here. michael cohen, there today. lisa, we have less than a minute in the show. explain what a prep session would look like. >> prep session involves taking a witness through potential questions that you anticipate them being asked both on direct examination by the state and cross examination by the other side. all the things that could be embarrassing to or damaging to that person, you want to draw the sting out in your direct examination, prep the witness for it too. >> lisa, thank you so much. thank you, caroline. nice to have you here. never know what kind of breaking news is going to drop on any given day and you ladies were ready. thank you so much at home for joining us. we'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. for now, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our breaking news coverage right now. good morning, it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific,

i'm jose diaz-balart and we begin with breaking news out of georgia. just in the last hour, fulton county judge scott mcafee dismissed some of the charges against former president donald trump and some of his co-defendants in the state's election interference case. the judge said six these counts in the indictments lack sufficient detail. joining us now, msnbc legal contributor and host of the katie phang show, katie phang, also catherine christian, an msnbc legal analyst, and greg blew steen, political reporter at the atlantic journal constitution and an msnbc contributor. katie, what exactly did the judge stay, which charges were they, and how significant are they? >> so, jose, this is not the ruling on the motion to disqualify the district attorney fani willis. we're going to start with that kind of ground work. but what it does do is it dismisses six of the counts in the indictment that was secured by fani willis from a grand

jury. and that's another important point because this was not an information or indictment that had charges that were generated by fani willis. she went to a grand jury and the grand jury said these are the following charges and there are specifically cous for the following crimes, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, and what judge mcafee has ruled is that the motions to dismiss that were filed by the defendants including donald trump, the indictment as currently pled lacks specificity to be able to put the defendants on notice to be able to allow them to prepare adequately for trial. i apologize, that's my dog. and so what the judge has said is, one, this is not with prejudice, meaning fani willis could go and seek reindictment, if she should choose to do so,

and, two, basically it is as of right now, there are only certain charges that remain for certain defendants, but the judge said, you know what, look, there is a requirement under the law that even though there may be a whole bunch of stuff that is put in an indictment, if you don't have enough for a defense to -- a defendant to understand what they're going to be facing when they go to trial, that's a problem and that's what happened in this instance. >> so, katie, among these six charges are the ones that related to the now famous phone call between then president trump and secretary in georgia. >> yeah, and that is something that obviously is raising some alarms for those of us that have been following this case closely because that now infamous phone call on january -- january of 2021 from trump to brad raffensperger was the pressure campaign, right? it was one of the most overt acts that were done by donald trump to pressure georgia state officials to be able to overturn the lawful results of that 2020 election. but because there is an oath

that is taken by a public official, that they should not be violating, that is what this indictment is doing. this indictment is basically saying, these defendants tried to solicit these public officials to violate that oath, but it doesn't have the level of specificity that is required for these defendants to understand exactly what was donald wrong in this case. so that is why we're all watching this very carefully. we have reached out to the fulton county d.a.'s office to ask them what is your reaction going to be, are you going to pursue further review of this. there is also an appellate review process that can be done, but i think most importantly i think the d.a.'s office right now had to take a breath and kind of take stock of what's left in this multipage indictment to decide is it worth it to try to chase down appellate review or go back to a grand jury to empanel that grand jury and say we want to see further indictment on these charges. >> so, greg, you've been closely covering this case. how do you think this shapes the future of this case?

>> we're all watching, any day now the judge could rule on this underlying disqualifying motion, of course, and you can read tea leaves to say he's skeptical of the charges. we'll see if fani willis decides to reindict these defendants on these specific charges, but a reminder that infamous phone call with secretary of state brad raffensperger was not the only phone call, these charges involve other calls as well that were made to the late house speaker dave ralston, governor ryan kemp, former lieutenant governor jeff duncan, pressuring them to invalidate joe biden's victory. a victory for the defense attorneys now, they're exuberant, but we'll see what happens with fani willis going forward, not just the underlying disqualifying motion, but, of course, whether or not she decides to reindict any of the defendants. >> catherine, how do you read this? was this a -- this just came out

