captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, a tense moment-- russian forces stall in their push toward kyiv as the brutal shelling of ukraine continues and russian police crack down on independent media. then, the man of the moment-- we examine how ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky, a comedian turned politician, became the country's leader at a moment of crisis. >> he has very good antenna for feeling the public mood and in this case, those antennae or actually helping him channel the spirit of resistance. >> woodruff: and, investigating the insurrection-- the congressional committee on january 6th lays out potential criminal conspiracy charges

against former president trump. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> with fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas.

more at kendedafund.org. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made poible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: "the worst is yet to come."

those ominous words today from a french official after president emmanuel macron held a 90-minute call with russian president vladimir putin. day eight of putin's war on ukraine yielded unceasing pictures of horror from the north, south, and east of the country, as the russian scorched-earth campaign against civilians and non-military targets came into focus, in the face of dogged resistance from ukraine's military, and its citizenry. that campaign has also compelled the largest refugee flight within europe since the second world war; more than one million ukrainians have now fled their homes for the safety of neighboring nations to the west. from lviv in ukraine's west, nick schifrin again begins our coverage. >> schifrin: the ruins of a residential building in a suburb of kyiv, now moscow's battlefield of choice. ukraine won the two-day battle for borodyanka. russian vehicles still line the

main road. but victory, earned at appalling cost. 15,000 people used to live in a neighborhood best known for an airfield and skydiving club, now reduced to rubble by indiscriminate russian shelling on civilian targets, and those filming the targeters. farther north from kyiv, chernihiv also under siege by russian airstrikes. the target, clearly a neighborhood of homes. the regional governor said in addition to houses, russian air strikes hit two schools. dozens died. first responders try to save who they can, and salvage what's left. elsewhere, russians have rolled in. the southern city of kherson is the largest and most strategic city under russian control. zainish hussain filmed russian soldiers outside of his apartment. he knew it was risky. >> i think i should stop recording before somebody shoots

me in the hand. >> schifrin: the russians are trying to take over more cities, including the northeastern city konontop, 150 miles east of kyiv. the mayor is artem semenikhin. tell us what happened when russian troops came into your office? >> ( translated ): they were demanding i recognize their authority and allow them to patrol the streets, and de-arm those who have weapons, and detain those who resist. in the end i told them, just as ukrainian soldiers told a russian warship, go (bleep) yourself. >> schifrin: the rejected russians walked out, holding grenades in their hands. semenikhin actually escorted them and made sure they drove away. and do you fear they will come back and either occupy or destroy the city? >> ( translated ): yes, of course, we are concerned. and this concern is not groundless-there's a big unit near our town and using the weapons they have, they could destroy our town. but we are not afraid. we are ready to fight till the

end, till the victorious end, to defeat these russian cockroaches. >> schifrin: after the russians left he rallied his troops- civilians, ready to resist. >> ( translated ): all of our cities are like this, all of our ukraine is like this. we have weapons in our hands, we have armed up and we are ready to kill occupiers. and thanks to the united states of america for supporting ukraine with weapons. my weapon is american and i think the occupiers will be pleased that we're killing them with an american weapon. >> schifrin: but russian president vladimir putin today doubled down. after a call between putin and french president emmanuel macron, a french official warned quote the “worst was yet to come.” putin didn't disagree. >> ( translated ): the special military operation is proceeding strictly in line with the timetable. all according to plan. >> schifrin: but a senior u.s. defense official said today the offensive on kyiv has been stalled for three days, although officials fear moscow is still planning to encircle the capital. in the southwest, russian troops

could move past kherson to odessa, ukraine's third-largest city. in the southeast, moscow is advancing in multiple directions towards mariupol, where russian bombardments have been so relentless, officials couldn't collect the dead or injured, in the east in kharkiv, the u.s. believes russian forces e now just outside the city. yesterday, a russian missile struck near the historic assumption cathedral. in response, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky said russia would not escape judgment. >> ( translated ): they enjoy the fact that god does not give an instant rebuff. but he sees. there is no bunker to survive god's response. even if you destroy all our cathedrals and churches, you will not destroy our faith in god, in ukraine, and our people. this evening zelensky speaking in russian appealed for direct talks with putin. >> you don't want to leave, sit down with me at

