instead having conversations with attorneys. the context, the parameters might be slightly different for the work that you do at the same time, i would imagine that as someone who took the hippocratic oath, it's telling that you are spending as much time in your day talking to attorneys as i imagine you're talking with your patients.

>> we are. i'm a physician. i love to take care of patients and talk to patients. i don't like spending my day about the legality of what i'm doing. but unfntly, that's a reality post the decision on friday. we don't believe that the alabama supreme court intended these consequences, the largest health care center in the state is now not offering ivf treatments. we don't believe the supreme court intended this. we're really hopeful they will consider a stay or at least a revisiting of their judgment to allow us to continue to help our patients in alabama become parents. >> i just want to say if there is a stay, that probably creates a set nay yore for you given the number of people who are going to want to move expeditiously. >> you're right. it's a balance of time with what is safe and legal. the physicians across the state are committed to working with the government to figure out how we can safely offer care to

patients. there's a meeting the last few days where we met. we are all in the same team trying to figure this out for our patients, but we're concerned that patients who can afford it frankly will leave the state, leaving those behind who are not able to afford to travel to receive care. >> thank you so much for taking the time to be with us as you sort through all of this yourself. up next, new numbers show the ex-president legally else ball battled president spend ing a lot more money than he raised last month. i wonder why. those details, next. last month i wonder why those details, next. aaaaaaaahhhh kayak. search one and done. cut! another health insurance commercial, another aqua-aerobics scene. yup. most health insurance companies see us all the same: smiley seniors golfing, hiking... don't forget antiquing. that's why i chose humana. they see me, not a stereotypical senior. i'm pre-diabetic, so i talked one-on-one

with a humana health educator who really helped me. now i'm taking free cooking and meditation classes. not aqua-aerobics? better care begins with listening. humana. a more human way to healthcare. - it's payback time. all these years you've worked hard, you've fixed it, you've looked after it, maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you. - we've invested in our home, we've worked on it. - we had a whole lot of equity just sitting there. - you paid down the mortgage, invested in your home, i guess you could say your home owes you. - [narrator] if you're 62 or older and own your home, learn how you can access a portion of your home equity to give you cash. a reverse mortgage can put more money in your pocket

by eliminating your monthly mortgage payments, paying off higher-interest credit cards, and covering medical costs. - look, aag can show you how a reverse mortgage loan uses your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash for almost anything you might need. - just eliminating the mortgage payment freed up a lot of cash for us. - i get to go and do what i want, when i want. - aag customers talked about the counseling they got along the way, so they know how our reverse mortgage works and how their home could help pay them back when they need it the most. - i have no worries anymore. - the fact that we're still in this home means so much. - it's done everything for us that we hoped it would do for us. - [narrator] call now to receive your free, no-obligation info kit. the kit shows you how to get you the cash you need using your home's equity with a reverse mortgage. find out how your home can start taking care of you. call the number on your screen.

- the worry every single month to make that payment was gone. - our customers' homes are taking care of them, maybe your home could do the same for you. - [narrator] call aag, the country's number-one reverse mortgage lender and get your free info kit. call the number on your screen.

former president is burning through cash at an unsustainable rate. the campaign taking an almost $9 million but spending $11 million last month. as for his political action committee, they have been pretty busy too. in january alone, they spent $2.9 million paying the president's legal fees. bloomberg reporting that money that can be used for legal fees set to run out mid-year if he keeps spending at the pace he did in 2023. and that could come just as trump is looking to ramp up spending for the general election. still to come, letitia james plan for if donald trump does not pay his multimillion dollar fine to the state. the next hour of "deadline: white house" starts right after this quick break. adline: white house" starts right after this quick break my painful cavity.

well, you shouldn't ignore that. and every time i get stressed about having to pay my bills, i just hop on the bike, man. oh, come on, man, you got to pay your bills. you don't have to worry about anything when you're protected by america's number-one motorcycle insurer. well, you definitely do. those things aren't related, so... ah, yee! oh, that is a vibrating pain. the long-lasting scent of gain flings made it smell like dave was in his happy place... ...the massage chair at the mall. but...he wasn't. gain flings with oxi boost and febreze.

