hope that the house is going to pass the security bill that includes funding ukraine? >> we know that a majority of house members, including democrats and republicans, support passing this legislation, because they know the consequences are real. as secretary austin has said, putin will not stop with ukraine. it's important while what i do with sanctions slows down russia's ability to build the weapons they need, we need to give ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves, and that's exactly what congress needs to do. >> deputy treasury secretary wally adeyamo, thank you very much. that's going to do it for me today. "deadline white house" starts right now. ♪♪ hi, everyone, it is 4:00 here in washington, d.c. i'm alicia menendez in for nicole wallace. it is brazen even by the standards of team trump. attorneys for the ex-president are pushing to dismiss the

charges brought by special counsel jack smith in the classified documents case. filed multiple motions last night, seven in total. one of them argues that the appointment of jack smith was unconstitutional. another one says that trump had the right to claim that the documents were personal, and therefore, they no longer belonged to the government. worth remembering that the documents we're talking about contain some of the most sensitive national security secrets imaginable. trump kept them in a bathroom, in a basement, in a ballroom even. but arguably, the most brazen of the arguments the ex-president is making and trying to dismiss the classified documents case is this. attorneys claim that donald trump is immune from prosecution because he moved the documents from the white house to mar-a-lago while he was president. they say, "president trump's decision to designate records as personal and cause them to be removed from the white house plainly constitutes an official act within the outer perimeter of the president's official

duties. president trump is entitled to immunity for this official act, and that must include immunity from criminal prosecution." now, this claim sounds familiar, it is because donald trump has made that same argument in the federal election case in d.c. an argument that was completely rejected by the d.c. circuit court of appeals. the ex-president is now before the supreme court, asking for a stay of that decision. on the motions in this case, though, "the new york times" reports, "many appear designed to delay the case moving toward trial, a strategy that mr. trump has pursued in all the criminal proceedings he is facing." so the donald trump playbook of delay, delay, delay is now being tested for a judge who has a reputation for being favorable to donald trump. as politico reports, all these motions and three others under seal must be decided by judge cannon. and that is where we begin this hour with former u.s. attorney and former deputy assistant

attorney general harry litman. also with us, u.s. politico national correspondent and msnbc contributor, betsy woodruff swan. and former assistant u.s. attorney, glen kirschner. betsy, is this all just about delay? >> that's a feature and a highlight of the strategy they're taking here. of course they're going to try to have a different judicial circuit look at this question of immunity. the d.c. circuit was not particularly sympathetic to trump, but they're going to shoot their shot once again in florida and see how it goes. the other piece of this that's going to be notable for people tracking the myriad of politically sensitive criminal investigations and processes that have been under way is this issue they're raising of selective and vindictive prosecution. that motion was filed under seal, so we haven't read it. but in one of the motions that did go up last night, there was a reference to rob hur's report, explaining why hur decided not to bring charges against

president biden. hur very aggressively prebutted the extremely predictable argument that he expected trump to make, that there was a chasmic difference between the two. >> hur -- harry, what did you make of that hur reference? >> well, look, all of this, and he's been sounding this refrain from the start about selective prosecution. in legal terms, really just doesn't hunt. there's a very, very rare channel for making this kind of claim. for the most part, you've got to stand and have the charges be decided and then possibly you can bring a separate lawsuit. but i think your watch word is exactly right of delay. all these motions are either recycled, old hat, or just, you know, kind of cockamamie.

we could be looking at 2029 in her hands. these would be motions that wouldn't gather much of our attention otherwise except the judge that they are in front of. and also, in front of her, by the way, alicia, today, will be donald trump's response in a motion she's granted of his that was really off the reservation, and if she doesn't back down from it, that could be a reason to bring her up to the 11th circuit. but the big question here is, can she take these pedestrian and meritless motions and make months out of them as trump would dearly love her to do? >> glen, i promise we will get to the aileen cannon of it all, but i want to play an infamous exchange from you. take a listen.

>> could a president be ordered -- political rival who was not impeached, could he be subject to criminal prosecution? >> if he were impeached and convicted first. >> so your answer is no? >> my answer is qualified yes. >> i've asked you a series of hypothetical questions about criminal actions that could be taken by a president and could be considered official acts and have asked you, would such a president be subject to criminal prosecution if he's not impeached or convicted and your yes or no answer is, no. >> i believe i said qualified yes if he's impeached and convicted first. >> he's not impeached or convicted. put that aside. you're saying a president could sell military secrets, could oert s.e.a.l. team 6 to assassinate a political rival. >> sale of military secrets strikes me as something that might not be held to be an official act.

the sale of pardons is something that's come up historically and was not prosecuted. >> what trump's attorneys are saying in this docket, is it different from what they argued here, glen? >> no. a claim of absolute presidential immunity is a claim of absolute presidential immunity, and it really is a laughable argument, because the constitution itself lays it to rest when it says, in the immunity judgment clause, let me translate it from legalese to layman speak, if a president is impeached, he can still be prosecuted for the same conduct that led to him being impeached. so, how in the world, trump's lawyers can come up with a claim that the constitution grants a president absolute immunity in the context of a criminal prosecution is flatout laughable. and i agree with harry, all of these motions that donald trump's lawyers just threw into the mix in florida, it really is

like a house of cards built on a foundation of sand. it couldn't be flimsier, but the question is, what will judge cannon do with them both substantively and on the timing front? >> i have another question, harry. i want to ask you about one of the gusts of wind that could come and knock that house of cards down, which is, if the supreme court takes up trump's immunity claim, which is part of what he is trying to argue here, and they reject it, does that then apply to the classified documents case as well? >> yes, so, it rejects the claim, but the immunity claim here is even weaker because it was charged very carefully to be about conduct out of office. that's the actual charge smith did. unauthorized possession by the former president. he's tried again and again to kind of give it an anchor in the last few hours of his candidacy, and that's a precisely the sort of risk that a cannon could do,

somehow find that that's really what it's about and having hearings to figure out whether that somehow poisons the whole thing. if the supreme court says this, the claim is gone, and moreover, the claim should be gone because it doesn't concern presidential conduct. but it would be just in character for the judge to take a long time to get to that conclusion. >> harry, you wanted to jump in and say something else. i want to make sure you got to it. >> that was it. >> oh, perfect. i anticipated where you wanted to go. betsy, in the filing, you had trump's lawyers mention it, and they say, "this court should not follow the d.c. court's nonbinding, poorly reasoned decision." i'm wondering how much that ruling factors in for judge cannon. >> there's no question she'll take a look at it, but she's very much demonstrated she follows her own star when it comes to any number of these -- >> that is a generous way to put it. >> when it comes to any of these

legal fights that happen in her courtroom. that's one of the really interesting tensions in the florida case. most legal experts agree it's the one that puts the former president in the most intense jeopardy. it's the one where the facts are the most, apparently, as alleged are the most damning but at the same time, it's also the case where the judge is as sympathetic as any of the judges hearing these cases, and it just brings a level of unpredictability to the floor of the proceedings that kind of distinguish them from some of the other ones. >> glenn, we have sorted through the strategy. we have sorted through this question of immunity. now let's talk about judge cannon. what recourse does jack smith have if cannon does, in fact, rule in favor of trump? >> well, depending on the issue that she rules on, it may give rise to an appeal. if it's a case ending ruling by judge cannon. i really do hope, at some point, jack smith believes they've reached critical mass and they have enough to file a motion to recuse her, have her removed

from the case because only if this gets litigated in the full light of day with all of the evidence that tends to support the notion as is required under the federal law, that her impartiality might reasonably be questioned. it's actually a fairly low standard. if you litigate it and you resolve it and then you have it go up to the 11th circuit, and they do -- you know, they do full treatment of it, then i think at least we will all know what we're dealing with, and there will be a definitive ruling on whether she should remove herself from the case or be removed or whether she's qualified to remain on the case. you know, right now, given these flimsy motions as i see them, it's a hail mary pass, and we just have to hope that judge cannon is an honest broker of the law and not standing in the opponent's end zone just kind of waiting to catch trump's hail mary pass. that will obviously be a real

