judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on "the newshour" tonight, a call for arms, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy visits washington to meet with president biden and address congress amid another round of military assistance to aid the war effort. then, the final report, the january sixth committee prepares to release its assessment of the capitol attack. we speak to a key member about the recommendation of charges against former president trump. >> he urged everybody to come to a wild protest and become the first president in american history to assemble a crowd, quickly to bome a mom, to

attack the peaceful transfer of power. judy: and, trump's taxes, a congressional committee begins to release the contents of the former president's tax returns. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> pediatric surgeon.

volunteer. topiary artist. a raymondjames financial advisor taylors advised to help you live your life. life, well-planned. ♪ >> the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the john t -- john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at macfound .org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

judy: president volodymyr zelenzkyy of ukraine is in washington this evening, a surprise visit to his nation's most important partner in its fight against russia. he met this afternoon with president biden and will address congress later tonight. the sit comes as lawmakers consider a major funding increase for ukraine, and as the biden administration sends more weapons to aid the war effort. >> in a visithe world is watching, ukraine's president traveled outside the borders of his better country for his nose -- first known trip abroad since russia invaded in february. his decision to come today 301 r reinforces the partnership between the u.s. and ukraine that zelenskyy sees as critical. on twitter, he said he would meet with president biden to strength resilience and defense

capabilities of ukraine. he took that same message tuesday to ukrainian troops to the side of pitched and brutal fighting in the east. >> it is a complicated situation . the enemy increases the number of its troops. we will pass on gratitude to the u.s. congress and the u.s. president for their support, but it is not enough. judy: ukrainians reacted to the news of the visit, trusting their leader to secure what it needs. >> we hope for support as the united states is one of our main partners. i hope he will be able to share his first-hand experience about what is going on there, how our cities are being ruined, how are people are being killed. i hope no one in the u.s. can remain careless and that support will only grow. judy: russia has hammered

ukraine in recent weeks as moscow shifted its strategy to inflict even more pain on ukraine's people, repeatedly taking down the electrical grid, amid freezing winter cold. but more air defense is on its way. the u.s. announced today that it would provide an additional $1.8 million in military aid to ukraine with, for the first time, a patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for fighter jets. with those, the u.s. aimto help ukraine bolster both its air defense and attack capabilities. meanwhile, russia sent a stark warning against further american military aid to ukraine. >> weapon supplies continue, the import -- assortment of supply weapons is expanded. all this leads to an aggravation of the conflict and does not bode well for ukraine. judy: and in a speech to top

military leaders, vladimir putin vowed to continue the war, no matter what. >> of course, combat and military actions always bring tragedy and human losses. since it is inevitable, it is better that it happens today than tomorrow. i have no doubt that all the goals we set ourselves will be achieved. judy: back at the white house, zielinski thanked the u.s. for support and presented president biden with a metal warned by a ukrainian officer, given that the officer's request. later, standing side-by-side, president biden said the new aid package would send a powerful message to putin. pres. biden: he was wrong, wrong, and wrong. he makes it clear that he cannot possibly win this war. that is the time we have to put

this president in a position to be able to decide how he wants to react. judy: they spoke about weapons, energy sanctions, and support for peace talks. zelenskyy urge the a's -- the u.s. to stay engaged in the war and it its support for ukraine. >> we will win, and i really want to win together. thanks so much. not want, sorry, i am sure. judy: his last stop is his first in person address to congress, where he will ask lawmakers not to forget about ukraine. now, for some perspective from kyiv, as a cold, dark winter continues, with intermittent power and water. i'm joined by special correspondent volodymyr solohub. hello again, i know you have been talking today to ordinary ukrainians.