if he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek a judgment enforce the mechanism in court. we will ask the judge to seize his assets. hi, everyone. it's 5:00 here in new york. and that was new york attorney general letitia james putting the ex-president on notice that his pride ask and joy, his real estate empire is fair game. telling abc news na she will seize those assets if trump fails pony up the massive amount of money he must fork over in

the wake of the judge's decision in the civil fraud trial. a decision "the new york times" described as a crushing defeat that cost cost hill all his available crash cash. a total of when all is said and done, could exceed dplr 450 million. the new york a.g. is now saying in no uncertain terms if trump can't pay up, she will not hesitate to move in. she will seize the buildings that bear his name and hinting that she's already thinking about where to start. >> we are prepared to make sure the judgment is paid to new yorkers and, yes, i look at 40 the wall street each and every day. >> she looks at 40 the wl street each and every day. imagine you are donald trump staring down this massive bill coming due. the reality of that warning from the new york a.g. sinking in. you know if you can't pay up, she's coming for your precious buildings. if you are donald trump, you

might understand a plea for lack of a better term, sweating it. here's what that looked like. last night during a fox news town hall. >> in this new york civil fraud case, this judge ruled against you for almost half a billion dollars plus interest that runs every day. it was like $8,000 a day. how will you put up that kind of money because you have a bond to put up, on the if you appeal you have to put up escrow money. that's a lot of dough. >> it's a form of navalny. it's a form of communism or fascism. >> let's be clear. it's nothing short of revolting to compare his many self-inflicted legal woes to the murder of alexei navalny, a murder that trump still refuses to condemn. it's also a sign that the looming fine in the civil fraud case and the possibility that

the a.g. could seize his buildings has finally gotten under donald trump's skin. that's where we start this hour with former attorney and deputy assistant attorney general harry litman. also with us david jolly. and here with me at the table for the hour former state department official rick stank the. harry, walk us through where we are in the countdown to when trump must pay up, whether in the form of a bond or otherwise. >> when 30 days runs another 20 something, if he wants to appeal, he's got to pony up that bond. you can think of it like a criminal defendant, who has an enormous bond. if he doesn't have it in cash, he will have to make deals with people and have clab rat and the like. but what happens if he refuses to pay? the a.g. could be soft spoken. she's rattling sabers, but it's really the law.

it's straight forward. prosecutors do it every day. federal offices have departments for asset forif i sureture. you can't -- if he assets and won't pay cash, you go to court and say we would like these please and you seize them, end of story. so it's a tang tangible routine mechanism for defendants who will not pay up. so it's a very serious kind of threat. nothing bombastic about it. >> abc news calculated that donald trump yoes more than $87,000 a day. you heard that there just in interest until he pays the full fine. there's a question of where that money is going to come from. there are those who suggested that it opens up a security risk. here you have someone who is cash strapped, who we know doesn't want to liquidate his assets, which is what he's going to need to do to make this payment. given that he's running for president, when you step back and you think of it not just as

a legal issue, but as a national security interest, what does that say to you? >> when they are doing a background check on you before you go in the state department to become a diplomat, one of the things they look at is how much debt you have. because the debt is something that could be used and was used during the cold war to blackmail people. nancy pelosi just last week mentioned that she thought that donald trump had something that vladimir putin had something financial on donald trump. so it will make him even more reckless than he is. and he's always exaggerated his wealth. he used to be on the phone pretending to be someone else to forbes magazine saying why he should be listed as a billionaire. that's the kind of guy we're talking about. >> if we know anything about donald trump it's that he almost pathologically doesn't like to pay people unless he absolutely has to. he deeply cares about the optics we just heard. he has to pay or he has to face

the optics of a building with the name trump being bolted to the side, being seized. what is going through his mind right now? >> this is going to happen. it's just a matter of when, not if. the likelihood harry could opine on this, but the likelihood on the appeal, it's very slim. so get the cameras ready. we might all watch donald trump lose his real estate empire and the trump name come off of buildings. i what's going through his mind, this is the fats naughting thing. we conflate the legal proceedings against him. but this is one this he cannot remedy simply by being elected president. it's civil judgment in new york that louisiana sha james said has the power to undo. this is not a federal case. nots a criminal culpability case. this is something that letitia

