and our story, there is actually a black man that popped up on that list, one of five black families that actually purchased his family's freedom and ended up on that list and found a loophole and actually got compensated for slavery. this is the first and last time that we believe that black people were actually paid reparations. but i was just the beginning. as we learn about stories like this, generation after generation of black people that were restricted by red lines or jim crow or eminent domain, all these violent tactics that the state and local governments have used to strip black people of -- >> trymaine lee, thank you for doing the work to deliver these stories to, us and thank you very much for joining us tonight, we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. trymaine lee gets tonight's last word. the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle starts now. starts now. tonight, the house republican impeachment inquiry now on thin ice. turns out their smoking gun witness got his info from russian intelligence officials. then, the largest hospital in alabama putting all ivf treatments on hold after a

court ruling. how doctors and their patients are reacting. and the thing people don't get a vote helping ukraine. why sending money there helps people here at home, as the 11th hour gets underway on this wednesday night. ♪ ♪ ♪ good evening once again. i'm stephanie ruhle. we are now 258 days away from the election. and tonight, a huge blow to gop investigations of joe biden and new evidence of russian attempts at election interference. republicans, as you know, have been talking for months about an fbi informant who said he had proof of a bribery scheme involving joe biden, his son hunter, and ukrainian energy company. but the fbi now says the informant admits it was not true, and that he was being fed information, a made-up story that came from russian intelligence. on top of that, prosecutors say

he was actively peddling new lies just in the last few months that could impact upcoming elections. there's a lot to unpack, so let's get smarter with the help of our leadoff panel tonight. ryan reilly joins us, justice reporter for nbc news. molly jong-fast is here, special correspondent for vanity fair and an msnbc contributor. and barb mcquade joins us, a veteran federal prosecutor and former u.s. attorney for the eastern district of michigan. mr. ryan reilly, we are giving you the tough job. break this down for us. what exactly is this informant accused of? give us the story. >> so essentially, this informants relationship with the fbi dates back to 2010. so he would be about 30 at the time, he's now 43. and over the course of that time, it apparently started off somewhat informing on business relationships supposedly that he had. but then he claims to have developed these interactions with these intelligence officials over seas, specifically foreign intelligence officials, including with russia.

and had this ongoing relationship with his fbi handling for a very long time, and was giving them apparently information that was valuable, at least until recently, that they believed was mostly truthful. but back in 2020, he had planted this lie with the fbi that ended up cascading and be this major issue and becoming a centerpiece of the republican impeachment push. basically, if you ever heard anything about 5 million dollar bribes to joe biden or hunter biden, this guy is responsible for them. this is where that all originated. that is something that republicans really focused on, especially over the summer, trying to get these underlying fbi documents. and they really made it the centerpiece of their entire inquiry. in fact, and jim jordan really describe this as the heart of the investigation. and james comer also said that this was the key to this, this was going to unlock everything

-- the document, got it out there, and began the investigation there. and really, all of that has just collapsed now. because this was all just a lie that was fed way back in 2020 by someone who apparently had ties, or at least self- proclaimed ties, to russian intelligence officials. and until very recently, had been a very relatable informant for the fbi. so really just an incredible set of circumstances here, where you have this lie that was planted back almost four years ago now that is now doing something that i think the russians would be very excited about, which is basically interrupting the 2024 presidential campaign and causing these enormous impacts for the sitting president of the united states. >> ryan, this guy was in court yesterday and released within ankle bracelet. now, prosecutors are saying they want him in jail. what changed? >> so essentially, they tried to get him locked up in las

vegas. and the federal magistrate judge there said that he could be free. they asked him also to stay that decision, so they could sort of appeal that. and the magistrate judge there did not agree. so he was indeed let free. i sort of see on the screen there, covering himself up pretty well as he left. and we really don't have a photo of this individual looks like ultimately. so now what's happening is because he was arrested after coming back from this international flight into las vegas, that's where he landed, that's where he initially appeared in federal court. but ultimately, this case is going to come out of california. so now the feds have gone and said, hey, to the federal judge who's gonna handle this case in california, we'd like a review of this, can you take a second look, maybe sort of overruled the federal magistrate judge who made that an initial decision in las vegas? >> a comes as no surprise

