the most devastating illnesses affecting our world and the application of this pioneering work are poised to lead to incredible cures and breakthroughs in the years to come. dr. lander now serves as the president and the founding director of the brode institute in m.i.t. and harvard, the world's foremost genetic nonnonprofit research organization and i came to appreciate dr. lander's extraordinary mind when he served as the cochair of the president's council on advisors in science and technology during the obama-biden administration and i'm grateful we can work together again. i have always said that biden-harris administration will also lead and we're going to lead with science and truth. we believe in both. >> that's right. >> this is how we're going to, god willing, overcome the pandemic and build our country back better than it was before.

and that's why, for the first time in history, i'm going to be elevating the presidential science advisor to a cabinet rank, because we think it's that important. as deputy director of the office of science and technology policy and science -- science and society, i appoint dr. nelson. she's a professor at the institute of advanced studies at princeton university, president of the social science research council, and one of america's leading scholars, an award-winning author and researcher, exploring the connections between science and our society. the daughter of a military family. her dad served in the united states navy and her mom was an army cryptographer. dr. nelson tinkered with code-breaking equipment that every kid has around their house

that she grew up with in her home. when i wrote that down, i thought to myself, how many kids, you know? anyway. and that passion was a passion forged a lifelong curiosity about the inequities and the power dynamics that sit beneath the surface of scientific research and the technologies we build. dr. nelson is focused on those insights and the science, technology, and society like few before her ever have in american history. breaking new ground on our understanding of the role science plays in american life and opening the door to the -- door to a future which science better serves all people. as co-chair of the president's council and advisors of science and technology, i appoint dr. francis arnold director of the rosen bioengineering center at cal tech, one of the world's leading experts in protein

engineering, a lifelong champion of renewable energy solutions who has been inducted into the national inventor's hall of fame. that ain't a bad place to be. not only is she the first woman to be elected to all three national academies of science, medicine, engineering, she's also the first woman, american woman, to win a nobel prize in chemistry. a very slow learner, slow starter, the daughter of pittsburgh. she worked as a cab driver, a jazz club server, before making her way to princeton and berkeley and a career on the leading edge of human discovery and i want to make that point again. i want -- if any of your children are watching, let them know, you can do anything. this country can do anything. anything at all. and so, she survived breast cancer, overcame a tragic losses in her family while rising to

the top of her field, still overwhelmingly dominated by men. her passion has been a steadfast commitment to renewable energy for the betterment of our planet and humankind. she is an inspiring figure to scientists across the field and across nations. and i want to thank dr. arnold for agreeing to co-chair the first all-woman team to lead the president's council of advisors on science and technology. which leads me to the next member of the team. as co-chair, i appoint dr. maria zuber. a trailblazing geophysicist, a former chair of the national science board, first woman to lead the science department at m.i.t. and the first woman to lead nasa's robotic planetary mission. growing up in coal country, not far from heaven, scranton, pennsylvania, in carbon county,

a pennsylvanian, about 50 miles south of where i was a kid, she dreamed of exploring outer space. i could have told her she could just go to greenridge in scranton and she'd find where it was, but i shouldn't be so flippant but i'm so excited about these folks. you know, reading every book she could find, and listening to her mom's stories about watching the earliest rocket launch on television, maria became the first person in her family to go to college and never let go of her dream. today, she oversees the lincoln laboratory at m.i.t. and leads the institution's climate action plan. she's played a leadership role in ten nasa missions. her groundbreaking work on planetary mapping has generated some of the most accurate topographical maps humanity has ever produced of the moon and of mars. not only is she an explorer of outer space, she's one of the most accomplished explorers in generations.

and i'm truly honored that she's agreed to answer this call to serve us, to helping us chart new courses of discovery. and finally, he could not be here today but i'm pleased to announce that i have had a long conversation with dr. collins, francis collins, could not be here today, and i've asked him to stay on as director of the institute of health and at this critical moment. i've known dr. collins for many years. i worked with him closely. he's brilliant, a pioneer, a true leader. and above all, he's a model of public servant and i'm honored to be working with him again. and in his absence, i want to thank him again for being willing to stay on. i know that wasn't his original plan, but we worked an awful lot on the moon shot and dealing with cancer and i just want to thank him again. and to each of you and your families, and i say your families, thank you for the willingness to serve. not that you haven't been serving already, but to serve in