of the blue? >> yeah, it is what we were expecting his decision on whether or not the d.a. is disqualified and he slipped this in here. it is a victory -- it is always a victory for a defense when they get an indictment dismissed. they didn't get the rico charge dismissed. they didn't get the conspiracy. so, the solicitation, the judge is right, you have to give defendants actual notice. footnote eight, page eight, the judge makes it clear, the indictment is not dismissed. yes, these counts are dismissed, but the bulk of this case is still in tact and that's the rico and the conspiracy charges. >> certainly. there are ten more charges that are still in tact. but katie phang, is there a message here by the judge? >> no. and to catherine's point and greg follows the system really closely too, it is kind of an interesting thing, we're reading tea leaves here, but this is the

process. there are motions that are filed to attack the sufficiency of an indictment all of the time. what is interesting, though, is judge mcafee is continuing the process. i want to emphasize this, he didn't pump the brakes on this case proceeding, even though there was a pending disqualification motion for fani willis. in fact, at the original setting of the evidentiary hearing, he was actually doing the oral arguments on some of these motions. and i think that's really telling that we're getting this order today. it shows that judge mcafee is doing the work that needs to be done, and, number two, i think it also shows -- in my opinion -- why would you be doing this if you're going to disqualify fani willis anyway. don't hold me to this, it is not gospel, but i think that is an interesting thing that you're getting this order now, but this was going to happen no matter what, jose. this is not some big tell that this indictment is fatally going to be going away one day. in fact, to catherine's point, it is very clear this indictment

is still in play, just portions of it are now gone. >> and so as we have been talking about, this comes at a time when we're still awaiting the decision from judge mcafee on whether to disqualify d.a. fani willis from this case. the judge has intimated he essentially has already made that decision. >> yeah, and, look, he gave himself a deadline of within just a few days. he can breach that deadline. he's the judge. we're expecting that decision any moment. but i want to make clear too, fani willis' pressure is going -- >> greg, i think we just lost you -- >> -- headaches -- >> greg, sorry. >> -- can you hear me? >> i want to make sure we have re-established communication with you, you were cutting out for a minute. i think, let's try that again, if you would. >> i was saying she is still facing all sorts of political

pressure outside the courtroom. she's facing two challengers, still expected to be the primary victor but she's facing a democratic and republican challenger. also in a few hours, governor brian kemp is going to sign legislation into law that with create a d.a. oversight committee that will be used -- could be used to punish or reprimand her and potentially even oust her. we doubt that's going to happen. but senate republicans have already filed a complaint against her, saying that she is misusing public resources to go after donald trump. she's facing all sorts of pressure beyond the courtroom right now here in georgia. >> so, catherine what does this tell you, if anything, about how the judge may be operating in this case to disqualify? >> i agree with katie. why do this if you're going to end up disqualifying the d.a.? which means disqualifying the office. so, i think, you know, i'm not going to bet on it, i think he will not be disqualifying the d.a., particularly if the

standard is actual conflict of interest, which in my opinion the defense attorneys have not made. but we'll see. you can -- i'll have egg on my face if i'm wrong. >> just getting as much information as we can and then waiting to see what the judge decides. katie, meanwhile, michael cohen, star witness in the new york hush money case arrived at the manhattan d.a.'s office just a little while ago for a prep session. what does that mean? >> so, in advance, this is good work for the prosecution or any lawyer in advance of any hearing where you're going to be soliciting testimony from a witness, you want to prepare them. you want to basically sit them down and run through the potential questions that you're going to ask them as well as the potential questions he's going to hear on cross examination. michael cohen is no stranger to the courtroom. he has testified obviously in the new york attorney general's case, he's also testified in other cases. and i think that in this instance, because we are on the eve of trial and despite the

flurry of motions that have been filed by donald trump to either delay it because of the presidential immunity appeal that is in front of scotus or say, you know what, i'm going to assert certain defenses as we saw yesterday, like reliance on counsel, but not actually, you know, wave attorney-client privilege, even though those are being filed, this preparation has to happen and i do think because michael has testified several times, in different forms, in different i was, and has provided sworn testimony, his prep in particular is critical. because we want to know if you're the prosecution, where are the potential achilles heels for his testimony, where are the potential pitfalls, where are the potential inconsistent prior statements that have been done by him so they are ready for those arguments and for those kind of pushbacks that they're going to get from the trump defense. and so, that's what you're seeing, it is good practice, jose to have him go and get ready for trial.