what do they say about this trip there president is making? >> judy, indeed, they see this as a very important, symbolic, and a bold move on the part of president zelenskyy, something he has been famous for doing. just some 36 hours ago he was in eastern ukraine, one of the hottest spots on the ground fight in this war between ukraine and russia, and it looks like straight from there he went to washington dc to meet with president biden in the white house, and he brought this special gift for president biden from there. so a lot of ukrainians admire and are very proud of the ukrainian president. judy: as we reported, this is the first time president zelenskyy has left the country since russia invaded. what are the concerns about security? >> there were some concerns that

russians come having learned that the president h left the country, would try and stage another attack on the capital or perhaps somewhere else in the country. we did have a few air raid sirens here in kyiv today, but nothing major happened. of course some people were concerned about president zelenskyy's personal safety. it's not like you can hop on a plane in kyiv and fly to the united states. you have to drive or take a train across the land to the western border with poland and only there you can take a plane and fly to the united states. so obviously these logistics were also in play when deciding and thinking about this historic and unprecedented trip for president zelenskyy. judy: no doubt rate care was taken regarding his travel in

ukraine and then across the atlantic. thank you very much, we appreciate it. and for more on president zelenskyy's visit to washington we get two views from veterans of both democratic and republican administrations. retired lieutenant general douglas lute had a 35-year career in the army, and served on the national security council staff during the george w. bush and obama administrations. he was also u.s. ambassador to nato during the obama administration. and stephen sestanovich is a professor at columbia university and senior fellow at the council of foreign relations. he was ambassador-at-large for the former soviet union during the clinton administration. he also served on the national security council staff during the reagan administration. we welcome both of you back to the newshour. steve, to you first. how do you see the main purpose of this visit?

steve: well, president zelenskyy is exploiting his star power, which he has in abundance. he is the bigger star on this stage, when he goes into the oval office. i thought the new york times had a good way of describing it. they are saying it is a thank you, a victory lap, and a sales pitch all at once. he wants to say thank you, but he also wants to press the administration for more weapons, and he's got a long list. even with the announcement of new weapons and other assistance today, ukrainians are worried about the new russian offensive and they want to be able to protect themselves. judy: doug, can you invite -- enlighten us on what is on that long list that president zelenskyy is talking about presumably with the administration? >> i think there are two categories of military capabilities rivet, longer-range, more capable

defense systems. this is in part filled by this recent announcement that we are sending our best, highest capable such system, the patriot, to ukraine. so that is a good start on that capability gap. the other gap has to do with the more sophisticated, complicated offense of capability that the ukrainians will need to refurbish for a spring offensive. here, tanks, armored infantry, capability for river crossing, obstacle breaching and so forth, will also be important. i was encouraged last week that the u.s. will be training ukrainian units in ukrainian -- in areasn germany and equipping them at the same time and then returning these equipped, trained units to the battle will in ukraine. those are the sort of things that president zelenskyy has on his list. >> is it your expectation that the biden administrationill go

along with this, that we can expect them to announce a change in what they are prepared to do? steve: they will not announce a change in what they're prepared to do, beyond what they said today with the patriots, but background before the visit, a senior administration official that told journalist that they will be leaning forward with support. they understand that the ukrainians are under pressure. they want this visit, as the senior official said, to inject momentum and support. they also know they have to keep doing more. when you talk to ukrainian officials, they mention all the things that doug has just mentioned, especially tanks, but they also talked especially about irritants. th say that again and again. the patriot decision is meant to

meet that need in part, but it is only in relatively small numbers. they want much more significant numbers and they want longer-range capabilities, so that if they face a new offensive, a new attempt t take kyiv, for example, which they are forecasting, they will be in a position to hit the russians hard. judy: what would that look like, if the administration were to give them what they are asking for, what kind of weapon are we talking about? >> we're talking about longer-range, mostly land-based attack systems with longer ranges that can go against the launch sites of the systems that russias using to attack ukrainian civilian infrastructure. these would be launch sites of drones, of russian-made cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, many of which are in ukraine, in occupied ukraine, but deep enough that existing systems

can't reach them. other launching sites would extend this project all the way to russia itself. judy: steve, we are talking about what more the ukrainians want, but we also hear in corners of congress and elsewhere about some uneasiness about how long this eight is expected to go on, whether the american people and every member of congress is behind it. is u.s. aid for ukraine in real jeopardy in any way, in your view, down the road? steve: you mentioned another reason that president zelenskyy is here. ukrainians read the polls. they know that there are signs that american public opinion is a little less enamored of all-out support for them. but they are also pretty confident that they can shape western and public opinion.

