yamiche: nuclearnew revelationss seized from former president trump's home contained another country's nuclear secrets. >> we get these constant leaks and the only reason to leak is to influence the narrative which tells you this is being politicized. yamiche: trump's allies jumped to his defense. the justice department fights a judge's decision to appoint a third party to review the files. >> it is clear which way the new maga republicans are. democracy is at stake. yamiche: president biden takes his message to voters and blasts trump an election denier's. >> people are falling further and further behind. they feel pain when they go to the gas station. yamiche: while republicans focus

on the economy. plus, remembering the queen and her royal visits with america's presidents. next. ♪ >> this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by consumer cellular. additional funding is provided by the yuan foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. rose herschel and andy streets. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting. an by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> onc again from washington, moderator yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good eveng and welcome. this week, alarming new reporting from the washington post revealed the fbi recovered

top-secret information about a foreign nation's nuclear capabilities during its search of former president trump's home. according to the paper, some documents retrieved were so secret, only the president and a small number of senior level officials have access to them. on wednesday, former president trump's former attorney general bill barr weighed in on the legal jeopardy trump faces. >> there is no scenario legally under which the president gets to keep the government documents, whether it is classified or unclassified. if it deals with government stuff, and goes back to the government. yamiche: meanwhile, a federal judge appointed by trump granted his request to have a third party known as a special master review the documents seized from his home. the doj has filed an appeal to overturn that ruling. the doj is requesting the judge pause her related order temporarily blocking the government from accessing the

documents. joining me to discuss is nia-malika henderson for cnn. in studio, devlin barrett, national security and law enforcement reporter for the washington post. and amy walter's, publisher and editor in chief. i love to say your name twice so thank you for being here. devlin, you have the striking reporting of this nuclear documents retrieved of foreign national capabilities. what more can you tell us about what was retrieved and the scope of all of this. devlin: obviously, there was a lot of classified information and a lot of levels but part of our reporting showed some of this stuff was incredibly sensitive. one of the sets of materials recovered involved a foreign governments military defenses. up to not just their conventional defenses but the nuclear capabilities as well. that is a big concern. that is not the kind of thing

anyone wants roaming around in the wild. the other piece of the reporting this week is that some of this stuff was so tightly held that only a small numbe of cabinet level officials or near cabinet level officials were authorized to even tell anyone about it. meaning this stuff was so closely held, dozens of people in the government, that it's among the most closely guarded secrets in the american government. that's part of why there was so much concerned with the intelligence community. yamiche: it is a window into what bill barr said, which is it is not just forgetting your library card and taking it with you. this is really big, incredibly important documents. there's also this fight over the special master. talk a little bit about how this might impact the doj's investigation, how it might stall it given the fact the judge is saying they should not have access to the documents. devlin: the judge has basically told the government you cannot use the classified information

you took from mar-a-lago. what we have just seen is the justice department has filed a response saying you have to undo that restriction because we can't do the work we need to do to protect national security without restriction in place. their argument is, one, there could be more stuff out there we have not found, and if we can't look at the stuff we have found, we might not be able to trace it back to other things that might be out there. that's important because they have not made that suggestion before. the other part of it is, there is a damage assessment happening right now. the government said in this newest filing, we cannot properly do the damage assessment without the fbi being able to look at what they found in the search. that issue is back before the judge and we don't know yet how the judge is going to take this and how trump's lawyers are going to take this. yamiche: thinking about the other unknowns of this because there are so many questions to ask -- bill barr, rmer

attorney general, he said he believes former president trump should not be charged, but also said in the same breath that the doj is getting closer and closer to have enough evidence to be able to indict him. what do you know about this big decision facing attorney general merrick garland and how it squares with what bill barr is saying? devlin: one, it is the investigation. i know public attention ten to move faster than the justice department investigators moved. we are still fairly early. the other issue is, keep in mind, the original priority of this search was tgo get the material. the intelligence community looks at something like this being out there in a hotel or club or private residence and thinks that is dangerous, we have to get that back. they have met that first problem by just taking the material they can find back. then, they have to work through, ok, are there crimes here? was there willful violation of the law here?