>> greg, catherine, katie phang who today has a star co-counsel and i think has been playing such an important part of the conversation, i very much appreciate. what is your dog's name? >> his name is lucky and he's a rescue and normally he doesn't bark, he's actually on top of the table right now because he wants to be with you guys so badly. so thank you for your patience. >> i love it. we love lucky. thank you, thank you all for being with us this morning. coming up in 60 seconds, a house passes a bill that could lead to the wildly popular tiktok being banned. that's next. plus, the rematch is set as both president biden and former president trump clinch their nominations overnight. steve kornacki is at the big board with what's ahead on the road to 270. overseas, a grim assessment about israel's efforts to get rid of hamas and netanyahu's chances of staying in power. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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13 past the hour. now to more breaking news, this time from capitol hill. just moments ago, the house overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require tiktok's chinese parent company to divest it or face a potential ban in the u.s. president biden is set to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. lawmakers say national security concerns make it necessary for congress to act. >> tiktok is a threat to our national security because it is owned by bytedance, which does the bidding of the chinese communist party. we know this because bytedance leadership says so, and because chinese law requires it. >> this bill is not a ban. it is not about tiktok. it is about bytedance. >> tiktok has been mounting an aggressive and expensive campaign to kill the legislation with a tiktok spokesperson telling nbc news in a statement this morning, quote, the government is attempting to

strip 170 million americans of their constitutional right to free expression. this will damage millions of businesses, deny ayersts an audience, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country. with us to talk more about this, julie tsirkin and cnbc's dominic chu. julie, what does this bill do and it was pretty overwhelmingly supported. >> reporter: it was, jose. one democrat voting present, that's a vote total you really don't see often now on capitol hill. it needed two-thirds majority at least which it easily crossed because it was on fast track through the house because lawmakers have such serious concerns, they say, about the national security implications that tiktok, being owned by a foreign adversary like china, could pose to the 170 million or so americans that use it constantly, but, of course, this vote is indicative of potentially what we could see on the other side of the aisle. i want you to take a listen to

pramila jayapal who opposed this earlier and what she had to say earlier on the bill's prospects in the senate. >> it is not clear to me the senate is going to move on this, which is the other question about, you know, why we're trying to rush this through so quickly, when it just isn't clear the senate would do anything on it. so, we'll certainly share all of our concerns and say that these are the things that would have to be fixed if it were to move forward in the senate. i think are many sfwhorz have also expressed concerns and not just progressive ones the. >> reporter: the senators that jayapal is referring to there are senators who are -- have concerns about the civil liberties protections that rushing a bill like this through could have, that taking away as some senators like rand paul said the first amendment rights of millions -- of hundreds of millions of americans, the threat that could pose. one notable no vote against this bill is that of jim himes, the top democrat on the house intelligence committee. he released a statement saying that he knows better than most, better than in the kinds of

national security threats that face america every single day. he says, however, that unlike our foreign adversaries, the u.s. does not ban newspapers, does not ban social media apps either and that is why he voted against it. but we'll see how fast the senate moves on this. >> and so, dom, does congress actually have the authority to, like, order a company to sell a particular asset? >> so, that's the key question, jose. can congress really make a company change its entire course of business? then again, congress makes the laws, right? so even if there were a question about the legality of making a company do something it does not want to do, congress can put forth legislation that changes those laws. now, there are always cases throughout history when a government can make a national security claim, which is why an overwhelming number of lawmakers support this deal. it is all in an order to prevent businesses from doing business, again, more recently just think about some of those bans that we have put on exports of things