i'm available. sit with me but not at 30 meters, like you welcomed macron and scholtz. i'm yo neighbor. i don't bite. what are you afraid of? >> schifrin: earlier today, the two sides held their second meeting. they agreed to meet again, but there was no movement toward peace. until then, ukrainian civilians are preparing for battle. they call themselves the territorial defense, just one battalion, in a national army of volunteers. 23-year-old markian paryanak graduated from a military academy, and is now an officer in the reserves. today he hit the streets. lviv is usually packed. since the invasion, more tense, and anxious. >> ( translated ): we and other guys who have guns and know how to use them, decided to patrol the neighborhood. this is my land, and whoever comes here will go to hell. >> schifrin: do you like right now, every ukrainian is a soldier facing off against russia, in any way they can? >> ( translated ): yes, absolutely. this is the task of every ukrainian right now-- to defend our country. even women and children are trying to stop tanks with their

bare hands. >> schifrin: last sunday, they detained chechyans they called saboteurs. lviv's mayor confirmed to us 10 people entered the city with the intention of blowing up a power substation. back in the garage, among the ukrainian blue and yellow, a patch of red white and blue. 54-year-old kurt kimble says he's a retired army master sergeant who moved to ukraine three years ago. why is this your war? >> because this is my home now. my family is here, my friends are here. you know, i'm going to defend my home. >> schifrin: the military runs through kimble's veins. he says his father served in world war ii, korea, and, in his 50s, vietnam. kurt says he served in iraq and afghanistan. he calls these, his new band of brothers. >> i never wanted to go to war again. i've seen enough of it. i will admit after i came home, like most veterans, we had some

troubles. i've seen a lot of bad things, and now i thought that was in the past, and now i'm seeing that again. >> schifrin: i can tell it's feeling hard for you right now, it's bringing up memories. why are you willing to take on a different enemy that isn't fighting america? >> i could have left right away. i could gotten on a plane and taken my family back to the united states, and returned when it was over with. but how could i return and look at my friends? i just couldn't do it and won't do it. i'm here until the very end with them. >> schifrin: with your all due respect to you and your team, you're just one guy, shot gun, small team, what can you do against the russian army? >> ( translated ): our national resistance is a serious and dangerous thing for the russian army. i think we are capable of stopping them. all of us are united.

you can see me and my small group of friends, but there are thousands like us. and fighting runs in his family, his grandfather resisted soviet occupation, just one-story, judy, of so many ukrainians who are proud of their history and of themselves,s zelensky put it today, we do not fill the world with oil & gas but we have our people and our land, and for us that is gold. >> woodruff: just remarkable courage. nick schifrin, thank you for your reporting. nick is in lviv in western ukraine. >> woodruff: now, to moscow, where an intensifying crackdown by the putin regime is underway against any forms of dissent. today, special correspondent ryan chilcote was in the newsroom of a leading light of independent media in russia, now silenced by the kremlin. >> reporter: it was an editorial meeting like none ever in the history of ekho mosckvwy. the entire staff, some who'd rushed in from maternity leave, others at home with covid, many

distraught, gathering to listen to their editor-in-chief announce that, russia's last independent radio station, has been taken off the air. >> ( translated ): the political climate has changed. russia's fighting a neighboring country. we effectively have military censorship and martial law or at least martial law for the media. we've beenresenting a little different picture than state media. there's only supposed to be one picture. >> reporter: for 32 years, ekho mosckwy has been the go-to radio stations for millions of russians, a must-do media for the world's ggest newsmakers. ekho moskvwy isn't the only one, this week, federal prosecutors demanded access be restricted to russia's best known independent tv channel, tv rain. the decision came, just as the station was preparing to screen a documentary about their own turbulent history. instead, tv rain signed off with a bang, broadcasting "swan lake"

a joke russian viewers will get. that's what state tv aired here in 1991 during the coup, an event that heralded the end of the soviet union. that's not to say views the kremlin may find unsavory aren't making their way onto kremlin's more loyal news channels from time to time. like this unscripted moment when an analyst, alongside an anxious anchor, proposed a toast to the death of russia's stock market that sanctions sent plummeting. the government has asked google to removekho mosckwy's youtube channel. ekho has appealed, off the airwaves, but not out of options. >> ( translated ): i don't think we'll get back on the radio even though we'll fight this in the courts, but there's still social media, there's still google and you know. we still have u.s.b. sticks you can put recordin on. >> reporter: tatyana felgenhau has worked at ekho for 18 years, as the channel went head to head with the kremlin time and time again. what happened ths time? >> putin happened. vladimir putin and the

authorities they just don't want free media, this voice of truth must be destroyed. >> reporter: what happens next? >> north korea. i think this is our future. north korea. and ryan joins me now from moscow so ryan, were you telling us that at a time like this, a lot of information is flyinground whether it is right or wrong, people getting information wherever they can, rumors flying, what are people talking about? >> well, you heard the ekho mosskvy editor in chief talking about how as far as he is concerned martial law is in place as in relation to the media, there is that martial law in general could be imposed as early as tomorrow and they come believe it or not from a

