nevada. as first votes are cast today, polls show a new front-runner in the race. >> the white house and doj sparring over new actions by attorney general bill barr. the big question, though, why did barr pick right now to go up against his boss? >> and rescue plans.

the u.s. gets ready to evacuate hundreds of americans from the ship under quarantine from the coronavirus. why their ordeal may be far from over. >> it is quite an ordeal for so many of those people who have been there for 14 days now. it is saturday, february 14th. i'm candace gibson, alongside corey coffin and lindsey riser. >> we've got new information you as a week from today is the third contest of the year. of course, nevada caucuses begin on saturday but early voting begins today and it lasts through tuesday. >> a new poll shows bernie sanders is the favorite in the state leading with 25%. followed by joe biden at 18%. there are now eight candidates left in the race and they're all on the road, most of them in nevada. >> and you see michael bloomberg there in virginia, which is a super-tuesday state. now, many of them crisscrossing the country with events in the west and down south in north carolina as well. trying to win support for next

week and ahead of super-tuesday. >> all right. joining us now, nbc news correspondent simone boyce live in las vegas for us. simone, good morning to you. it is certainly much earlier there in las vegas than it is for us on the east coast. with the problems with the iowa caucuses still, certainly, fresh on everyone's minds, what steps are officials taking there to prevent something like this from happening there? >> well, first things first. officials here in nevada are not going to be using that same app that caused such a headache in iowa. that's the app that was developed by the company shadow. now, they are going to be relying on technology, though. and that is something that makes some security experts nervous. and in some ways, the caucus process here in nevada is actually more complicated than the caucusing process in iowa. and that's because, as you mentioned, early voting starts today. it lasts through the 18th. and officials are going to have to integrate the early-voting data in with the caucus data and

do that math in realtime next saturday. and they are going to be relying on a combination of google forms and google sheets in order to do that. and they have this custom calculator, a caucus calculator, that was created by google in order to integrate those two datasets. but, of course, security experts are asking, all right, how many people are going to have access to these google sheets? we all know how out of control that can get when we use google sheets and google forms in our own workplaces. and also, there is the risk of human error. just simple human error. we know how easy it is for someone to manipulate data just on accident just by hitting a key on your keyboard. democrats say they are taking every precaution to make sure we don't see another iowa here. they say they have consulted with security experts, as well as the department of homeland security. >> simone, do you think -- do

officials there think that early voting will help voter turnout? >> that's the goal. that's the intention behind early voting because, traditionally, when we look at caucusing in the state of nevada, the caucus goers in this state have historically been more suburban, older, and wlihi. so if nevada is going to stake its claim as the first true test among a more diverse set of voters, that means a more diverse set of voters need to be included in the caucusing process. so they have expanded the voting and opened up early voting, starting today. so that way, you don't have to take an entire, you know, saturday out of your life. take off an entire saturday from work. that's not accessible for a lot of people. and they have placed these early voting locations in diverse neighborhoods and communities around the city of las vegas and around nevada.

there is an early voting location in chinatown. there is at lucy's ethiopian restaurant. that is a fast-growing population as well. >> and you know the unions there are key for many of the candidates. who does it appear right now as if the union are supporting in the caucuses there? >> well, the culinary union is the one that everyone was watching, right? but we saw in this pressor earlier this week that they are not actually going to endorse a candidate. from the sources that i have been speaking to inside the culinary union, it doesn't seem like the members are unified around a particular candidate just yet. we know that healthcare is a superdivisive issue within that union spevg union specifically because they have worked very hard to negotiate the healthcare that they have. but i have also spoken to bernie supporters who feel in the union, hey, although we have great healthcare, it's selfish for us to just vote on that.

we should be thinking about our community and our country as a whole. i do think that bernie sanders is going to have the luxury of building off the momentum that he created in new hampshire. in speaking to some voters here in nevada, already say they said well i may have considered somebody like elizabeth warren but seeing how successful bernie sanders has been, that is going to impact my vote. >> it does as the candidates continue on here, we will see some shifts starting to take place. nbc's simone boyce for us this morning. simone, thank you. >> with us now, political correspondent at business insider. let's start with this new poll in nevada showing senator sanders holding the lead with 25%. then comes joe biden. then comes warren. do you agree it appears sanders is entering the race with the most momentum? >> absolutely. he had really strong finishes in both iowa and new hampshire. he of course finished at the top of the pack in new hampshire and he had the highest popular vote in iowa. so certainly, that is playing in his favor.

