i mom the nevada. >> i'm geoff bennett. the federal prosecutor agrees to

drop charges on new york city's mayor. complying with the justice department order that sparked mass resignations and accusations of a quid pro quo. >> if you're running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing america can do for you. ask vice president jd vance lectures european allies on democracy at a summit largely meant to focus on the security of ukraine. >> david brooks and jonathan capehart give their takes on the weeks headlines from elon musk's expanding influence, to the white house targeting the associated press. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by. friends of the news hour. including jim and nancy build there. and the robert and virginia schiller foundation.

the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style. all with cunard's white star service. ♪ >> the john s and james l knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

and friends of the news hour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> welcome to the news hour. a wave resignations shaping up the u.s. justice department after the trump administration gave orders to drop the corruption case against new york city mayor eric adams. so far at least seven officials have quit and adams is facing increasingly loud calls to step down. >> the exodus began yesterday with one of new york's top prosecutors and is already being dubbed the thursday afternoon massacre, recalling the famous saturday night massacre during the watergate scandal.

william brangham begins our coverage. >> through this entire ordeal -- >> new york city mayor eric adams was playing defense. >> i had to endure for something i did not do wrong. >> including a pr blitz on fox news. all the while, the u.s. to part and of justice is in up people over the fate of the corruption case brought against the mayor. yesterday, six doj officials resigned after refusing an order from the department in washington to dismiss the case. acting u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york daniel sassoon, a republican who clerked for the lead supreme court justice antonin scalia a, started the exodus. writing to trump's new attorney general pam bondi, he accused mayor adams and officials in the doj of what amounted to a quid pro quo. that adams would aid trump's immigration enforcement if the doj dropped his case.

sassoon excoriated the alleged offer, writing "it is a breathtaking end dangerous precedent to reward adams opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment. yesterday, mayor adams met with trump's borders are and sat beside him on fox news this morning as he denied the claims. >> that is quid pro quo, that is a crime. it took three weeks to report in front a criminal action? >> then home and implied if adams did not help with immigration. >> in the office, up his but saying where is the agreement we came to? >> the acting u.s. security and former trump lawyer who ordered the dismissal rejected the assertion that there was any quid pro quo. in response to my he wrote she lost sight of her oath and

should interpret the company -- constitution in a manner inconsistent with the policies of a democratically elected president. adams had pleaded not guilty last year to federal charges of accepting bribes in illegal campaign contributions from turkish nationals. now a flurry of democrats are calling on adams to step down. and calling on new york governor , democrat kathy hochul, to remove him from office. which she would have the authority to do. for doj officials, the so-called thursday afternoon massacre continued today. the line prosecutor who handled the adams case quit with a defined message refusing his motion to dismiss the case. he wrote "i expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion. but it was never going to be me. reportedly he was able to find a doj lawyer willing to sign the

motion this afternoon. for the pbs news hour, william brangham. >> joining me to discuss the people within the department of justice is jessica roth. former federal product user -- prosecutor for new york and professor at the cardozo school of law. welcome back to the news hour. off. it looks like the department of justice found someone willing to move forward with dismissing the charges against mayor adams. what happens now? is a judge required to accept the dismissal? >> no. the judge is not required to accept the dismissal. certainly not right away. it requires leave of suggests tt meant to be a rubberstamp. but there is very limited authority and preset end for a court denying leave to dismiss. the court has the authority to withhold a hearing for reasons with the dismissal and make sure they are not improper and in the

public interest. and i expect especially given the record set forth in the letter that they would have such a searching hearing here. if the court were to find reasons were improper, it is not clear what would happen then because if the court were to deny leave but the doj doesn't want to move forward with the prosecution, who would prosecute the case? it is not clear the court has authority to appoint a special prosecutor or somebody else to carry out this prosecution that doj is saying it does not want to carry forward. >> let me ask you another part of the letter sent to the attorney general saying mayor adams lawyers are essentially asking the doj for what amounted to a quid pro quo arguing his case should be dropped so he can carry out president trump immigration agenda. is it what it looked like to you? where is the legal bar or burden of proof? >> at a minimum, it looked like