james and the civil justice system in new york exclusively holds the remedy for. that's the panic that's setting in. sure, he's been exposed as a fraud, but even if he can manipulate the storyline around donald trump not being exposed as a fraud, what really hurts is the wealth. and the loss of his wealth. that's why you see that. >> to pick up on that point, you have written about how devastating the decision was for trump. not just in terms of the money, but existentially, the opinion institutes a body blow to the brand. trump spent a lifetime apologizing. ttans of commerce don't cough up huge judgments or ask permission to write a check. the extent to which the trump brand is propped up has been open to question. after the verdict, the brand is propped up by even less. if letitia james does seize one of his buildings, what kind of body blow is that for trump? >> as always, what david said,

just think a about the day and the bowls of popcorn as the big trump name comes down from trump tower. empire state goes up. it is really he always exaggerates his brand, but there are naums everywhere, certain kind of stuff that goes away. he's just one other guy on the street. a former real estate tie con. and the brand he spent a lifetime building next to his liberty is a thing he wants to preserve and his odds of doing it as david just said, have really plummeted. >> here's the thing, which the four of us, we understand this is disgorgement. this is the return of ill gotten profits. but that's not the story he's going to be out there telling. he's going to say look at the government taking away what i spent a lifetime building.

he's going to weave this into a false narrative that his base is likely to buy hook, line and sinker. >> sadly, i think navalny analogy is going to stick. you saw newt gingrich trial balloon it even before donald trump grabbed it and used it. so this is victimhood not to the absurd, but to the disgusting. you say to donald trump, if you truly think donald trumps was being exposed to the same level of criminal justice that putin has used for navalny, james would have pushed donald trump out of a high-story window. this is apples and oranges. navalny had a secret trial where the evidence was not given to him. he was charged with essentially speaking out against the ruling regime. that is not this case. this is a case of fraud where donald trump lied about his finances, lied about his records, to secure loans he wasn't qualified for. cheating the sl and cheating

taxpayers. donald trump will use this as victimhood. the good news here is when we see this happen, sure, it works to ramp up intensity among republicans. it is not an affective message. it simply isn't. it focuses in on for donald trump on all the wrong issues when it comes to general election voters. >> wat did you make of that navalny comment? >> i thought it is obscene. navalny is one of the most courageous freedom fighters in human history. came back to challenge a dictator. donald trump supports that dictator. he didn't mention putin once in his criticism. navalny was trying to win freedom for his people. trump used the freedom to fleece people. it couldn't be more opposite. i hope it has some renaissance in the general election campaign despite what david said, because it's really appalling. >> today you had president biden

actually the calling out trump for refusing to condemn vladimir putin. take a listen. >> after putin most fierce opposition leader navalny died in a russian prison last week, the former president and otherment republicans refused to hold putin accountable for his death. instead trump said the death made him realize how bad america is. putin is responsible for navalny's death. why can't trump just say that? >> talk to me about that contrast. >> let's talk about why donald trump won't say anything. clearly, he's under the influence of vladimir putin, where he has sympathy for his agenda and refuses to stand up for the national security interests of the united states and those of the west. and what joe biden is doing is reminding the nation that vladimir putin not only is a dictator and a bad person, but russia is an adversary under his leadership. all things that donald trump

fail to recognize. and as we spoke earlier in the week, this is more than just donald trump now. this appears to be republican orthodox. this providing equity to russia and to putin and it's very dangerous. so whether it is a politically affective issue for the sitting president in really doesn't matter. this is the etc. pence of presidential leadership of sober governing by joe biden to remind the nation and remind the world that vladimir putin and russia are a threat to western security interests, but so is donald trump. >> forgive me, i think that is exactly right. there's so many trumpisms where it is eases sit to forget he's talking about changing the fabric of this nation. the way that he talks about immigration, the way that he talks about asylum, that's changing the fabric of this nation. the way that he talks about democracy and authoritarianism. that's about changing the fabric of the nation.

that's not something that just happens on one day. that is something that happens bit by bit. and that is why you need a leader like president biden coming out and very clearly tribing to the american public this is not who we are and this is not who we want to be. >> i would put an even larger context. every american president since wilson has campaigned abroad for democracy. has tried to enlarge the circle of freedom for people around the world. that got particularly strong after world war ii, during the cold war when it was this existential struggle between russia and america. donald trump knows nothing of this. he's the beneficiary of it. but he can't actually embrace those values. the question is whether american voters will see it that way and whether american voters will realize this is something that we're proud of as americans that we want to continue to do, which is why we need a president like