democrats have had a lot to say about this. i want to share a bit of what democratic congressman jamie raskin said earlier. >> i think the smirnov revelations destroy the entire case. smirnov was the foundation of the whole thing. he was the one who came forward to say that burisma had given joe biden $5 million, and that was just concocted out of thin air. and so, it was that foundation that the whole house of cards has been built on. and the entire thing is collapsed. of course, we don't even have to rely on smirnov's own words, because there have been somewhere near a dozen witnesses who have completely completely repudiated and refuted these essential allegations. >> ryan, you said it a moment ago, even jim jordan said this was the heart of the case against the bidens. so now the heart is basically been ripped out of the body, what's left? >> it's a good question. you know if this was a court of law, obviously, this case never would've gotten to trial in the first place. this case never would've been brought in the first place. certainly if it had gotten to that stage, it would've been

tossed out. there's guns in this entire thing. you're saying this guy lied. but you can just look and compare what republicans were saying at the time when they thought this was so important with what they are saying now. of course, now they are saying it's not so important after all, we've got all this other stuff. but you can just look back at what they said and use your own brain and listen to what they actually said at the time about how important this was and then judging for yourself whether or not there's much else there to go with. because they really emphasize just how incredibly important this was over and over and over again. and now, we come to find out that this was something that was just made up back in 2020. it really is an extraordinary set of events. and in any other place but politics, you would have people who are probably deeply

embarrassed. but you're not going to hear, obviously, jim jordan coming out and giving an apology to the president of the united states for spreading some these baseless lies about him. >> isn't that absurd and funny and not funny and brutal and horrible, all of the same time? i want to bring molly and barb back in there. ryan is saying it in a tongue- in-cheek way. in any other venue in any other arena, it would be humiliating, but not in politics. which in theory, should be where someone hold him or herself in the highest regard. >> well, and there was a time when these congress people would resign in disgrace. >> now we live shame free in d. c.. >> exactly. but even -- you will remember even richard nixon resigned. so this was always a vibes based impeachment. they were always trying to find a high crime and misdemeanor. >> a vibes based impeachment? i really like that. >> but they were always trying to find a high crimes and misdemeanor. they were could never really find one, they thought they had one, it got debunked. and now these people resign. >> constitutional's -- vibes based impeachments for decades. i really do like that. barb, how do prosecutors begin to verify the claims of somebody connected to russian intelligence, who now admits to telling lies. i mean, your prosecutor, what

do we even do with that? >> yes, it's the reason that it is so reckless to take unverified information as the house republicans did, and try to be an impeachment on that. christopher wray, the head of the fbi, had come out earlier to say that this is information that was unconfirmed and unverified. so what i believe david weiss did here, the special prosecutor here that was investigating this case is to try to confirm the statements that the informant was making. and some of the ways you do that, for example, they -- what they did here is try to compare his own travel records with times he said he was in russia meeting with people. and they concluded that those times did not match up. so the things that he was saying could not be independently verified, and in fact, the records they did have refuted those things. and so, without any basis in fact, they have now charged him with coming forward to the fbi and making false statements.

and let me also say this, stephanie, sometimes informants make statements and you cannot verify it, you say it's unconfirmed, and you just write it off. we are not going to charge him with a crime, but we are not going to act on this, because we think this is information that is not verifiable. to charge somebody with a crime means that the prosecutor believes that they can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt that it is affirmatively false, not simply that it is unconfirmed, but that it is indeed false. so these allegations mean that a prosecutor has reviewed this evidence and found that there is evidence that these claims are false. >> molly, i am so immature, i cannot get past the fact that this man's name is smirnov. but beyond that, you can't make it for real -- i thought for sure it was code. what was your reaction when you learned that this informant in just the past few months was peddling lies that could impact our election, which as you heard, is happening in 258 days? >> look, it's very scary, but i think more importantly fox news has been selling this story since it's come out.