ukrainian official. he came out and said that the ukrainns have learned that the government in russia is going to introduce martial law on friday. and that got a lot of people very, very concerned here because martial law could mean things like the border getting closed. it mean con description, russia has a professional army back in the days when they had conscriptionn, people were very concerned about serving in the military. so i literally had young male ar young men effectively telling me all i can think about right now is how to get out of the country. and the problem, judy, the reason for all of this is because there is a trust deficit with the government. most russians did not expect russia was going to invade ukraine. they actually believed their government when their government said of course we're not going to do that, then it happened. now they don't know what to believe. >> woodruff: so ryan, parately we know that today more sanctions were leveled by the west against russian

oligarchs an elites but tell us what effect that has on people, ordinary people living there on the ground. what effect? >> well, you know, the individual sanctions don't have a lot of effect on the individual russian here the things that we have seen effect the ruble, for example, are the sanctions on the central bank, effectively half of the country's reserves, all of a sudden were unusable, untouchable by the central bank so they couldn't intervene to support the rble so the ruble also about a third, that was a dramatic effect there were days were people were lining up at cash machines, exchanging money into dollars for fear the ruble could go down further but really what is happening right now is we're seeing company after company, either because of the sanctions or voluntarily because they want to make a stand, international companies pulling out the russia, and as they do that, that is creating all kinds of problems so april el pay

goes, google goes, getting rid of some services, boeing and airbus saying we are not going to be providing certain parts in the future which creates huge infrastructural problems. >> woodruff: so much to keep track of, joining us tonight from moscow, ryan, thank you. >> woodruff: the face of ukrainian opposition to the russian invasion has been their president-- volodymyr zelensky. his defiant vows to stay and fight have lifted a nation fighting for its freedom. john yang details zelensky's improbable rise from comedian to president and now, to becoming the man of the moment. >> ( translated ): good morning to all ukrainians. here's the situation, i'm still here. >> yang: soon after russia invaded ukraine, president volodymyr zelensky, unshaven, in a shaky selfie posted to twitter, rallied a nation suddenly at war. >> ( translated ): we will protect our country. that's what i wanted to tell you. glory to ukraine.

>> yang: the 44-year-old comedian turned politician vowed to stay in the capital city of kyiv. >> ( translated ): your president is here. our troops are here. our citizens are here. all of us are here protecting the independence of our country. >> yang: it seemed straight out of a movie, just like his defiant response to a u.s. offer of evacuation: "i need ammunition, not a ride." wearing a flak jacket and t- shirt, zelensky walks the streets and visits troops. he displays a mix of courage, humor and grace under pressure that has drawn comparisons to british prime minister winst churchill during world war ii and galvanized support at home and around the world. >> whatever happens, our president, president zelensky, will never sell us out. he will not give ukraine to putin. >> yang: melinda haring, deputy director of the eurasia center at the atlantic council. >> he has inspired his country. he's inspired the world with a stiff upper lip and his physical courage. he's not hiding in a bunker. he's walking around making

videos and telling people to remain firm. >> yang: it's something few would have predicted just weeks ago amid lackluster approval ratings in ukraine. adrian karatnycky, a contributing editor to “american rpose” magazine. >> before this thing he was, he was losing support and there was some chances and, you know, they might not be reelected. and in this crisis, of course, he's just blossomed. >> yang: before this, many americans only knew him as an unwitting figure in president donald trump's first impeachment: the man trump asked for a favor, digging up dirt on the bidens, when zelensky asked for defensive weapons. in ukraine, zelensky first became known as a comic. the peak of his fame came when he starred in a 2015 satirical tv sitcom called “servant of the people.” his role: a schoolteacher turned accidental president. in 2019, life imitated art when he ran for president for real, a fresh face for voters tired of

corrupt leaders. his populist platform included the promise of peace with russia, which had annexed ukraine's crimean peninsula and backed pro-russian separatists in ukraine's donbas region. melinda haring of the atlantic council. >> he wanted to do three things. he wanted to end the war in the donbas. he wanted to end ukraine's endemic corruption problem, and he wanted to make ukraine rich. ukraine is the poorest country in europe. >> yang: during the caaign, newshour special corresponnt simon ostrovsky visited zelensky on the set of his show. >> you're an actor with no political experience, your country at war with russia. vladimir putin, 20 years at the helm. how are you going to deal with vladimir putin? >> ( translated ): first of all, we will do everything to make sure that vladimir putin never ends up at the helm of our country. the main problem in our relationship with russia is the war. no one has a real answer, how to stop putin. all we can do is continue talks