like high tech products, like artificial intelligence computer chips. can't sell them to countries like china. but there is a lot of bipartisan support of those policies that are still in the interest of again, national security. so the business and political ripple effects are being felt on these tiktok issues and a lot of lawmakers were outright facing them, right? even with the overwhelming bipartisan support in the house. julie mentioned the uncertain path in the senate. you throw in the mix conservative opposition from people like former president donald trump, also billionaire ceo and investor elon musk, who both criticized the legislation, with trump saying that a ban on tiktok would only give more power to companies like facebook, which he has been highly critical of, and elon musk saying that a ban would amount to censorship and government control. also, you got republican political megadonors, like venture capitalists who have said that he will never fund any republican candidates who vote

against the tiktok legislation. what it all means is that there is still very complicated issues on the business and legal fronts and they're starting to have divisions even within certain parts of the political landscape that seems very, very strong and cohesive before this, jose. >> julie tsirkin and dominic chu, thank you, both, so very much. with us to continue our coverage is california congressman ro khanna, a member of the select committee on strategic competition between the u.s. and chinese communist party. always a pleasure to see you. i so appreciate your time. you actually voted against this bill. why? >> on free speech groundz. grounds of the first amendment. you can pass an internet bill of rights, you can do things like a financial penalty, a ban is extreme. and you have to have the least restrictive means. secondly, you need under the security an alternative means of

communication and it is very hard to reach tiktok's almost billion users, particularly international users for americans. i don't think the court would think that their alternative means of communication here. >> you're a member of the house select committee on china. what are your concerns about tiktok or do you have them about tiktok and chinese government influence over the app? >> i do have concerns, which is why i would have been fine with a forced sale, but the ban, if the sale doesn't happen, goes too far. my concerns are protecting americans data and privacy and making sure that doesn't get into the hands of the chinese communist party. but we can do that by passing an internet bill of rights. here's my question. we have not done anything in this congress for years to protect americans' privacy. we have not done anything for years to protect kids on social media who are having suicidal thoughts or having eating disorders. how is it that congress acts in a rush to ban tiktok and can't

protect americans on social media? >> so, how do you protect kids and how do you protect the exploitation of social media on vulnerable people? >> well, first, we pass a bill that says your data belongs to you. the apps, whether it is tiktok or facebook, whatever the app is, can't be collecting your data. and secondly, for people under 18, there needs to be regulation in terms of the types of algorithms that are targeting them. those would be things that would protect americans and kids from all social media platforms. >> congressman, just a bigger question, and a thought, so, is it okay, permissible, free speech is free speech for let's say the iranian regime to come up with an app that could be so popular that kids would love it around the world, or the -- or

north korea, or isis or the cuban regime in havana. is there anything stopping those groups or anybody else from trying to do this? >> sure, we have restrictions on foreign investment, from countries that are like iran and north korea. and we had that process here. when tiktok was initially established, it had to go through the same controls of foreign direct investment. if there were actually evidence that there was propaganda coming out of these -- the platform, then that would be one thing. and then you may be able to restrict it given the first amendment concerns. but i had 50 tiktok users in my office and creators and i said, have you seen any propaganda from china? not one person raised their hand. i have a concern that it shouldn't be controlled by a

chinese entity, and we can force the sale, but we also should not frighten people in ways that doesn't jive with their lived experience on the application. >> yeah, i mean, and, you know, my other question would be, like, propaganda can be so selective, so sensitive, and so hidden that i don't know that a lot of people can see it and say, oh, look, this is an active propaganda when there may be other ways that these organizations, regimes, governments have to propagate their propaganda. it is always such a treat to be able to speak with you. i thank you very much for your time. >> thank you, jose. we're also following more breaking news because this is a breaking news hour. today, from capitol hill, moments ago, we obtained a letter from hunter biden's attorney, where the president's son has declined an invitation from the house oversight committee to attend a public hearing next week. joining us now from capitol hill