and sean hannity has had in numerous monologues on it. now, it's debunked. >> now it's debunked, and what are they doing with it now? >> and nobody is -- i mean if past is prologue, which it usually is, fox news is not saying we were wrong, we've been corrected, this is not true. they have just moved onto something else. so you are going to have a part of the country that does not know this was debunked. there is a pretty significant part of this country that will never hear this sort of ending of this story. all right, i want to turn to a new topic with all of you, donald trump's legal issues. this is an editorial and it's important that you understand where it was written. in donald trump's adopted hometown paper, the palm beach

post, which i assure you he at least looks at. i want to share this quote. it is time for those who remain undecided to look with a set of fresh eyes with the evidence amassing before them. there is now a growing record of court testimony and documentation tested by argument and counter argument that is laying itself out before us. kind of evidence like the 91 criminal counts in some four different trials, plus of course the hundreds of millions of dollars donald trump has to pay for recent cases here in new york. barb, we say it all the time here, the truth matters, but only if you hear it. it goes right back to what molly was saying. how important is it that all americans actually see this evidence for themselves? >> i think it's critically important, stephanie. and you know, donald trump posts continuously on truth social a lot of statements about these claims, that their baseless, that it's a witch hunt, that it's a hoax, that its election interference. but in fact, like the article you just cited is so important, because it looks at objective facts, like the fact that a jury has found that donald trump engage in sexual assault,

that a judge has found that his business empire was built on a foundation of lies when, and to a tune of disgorgement of $355 million in profit. these have just been the civil cases that he's faced. i now are going to see evidence play out before us in criminal cases. so i don't know what information fox news is sharing with people. but i think that all of us owe it to ourselves into our country as citizens to make sure we are educating ourselves about the issues and the qualifications of the candidates who are seeking our nation's highest office. >> molly, some people do know all this, and they don't care. donald trump has been found liable of sexual abuse and committing fraud, and it has not made one single dent in the support he has from the gop. is there anything that could come out in these criminal cases that would change the

mind of trump supporters, or would the -- could the cumulative weight of all of this eventually breakthrough? >> you know, i think trump supporters are not completely a monolith. i think that there are different levels of trump supporters. i think some trump supporters are more open to information than others. look, trump's brilliant and manipulating his base. he does this sort of projection thing that is very -- you know, he's very successful with. and he has done things like he said, you know, biden is actually out against democracy. i am for democracy. he does these sort of the -- and they are from the autocrat rulebook. and there are sort of these templates, the historical templates. >> he has never tried to grow the elector. from his first inauguration speech, whether wasn't the massive crowd citing, the draconian, dark, dark speech rate once you win that is your moment to govern the entire

country. and actually win over the people who did vote for you so you can get them the next time around. he's never done that. >> yes. and he's never done better than he did in 2016. i mean, numerically, he did a little better in 2020 but he didn't win. >> four point. >> ryan, the supreme court ruled on trump's immunity claim anytime now. just how big of a role will this court have in all of this in 2024? >> i think huge. and i think that -- i was talking with one of my colleagues today, sort of trying to map this out, right? so essentially, when this case is unfrozen, talking about the jack smith case in b. c., when the cases aren't frozen, you have three more months of preparation. because, overall with judge chutkan they said that donald trump had seven months overall.