joe biden and we can't have someone that wants to undermine it like donald trump. >> we know the narrative that donald trump is going to try to spin. part of the groundwork he's set is he's repeated this is a victimless crime. you had a.j. james speaking to that point. take a listen. >> fm frauds are not victimless crimes. he engaged in this massive amount of fraud. it wasn't just a simple mistake, a slight oversight. the variations were wildly exaggerated. and the extent of the fraud was staggering. >> how do you drive that point home? >> again and again or at least in court, it's not just financial fraud. none of these are vick limbless crimes. at least two of them strike at the heart of american national intelligence interests. what he's saying here about is it fash u. or dom nism in

comparing himself to navalny, it's a through line that goes back to 2016 at least and his cozying up to putin has true national security consequences and the entire national security apparatus will say that. but at this point, this particular narrative with navalny is utterly nauseating. it makes me sick to my stomach even to say it. it's an extreme example of really what he's been doing with cozying up to poout for many years and putin's reciprocating and wanting to spread information to further his own electoral chances. it goes directly to national security interests. >> there's one final piece we haven't gotten to yet. i just want to make sure we get to it before we go to break, which is the question of trump's legal fees. new filings show in january trump's leadership pac paid $2.9 million to law firms racked up

unpaid legal bills, trump's in law vowed every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the rnc that is electing donald trump as president of the united states and saving this country, which david jolly is really code for bailing out donald trump. >> they will rationalize that solving donald trump's legal issues are part of getting him elected. what this question about how he pays for the legal bills, where that ties into what letitia james is this it seals down to the fact that donald trump is a liar and a cheat who can't be trusted. to the american voter, just as took advantage of the banks, he's taking advantage of you. is that somebody that can sit in the oval office and represent the broad interest of the united states or always going to be looking out for himself because his behavior thus far in these cases answer that question for you. >> all of my friends are sticking with me. when we return, alarm bells at

the supreme court as justice alito is raising questions about the ruling that made marriage equality legal in this country how the right wing is trying to push its ideology on americans less than two years after dismantling roe v. wade. also we continue to wait for two big supreme court rulings on whether donald trump can remain on the ballot in colorado. whether he has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution and it comes at a time when the approval rating is struggling. and later the los angeles ballerina detained on suspicion of treason and alleged crime a $51 donation to a charity to help the people of ukraine. "deadline: white house" continues after a break. don't go anywhere. " continues after a break. don't go anywhere. everyday, more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmer's dog. made by vets and delivered right to your door

precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. ♪♪ las vegas grand prix choose t-mobile for business for 5g solutions. because t-mobile is helping power operations and experiences for hundreds of thousands of fans with reliable 5g connectivity. now's the time to accelerate your business. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪)

you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers0 grams for your business.otein. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to

75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening.

a year and a half after the fall of roe v. wade, there's new alarm. having to do with another constitutional protection. that of marriage equality. that's because a five-page statement from justice aito is casting a growing sha doefr over the decision. in this new statement, he explains why the court declined to consider an appeal this another case when involving an employee of the missouri department of corrections suing her department insisting she was retaliating against by a colleague after she began same sex relationship with his former spouse. from nbc news, during the jury selection process, the employee's lawyer asked potential jurors if they had

religious believes or that people who are homosexuals shouldn't have the same rights as everyone else. the judge in question ultimately excluded the jurors who described such conservative christian believes resulting in appeal brought by missouri's republican attorney general. that's where the statement comes in. he agreed with the decision not to take up that appeal for technical legal reasons. but said it raises important issues. alito wrote the case highlighted what he views as the negative impact of the decision. he warned that people who opposed same sex relationships for religious reasons would be branded big the of thes. let's bring in harry litman and david jolly. the case in question is a complicated one. not so complicated the disdain for the supreme court's decision. >> not just disdain, but pretty much pinky swear that he's coming for it. i think that his framing of his

objection to this decision is so clearly quintessential framing of religious liberty is the paramount constitutional interest. it's the only constitutional interest. but maybe more you are jntly, it's only religious will be liberty for some people and what we can kind of squash in that calculous is the interests of people to have jurors who are unbiassed and who will judge them fairly. so i think this is really part of the post dobbs world, where the court said we're going to constrain this and confine this decision to abortion. don't worry, we're not coming after contraception. we're not coming after marriage equality. we're not coming after anything else. clearly, that was something we never should have believed in because they are coming after