if he has a strong finish in nevada, as well, it's going to say a lot about his electability with more diverse voters because, of course, nevada has a huge latino population. the culinary workers union is the largest immigrant group there. and so it's going to add a lot to sanders' momentum if he does win nevada. i also want to point out what simone said about warren's supporters potentially moving to sanders. and that also says a lot about his electability because we've seen, more often than not, that rather than ideology, voters tend to go with the person who they think, in the democratic race, they tend to go with the person who they think is the most likely to beat president trump. and so if sanders comes off strong in nevada and also picks up a couple of warren voters, potentially voters of other candidates who don't finish as well, that could say a lot for his electability going forward. >> picking up on what you were saying there, nevada by the way, the latino population is 29%.

much more larger than iowa and new hampshire to say the least. we of course have a debate right here on nbc on wednesday. get a sense of the chances that the debate will actually move the needles as far as those polls that we have seen? >> i think the biggest thing that's going to come out of the debate is going to be the divide that we are seeing between democrats who have taken a more moderate lane, like pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar, and democrats like elizabeth warren and bernie sanders, who are kind of fighting for the progressive vote. and so it's difficult to say how much it might move the needle. but it's certainly going to do a lot as far as helping the candidates cement their own platforms and their own policies ahead of the caucuses. >> bloomberg has not yet qualified to be on the debate stage. but many of his opponents are eagerly awaiting him to do that. he is ticking up in the polls, though. let's take a look at the latest real clear politics national polling here showing he is actually coming in third place based on this poll here. of course, that comes with added scrutiny, though, about this.

>> this isn't going to be this easy. i've been reading a lot of tweets from a lot of journalists saying there's going to be dumps specifically about stop-and-frisk, his relationship with minority voters, things he said about women in the past. and i just think it hasn't gotten really dirty yet. >> i do think there is another side to the story. >> you like him. >> yeah, i like him. fine. i do. i like biden, too. i like all of them. i told you. i'll vet for any of them. i will vote for pee wee herman. i told you. >> i think his record, though, joy, is problematic. not only does he have the stop-and-frisk issue, he also has the redline issue. >> had to do with the barnks. >> he made it racial. he did. >> he is going to have to explain those comments. >> he is on tape and i have to tell you someone who defends it -- yes, was redlining. and bottom line for me is someone that, you know, i guess stands by this stop-and-frisk policy, just months before he then denounces it because he is

running for presidency of the united states, i don't find that genuine. >> okay. let's take a look at that poll one more time and bring up those numbers for our viewers as -- as we pose this question. so -- so sanders in first place here with 23%. biden, next, 19%. so biden, actually, doing better on this poll than of course what he's done in actual voting has come through with two contests so far. but the debate over bloomberg and, you know, him having to constantly apologize. and then the new leaks coming out, do you think this has an impact for voters? >> well, i think it says a lot about how bloomberg has kind of bought his way into this election. and so, you know, we saw like -- like we saw in that clip, we've seen this string of, like, really damaging opposition research come out against bloomberg in the last week. which seems to be the result of other candidates recognizing that he is a serious -- potentially serious contender for the nomination. and so i think we are going to see a lot more of that going forward. it's difficult to say how much it's going to affect his viability with voters.

i think we're going to need to see a little bit more about how he addresses these controversies. but certainly, it doesn't help him. specifically, because these -- these controversies that have come up relate to really core groups of democratic voters, like women and minorities. >> thank you for joining us. and this wednesday, we'll remind you, nbc news and msnbc hosting the next democratic debate live from las vegas. just three days before the caucuses in nevada. that's 9:00 p.m. eastern on nbc, msnbc, and streaming on nbc news now. >> the democrats are having trouble with they keep saying these different things about their different candidates. stop-and-frisk for bloomberg. kamala, who locked up kids. and the crime bill for joe biden. >> yeah. >> they keep knocking down their candidates. what are they going to have left? who knows? >> all right. let's get to some breaking news. french officials confirm the

first coronavirus-related death outside of asia. meanwhile, in japan, about 380 americans on board a quarantined ship will be released this weekend. the u.s. embassy in japan says passengers are expected to be back in the u.s. by tomorrow. >> it is the diamond princess. and it has been under isolation for 14 days. after several confirmed cases of the coronavirus were discovered on board. last check, 285 passengers testing positive for the virus since the quarantine started. that's in addition to the more than 66,000 confirmed cases across the world. the global death toll, now at at least 1,500 people. nbc's janice is in yokohama, japan for us. where that ship is. janice, what is the very latest from your front? >> good morning. there are hundreds of americans on this cruise ship waiting to hear what happens next. how is it that this evacuation plan is going to play out? and how long will it be before they are actually at home?