so start that clock back in august. it's been frozen, essentially since december. now, so when this case gets an frozen you have to play it out for three more months for there. so, right now we're sort of looking at late may. if we're going to come back soon or perhaps early june or somewhere along those lines. and just based upon what prosecutors have said and how they've laid out this case this case could go on, potentially, for two months, right? so now you're talking smack dab in the middle of the rnc. and there's just so much up in the air, as you said getting so close to the election here. but it doesn't seem like probably the country has really grappled with the notion, the former president of the united states is going to be on trial for trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power, most likely. sometime, probably smack dab in

the middle of when he's accepting the republican nomination for president to be president of the united states again. it's really quite remarkable, of a circumstance. i hope, i guess, i'm not covering anything quite like this for the rest of my life. because it really is just an incredible situation that we're in as a country. >> molly, do you think that's why nikki haley is staying in the race? she's got the money. , and if she can hang around the who'd long enough, in the event that the doj takes them down, she can say, i'm waiting in the wings. >> you know, i personally don't agree with almost any of her stances. but, certainly she could represent a new republican party that isn't as autocratic, right? i mean, she certainly has said a lot of things that were much more in the norm of republican politics. >> but, regardless of her policy -- >> right. >> she is so far behind him in the polls. >> right. >> it is her rationale in this game? >> yes. >> and i'm just saying, and i've got enough though to say this which ron desantis didn't

have, she's waiting, or actually hoping or banking on the fact that if she goes down she'll be the only one standing. >> yeah. and i think ryan has a good point. this is unprecedented. we never had a president face quite so many criminal charges or any in this case. so, i do think, you know, she really is in a historic moment. and staying in makes sense for her. >> barb, you wrote an op-ed this week, that we believe to stop belittling the hush money case in new york. can you explain why? >> yes, i think this case has gotten a lot of criticism or has been ignored as kind of the least interesting of all the criminal cases against donald trump. but i think it's far more significant than maybe meets the eye initially. there's a lot of people criticizing alvin bragg for resuscitating this case. it's an older case. it's from 2016. but, on its face, it is about falsifying business records. paying hush money and then concealing it as legal fees to michael cohen which were paid off from stormy daniels, the

adult film star. but, when you put it in context, as alvin bragg has framed it recently, what he says is, this wasn't just concealing payments. this was concealing payments and hush money to influence an election. recall that the time of this payments coincided with the release of the access hollywood tape, in which donald trump had heard horrific things the way he likes to abuse women. and, so if you couple that with the payment of hush money that could be devastating to his campaign. instead, paid money, covered it up, falsified business records. so i think that when the facts of that case come out, we're going to hear about those gory details. and they're going to be coming out now as we are facing the 2024 election. and so, i think it will give voters information that might cause them to reassess their support for donald trump. >> and that's the important reminder. it wasn't hush money, so his wife wouldn't find out. it was hush money because he didn't want the american people to be off. and, potentially not put in

office. >> ryan, molly, barbara, thanks so much for starting us off tonight. when we come back, this is serious. idf treatments are on hold at the biggest hospital in alabama. we're going to get the fallout from that controversial court ruling. and, later, promises kept! what joe biden has gotten done and why voters don't always know about it. the 11th hour, just getting underway on a wednesday night. h .

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and lawsuits. our colleague, laura johnson has all the details. >> reporter: questions confusing and mounting frustration, tonight, in alabama. as the states largest hospitals swiftly holds all ivf procedures. just days after the alabama supreme court ruled frozen embryos must be treated as children. meaning people can be sued for destroying them. the university of alabama at birmingham saying, today, it said and. that must stop all ivf as it evaluates all the potential that our patients and physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care. >> my rage knows no bounds. >> reporter: abby crane, a patient at you a. b. with frozen embryos she hopes to you soon first saw the news on instagram but has heard nothing from the hospital. >> i just want to be a mom. and, it's wild to me that the state that i've called home has more stay over that than i do right now. >> for more, let's bring in nbc