the administration. and the american people, to all the american people, this is a team that's going to help restore your faith in america's place in the frontier of science and discovery and hope. i'm now going to turn this over, starting with dr. lander, to hear from each of our nominees, and then we'll hear from the vice president. but again, i just can't thank you all enough. i really mean it. thank you, thank you, thank you for being willing to do this. doc, it's all yours. i better put my mask on. i'm going to get in trouble. >> all right, everybody, there you hear it. a very animated, really, he was so excited, the president-elect, joe biden, talking about his white house science team we will be seeing coming to the podium, we will be monitoring from the control booth for you. that will be dr. eric lander, the presidential science advisor

designate, as we heard joe biden tell us. this will now rise to a cabinet level position. you have a number of remarkable talented brilliant people there that are gathered in that room in wilmington, delaware, three women, one man there. it should be noted. and of course, we will wait to hear from kamala harris in just a little bit as a result of all of these speaking and making their introductions and what they hope. it was a multitiered program that the president-elect decided that he wanted to focus on, including issues surrounding the pandemic, the economy, and technology, all things that he wants to focus on, so we applaud his efforts there and we'll be very curious to see how this new science team plays out. again, bringing that man right there, that being dr. eric lander, into a cabinet level position as the science advisor to this new administration. we have rounded the top of the hour. good day to all of you. we are at msnbc world headquarters here in new york and welcome to you a little bit late to the show, weekends with

alex whit. here's what's happening as we get into the 2:00 p.m. hour eastern, 11:00 a.m. pacific. breaking news. new details emerging on the president's final sendoff wednesday and now it could involve pomp and circumstance, we're told. let's get right to nbc's josh letterman in washington for us. josh, this is new. what are we learning this hour? >> reporter: we are learning, alex, that planning has continued into this weekend for a likely ceremony on wednesday at joint base andrews that would be full of fanfare with the president hoping to be sent off looking for like a statesman than like a twice-impeached now defeated outgoing president. wanting to be able to show his supporters that he is still full of pride as he leaves the white house, and now we are hearing that this ceremony could involve the kind of trappings that you would normally see at a state visit for a visiting head of state, including a red carpet, a military color guard as well as a military band, and even, alex, a 21-gun salute.

this is all still in discussions. there's a lot more that needs to be worked out, including exactly what role the military would play in this ceremony and who exactly would attend this, given that it would be on joint base andrews, which is a very heavily-protected area, but we do know this is expected to take place before noon on wednesday, before president-elect joe biden is inaugurated, because president trump is focused on being able to leave town on air force one, and he only gets that moniker for his air force plane until noon on wednesday, and so the president planning to already be at his new home in florida by the time president-elect joe biden is sworn in on the capitol steps at noon. >> this is a very interesting -- to your point, though, josh, what kind of pomp and circumstance can really play out if you can't have the public there, right? you make the point that joint base andrews,trump fans can't go there and celebrate him. they wouldn't be able to see

anything, right? >> reporter: well, potentially, you could have individuals who were invited, although it would probably be complicated to get them through the screening possess to get on base. you certainly could have former aides. that's what we saw with president barack obama when he held a ceremony, did not have a 21-gun salute, did not have that kind of pomp and circumstance, but he did have a ceremony at andrews shortly after president trump was sworn in where president obama spoke to an array of aides from his eight years in office that were gathered there. we could also potentially see members of the military who are already stationed at joint base andrews invited to participate in that, but the clear signal from trump to his aides, he wants a celebration. he wants to go out looking like he's in a high mode as opposed to someone who's defeated and being pushed out of office. >> got you. okay, josh lederman, thank you for that. more breaking news to share, everybody. four house committees are now opening a joint review of the insurrection at the capitol. let's go to vaughn hillyard.

he's in washington for us. what kind of information are they requesting, what do they hope to do with it? >> reporter: exactly, alex, you can't separate what these house committees are looking at and investigating from what you see taking place behind us right here. we're outside of the u.s. capitol building where we should note we're less than 100 hours away from the transfer of power, from trump to president-elect biden here, but you see, essentially, a fortress being built around washington, d.c., and that is why this oversight -- these oversight committees here launching this review into what took place on january 6th at the capitol with the insurrection is key. because they are writing in a letter to the fbi director as well as the director of national intelligence, they are concerned about the lack of intelligence sharing that is apparently been the case that led up to january 6th. we know at nbc news that the nypd and the fbi informed capitol police about threats of violence at the u.s. capitol. the question is, to what extent

did the capitol police act on that intelligence, and two, at what levels did -- were made aware of that. i want to let you read part of that letter here. it says, quote, security and logistical preparations before january 6th were not consistent with the prospect of widespread violence yet according to media accounts that have surfaced in recent days, federal and other authorities early on possessed and may have shared with some parties intelligence and other information forecasting a dire security threat against the congress's meeting to certify the election results. i want to let you also hear from former cia director john brennan on "deadline white house" talk about what took place on january 6th. take a listen. >> clearly, i think there was surveillance and casing that was done, because the way this crowd just descended upon the capitol and was able to penetrate, it clearly indicated that they knew they were not going to be confronted by the overwhelming force that they should have encountered.