to achieve a ceasefire. >> yang: but after zelensky's landslide victory over incumbent petro poroshenko, a billionaire businessman, that ceasefire never materialized. as a native russian speaker leading a state historically divided between the ukrainian- speaking west and the russian- speaking east, zelensky's critics were skeptical of his peace efforts, suspecting he was a putin puppet. in recent years, he pushed for closer ties with the west, and promoted ukraine's aspirations to join nato and the european union. as the white house sounded alarms about a russian invasion, zelensky initially played down the threat. ukrainian opinion leaders worried that he was out of his depth. but once the fighting began, he rallied his nation, not despite his unusual background, some say, but precisely because of it. analyst adrian karatnycky. >> when he was a performer, he understood and you could feel the audience and his reaction and what works.

and i think he has very good antennae for feeling the public mood. and in this case, those antennae or actually helping him channel the spirit of resistance in the spirit of the ukrainian people, it's a really remarkable thing. >> yang: zelensky's life's work had been to make his fellow ukrainians laugh. now he's embraced an unlikely new role: the war-time leader of a defiant nation. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, bipartisan momentum began building in congress to ban russian oil shipments to the united states. in the house of representatives, speaker nancy pelosi said she was all for the idea. in the senate, alaska republican lisa murkowski helped lead the charge. >> our message should be clear and pretty simple.

no more russian energy should come into the u.s. for duration of this bloody horrifying and unprovoked war against ukraine. >> woodruff: the white house did not rule out a ban, but did say it could mean even higher gas prices. in louisville, kentucky, a jury acquitted a former police officer today of wanton endangerment stemming from breonna taylor's killing. brett hankison fired into her apartment during a no-knock drug raid in 2020. his shots missed her, but tore into a neighboring apartment. taylor was shot and killed by other officers, but no one was charged in her death. the u.s. supreme court has rejected a guantanamo detainee's request for secret information about his treatment. abu zubaydah was seized in pakistan in 2002 and tortured at so-called c.i.a. "black sites." he wanted to question former c.i.a. contractors, but the

court ruled their testimony could harm national security. world powers and iran have made significant progress toward restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, at talks in vienna. the u.s. state department gave that assessment today, but said several key issues remain unresolved. meanwhile, the u.n. nuclear agency concluded that iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is still growing. in australia, a flood disaster intensified around sydney today, with half a million people ordered to evacuate now, or get ready to do so. several rivers overflowed near the country's most populous city. water inundated roads, and officials said extreme rain threatened worse to come. >> please ensure that you are ready to evacuate. if you are subject to one of those evacuation orders, please get out. those instructions are not there for the sake of it, they are there to keep you and your family safe.

>> woodruff: waters were also rising again in brisbane as new thunderstorms arrived. back in this country, the biden the cdc says the 0 percent of americans live in counties with low or medium threats of covid-19 1 the sto they don't need to mask up indoors, that is up from 70% last week. meanwhile the the biden administration asked congress for another $22.5 billion in pandemic funding. it would pay for more testing, vaccines and treatments. the house of representatives today approved expanded health care and benefits for military veterans exposed to burn pits in iraq and afghanistan. they would qualify even if they can't prove their medical problems stem from exposure to toxins. the house bill has to be reconciled with a narrower senate version. oxycontin maker purdue pharma has reached a new settlement with states at sued for damages. the company's owrs, the sacklers, will pay up to

$6 billion. that's more than an earlier settlement rejected by eight states. the sacklers will also issue an apology. the agreement will need approval by a federal bankruptcy judge. on wall street today, oil prices retreated some, but remained above $100 a barrel, and stocks gave ground as well. the dow jones industrial average lost 96 points to close at 33,794. the nasdaq fell 214 points, 1.5%. the s&p 500 slid 23 points. and, president reagan's final chief of staff, ken duberstein, has died. he held that position for the last half of 1988, after serving as deputy chief of staff. he was a veteran washington insider, and later, became a consultant for the tv series "the west wing." ken duberstein was 77 years old. still to come on the newshour: we speak to a top justice departmentfficial about u.s.