significant problem. >> glenn, speak a little to the tension for jack smith between knowing it is critical who the judge is on this case and also knowing that any efforts to get her to recuse potentially slow down this trial. >> they do slow it down. so, you know, i'll bet harry has had similar experiences to me as a federal prosecutor where we have had to debate recusal issues, whether we thought there was an issue that should prompt us to ask the judge to remove himself or herself from the case. often, we're concerned, because we don't want to feel like we're insulting the judge. we don't want to feel like, well, if we fail at trying to remove a judge, then there's going to be this antagonism coming from the judge. i would ask, could judge cannon be any more antagonistic to jack smith? i don't think so, given the way she's been approaching the many issues that have come before her. so -- but what i'll say, alicia,

is i'm actually at the point where i almost hope judge cannon vacates the may 20th trial date. she continues it, cancels it, and she pushes it way down the road. why do i say that? one, i think it may be inevitable. but two, if she does that, and if the supreme court finally gets around to lifting the stay in the d.c. prosecution, and returning that case to judge chutkan so she can set a trial date, guess what? there will be an open trial date on donald trump's calendar, and judge chutkan can drop her trial right into that may 20th trial date in the event judge cannon vacates that trial date. i, for one, would love to see it play out that way. >> betsy, the stake are so high here that the legalese becomes like catnip because we want to see how this progresses. at the same time, i want to make sure that we take a step back and really see what is happening here, which is you have a former president, the current front

runner for the gop presidential nomination essentially arguing that a president should be able to share the -- america's secrets with whomever they choose. >> yes, and also arguing in court via his lawyers that he could use s.e.a.l. team 6 arguably to target a political foe. one big question from a political standpoint is going to be whether john saur continues to be the go-to lawyer making these oral argument. he's only argued before the supreme court one time. that snippet of audio that you played is obviously something that's a big political problem for trump and for trump's team. now, the bet, obvious, that trump's advisors are making is that all the conventional wisdom about the politics related to his legal fights is wrong. thus far, in the primary, the conventional wisdom pretty much has been wrong. he's gallop away with it. going into the general, we get to have this huge -- fascinating

is too gentle a word, but a huge, unprecedented test on how americans feel about their confidence in the justice department, confidence in the criminal justice system, and trump's team is hoping and praying that the confidence level is low. that's part of the reason all these emotions can bring political value. in a way, they're hoping to see death by a thousand paper cuts when it comes to americans' confidence in the judicial system. >> harry, i just think what they're trying to argue here is pretty sensational. it's pretty amazing. and i get politico calls it brazen. you have debunked their legal claims. glenn has done the same. and yet, the audacity to make the argument they are making, the paradigm shift that would happen if what team trump was arguing was allowed to stand. it is hard to overstate. >> they've never been at a loss for audacity. you can say that for sure. and the question is whether it's

only a political strategy, which it may only be, or if they have a kind of legal hook for it, and i want to go back to what glenn just said, because he's right. it's not the delay that will matter so much in their calculations. if they are appealing anything she's done, they can always upend a recusal motion to it, but there are cultural considerations. does the doj do this or not? how aggressive are we looking? to me, it says they'll look to do it once and once only. and so, what she's been quite deft to date about going up to the line, imposing delays but not actually doing the sort of order that they could take for reversal. that's what's important about today's filing from trump, because he got her to say something that is just very wrong and could result in a clean recusal motion in the 11th circuit. otherwise, it's all been sort of muddy, and while it goes -- the thrust of it is all in terms of delay, it doesn't necessarily

give rise to that clean swing that doj needs to say it is time to remove her from this case. >> is it also just me, glenn kirschner, or does it also just smack of desperation? >> oh, i think much of donald trump's legal strategy in his civil cases and his criminal cases smacks of desperation. why? because the facts are against him. the law is against him. alicia, we saw three juries rule against him. in two civil cases, and i would actually maintain that when the trump organization was criminally convicted in new york for 15-yearlong scheme to defraud in the first-degree, that was trump being convicted by proxy. right? that was his business, his namesake. the business that he built and he presided over. i mean, it's still a curiosity why he wasn't at counsel table for that trial, being convicted himself, but i consider that a

conviction by proxy, so you have three juries, a total of 30 jurors, all of whom unanimously found against donald trump. why is that? because the facts and the law are overwhelmingly stacked against him. all he has is desperation and maybe lingering hope that a judge will be biased in his favor. >> betsy, real quick, there's a hearing next week in this case. what can we expect? >> one of the big questions is going to be if there are any tea leaves from judge cannon when it comes to the sealed motions that include witnesses' names. trump's team has tried to put court filings forward that contain information that the justice department says could put people in real heightened danger, including all the fbi agents involved in the mar-a-lago raid. we'll be listening closely to get a sense of whether cannon is revisiting her deference to trump and his lawyers on that really sensitive question. >> we will be waiting, and we will be watching. betsy woodruff swan, harry litman, glenn kirschner, thank

you very much for starting us off. some news out of the civil fraud case against the trump organization and donald trump. it is now official. the ex-president owes more than $454 million in penalties. that judge from new york was entered by the clerk of the new york supreme court just over an hour ago. interest on that huge penalty begins accruing today to the tune of $111,000 a day. when we come back, another big, big setback for the house gop and its already discredited impeachment inquiry into president biden. one key source back behind bars and its so-called blockbuster witness may have lied right to them. plus, continued fallout from that alabama supreme court ruling surrounding fertility treatment. news today that one of the few options some women were counting on to continue trying to have a baby are being taken away too. we'll talk about that. and later in the show, a friday treat. we're going to check in with

nicole, find out just when we can expect to see her again. all that and more when "deadline white house" continues after this. ore when "deadline white house" continues after this (avo) kate made progress with her mental health... ...but her medication caused unintentional movements in her face, hands, and feet called tardive dyskinesia, or td. so her doctor prescribed austedo xr— a once-daily td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced kate's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, kate can stay on her mental health meds— (kate) oh, hi buddy! (avo) austedo xr can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, or have suicidal thoughts. don't take if you have liver problems, are taking reserpine, tetrabenazine, or valbenazine. austedo xr may cause irregular or fast heartbeat, or abnormal movements. seek help for fever, stiff muscles, problems thinking, or sweating. common side effects include inflammation of the nose

and throat, insomnia and sleepiness. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ ask your doctor for austedo xr. ♪ austedo xr ♪ y'all wayfair makes it so easy to create a home you'll love. it's the talk of the neighborhood. kelly! i just wayfair'd. -that's wayfair... saving time saving money. you wayfair'd your whole bathroom?! even the vanity - when i wayfair, i wayfair ya know? oh i know. this is nice. another wayfair day! you know it. new couch in just two days the wayfair word is out. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ l've always wanted to do that.

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. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

house republicans impeachment inquiry into president biden was dealt another blow today. the credibility of one of their star witnesses, tony, is being called into question. abc news reports that cassidy hutchinson is accusing him of lying under oath to the house oversight committee when he was denied having a secretive meeting with mark meadows while wearing a ski mask.

in the letter to the house oversight committee, hutchinson's lawyer says, "he claims under oath that he was not wearing a mask, that mr. meadows did not hand him anything and ms. hutchinson was fabricating facts." james comer has called bobulinski the most honest witness they had in their probe. bobulinski still denies any meeting occurred. he plans to file a defamation suit against hutchinson. then there's the matter of alexander smirnov. he was arrested on charges of lying to the fbi. a federal judge had granted prosecutes' request to reconsider his release. authorities say he is a serious flight risk with extensive ties to russian intelligence officials. joining me now, robert garcia of california. he is a member of the house oversight committee. congressman, i just want to make

sure i'm getting this straight. you have republicans' star impeachment witness now accused of lying, potentially under oath. do they have any credibility left to their impeachment inquiry if you presume that they ever had any to begin with? >> i mean, absolutely none. i was in the room when bobulinski actually made his comments, and he was so, just, so all over the place, not credible, couldn't recall -- had no idea who invited him to the second trump debate, couldn't recall why he was even there. the list goes on and on, and we just saw, of course, now republicans, their other star witness is likely been working through russian agents and russian intelligence. you can't make this stuff up. you have russian spies. we have had chinese spies as witnesses. we have had completely -- literally a crazy witness has come forward without any recollection of facts.