extraordinary abuse of prosecutorial power. whether it was exactly quid pro quo or not, what is clear in the initial memo directing the dismissal is the reason for the dismissal had nothing to do with the merits of the case and was intended to leave mayor adams unfettered to produce -- reduce the president's agenda. and it said charges could be reinstated at a future date. very clearly hanging over mayor adams head the threat of re-indictment if in fact he did not comply with the president's immigration agenda and fell out of favor with the administration. at a minimum it is clearly improper and an abuse of the prosecutorial function. >> for context, we spoke to you three days ago when it first came up federal prosecutors may move to drop case. since, we have seen this wave of

resignations, refusals to dismiss the case. i want to get your reaction to how quickly things escalated. have you seen anything like that in the department of justice? >> no. this is an absolutely unprecedented situation. what we have seen is an extra ordinary display of integrity and courage from the prosecutors in the southern district of new york who refused to comply with an order with which they could not comply in good conscience. and from the lawyers at the department of justice public integrity section in washington, d.c., who similarly refused to sign the order when the acting deputy attorney general transferred the case to them in the southern district refused. this is an extraordinary moment of a people within the department of justice where we see a standoff between the new leadership and professional ranks of the prosecutors trained in a certain tradition of prosecutorial norms. >> jessica roth, former federal prosecutor for the new york professor and school of law.

good to see you. thank you for your time. >> my pleasure. >> courtrooms across the country are hearing challenges to president trump and elon musk's efforts to shrink the federal government. white house correspondent laura marone lopez has the latest as the administration defends itself in five separate cases. how did the courts rule in some of these hearings? >> nonstop court actions today. to start off, one federal judge extended a restraining order against doge, the department of government efficiency led by elon musk. barring them from accessing treasury payments system. the restraining order was extended. another lawsuit where the consumer financial bureau essentially was told they don't

have to delete, it was trying to prevent the full on dismantling which is being done by elon musk and other officials. the judge said no cfpb employees could be fired. another case brought by eight fired inspectors general, the judge said they would not issue any emergency action to reinstate those inspectors general. in that case is going to be ongoing. in a case challenging elon musk and doge's entire operation, another federal judge asked for more specifics and said they would rule at a later date. all happening as doge is growing its numbers. i was told by a source familiar that billionaire, the airbnb co-founder, joining the efforts with elon musk. he was at the office of personnel management today. wax the administration moving forward with these firings across different government agencies. how expansive is this?

>> incredible. we saw an increase in the number of firings that are coming and targeting primarily probationary employees, people working in government for less than one to two years. we estimate more than 200,000 employees could be impacted. look at it by the numbers, more than 5000 at the national institutes of health and ddc. more than 1000 at the veterans affairs, more than 1200 at the energy department, and more than 3000 at the u.s. forest service. when it comes to those being terminated at the cdc, one of our sources told marie jacobson at least 100 members of the epidemic intelligence service are expected to be terminated shortly. those are disease detectives, if you watch contagion, kate winslet's character was a member of that service. when it comes to the energy department cuts, some are within the nuclear security administration.

a number of people consider this very risky and wide across the board. ask thank you for that update. ♪ >> we start the day's other headlines with new information on the deadly collision between an american airlines jet and an army helicopter in washington, d.c. last month. federal investigators say the blackhawk room a have missed a key instruction by air traffic control seconds before the crash. the plane was coming in for a landing at reagan international airport when the collision occurred. all 67 people on board both aircraft were killed. the ntsb chairwoman said air traffic control instructed the helicopter to pass behind the jet as they were getting closer. >> the portion of the transmission that stated pass behind the may not have been

received by the blackhawk crew. transmission was stepped on by a .8 second the from the blackhawk. the blackhawk was keying the microphone to communicate. >> they also said investigators believe the were wearing night vision goggles and are looking into whether altitude readings inside the helicopter cockpit were inaccurate at the time of the collision. a federal judge has ordered the trump administration to lift its funding freeze on foreign aid and has even officials a five day deadline to prove they are doing so. the order late last night was the first to challenge the freeze. it cited the financial impact the cut off of payments is having worldwide. president trump ordered the 90 day freeze last month to allow officials time to determine which groups would keep getting federal funds. the judge in his ruling said officials have not offered any explanation why a blanket suspension was a rational

