referred mark meadows to the justice department for prosecution for contempt of congress. and the merrick garland justice department has so far taken no action against mark meadows. that is tonight's last word. 11th hour starts now. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening once again. it's day 391 of the biden ministration. there is growing concern tonight about the tense situation in eastern europe. u.s. officials warn that russia is in a position to invade ukraine at any moment. under a dramatic acceleration of russian forces that ukraine 's border. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin is scheduled to travel and meet with nato allies and belgium, poland and lithuania this week, to discuss those ongoing tensions. today the pentagon press secretary john kirby said vladimir putin is still adding to his military capabilities. >> he continues to advance his

readiness, should he choose to go down a military path here, should he choose to invade again he is doing all the things you would expect him to do to make sure he's ready for that option. >> but even as russia vultures ex troops and resources the kremlin is also striking a different rhetorical tone. the new york times reports quote, and stage managed televised meetings, the kremlin sent its strongest signals yet that it would seek further negotiations with the west rather than launch immediate military action. i believe that our possibilities are five from exhausted, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov said, referring to russia's negotiations with the west. i would propose continuing and intensifying them. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard brings us the latest on where the crisis stands from ukraine tonight. >> with diplomacy going nowhere, this is not a good sign. russian troops in belarus practicing curb in combat. u.s. officials saying this week

is critical, declaring russia is now able to attack with little or no warning. the u.s. is now moving its embassy personnel out of the capital to western ukraine. a move criticized by ukraine's president zelensky, suggesting it showed weakness. and tonight, zelensky was the massive of u.s. intelligence that russia could soon invade, which he says causes panic. they tell us february 16th will be the day of the attack. we will make this a day of unity, he said, his aides later said he was referring to recent media reports. meanwhile, ukraine's ambassador to the uk's walking back comments that ukraine might forgo its bid to join nato, a key russian demand. this weekend, president biden spoke with president putin. no breakthroughs. russia says it won't invade, but in ukraine, some families are getting ready for war. training to handle and ak-47 is valentina constand stint of

sky. a 79 year old retired accountant. and a great grandmother. >> you think you would actually be doing this? >> yes, if putin will come i should be able to shoot, she says. >> our thanks to nbc's richard angle for that report. also tonight, the select committee investigating january 6th is facing pushback from a key player in the legal effort to overturn the 2020 election. the turning and trump ally john eastman is attempting to shield more than 10,000 pages of emails from the committee claiming attorney client privilege. we will have a lot more on what this means for the investigation later in the hour. meantime, there are new developments in the civil investigation into the presidents, former presidents company. the trump organization's longtime accounting firm mazars usa set a decades where the financial statement from the trump organization can no longer be viewed as reliable. according to a publicly disclosed letter this --

released by the new york attorney general, the firm said it would no longer work for the trump organization. in a statement the trump organization said he was disappointed mazars had chosen to part ways, but added quote, the letter confirms that after conducting a subsequent review of all prior statements of financial condition, mazer's work was performed in accordance with all applicable accounting standards and principles and that such statements of financial -- condition do not contain any material discrepancies. this confirmation effectively renders the investigations by the da and a. g. moved. while all this is happening prime minister justin trudeau took the unprecedented step today of declaring a national public order emergency to end protests over vaccine mandates. over the weekend the major border crossing between the u. s. and canada reopened after police cleared protesters who essentially shut down the major trade border for roughly a week.

we will bring you more details on the situation in canada and protests elsewhere later tonight. with that, let's bring in our lead off guests, peter baker chief white house correspondent for the new york times, who previously served as the bureau chief for the washington post. courtney super mania, white house correspondent for usa today, and jeremy bash, former chief of staff at the cia and the pentagon. thanks to all of you for being here tonight. peter, would you hearing from the white house tonight? jake sullivan warned an invasion could be happening any day now, where do things stand and how has the situation evolved? >> i think they still worry that this could happen any day now and obviously they've been trying to in some ways get ahead of the russians -- by flagging information about false flag, possible operations in order to deny russians ability to create a pretext for the invasion. but this move the embassy from kyiv to live eve is obviously a serious -- passion and reflecting genuine concern as part of an -- military action could be imminent. there's a lot of skepticism