so, grift after grift, lie after lie, this republican impeachment sham is over in my opinion. they never had any evidence linking the president to anything. they're going on and on, trying to create a story out of nothing. and quite frankly, james comer should be deeply, deeply embarrassed at himself and the way he has conducted this investigation. at this point, it's just a joke. as far as i'm concerned, it's over. >> you talked about alexander smirnov, if not by name. i want to play you what some of your colleagues object house oversight committee have had to say. >> highly reliable informant that has always checked out all the information he's ever given us. >> a confidential human source that provided information is a trusted, highly credible informant who has been used by the fbi for over ten years and

has been paid over six figures. >> the most corroborating evidence we have is that 1023 form from this highly credible confidential human source, according to u.s. attorney scott brady. >> so, congressman garcia, i play all of that to remind us just how bullish they were on smirnov, especially because now they're trying to down play their reliance on him, say they have other evidence in this inquiry. just to be crystal clear, have you seen any of that supposed evidence? >> there is no evidence. it's all made up. and now they can't admit their star witness, the one person that had supposedly had all this evidence against president biden, that witness has now been an informant and literally working with russian spies and russian intelligence. and so, what i want to know is what does james comer actually know, and when did he know it? did james comer know this person was compromised, that actually maybe putin himself has been involved in trying to direct

this impeachment scam against the president? so, i'm actually very concerned about what republicans knew, how much information -- because we all knew that he was not credible. we all knew there was no evidence, and i would -- i saw the form. i was in that same skiff. i was in that same classified room as my republican colleagues, getting briefed, looking at that form. we all knew there was nothing to it. they obviously hyped something up, knowing there was no evidence. so, they are doing their constituents and their country a huge disservice. they are lying. they are grifting. they are doing everything they can to damage president biden and james comer should end this investigation immediately. >> and if people don't want to take your word for it, congressman, they can listen to republican congressman ken buck, who has said much the same, that they were warned about the credibility of alexander smirnov. you have the fbi now saying that smirnov has ties to russian intelligence officials, which, one, i wonder how much it concerns you that russia could have been influencing some of

your colleagues in congress, and also, i mean, 2016, 2020, this ongoing meddling on the part of russia in our elections, that's what we really need to be focusing on, not a sham impeachment. >> absolutely. and i mean, look, i'm looking at the broader concern here. why are colleagues of mine, including james comer and jim jordan, two chairs of major committees in the congress that are in charge of investigations, why have they been hyping up, not just smirnov but also other witnesses that end up in all these incredibly web of lies and grifts across the country and internationally. why do they keep hyping these guys up, especially when there's been in connection to russia and to putin while at the same time wanting to do nothing to support ukraine. now, james comer, our chairman himself, has called on numerous occasions ukraine an adversary of the united states. they refuse to give ukraine any funding. now russia is infiltrating our

own investigations and politics. to me, this is a much broader issue. if we're investigating anything, we should be investigating james comer and jim jordan and the republicans as to why they're working with russian intelligence in some way or at least knew the information that they were getting was incorrect, yet still persisted on this investigation. i am very concerned. our chairman, jamie ras kin, our ranking member, is very concerned, and they have a lot of questions to answer. >> earlier, congressman, you referenced james comer sort of tolerance for humiliation. that bar is set quite high, which i think brings up the question what it will take to discourage this type of behavior in the future. this is a little bit of what your colleague, congressman dan goldman, said on our network earlier this week. take a listen. >> now that they know that this information was funneled through russian intelligence, through the fbi by russian intelligence, and is part of a russian disinformation scheme to interfere in our election, if

they continue with this investigation, they are opening themselves up to a criminal investigation for conspiring with russia to interfere in the election. >> opening themselves up to a criminal investigation on conspiracy charges. is that enough to deter them from going forward with their investigation? >> i mean, well, first, dan is 100% correct, and you know, look, both of us have been screaming and yelling at anyone that would listen about how corrupt this process has been. but let's also be very clear that republicans don't really care at this point about facts. they don't care about doing the right thing or ethics. i mean, literally, they are running a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory club at the oversight committee, and their entire mission in life is to damage president biden, and we all know why, because they all are completely committed to one thing, and that is ensuring that donald trump gets re-elected president. that is all they care about. and if donald trump says, don't

help ukraine, because i want to help my buddy, putin, then that's what republicans are going to do. they have bent the knee to putin. they could care less about ethics and doing the right thing, and i want to reiterate something that dan said. at this point, they know that evidence that they are using has essentially been funneled in some way or directed in some way by russian intelligence. why are we continuing this farce of an impeachment? if there are direct links to russia, we need to investigate that immediately and understand why russia continues to interfere with our elections. that's what this is about. >> congressman robert garcia, as always, thank you for taking the time to be with us. coming up, one of the women suing the state of texas over its near total ban on abortion joins us. amanda and her husband have turned to ivf to help expand their family. after the break, what they are doing now in light of the ruling in alabama. they are doing now in light of the ruling in alabama ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ (vo) welcome to lobsterfest. is your party ready? ready to tango with tails ♪♪ on tails on tails? try lobster lover's dream with two lobster tails and lobster & shrimp linguini. it's one of ten next-level lobster creations. but lobsterfest won't last, so hurry in.

oof. you are busy working parenting, problem solving at new chapter vitamin's we have been busy too innovating, sourcing organic ingredients testing them and...fermenting. fermenting? yeah, like kombucha or yogurt and we formulate everything so, your body can really truly absorb the natural goodness that's what we do so you can do you new chapter. wellness well done hi, i'm kim, and i lost 67 pounds on golo. when i go out with people, they expect me to eat like a bird. they are shocked by the amount of food i eat while losing weight. with golo, i don't need a cheat day because i get to eat the foods i like any day of the week. this election is about who shares your values. let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga

republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values. i'm an active mom, but when i laughed, lifted or exercised, bladder leaks were holding me back from doing

the things i loved. until, i found a bladder specialist that offered me bulkamid - a life-changing and fda approved non-drug solution for my condition called stress incontinence it really works, and the relief can last for years. take the next step at findrealrelief.com to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary. move beyond the leaks. after 48 hours of watching the republican party scramble and flail on the issue of ivf treatments following the alabama supreme court ruling, the disgraced ex-president in the last hour coming out in support of ivf treatments and calling on lawmakers to find an immediate solution. now, we should point out, donald trump has the biden white house and democrats have been reminding us is why we are here in the first place. the alabama decision was a direct result of overturning roe

vs. wade, something trump continues to take credit for. but today, while we wait for any change to come in alabama, current ivf patients are left with very few options. they are being told that they cannot even move their own frozen embryos out of the state. after several large providers have paused all embryo shipping to and from alabama due to liability concerns. it is something our next guest is doing, moving her frozen embryos out of texas, which she fears could be next and where she's already fighting the near total abortion ban that almost killed her. joining us now, amanda is a plaintiff in the texas abortion ban lawsuit. also with us, "washington post" opinion editor and msnbc contributor alexi. amanda, you decided to move your embryos, fearing what could happen in texas. what does it mean for ivf patients in alabama who don't even have that option? >> oh my gosh. my heart is broken into a million pieces for those ivf

patients in alabama. it's really terrifying. we're seeing the largest hospital in the state, several ivf clinics have already shut down operations for fear that they'll be prosecuted if something goes wrong in this very delicate process, and i've even seen women's cycles have been canceled mid-cycle. their transfers have been canceled. now there are people who can't get their embryos out of alabama. it's truly terrifying, and i think what scares me the most is that this is going to have a domino effect. we're going to see other states follow suit, because they have the ability to make these draconian laws because of the fall of roe v. wade, something that donald trump is still bragging about. >> it's horrific, alexi, especially when you consider that very often families arrive at fertility treatments because they have already had a complicated and long journey. this is politically, absolutely unpopular, clearly concerning

enough for donald trump to say something, "the new york times" reporting the senatorial committee is telling -- they know this is unpopular. >> i mean, it's unpopular, and it's insane, frankly. it's insane. >> to put it bluntly. >> for an alabama judge to say this, to bring religion into it. can you imagine if the judge were muslim? everyone would be screaming, crying about sharia law, and this would be shut down in 2.2 seconds, but instead, somehow this man is using god to justify his reasoning for controlling women's bodies, women and men's ability to literally start a family, to decide the economics behind all of this, as you know. ivf is very expensive. every single round you go through costs more money. there's an emotional toll that comes with this. it's very, very interesting to see donald trump try to come out against this publicly as he's tried to navigate the abortion politics on the trail so far when, as you mentioned earlier, and we saw, he is the reason for all of this and the catalyst for