precursor to reviewing programs. in the middle east, hamas announced the names of the three israeli hostages it attends to tomorrow, in the latest exchange of the fragile cease-fire. there is really american --, israeli argentinian, and an israeli russian. they are expected to be exchanged for hundreds of palestinian prisoners. hamas friend earlier this week to delay the release, saying israel violated some of the terms of the cease-fire. the group later agreed to move forward as planned. california's strongest storm system this season dropped the six inches of rain and sent flash floods and mud down the burnt hillsides of los angeles. cascades of muddy water rushed across roads, leaving behind debris and sludge. they even swept an alley fire department vehicle into the ocean. one person in the car escaped

with minor injuries. further north, the same system caused white out conditions in oregon. at least 10 people were injured in a 100 car pileup. forecasters say another polar vortex will send it plummeting across huge parts of the nation next week read and misery, an 86-year-old white man pleaded guilty in the nonfatal shooting of a young black man who had rung his doorbell by mistake. andrew lester had been due to stand trial on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. instead he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and faces up to seven years in prison. ralph yarl was in court to hear the plea. he was 16 years old when he mistakenly ended up at lester's house after mixing the streets he was due to pick up his twin siblings. the shooting renewed questions about america's relationship with guns and race. he's since graduated from high school, earning a national merit award for academics. on wall street, stocks ended mixed after an otherwise strong

week. the dow jones industrial average slipped 106 the five points, about one third of 1%. the nasdaq posted a decent gain, adding roughly 80 points. the s&p 500 ended virtually flat. it was a day of brotherly love on this valentine's day for the super bowl champion philadelphia eagles. tens of thousands of fans lined the streets to cheer on their beloved birds as they paraded across downtown, hoisting the vince lombardi trophy. >> say it with me. eagles. >> and with the final rallying cry from the famous rocky steps and in front of a sea of kelly green, the super bowl underdogs celebrated being top dog for the second time in the teams history. they beat the kansas city chiefs this past sunday 40-22. still to come. the eu's foreign policy chief on the future of ukraine amid shifting u.s. support. constitutional scholar ilia

schapiro considers president trump's expanded view of executive authority. jane austen fans around the world honor the british novelist's legacy 250 years after her birth. >> this is the pbs news hour from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> today in munich i'm a vice president jd vance met with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy and with german political leaders, including the head of the far-right afd party. >> that came after vance spoke at the munich security conference. it is usually focus on western adversaries. he instead critiqued america's european allies. nick schifrin is in munich tonight. >> and from -- front of a mostly european audience, vice

president vance delivered a scolding. >> what i worry about is the threat from within. the retreat of europe from some of its most fundamental values. >> world leaders hoping for clarity on the administration's plan for ukraine. instead, he expressed support for right-wing parties, including germany's afd, whose leaders he met this afternoon and who's been endorsed by elon musk. >> if american democracy can survive 10 years of greta thunberg's scolding, you guys can survive a few months of elon musk. what no democracy, american, german, or european will survive, is telling millions of voters their thoughts and concerns, their aspirations, their pleas for relief are invalid or unworthy of even being considered. >> vance portrayed europe as silent and critical of conservative voices. including by recently throwing out romanian elections over russian misinformation. >> if you are running in fear of

your own voters, there is nothing america can do for you. >> in a new wall street journal interview, he embraced europe's position on ukraine that the west could increase sanctions on moscow and deploy u.s. troops in ukraine to reach peace. hours later, he met with ukraine's delegation in a meeting that a senior ukrainian official described as very good. >> we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace. not the kind of that will have eastern europe in conflict just a couple years down the road. >> european leaders tell pbs news hour they are confused by what they consider mixed u.s. messages on ukraine, including those repeated today by the defense secretary during a visit to poland. >> the reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated sentiment/-- settlement. the reality of ukraine membership in nato as a part of

a negotiated settlement, unlikely. >> the german defense minister. >> i think this was careless, and it was a mistake. in my view, it was better to talk about ukraine's possible nato membership and possible territorial changes at the negotiating table first. and with ukraine present, already having vladimir putin's price hanging over them. >> european leaders continue to doubt peace with vladimir putin is possible. >> president putin is willing to meet, but on what terms. >> i had a good conversation with president trump, we had some phone calls. he had a phone call with vladimir putin. i think that he wants to stop the war. i said he is a liar. >> latimer zaleski added ukraine would need real security guarantees in order to make any cease-fire durable. he said the u.s. needed to be part of those security guarantees.

