tonight on kqed newsroom . at a shift response to the sanctions against russia. lawmakers want california to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments and more. we speak with state senator sidney -- who is pressing for that change. who is for and against governor newsom's new gas relief package? our panel of reporters analyze this week's big stories.

welcome to kqed newsroom. it has now been one month and one day since russian forces first invaded ukraine. the white house has announced america will take in 100,000 ukrainian refugees. 3 1/2 million ukrainians have fled their homes already in this war. president biden traveled this week to europe for emergency summits with other world leaders. he wants to reduce dependence onrussian oil and gas. he announced further sanctions on russia. joining us now in studio to discuss the war is the chair of the house intelligence committee, congress member adam schiff. thank you for joining us. >> great to be here. >> difficult times this week. your house intelligence committee said a bipartisan letter to the director of

national intelligence and in the u encouraged her to continue providing intelligence to ukraine and its allies. you also asked for a declassification of information related to russia's planned for actual war crimes or atrocities. what are you hoping for and that declassified information? >> the administration has used intelligence declassification in important ways. first by intelligence before the war to put the world on notice to what the russians were planning. that help us build sanctis. and then discussing intelligence about russian false flag operations and their potential use of chemical weapons. we told the russians we know what you are planning. and to use her intelligence to help build the case on war crimes rita could be another important use if we can declassify information showing the deliberate attack of civilians. then some of these war criminals can be held

accountable. >> secretary of state antony blinken has said this week the government, the u.s. government has determined some members of the russian military have committed war crimes. what does that designation mean? >> it means they can be held personally liable. by a international criminal court or other tribunal. it would expose them to sanctions under the mc nitschke act where they can face financial sanctions, travel sanctions, and other costs of their war crimes. and ultimately if the evidence goes back to put ordering indiscriminate bombing and other war crimes, he can also be held responsible. >> what you think of that? do you think president putin has committed war crimes? >> i do. i think he is a war criminal. eddie is put onto sam's. she is responsible for what is going on.

this is naked aggression on his part. his desire to be the next peter the great. and the fact is he has no respect for human life. >> there is also now a very credible eviden from the intelligence community that russians may be planning to use chemical weapons. president joe biden said this week if that happens the u.s. would respond in kind. i'm curious about your thoughts on this. about the u.s. perhaps not directly deploying chemical weapons but assisting another country to engage in chemical warfare. do you have any qualms about that? >> i heard the president make remarks in my immediate reaction was, i'm sure he does not mean that we will respond with the use of chemical weapons. or by supporting ukraine to use chemical weapons. they do not possess them to begin with. i think he means we will respond proportionately. we will figure out what y we

can help ukraine respond and how we can respond with economic and other sanctions. the president now is discussing with nato what those repercussion should be. the russians have used chemical weapons in peacetime. they have poisoned people on foreign soil. they assisted -- when he used chemical weapons. they are not adverse to doing it and we have to be prepared. >> apart from that warfare, what assistance should we still be offering? president biden has said over and over again we are not going to be helping to enforce a no- fly zone over ukraine. we had former senator barbara boxer on the show. nd she said if we put u.s. military boots on the ground in ukraine we are essentially going into world war iii. beyond the humanitarian assistance we have offered so far, beyond the military assistance, what else should

america or could americas to be doing? >> i think we can do a lot more of what we have been doing. we have provided antitank munitions. we have provided antiaircraft weapons and systems. we started providing our drones. those can be very effective. what the ukrainians most need our think they don't need to be trained on. things they could be make immediate use on. i would still like them to get those polish mags but i think the president is right to draw the line on a no-fly zone. i think that would get us in a shooting for more with russia in order to impose a new wise and we would have to shoot down air defense systems within russia and russian aircraft. that would be a dramatic escalation.? i know you spent time in the

ukraine yourself so ensure personally this is hard to see. >> it is. i've been there a couple times. i was there during the revolution of dignitary. they were seeking to throw out a program one autocrat and ultimately succeeded. i have a lot of respect for them. stomach turning to politics ere. ch turning to politics recently the washington post reported house minority leader kevin mccarthy said he would strip you of your post as chair of the house inteigence committee. should the republicans regain majority in the midterms. he accused you of politicizing the panel. i'm guessing you have a thing or two to say about that. >> yes. that is rich coming from the guy who appointed devin nunes to the panel. and also push for a benghazi select committee because he said he wanted to take down hillary's numbers. her poll numbers. there is no one who i think has been more destructive politically than kevin