is nbc's sahil kapur. what does this letter say? >> reporter: this is a very direct and defiant letter from hunter biden's attorney abbe lowell to james comer, making clear that hunter biden will not take up their request to attend a march 20th public hearing by the committee. lowell says this invitation was hasty, issued just last week, says hunter biden has a scheduling conflict, but he wouldn't attend if he didn't have a scheduling conflict. he notes that hunter biden under threat of a subpoena from this committee did a six-hour deposition in late february with this committee, which was done as part of the republican impeachment inquiry into president biden looking for links between his use of power and hunter biden's foreign entanglements. they have not found evidence that joe bide an abused his power. abbe lowell says in this letter, quote, if you're serious about pursuing this oversight purpose

in a legitimate and bipartisan fashion, you would hold a hearing with relatives of former president donald trump who you indicated you would ask. if you do, mr. biden would consider an invitation for that event. and in essence saying donald trump's own family members have wielded real power in the white house, they have their own foreign entanglements, where republicans are not investigating them as well. now, they didn't name any names, but interestingly, a source familiar with hunter biden's legal strategy tells our colleague sarah fitzpatrick that if they schedule a hearing that includes jared kushner, hunter biden will be there. jose? >> so, sahil kapur on capitol hill, thank you very much, appreciate it. up next, steve kornacki is here with the very latest on the road to 270 for biden and trump. plus, what the u.s. military is sending more marines to haiti as gang violence continues to rock its capital. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. l you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. with nurtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one.

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kornacki, also from doral, florida, nbc news correspondent marissa parra. and live from just outside mar-a-lago is nbc news correspondent dasha burns. steve, what's in store for us in this general election cycle? >> well, what's in store for us in part, jose, is this, the road to 270. remember this, the electoral college, this is where things end in the first biden trump race. this is back in 2020. joe biden won. he got 306 electoral votes. the blue states were his, the red states were trump's. the first thing to know, even if every state votes the same way in 2024, as it did in 2020, the electoral vote count would be different. why? because we had a census since 2020, a few states gained electoral votes, a few states lost electoral votes, and so what that means is that if you reran it now, it would actually be 303 for biden, 335 for trump, so trump gains three electoral

votes in the states he won in 2020 because of population changes. now, trump trying to win back states that he lost to biden in 2020. there are five of them. wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, georgia, and arizona. . if you're trump, what would be your mathematically simplest path to winning this? it would be start in the closest of those five states i just circled, georgia and arizona. 10,000 votes in arizona. just to show you, this is a big if here, but if trump were to get georgia, and if he were to get arizona, you see he would still be short. trump would. he would be at 262. play out the math further here, a state that biden won in 2020 and clinton won in '16 but republicans think they have a chance of flipping here in 2024 would be nevada.

let's say also the republicans succeeded in doing that. still, trump would be short of 270. even if the two closest states of the five that we just circled, plus nevada, a state where republicans think they can finally flip in 2024, even if that happens, trump is still short and it is a long way of saying he's going to have to win at least one of these three, wisconsin, michigan, or pennsylvania. and in this scenario, any one of those three would put him over the top. the closest of those three was wisconsin. you see wisconsin added to all that would put trump over 270. but that's assuming that trump keeps all the states that he won in 2020 and there is one that democrats are going to be putting a lot of resources and a lot of time into, they think they may have a shot at flipping it in 2024, that's north carolina. trump won north carolina by 75,000 votes in 2020. but that was down. that margin was cut in half from his 2016 margin, democrats think they may have a shot in north carolina. some folks think that's a pipe

dream for them, but they're going to try. and it would be very significant if biden were able to flip a state like north carolina, because then he could still absorb a loss of one of those midwest states and all the others. that's the battlefield, those five biggies and the question, jose, for the next few months is does either party succeed in putting a state in play that currently we don't think is in play? >> interesting. marisa, you're in miami-dade county. what are you hearing there? >> reporter: miami-dade county is an interesting county to study. we know the last presidential election trump won florida, but he did not win miami-dade county. biden did. when we look at this progression toward the right, it is important to look at the numbers. even though biden won, he won by far less, with far fewer votes than obama and clinton did in the same county and their respective elections. following that progression, it is important to point out the