that legal jeopardy is definitely not over for anyone, but it could take months to sor out. yamiche: as it's being sorted out, nia, new have former attorney general bill barr who has been very critical in saying former president trump should not have taken these documents. then, you also have republicans like lindsey graham who are full throated late giving their defenses of former president trump. what do you think of the politics of all of that? nia-malika: it is complicated for republicans. when this first happened, you had an array of republicans essentially saying this was good for donald trump. maybe it would speed up his announcement of another run for the presidency. it has brought people back into the fold of trump world who may have turned against trump. that whole idea, i think, is a little out the window now. you have republicans who are true trumpists. lindsey graham, someone like marco rubio who was in the

ballot, so he needs to hold donald trump close and not incur his wrath. that is why you see him so very much out there, pointing the finger at the doj saying this was politicized. but you don't necessarily hear a lot of republicans at this point offering a full throated defense of donald trump. at some point, someone in the house -- maybe he needed these documents because he's writing his memoirs, right? which is a laughable excuse. it makes no sense based on what we know about donald trump and not supposed to have classified documents. that kind of line from run-of-the-mill republicans who are in congress, on the house and senate side, that is not really happening as much anymore. mitch mcconnell was asked about this a few days ago and he essentially said, he's following along and learning about this as everyone else's, but he did note there is wall-to-wall coverage of this.

that this is likely not so great for republicans to have donald trump back in the news. it is a real tight rope, particularly for republicans who are on the ballot, who want to hold that trump base close, but also want to be seen as law and order republicans who aren't going after the fbi. yamiche: amy, i want to come to you and get your thoughts on the fact the gop does not seem to be on the same page here. they are all trying to figure out what to say about this at this point. amy: especially if you are a swing state candidate or swing congressional district candidate, you would like donald trump not to be in the news. that would be the best for you. many of these republicans, their game plan had been set months ago and it was pretty simple. we will talk about joe biden who was unpopular in our state or district. we are going to talk about the rising cost of living. 're going to talk about how

democrats are responsible for that. it was a pretty easy 1-2-3. it was wking like that until, well, i think two things. it was not just the mar-a-lago situation, but the fact that the january 6 hearings were, i think they broke through more than many people had expected. it is not that people changed their opinions about donald trump. you can still see this as a political situation. i still don't think voters were necessarily tuning in and paying attention to every little detail. but it was out there kind of floating out in the ether. it was a reminder to many independent voters, voters who might have shown up in 2018 or 2022, not to vote necessarily for democrats but the vote for returning to normal. this chaos is still there and it was in front of them day in and day out. it was out there constantly.

that is not where republicans want the last two months of this election to be focused on. yamiche: thinking about where we are going next, devlin, talk a bit about where this investigation is going. we have some deadlines coming up. we also have a doj filing, there might be more classified documents out there. devlin: a couple things. one, we are still in this holding pattern waiting to see how much is the judge's special master's mindset going to slow down the criminal investigation. we could know more about that in a matter of hours, days or weeks. it is not clear yet. that will be one big sticking point in this process potentially. the other issue is, you know, as the government and the investigators go through this material, they are going to have to make decisions on whether they think there is criminal exposure here. that could be obviously -- that

could have political consequences, legal consequences. it is still very high stakes for everyone involved, because the is still a lot we don't know. obviously, we are reporting every day but there's still a lot we don't know. there are serious potential consequences for a lot of the players in this. yamiche: think about the consequences, there is a question that the team here at washington week is thinking about -- a month into this investigation, but especially as we learn more from your reporting about these popular -- possible nuclear documents, why did it take so long for the government to go in and reach this point given the fact we are learning more and more about these documents? devlin: you have to understand the timeline because this is a slow building crisis that starts with the national archives of all places. one of the amazing things about the trump era is that the crisis is coming from these unexpected places like the national archives asking for a weather map and other things that were

part of the presidential record and they wanted essentially for history. trump and his advisers kind of fighting them or requests. what really happens is in january, trump's team turns over some stuff. those boxes are full of classified papers. that raises the level of alarm considerably. then what happens in the spring is you've got demands -- ok, they get a subpoena. give us all the classified information back. that is bad enough but in the face of that subpoena, the government believes trump and his lawyers and advisers did not in fact give it all back. they were withholding it and seems to be intentionally withholding it if you believe some of the things in these court filings. it is really in june this becomes a full-fledged, oh geez, what is this? i understand the frustration of why does this take so long, but it is really a two-month