>> reporter: what former cia director brennan highlights there is the fact that there are still so many unanswered questions. to what extent were the events inside premeditated? were there any capitol police officers involved? were there members of congress who were aware of these efforts that were going to go down in the u.s. capitol? and those questions are still trying to be answered just five days away, again, from this inauguration day, and i can't underscore, alex, what the scene here in washington, d.c., looks like because if you were to do an aerial over washington, d.c., right now, you're seeing no car traffic from here to the white house, down to the lincoln memorial. washington, d.c., is all but shut down except for some pedestrian traffic. this is as far as the general public can go, and as you can see, this is going to be the third line of fencing barrier between here, the general public, and the capitol, alex. >> wow. it is remarkable, all of this. vaughn hillyard, thank you for that. joining me now, the democrat

from california, also a member of the homeland security committee. thank you for being here, congresswoman. look at those pictures that vaughn was bringing to us. the breaking news we've been -- that we're reporting on this with the insurrection and how we're having the national guard be deployed and the like, we've got this happening across the country, a dozen state capitals. how concerned are you about security and threats of violence? >> well, alex, thanks for having me. we have been briefed about the threats to members and to the inauguration, and it's disturbing to hear about the threats. it's one of the reasons you've seen members go out and, you know, investigate whether they could get a vest and how they feel about attending, and i will say that we are hearing a lot from people on the outside about concerns about inauguration. but this is heightened security at its highest level ever. no inauguration, i think, has had the level of security that

we're seeing being undertaken right now at the capitol. it's sad to see that the people's house has to be fenced off this way, it has to be barricaded by what looks like a war zone. >> it's incredible. >> but we need to make sure there's a peaceful transfer of power. >> yeah. i'm curious about these four house committees, the new breaking news that we had just moments ago with josh lederman, opening this joint review of the insurrection. what do you need to hear from those committees? what kind of information do you want to see sorted through? >> well, first of all, i think the committees are going to look at things such as were there failures? did -- were there warnings? was there enough communication with all of the parties? there needs to be communication between law enforcement, national security agencies, and they need to work in lock step right now together, and so the committees will be looking into all of these aspects and how do we deal with these extreme -- these extremists, these violent

extremists that are now descending on our democracy and this capitol. so i think it's identifying whether there's any gaps either in legislation or policy to make sure that doesn't happen again and that starts with this joint review by these four committees. >> may i ask you, you talk about the potential breakdown in communication. don't you think it's been pretty well established that there was a deplorable lack of communication? when you talk about "the washington post" reporting where you had secret service ushering mike pence out of the senate chamber at 2:13 p.m. at 2:14 p.m., you had what had already become a horribly unruly crowd, i mean, they were aggressive, they were violent, at that point, they are inside the capitol. there was one minute. and the claims are that the secret service was unaware that they were that close. i mean, there's something dramatically wrong when you don't have the left hand knowing what the right hand's doing. >> absolutely. and this was dangerously close

for the vice president, and you know, just overall we have seen the failures that have occurred. i think this is one of the reasons you heard yesterday, speaker pelosi announced that she's bringing in a retired lieutenant colonel to come in to look at capitol security, to look at all aspects, to make sure this can't happen again. because that is our number one responsibility is to protect our democracy and protect government, and so, what you -- what we read about and what you just talked about is a very scary fact that we are learning about after the fact. why did it take 13 minutes for them to move the vice president after we learned there was a breach? i don't know. all of those are going to be the types of questions that are going to be asked that we need answers to so that we make sure that democracy is protected. >> what about the allegations that lawmakers may have given tours to the insurrectionists the day before in the immediate days leading up to the riot on

that wednesday? whether or not the lawmakers actually guided those tours or allowed them in, and it's been my understanding from other colleagues of yours with whom i've spoken already that if you have a group in the capitol building, you must have them be accompanied. they can't just roam through on their own and they were not allowed at this time. nobody should have been in the capitol other than lawmakers and their immediate staff. >> that's right. during covid, all capitol tours are prohibited, including members of congress from giving any tours, so there is no reason anybody should have been getting a tour, certainly not a group, and definitely not the day before the insurrection occurred. it raises a lot of concerns. it's why it's going to be investigated. there again, there was no reason why you should have had a tour and not have a member of congress with them raises additional suspicions. nobody should be in the capitol without a member, certainly not a tour, and there shouldn't