>> reporter: this morning, a plan to evacuate americans from a cruise ship quarantined in japan for nearly two weeks. the u.s. embassy sending a letter to passengers offering a way home on chartered flights back to the u.s. bittersweet relief for hundreds of americans on board for what was supposed to be a dream trip. >> we should just go home and count our blessings. and -- and come back another time. >> reporter: but only healthy passengers will be allowed to board the flight. that will take them to travis air force base in california where they'll be quarantined again, for another 14 days. and for those who don't take the flight, a state of limbo. the letter saying only they will be unable to return to the united states for a period of time. which is complicated for mark jorgenson, who for days with his wife jerry, had made the most of their confinement. until today. when jerry was told her latest test for the virus was positive. >> this must feel really out of the blue. >> it really does.

and i think karma has a sense of humor, too, because we -- i actually posted something kind of downplaying the -- the virus and saying what's the big deal here? it's -- you know, the odds of getting it are so minuscule. why is everybody freaking out so much? >> jerry jorgenson is among 67 new cases on the ship. with officials revealing more than half of them showed no symptoms. and at least another 200 are e potentially high risk. >> we need to balance the welfare and health of people on that ship. against the obvious needs to prevent further spread within the japanese community. >> still waiting for their results, told us by text it is a little nerve-racking to be anticipating a knock on the door from a hazard-suited quarantine official. >> the evacuation plan appears similar to what was done to get americans out of wuhan, china. japanese officials tell us that the plane that will be used will

land at hanida airport about 20 minutes here. passengers will be taken by bus to the airport. they will be screened, again, for symptoms before they are allowed to board the flight. they'll be screened again on the flight. and when they land, there will be more tests. all of it, of course, according to the cdc, to ensure that people are in the clear. guys, back to you. >> reporting from yokohama japan, thank you. >> and the passengers on the diamond princess are just some of the many people evacuating in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. >> joining us now to discuss the epidemic is the author and host of the podcast "risky behavior." thank you for being here. >> earlier this week, president trump insinuated this epidemic could be over by april because, quote, the heat generally kills this kind of virus. is there any truth to that? >> i think we know not to believe anything quote/unquote scientific that the president says to the public.

scientists will tell you and the academic community that is on top of all the information coming out, in real time, from those on the ground, those at the front lines, epidemiologists that are surveying this and keeping on top of it. that we are far from being done with this virus. there is a good chance it's going to persist and there is a good chance that we really haven't seen the extent to which it's going to play out globally. what we know is that china is several weeks ahead of the rest of the world. despite the quarantines and evacuations, the virus already is out there. and so, ultimately, it will play its course and all of these measures that are being put into place, they're good in terms of they're delaying the spread, which gives us more time to develop immunity. it gives us more time to come up with treatment protocols, to better understand the virus and to see how it plays and how it moves. but ultimately, the virus will, inevitably, spread in the way it was intending to and planning to

do the global population. remember, we are really closely connected as a global community. and so it's already out there. and we should not be having wishful thinking that it is going to run its course sooner than it intends to. >> hey, doctor, you mentioned the quarantine measures helping it not spread. now, when it comes to the cruise ships out there and people are quarantined on, of course the diamond princess numbers tripling in the last week. so just specifically quarantining on a -- on a, i guess, environment like that. was that the best thing to do for confining healthy people for trying to avoid the virus spreading? or did that make it worse? >> that's a good question because, ultimately, what i think we'll see is that those who are exhibiting symptoms and are being tested positive for covid-19, probably already had it before the measures went into place. we have the understanding that it's respiratory droplets. this is what you emit from your body that tends to fall to the

ground unless it's picked up by another potential carrier that would then have the symptoms and then exhibit the virus, potentially. so that, once measures and quarantines go into place, that is less likely to happen. so most likely, the transmissions that are now being tested positive happened well before these measures went into place. those that have been quarantined that are showing no symptoms and that are coming up as tested negative should definitely be let off the boat, as per recommended by the world health organization, as well. that these quarantines are being overly conservative and overly, potentially, unnecessary for what we know in terms of transmission and extent to which this virus really poses a threat to the population. >> okay. doctor, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> michael avenatti's day of reckoning. how long he'll spend behind bars for extorting millions of dollars from nike. facing even more trouble. >> plus, the reclining airline seat dispute.