but a state department spokesperson said we expect european partners to take the lead in establishing a durable security framework and look forward to their proposals. >> tell us about the mood in the room during vice president vance's speech, and what you're are hearing from attendees. >> president trump called the speech "brilliant," but it landed like a lead balloon in the room. because europeans have been dealing with mixed messages on ukraine all week from the trump administration. they are hoping the trumpet ministration treats ukraine as partners in kind to pursue peace rather than going above europe and ukraine's head and speaking directly to moscow. two senior european officials told me the speech was better than it could have been. that they preferred a scolding over a negative speech about ukraine or even a speech in which the u.s. with announcing some kind of troop withdrawal

from europe read it is not just europeans who are worried about ukraine's policy. today the senate armed services committee chairman called the speech in brussels a rookie mistake. the kind of thing tucker carlson could have written, and he is a fool." ukraine's defenders continue to say russia is not serious about peace and they have a case in point today that a russian drone hit a radiation shield that protects the chernobyl nuclear power plant. i talked about all of this earlier today, ukraine and jd vance's speech with kia calls. thank you for coming back to the news hour. last week, european officials came to washington and were reassured by senior trump administration officials about ukraine. earlier this week my you and other senior european officials met with vice president vance in paris and or reassured about the focus on ukraine.

but this week, we heard from the defense secretary questioning whether ukraine could ever get back occupied era tory and essentially taking nato off of the table. what is the impact of the mixed messages from the u.s.? >> the new administration is starting, and we are building up relationships with the new administration as well. i've had a good call with marco rubio, who was also very assuring on ukraine. of course we have to figure out the messages, what is right to rebut this conference is a good place. we've had a lot of meetings with the representatives to understand the ideas of the united states regarding ukraine. >> can europe make plans for the ukraine? is there a strategy when you're getting these mixed messages? >> we have the strategy in place. for us it is very clear. on russia to really stop this war.

when president trump says i just want the killing to stop, it is easy if vladimir putin would stop bombing ukraine. this night we heard they were bombing the nuclear station. clearly vladimir putin doesn't want peace. so the pressure, the political economic pressure should be on him so that he realizes he can't win and it is a mistake to be there. >> president trump also said this, "i do believe putin wants peace, i trust him on this subject." what is your response? >> maybe he doesn't know putin as well as we do. vladimir putin is not really keeping his, sis. if you think about -- we've had such quick fixes deals like minx one and two. the previous cease-fire agreements that were only

necessary for vladimir and russia to get their act together and attack on a bigger scale. i think the history approves. that is why they only understand the language is strength in my and we have to be strong and firm that you cannot win here. if the united states is worried about china, if we can't get russia right, we can't get china right, they are carefully watching how this goes. >> what are the possibilities want to come to a cease-fire if we were to get to that? it would be for european troops to deploy inside ukraine in your conversations with european leaders. are they willing to consider that even if the united states would not protect them under article five? >> first, we have to understand there is no peace. to have peace kicking -- peacekeeping troops, you have to have peace. but a putin does not want peace. that is what we need to address now. if there is peace, we need to

discuss the security guarantees. yesterday we heard the defense secretary of ukraine say the u.s. gave us promises in the memorandum. give up your nuclear weapons and we will defend you when russia attacks. and where are you now? he was very vocal in saying you have not kept the promises you gave us. so right now if we talk about security guarantees, they really need to be credible. what are the security guarantees that would really deter russia from attacking again? >> you and the president of the european commission have both said publicly in the last couple of days any kind of rob: -- tariffs would create conflict between the u.s. and europe that is unnecessary. do you think the u.s. imposing tariffs on europe would prevent europe from working with the

u.s. on ukraine? >> no, we have different cooperation points. so it is clear that there are no winners in trade wars. the consumers are the biggest losers because the prices rise due to this. so i hope these things are set between united states and europe. if there is fading balance, we can see what we can do about this. i don't think it is a good thing. because who is laughing on the side is china. >> we have been talking about this, most of the siri -- security conference focus on this. jd vance gave a speech in which he said the greatest threat that faces -- that europe faces is from within. there is no security, if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your own people. if you're running in fear from your own voters, there is nothing america can do for you. is europe afraid of the opinion of its own people?