mccarthy. he is seeking to appease the marjorie taylor green, paul goes-r, for them having their committee stripped aside. in the glorification of violence against other members of congress. this is his way of saying, i will pay back. and it reflects how weak a hold he has on the republican conference that he has to do the bidding under his most extreme members. >> let's turn to another piece of news you made. you took him this week at the citizens united decision. this was back in 2010. supreme court case in which the justices ruled corporations and unions were rmitted to give unlimited campaign contributions because it was an expression of free speech. but that is led to a lot of money being moved around over the system in the last several years. your amendment would essentially overturn citizens united. could you tell us about the amendment and what they would

do? >> who do a couple things. it would overturn citizens united but it would go back to acase three or four decades ago, a postwar gate where the supreme court struck down watergate reforms that limited independent expenditures. citizens united made that far worse. so this would overrn that line of decisions to allow congress once again to put limits on expenditures of money. get rid of the dark money, big corporate spending in elections. i think it is probably the most important constitutional before we can have. attacking the pollution of the campaign system. >> thank you very much for joining us in studio today. >> pleasure. what if you could pay for your taxes using a new form of currency? digital money, cryptocurrency. th idea may seem far-fetched but it can be closer than you think. colorado governor jared polis sa his state will begin to accept crypto payments for

state taxes and fees as early as this summer. the concept is also being introduced in the california state legislature. state senator sidney -- introduced a bill which would allow state agencies like the dmv to take cryptocurrency as payment. senator, welcome to the sh. >> thank you for having me. >> we are glad to have you. cryptocurrency is gaining traction. so many of us still do not really understand what it is and out works. could you give us a quick overview? >> you should not be afraid of digital currency. you shouldbe embracing it. digital currency is money. it is just money that is stored or exchanged using computer systems. that's all it is. >> it is outside the traditional banking system as well. tell us about your bill that

your proposed? it is not gone to any committee so it still has a long way to go. before it reaches the governor's desk and potentially get signed into law. why did you introduce it and what would it do? >> we will cross our fingers that this bill gets to the finish line. sb 1275 as part of my legislative package that úfocus úhow we bring folks from the margins to the center? we will make wealth building more democratic and more accessible. this is what this bill would do. it's up he says if you are a californian and you have bills to pay to the state of california you can use digital currency to do so. >> what is this piece of equity? let's dive into that a little bit more. when you think of cryptocurrency you think of tech and people who have a lot of wealth already. why do you see this as an issue of equity? >> that is a great question.

also an assumption i had also. it was debunked for me. i a friend of mine. 63 million americans across this country are either under banked or un-banked. millions of those folks live in california. we are thinking this is an opportunity for adventure capitalists and folks who are rich to play in this new space. but really most of the folks who are investing or own cryptocurrency are making less than $100,000. they tend to be under banked or un-banked. they tend to be ing alternate ú loans or money cashing laces. those systems cost them money to make transactions to send money. to hold onto money, to get money. many of these folks are entering into the space of cryptocurrency. we know 44%, 44% of folks who are investing in digital currency are not white. there is a growing population

of black and latino consumers and investors in this space. it is very enticing and exciting for folks who feel they have been marginalized or who have been kept out to the traditional lending space. >> let's turn to some of the concerns people have when it comes to cryptocurrency. security issues. one of your introductions was partly because of a ransomware attack. could you tell us about that time? >> guess. so i was on the board of the los angeles community college district. we got hacked. the russians hacked into our system and took all of the data that belong to her students. so we had to engage in negotiations to get this data back using cryptocurrency. so my first introduction to this was talking to the fbi about what it was. i thought it was a shady space