news correspondent yamiche alcindor, and dr. mamie mclean >> yamiche, this is extraordinary. what can you tell us? >> i mean, there are thousands and thousands of patients that are now wondering what they're not gonna be able to create families because this is, as you said the largest hospital system in alabama. so you're talking about people who are trying to grow their families, who want to grow their families and they're not being told by the states that that's personally not going to be possible for them. the ramifications here could be widespread because you have other states like florida, who are considering similar legislation and similar moves. you also have 11 states who already have on the books, person laws deeming fetuses to be people. so this is something that could go on and on and on. and i think that there's just so many ways that we look at this and think that we're

looking at this and saying that this could have, sort of unintended consequences because stephanie, let's remember that the couples at the heart of this we're suing because their embryos were destroyed. and they were angry that they wanted to file a logical death lawsuit. and now, those couples, at least based on what's going on in the alabama medical social say that they expect other clinics and other providers of ivf to follow suit here. that couple could not possibly pursue the ivf that they called so dearly about for suing a wrongful death. we've also seen the political implications. hear the vice president, tweeting on, i want to read part of her tweet. she, said the decision is outrageous. and it's already robbing women of freedom to decide when and how to build their families. so you're hearing from democrats were saying, hey, this is part of why we -- why day as democrats were warning about not overthrowing roe v.

wade. and now, of course you're having to have republicans making the hard decisions to say, are you going to back this or not. we see nikki haley saying that she believes embryos are children, but it's going to be very interesting to hear from others, especially because the number of evangelical christians organizations as well as personal people, they're in supporting ivf. want people to be able to have more children. but, now here's a complication that maybe some didn't think was going to come because a number of states, including in tennessee, right after roe v. wade the attorney general there is saying this is not going to be what happens to people. we're not going to be a country that stops ivf as a result of what happened when roe v. wade. but we're obviously seeing the difference here. >> mamie mclean, how is this impacting your clinic? i, mean one of your patients been saying over the last 24 hours? >> our patients are incredibly worried. they're confused. and they feel like they've been left alone by a state of alabama. we have patients who planned for months in the lead up to both ivf in the frozen embryo transfers. so these treatments are not -- they've been ongoing for quite a while. and so the decision to cancel a

patients treatment is devastating news for them. >> so, what are you telling your patience tonight? right? what's the game plan for your clinic moving forward? >> our clinic has been in discussions since this ruling came out. we were made aware of it sunday morning. and, since then, we've been in discussions with our legal team with physicians across the state with the asr, am with resolve, the advocacy group with our embryologist. and we are concerned that they ask the physicians and embryologist to continue to offer ivf treatments in alabama is unattainable. so we're incredibly worried that ivf, as it stands, will not continue in alabama. >> here's what i don't understand, it is standard practice, in ivf, to fertilize multiple aids and transfer only one. so what happens to women have already begun that process?

>> so, i think that's a clinic by clinic decision. in our clinic we have decided to continue with the standard of care for patients who are in the middle of treatment. we feel like we can't pull the rug out from under them in the middle of treatment. but, we are concerned moving forward that we will be unable to fertilize eggs in an ivf lab. >> yamiche, how is the white house in the biden campaign reacting to this? >> you know, i read the statement from the vp. they are denouncing this. they're saying that this is outrageous, that this is really part of the consequences of what they would say about the bad consequences of what happened when the supreme court decided to overturn roe v. wade. there is also democrats, as well as the white house and particular, they're leading into the politics of this. i was just in wisconsin, a couple of weeks ago with the vice president who said i will launch this national tour, pushing for abortion access. and she was doing, so in

particular, by talking about personal stories including what the number of women who want to tap children, and have complications have found themselves on the wrong end of a number of legal challenges that allow them not to get what the vice president would say, lifegiving care and care that they needed at the time. so democrats, and the white house are both denouncing what's happening in alabama. but also saying, look, you need to be thinking about this to voters. you need to be thinking about this in november. and you think about who you want to put into office. because we can also, of course, i think as a nation see that there is going to be possibly even more consequences to this. and, as republicans have in different states, all over this country, they have been pushing for more and more restrictions on abortion. so you can imagine that alabama might not be -- the last day to deal with. this so, the white house is definitely looking at this as a political issue while republicans are thinking and really trying to figure out how to topple ice this issue. because, again ivf is one of these things that so many couples, thousands of couples including republican couples,