>> freedom of opinion, freedom of press is one of the fundamental values the european union stands for. as you see, we have a lot of elections going on all the time, very different groups, very vocal. i don't really agree with that criticism. of course, we deal with our domestic problems on our own. we need to cooperate on the big international worries we have. this is for example the war in ukraine. ♪ >> the first weeks of the trumpet ministration have brought dramatic changes to the shade, scope, and function of the federal government. a new series on democracy is taking a step back to look at big questions around the institutions, norms, and laws

that have shaped the country and challenges they face. ilia shapiro is the director of constitutional studies the leading manhattan institute and the author of lalas. thank you for being here. >> as we sit here and speak, we have another case raising questions about the rule of law in this new trump era. at least seven prosecutors and officials have stepped down over the doj order to dismiss corruption charges against new york mayor eric adams. daniel sassoon, man hands top federal prosecutor, describes the next illicit quid pro quo whereby the trump doj would dismiss criminal charges against adams in exchange for his support for president trump's agenda. what questions does all of this raise for you? >> i think it is a disagreement of political judgment between prosecutors. the u.s. attorney disagrees with what her superiors say.

the principles are denying there is a quid pro quo. eric adams for the last year or so has been moving in a direction to crack on illegal immigration anyway. i don't know whether he would be behaving differently in the first place. but this is ultimately a judgment call. the u.s. attorneys, whether in the southern district of new york, which sometimes inks of itself as its own sovereign district, doesn't get to make that call at the end of the day. if the superiors decide the underlying evidence is flimsy or the prosecution itself was politically motivated and does not serve the purposes of justice, that is their call to make an voters will evaluate that. >> the deputy ag in his letter explain why the case against adams should be dropped. he cited the need for adams to help with donald trump immigration policy. and adams and the immigration czar, tom homan said if he does not come through, i will be in

his office saying where the hell is the agreement we came to? hardly anything about this is subtle. >> i don't know if that agreement means the prosecution. might be an agreement of here's how we can help new york. clearly there is a law & order crisis in new york. and adams wants to prolong his political career in some way, primaries coming up, what have you. and he wants to clean it up. it may involve the quid pro quo everyone is talking about, but it could mean here's what i will do, open up rikers and we will send you federal funds or more law enforcement -- i don't know what the agreement might be. but adams wants to work with this administration on the illegal immigration problem. >> in your view it is not so far a fundamental breach of justice? >> there is no evidence in the record, a prosecutor would say, to say that. there are allegations, and you can make a case.

but on the face of what has come out, the dueling letters and what have you, this is a disagreement on prosecutorial discretion. >> the trump administration have frozen domestic spending, frozen foreign aid without congressional approval, dismantled usaid, threatened to dismantle the education department. there are dispassionate observers who look at this and say this is textbook executive overreach. >> executive overreach is when you are creating new programs out of thin air, like barack obama with his pen and phone government, with daca or all of these other things, or president biden forgiving student loans that was blocked by the supreme court's, said i will do it another way. or vaccine mandates. all of these things creating new authorities that did not exist. here they are putting a pause on spending, we are organizing the executive branch, which is within the executive power. >> why not go through congress as the framers intended? is got a house republican

majority, senate majority as well. and if you legislate this, the impact would be enduring. >> it depends what this is. i do hope the trumpet ministration goes to congress and asks or restructuring of these agencies and things like that. if it is done through executive action, you live by the executive action, you die by it and the next democratic president will it. it will take an act of congress to eliminate usaid or the department of education. but reorganizing certain things, shifting funding priorities, auditing the accounting and finances, that is all fully in the purvey of the government, including doge. >> president trump by all outward appearances has given elon musk a fairly broad mandate and calls for concern about the lack of checks on musk's actions, and the fact he is in many ways the arbiter of his own conflict of interest given his