i heard president zelenskyy in september talk about the way in which reaching out directly, they can influence western governments and keep the support strong. that is part of what he is doing here. he is using his star power to try to shape public opinion in a way that will solidify the support that they need. judy: doug, vladimir putin is a central player in all of this. is there any thought of any weakening of his position or his resolve and what he has been trying to do in ukraine? doug: prudence rhetoric remains absolute maximist, they will win this, as long as it takes and so forth. but the zielinski visit stands in stark contrast to prudence visit to his only ally, belarus. -- contrast to putin's visit to

belarus. in the white house, with president biden, with the u.s. leading a 40 nation coalition providing ukraine military support and leading an economic coalition with sanctions against russia that represent 60% of global gdp. so the contrast between who is with russia and who is with silly and ski could not be -- who is with president zelenskyy could not be sharper. judy: putin is not softening his langge or the attacks on ukraine. >> when putin was in belarus, he had a press conference and said we are the two most toxic political leaders on earth. doug is exactly right, they are aware of their isolation. they are talking about the difficulties, the complications they face in this offensive, and

while putin continues to talk a good game, resolute rhetoric and all that, russian public opinion polls also show they are less certain that the entire enterprise is going well. judy: steve and doug, we thank you both. ♪ in the day's other news, as president zelenskyy arrived, the u.s. senate confirmed lynne tracy as the new american ambassador to russia. she sailed through on a 93 to 2 vote, in a signal of u.s. solidarity with ukraine. tracy a career diplomat and the first woman to be u.s. ambassador to moscow.

a second massive winter storm in as many weeks is rolling into the nation's mid-section tonight. the system is on track to bring blizzard conditions to the northern plains and midwest and frigid conditions all the way to florida by friday. heavy snow already blanketed parts of washington state and western canada. some 200 milon people across the u.s. are now under extreme weather alerts. along the u.s. southern border, thousands of migrants waited again today looking for and into the ban on asylum. for now the so-called title 42 restrictions are legal protection remain in force pending u.s. supreme court ruling. in the meantime, many migrants have been camped out in the cold. just inside mexico. some say they can't wait much longer. >> i'm going to ask for permission to see if they let me enter illegally.

if not, i'm going to try to stay to see if there can be asylum, and if not, then migrate because i want to get ahead for my children, and honestly, i have lost a lot of time already. judy: the biden administration has asked the supreme court to let title 42 laps, but not until after christmas. states have warned that ending them would overwhelm services and shelters. in britain, labor troubles became more serious today as ambulance workers went on strike across england and wales. they staged a one-day walkout to man better staffing and higher wages in the face of soaring inflation. paramedics insisted they still answer >> lifesaving calls. >> nobody wants to be on strike, we hate it. don't want nations to suffer. i thought it is important to stand solidarity and send a message out. judy: ambulance crews plan

another one-day strike next week. elon musk now says he is ready to let someone else run twitter, after users asked him to step down in an online poll. he tweeted today that "i will resign as ceo as soon as i find someone foolish enough to take the job!" the billionaire's takeover of twitter, with sudden policy shifts, has unnerved users and advertisers. on wall street, stocks finally rallied on a report that showed consumer confidence improving. major indexes were up 1.5% or better. the dow jones industrial average gained 526 points to close at 33,376. the nasdaq rose 162 points. the s-and-p 500 added 56. and, pro football great franco harris has died. he was a hall of fame running back for the pittsburgh steelers that won 4 super bowls in the 1970's. in 1972, harris made the legendary play dubbed the

immaculate reception, scooping up a deflected, last-second pass to score and win a playoff game. franco harris was 72 years old. still to come on the newshour. ukraine's president prepares to address congress as the war grinds on. a congressional committee votes to release former president trump tax returns. two film critics give their takes on the best movies of 2022. plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour, from w eta studios in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: late today, the january 6 committee released transcripts of three dozen of the me than 1000 interviews they conducted in its