prominent republican officials have talked about ivf, giving them the chance to have these families that they wanted so badly. so this is really a clash in some ways, a political clash waiting to have been. >> former president biden, who- - sorry, former president trump who lately has been all over the map when it comes to abortion. we'll soon find out what he has to say about this. doctor mcclean, thank you for being here. yamiche, always good to see. when we come, back there has been a lot of hammering lately. about president biden as a candidate. but, as president he has built an impressive list of accomplishments. the challenge? a lot of voters don't know about them. so we're gonna get into it when the 11th hour continues. hour n .

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democrats agree. conservative republican steve garvey is the wrong choice for the senate. ...our republican opponent here on this stage has voted for donald trump twice. mr. garvey, you voted for him twice... as your own man, what is your decision? garvey is wrong for california. but garvey's surging in the polls. fox news says garvey would be a boost to republican control of the senate. stop garvey. adam schiff for senate. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

the student loan forgiveness figure in your plan, would you take executive action to achieve it? >> it does figure in my plan. i laid out in detail. for example, the legislation passed by the democrat council called an immediate 10,000 forgiven in student loan. it's holding people. up there in real trouble. for having to make choices between paying their student loan and paying the rent. those kind of decision. it shouldn't be done immediately. >> it did not happen immediately. but, today, president biden made good on that very big commitment. canceling the student loan of more than 150,000 borrowers. but that is hardly the only

promise he's delivered on. how about expended overtime pay? or making over the counter birth control pills available. or even simply cracking down on junk fees. for more, let's discuss. msnbc contributor brian taylor cohen, here first first visit on the 11th hour. and tim miller, host of the bulwark podcast and former communications director for jeff bush. tim, normally, i would turn to you first. however, brian is both from my home state of new jersey and attended my alma mater -- university so you have no chance of going for's. ryan, let's turn to you. welcome to the 11th hour. >> thanks for having me. >> these are tangible things. right? junk fees? a lower prescription drug prices? with the exception of the companies that put these fees upon us, it's not political.

everybody likes this. why isn't it sinking in? or is it and is not enough to move the needle? >> i think part of the reason it's not sinking in this because there's a coordinated campaign to distract us from watching all this. you've been speaking about the fact that the republicans in the house are so focused on this what is now, what we now know is a russian disinformation campaign to prove some nonexistent fraud between joe and hunter biden. i, mean that is to distract the american people from the fact that what biden is accomplishing is hoffman is delivering tangible winds. legislatively, we have back-to- back, chip back, the infrastructure package, the gun safety law, the inflation reduction act, canceling almost 150 billion dollars for a 3. 9 million borrowers and adding 14 and a half billion jobs is a win on top of a wind. so the republicans are desperate to make sure that we can't see the stuff. >> if that were just addicted to the negative, tim? when president biden skips the super bowl interview, it is a huge story. he's under fire for hiding out. but, when he is actually out there, on the trail, pushing

his winds, city to city, town to town, it seems like people don't notice. what can you do? >> i just think, to be frank, president biden has a lot of strength. and this might not be the best one. he is not the most clear and compelling messenger. it's not like it's obama out there. and i think we could all just recognize that. so, the team around him has to do this job of selling. it he's got one thing in his favor. he's got a couple of things. but one of the things in his favor, this year, is that they are going to have a lot of money to be able to tell the story on the airwaves and to try to get in front of people on social media, on tiktok who might not be watching the local news. i do think that, probably, highly educated, highly engaged voters local news watchers to know about this. he's gonna get to the rest of those voters. they're going to be able to have a lot. if you look at the numbers for january, the gun of a lot more money to do that in the trump campaign this year. and, i think that they need targets. and the vp and all hands on deck over this for the coming months. i don't think it's panic time