difficulty. it becomes very serious very quickly in june. yamiche: tnk you for breaking that down. our team and people at home watching, that will definitely help them understand why we are now living through this investigation. thank you so much for joining us and sharing your reporting. the other thing amy was talking about and we have to talk about, this past labor day weekend marked the traditional kickoff of the midterms general campaign season. president biden and former president trump are campaigning in battleground states, including ohiond pennsylvania. on thursday at a democratic national committee meeting, president biden made his pitch for electing more democrats. >> imagine if we just elected to more democrats in the senate and keep the house of representatives. imagine. we will codify roe v. wade, we will ban assault weapons. we will protect social security

and medicare. we will pass election reform. yamiche: republicans have been accusing president biden of wasting money and hurting the economy. here is senate minority whip john thune taking aim at the president's student loan forgiveness program. >> the democrats demonstrated once again they don't care about fiscal responsibility. they don't care about deficit reduction. now they care about one thing and that is buying votes going into another election. yamiche: joining the conversation is nbc news correspondent dasha burns. she's been running all across the country. let's discuss the races to watch ahead. you have been crisscrossing the country, going to battleground states including pennsylvania. talk about what your reporting has shown about what is at stake in this midterm election, what voters are talking about, and how pennsylvania is a microcosm of what's going on. dasha: i have been spending a lot of time in pennsylvania, so have you. we are about to spend a lot more

time. all of our lives are regarding more absorbed with this estate and the races we see. not just because it is probably the democrats best shot of picking up a senate seat that president biden was pointing to, but also it really is pretty representative of politics in the age of trump. you've got dr. oz, a celebrity candidate who nobody really thought it running in a race like thi people still, voters that i talk to are a little bit confused to see a celebrity, reality tv star running for senate. but he is and has received trump's endorsement. you have his opponent, john fetterman, the lieutenant governor who himself is a bit of a larger-than-life character. this 6'8" guy with lots o tattoos who has painted himself very much as an outsider. i will tell you, the language that i hear voters use when they talk about federman is pretty

similar to the language i've heard voters use talking about trump. this guy's not a typical politician. he tells it like it is. you've got these two battling it out. oz has been focusing on fetterman attacking him as soft on crime. fetterman, and we will talk more about this, has started to put abortion as an issue that is front and center. on sunday, he's going to hold an abortion-rights rally in pennsylvania. yamiche: a lot to talk about there. dasha: absolutely. yamiche: amy, when you think about this -- i want to put up this poll from npr, pbs newshour. 40% of registered voters are saying they prefer a democratic unit. 44% say they prefer a republican. we are excited to have you on the program because you could break down what is a stake, what are the big trends we are

seeing when you think about that poll? amy: we have seen some movement in the so-called generic ballot where voters that question, who would you vote for? republicans have been up a couple of points earlier in the year so it has been a 3, 4, 5 shift in democrats favor. the most fascinating things even people who have been doing politics years and years, folks i talk to say this is the strangest election i've ever been through because the president is the really unpopular. even though his approval rating is not as bad as it was at the end of july when it was at 38%. at 42%, that is not a great place to be when you are the party in power. but underneath it, like you just put that number up, democrats at 40% even of the president is at 41%. democrats somehow outperforming the president, that is not something you typically see. the real question, again, the

other had scratcher is what role is abortion going to play? yamiche: i want to ask you a quick follow-up which is new hampshire, why is that interesting to you? amy: this is the last chance for republicans. earlier this year, they thought they would be able to put four, five senate seats in play because the environment looked good in the incumbent senator there, her first reelection campaign, does not have as strong numbers in that state. they have a primary on tuesday between, surprise, surprise, a trumpian kind of candidate and a more establishment candidate. right now the more trumpian candidate is ahead. this is another place where had trump not been engaged -- he has not endorsed here, but he was really responsible for making it really hard for the popular

republican in that state, the governor, to say yes to a senate run. we'll look back. if democrats to hold onto the senate -- yamiche: nia, i want to come to you. we have seen biden and trump fighting it out and going to states like ohio, what are you hearing when you think about how these two presidents are duelin ait out? nia-malika: listen, you obviouslyere biden trying to make this a choice election rather than a referendum election. he gave that big speech, really pointing the finger at trump and his more ardent followers as a danger to the country, as a danger to democracy. you have trump doing what trump does, going to different states, pennsylvania. i am sure he will be in georgia. ohio, for instance, where he's got a big following.