be -- this shouldn't be happening. so, those concerns are going to be looked into, and i think overall it raises concerns amongst members on whether there is help on the inside and from what we're learning, it's looking more and more like that might be the case. >> has homeland security committee, your committee, received any credible warnings about inauguration day? >> there's nothing specific about the inauguration. there are threats by different groups to come and have targeted protests and attacks on members, but the -- my understanding thus far is there's not a specific credible threat for inauguration. that doesn't mean we're not going to take things for granted and we're going to have heightened security as you're seeing all around the capitol, the lockdown here in washington, d.c., is something we've never seen before. >> how do you feel about doing your job on capitol hill, going to your office and dealing with your colleagues and walking around the area? how safe do you feel?

>> well, it's a little hard right now to even get through the perimeter, even as a member of congress. i went down there yesterday and so we've seen how that is really escalated and been heightened. but it's a little unsettling to walk around the capitol, to know that members of congress are, you know, basically publicizing that they're going to bring guns to the capitol and to the floor and of course seeing this last week with our colleagues not being willing to comply with law enforcement and trying to bring in, you know, prohibited items on to the floor. now, we know that some members went through the metal detectors, they went off, and they continued on or they went around them and that's concerning. it's always concerning for your safety when you don't know within the own body of your colleagues of who you can trust and not trust. some of these are new members that i don't know. i do have a good relationship across the aisle, and so i'm

hoping to continue those, build on those, and feel safe because you got to be able to feel safe in your workplace. >> 100%. congresswoman, appreciate your time. we'll see you again. coming up next, a newly surfaced video from the capitol, it is quite chilling, and it is raising more concerns about the preparedness of the rioters. f t.

four house committees have now joined a joint review of the insurrection and threats to stop the peaceful transition of power from president trump to president-elect biden. nbc's anna schechter is joining me now with more on this. lots of questions remain unanswered, certainly. what more can you tell us about these multiple investigations under way? >> it's great to see you, alex, and it's a great question. you have the d.c. capitol police investigating those who were there. there's even an investigation into members of their own ranks who might have aided and abetted the protesters who turned rioters, who entered the capitol. you have the fbi, the d.o.j., multiple law enforcement organizations around the country also taking a look at who in their ranks. we've learned that 13 off-duty

members of law enforcement were there, and now you've got these four congressional committees looking at this. so, this is around the country and all over washington, people with law enforcement and intelligence backgrounds are looking at this, and trying to continue to identify people. it's a tricky thing to do. you had hundreds of feeds, social media posts, that needed to be analyzed, and it's actually difficult when you just have a picture of somebody. okay, what is this guy? there were even some false positives with facial recognition software and some people got identified wrongly in recent days. and so, it's been a scramble to identify people, and that process is ongoing. but one thing that we're really interested in is the planning. so, we know that in far-right chat rooms and in the sort of qanon echo chambers of the internet, there was planning weeks in advance and it started from the election, the stop the sale really snowballed into

plans for january 6th and let's take a look at some video. this just came in, a woman with a megaphone, and she's talking about floor plans, so this raises new questions. so, take a watch and take a listen. >> what's the floor plan? there's a door to the right. >> that's a cop. >> downstairs. moving around. >> guys, i've been in the other room. listen to me. in the other room on the other side of this door, right here where these -- where you're standing, there is a glass that if somebody -- if it's broken, you can drop down into the room underneath it. there's also two doors in the other room. one is over here and one to the right when you go in. so, people should probably coordinate together if you're going to be in the building. >> so, we continue to see these kinds of videos coming. this is particularly chilling, people figuring out how to get in, kind of tactically making these plans to get further and further inside the capitol and

it's extremely troubling and all of this is being reviewed carefully by law enforcement and will probably continue to see more arrests. >> you can coordinate together if you're going to take this building. absolutely chilling. anna schechter, thank you so much for that report. with just four days left in his presidency, more reports that trump is planning on pardoning himself. here to break down the legitimacy of self-pardon is former u.s. attorney harry litman. good to see you again. we're going to drive into this because the president potentially pardoning himself, what are your thoughts on that? >> well, my first thoughts are that it's probably not legal, but it would be unclear that anyone would raise it. it's changed now, though, i think, alex, since january 6th, because he's in a very difficult position, because there are a couple entities that a pardon can't reach or can't deter. one is the senate, and he's going to go on trial and if he were to pardon himself first, it's kind of like a poke in the