18 month long investigion into u.s. capitol attack. geoff bennett has more. geoff: the report's release tomorrow comes after committee members held their final business hearing, where they referred former president donald trump to the department of justice on four criminal charges, obstructing an official proceeding, making false statements, defrauding the u.s. and inciting an insurrection. joining us to discuss what we can expect in the full report is january 6th committee member, democratic congressman jamie raskin. it's good to have you with us. we expected the full report to be released today and learn late in the day that it is actually coming tomorrow. what accounts for the delay? >> i believe there were printing issues at the government printing office so it got pushed into the evening and we decided to just wait until tomorrow early in the day. geoff: when that full report does arrive, including the transcripts and all the evidence gathered over the last 18

months, how will that full report expand the public knowledge, the public understanding of what transpired on january 6, and who ultimately bears responsibility? >> it will supply a lot of details and color to the basic elements at the public already understands. have a president of the united states who refused to take no for an answer from the american people, who gave more than 7 million more votes to joe biden than they did to donald trump. the same margin that trump had defeated hillary by in 2016 in which trump declared an absolute landslide, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer. so he began a multipronged assault on the election. try to get the legislatures to overturn it. the whole story is told in detail in our report. that doesn't mean we got everything, because there were a bunch of people blew off their subpoenas are came in and took

the fifth amendment. but we certainly understand every basic element of the assault on democracy and how 150 of our officers came to be wounded and injured by the mob that donald trump whipped up on the. geoff: a question about information sharing. the january 6 committee is now sharing evidence with federal prosecutors who for months were critical of the panel for refusing to send over witness interview transcript and other information. why not share that information earlier in the process? >> we were working on her own investigatn. these things are enormously time-consuming. our staff was overburdened and staggering under the weight of the work as it was. made it clear we were going to turn over to the department of justice all relevant information that they are seeking, and

indeed, we want the whole public to be able to see exactly what we've learned from this bipartisan inquiry into the worst violent domestic assault on the peaceful transfer of power in congress and the vice president in our history. geoff: as you mentioned, four republicans were reported to -- refeed to the ethics committee. the ethics committee is unique in that the ship is divided equally between republicans and democrats. still, republicans are set to take control of the house and a couple weeks time. you expect this committee to operate in a nonpartisan fashion regarding these referrals? >> no, i would not expect them to operate in a nonpartisan fashion. i would expect them to operate in a bipartisan fashion, because i am realistic about that. i do think there is a profound

problem proposed by members of congress who received a congressional subpoe to come and testify about what they know , who just blow it off and refused to do that. that is a very serious problem. congress issues subpoenasnd we expect people to comply with them under the rule of law. what does it do to the credibility of congress and our ability to enforce our own subpoenas if we have members of congress who don't even respect that process enough to even show up and at least assert some kind of eagle iunity or constitutional privilege if they think they've got it? geoff: the executive summary that came out this past week does not address questions of why the fbi, u.s. capitol police and other law enforcement agencies didn't do more to increase security on that day. will we get more clarity on that issue when the final report comes out? >> the final report has a lot

more detail and analysis of different things that people said about that. there clearly was information coming in through different law enforcement and intelligence channels that there were going to be lge numbers of people coming to washington, and many of them on the extremist websites were saying that they wanted to storm the capital or attack the capitol or attack officers and so on. of course the president of the united states ultimately ishe chief of the executive branch of government, but he had no interest in defending us in this case, as we saw on january 6 itself when the right was actually underway, the attack on his own vice president and members of congress was underway, and he did nothing. he didn't get in touch with the i, the joint chiefs of staff, the police, and so on. and other different individuals did different things. but overall, it was simply not

that she was not up to the task of dealing with the size of the crowd, the mob that came to attack the capitol as incited by donald trump. so that is a serious problem th we will have to look at. none of that absolves or exonerates donald trump in any way of what he did, because he was the one who unleashed the whole sequence of events. he called for the rally at the exact same time congress was meeting in the joint session under the 12th amendment. he became the first president in american history to try to assemble a crowd, quickly to become a mob, to attack the peaceful transfer of power. he is the one who is responsible for it. it's like a bank robbery where you've got the mastermind of a bank robbery take place in the bank is robbed and you ask questions afterwards about people who should've done something differently.