very lucrative government contracts. >> the conflict of interest is a lyrical story. if the administration takes political hits for having a lax conference of -- conflict of interest policy, that is a judgment call for the voters to make with the midterms coming up and what have you. elon musk is a special government employee. he has the authority to run this, he has tech gurus, guys with spreadsheets and whatever else identifying money that looks like it is mismanaged, misspent. nothing congress said spend that on this, but we are not going to do that. whether it is discretion by the agency, they are looking at things the discretion might have different parties. >> there have been arguments we are either in or approaching a constitutional crisis. i would imagine you would disagree. but what do you would signal a constitutional crisis? what would signal this democratic experiment is in

peril? >> it is interesting you say democratic experiment. because when the executive branch, when the bureaucracy does not implement the directives of political leadership that is responsible to the voters, that is a problem. the constitutional crisis is something like one branch going and doing things not within its authority, the courts are telling you to stop it, ignoring court orders. trump said he will not ignore court orders. he will appeal them and take them to the supreme court read almost certainly they will not get to the supreme court. certain things he might win or lose on. but that is the process. the american people are not buying this language that is an indication from the left that they don't like this restructuring of government, the new priorities, these certain things. fair enough, that's a political argument to be had, but this is not any sort of constitutional crisis. >> ilia schapiro, thank you for coming in.

>> for more on the ongoing challenge to constitutional guardrails and the united states position on the global stage, return to the analysis of brooks and capehart, david brooks and jonathan capehart. associate editor for the washington post. great to see you both. let's start overseas. we saw the first major international summit since mr. trump returned to office in which the secretary of defense reversed u.s. policy on ukraine before walking it back. we saw vice president pence scolding our european allies. this is the same week president trump announced potential reciprocal tariffs on both our adversaries and allies. when you put this together, what does it say about america's place in the world right now? >> it says america's place is shaky. i think from the eyes of allies,

america can no longer be depended on. that america -- they saw what america was like under trump the first term. trump in the second term is trump 1, but on steroids with how he's operating around the world. i think for europeans, especially the munich security conference the global order we have lived under for more than 70 years, the u.s. was an architect of it. the united states has been a guarantor of it. it has led to, generally speaking, peace and prosperity to the world we live in now. europeans look to the u.s. for leadership, but also protection. and as an ally. as we have seen with speeches from the vice president and defense secretary, that is not the america they are seeing in munich. >> if you are a nato ally, do you still see the u.s. as a reliable partner?

>> pseudo-reliable. when you have pete hegseth negotiating and giving away the american and western position before we even sit down with vladimir putin, it is not ideology, that is incompetence. so you would be alarmed at that. but then you look back. we have friends, countries have friends. america was there for europe in world war i, woodrow wilson. winston churchill leaned on franken but roosevelt -- function -- franklin roosevelt. we have a friendship sprayed when 9/11 happens, the europeans are there for us. you rely on these french ships like you would in life. the trumpet ministry she doesn't have life -- friends. for jd vance to meet with the head of the afd and not the prime minister of germany is kind of appalling as one german said. america's denazified germany, now we are renazifiying it.

>> we saw a remarkable scene in washington, d.c., in the oval office in which private citizen and unelected billionaire elon musk essentially just held court in the oval office with a number of reporters while president trump sat silently by. we are seeing mr. musk and the does teams flashing through the federal government workforce. lawsuits challenging his actions and the executive actions of the president. we have seen vice president pence say he's not sure the administration needs to comply with some of the court orders. senator andy kim said he believes we are close to a constitutional crisis. do you agree with that? >> yes. simply because when the vice president put that social media post out last sunday, it was breathtaking what he was saying. i feel like we should go back to schoolhouse rock and have the bill come out and tell us how government works. the judiciary is not a

subsidiary of the executive, it is not beholden -- it is one of the three branches of government. if the judges come out and say what you're doing is illegal or unconstitutional, there are other ways to get around that. what the president is doing and what elon musk is doing -- what the vice president is doing in challenging the authority of the judiciary, that makes this the borderline constitution. judges are putting injunctions and holds on things. but what happens if there is a definitive ruling and trump decides i don't care? then we will be in a crisis. but we are edging there very quickly. >> david, what do you make of that? >> i think edging. i think this up in court will rule heavily against a lot of these trump things. if he defies the court we are in a crisis prayed i would call it