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welcome back to msnbc world headquarters in new york. we're looking at a live look of

chicago's michigan avenue, which includes the famous magnificent mile. lots of people want to stay inside shopping today. current temp is 18 degrees. forecast high is 34 degrees. >> and as we continue to look at chicago, it's big weekend in chicago. it's the all-star weekend. you have the slam-dunk contest later today. >> joining us now is nbc news meteorologist janessa webb. how cold will it get? >> lindsey, don't be deceived by all that sunshine that you're seeing in that live shot. it's nice and clear. it's going to deceive you this morning. it's going to feel like a brick wall as you are walking out. we haven't seen temperatures this low, yesterday, in 77 years in chicago. with windchills, they're going to continue to be very dicey this morning. down to the single digits. wear in the negative digit territory across detroit, as well. this air is filtering across the nort northeast. you can see by this afternoon, we're still going to be in the

mid-30s. so there is going to be a slight warmup. but right now, we're at 8 below. the great news for the northeast right now, we're not seeing the winds picking up. but throughout your afternoon, definitely going to see that up to about 10 to 15 miles per hour. we do rebound back fairly quickly from cleveland to richmond. 41 degrees. this cooler air even spreading across the south. they haven't felt this in a while. 55 for daytime highs. i know, candace, you were thinking about spring. 34 years so just hold on here. >> or you could just do like i did and i went to belize this week. and usher in summer. all right. janessa, thank you. >> remind us of that. can't remind us of the beauty of belize. >> sorry, not sorry. >> all right. let's get your morning headlines. michael avenatti, former lawyer for doubt film star stormy daniels has been found guilty of trying to extort nike. keyword trying. according to documents, last

year, avenatti threatened to hold a news conference that damaged the company's reputation. yesterday, a unanimous jury found him guilty to commit extortion, bank fraud, and wire fraud. avenatti faces up to 42 years in prison and has more cases pending in new york in california. embattled singer r. kelly facing new charges today. prosecutors say that kelly abused another minor for four years in 1997. the victim was about 14 or 15 years old at the time. r. kelly, already facing charges in four other jurisdictions related to the sexual abuse of several girls and young women. the singer has three different trials scheduled over the next seven months. guys. >> all right. corey, thank you. back in washington, the attorney general william barr is under new scrutiny today over cases linked with the president's former allies. "the washington post" reports that barr's relationship with the president is facing its gravest threat yet. >> nbc's monica alba is

following the president in west palm beach, florida. monica, good morning. walk us through all that's happened starting with the doj dropping charges against former fbi official andrew mccabe. >> that's right, good morning, guys. and the president is up and tweeting but nothing yet on this particular topic but i'll keep an eye on my phone here in case he does weigh in. and this is a unique timing because of course this comes at the backdrop of attorney general bill barr making those comments. imploring the president not to be tweeting and not to be kind of providing a running commentary on some of the cases involving the department of justice. and the president sort of, hours later, defying that request. saying that he hasn't involved himself in criminal cases but that he reserves the right to do so. but this news regarding mccabe came hours after that. and we haven't heard the president weigh in on that. he didn't stop to talk to reporte reporters as he normally does on things like this. but of course the former is an absolute critic of the president

and it goes both ways. we have also heard the president. this is one of his frequent targets. so i think we can expect to hear him taulk about this. but this was a couple years long investigation where mccabe was going investigated for an alleged leak to the media. now, cleared of that, i think this is probably something we will hear the president talk about. but this is sort of barr in a sign of independence saying i am going to be doing these department of justice investigations. and trying to say there is a separation between the white house and the attorney general. guys. >> also, corey here by the way. another development happened on friday. the justice department announcing that it's opening an inquiry into the fbi's handling of ex-trump advisor michael flynn's case as well. do you think this is something the president likely welcomed? and what do we know about this? >> that's our guess but we also haven't heard the president weigh in on that either. you will remember that former national security advisor michael flynn was interviewed by the fbi at the white house just days after the president's inauguration. ultimately, leading to his