all those are legitimate questions, but none of them absolve donald trump of his central culpability in this event. geoff: thanks as always for your time. ♪ judy: we return to our top story tonight, you train -- ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy surprise trip to washington. he met earlier today with president biden at the white house. were joined by amanda sloat, the national security council's senior director for europe and she joins me now from the white house. we know some of this trip was certainly symbolic, to thank the president and the american people, but we also know it was about talking to the president and others about needing more help. how would you split up the

purpose of it? amanda: i think it certainly did both of those things. president biden spoke about this in the press conference. saying nothing beats face-to-face interaction between the leaders. they have had a number of phone calls throughout the course of the war, but this was the first time for them to be able to speak face-to-face. it was really important for president zelenskyy to be able to check in with president biden and discuss the progress on the battlefield, to discuss the security assistance the u.s. has been providing, and ttalk about the way forward. judy: we spoke a few minutes ago with two analysts who talk about that they understand to be what the ukrainians are asking for, both more r defense help and more offensive capability. how would you break that down? what are they asking for and what is the administration prepared to consider?

amanda: i think president zelenskyy's main message and his message in congress tonight is one of appreciation for all the support that had been given. as he made clear in the press conference, he sees this victory is very much a joint one with his forces on the ground and the security assistance from the united states. we have been focused throughout this conflict on ensuring that the security assistance meets the needs of the ukrainian forces on the ground as the war involves, and as russia has stepped up its brutal attacks, air defense has become ever more important. so this is a capability we've been working to give the ukrainians and today's announcement of the patriot battery is a big component of that, as well as a renewed commitment to continue engaging our allies and partners to provide that. the assistance package announced today includes more ammunition and artillery. today's package was a step toward addressing their needs

both on the defensives well as the artillery and ammunition side as well. judy: the patriot systems do address their needs on t defensive side. how much further is the administration prepared to go? one point today, president biden spoke at that news conference about providing longer-range weaponry, and risk breaking up nato. to what extent is that a concern for the white house? amanda: we continue to adjust the security assistance provided to meet the needs on the ground. when the war started, it was russian tan that were rolling toward kyiv, and at that point providing antitank systems was what the ukrainians needed and what we provided. war has continued to evolve. part of the package provided today included new capabilities including aerial precision you

nations, which gives an additional tool in their arsenal to help them on the battlefield. judy: is it fair to say that there are ongoing conversations about beefing that up and doing more for the ukrainians as they think about wanting to strike deeper into the russian front? amanda: so far we have seen the ukrainians make very good use of the capabilitiese have given them. we committed in today's package to give them more of that, but certainly as we have throughout the conflict, we will continue active conversations with ukrainians as the situation evolves. judy: it sounds like at this point the administration is not prepared to say what might be possible down the road, because it is clear the ukrainians are asking for more as time goes by. amanda: today we announce one of our biggest security assistance

packages to date, continuing to work with congress as they finalize the supplemental budget which will hopefully continue to give us the funds that we need to go into the year. we will continue providing ukrainians with the assistance they need on the battlefield and will continue to remain in close touch with their military, as we have been. as the counteroffensive continue into the winter and the following months. judy: to what extent is president biden and the administration concerned about support weakening for the war that ukraine is waging against russia? it has now been almost a year, it will be in february. how deep are the american pockets to continue to support the war? amanda: president biden has been clear from the beginning and he reaffirmed that to president zelenskyy that the u.s. will

continue to support and stand with ukraine, as long as it takes. certainly they have been working on a sizable package of funding that would enable the ministration to continue supporting ukraine in terms of their security assistance and economic needs and humanitarian side. we have strong bipartisan support for ukraine and their cause and we remain confident that that will continue. judy: it is clear that the europeans are not doing as much for ukraine as the americans have been. they have certainly provided some support. what kind of conversation is the administration having with europeans about doing more? amanda: do europeans have stepped up to help the ukrainians. it is true the u.s. is the biggest provider of security assistance, but a large number of countries in europe have