midterms. we saw desantis winning the entire county by 11 points. we know miami-dade is a strong latino county. we have spent a lot of time reporting and we have seen reports of the cuban populations and the strong conservative support among the cuban population here. what i found interesting is i've been talking to a lot of people, whether they were democrats, independents, saying they feel that pressure, regardless of who they're supporting right now who they're looking to vote for, all of them kind of agreeing that there is a lot of pressure to also sway conservatives. i want to take you to what we heard from someone on the ground here in doral just yesterday. whether it is your cuban friends in miami or venezuelan friends in miami what are you hearing? >> i don't talk politics, i don't want to lose my friends. >> reporter: that's state of politics right now. >> yes. and i respect everybody's view. everybody has a right to be who they want to be.

okay. and it is getting difficult. you get labeled if you go one way or another. >> reporter: so, jose, as we decide to look at miami-dade county, we chose to start today near doral for a couple of reasons. one of them is this is the place where we have one of the largest venezuelan populations in the entire country and that's a good reminder, when we talk about miami-dade, half the population is cuban, but the other half of the population is made up of people from venezuela, nicaragua. when we talk about the need to shore up the latino vote, you have to change your messaging because you can't just have the same messaging for each and every single population. each population has their own needs, their own things they're looking to have in a leader, to gain their support. but the other reason we chose doral is because this is a place that democrats and republicans are fighting for. we know in 2016 this was a strongly democrat area. but in the last presidential election, it was 50/50 almost.

swinging by a hair in trump's favor. when we look at republican strategists, they really think they can win over this area in particular, this is one of many they're really targeting to try to get miami-dade in their favor, so trump, just to end on this note, jose, i will say that when i have spoken to democrats and strategists, they think that the last midterms was a fluke, they can win it back. republicans see that as a sign that miami-dade is going to strongly be theirs in november. only time will tell. >> beautiful doral and there are so -- as you say, the influx of mostly venezuelans had such a positive impact, many people call it doral-zuela. dasha, you have more on the vice president search? >> the one mystery still left is who is going to be the vice presidential pick, the running mate. i have now reporting about an issue that is going to play potentially a major role in his

decision and that is an issue of abortion. according to multiple sources, the former president has been laser focused on this, as potential major advantage for democrats and a vulnerability for republicans. he's been thinking about this since the 2022 midterms when he was according to one source frustrated with some of the folks that he himself endorsed about how they messaged on the abortion issue. he feels it was really detrimental to republicans in the midterms and he doesn't want that to be his own achilles heel in this election. so, one anecdote i heard, he was at mar-a-lago last month, according to a source who was there, dinner time, folks were out on the patio, and he was making his rounds around the table, asking folks about various issues. a mar-a-lago member brought up the issue of abortion and said, listen, let's make sure the vp isn't too hard-line on it, making his rounds around the tables after that, asking people about tim scott, and his

positions, the senator, whether they would turn off voters, given how pro life and antiabortion he has been, outspoken on that issue. so something he's actively thinking about, jose. >> steve kornacki, marissa parra and dasha burns, thank you so much, appreciate it. still ahead, the latest on israel's war against hamas. why our next guest says biden, president biden is delivering death and life to the residents of gaza. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. a. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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38 past the hour. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel must move forward with its plan to invade rafah, reiterating his goal of destroying hamas. this despite the biden administration's warnings against further escalation there. as the u.s. intelligence assessment is now casting doubt on whether the prime minister can hold on to power. joining us now, peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times," and