and shady characters or the dark web. but my last connection to it was having dinner with a latina friend of mine who said she had been researching digital currency and had begun to invest in it for five years. she said she was using this money to open up a business. just last month that is exactly what she did. >> so you are seeing both the dark side of it and eventually the light side? >> yes. but i have to say there are positives and negatives to regular american currency. there are positives and negatives to credit card transactions. we are living in an age where nothing is 100% secure. i think it would be disingenuous to place all of those spears on digital currency. we have an opportunity to lead as the state of california or to at least be a part of the conversation. and hopefully drive some of the discussions that are happening at the federal level. >> there are a couple of concerns about cryptocurrency that are specific to this form

of money. cryptocurrency is not just a standard unit. there were many types and many evaluations which go up and down. so that leads toconcerns about the stability of these various forms of money. and then secondly, there is a restriction that states, we cannot make our own money. that is a function of the federal government. cryptocurrencies are not legal tender. tell us how these issues would úbe addressed through your bill working out the operations of it? >> you are right. the federal government is the only one that can decide legal tender for currency. in this bill would not do so. this bill is also agnostic as it relates to the kind of cryptocurrency that can be used. we know there are a number of different products out there. we are not trying to be a stamp of approval for one particular product. this would, so i want to say this is presenting a building block. this is not about full

implementation or integration of digital currency into the state of california. we do have an opportunity to think about contracting with third-party vendors who could convert cryptocurrency into dollars. and there is something called stable coin that has pegged to the u.s. dollar that would allow you to do that. the bill is not specific to the volatility of cryptocurrency. that is not what this bill is about. this bill is just about making payments. so obviously at the time you armaking a payment the value of that cryptocurrency would stabilize and be stopped as you would then be transferring it over or converting it over to u.s. dollars to make your payment. but to your point, yes, these are discussions that are happening at the federal level. i think they are trying to figure out the regulatory jurisdiction for this. which agency it is. and for a national discussion, we probably have to continue to

have those kinds of deeper dives. >> stbling our way forward and working out how to do this starting to walk. to catch up with the technology that is only out there. i wanted her to another subject. we have all been watching the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee judge ketanji brown jackson. what has up and like for you to watch as a fellow female black leader? >> i have to say i have been turning the tv on when i am in my office waiting to go to committee and i would much rather watch her confirmation hearing. it's historic. i was in shock and frustrated and disgusted by how she was treated by senator lindsey aham and senator ted cruz. i was humbled and feeling joyous when senator cory booker reminded her and the rest of the world that she would be confirmed as the next justice on the supreme court. seeing her speak in front of,

with her daughter and husband behind her both beaming with pride about this amazing black woman was incredibly amazing. i cannot wait for her to be confirmed. they give for your time today. >> thank you so much. governor gazza knudsen has announced a relief package to offset gas prices that have been rising over the past several weeks. >> today we are announcing a $9 billion tax refund to tens of millions of californians. $400 for each registered vehicle that an individual owns up to two vehicles. >>'s plan also includes grants and reduced fares for public transit users. the proposal still needs to be approved by the legislature. if it passes californians could say payments as early as july. joining me now wi more analysis of this week's big stories or senior editor rachel

miro. >> hello. >> and california politics reporter for political jeremy the white. jimmy, one of two tickets often let's talk about these gas tax payments for these gas payments. and how they are being received right now. >> i think there was no doubt that california is going to offer some form of relief to residents for high gas prices. the legislature is asking for it. the governor is asking for it. the question is really, what are those payments going to look like? the governor's plan is $400 payments per vehicle up to two vehicles per person. he is additionally calling to suspend the gas tax. he wants to target it toward everyone. it would not be tailored toward lower income californians. that differs in a few respects from what legislative leaders asked for. they do want an income cap. they wanted to go to only people making less than