all of it. >> only two members of the court who ruled in favor remin on the bench. how legitimate is this fear? >> extremely. if you really read dobbs seriously, it's almost impossible to distinguish it from a principle overruling or the same opinion on it, and to that point, everything she says i agree with, but remember, these kinds of challenges are supposed to be to discriminate. we have a special rule you can't do this on race, but anything else, your views on modern medicine or vegetarianism or baseball, they are all fair game. they are reasons to have somebody off a jury. exactly as she was saying, alito wants to elevate religious sentiment to that view of race or even higher. but there are three or four

obvious pinky swear is a great way to put it, votes for it already. the chief justice would be aghast, but he would be at dobbs. it's a serious prospect and particularly because if you take what they said seriously in dobbs, very hard to get around defense. >> you take that and put it side by side with this news we're the getting out of alabama. the full picture becomes clear. this was never just about abortion. it was about an entire suite of issues. it was about redefining power and control. >> that's exactly right. and you may recall that in the wake of dobbs, an awful lot of people made the point that harry just made. there's no principled way to differentiate. the whole bucket of constitutional protections for interracial marriage, for the use of contraception within a

marriage, for marriage equality, all of that falls away when you pull out the jenga piece that was due process, the right to bodily and family autonomy. so we kind of i think those of us who looked at dobbs and said -- to his credit, clarence thomas in his opinion overtly said all of this is gone. i don't know what we were thinking when we took them at their word this was going to be to abortion. >> you think about the moments when there were so many advocates who said they are coming for roe. and people said, no, don't be ridiculous. roe falls. they say i hope everyone understands we're not just talking about abortion. this is going to have a series of impications. people said, no, don't worry. you're being dramatic. we're now living with the truth

of everything that was forewarned by those advocates. >> i'm going to take it up a step even higher. you mentioned the alabama case. this is a kind of white christian legal nationalism kind of philosophy. and which is so misbeheaded. there are 7,000 odd words in the constitution and the 27 amendments. not one of those words is god. it's not mentioned. the founders were escaping from an established religion in england that it's completely separate. and what alito said is just kind of nonsensical. in his opinion, he seemed to say that people who are prejudiced against gay people might have prejudiced against them. therefore, we have to reverse gay marriage so no one feels bad about it. it's a little bit insane. >> the "washington post"

associate editor suggests the decision puts alabama firmly in thee yog ra sit territory. but so, too, has been the idea of separation between church and state. we were just talking about that. i think we understand the danger kboining religion and law making, but we're talking about the potential of a second trump term. where that's going to be the actual core. there's great reporting just yesterday in politico about the fact that a lot of these folks are going to be central to the policymaking were this to be a second trump term. this is not something that has happened in the past. it's something that could be forthcoming. >> that's right. you can add in the culture wars in florida. and i think what conservatives

both jurists and politicians continue to get wrong is all of these advancements they are trying to make are being made based on what are exclusively religious tenants. belief in the beginning of life, the belief in traditional marriage, all of these are faith-based teachings, either evangelical teachings or other faiths, but they are exclusively the jurisdiction of faith-based communities and churches and institutions of faith. and the reason they are getting it wrong and trying to advance those causes through government is that it will never work because it creates such conflict. the appropriate place to do this in the united states under our constitution is to empower and celebrate the independence and the liberty of the churches. and the synagogues and the mosques and the institutions of faith. imagine if they said we want to celebrate traditional marriage or we want to celebrate the life begins at conception and do that within the liberty of faith-based institutions and governments stay away from us. now you're in a perfectly safe constitutional groupds that does not encroach on the liberties

and believes of others. and recognizes the pluralism of our cob convictions as a diverse country. that's why they keep tripping over themselves. under certain situation, you'll see these moves overturned. they are out of step with the country wants to be. >> we have to continue this conversation. no one is going anywhere. when we return, we're awaiting two big rulings from the supreme court about the disgraced ex-president. it will have a major impact on the election. whether he can stay on the ballot in colorado or immune from prosecution. it comes as the court finds himself in a crisis of public confidence. that's next. that's next. with powerful retinoids to renew millions of surface skin cells while you sleep. plus, it hydrates better than a $100 retinol cream. wake up to smoother, younger-looking skin with olay retinol24. learn more at olay.com this has been medifacts for olay.