nbc news political analyst. peter, great seeing you. how is the president trying to find the balance between his continuing support of israel while trying to get more aid to -- into gaza? >> reporter: we have a situation, of course where the united states is providing both the bombs that israel is using in its military operation and air dropping food pallets from american warplanes, so those who are on the ground affected by this military operation. it is a conundrum in a lot waive of ways, people see that as a sign of policy that they disagree with president biden, that he's being too supportive of israel in their view. they say what is the option here, if we didn't do anything, we would be criticized as well and there is a lot of trouble getting humanitarian aid in on the ground. they're taking desperate steps in order to try to get some, even though it won't be nearly as efficient as if they had allowed the trucks in. he's caught in between israeli government that is intent on

moving forward with an operation that the president thinks is unwise, but his own desire to stay strong in support of israel, not necessarily prime minister netanyahu, and his desire to show especially people here in the united states who are upset at him, he also cares about palestinians on the ground who are being affected, who are not part of hamas who are innocent of the terrorist attack on october 7th. >> let's talk about that, u.s. intelligence community, the assessment, the annual threat assessment found that netanyahu is facing increasing pressure at home, raising doubts on whether he could even keep his right wing coalition together and stay in power. how is netanyahu's standing in israel? >> reporter: it has been a fragile coalition from the beginning, even before october 7th. he had been pushed out of power for a short time, replaced for a year by losing an election and not being able to put together a coalition, then he managed to come back. always on sort of tenterhooks and now he faces the accountability of what happens on october 7th. a lot of people would like to

know how he allowed that to happen, a lot of criticism of the government's handling of that in the days and weeks and months leading up to that attack. the military operations going on, there is a sense that it is not the right time to have that accounting in effect. but as soon as it is over, there is a fear on the part of a lot of people in israel who support netanyahu he'll be vulnerable and his own coalition has been very fractious about his leadership and the war going forward. >> and netanyahu is saying that israel must invade rafah, saying, quote, to win this war, we must destroy the remaining hamas battalions in rafah. what is going to be the white house reaction to this, and they're clearly making a very concerted push to tell the prime minister to not do that. >> reporter: well, making a concerted push to tell the prime minister not do that, you're right, but it is not clear what they would do if it does. the president said on this

network, to jonathan capehart over the weekend there was a red line when it came to rafah, but didn't say what that meant. if the prime minister and israel crosses that red line and goes into rafah, what would happen? the president didn't say. jake sullivan, the national security adviser came out yesterday and told us in the briefing room the president hadn't set a red line and we shouldn't look at that as a trip wire in effect for consequences like conditioning future arms, deliveries and so forth. we're left with the position where nobody is entirely sure what if anything the president would do if the prime minister and his government ignore the cautions that the white house has offered on an operation in rafah. and we're in a position now where everybody is up in the air waiting to see what happens. >> peter baker at the white house, thank you so very much. appreciate it. this morning, we are remembering 19-year-old israeli american itah chen who we learned was killed in the

october 7th terrorist attacks. his family held out hope he was among the hostages and was still alive. they confirmed yesterday the idf said their son died on the day of the terrorist attacks, defending civilians. president biden released a statement expressing grief over itay's death and said his family gave him a menorah, a solemn reminder that light will always destroy darkness and evil will not win. i had the privilege of speaking with his father on several occasions, recently six days ago when he was in washington for the state of the union. he always talked about his son, itay, and how important it is to keep fighting for the hostages being held by hamas, holding an hourglass to illustrate the dwinding time they all face. >> we need to keep the pressure going until our loved ones are back home because, you know, jose, i've been walking around

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in atlanta. good morning. what are they saying? >> reporter: well, good morning to you. just got a statement from steve sadow, the lead georgia attorney for the former president in this fulton county case. this is good news for the former president, his legal team. here is a little bit of that statement. i want to read to you. he says within the last 15 minutes, the court made the correct legal decision to grant the special demurrers and quash important counts of the indictment brought by d.a. fani willis. the court made and he talked about the entire indictment, the entire prosecution of president trump is political, constitutes election interference and should be dismissed. so, that's what the former president's attorney is saying today. now, it is important to point out three of the counts have been dismissed. the former president is still facing ten counts here in georgia. and the judge actually made provisions and is allowing for