what we had seen happening, not just ivf, mephipristone as well. >> i don't know if you saw tommy tuberville being asked about ivf, and it was very clear he didn't fully understand the implication of all of this, and it is maddening that there are people in positions of power to make decisions about your and my body, your and my fertility, who don't understand, don't want to understand what it is that they're actually doing often to our families. here's the thing, though. despite all those consequences, you don't have republicans stopping. they're prepared to support federal abortion restrictions. i want you to talk about your own fight in texas, where you think this could be headed if it's not stopped. >> it's a really good question and a really good point. i think it's really scary, and i think what i have learned from our case here in texas and what we learned through kate cox's case, also represented by the center for reproductive rights,

is that lawmakers don't care about women and pregnant people and us having the ability to make choices for our own reproductive health care. and quite frankly, as long as we don't do something to reverse these, there's nothing that's going to stop this from becoming a national problem. right now, people think it's isolated to alabama. it absolutely is not. and the only -- the only way we prevent this from becoming a national issue is by keeping donald trump out of office. >> i want to be clear, alexi. i say they didn't understand what they were doing as many advocates were here, they would say, they knew exactly what they were doing or at least the advocates who were pushing them behind the scenes knew what they were doing. the collision point you are seeing here is on the politics of it. if you are democrats, the contrast is clear. it's actually not a hard contrast to draw. how do you make sure that this issue stays front and center? >> to your point, there are men

publicly making this decision, but women, as we know, are privately in this anti-abortion space, and they're the ones really planning out exactly how to go after all of this reproductive care access. but democrats, as you pointed out earlier, president biden's re-election campaign is pointing out donald trump is the reason we are here. don't forget that he bragged about wanting to overturn roe, and he has gotten what he needs. surveys, although they show a close race between biden and trump in a hypothetical general election matchup, abortion and abortion rights is one of the very few issues along with democracy that biden and democrats consistently beat trump and republicans on. voters know that they can trust democrats and the left. independents know they can trust democrats and the left when protecting their health care rights. it's not just about abortion, yes or no. it's about, do you have your own autonomy to make economic decisions, health care decisions, decisions to start a family? and as you know well, this affects women, men, scientists, health care providers, everyone

across the board, and republicans have seen six states since dobbs was overturned have passed constitutional amendments to protect abortion right in their state constitution. there are as many as 13 states that will be voting on it in 2024. this is something that people are begging to keep protected, and republicans in states like alabama are saying, no thanks, we do what we want. >> amanda, alexi makes a great point. it's about the patients. it is also about the health care providers. one of the concerns is that you have providers leave some of these states because they're not able to offer the service that they got into medicine in order to be able to offer, which then changes the math not just for people in alabama, not just for people in the american south. it changes care across the board. what do you say to republicans, extremist activists who think they are better authorities on these issues than people like you who are directly impacted? >> it's just preposterous. unless you are a medical doctor

and you have gone to school to study this, you don't know better, and you're exactly right. we are seeing health care professionals, especially in texas and similar states, leaving the state in hoards, and we're left with health care deserts. and it's a real problem, and it goes even further than that. think about the students who want to become doctors, right? if they're considering where they're going to go to medical school, i would not go to a state like texas where abortion is banned, because they're going to get an incomplete education. and it's a problem that has so many layers, and i think people aren't thinking about it, and that's why we have to absolutely keep talking about it, keep the spotlight on this issue, because it is critical, and it's just going to get worse. >> amanda, i want you to know that as we were preparing for this segment, alexi and i were sitting here, and we're in awe of you and the fact that you keep showing up and keep fighting this fight. so, thank you very much for taking the time to be with us, alexi. up next, we're going to

check in with ali vitaly. quick break. we'll be right back. i vitaly quick break. we'll be right back. moving forward with node-positive breast cancer is overwhelming. but i never just found my way; i made it. and did all i could to prevent recurrence. verzenio reduces the risk of recurrence of hr-positive, her2-negative, node-positive, early breast cancer with a high chance of returning as determined by your doctor when added to hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor,

start an anti-diarrheal , and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you are nursing, pregnant, or plan to be. i'm making my own way forward. talk to your doctor about reducing your risk. ultomiris is for adults with generalized myasthenia gravis who are anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody positive. it is lasting control over your gmg symptoms. and, ultomiris is the only long-acting gmg treatment with 8 weeks of freedom between infusions. ultomiris can lower your immune system's ability to fight infections,

increasing your chance of serious, life-threatening meningococcal and other types of infections. if not vaccinated, you must receive meningococcal vaccines at least 2 weeks before starting ultomiris and if ultomiris is urgent, you should also receive 2 weeks of antibiotics with your vaccines. before starting ultomiris, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions and medications. ultomiris can cause reactions such as back pain, tiredness, dizziness, limb discomfort, or bad taste. ultomiris is here. ask your doctor about managing your generalized myasthenia gravis with ultomiris. you know, when i take the bike out like this, all my stresses just melt away. i hear that. this bad boy can fix anything. yep, tough day at work, nice cruise will sort you right out. when i'm riding, i'm not even thinking about 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. that first time you take a step back. i made that. with your very own online store. i sold that. and you can manage it all in one place. i built this. and it was easy, with a partner that puts you first. godaddy. just one day before the south carolina primary, yes, it is tomorrow, how to handle the republican-led assault on reproductive rights is not just top of mind for the parties' own candidates but for voters too. let's bring in msnbc news

capitol hill correspondent ali vitali. everything seems to be on the line for nikki haley. what are you hearing out there on the trail? >> reporter: well, look, i think for nikki haley, alicia, she didn't need her closing message in the media anyway to be around her comments to me on ivf and her view that embryos are babies. she spent much of this week clarifying those comments in press interviews and with reporters. out here on the campaign trail, though, it hasn't necessarily changed her stump speech much. her narrative has consisted of a continuous message that she thinks she is the most electable candidate in a general election against joe biden, but of course, polling in this state and across super tuesday states tells a different story within the republican primary. this remains trump's state to lose, and frankly, it remains trump's nomination to lose. the haley campaign, clear-eyed about that. when i talked with their campaign manager just several hours ago this morning, she

said, we know the odds, but we also know the stakes. they're planning to stay in through super tuesday as the candidate has said many times. they're going up on the airwaves now with a seven-figure ad in the super tuesday states, giving them some air cover as they also get on the ground in as many of those states as they can over the course of the next week and a half before the march 5th voting day. but i also think what's important to point out here is that when i asked their campaign manager what it means after super tuesday and what metrics they might be looking for to figure out whether or not this is the moment to bow out, whether they feel that voters have considered her sufficiently as an alternative, and are now saying they prefer donald trump, and she can officially end this primary, she dodged that as a alternative and now prefer donald trump and she could officially end this primary, she dodged that question. instead just saying they have people on the ground in states through the end of march. nikki haley herself telling me that after super tuesday, they

haven't thought much about it but they'll take it step by step, alisa. >> we'll see how that changes. alexi, you wrote about the reporting that the former president trump supported a 16 week ban. >> great reporting. apparently trumps like 16 weeks because it is a round number. which is clear that he's thinking about how to sell it. the marketing, the politics around it. as we were talking about, he tried to navigate the abortion issue in the trail, not talking about it more than he needs to but taking credit for role reversal when he feels like it is political expedient. voters in south carolina, they love donald trump there so something like that isn't going to turn them away. but you see in his comments today, backing away from the ivf decision and saying he supports access to ivf treatments. you see how he's thinking about the politics of this in the way

that his party isn't. but again he's responsible for what is happening because of issues like abortion, whether it is 16 weeks, 15 weeks, 6 weeks, zero weeks, he's the reason they're suffering losses up and down the ticket because of these issues. >> alexi, when the haley campaign knows the odds, but they know the stakes. is that what you hear from voters too? are they focused on the stakes? >> i think every haley voter is aware of the stakes and the landscape. they know this is a long shot for her. not one of them that i've spoken to think she's going to win outright here. but that is not the goal when you talk to this campaign or this candidate. they simply say they want to close the gap. they want to beat people's expectations and right now the expectations are that trump wins here two to one. so hailez' team has a team if they keep barnstorming the state. >> thank you both for spending time with us. special coverage of tomorrow's south carolina primary kicks off

at 6:30 p.m. rachel maddow will be here and steve kornacki breaking things down at the big board. that is tomorrow night at 6:30. we'll sneak in a quick break. we'll be right back. own for can, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer, fda-approved for 16 types of cancer. one of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, non-small cell lung cancer, where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness,

fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation or have a nervous system problem. depending on the type of cancer, keytruda may be used alone or in combination with other treatments, and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials, exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you. to a child, this is what conflict looks like. children in ukraine are caught in the crossfire of war, forced to flee their homes. a steady stream of refugees has been coming across all day. it's basically cold. lacking clean water and sanitation. exposed to injury, hunger.