- [female narrator] five billion people lack access to safe surgery. thousands of children are suffering and dying from treatable causes. for 40 years, mercy ships has deployed floating hospitals to provide the free surgeries these children need. join us. together, we can give children the hope and healing they never thought possible. it's a mission powered by love, made possible by you. give today. with so many choices on booking.com there are so many tina feys i could be. so i hired body doubles to help me out. splurgy tina loves a hotel near rodeo drive. oh tina! wild tina booked a farm stay to ride this horse. glenn close?! with millions of possibilities you can book whoever you want to be. that's my line! booking.com

booking.yeah the first time you made a sale online with godaddy was also the first time you heard of a town named dinosaur, colorado. we just got an order from dinosaur, colorado. start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. start for free at godaddy.com

the decision we're expecting from the supreme court on donald trump's alleged criminality will be historic. but so too is the lack of faith in the court of the american people. according to a new poll, only 40% of adults approve of the job the justices are doing. extending a period of extraordinary dissatisfaction with the court. we are back with our panel. what has caused this dip? >> a bunch of things. i think dobbs was probably the immediate perpetrator. i think after dobbs, the whole country looked around and said, these are not or kls. these are political players. and they just took away freedom

from half the people in the country. i think the other piece of this is the drip, drip, drip of ethics scandals that we have been seeing over the last couple years reported out by politico and other places who have been covering the court as a play to play -- pay to play where if you are a multimillionaire or billionaire, even if you have interests before the court, you can pay money and take a justice of your choosing fishing. and i think the stories are deeply connected because in some sense, everything we talked about in the last segment, which is dark money, big money going to get the outcomes they want by buying the court, those same stories are the same big money is being poured into a kind of deregulatory agenda. the stuff we're seeing this year about ending agency power and authority, i think that the kind of scales have fallen off our

eyes and we're seeing the court as an institution that's kind of bought and paid for. it's not by you and me. >> we have that awareness. my question is about the court itself. is there a sense among the justices that this is the moment in which they find themselves and find themselves ruling on two extraordinary cases. >> i think that there are some justices who are well aware of what's transpired, who read the newspaper and who actually some sense hold themselves responsible for the public trust. i think there are other justices who either blame the press for reporting it, blame the law professors for mentioning it or really blame the american public for not trooeting them like the gods they see themselves to be. under your question, is a question of how many of that former camp of people who are deeply anxious about the legit ma us is of the court going into an election year where they may

decide the election, there's a clutch of justices not anxious at all. given the opportunity in the last two years to pump the brakes after dobbs, have just been willing to drive right on over the cliff. >> do you think there are reforms that rebuild that trust? >> earth ya yeah, but they are so difficult. there is an ethics piece, but try to reform the structure of the court, there's a real american resistance to it. i would add one more possible culprit, which is mitch mcconnell and the really raw brass knuckles confirmations. that's hurt the court trust. and each and every one of them is aware of it, but as it was put, they have just different reactions. others say, well, this might be a good reason not to shy away. others would say that means we have to step up and be the

supreme court and decide the big questions and the like. but i think there's an extreme awareness of it in particular on the part of the chief justice. that's part of what is driving what to some people was surprising the near unanimity of thes case in colorado that everyone expects where the court, among other thing, did you want want to be the architect of deciding an election knowing it would only debase its lower standing. >> you know i'm going to go right to the remedy of it. the thing that i would advocate is term limits for the supreme court justices. they are not the kind of super men and lowering of the guard for them is actually a fair and accurate appraisal of them. part of this is that they are seen in some ways as political hacks. we have a remedy for political hacks that's term limits.

that's not going to happen overnight, but that's something that i would advocate. >> david jolly? >> i would say conservatism is a minority movement right now. at least how conservatism is being i by the right. it's reflected when you see hard conservative supreme court. it's out of step with where the rest of the country is. there's no more david pseudoers. so it shows that the court is out of step. i would add if you're on the left, honestly, the only way to get the court back is to expand the court. you can say there's not enough appetite for that, but you better create one. because you have lost the court for a generation the way it's now been stacked by donald trump and mitch mcconnell. >> i have about 30 seconds left. i want to make sure i get to you. we're sort of sitting here waiting for these two specific big decisions. there are other big things pending before the supreme court. but as these decisions come down, it cannot help be be in

the back of our mind this is a court of who the american people do not currently hold in high regard. >> that's exactly right. i think it's also right that as harry said, that thought is probably animating the majority of the justices as they pick their way through. i want to be clear. these might be the first two of many, many such cases to come. so they are thinking the same thing you're thinking. which is we don't want to blow our capital, what's left of it, on making a mess of things. >> thank you all so much for being with us. when we return, russian authorities detain a ballerina and accuse her of treason. u.s. officials are doing to win her release, after a quick break. are doing to win her release, after a quick break.