efforts to crack down on russian oligarchs. a former inmate gives his brief but spectacular take on life after incarceration. plus much more. >> woodruff: it's the clearest picture to date about the scope and potential conclusions of the house committee investigating the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. in a 221-page court filing last night, lawyers for the committee write that there is evidence to conclude former president donald trump and members of his campaign, "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the united states" as they sought to overturn the 2020 election results. mr. trump responded today, saying the committee is

"destroying democracy as we know it." for more on the committee's work, i'm joined by democratic congressman adam schiff of california. he is a member of the january 6 committee and he also chairs the house intelligence committee. >> woodruff: congress-- congressman schiff thank you very much for joining us, we know the january 6th committee, the mission is not to conduct a criminal investigation but are you now closer to finding president trump guilty of a criminal activity? >> well, as you say, it is not our role to prosecute or determine, you know, guilt or innocence. but we are in litigation right now to try to get records from some claiming to be an attorney representing the president and thjudge asked us to brief him on whether the crime fraud exceptioapplies and we believe it does. that is if an attorney is helping a client commit a crime,

their-- is not protected and here any number of act by the president and his campaign potentially violate statutes which prohibit the corpt interference with an official proceeding and of course that joint session of congress was an official proceeding. and given the president was repeatedly advised that the vice president had no authority to decertify electors, that there was no basis to these beingus claims of fraud, we believe that there was that kind of corrupt intent to interfere with the joint session but also the promul gaition of those false claims we believe is part of a conspiracy to de fraud and we presented that evidence to the court. >> woodruff: and in that evidence you presented, we mentioned it 21 pages in this filing, there are transcripts of email exchanges between the lawyer who was advising former president trump, his name is johnniesman and a lawyer who was working for them vice president

mike pence, what is it about those exchanges that you, that the committee believes point to something that should be investigated? >> well, i think evidence of the corrupt intent is very important, so that is that the president was informed by multiple people, multiple times that there was no lawful basis to do what he was trying to do. we saw, you know, in some of the interviews recently with even bill barr that bill barr told the president that these claims were bs and so we think that evidenced in these email exchanges as well as other evidence indicate that the president understood he had no lawful basis to do what he was doing. and therefore it violated u.s. law but also was fraudulent. and that is the relevance of that evidence. >> woodruff: i am still trying to understand, and i want our audience to understand again, the january 6th committee is

not engaged, this is not a criminal investigation but it's very much about referring, mentioning in this filing and then seeing that the, that any criminal investigation tht does take place has accs to all the information that your committee is coming across in your work. >> well, i would put it this way. the justice department has the obligation to determine if a crime is committed and whether anyone including the former president should be prosecuted. that is the department's job. they're not waiting for us to make a referral. that's not what the justice department does, we may make a referral at the end of our investigation, but the justice department should be proceeding on its own, if there is cedable evidence that the president or anyone else has committed a crime, they should be investigating it. and they should be waiting for us to do a report. they shouldn't be waiting for us to do that work. but they should be doing it on their own. never the less, there are

circumstances like the court filing where the issue of crime or fraud is relevant so we addressed it and at the end of the investigation we may choose to make a criminal referralance and for all you know, congressman schiff, the justice department may well be investigating it, is that right? >> you know, it's possible, judy. but generally, when you con seen a-- convene a grand jury in a case like this in which the witnesses before the grand jury are not bound to silence, the public finds out about it. and so even though the department doesn't talk about it, the public becomes aware of it. we don't see anything like that happening regarding certain key things. i would point to, for example, the president on the phone with the secretary of state in georgia trying to get the secretary to find $11,780 votes that don't exist. that is a recorded conversation, there is no sign of a grand jury-- federal grand jury in atlanta, only a local district

attorney investigation. i don't understand why that is the case. so that does concern me. >> woodruff: and talking about it openly as you are, you think can influence course of events? >> i don't know. but i do think that there probably many people within the justice department who are concerned. you know, if we are to maintain the position that the rule of law applied equally to everyone, then we really need to follow through with that. and i think judy, if any of your viewers were on the phone with a top sta official trying to get them to effectively stufthe ballot box, they would be under investigation. and i feel duty bound to shall open about that. i spent almost six years with that department. i have-- i think we need to uphold that idea that no one is above the law including former presidents. >> woodruff: i want to come back to the filing that the committee made late last night

to this lawsuit, but former president trump. essentially saying that he, mr. eastman because of executive privilege, they don't have to cooperate here. what if the judge in that case rules in their favor? does that affect the-- the point that the committee is making, the work the committee is trying to do? >> well, it would effect it in a sense potentially that we might not get access to these records. now there are a number of arguments that we made in the court pleaings. we don't think first of all that eastman is established. he was a lawyer for the president, just because he is a lawyer doesn't make him the president's lawyer. so his privilege claims should fall on that basis. it should fall on the crime fraud exception basis. it should fall on the basis that he has talked publicly about these things with donald trump's permission, and therefore any privilege would be waived. so there are multiple basis the judge could find, the privilege