exhausted and shell shocked from what they've been through. every dollar you give can help bring a meal, a blanket, or simply hope to a child living in conflict. please call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month, that's just $0.33 a day. we cannot forget the children in places like syria, born in refugee camps, playing in refugee camps, thinking of the camps as home. please call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month. your gift can help children like ara in afghanistan, where nearly 20 years of conflict have forced the people into extreme poverty. weakened and unable to hold herself up, ara was brought to a save the children's center, where she was diagnosed and treated for severe malnutrition.

every dollar helps. please call or go online to givenowtosave.org today with your gift of $10 a month. just $0.33 a day. and thanks to special government grants that are available now, every dollar you give can multiply up to ten times the impact. and when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special save the children tote bag to show you won't forget the children who are living their lives in conflict. every war is a war against children. please give now. with just one sentence on the swipe of a pen, tennessee governor signed into law a bill that deals a blow to marriage equality. is it states a person shall not

be required to summarize a marriage. meaning any government official could refuse to certify a marriage license for any reason whatsoever. it puts it, the law allows tennessee to undermine the supreme court ruling while avoiding a direct challenge to the precedent. experts compared the new tennessee law to the campaign raged against roe v. wade in which many states pass aggressive abortion bans in the years leading up to dobbs. when we come back, donald trump's latest rhetoric raising fresh fears of authoritarianism. that and nicolle wallace, all coming up next. meanwhile, at a vrbo... when other vacation rentals aren't what they're cracked up to be, try one where you know what you'll get.

when i first learned about my dupuytren's contracture, my physician referred me to a hand specialist. and i'm glad he did, because when i took the tabletop test, i couldn't lay my hand flat anymore. the first hand specialist i saw only offered surgery. so, i went to a second hand specialist who also offered nonsurgical options - which felt more right for me. so, what i'd say to other people with dupuytren's contracture is this: don't wait —find a hand specialist trained in nonsurgical options, today. i found mine at findahandspecialist.com.

this election is about who shares your values. let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values.

when i talk about the bible, it is very perm, so i don't want to get into. >> that you mean a lot to you or you cite. >> the bible means a lot to me. >> even to cite a verse. >> i don't want to do that? probably equal. >> hi, again, everyone. it is 5:00 here in washington, d.c. i'm alisa menendez in for nicolle wallace. when donald trump was first running for the presidency, that is what we saw in the appeal to the religious right. now after having won over evangelical and nominated three justices to the supreme court who voted to over turn roe v. wade, trump is showing christians he's still their supposed champion. but his approach has taken a much darker turn. last night trump spoke at the national religious broadcasters convention in nashville. where he characterized the

upcoming election in the starkest of terms. a battle between good and evil. need for christians to safeguard their selves against a wicked system and then revived rhetoric that had the hair on the back of the necks of authoritarianism experts stand up. >> this time the greatest threat is not from the outside of our country, i really believe this. it is from within. it is the people from within our country that are more dangerous than the people outside. we can handle china. we could handle russia. we could handle all of them if you have a smart leader. but the inside people have kre dangerous. they're very sick people in my opinion. in many cases. they're sick. >> and just to be clear, he wasn't talking about himself. now we don't like to further amplify trump's fear-mongering. but it is important context to get the full picture of this authoritarianism ways. when trump first made comments about the enemy within, a professor at nyu who studies fascism and is often on this

show, he said the overall strategy is an obvious one of dehumanizing people so the public will not have as much of the outcry at the things that you want to do. what trump wants to do is win back the presidency and rule with absolute power. he believes the president could do whatever he or she wants. he has talked about weaponizing the justice department against his enemies and attempting to fight his criminal indictments by saying a president is immune from prosecution. it is an argument currently before the supreme court after a district court ruled against him in the federal election interference case. this is the defense he used in a filing last night in the second of his forward cases. classified documents. saying that the decision to designate documents as personal, we're seeing trump's authoritarianism become more and more overt and brazen and that is where we start this hour with legal analyst mary mccord, also

with me professor of politics and contributor, jason johnson, an the founder of democracy docket and mark alias. a lot of friends with us on the table. when you hear all of that, mary, which alarm bells go off for you. >> this is classic. i'm going out and trying to pander to a particular crowd. and this is really offensive to people who are christians to hear some of what he says. christians against christian nationalism is one organization out there saying, look, you know, christianity is about accepting all religions, not saying this is the only religion. so he's not being true to the religious people who actually believe in what christianity stands for. and again, it is that type of fear-mongering, that type of just simply pandering to those who he thinks want to hear that. but to hop ahead to his motion last night on -- filed a similar

motion to dismiss the mar-a-lago case, the classified documents case, similar to the one that he filed in d.c. where he lost and said i should be immune from criminal prosecution from everything that i did within the scope of my official acts as president. in d.c. he said that everything that had to do with undermining the election was within his official acts, talking to his department of justice and talking to legislators and mike pence and now he's saying everything that i did with respect to the classified documents was within my official acts because i made the decision back when i was in the white house, to designate some of these as presidential personal records. but that would only help him with classified documents, not the obstruction offenses which is no way he could say he did those while he was back in off. and i think he's trying to get a different decision out of judge cannon than out of judge chutkan

and maybe trying to convince the supreme court, keep waiting a while, to decide, give me more time before you make any decisions about the pending -- the pending motion in the supreme court to take this case. because, look, we need to let this percolate in the 11th circuit. he's trying to create his own circuit split. i don't think he'll get it. but i think he's trying to make this all look more attractive to the supreme court. >> let's tally that, mark. you have a perversion of religion. a perversion of justice. you have a perversion of democracy and it is not just him. you had a right-wing conspiracy theory at cpac saying welcome to the end of democracy, we're here to overthrow it completely. we didn't get it all the way there on january 6 but we'll endeavor to get rid of it. it is not even saying the quiet part out loud, it is with a bull

horn. >> cpac is the trump convention. the rnc and the republican national convention is good, but if you want to know what donald trump and his supporters believe, cpac is the blessed. it is the authorized vehicle for that. and so it is time for us to recognize that these are not just words. when donald trump records a robocall or recording a video for rona mcdaniel, he doesn't mean any of that. when he said these things to -- out of his own mouth to the christian organization, or at cpac and his supporters talking about doing away with democracy, that is what they mean. when they say that this is following up on january 6, that is what they mean. and so when you see them trying to make it harder to vote and easier to -- to cheat elections, that is what they mean. they are trying to steal the outcome of the elections and trying to set up a excuse and

permission structure engage not just in frivolous litigation, but setting up the next january 6. >> here is the thing. which often we focus on donald trump, for good reason. because he is persuasive, there are people that listen to him. at same time, the threat has grown beyond donald trump. it is not as though if he doesn't win the nomination and doesn't win a second term, that the threat goes away. >> oh, no. >> because there is now a legion of followers who are not pro-democracy, who are actively talking about overthrowing democracy and so in that way, that is what actually needs reckoning with. >> the whole part about the sort of trump riot that is problematic to me, is that we don't spend enough time talking about 37% of the american population is cool with white nationalism and fascism. he can't do what he's doing if

people didn't want to hear it. and i want to hear the jay-cannistan. >> half a dozen of your family. >> that is the problem. but the danger is that we have a cpac conference full of people who worship this man and he's at a christian nationalist conference. i know a lot of christians. they aren't there. they're not talking about the bible that i have any understanding of. and that is what it dangerous. we have an increasing number of people who are perfectly okay, including a crazy guy who was saying if we had go grocery stores it is okay to have a dictatorship. team people are saying that fascism is okay and long as the trains run on time an that is the change in public discourse. >> the fact that he's pushing this immunity argument is part