an institution of state failure. i lived in washington a long time, have wrens who served in government in various locations. some of them serve in international secured he. i think about nuclear codes, trying to boost democracy in africa. and i cannot tell you how many conversations over the last three people are traumatized describing a tear in their agencies. but a rain of incompetence. if you are around the nuclear codes, you take this so seriously. you have a bunch of 23-year-old kids from harvard coming in, nobody knows what information they have access to, what background checks is, so basically you see the sacred values of trying to be a good civil servant, you can see that trampled. you see that trampled. to me, it is not so much -- it is an institutional failure if you care about the future of government coming what a government who will get you food steps or renew your passport. but mostly it is a form of psychological intimidation

sweeping through agency after agency and making a government that is semi-functional. >> can i get both of you to weigh in on this. we are nearing one month into the trump presidency. is it clear where the guardrails are? >> no. in a perfect world, republicans on the hill would be the guardrails. they would do things like i don't know, maybe not approve some of these unqualified people to the cabinet. but they have not done it. in the case of speaker johnson, he's not a guard rail, he's an enabler. he's a true believer. without that resistance from one of the branches of government, i think the executive is running roughshod. >> i think the courts will stand up. even though the trump appointees have very firm opinions about executive power, they believe in the independent judiciary, that we have three branches of government.

i think those guardrails will be there. donald trump was elected mostly by working-class people who have real problems. they have health disparities with the rest of us, educational disparities, they live in communities with social capital. donald trump was elected by those people, you would think he cared enough about them to do something on behalf of the people that elected him. instead he was going after usaid, anyplace he thinks might be liberal people with college degrees. what we are seeing is not populism. what we are seeing is ivy league right wing nihilism. and to me, that is more disorienting and more shocking and so appalling that you cannot even serve the legitimate needs of the people who put you in power. they are off the board this last month. >> this week we saw the associated press, one of the largest and oldest most trusted sources of independence gathering in the country being barred from the oval office and

from air force one -- both of those places for continuing to call the gulf of mexico the gulf of mexico, not the both of america. as it was unilaterally declared by trump when he got into office. i want to get your take on this. this is maybe not the first such attack we will see, but what do you make of what journalists should be doing right now? >> one, the president is bullying the press corps. i think the press corps needs to stand up to the president and remember there is one profession protected in the constitution. that is the press. the press is vitally important for democracy because an informed citizenry is what is the foundation of our system of government of democracy. if the press does not stand up to the president, who will? >> about 30 seconds left. >> i'm a little less harsh on the trumpet ministration prayed i lived or the end of the biden administration where there was almost no press access to the

guy. administrations many late the press, that is part of the job. if they don't want to talk to the ap, fine, the ap can do its own reporting. i lived or all of these administrations. i think the deeper problem, and this is our business, i hate commenting on the media. we have not represented enough trump voices over the last 40 years, working-class voices over the last 40 years. if we had done that, maybe some of the hostility that has come our way would not be there. i'm appalled by what trump is doing, but i understand why he's doing it. >> vigor conversation we will have for another time. thank you to you both. ♪ >> on this valentine's day, if you are looking for love, may we suggest you go dancing? after all, as the british romantic novelist jane austen wrote in her most popular work, "pride and prejudice," to be fond of dancing is an "certain

step towards falling in love." jane austen fans are celebrating 250 years since her birth. in her homeland of england, they are expecting a terrorist -- tourist boom. >> allow me to present this young lady to you. >> she is the most beautiful creature i've ever beheld. she's not handsome enough to tend to me. >> expect a resurgence of pride and prejudice. widely considered to be jane austen's finest creation. >> she's probably steady shoulder to shoulder with shakespeare. >> the more i know of the world, the more i am convinced i will never nisi a man who i can truly love. >> it is packed with emotional intelligence of the kind we get from shakespeare in fact. >> you are the luckiest girls i've ever set eyes on. >> she also was a pioneer of the novel. she developed the psychological novel.