eye to them. it underscores his arrogance, his desire to put himself above the law, and that might just rile up a handful of republican senators to pull the trigger on conviction. second, fulton county and the new york d.a. are both looking at charges. the fulton county that grew out of the attempt to browbeat the georgia secretary of state, same thing, they are probably more likely to go forward if he were to pardon himself, so the fact that this trial is going to ensue after he leaves office puts him in a tough spot on the self-pardon. >> yeah. so, harry, if the president attempts to go along with this pardon, will trump have to admit to any wrong doing to issue himself a pardon, and another question on that, it's been my understanding that if you are pardoned, you no longer have a right to claim the fifth if you are put in front of a grand jury or you have to testify in any way, shape, or form, which could

apply not only to the president but to the cronies around him, to his children, so talk about both those entities. >> sure. it's two really important points, and one that -- and both have a lot of confusion out there. you do not, repeat, do not have to admit your guilt in order to get a pardon. you're supposed to not get pardons in the first place unless you've shown remorse and return to a productive life. trump trammelled that norm a long time ago but there was a little dicta in a supreme court opinion from long ago that people have used to think that you have to admit guilt. you don't. and then, as to the second one, it's true you're no longer subject to jeopardy in the federal system, oh, but there is the state system, so you could still theoretically invoke your fifth amendment rights, but the state could then come in and immunize you and say, we won't charge you on that crime, and that might force you -- would force you to testify. but more needs to be done on both counts. it's not enough just that he

pardons himself. >> so, if this gets before the supreme court in any way, shape, or form, harry, you got six conservative justices there, three having been appointed by this president. do you expect they follow the letter on the spirit of the law? i mean, how will this be interpreted? >> what a great question, and the short answer is, i wish i knew, but i really think it's the better answer that he just can't do it. think about it, alex. it would put him so manifestly above the law. he could do any crime at all and then just sign it away with a pardon. the justices surely will see that. so, if the united states were to indict him and take on that fight, a, it would go to the supreme court and fast. and b, i would somewhat hesitantly predict they would shoot it down. it's just antithetical to the whole legal system to have the president so plainly above the law. >> how about the capitol hill rioters? nbc news legal analyst danny davalos had an op-ed in the

"philadelphia inquirer" this week and he said, the president can in theory pardon everyone who entered the capitol building, again, federal buildings. right now, he does not need to know their names. he does not need to know what they did. it doesn't matter if they've been prosecuted or even identified yet. how likely is it that -- >> we are in a little bit -- danny knows his stuff for sure but we are in a little bit of terra incognita. it's clear that you don't have to be charged yet but it's not clear that you can issue a blanket, anything these guys might have done, et cetera. but i think this is a concrete way in which his hands are basically tied. i don't see him pardoning any of these people because it would put him in such difficult straits. >> even though you have lawyers for some of the individuals who have already been arrested, already been charged, and facing trial, you have their lawyers saying, but our clients should be pardoned because they were following the president. that he's the one who should

pardon because they weren't doing anything independent of what the president wanted them to do. >> this huge investigation can't be done without looking at the president. that's a good argument for why they shouldn't be indicted. it's not a good argument for why they should be pardoned, and again, if he pardons them now, man, will he be facing a riled-up senate when the trial -- when the impeachment trial comes to the floor. >> okay. thank you for our lesson in jurisprudence, i appreciate it. come see me again soon, harry. blind ambition, it's not just about the nixon white house anymore. it's the president and ivanka too. omarosa on the waning days of the trump family presidency next. ncy xt ♪yo yo yo yo yo yo♪ start your day with secret. secret stops sweat 3x more than ordinary antiperspirants. with secret you're unstoppable. no sweat. try it and love it or get your money back. secret. anymore

- [announcer] we're thrive cosmetics, we create high performance, cruelty free, 100% vegan formulas and we love that you love our products. like our award winning liquid lash extensions mascara. plus, with every product you purchase we donate to help a woman thrive. join our movement today at thrivecosmetics.com. new reporting gives an inside look at president trump's behavior in his final days as president. the "daily beast" reporting trump is ranting in a near-empty white house saying he will never admit biden won and raging at his second impeachment as his staff has lost the will to fight. the article goes on to say, two sources familiar with the matter said that in recent days, trump is still going on and on behind closed doors about dominion voting machine conspiracy theories and how he won in a land slide and therefore biden is an illegitimate president.