yet. but they have to recognize this is a challenge at that presidents do need help. >> brian, president biden is slamming donald trump for his comments on nato, alexei navalny, hitting him over the border. but he's not only talking a lot about defending trump. why do you think that is? >> well i think the reason is because republicans are so desperate to try to frame this as a prosecution that are being done on behalf of joe biden. >> but they're not. >> of course they're not. and these are juries that are voting out these indictments, these prosecutions -- >> the doj were working for joe biden would do -- >> he would indict his own son. >> i mean, let's just remind america. >> i mean, it's wild, but still, because some of the this is out there, so much of this is in there that they have to be extra careful and take all of these steps. and, it kind of sucks, frankly because these are major weaknesses that, you know, in the campaign you should be able to talk about. and i believe that joe biden should. but, because it's so easily exploited by the right when they point to these things

happened up to donald trump and framed him as the victim, joe biden does have to be careful and kind of take these extra precautions. >> tim, donald trump's promising record setting deportations, having the national guard addressed crime and eliminating the department of education. this could potentially work in the primary. but how does this platform sued the general? >> it's a nightmare in the general. i think for president trump, it's very different. i think people have a false memory of 2016. trump had a lot of crazy far- right plans, the muslim ban stands out memory. but trump was also putting some heterodox, head of centrist plans if -- when it comes to not wanting to do whatever the republicans want to do, cutting social security and cutting medicare. he was running -- i think disingenuously. but i think it's more of an anti war candidate at that

time. right? so if you look at polls from 2016, a lot of voters wrongly but believe that donald trump was more moderate than hillary clinton. he's not doing that in 2016. this 2024 agenda is extremely far-right, extremely autocratic. he's even attempting or trying to cut towards the middle. and i do think that, as coach of the challenge of messaging and using those research is that biden has but once voters, i, think recognize the threat from agenda from the agenda that is being put forth project 2025, et cetera, and then you add into that what mike johnson has been pushing a very extreme on social issues it's a lot. generally, it should be alarmed about as far as the stakes are concerned. but i also think it's going to hurt him politically. >> brian, illegal immigration is a problem. we know how president biden pushing this idea of executive action to limit asylum claims at the border. how far can he afford to go with this without alienating

his own base on potentially two aggressive border policies? >> well, you know, i think the irony of this is that he is, to some degree doing this is kind of a show of goodwill to republicans. and i think that's a mistake because they're not looking for an actual show of goodwill. the democrats did put forward a border bill that was the most conservative border bill that we had in decades. and, at the end of the day it found. so they're not interested in this. >> but isn't a show of goodwill to republicans, tim because there are people on both sides of the aisle that say we've got a problem. >> yes, i guess i would disagree with barn on that one. because he is a good show for republican voters. i agree that these republicans on the hill, they're not interested, right? but he has to signal to the gettable. it is a small number that's

going to be an important number. the gettable voters who, in the past, had voted for republicans that are sick of donald trump when we do focus groups of these people at the bulwark, they exist. people that voted for trump twice, and are thinking of getting their minds. it might seem crazy that they exist, but they. do and, then biden needs the signal that they're taking the voters seriously. and, i think a couple of steps in that direction, not going all the way to the trump policies of, course but a couple of steps in that direction would help. >> all right, tim thank you for being. here brian, welcome to the 11th. our hope to see you soon. when we come back an american ballerina arrested in russia as tensions between the two countries continue to build. a report from the ground when the 11th hour continues. ed? can it keep me warm when i'm cold? wait, no, i'm always hot. sleep number does that. can i make my side softer? i like my side firmer. sleep number does that. can it help us sleep better and better? please? sleep number does that. 94 percent of smart sleepers report better sleep. now, save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed.