contributed capabilities to the ukrainians. they have borne the brunt of the refugee crisis. many of them are housing upwards of millions of ukrainians. they have been a strong partner in terms of implementation of sanctions, and with some of their economic impacts and costs of that, they have continued to do things on the energy front as well. we convened a ukraine defense content group that meets regularly and we will continue to encourage our allies and partners, especially on the air defense side, as well as continuing to bribe them with artillery and other capabilities they need. judy: vladimir putin has given no indication he is prepared to slow down, that he is prepared to push and push, as long as it takes, from his perspective. it certainly -- is there any

knowledge that there is some light at the end of this tunnel, or is it just flat out conflict as far as the eye can see? amanda: certainly nothing president putin has said or done gives any indication that he is prepared to end this conflict anytime soon. we are seeing the with -- seeing this with continued attacks on civilian infrastructure and ukraine's energy grid, especially heading into winter. we remain committed to supporting ukraine with the security assistance it needs and we support president zelenskyy's request for a just peace and the essentials he sees that are needed to bring the war to a close in a way that would be just. judy: we will leave it there. amanda sloat, thank you very much for joining us. ♪

judy: newly released information from a congressional investigation sws that the irs dinot pursue timely mandatory audits of former president trump during his term in office as is required. william bryan -- william brangham has more on what we're learning about why irs oversight didn't take place. william: judy, the new report comes after democraton the house ways and means committee engaged in a years-long legal battle with the irs to obtain the former president's tax records. the supreme court cleared the way for access last month. the report doesn't yet include the raw returns, but data shows trump paid as little as 750 dollars in federal income tax while running for president in 2016. but once his income started increasing while in the white house, he paid the federal government nearly a million dollars in taxes.

he paid no federal income tax his final year in office. the committee will publicly release six years of trump's tax returns in the next few days. joining me now to discuss is russ buettner from the new york times. he has spent the last several years investigating trump's financial dealings. great to have you back on the newshour. what is this summary report, what does it tell us about the president's finances? >> there are two things. it is a continuation of what we have reported in the past, that every year he logs generally very high business losses overall, for him to pay income tax is extraordinarily rare. and also just that these audits, this audit function early just has not worke, as you alluded to their, and in exploring his

vulnerabilities financially, the places where he can be subject to manipulation and also ways that money could be sent to him through business transactions, apparent business transactions that didn't really have any business purpose. that's a couple of things that were sort of alarming that has not been looked at and beyond a doubt, the most financially complicated and at times vulnerable president we have had in a long time. william: the white house took the irs to task for not doing this. it is the irs responsibility to do that, correct? they are supposed to do that with every sitting president? russ: my understanding is there is a regulation that is not a law, but it does show the need to make sure this is done. william: as you mention, a few years ago you and your

colleagues did a deep, in-depth investigation into president trump and his finances during the 1980's and 1990's, during the period when he was promoting himself as the great real estate developer. your review showed that he lost nearly a billion dollars. this report that came out this week, does that dovetail with what you're reporting back then found? russ: yes, if you look at his businesses and his financial records up close, what you see are the businesses that he controls are generally the lowest performing assets that he has in his portfolio. things that have done the best for him are the assets he received through his father, which over his life totaled about a half million dollars in today's money. and also the money he received

from being on "the apprentice" which was free of any business expertise. that totals almost another half billion dollars over the course of his life. that has basically underwritten a basket of businesses that overall do not consistently perform very well and offered him huge tax write offs almost every year. william: the most recent report showed that donald trump came into office suffering the same kinds of losses that you were documenting back tearing the 80's and 90's, but while president his income did spike up for a year or two. do we have any understanding of where those earnings and profits came from? russ: there was a blip in 2018 where he reported $22 million in positive, taxable income for him. it came from the sale of some assets. part of that we are looking

into, it appears it may have been part of his enterra tents -- inheritance that was sold off that year. so we are examining that. after that blip, it was not like the businesses starting performing well, it was a one-time big pay day from the sale of a couple of assets and then returned back to his historic pattern of not reporting taxable income. william: we know he did not do what most modern presidents do, which is to give their tax returns over for public scrutiny. we may get those from congress, but i wonder if you could step back, what is the public interest in knowing what a president or presidential candidate's tax returns -- what does that really tell us that is in the public interest? russ: there are a few things.