none of those claims are true. joining me now, author of the number one "new york times" best-seller, "unhinged: an insider's account of the trump white house." omarosa, i'm likely to guess that the title of your book might be used here to describe what's going on with donald trump. good night. what do you make of it? >> you know, he is truly unhinged. i've talked to sources in the west wing and everyone has been told to steer clear of donald trump because he is in such a foul mood. i'm very concerned, however, that when donald gets in this way and he doesn't have an outlet, he can be quite destructive and i think the last time we talked, i talked about donald wanting to upstage biden and yet, here we are. but i have also heard that he has been presented with a plan to launch the trump news network as well as trumpbook, his own social media platform, and so they've been trying to get him

these projects to kind of keep him busy and distract him from the peril that he is in. >> wow. that's all i have to say to that reporting that you have there. this same report that i was citing earlier, it also details how no one on the white house staff has any fight left in them. i mean, it's just gone. what are you hearing about the mood there these final days? >> yeah, they're certainly demoralized. i've done a couple of references for these really young kids who started as interns under us during the campaign and now they're trying to go to grad school because they can't find a job. one of them told me he's going back home to new york city and probably going to uber while he tries to get into grad school. >> wait, what? somebody who worked in the white house -- they're not able to get jobs. some of them going to grad school, nothing wrong with that, that's always a good investment. >> nothing wrong with that. >> but really? they're having trouble getting jobs? because they were associated with this administration? >> yeah. right now, donald trump has made

everyone in that white house, in that administration, radioactive, no one wants to touch them so yes, he's going to uber until he finds something else. but no one has been biting. he's been putting in resumes for about three and a half months and can't find anything. >> omarosa, as more time passes before the senate takes up the prospect of the second impeachment trial, do you think that helps or hurts the prospect of him being convicted this time as senators have more time to reflect, to look at his actions, to see what he might do in the next four days. >> time is not on donald's side. you know, there is no, like, hard core deadline for them to finish this trial, so there is ample enough time for evidence to be collected and reviewed and people to consider the extreme consequences of donald trump's actions, and i actually believe that this senate will convict donald trump, because they know

that the only way to keep him from running the republican party for the next decade is to convict him so that he can't run again, and certainly, in my own state of florida with rick scott and rubio, they want to run in 2022 and 2024 and they're not going to be able to primary with donald. he's already defeated rubio so they know this is their only chance, and i will say this. if donald trump runs again, donald trump will win the republican primary. this is their only chance of ever, ever running for president, by getting donald trump out. >> what if you put a different first name to a trump that is running, potentially, in a primary against marco rubio? i'm sure you saw the "vanity fair" article that talks about ivanka, who thinks that she's going to ride this insurrection and be president one day. i don't know what to even say to that, but what do you think the

prospects with of her at least taking very seriously -- i understand steve bannon may have a thing or two to say about this, pursuing a life in politics. >> let me just say this. i met ivanka when she was very young. it's been 17 years since i first met them, and i know her very, very well. my advice to miss ivanka trump is you don't want any part of this florida politics. she does not have what it takes to go through the grinder of florida politics. and i served with her in the white house, so to be fair, i've had a chance to evaluate her work and political arena, not just in "the apprentice" boardroom. i can tell you that both in the apprentice boardroom and in the white house she is not equipped for a political career. but moreover, it will be very difficult for her to run from prison and i certainly know that she is facing just as much legal peril as her father. >> interesting.

may i ask you about "the washington post" report you may have seen relative to ivanka and her husband, jared? that u.s. taxpayers have been paying $3,000 a month to rent the use of a toilet for their, both ivanka and jared, and their family's secret service detail. after they were reportedly instructed not to use any of the six barmz inside the family home. now, i will say the u.s. secret service is denying this report. they tell nbc news they were not denied access and they do not request access to facilities at private residences but this report, what do you make of this? does it seem possible, given the ivanka and jared you know, at least the tenner of the report? >> the moment i read this story, i texted a friend of mine in secret service, remember, i've served in the white house twice, 20 years of being associated with secret service members and having great relationships with these folks. first of all, the report of their behavior -- their behavior is appalling. but this story is true. i mean, let me just tell you, secret service members are so

ticked off about this, because they were not just barring them from the house, but they were kind of, you know, mean about it. and acting as if the secret service were just the help and they didn't want the help going to utilize their facilities. and that's just shameful. >> the help charged with protecting their lives. okay. omarosa, always glad to see you, my friend. come see me again soon. thank you. despite the unthinkable events last week, why in the world are some republicans opposed to metal detectors at the capitol? and how can they get away with sidestepping them? we're going to break that down next. ng them? we're going to break that down next

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lawmakers could face prosecution if they assisted the rioters who stormed the capitol. capitol police are investigating allegations that members of congress gave tours to trump supporters one today before the attack. joining me now, nbc political analyst mehdi hasan and host of "the mehdi hasan show" on peacock. let's get into that because you recently sat down with new jersey congressman bill and he said he told you the attack was not random, mehdi. take a listen. >> mehdi, this was planned. it had to be planned. they went by offices that were marked and were able to get to the offices that were unmarked. how did they know that leadership was in those offices? they did not guess it. it could not have been guessed.