dismissal. but now that there is a review into the circumstances surrounding that meeting and that interview, it remains to be seen what will happen because michael flynn had pleaded guilty to that. and now, he has withdrawn his guilty plea that happened in the last few weeks. so we can expect some changes there. but the president hasn't yet weighed in on that case either. we're here in florida for the holiday weekend. there is rain in the forecast. but the president does appear to be up and sharing some of his thoughts so maybe we'll get that in the next couple hours. corey. >> nbc's monica alba. thanks for joining us. >> to recline or not recline? the video of an american airlines flight igniting a major debate. how the woman in the chair and the airline are responding. >> we invite you to stick around this morning on velshi. a ali velshi will talk to congressman max rose about a new bill targeting combatting white supremacy nationwide. (whistling)

(whistling) a lot will happen in your life.

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breaking news in the past hour from the munich security conference. we are hearing from ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. in the last hour, he said he is ready for his next call with president trump. and he is still hoping for a face-to-face meeting at the white house. >> translator: i'm sure it will happen. too far from us, distant, after all this tv series santa barbara and dallas about impeachment. about all this, i want to come and start it from scratch, our relations to agree on some contracts to agree on some strategic things, investments, let's prepare the documents and arrange the meeting.

>> he also says he's willing to invite president trump to kyiv. >> he might be likely to get it now because trump is past impeachment talk and trump is more likely to say we're going to start just like he said from scratch maybe. >> we'll see how long it takes. field for the democratic candidates is now down to eight. they are traveling across the country talking with voters with the focus on nevada. >> that's because in just one week, people in the state will get their chance. but early voting starts today. >> joining us now, nbc news road warrior garrett haake who is live in las vegas this morning. good morning to you. how are the kacandidates gettin ready this week? >> yeah. corey, long week, long month, long year. the first in the west caucus state is also the most diverse of the primary so far. so democratic candidates will have a chance to prove that they can win over the voters who are the heart and soul of the modern democratic party. and as you mentioned, early

voting starts today, which means candidates are wasting no time hammering home their closing messages. >> reporter: overnight, joe biden rallying silver state voters outside las vegas. the former vice president and faltering former national front-runner, trying to infuse new energy into his campaign. >> this is the united states of america. there's not a single thing we cannot do if we set our mind to it. only thing standing in our way is donald trump. >> i believe in grassroots politics. i believe in movements. >> riding a wave of momentum from her third place finish in new hampshire, minnesota senator amy klobuchar packing a thousand supporters into a rally in reno. and addressing the one major candidate not competing for nevada votes. michael bloomberg. the former new york city mayor has not yet qualified for wednesday's debate here. >> does michael bloomberg need to be on the debate stage next week? >> i think he should be because i can't beat him on the air waves but i can bet a him on the

debate stage. >> frustrating some democrats who say the former republican is attempting to buy the nomination of a party he doesn't truly represent. senator bernie sanders taking aim at bloomberg and the surging mayor pete buttigieg from north carolina. >> i'm running against some folks who are billionaires. i am running against others, who are not billionaires but get a lot of their funding from billionaires. >> if a picture of our politics is one where you've either got to choose between a revolution or the status quo and you don't see where you fit in that picture, join us because we have room for you. >> top democratic vote getter so far each campaigning in super-tuesday states late friday. while nevada votes next, the 14-state showdown on march 3rd could be decisive. and nearly all of the major candidates will be here in las vegas today.

mike bloomberg will be campaigning in virginia. another super-tuesday state. he's awaiting word on whether or not he's qualified for the debate we're hosting on msnbc here next week. but were he norry not, there wi another new york city mayor. bill de blasio is endorsing bernie sanders and expected to appear throughout the state this weekend. >> interesting. a lot of mayors coming together. just a few moments ago, getting up at 3:00 a.m. and seeing all the drunks there on the strip was interesting this morning. >> i mean, that would be the same here in new york, too. >> that's true. in the early morning, absolutely. thanks, garrett. >> new fallout over a seat reclining incident on an american airlines flight. >> the passenger who recorded this video and shared it on social media may be considering legal action now. and in case you missed it, she says the passenger whose face we blurred out here, who was behind her, repeatedly punching the seat after she reclined, hasn't been reprimanded. nbc news has not been able to