we really don't want people to think of feeding food like ours is spoiling their dogs. good, real food is simple. it looks like food, it smells like food, it's what dogs are supposed to be eating. no living being should ever eat processed food for every single meal of their life. it's amazing to me how many people write in about their dogs changing for the better. the farmer's dog is just our way to help people take care of them. ♪ one in five children worldwide are faced

with the reality of living without food, no family dinners, no special treats, not enough energy to play. all around the world, hunger is affecting children's physical and mental health. toddlers are suffering from acute malnutrition, which stunts their growth. kids are forced to drop out of school so they can help support their families. conflict, inflation and climate have ignited the worst famine in our lifetime, and we are fed up! fed up that hunger devours dreams. fed up, that hunger destroys joy. fed up with the fact that hunger eats childhood. help us feed the futures of children all over the world by visiting getfedupnow.org. for as little as $10 a month, you can join save the children as we support children and families in desperate need of our help. now is the time to get fed up and give back. when you join the cause, your $10 monthly donation can help

communities in need of lifesaving treatments and nutrients, prevent children from dropping out of school. support our work with communities and governments to help children go from short term surviving to long term thriving. and now, thanks to special government grants, every dollar you give can multiply up to ten times the impact. that means more food, water, medicine and help for kids around the world. you'll also receive a free tote bag to share your support for children in need. having your childhood eaten away by hunger is unimaginable. get fed up. call us now or visit getfedupnow.org, today.

nbc news has confirmed the identity of yet another american in custody in russia. a 33-year-old ballerina who lives in los angeles with dual russian-american citizenship. russian officials say they detained her on suspicion of treason for allegedly donating $51 to support ukraine. russia's tral security service released this video showing her being led into a courtroom where a judge then denied her bail. as white house and state department officials say they are gathering more information

and seeking assistance for her. joining us now former ambassador to russia michael mcfall. rick is here. ambassador, talk about the conditions she could be facing. >> i don't know. i don't know for sure in her specific circumstances, but i know for sure conditions in russian prisons are horrible. obviously, alexei navalny just died in one of them. none of the people i know in those jails, they are all suffering. and i just want to plea with my american colleagues, my american citizens who might have a russian passport, don't go to russia. this place is crazy is. this place has no rule of law. $51. you just cannot believe that you're going to be okay because you're not in the spotlight or because you have american passport. i just want to remind everybody

in the order they were arrested, there are many americans in jail today. paul whealen, mark, evan, and now having an american passport does not give you immunity. please don't dpo. >> to underscore what you were saying there, this is a russian policy and a strategy of detaining americans. what do they believe they are succeeding in doing? >> i don't know. it's hard to think that putin's thinking strategically. i just think he's an evil person that wants to put his thumb to the world and say i can do whatever the hell i want and i dare you to do anything about it. that's how he killed alexei navalny. he killed him on purpose and now he's daring us to do anything. he's not impressed by our responses. and this, i think, is a deterrent to anybody to go back. but i really just think it's a

sadistic thing to show i can can do whatever i want and you can't do a damn thing about it. even with your own citizens. >> rick, you had matt miller at the state department saying russia does not recognize duel citizenship. it's therefore, difficult to get consular assistance. what more should we expect to see the government doing? >> to that point, they don't recognize dual citizenship. the idea that the fact that you could be a citizen of the united states and russia, they presume you're a russian citizen at heart. but just again to make the more macropoint, the putin government is a mafia state. to tribe what they do as transactional is a euphemism. they are completely cynical in how they use foreign affairs, how they use the citizens. they are capturing them in order to trade them.

this is the apple of donald trump's eye. the person who is abusing americans, killing freedom fighters, americans should realize that. >> ambassador, i understand that we're talking about an american here, but this comes as putin's crackdown on opposition has led to the detaining of hundreds of russian citizens from mourning the death of alexei navalny. the white house is preparing major sanctions on friday. your sense of what is necessary, especially because every question i ask about the strategy rightfully you say it is hard to know. it's hard to breakthrough upsing what is necessary to send an effective message to poout. >> so rick said something really important just now. there was a notion in the government many years ago. heard this phrase 100 times putin's transal.