>> i know james clyburn was saying the same thing, he's got some obscurely located office. what was your reaction when you heard this? >> it's interesting to hear it from house democrats themselves because often after attacks like this, there's lots of speculation, there's a proclivity for conspiracy theories but this is not about conspiracy or speculation, this is about having an investigation and the house committees on intelligence, on judiciary, on homeland security, on oversight, have all announced they will be investigating the capitol hill attack, nancy pelosi, the speaker, has gone out of her way to say, if anyone was involved in any way, there will be serious issues for those members of the house. i mean, alex, think about it. this is unprecedented. there has never been a terrorist attack before and the aftermath, we all sit around and say, hold on, were members of the house, were gop electeds somehow involved, complicit in this? after 9/11, no one said, hold on, were members of congress involved in the attack? were they sympathetic to the attack? did they speak at a rally with the attackers? that's what we have now and we need to investigate. no one's saying they were

definitely involved, but there are question marks, there have to be investigations. lauren boebert, why was she tweeting about the speaker's location on the same day that she tweeted, this is our 1776? what are her ties to far-right groups at home in colorado? paul gossart, i had his siblings on last night, they're asking for him to be expelled, his own siblings because he spoke at various rallies. he's been accused of organizing the january 6th rally that preceded the insurrection. he's been hanging out in arizona with oath keepers, the far-right militia group that was involved, some of whose members were involved in the attack on the capitol, so we have to ask questions. why are there so many far-right members of the house with all sorts of weird ties and of course mikey cheryl saying she saw members giving, quote, unquote, recontours to insurrectionists. >> there are three -- i'm sorry, 30 democratic lawmakers that have signed on to her proposal saying we've got to investigate. now they're going to be four

independent congressional committee investigations on this. you mentioned lauren boebert. why is she walking around the metal detectors that are installed there and arguing with capitol police when they say, look, we need to check your bag. we know that she's a gun rights activist and she talks about, you know, packing heat and carrying a gun. i don't ef know, a, if that is legal to do into the capitol building itself, but certainly, not recommended to do. i think we can pretty much all agree on that. so what's that about? you've got these republicans that are saying, i'm not going to go through the metal detectors, it's got to raise red flags to you. >> yeah. so, i mean, lawmakers have an exception on capitol grounds, they're allowed to carry weapons under some 1967 obscure exception to the law, but they're not allowed to have weapons on the floor of the house chamber, and you have madison, a new republican lawmaker, one of the most extreme new republican lawmakers, telling interviewers that he was armed in the chamber

on the day of the attack, which obviously is against the law. and there's an issue for democrats, because house democrats are saying, hold on, we can't even trust our own colleagues and what their intentions are towards us. alexandria ocasio-cortez has said she was worried her republican counterparts would lead the rioters to her. we know that members of the squad have been targeted by trump supportsers with death threats and violence so it's a real problem if you have people walking with guns, lauren boebert bragged about having a gun just days before the attack and going around metal detectors, there are reports of them pushing and shoving capitol police officers who are trying to do their job in the days after they were attacked. imagine being the capitol police. you lost one of your own, dozens were injured by violent attackers and then you have members of congress who piously proclaim to be the party of law and order, the party of law enforcement, the party of blue lives matter, shoving you and pushing you aside as you try and do your job in the days and weeks after that attack. it's ridiculous and offensive.

>> yeah. you mentioned aoc, and i want to circle back to your interview with congressman pascral because he went on to say that there is a lack of trust in congress, and again, congressman aoc, alexandria ocasio-cortez, she shared that sentiment. take a listen to that. >> i myself did not even feel safe going to the -- that extraction point because there were qanon and white supremacist sympathizers and frankly white supremacist members of congress in that extraction point who i know and who i had felt would disclose my location and allow me to -- who would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt. >> how concerning is it for you, mehdi, that there are members of congress with connections to qanon and what role do you think that conspiracy group played in the storming of the capitol? >> well, we know just from the