confirm what exactly happened before or after this recording. >> sarah nelson, who is the president of the association of flight attendants. good morning, sarah, to you. so do you have a sense of what really transpired with this case? >> well, flight attendants experience conflict between passengers every single day when we go to work. and we have to try to deescalate that conflict. we have fewer of us on board than ever before because our staffing has been cut to minimums. and more majopassengers to deal with. so in many cases, we're trying to figure out what exactly happened because we are not able to see it. and then deal with it and try to deescalate the situation so it's difficult to say because we haven't seen the beginning or what happened before that video or what happened after. what i do know is that people are jammed together more than ever on these planes and what the airlines are doing is setting up a situation that gives rise to conflict. >> american airlines says they're aware. they're saying it's a customer

dispuch d dispute. they are looking into it. the woman who took the video says she was threatened with prosecution because she took video of that man punching her seat. what is your reaction to that? is it typical for passengers to get in trouble if they are taking video? >> well, look, you're not supposed to be taking video on board, especially in a conflict situation and of other people that haven't given you permission to take the video. so that shouldn't be happening on board. often times, we find that when people are doing that, it does give rise to tensions. the problem is when tensions are high like that, people are so jammed together, there is no way to walk away. there's no way to get space. and so it can very quickly become a violent situation and that's what we try to avoid and other people can get hurt in those situations. so we don't want to do anything that is giving rise to tension but trying to cool the situation. but i want to take it back to the fact that the airlines create this situation. it's really a metaphor for what's happening today in america. with the individual people, the individual workers, getting squeezed more and more together. and setting up a situation where

they're pitted against each other. >> there are other ways of -- there are other ways of deescalating some situations. yes, the airlines have put people in a certain situation. but it's also the individual's way of interacting to all of this. >> and not being childish. and that brings me to this question, sara. i was on a flight once. this exact scenario happened i mean i guess except for the guy didn't punch the back of the woman's seat. but he yelled at the woman for coming down very close to his space and he could not recline. the person who was helping everyone out said, listen, she has a right to recline because this is the seat scenario. this is the seat setup. that's the seat the man chose. why are we still talking a abou this? isn't it just the woman's right to recline? >> i think we are talking about it because the reality is you are so close together and people are very concerned about their space on the airplane. look. because seats are so close together and the airlines are saying, sit back, relax, and

enjoy your flight so encouraging people to recline. but when you do recline, you are maybe smashing computer screens, you're spilling a drink. you are getting into someone's space who is already jammed into that seat area. let's consider the fact we are all in this together. we've got to get from point a to point b safely and we've got to remember that these are our fellow human beings. so if you are sitting in a seat and you want to recline, we encourage you to look behind you, see what's going on, make eye contact with the person behind you. let them know you are going to recline and then do it very slowly. that's the way to interact and do this appropriately. >> that sounds mortifying to like turn around. >> and speak to someone? >> make eye contact with person. i've always just like -- >> i don't recline because i do get nervous. >> no. if somebody is in like an exit row behind me or -- or -- or in a seat where you cannot recline, i will look behind and -- and -- and probably not recline. so it's a tough situation. sara, thank you. >> potentially, more fallout

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why are so many people allowed to listen to your phone calls anyway? >> well, that's what they've done over the years. when you call a foreign leader, people listen. i may end the practice entirely. i may have -- i may end it entirely. >> well, the purpose is for oversight, of course. well, the president's conversations with foreign heads of state. >> there's that. >> yeah. could soon be secret. president trump telling fox news' geraldo rivera that he is considering barring all officials from listening to his phone calls with foreign leaders. >> this comes after his infamous july 25th call which led to his impeachment. >> joining us now, chief washington correspondent with bloomberg news. kevin, good morning to you. is this another case of the president being emboldened by his acquittal? >> well, the president does feel