$250,000. household in their plan was tied to individuals rather than to vehicles. i think it's clear there is still room for negotiation between legislative leaders of the governor as to what exactly this relief looks like. >> what are the republicans in the legislature saying about this proposal? generally you think they would be in favor of giving the rebates. >> is interesting because there is a aspect of the governor's plan that is similar to what republicans have been calling for, which is namely freezing the gas tax. the republicans are trying to do that immediately. they keep trying to force votes unsuccessfully and in a lot of ways this is something that allows them to reap clinical benefit and talk on how democrats do not take these opportunities to provide relief. they will make voters wait months. so i think republicans clearly see political gain in pummeling the majority party on this. even as it looks very likely

some form of relief is going to be forthcoming. >> i taught it was interesting there could be several months of no payments at all on public transit. so we will see where we end up with that. i thought that was fascinating. i will turn to you rachel. i love when you were here because i got caught up in all of the tech news. thanks for bringing that information to us. last night there was his government regulation in europe. it's new regulation on tech companies, many are based year as we know in california. this is called the digital market act. i want to read, i like how the top european digital officers described it. terry britton said, faced with big online platforms behaving like they were too big to care, europe has put its foot down. we are putting an end to the so- called wild west dominating our information space. we are making a new framework that can be a reference for democracies worldwide. big goals. big intention. what is this framework and is it going to impact is here? >> it will indeed. it's interesting to note once

again european regulators are stepping out ahead of washington, d.c. where we have seen gridlock and just a great deal of confusion and disagreement as to what antitrust regulation should úlo lawmakers and coming from regulators here in washgton, dc. some of the same territory that they have been talking about, european regulators have come to decisions about. you can just hear the scrabbling going on in silicon valley right now between these armies of political lobbyists and lawyers. they will have to move to respond to the european moves. quite possibly other countries around the world will follow suit. >> we had an interesting conversation just before you came on with state senator sibley -- and she is introducing a bill here in california in which people could pay for their taxes, othestate services using cryptocurrency. i'm curious about your take on

that principal. >> it's a good stop for the youth vote. there were a lot of young americanwho have bought into the big search in cryptocurrencies. it is something we have seen in other parts of the world. el salvador, colorado. there are open questions here. i'm not sure how many americans actually treat cryptocurrency as a courtesy. one like an investment. it's a super volatile investment. >> would love to have people join us on twitter and asked questions. thought. em had an interesting if we will except crypto and we are looking at other currencies were not the pound and the euro or the yen? interesting. state senator -- has not been in office that one. but she is already running for congress. she is running for karen bass's vacated seat. she has the entire democratic political machinery behind her.

her endorsement list goes on. let's turn to karen bass. she left congress in order to run for ellie mayer. this week we saw the ellie mayers candidates all come together on the debate stage. jeremy, catch us up. we really have not talked about the ellie mayers race. who is in and what's the game looking like? >> as you mentioned congresswoman karen bass i think widely perceived to be the front runner. somebody that has a lot of name idea, i think was boosted by her being on the vice presidential short was for a little while there. she is vying with the city coucilmember joe -- and kevin -- the city attorney -- but i would say the candidate that has really injected the biggest variable in this race since the beginning is rick caruso. a wealthy los angeles developer who is poised to spend a lot of money to really create an opening for himself by

channeling the concerns of voters about crime and homelessness. in particular two issues in ellie that is in a lot of parts of the state really top of mind for voters. >> that is something we could well see in ellie. i'm thinking of the eight-year term as ellie mayer that richard riordan enjoyed. he was somebody who came in from the outside, los angeles county, los angeles city i should say. very democratic but sometimes a republican who says, i can turn the situation around has an appeal for people. >> well we will have to leave it there and keep watching as we go. rachel and jeremy thank you so much for joining us. tonight look at something beautiful is happy hollow. a small zoo with an amusement park featuring rides for younger children in san jose.

is health suite. that is out of our show for tonight. i will be off next we. scott shafer will be show úinstead. tune in. for a special conversation between matt haney and david compost. who were running against each other fr a seat in the assembly. you can find ed newsroom úonline or you can email us at kagan are at kqed.org. you can reach me on social media at randy clements. we will see you right back here next friday night. have a great weekend.

>> isolating russia. in a historic confirmation hearing. pres. biden: putin is getting the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence. of going io ukraine. . . we have to stay thoroughly united. yamiche: president biden travels to europe for emergency meetings with western allies. >> the alliance can save the ukrainian alliance from russia's occupation, if we can get all of the weapons we need. yamiche: president zelinski pleads for more military aid to beat back russia. nato leaders stop short of giving him the weapons he wants. plus -- >> i am here, standing on the shoulders of generations of americans who never had anything