plus 10% off all bases. ends monday

u.s. officials have confirmed that russia arrested a los angeles resident on suspicion treason. the woman, who's a dual national was detained by russian authorities earlier this month for allegedly donating $51 and ten cents to support ukraine. her arrest comes as tension grows between the u.s. and russia. my colleague, richard engel is in ukraine covering all of this for us. richard? >> it's not surprising that the u.s. is calling on all americans, including dual nationals, american russian citizens to leave russia immediately. it's a sign of how tense things are right now between the united states and european countries and vladimir putin's government. this latest woman who was taken off the streets in january, a

33 year old ballerina is -- is being arrested for the slimiest of reasons. accused of treason for russia, which is a serious crime in any country. carries a prison sentence. for supporting ukraine, for donating money to ukraine for russia's point of, you is an enemy state. but, she allegedly donated $51 to ukraine. the tiniest amount, a trifle. but it seems that even that is enough to catch the russians attention right now, particularly because she's a dual national. particularly because she's an american citizen. evan get cribbage, an american journalist still in prison in russia. he just denied one of his appeals. so it seems that putin's regime is rounding up americans in order to show his power to punish the united states and

punish other governments particularly for publishing sanctions for his harsh criticism after the very suspicious death of alexei navalny in the penal colony. >> richard, thank you. incredible. a 50 dollar donation to ukraine. and, now this woman is in jail. meanwhile, the u.s. congress still has not approved the billions in military aid that ukraine desperately needs. we hear about this all the time. a lot of people who are against that eight ukraine say that taxpayer money would be better spent here at home. but i want to take a minute to talk about this. because, that is where the money is going. so, let's take a minute for -- the state works. since russia invaded ukraine, nearly two years ago, u.s. has committed over 44 billion dollars to help ukraine defend itself. and, more than 75% of those taxpayer dollars are going to

factories and companies in more than 37 states across this nation. places like lima, ohio; camden, arkansas; mesquite, texas. that means more jobs that pay good wages in communities all over the country for ammunition to rockets, night vision goggles to tanks, taxpayer money is being used to replace what we are sending to the ukrainians on the front lines. floyd's paying to manufacturing equipments, or in some places, building new factories. now, many of the republicans who oppose more aid to ukraine represent districts and voters that are directly benefiting from the money already spent. and, an added benefit it is reviving our defense manufacturing and making our nation better prepared. so, one elected officials say, no more aid to ukraine are they also saying no more money to american defense manufacturers? because that's the net result. when we come back, from the basketball court to the country music charts. we are shining a spotlight on two incredible ladies making history.

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> cut! >> verizon broke the internet again. >> that's coming up fast. >> the network is praising powerful. i bet you can't break that. >> i bet i can. >> you bet what? >> beyonci breaks the internet. but can she break verizon?

>> broken? >> not even close. >> how about the first woman to launch the first rocket for the first performance in space? >> verizon didn't break. >> you ain't gonna break me. okay. they ready. drop the new music. >> you had to know this was coming. the last thing before we go tonight, women! fabulous ones making history. in her verizon super bowl ad, beyonci set out to break the internet with the release of new songs from her upcoming country album. well, this week, the queen bee broke down a barrier instead becoming the first black woman to top the billboard country charged with their hit song, texas hold'em. the song reached number two on the billboard top 100 and has been streamed over 19 million times. and, beyonci is not the only woman kicking as some taking names. another woman making history tonight, iowa basketball

superstar, caitlin clark. just after becoming the highest scoring women's basketball player ball time, she is now the highest selling college athlete man or woman on the sports apparel site fanatic. nike has even put up a massive billboard of clark, right in the heart of new york city next to madison square garden. so, congratulations to caitlin and beyonci on their history making achievement. we see you. we appreciate you. and we are grateful for all of your hard work and showing your supreme talent with all of us. and on that note, i wish you a very, very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with me. i'll see you at the end of tomorrow. you at the end of tomorrow. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> so if you've been following the news at all over