emboldened by the acquittal and look, from his perspective, the whole thing that got him into this situation was the release of the transcripts and how those transcripts were transcribed as it relates to that call with president zelensky. in the intelligence community, they would raise the issue that, look, from a purely fact-finding matter, not just in terms of one specific administration but from administrations as a whole, collectively, it's important to have that information in the intelligence community for quite some time. even extending out. you got to remember whomever is the president in the next administration, whether that's in niep months or whether that's in five years from now. having that information somewhere in the u.s. roll a decks is important for folks when talking to world leaders. however, the president says not so fast. he should be able to speak with whomever he wants however he would like. >> that's a dictatorship or a monarchy. turning now to the doj's busy

week. among them, the decision not to bring charges against andrew mccabe. take a listen to the former fbi deputy director's reaction. >> it's certainly the timing this week, coming on the tails of all the controversy over the roger stone sentencing, is curious. again, it's a decision that i -- i, and my attorneys, feel confident that they could have come to a long, long time ago. but nevertheless, they did the right thing today by acknowledging that there was no place to take this. and that no criminal charges should ever -- should ever be brought on it. >> hey, kevin, how is the timing on all of this? is there something there? >> well, the timing's remarkable. when you look at it just purely from where things have gone with you've got the attorney general william barr asking for the president not to be tweeting about cases. and then you've got the president looking for there to be action against mccabe and whatnot. you know, it's -- it's been an open disagreement that we've seen really play out in realtime.

>> how thin of a line is barr walking right now with the president? >> you know, it's -- i've got some sources who are speculating that maybe they really are still on the same page. but this is the first time -- and that's what's fascinating about all of this -- this is the first time where we have seen barr butt heads so publicly with president trump. so i -- you know, i -- according to my reporting, i don't see that he is in any real grave danger of losing his job. but this is a very, very public disagreement with his boss, president trump. >> kevin cirilli, thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thanks, kevin. amarosa talks 2020. >> her take on what is being done to attract black voters to the race for president. on velshi at the top of the hour. ♪ ♪ ♪

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trump is sending 100 border patrol officers to work with immigration agents in so-called sanctuary cities, including new york, l.a. and chicago. >> this is the latest attempt by the administration to target cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. >> let's bring in ms nbc legal analyst danny cevalos with all of this. what do you make of this? >> you have to keep in mind that federal government cannot force states and localities to carry out federal immigration policy. that's why sanctuary cities are able to exist in the first place. then you have not federal statute that basically discourages generally using the

u.s. military to enforce the law within our borders in civilian centers. so the spirit of the law is watched very closely in cases like this because you have essentially what appears to be, at least optics-wise, law enforcement being aided by what looks like military personnel. so this creates a very tenuous balance, a very close conflict between issues of federalism and the constitution. >> so what kind of legal protections do immigrants super in sanctuary cities? >> they don't so much have protections, but for example, let's say you're a state jail and you're holding someone past their max release date just because you've got a note from i.c.e. saying, hey, can you hold this person until we swing on by and pick him up. you can't really do that, because the day after their maximum date in jail, in local jail, you're essentially holding that person without legal cause and you open yourself up as a

state entity to civil liability for holding that person even one minute past their release date or the day their case is dismissed. the fact that the federal government just gives you a note and asks you to detain them, it's nice to have a note but that's not going to protect the states and localities from civil liability. that's one of the core reasons why sanctuary cities can even exist, because the states cannot be forced to carry out federal immigration enforcement. >> you get a sense this is something that is going to play out at the supreme court? >> it's possible. but as long as the federal government sidesteps constitutional issues by having just enforcement of federal immigration policy and avoiding con scripting the states into carrying out that policy, then federal constitutional issues could possibly be avoided. but it's very difficult. >> it seems like they're trying to operate in a gray area. coming up, ali velshi's new

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>> thank you for watching. we'll see you tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. eastern. >> new show. >> here's velshi. >> seven days to nevada, the first test of how these presidential hopefuls do with

union members. four prosecutors quit the case after trump tweets and his attorney general agrees that they went after roger stone too hard. and 29 countries with confirmed cases of coronavirus. the global cost of the disease may be too big to calculate. velshi starts now. good morning, i'm ali velshi from ms nbc world headquarters here in new york. we begin this morning and this brand new show with the 2020 democratic candidates crisscrossing the country trying to get their message out to voters, setting their sights on south carolina and nevada where early caucuses begin today at 1:00 p.m.. and while keeping an eye on super tuesday's much bigger prize, where 14 states will be in play, with more than 1300 delegates up for grabs on march 3rd. remember, any candidate needs 1991 delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot. so far, only 64