did try to mention this earlier, if a president is in need of money, that makes him vulnerable to manipulation. we see times in president trump's career when he has not been able to make payroll. that came up recently in the criminal trial of his company in manhattan. he would have to come up with several million dollars to support that. we saw that in his tax returns over the years. that is the sort of thing, that vulnerability is something for law enforcement authorities to be aware of. also, there are a lot of ways we have these cash-based, hospitality businesses that money could be sent to him in a way that appeared to be a business transaction but had no legitimacy. for example, if he wanted to rent 100 hotel rooms and one of his properties for a weekend, you could easily get him

$100,000 or $200,000 and not use those rooms. that is basically just a large pot of money you have given the president of the united states that would not show up at all on financial disclosure forms and would not show up on a tax return unless someone looked at an audit to see that those appear to be legitimate. those are things how public ramifications that currently we have no other system to capture or highlight. william: thank you so much again for being here. russ: thank you for having me. ♪ judy: it's been a very intriguing year for movies, with some big filims getting a lot of attention, small ones searching for audiences, and lingering questions about the future of the theater experience. jeffrey brown looks at the year

in film, for our arts and culture series, canvas. jeffrey: so are audience is returning to theaters. and if so, what are they seeing and what should they, we see? i'm joined by two film critics , ann hornaday of the washington post and justin chang of the los angeles times. it's nice to see both of you. justin, i'll start with you. why don't you give us two or three of your favorites of the last year? justin: one of my favorite movies this year is tar, which is todd fields, a brilliant study of a fictional world renowned classical conductor played by cate blanchett in one of the great performances of her career. >> time is the thing. time is the essential piece of interpretation. justin: and even though some have mistaken this for a biopic, and it's not, she's a completely fictional creation, the character of lydia tar, her world is just so fully realized that it feels more real than some actual biopics.

it's just a brilliant, mesmerizing film. and another of my favorites is a very different movie called aftersun, which is a first feature by a director named charlotte wells. >> there's this feeling once you leave wherever you are from that you don't totally belong there again. justin: it's a semi-aobiographical drama about, loosely based on an incident that happened with her and her father when they went on vacation, when she was just a pre-adolescent. and it falls in line with quite a few semi-autobiographical films this year, like steven spielberg's the fablemans, james gray's armageddon time. i mean, we're seeing something where filmmakers are tapping into their personal memories. and this one, though, from a previously unknown filmmaker, is just so piercing and haunting. it's one of the most moving studies of a father daughter relationship that i think i've seen in recent memory. jeffrey: ann hornaday ann: my number one movie of the year was top gun maverick. jeffrey: top gun maverick.

ann: you bet. that was the movie that i had the most fun. i went in with lots of skepticism. i thought it was too late. i thought it had taken too long. i wasn't really necessarily a huge fan of the first one. jeffrey: many, many years after the first one, right? ann: many years after the fact. can tom cruise age gracefully in this role? and i was utterly disarmed almost immediately. those elbows that had been sharply out collapsed. and and it was just so much fun to see it. and the audience was having such a good time. jeffrey: and there's something to be said for that these days, right? ann: there's a lot to be said for that. so i cannot tell a lie, that is number one. one that i was a huge fan of and i wish had been in theaters i so i could have sent people to it was good luck to you, leo grande. it's a little chamber piece starring emma thompson and a newcomer named daryl mccormack. and it's about a middle-aged widow who wants to sort of reignite her sex life.