fani willis should she so choose to seek a reindictment on those now quashed charges. so, that certainly is something. i spoke with a source who is familiar with the d.a.'s thinking, and i understand that the entire order this morning is under review by her office. but, of course, the big question is how will she choose to proceed? one thing i do think is very important to note, jose, is that the count, however, that has been dismissed against the former president has to do with that phone call that he made to georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger, back in the days after the 2020 election. you'll remember that that is the phone call that set this entire thing into motion. that's what launched the investigation. launched the special grand jury and when people think about this case, that's what they associate with the charges. so the fact that that count related to that phone call has been dismissed is certainly c edrelated to the phone call is notable. new demands from the gangs in haiti despite the prime minister announcing he will step down.

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54 past the hour. the u.s. military announced a new team of marines has been sent to haiti to bolster security at the u.s. embassy. violence spirals out of control. now that the prime minister announced he will resign once a transitional presidential council is established, gangs that control the majority of the capital demanding a say in the political future. joining us now is jerry straub, founder and president of a children's center in port-au-prince. you have lived in haiti for so many years. you have an orphanage there. your wife is a doctor there. what's the situation like for

the people of port-au-prince today? >> the people in port-au-prince have been suffering not only during this insurrection, but for the last two years. the violence has been extreme. gangs would rush through some neighborhood and literally burn down 100 homes or force all the people out. people were afraid to go out in the streets. this last week, it's been really intensified. all the schools are closed. there was no transportation. we are running out of food. our orphanage is running out of water and diesel fuel. it's been pretty horrific. >> jerry, diesel fuel is so important for you and for your orphanage. you have more than 40 kids there. how is this affecting that organization? >> we have to -- the gas stations are all closed. we have to go on the black market. we are paying -- i just got gas

and fuel which we had to transport in our car the other day. we are paying $10 a gallon for gasoline. you have to pay cash. people are really -- you know, 5 million haitians are suffering from acute hunger for nearly nine years i've been here. people are hungry and thirsty. also some sense of justice and relief from the hopelessness and mindless violence. they don't see any solution coming. >> so important that you talk about that, jerry. it is a situation that has such profound, deep roots, roots that are in many ways watered by the blood of innocent haitian people. i'm wondering, jerry, where do you find the hope? where is the hope for the future of haiti, a country that is so extraordinary, its people are so

extraordinary? i'm thinking from the 2010 earthquake, all of the issues they have been dealing with, but do you find hope? do they find hope? >> i was here during the earthquake. i suffered post-traumatic stress from that experience. what is amazing, somehow no matter how bad it is, they are able to dig deep down in themselves and joke and laugh. for me, it's the children. every time i want to get on a plane and get out of here, which i can't do anymore, i have to go downstairs and see my kids. they make me smile. i have known most of them all of their lives. most are throwaways. i was supposed to go to cuba. the flight was canceled. it took me a month to put that together, get all the documents needed. she has her own passport and she's 2 years old. right now, it's very tough.

people are feeling -- they are glad ariel is gone. but they don't want a clone of him. they want a voice at the table. no one is carrying about the health and needs of the poor, which are so critical. most people in my neighborhood have no running water, no toilets. every day is a struggle for survival. >> jerry, how is it that we all can help, not only you, your organization, but how can we help haiti? >> i don't know. it's such a complex issue. for me, it's -- every day is about funding. during this time, the shortage of food, the shortage -- the price of everything is going up. that's a huge problem. i don't think there are any simple solutions here. the gangs are never going to approve a transitional government. they are the ones that did all

the killing. now they want amnesty and a place at the table. i don't know how this is going to resolve itself. part of the problem is, many of the politicians were the ones who empowered the gangs. it's a difficult situation to understand. it would take me a lot of time to explain just what's going on. >> jerry, let's keep in touch. of course, i very much appreciate what you do and how you do it. thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on social media. you can watch clips from our show at youtube. thank you for the privilege of your time. coming up, andrea mitchell talks to nancy pelosi about the tiktok vote and more. that starts right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," anti-social. congress for first time casting