attacking his message about 2020 being a fraudulent election. they are taxing hisessage about him being a target of a witchhunt from the fbi, the doj, and from everyone and their mother. that very much resonates with his voters. the problem that republicans are seeing, and you can see a firing squad already circulating among these republicans who i talked to is that some of these trumpist candidates might be great for primary voters, but not so great for independent voters. not so great for suburban white women voters who are reacting to a lot of the news we are seeing, particularly around the dobbs decision. you see something really happening in the data. inflation is certainly a huge issue. i think it is the number one issue among voters. the send most important issue is health care. yamiche: you bring up abortion -- i want to talk about the importance it has.

dasha, you have been talking to candidates, especially republicans who had to change their messaging. tell us what you are hearing on the campaign trail. dasha: i have had the privilege of being on the ground of several states that gave us the signal that abortion would be a big driving issue for voters. i was on the ground in kansas in the month leading up to that big decision where voters voted down the antiabortion amendment. what's really important, when i have been talking to voters in 2020 and over the last couple of years, there was a lot of focus on politics of personality. is this a candidate that i like? is this someone i want to get a beer with? is this somebody that is authentic? that is how donald trump won over a lot of voters. since dobbs, it has been much more a politics of policy. for the first time in a while, i am hearing voters bring up these issues like abortion and

inflation that are actually impacting them. they feel that direct connection that whoever i like, who i vote for will impact my life. it is true. running as a republican and the post-dobbs era is a bit of a challenge. i heard that in washington state i was there last week. i interviewed senate candidate tiffany smiley who has made it very clear that she is pro-life, but she would not vote for a federal abortion ban. you saw blake masters saying he scrubbed his website of antiabortion language. when i was reporting on new york's 19th district race, generic republican versus generic democrat -- it was really a contest of issues. republicans running on inflation, democrats running on abortion. the republican in that race walked back the message, saying i think the supreme court

upended what i thought was lost. you are seeing this shift in messaging and seeing voters very much coming out to the polls based on this issue. so many folks i have been talking to, asked them what to do vote on, what did you think about when you cast your ballot and they said roe. yamiche: last 30 seconds, when we talk about race -- i'm being told 10 seconds. how much are these other cultural issues playing a factor? amy: it is definitely a factor. you are already starting to see republicans, they want to change the conversation. talk about crime, inflation, the border. democrats, really focusing in on roe and abortion. it's going to be a fight. yamiche: definitely more to talk about. thank you to our panel for joining us and sharing your reporting. don't forget to tune into the pbs news weekend on saturday for the interview with secretary of housing and urban development marcia fudge on the rising cost of housing.

before we go, i want to recognize the death of queen elizabeth ii at the age of 96. she was the united kingdom's longest-serving monarch. she met 13 u.s. presidents, including eisenhower, kennedy, nixon, obama, turmp and biden. she rgned for 70 years. also on thursday, journalists lost a groundbreaking giant. bernard shaw, best known as cnn's lead anchor for two decades, died at 82. he was one of the first black journalists to anchor a primetime news program. thank you for joining us. good night from washington. >> corporate funding for washington week is provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans designed to help people do more what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit

consumercellular.tv. >> additional funding is providedy the yuan foundation. committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delay magnuson. rose herschel and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

god help me to make good my vow and god bless all of you. if you haven't got a queen, you make do with film stars and pop stars, but if you've got a queen it obviously is so much better. narrator: for over six decades, queen elizabeth ii has been among the most famous and influential women in the world. simon lewis: the queen has connected with the british people in the most extraordinary way. she's been as constant as the northern star. (explosions and gunfire) narrator: she came of age amid the death and destruction of a world at war. sir ben kingsley: in her lifetime we have been grievously threatened by a power that would've annihilated us. her parents were putting their lives on the line. and elizabeth knew that. a german plane dropped its bombs. (explosion) and nearly kille the king and queen. (queen elizabeth ii reading)