and parcel. because this is the idea i'm greater, i'm omnipotent and i could do whatever i want and it is about authoritarianism and this idea of having a person who is called upon to be of service. >> i think that is right. an i think that a lot of the commentary on this network and more generally in the thoughtful media, is about the impact that the immunity rulings will have on the trial date. and that is not to be ignored. but there is another reason why he's pushing so publicly this immunity argument. sometimes and i do a lot of work for candidates and i know you have all been involved in campaigns to one extent or another. sometimes you want the candidate to run on a platform so that when they win, they could govern on it and i think donald trump is also setting up a reality that he could say, if he were to win an election, look, i told you i was running on an immunity

platform. i told you from the day i announced, i could shoot people on fifth avenue and still get elected and i ran on a platform of defying court orders and not returning documents that i'm not entitled to, i ran on a platform of having january 6ers and i ran on a platform to be immune and do whatever i want when i invoke the insurrection act. so i think it is very dangerous not just because he's trying to delay his trial and all of that. but because he wants this to be a legitimatized view if, god forbid, he would be re-elected. >> don't appreciate being called myopic but i'll take it because your analysis is spot on. what is next and because we want to see accountability an it is tied to the time line given all of this is proceeding in the midst of a presidential election. but however, i do take mark's point and we talk about how the

arguments put forward by team trump aren't legal arguments. they're political arguments. we say as if their legal arguments, but their political arguments meant to lay a groundwork for future governance. >> i think that is true. because trump is out there saying in all of his rallies and all of his speeches, you have to have immunity to be president. you can't possibly do what it takes to be the president if he don't have immunity. truman wouldn't have been able to drop the atomic bomb and other things that presidents have done in wartime in things like that, where these are functions that are expected of our president. and then in parallel, his attorneys are basically making the same argument, right. you have to have immunity if you're president or you're not going to be able to do any of the things that the president needs to be able to do. and more over, they take the next step and they do exactly what donald trump is also promising, he would do. which is if there is no

immunity, this is going to start a cycle of retribution that repeats with every single presidency, once out of office, the new president persecuted his former president. and it is almost like that is inevitable. and that is all again because mr. trump is saying i'm being persecuted, right. and i will persecute my enemies when i'm elected president again. he's been very open, right. >> i know we're past the point of being surprised by hypocrisies and the irony, but the supposed small government party is now talking about and supporting a rapid expansion of executive authority. >> only when it benefits them, though. that is only -- none of this has to do with the economy or helping anyone with health care. this is just i want to make sure that i could beat up on everybody when i heat when i get back in office. and i think the scary part is when i look at merrick garland and i look at our corrupted and

completelyil legitimate supreme court that has three justices who shouldn't be there right now and we had a congress that wasn't dedicated to keeping this mad man in some potential access to political power, we have too many people in our federal government who do not recognize the danger of this. the man has said, i'm going to get back into office and i'm going to throw everybody in a gulag. and rather than the department of justice be more aggressive or the supreme court saying i'm going to take this case right now and shut this down, everybody is letting this stall, everybody is letting this continue and continue. there should be no immunity for this. you can't have immunity forever. i can't call shotgun in 1997 and always get in the side car. it doesn't work that way. and that is what the man is arguing. and instead of people seeing this as an inherent danger, we have a justice department and a supreme court saying this is fine because we think we're going to survive into matter what happens. >> i think mark would argue,

when it comes to the question specifically of the supreme court and immunity, that they recognize that they're making a decision that is broader than donald trump. and that would be based on pretty thin case law. the stakes are high and while you would make the arguments the stakes are high, let's get moving. they would make the argument the stakes are high, we need to get this right. >> to a point, sure. but first, the u.s. supreme court moves very quickly on matt ores that it wants to move very quickly on. there are a lot of men and fewer women, but men and women who have been executed by the u.s. supreme court moving quite quickly to ensure that they get executed. we have seen the supreme court when it wants to halt an expansion of voting rights that a lower court orders. we've seen the supreme court been able to move quickly in the halting the expansion of voting rights. so there is fast and fast

enough. but the second point i would make, which really echoes jason's, is that there is a saying that goes back several decades that the constitution is not a suicide pact. we call these folks justices for a reason. they're job is to dispense justice. and to ensure that the courts are not turned into a vehicle of injustice. and i think, this is not aimed at any particular justice or any particular court or trial court, but it is very important that the judges and justices who oversee these trump cases not allow themselves to become used and instruments of nonjustice, of injustice. by lawyers who are willing to say and do anything and by a -- by a defendant, a criminal defendant in many of these cases who is willing to defy norms. i've been appalled frankly at the leeway that he has been given to attack the judiciary

and paralyze courts, by the way, if you go down the street to d.c. superior court, if a man looks at a bailiff, and gets thrown in jail for contempt. >> and we're asking will these guardrails hold if he were to have a second term, right. so right now it feels like we're testing those guardrails and that is why there is so much attention and energy being spent on this? >> absolutely. i mean, not only has he been clear about what he wants to do as president in terms of being all powerful and om knishent and untouchable. but he's telling us that we're going to be having round ups of undocumented immigrants in the cities and flying them by military jet to, you know, essentially concentration camps.

>> and there are u.s. citizens that get caught up the mix. >> the playbook is there. so we have to call attention to it. but we also have to, you know, fill up our institutions. and we could talk about justices moving too slowly. there is no question about it. but the courts have been if the last several years, some of our best places to go to ensure that the rule of law matters. i mean, mark was responsible for so many of the cases defeating the cases that trump and his team brought up to the last election. bogus and frivolous cases, baseless cases that were thrown out of court because the courts did the right thing. i mean, we could quarrel with some of judge cannon's ruling minute mar-a-lago case, but the judges are getting to the cases and they certainly moved very fast in d.c. supreme court is taking a court to make a decision about whether to take the case or not but they do move quickly and they do seem to -- and i would point to the

january 6 cases. more than 1200 cases that the judges in the d.c. district court have had to handle. many of those have gone to trial. many being sentenced. those judges are coming out by the person and condemning what happened and condemning that people like mr. trump are calling them hostages or political prisoners and these are judges that are appointed by republicans and judges that are appointed by democrats. >> there is a wide need to get that in the inner circle. what a panel. thank you so much for starting us off. what we have been talking about here, just a preview of what is coming up on "deadline: white house" starting next week. it is a special series. we're calling it american autocracy. it could happen here. we'll be talking with a number of special guests about the danger of a second trump term and his disregard for democracy and how a president who aspires

to be an autocrat will upend life as we know it. and when we return, president biden taking action against russia after the death of alexei navalny and after the brutal invasion of ukraine. and what it will accomplish and what ukraine needs to be free. that is next. and later, it is the moment so many of us have been waiting for. nicolle wallace will join us with a very special announcement. "deadline: white house" continues after a quick break. don't go anywhere. don't go anywhere. wait! t-mobis home internet? ♪ what a feeling! ♪ ♪ to have t-mobile now! ♪

hi, i'm kevin, and i've lost 152 pounds on golo. ♪ what a feeling! ♪ i had just left a checkup with my doctor, and i'd weighed in at 345 pounds. my doctor prescribed a weight loss drug, but as soon as i stopped taking the drug, i gained all the weight back and then some. that's when i decided to give golo a try. taking the release supplement, i noticed a change within the first week, and each month the weight just kept coming off. with golo, you can keep the weight off.