was not applicable here. finally i would say if the judge were to rule against us on the crime fraud exceptions, that doesn't mean the president or his people haven't committed a crime or a fraud. it simply means that on the basis of these narrow set of documents, there wasn't evidence sufficient for the court to make that finding. but of course we have a much broader body of evidence in our investigation that would be pertinent to that particular issue. >> congressman adam schiff who is a member of the january 6th committee and who chairs the house intelligence committee, thank you very much, we appreciate it. >> thank you >> woodruff: over the past week, the u.s. and scores of other nations have cut russia off from much of the global economy, in retaliation for its invasion of ukraine. now, investigators are planning

strikes on russian finances hidden here in the u.s. geoff bennett has more >> bennett: experts say russian oligarchs launder billions of dollars through the u.s., stashed in swanky apartment purchases, shell companies, and crypto-holdings. here's how president biden announced the coming crackdown on those financial dealings in tuesday's state of the union address. >> we are joining with our european allies to find and seize your yachts your luxury apartments your private jets. we are coming for your ill- begotten gains. >> woodruff: for more on all this, i'm joined by lisa monaco. she's the deputy attorney general and leading the task force dubbed "klepto-capture." welcome to the newshour. i want to start with the news today that the u.s. a announced it is targeting additional russian elites and their family member who continue to support vladimir putin. russian oligarchs as you know, they are able to cloak their true identities as owners by

creating shell companies ad by benefiting from major disclosure loopholes and things le private equity and luxury goods, so how will this new task force disentangle that? >> geoff, what we are doing with this new task force klepto-capture is binging together all the expertise that we have in the department of justice and importantly working across the federal government with other experts from the department of homeland security, from the irs, as well as with our own fbi and marshal service and agents and prosecutedders and analysts in the department of justice who are experts in enforcing sanctions and going after the type of money laundering activity that you just mentioned. these are experts who are well versed in tracing through very biz an teen ways and using sophisticated methods to trace the activities of criminals including oligarchs who seek to hide their il-gotten gains in the purchase of american luxury goods. so what you are seeing with this tasesk force is a commitment by

the department of justice working across the government to go after these oligarchs, go after these cronies and to say if you are using your proceeds, if you are going and engaging in money laundering, evading sanctions to buy that jet, to purchase that yacht, to have that luxury apartment, we're going to go after you and we're going to freeze using this sanctions tool that you announced and then seize using our own law enforcement authority. >> what is the estimated value of capital held in the u.s. by these russian oligarchs? and how much could feesably be targeted? >> well, i think it is a very good question, geoff, and one of the things we hope to do with this task force and intend to do with this task force is get's much truer picture of that. have i seen lots of estimates of the wealth that oligarchs are hiding both here and in the countries of our allies and partners. that is why we are joining forces with our partners in the

u.k., with our partners in europe and across the globe, using these unprecedented sanctions of really unprecedented scope and scale to bring together all of our efforts to both find those assets and then use these tools to seize them. >> and this isn't the first time that the u.s. has targeted russian assets, old gork-- oligarchs prove quite capable of shielding their holdings after sanctions followinged russia's 2014 invaiks of crimea. so what do you say to people that might see this as more messaging than being something substantive? >> well look, geoff, we have a long history and lots of expertise in the department as well as across the government in going after these types of money laundered funds and going after criminals who seek to shield their activity. what you are seeing that is different in this task force is bringing all of that expertise together, working with our

international partners, working a ross the government with a singular focus on the oligarchs and cronies of putin who are seeking to bolster put ib's and russian's unwarranted an unprovoked aggression in the you cane kra. >> i want to ask you about news overnight from the january 6th committee. they said in a court filing there was enough evidence to suggest that donald trump might have engaged in a criminal conspiracy as he attempted to overturn the results of the it o it 0 selection what he also and wongman schiff who sits on that committee says that the justice department should not wait for a criminal referral to act. and so the question is is the filing itself from this committee enough evidence of potential illegality for the d o.j. to act or does the committee need to make a formal little referral on this matter? >> well jeff, look, i saw that news, i have seen that filing. i can't say anything more on this other than what the attorney general has said which is we are going to follow the facts in the law in what is the

most wide-ranging and complex investigation into the events of january 6th that the department has ever undertaken. and we are going to do so regardless of where the facts take us, regardless of what level, we're going to follow the facts wherever they believe. >> could some of the details released by the january 6th committee end up hindering doj's investigations in any significant way? >> we're going to follow those facts where thefer-- wherever they come from, and the information that is being made available by the committee can certainly add to the picture but it is fr from an exclusive source. >> more than a month ago you said on cnn that the department of justice is considering charges on the. >> how close is the justice department to making a decision on that. >> what i indicated is that we had received referrals from a number of states.