images without any kind of investigation, we know with our own eyes that there were people attacking the capitol wearing qanon shirts. we've seen the interviews with people in that crowd who are qanon supporters. we have two members of congress, alex, who have openly supported qanon in the past, lauren boebert and margery taylor green, multiple other members who share qanon conspiracies and rhetoric. it's very scary. the fbi called this group a domestic terrorist group. they called them that years before the capitol hill insurrection and yet republicans have basically cozied up to this far-right conspiratorial and violent movement and you have aoc there speaking. i interviewed ilhan omar. she talked about she was rushed out with pelosi. she has extra security because the capitol police know she is a target of multiple death threats from the far right and i just keep thinking to myself, if that crowd had spotted ilhan omar or oac or nancy pelosi in a corridor, what would they have done to them? we know it's too horrific to think about but we have to ask questions about the members of congress who, fine, maybe they weren't involved in any shape or form in the insurrection itself,

but they provided the mood music. they provided the rhetoric. they helped demonize pelosi and aoc and ilhan omar and rashida tlaib. this is all on them, this entire hate-fueled conspiratorial atmosphere, this climate of hate and violence, it's all on them, i'm sorry to say. >> what extraordinary conversations we are having lately, mehdi hasan, but we're going to have a lot more of them. >> sadly. >> thanks, my friend. be sure to catch the mehdi hasan show on peacock. the list grows longer, a report from california next on big tech's crackdown on president trump and what it could mean for his most vocal supporters. 1234r0e6789 an for his most voca supporters 1234r0e678 so you smell them later. ew right? that's why febreze created small spaces. press firmly and watch it get to work. unlike the leading cone, small spaces continuously eliminates odors

in the air and on surfaces. so they don't come back for 45 days. just imagine what it can do with other odors. more than a dozen tech companies have joined twitter and facebook by putting some kind of restriction on president trump. this as more protests are planned at state capitals across the country this weekend. nbc news technology correspondent jacob ward is outside the capitol in

sacramento, california, which looks fortified. fortunately, quiet at this hour. but let me ask you about this because this time last week, just a handful of tech companies had banned or in some way restricted trump, so what's the latest now. >> reporter: well, at this point, alex, you know, we've got basically every major social media company in some way restricting the president's ability to post upon them. i'm standing here in sacramento outside the capitol, and in the same way that national guard personnel and california highway patrol have created this sort of defensive barrier around the capitol here, you know, really shutting down what is typically a very active part of the city, you also see, on social media, what is typically this very open kind of conversation, the very sort of loose rules one would say that those companies have applied to public figures, the logic being that, you know, global leaders, political figures should be allowed to speak openly. that was always the sort of

credo of big social media companies. now that is no longer the case. we're talking not just, you know, twitter and facebook, which have put restrictions on the president's ability to broadcast, really, anything, but all the way down to companies like stripe, the payment processing company that, you know, is cutting off the president's ability to fund raise online through their platform. all of that has been shut down at this point, alex. >> yeah, that's a big one, stripe, that's for sure. and anthony scaramucci added that to the list i was chronicling there. i said, fortunately, it looks kind of quiet at the moment. there have been uprisings there, certainly in sacramento, demonstrations, but right now, it looks pretty good? >> reporter: you know, at this point, alex, it is quiet, but very tense. we have a thousand national guard personnel and california highway patrol on tactical alert, meaning they're working extended hours. at this moment, it is mostly sight seers outside the capitol but really even if a crowd were to converge here, turks and caicos it's not clear where they would

converge. we have national guard personnel out in front of basically every major government office in the area. you know, the deployment here is pretty impressive and so at this point, it is quiet, tense, and everyone's just wondering what will tomorrow, which is the day that most people are expecting action, what will tomorrow look like? >> calm before any potential storm, jacob ward, thank you so much. well, that's going to do it for me this hour, everyone. i'm alex witt. i'll see you tomorrow at noon. yasmin vossoughian is up next with the d.o.j. when you're through with powering through, it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. ♪ ♪ powerful relief so you can restore and recover.

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this is happening amid new reports that capitol police knew just how bad the riots could get. we're going to have that ahead. meanwhile, joe biden preparing to take the oath of office no matter what threats are out there moving forward with an event just a short time ago to announce new members of his team. and then there's donald trump, preparing to say good-bye, trying to put a showman's spin on his farewell under the cloud of a second impeachment. we got a team of correspondents as we always do, spread out across this country, following all of these developments. but we do want to start where the action is, and that is in washington, d.c., where we find vaughn hillyard and celia kapur. vaughn, start with you on this one. four days to go before the inauguration. there's several concerning threats out there of more violence on the way. give us an idea of the security situation in washington. >> reporter: yeah, yasmin, after that january 6th