shhh... [ achoo ] [ flatulence ] the biden administration today announced its most extensive package of sanctions

against russia since the brutal invasion of ukraine two years ago. they come one week after the death of alexei navalny, who died in a penal colony. among those on the sanctions list, those directly tried to his imprisonment. it is a effort to blunt russia's military capables as the "new york times" points out, with congress struggling to reach an agreement on providing more aid to ukraine, the united states has become reliant on financial tools to restock military supplies and put pressure on its economy. the president laid out just how much is at stake today in a statement writing, if futin did not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going and the cost to the united states andal our alleys will rise. joining me now analyst admiral

james strad. >> and executive director of the mccain institute, admiral, will the sanctions work? >> they will continue to grind away, but they are not a panacea. it is not a sudden turnaround here. and that is the case with sanctions. think about south africa and apartheid. it was decaded about they really impacted. so it will be a positive effect in the sense that it will slow down putin semly in two ways. one is, it will enforce a cap that is in place on oil prices, that is a good ing this. and then number two, it will be a lot of tactical effort going after vid entities that are continuing to do business. but alicia, the entities that are focused on the arms, that russia is producing. so it is both a strategic effect on the price of russian oil, and

a precision effect in slowing down the russian arms. >> evelyn, do you agree? >> absolutely. as admiral said, these sanctions are not the silver bullet. they do contribute to the overall policy effort to stop vladimir putin and his aggressive foreign policy by cutting off cash to the russian government and the fact that they've targeted entities outside of russia in places like china, the united arab emirates and serbia, means it may have a more disruptive immediate impact and over the long-term the administration will have to work to keep on shoring up sanctions. they are dynamic. you need to keep at it. >> we're here in part because congress has not acted on this aid package. i want you to take a listen to what president biden had to say today. >> ukraine is still free an the

people of ukraine remain unbowed and unbroken in the face of putin's vigorous onslaught. this is due to their sheer bravery and sack rice and due to us. remember, the united states pulled together a coalition of more than 50 nations to support ukraine. we unified and expanded nato. we can't walk away now. and that is what putin is betting on. he's betting on we're going to walk away. >> does the sanctions package do enough to show that we're in the president's words not going to walk away. >> no. i mean, the most important thing that we could do is to provide the assistant to ukraine as fast as possible so they could buy the regular ammunition that they need just to keep themselves from being overrun by the russias and then frankly to provide them with longer range artillery to give ukraine a chance to see if the initiative on the battlefield, on the ground. so we need to pass the sanctions

immediately. the ukraines don't understand why americans are holding this up. frankly most americans should wonder why just a few republicans on the far right are holding up what is in the u.s. interest. >> admiral, to that point, we've had reporting here that the ukraine army are rationing bullets. for folks who may not get it. how do you explain how this is not just about ukraine, this is just not about russia, this is about the global world order. you could should care about ukraine because in my opinion you should care about ukraine, you should care about ukraine because you care about democracy around the world. >> you absolutely should. and history is pretty instructive here. if we go back about 100 years ago, to the 1920s, the united states came up with this idea that we would pull all of our troops out of europe and reject the league of nations and the

governing body that was trying to be put in place. we would erect big tariff bear yeses and the ideas that we could do everything here at home. how did that end up? we ended up with the rise of fascism in europe and the rise of the japanese imperial empire and tokyo and nation after nation were conquered by those who war machines. we ended up ultimately in a global war that cost tens of millions of lives. we don't have to imagine what would happen if the united states just pulled out and came home. it would be manifestly foolish and then finally we are bound to nato. it is our greatest asset in the international world and it -- the europeans have immense capability, they're collective defense budget is the second largest in the world. after the united states. more than china, more than

russia. we need to keep nato alive, functioning and being part of the solution globally. final point to dr. farcas's excellent point. she leads the mccain institute. think what john mccain would assess, the republican party walking away from freedom and democracy. it breaks my hart. >> to that point, evelyn, you had a group of democratic senators meet with president zelenskyy today. and here is what he had to say to them. >> you're coming here, it is a very strong message from the united states, from you're people, people of all america, to help support, big support and i know that -- i know that americans on the side of truth and we share a common values and

thank you very much that you're helping us to save democracy. not only in ukraine, of course, the fight for democracy and freedom in the world. >> here is the problem that is compelling as that is, that is a group of democratic senators, those are members of the choir, they are already on board. the problem is getting that message to resonate with republicans. >> yeah, and alicia, it is not just republicans, because actually the republican senators voted in a majority vote for assistance to ukraine. so they voted for the latest package and senator mcconnell has been trongly in favor of supporting ukraine. it is the house republicans and the far right contingent of them that needs to understand or appreciate somehow that they are actually putting u.s. interests and u.s. lives at stake. because if vladimir putin is not stopped in the battlefield, he will not stop. i mean, he's already said what his intentions are.

he would like to recreate the soviet union and he will challenge nato, he doesn't want it on his borders and that is dangerous because it is nato is our number one alliance. it works to support, to defend our interests. we would have to come to the defense of our interests in russia challenges us militarily, and that means u.s. troops on the ground and u.s. lives in the balance. >> thank you both so much for joining us. when he are return, the state of florida once again turning its back on science and in the process putting kids at risk. how governor ron desantis top dr. is navigating a measle outbreak by giving parents very dangerous advice. y dangerous advice don't touch it, don't touch it yet. let me get the big one. nope. -this one? -nope. -this one? -yes. no. what? the big one. they're all the same size. wait! lemme get 'em all. i'm gonna get 'em all! earn big with chase freedom unlimited.

how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours.

i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling in ra and psa. relieve fatigue for some... and stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin; heart attack, stroke, and gi tears occurred. people 50 and older with a heart disease risk factor have an increased risk of death. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. done settling?

ask your rheumatologist for rinvoq. and take back what's yours. abbvie could help you save. this election is about who shares your values. and take back what's yours. let me share mine. i'm the only candidate with a record of taking on maga republicans, and winning. when they overturned roe, i secured abortion rights in our state constitution. when trump attacked our lgbtq and asian neighbors, i strengthened our hate crime laws. i fought for all of us struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

i'm evan low, and i approve this message for all of our shared values. ron desantis's hand-picked surgeon general joseph ladapo is facing criticism over his handling of a measles outbreak in one florida school. in a letter to parents, he said the school had six confirmed measles cases. instead of following the normal recommendation, the parents keep unvaccinated children home, the state health department is referring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance. it is just the latest episode the state bucking public health norms, marley when it comes to

vaccines. let's bring in former policy director and medical contributor dr. kavita patel and also with me political analyst and pollster, fern and amandi. i think this is outrageous, because i'm a parent who lives in the great state of new jersey and i have to send in my kid's vaccination forms every yooer to make sure they are protected. give me your reaction to this guidance and what parents out there need to know about why this is a problem. >> yeah, this is not guidance, this is mal practice and possibly criminal -- i'm not a lawyer. this feels like the very definition of criminal neglect because this goes against everything that we know against science and to be clear, these counties in florida have a mandate on the books. there are only religious and medical exemptions. but imagine that is probably being used in cases that are not clearly medical and not

necessarily religious because there has been so much misinformation and anti-vax sentiment from this surgeon general who the governor apointed. so just to be clear, if you're a parent listening to this, not just florida, at least 11 states have had outbreaks that we should not have, we had a .20 years ago when we had no cases because we have a vaccine that provided life long immunity. so if you're exposed, you could still get vaccinated. and if you've been exposed and you should not be anywhere near anybody that has cases of measles for 21 days as you pointed out. but here, the governor and the surgeon general are saying choose your own adventure at your own risk. because if your unvaccinated, one in five could be hospitalized and we don't have statistics on what it looks like today but one in a thousand

could die. or could suffer long-term consequences. and let me repeat this again. we have a safe, and life long immunity protective vaccine. that is not a debate. and that should not be confused with any sort of misinformation that is out there from unfortunately a medical person. like this is a doctor putting this information out there. it is -- >> ferdinand, i talk about the choose your own adventure of it all. republicans decided that parental choice was a winner for them when it came to education. they're trying to enforce that same idea when it comes to public health which means not just what happens to your own kids, we live together in community, we are impacted by each other's health choices. i want to ask you, as a floridian, how you see this playing out, as a parent, how you see in playing out and just way in which it sort of gets to the ron desantis of it all. >> well, i mean, it's

horrifying. and that is what happens when you have anti-science, fringe quasifield cracks making decisions over public health with dr. ladapo. he also spread knowing misinformation about the covid vaccines, during the height of the pandemic. and i think as dr. patel said earlier, the biggest concern is not just for me and my children that are having to cope with the idea that measles that have been eradicated in the year 2000, could compromise the life of someone. i thought it was noteworthy that the predecessor of the current surgeon general, scott rivski who was appointed by desantis, said this is not a parental choice, this is about protecting teachers and children and the vulnerable who are susceptible to a highly transmissable disease in measles. so it is horrifying and i imagine what is next. they're going to probably now