he doesn't believe in anything. and unfortunately, we have been thinking in those terms for way too long. maybe these people are being arrested to be traded, but maybe he's just an evil person that wants to spite americans. and i think we need to get our head around that he is more of that kind of evil ideological character than just some transactional person. therefore, the most important thing to do is to give those fighting his empire the weapons they need to defeat him. if you want to do something to respond to this arrest, there's something republicans can do when they get back from their vacation. pass that $50 billion of military assistance, $10 billion of economic assistance, that's what putin understands. soldier wounded warriors and all they're asking from us is to give them the bullets they need to fight putin. it's very concrete to me. it doesn't have to be abstract. it doesn't have to be about

leverage. give them weapons and they will fight putin's regime. >> especially because they are rationing bullets. >> supply weapons to ukraine, these other things as awful as they are, are marginal, they're superfluous and trivial and the biggest battle in the world if you want to undermine putin and undermine his, his dictatorship is to fund our fighters, the fighters in ukraine. >> it seems that should be a very simple message and yet here we are, we find ourselves with house speaker mike johnson saying, yeah, we should do something as though he doesn't know he is the one in a position to do the doing. >> well, i have a message for speaker johnson. i don't think he's going to be -- you know, i'm not an expert on american electoral politics, and i have lots of friends who are. i don't think he'll be speaker for very long.

alleged lead he fears a vote here and the rebellion among the maga loyal folks to mr. trump and he won't be speaker any longer just like speaker mckarth e but i ask you, speaker, if you want to be around for the last few months do you want to be known the last thing of your legacy is that your the guy that blocked aid to the ukrainian fighters and six months from now come the election when russian forces are rolling over ukraine, do you want to be the one held responsible for that? that will be your legacy. i urge you to think about a different legacy. approve that money and take whatever consequences you need from mr. trump's loyal folks in the congress. i guarantee you, ten, 20 years from now when you're thinking about your short time as speaker, you will feel good about that decision, and i guarantee you that if you block it and we watch the carnage in ukraine go on and on, you will deeply regret that decision. >> ambassador michael mcfall, rick stengel, thank you very

much for being with us. we'll sneak in a quick break and we'll be right back. k in a quicd we'll be right back. n searchin't efficient. use kayak. i can't trust anything else to do the job right. aaaaaaaahhhh! kayak. search one and done.

i found a cheaper price on my meds with singlecare. did you say singlecare? i use singlecare. whenever my customers ask me if there's a cheaper price on their meds, i always tell them about singlecare. i found a cheaper price with singlecare! i know. download the singlecare app free today.

the biden administration today canceling $1.2 billion student debt from qualified borrowers. they save for payment plan making at least 10 years of payments and allegedly took out their 12,000 or less for college. education secretary miguel cardona told reporters tuesday

that the forgiveness will happen automatically with the white house saying they will directly contract other borrowers next week who are eligible and are not enrolled in the save plan. those borrowers can also expect an email from president biden that will read, in part, i hope this relief gives you a little. more breathing room. >> a break for us. we'll be right back. >> a break for us. we'll be right back. at inspirm this looks like an actual farm. it looked cute on the app. ( ♪♪ ) meanwhile, at a vrbo... when other vacation rentals aren't what they're cracked up to be, try one where you'll know what you get.

progressive makes it easy to save with a quick commercial auto quote online. so you can get back to your monster to-do list. -really? -get a quote at progresivecommercial.com. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you

have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. when i was your age, we never had anything like this. what? wifi? wifi that works all over the house, even the basement. the basement. so i can finally throw that party... and invite shannon barnes. dream do come true.

xfinity gives you reliable wifi with wall-to-wall coverage on all your devices, even when everyone is online. maybe we'll even get married one day. i wonder what i will be doing? probably still living here with mom and dad. fast reliable speeds right where you need them. that's wall-to-wall wifi on the xfinity 10g network. of your wednesday with us. we are, as always, so grateful. "the beat" with ari melber starts right now. >> thanks so much. welcome to "the beat." i'm ari melber. >> as it mounts from vladimir putin from the death of alexei