and she hires a sex worker played by mr. mccormack to help her do that. and it's a series of two hander scenes in a hotel room, which you would think would be deadly dull and completely uncinematic. but it is an absolutely charming film. emma thompson is at her best and daryl mccormack absolutely holds his own with her. and i was quite taken with it. jeffre justin, a lot of people are coming to the movies for some of these big ones, i want to ask you about one of the year-ender big ones that a lot of people have been anticipating, that's avatar, right? the new avatar. justin: i really enjoyed the first avatar and i was completely transported by this one, too. it is very immersive. the worldbuilding is extraordinary. you feel like you are swimming. there were times when i wanted it to just be a great underwater hangout movie, you know, no action. but the action is great when it kicks in and you go home happy with the action. but it's sort of this great,

list out, trippy documentary on mushrooms experience that i totally recommend. is it a perfect movie? no, but to your question, jeff, i think that it's encouraging in -- at a time when movies have been so challenged by the covid pandemic, yes, people have gone back to movies. but it's been a really tough year at the box office, especially for movies like tar, and tar has made more money than some. i mean, the movies that anne and i write about week in, week out, smaller movies they last a few , weeks in theaters and then it feels like they're gone or they're on a streaming platform. i've never worried more than ever for the health of, you know, the mid-budget adult dramas, the american independent films, international films, jeffrey: what do you think about hornaday?

ann: i share justin's concern, and i think most of us have been concerned about that, especially that mid-budget adult drama that has always been an endangered species. and now i feel like these short theatrical releases are almost ads for the stream. you know, they're they're building awareness for audiences that have now become conditioned to stay at home. there has been an exception to this recently, which is the whale. it's a theatrical adaptation starring brendan fraser that just broke box office records, it tells us that it's the movie, you know. i mean, i think audiences will come out to see something, whether that's a huge big screen blockbuster spectacle or, you know, a smaller scale, smaller canvas thing. but it's going to be that content. jeffrey: let me just ask you both one more question quickly, just to take us out on a kind of upnote here about a performance that you love. ann you want to start that? ann: well, you know, i will mention a movie that i think deserved a bigger theatrical audience. and that's she said, which is about the new york times reporters who broke the harvey weinstein story. it is a really terrific journalistic procedural, you know, in that great tradition of

all the president's men and spotlight. but there's a performance at the center of this movie by samantha morton. >> he played people. he was a master manipulator. ann: it's a supporting performance. it's not one of the leads. she's one of the women who was affected and traumatized by her interactions with harvey weinstein. and her scene changes the film. it's a it's a fulcrum moment. >> it's about the system and protecting abuses. ann: and she dominates and commands it in a way that is just, it's just devastating. jeffrey: justin chang, one performance? justin: i'm going to call some attention, not that she necessary needs it, to michelle yeoh in everything everywhere all at once. >> it does not lo good. justin: michelle yeoh gives a wonderful performance in it. and the movie is very much a love letter to her, to her career. her standing as one of our great

martial arts performers, one of the great asia's great action stars. but also just as a as a fabulous actor, something that has not been recognized as much as it should be. and i can't think of another movie this year, save maybe tar and cate blanchett that just calls on an actor to do so many things. and to make you believe her doing all of them. and so those two performances, i think, are maybe on a different level this year from most everything else. jeffrey: all right, justin chang of the los angeles times, ann hornaday of the washington post, thank you very much. ann: thank you. justin: thank you so much. judy: i hope you were taking notes, there's a lot to watch there. and watch trailers from the movies that were mentioned at pbs.org/newshour. and that is the newshour for tonight. join us on-line and again here

tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helped people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contact plans. to learn more, vis consumers -- consumer cellular.tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. >> these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm driving by helping others every day. people who know, know bdo. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.

and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by 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.] ♪ >>

. nhello, everyone and welcom to "amanpour and company." here is what is coming up. >> ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass. >> a historical criminal referral for a former u.s. president as the scrutiny for donald trump continues today over his tax returns and the impact and what it means and ask what a republican controlled house means for the work of the committee next year. global aid in trouble, i spoke to former u.k. secretary of state for international development about his efforts to send money directlyo the world's poorest. plus. ♪ it's me, hi, i'm the problem

it's me ♪