say that frozen embryos are also children? wait a minute. they did say that. that is the republican party today. hostile to science, hostile to children and parents and family. >> dr. patel, so to that point about the measles. it is extremely contagious and infection spread rapidly. young children are especially vulnerable because first dose is not given until a child is 12 to 15 months old. the cdc recommends two doses of the mmr vaccine with the second dose at four through six. a drop below 95% vaccine could compromise herd immunity and allow a virus to spread for quickly. florida state vaccination coverage is 90.6% but statewide vaccination coverage does not identify pacts where there are lower coverage. that is extraordinarily alarming, dr. patel. >> yeah. and we are seeing this unfortunately in other states as well. so it is alarming on so many

levels including the fact that unfortunately, during the pandemic, we have had a lot of vaccination schedules get misaligned. people were behind in their vaccination. and then when they come in to get caught up, maybe i don't want to get the measles vaccine. there is still this outdated false information about links went that vaccine and autism. i still see that out there on social media. that's been refuted time and time again in very valid medical literature. so you could imagine that the misinformation is winning in this case because the statistics you cite, there is no good reason to not give your child the measles vaccine. so if you don't remember if you've had one, go talk to your dr. because you could still get one. if you're over the age of 12 months, you should get one. and it will still help you, it takes weeks to develop the antibodies. i will flot be popular for saying this, we're coming into

spring break, rethink your travel plans if you're going to some of the states, including this part of florida. this is not, if you've got an unvaccinated child, this probably not the state to welcome you in given the state of public health and what they're saying about science and how much they care about their citizens. >> doctor kavita patel, and fern nand, thank you for your clarity here. and it is a very big day here on "deadline: white house." coming up, nicolle wallace going to join us live with a very special announcement. you do not want to miss this. stay with us. ent. you do not want to miss this stay with us

i have loved sitting in on "deadline: white house" over the last couple of months and i can't tell you how many times i've heard this question. when is nicolle coming back. it is a question i've wondering myself. so we decided to phone a fence for an answer. hello, nicolle. >> hi there, my friend. well you know the answer. because i think we're here on day 21 without getting out of your work and tv and hair and makeup. i'm coming back monday. >> monday. all right. so now everyone on x, you could stop googling the nbc maternity policy to figure out the maximum amount of time. it is amazing how progressive

people could be around maternity leave until their favorite host takes a break to be with baby. how is babyizy and how is big brother and how are you all adapting. >> everyone is perfect. and as you know, because you have missed your babies by sitting in that chair, so that i could be with my babies, for the last three months and a little bit. it is the older one that really milks the most out of maternity leave. the baby is happy that i'm here but it is my 12-year-old, who i think after about two months, as soon as he barrels through the door, he wants to look at his phone and i'm like, hey, what are we doing today. who has had the biggest life change for mom being home all day every day for three months. it is been awesome to be with both of them. >> it is so sweet and i want to underscore for anyone who might have missed that big news, nicolle is going to be returning to us monday.

and she's not just going to have a casual return. she's not just going to come back and do your average "deadline: white house" show. no, she's ambitious and launching a new series, american autocracy. tell us about it. >> well as you know because you're on the receiving end of a lot of my texts. they come, you know, at 2:47 a.m. and i think one of them went to pat burky, a brilliant executive producer and i said i think when i come back, i want to do a whole thing on how we don't think like this, but it could happen here. it could happen in america. we could have a president who turns the fbi into a secret police and i haven't seen a lot of the news, but i did catch some of the arguments in the election interference case where this question of whether trump could simply have s.e.a.l. team

6 go after his enemies and it's a political one, it is something the whole country should be grappling with because that is what the head of the republican party is running on this time. >> nicolle, i have wondered and i don't get the two 2:45 a.m., i get the 5:30 a.m. text when i text you back. but there is something nice about stepping away for a little bit. not only in terms of the time that allows to you bond with your new and changing family, but also because i don't know about you, but i think i see things more clearly when i'm not in the day-to-day. when i'm not following the bouncing ball and some of what i think we could say is minutia. i wonder when you have stepped back and had a minute to think a minute to think about this big picture, what it is you're most excited to come back and focus onto talk us through these next few months am. >> well, i think that when you're away you are filled up

with the humility, right, that we are so blessed to have viewers that come to us every day, that there's so many people who aren't seeking out all of the information and who aren't voraciously consuming information about the threat to our democracy. and that's what makes this show and the team that puts it together every day, because whether i sit there or you sit there, or our beloved colleague ali velshi sits there, it is what it is because of the producers and the directors and the guests who come and sit at that table. and what i realized in stepping away is that people that don't come to the table and people that don't take in this information aren't ambivalent about democracy. they just have other things competing for their attention. and so i -- i spent some time thinking about how to bring them

to the table once a week or how to find them on youtube or how to find them on their phones or how to have a conversation with, you know, the noun and the verb isn't trump trumping, it's the country we love, and is it going to continue to be what we think it all is and what we want it to be? i think the slow motion car wreck that was eliminating an access to a right wave had in the country for 50 years is something that didn't just break through, it smashed through, you know, like violent scenes of cars crashing through the exterior of a house, that's big stuff that everybody knows about. but some of the things i knew the ins and outs of and could talk about for two hours every filing and development in trump's legal travail, for whatever reason they're not really front of mind for everybody. and so i think i thought a lot about how to sort of mesh all of

that, and what are the things that tie all those things together and that's really one party and one movement, and they're led by a guy named trump. but there are some big things going on in the country that aren't as divisive that i hope will unite people and that's, you know, not turning our country into an autocracy. >> i'm very excited, i think we all are for you to bring more people to that table and be at that table yourself. just listening to you, nicolle, i have missed your voice, your glasses on, glasses off, the clarity you alone bring. nicolle, we are so excited to see you on monday. >> i'm not coming up until -- i only got to take this time because really you graciously agreed to pull a seven-day week and to work extra shifts. and ali velshi did the same for a long time.

and to have made the sacrifice of working every day of the week and again not seeing your young kiddos and to have done it so brilliantly and expertly and so professionally is something i'll be grateful for forever and i know our viewers are and i know our brilliant staff and team are, too. before we get into that break, i wanted to thank you. >> pat is more mad at you, but i am angry for the fact this mascara has been almost entirely ruined. we'll see you on the other side. ruined we'll see you on the other side. aaaaaaaahhhh kayak. search one and done.

only at vanguard you're more than just an investor you're an owner. that means your priorities are ours too. our retirement tools and advice can help you leave a legacy for the ones you love. that's the value of ownership. ♪♪ we're building a better postal service. all parts working in sync to move your business forward. 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.

former cap fol police officer hairy dunn off to a strong start for a seat representing maryland's third district announced a new slate of members for congress including two former january 6th committee members adam schiff and committee chairman benny thompson. and as a first time candidate he's pulled in a whopping $2.75 million from the grass roots donation website in january. that is more than any democratic candidate for the house or senate pulled in from act blue, more than the dnc itself. significantly outraising the rest of the primary field in his district. going to sneak in one more break, and we'll be right back. e break, and we'll be right back

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 i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein! those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. -ugh. -here, i'll take that. woo hoo! ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar, 25 vitamins and minerals. and a new fiber blend with a prebiotic. (♪♪) to advance the future of golf, pga of america chose t-mobile for business. with a 5g powered innovation hub to analyze player performance and expand coaching tools. take your business further with america's largest 5g network. everywhere but the seat. the seat is leather. take your business further alan, we get it. you love your bike. we do, too. that's why we're america's number-one motorcycle insurer. but do you have to wedge it into everything? what? i don't do that. this reminds me of my bike. the wolf was about the size of my new motorcycle.

have you seen it, by the way? happy birthday, grandma! really? look how the brushstrokes follow the line of the gas tank. -hey! -hey! brought my plus-one. jamie?

is it possible to count on my internet like my customers count on me? it is with comcast business. keeping you up and running with our 99.9% network reliability. and security that helps outsmart threats to your data. moaire dida twoo? - your data, too. there's even round-the-clock customer support. so you can be there for your customers. with comcast business, reliability isn't just possible. it's happening. get started for $49 a month. plus, ask how to get up to a $800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet package. don't wait, call and switch today!

thank you for spending this friday with us and for welcoming me as i sat in for nicolle. i hope you're going to join us tomorrow for "the weekend" with my co-hosts. on saturday we'll talk to james claiborne and on sunday former cia director john brennen will be with us. i hope you join us for "the weekend" saturday and sunday 8:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. the beat with ari melber starts right now. >> welcome to the beat. i'm ari melber. and we're following this breaking news. just moments ago a huge