we have those. we are engaged in reviewing those and we are not-- i can't say anything more onion going investigations. >> understanding that you are limited in what you can say about any potential investigation, i want to ask you about, what do you make of the criticism from some on the left who say that attorney general merrick garland isn't moving quickly enough given all of the evidence that exists of alleged fraudulent and or criminal activity on the part of the former president and his ally. >> well, jeff, look, i think the attorney general spoke quite forcefully and clearly about this issue in a speech he gave on juary 5th in an update he gave to the deptment of justice workforce and more broadly to the public about the activity and the work that we are undertaking here at the department to investigate all of the activities around january 6th. he was quite clear then and quite forceful that we will folt those facts wherever they lead,

regardless of at what level and from what direction. and there should be no mistake about that. >> u.s. deputy attorney general lisa monaco, i appreciate your time and incites this evening >> woodruff: and we'll be back shortly, with a view on the importance of community for people recently released from prison. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs ation. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations staying with us, we take a second look at how individual ingenuity has become a hallmark of the pandemic.

special rrespondent cat wise has this story we reprise, on how one san francisco artist stepped in to help out during the early days and soon found a new calling. it's part of our art and culture series, canvas. >> reporter: on a recent morning, san francisco illustrator and graphic journalist wendy macnaughton put the finishing touches on a drawing. she's illustrated, edited and authored ten books, including three best-sellers. macnaughton has traveled widely, drawing things she sees and people she meets, from boot makers to hospice patients, security guards and literary icons, like joan didion and susan sontag. in 2019, she spent a week documenting the military court in guantanamo bay, cuba for the "new york times." >> i taught myself to draw super-fast, without looking down very much. >> reporter: macnaughton demonstrated tse skills while sketching our cameraman, devin pinckard. >> to me, drawing is never about making a good drawing.

it's about the process of looking at the world and people in it and connecting with it. >> reporter: when the pandemic hit, macnaughton, who has a master's degree in social work, knew those connections would be harder to make. she and her wife, caroline paul, an author, wanted to find some way to help. >> so we were talking to my mom and my dad, and my mom suggested, "why n't you teach drawing to kids?" >> reporter: she took her mom's advice and, on monday, march 16, 2020 she went live on instagram. >> hello! hello! welcome to drawing class. i'd never done instagram live before. wow! so glad everyone could come. but caroline picked up the phone and she pointed it at me and-- and we taught the kids how to draw a dog. >> reporter: were you expecting a few kids to join? >> yeah, yeah. maybe get 100 people. and we had over 12,000 on the

first day. it was overwhelming, and it was awesome. >> reporter: macnaughton and paul ended up doing 72 live instagrams over the following months. she says viewership was highest during the first few weeks, with tens of thousands logging on from all over. >> veracruz, mexico... >> reporter: macnaughton's joyful, unpolished videos, which she called "drawtogether," combined art instruction with dancing and social-emotional support. >> does that feel peaceful? >> reporter: early last year, after receiving positive feedback from parents and kids, macnaughton and paul built a studio in a local theater. macnaughton funded the project using personal savings and an advance payment from a newsletter service called substack. >> you know what time it is? it's time to draw. >> reporter: there they recorded 12 episodes, and made them available for free on substack and youtube.

with suso looking on, macnaughton gave me a tour. >> everything in the d.t. studio is made by hand. everything's made of cardboard or papier macheé. all of the books are pieces of wood. this is called "leaves of yass." this is our magic portal. we visit all different types of people, so kids really see themselves reflected in the show. >> reporter: paul says there have been a lot of lessons learned along the way. >> just push my hand away if i'm too close. and, action. one of the things someone said is, "oh, if you're going to be shooting art, you should have a static camera over," and we thought that would be so great. and then, when we had the opportunity for it, it didn't look good. when wendy is talking, she's talking to a kid on other side of the camera. i mean, it happens to be me, too, but it's also a kid, and a kid is going to peer and look around, so the camera represents