>> catherine sutherland is professor of bibliography and criticism at oxford university, the leading authority on jane austen. >> she brought women into the novel in a probable and realistic way. her achievements were huge. >> virginias was not properly recognized until long after her death. jane austen's six novels only earned her the grand total of between $70,000 to $80,000 in today's money. >> look at them -- what is to become of them? >> perhaps we should drown some of them at birth. >> the characters were consumed with the need to financial security. yet jane austen. the fact she spawned an industry with hundreds of millions of dollars. visitors are expect to flock to this house. richard foster is preparing a commemorative exhibition.

>> three days before her death, she dictated a poem to her sister ms said even then to carry on writing. it is a funny poem. >> despite being impoverished and relatively obscure, she was buried in one of europe's grandest cathedrals. >> it is remarkable jane is buried in this cathedral because you would not expect that to happen. but she's here and focused on an amazing worldwide innovation to her and her writing and all she's left us. >> the vice dean of winchester cathedral. >> when we've had a book to remember her, the last big anniversary, they wrote sometimes pages in it how much she changed their lives, the difference they made to the outlook or even their career. >> jane austen's house is hugely significant. >> 30 miles from winchester is the village that was a haven for the young writer. lizzie dunford runs the 19

century time capsule. >> it is a huge period of intensive creativity that was made possible and enabled by the creative sanctuary, the security this house gives. it has the significance. >> and it is in the dining room, where her giant -- disciples gaze upon the wealth, the writing table. rex she described her novels as her darling children, they come from this, from their nursery and their cradle out into the wider world and are now etched in every corner of the world. >> all of the different names -- >> another stop on the trail is where actress lauren faulkner portrays the heroine of pride and prejudice. >> jane austen is an incredible female writer. she was ahead of her time in what she was writing. liz bennett, a headstrong down,

but i also think jane was very subtle in the ways she was trying to make changes. >> each summer, thousands of aficionados flock for the annual jane austen festival. catherine davis says this year's events will be spectacular. >> it will be an opportunity for people to dress up, feel that they are part of history. and with a backdrop like this that looks like a film set, what better place to do it in? >> martin williamson understands why in these turbulent times she seek to escape into her world. >> it seems much gentler, not as complicated as it is living today. but a very strict social structure. if you were born at the bottom of the pile, there is no way you could ascend. especially in places like the u.s., you can make it, you're encouraged.

>> the jubilee festival will be the highlight of the year for her. >> you read her books, and you can recognize people in your own life. 200 plus years ago. you can still see people let you know, like i knew someone like that or i can see myself for these characters. i think that is a real testament to her writing and how incredible she was. >> that enthusiasm is shared in ostrich universities library, where catherine sutherland examines austen's only surviving manuscripts. of the novel she never finished. >> she seems to work very frugally. she writes on two small pieces of paper, and she writes to the very limits of that. she leaves very little space. so her assumption is not -- this is a draft that will work first time. >> the manuscript was bordered option in 2011 for over $1 million to preserve for the

nation. >> it is magical. absolutely magical. just to think jane austen touched this, that she worked on this. it is a very intimate experience. a manuscript like a writers fingerprint or getting inside the laboratory and finding out how they create. >> he's single -- >> mr. collins at your service. >> given she was ahead of her time, how would jane austen have navigated the 21st century's complex romantic minefields with all of their permutations? >> sometimes it can seem much more complicated. >> here is to you. may we never disagree. but if we do, to hell with you. >> i think something jane austen really celebrates his the choices we have, the freedom

when it comes to love. we can love how we want to and who we want to. >> after all, the lesson austen imparts is the path to true love requires overcoming pride and prejudice. for the pbs news hour, -- >> be sure to watch washington week the atlantic on pbs. moderator jeffrey goldberg said the panel discussed president trump's plans for ending the war in ukraine and the new power he has given elon musk. >> on pbs news weekend, one woman's quest to explore the wrecks of slave ships lost centuries ago. that is the news hour for tonight. >> for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs

news hour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the news hour. including kathy and paul anderson. and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation. working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. donald trump's war on usaid threatens lives and american