every kid. >> reporter: macnaughton is now looking for a production partner to expand the drawtogether audience, and she's also expanding her mission-- promoting robust arts education in schools around the country. with a grant from twitter coounder jack dorsey's" start small" philanthropic fund, she and a team recently launched a pilot project called" draw togetheclassrooms." >> we heard from teachers that they had been using drawtogether in their classrooms, so we said, "wow, this would be really useful for classrooms that might not have funding for art in their programs or might not have really kind of fun, smoothly integrated socio-emotional learning opportunities." >> reporter: the project provides resources and curriculum-- developed with the help of education experts-- to 100 mostly high-need schools and community programs. >> reporter: one of the educators taking advantage of

the program is anna sopko. she teaches first grade at ceésar chaávez elementary in san francisco's mission neighborhood. >> at our school, we have 30 minutes a week with an outside specialist, for eight weeks out of the year, which is pretty minimal. >> reporter: sopko says she's seen an impact since her students began watching drawtogether. >> they really connect with her. over time, i've seen them become more and more willing to say, and i think the more we can keep "that's okay, i messed up," or you can always turn the page over and start again." and i think the more we can keep that dialog going, i think that's really going to improve their confidence, not just as artists, but as people in the world. >> reporter: as they finished thr drawings on a recent afternoon, a surprise guest popped in... >> hello! >> reporter: it was the first time macnaughton was able to connect in-person with a group

of young fans. >> one, two, three, let's do a show! oh! look at all those beautiful butterflies! >> reporter: macnaughton recently raised new funds, mostly from small donations, to provide art supplies to several thousand students. and she hopes to expand the drawtogether classrooms project to 10,000 schools by 2023. for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise in san francisco. >> woodruff: homeboy industries has been part of hector verdugo's life for over 16 years. he's now their associate executive director, but he first received their guidance after getting arrested at 14 years old. los angeles-based homeboy industries and its founder, father greg, have helped verdugo

and other men like him recognize their full potential. tonight, verdugo shares his "brief but spectacular take" on change and healing. >> i was first iarcerated, um, i was 14 years old. i did a carjacking and got caught. by the time i was 17, i started dealing drugs heavily. i was getting schooled by older homeboys about what's gonna happen when i turn 18, i'm gonna go to prison. and the conversation just being nonchalant, like, “hey, you're gonna go to prison. and this is, these are the rules in there. this is how you're gonna conduct yourself.” and i went to prison at 18 years old. that was just the way it was. just the way it is. my father died from a heroin overdose a week before we were born. my mom was a heroin addict. well, until my adulthood. witnessing overdoses in my house and murder outside, and at the time it was normal, t i didn't know what it was, how damaging it was.

i've been at homeboy industries for going on 16 years now. i met father greg when i was a kid in juvenile hall, about 14 years old. he's the founder of homeboy industries. i see him as a father. i describe homeboy industries as a miracle factory. it's a place wre gang members, hurt people coming out of prison can come to a place and, and really understand what community is all about. there was this question that father greg asked me. he said, “hector, why'd you get jumped into a gang?” and i gave him what i thought was the right answer of you know fast cars, fast women, you know and father greg said, “let me tell you where he got jumped into a gang. you got jumped into a gang because you were running from your home.” listening to father greg, i started to, to see things that i've never saw about myself. homeboys kind of puts up the mirror and shows you who you really are. when i held the mirror up, i seen a scared little kid trying

to survive. looking at that little kid back th and the pain that he carried, seeing that nobody really wanted us in their homes as i'm eating their food, you know, taking up space. those things are, they're, they're painful inside of me. the violence that came out of me was me transmitting my pain and through a gang, itas the perfect outlet. when i see somebody young that i recognize the fire that they had, that i used to have when i was a kid, i feel compassion for that kid. i want to hug that kid. trust is a huge thing that slowly starts to open up. and then you start to see the men and women, boys, and girls, blossom. they start to take off their hoodie, stand a little bit more taller, look you in the eye and

talk. i love that. what an honor. my name is hector verdugo, and this is my brief, but spectacular take, on change and healing. >> woodruff: you can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> majorunding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the landscape has changed, and not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented, with a more flexible workforce, by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again, for whatever happens next.

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hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> translator: we've hardly slept for seven nights. we sleep but anxiously. >> and yet, ukraine keeps up its resistance. as russia tries to pound it into submission, hitting civilians. how does this end? i speak to barbara woodward, and i get battlefield insight from former deputy nato commander richard shirreff. then -- >> we'll continue to aid the ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering. >> a rallying cry to save ukraine. u.s. senator chris van hollen joins me on the worldwide

coalition president biden