here in washington about the states men see played earlier from lavrov, the foreign minister and putin that that was just a way of in effect, fooling the west while they finish up their operational preparations for any possible action. nobody knows for sure, that vladimir putin has decided to pull the trigger -- there's a lot of belief in washington that that's what's on the table and it's about to happen potentially in the next few days. >> is that the general feeling in washington, courtney, that there really isn't any diplomatic offering for putin at this point? >> yeah, i mean i think that the flurry of activities of the white house today really underscores just the level of concern about a possible attack as early as this week and we saw the president hold a phone call with the british prime minister, boris johnson, big weekend calls with putin and zelensky, and he heard from pentagon spokesman john kirby today. emphasizing the administration 's position that they don't

know if putin has made up his mind on invading but that they are taking steps as if russia is planning to invade, and as you mentioned we heard from national security jacob sullivan over the weekend that he was up -- had a meeting earlier with house members and following those meetings, the tunnel is grim. i think the question of will russia invade the white house, we still don't know the on answer to that question but the answer that should russia invade, the answers clear to u.s. officials and that could come -- sometime this week. >> out about all the activity that we're seeing from this administration the u.s. has maybe classifying intelligence, including of course as you know, warnings of false flags, including that the u.s. and russia could release that fake video as a pretext for an invasion? this is with the new york times points are quote, the extraordinary series of disclosures -- unfolding almost as quickly as information is collected and assessed law, has amounted to one of the most aggressive releases of intelligence by the

united states since the cuban missile crisis, current and former officials say. do you agree with that, jeremy? when you think of the strategy? what might it accomplish? >> yeah, i agree completely, chris, this is one of the most comprehension and quickly flat the classification strategies have ever seen an executive branch team employ. i think the biden team is actually winning this phase of the conflict. this is a phase of the conflict, its military -- parlance as phase zero, actually before the shooting starts. there's no advantage and military strategy at phase zero, it's the most decisive faze. the way the biden administration has been approaching this as they've been constraining putin's options by releasing all this information, maintaining western alliance unity, constraining the ability of putin to claim that he was invited in where there was pretext or provocation and necessitate his military invasion, and in so doing i think it's deterred putin and

given the west time to get organized, time to prepare sanctions, time to close embassies, arm the ukrainians and time to move troops to the eastern flank, this is been a master stroke by the biden administration and winning this decisive phase zero. >> you served as moscow bureau chief for the washington post, peter. after covering big putin for years, let me ask you, have you seen -- him building capabilities, we know the level of concern is extraordinarily high. does that mean he's made his decision? do you think he knows at this point exactly what he's going to do? >> sorry. i don't think we know that he's made his decision. that's the one thing about vladimir putin as he holds his heart close to the vest and it's possible for people around him, the kremlin don't even know what his thinking is as much as they would like to know. he's been a cool -- customer. very cold i. he has moments of passion and anger and emotion. i remember interviewing him

back when we were in moscow. with every single moment except when we brought up something light and that case chechnya -- a republican republican -- in rebellion against moscow when he got very angry and very sort of upset, personally in a way that seemed at odds with his otherwise cool demeanor. i think that sort of what we're seeing now in ukraine in that sense. ukraine situation has gotten under his skin in a way that he believes and we side in the essay last summer that ukraine is not a separate country. it belongs to russia. and doesn't mean he has not figured this out. he factored in long ago all the moves that we have taken in the sense of the west. you know sanctions are on the table, he knows what biden and the europeans are capable of. you know is with military moves they would make to defend nato allies in the east. he's already thought about whether he wants to go forward or not. the real question is whether he wants to move forward or not? we can't know that for sure until he actually makes the decision. >> looking at the headline, i wonder jeremy, if you think

there is something that will signal he's ready to pull the trigger or are we there now and now it's just a waiting game? >> i think we are there. i think his combat forces are postured on the border. i think he's got air power available to him. i think he's got an evil forces that are going to try to attract attack ukraine from the black sea, from the shores there. i think he's got a number of spots knots, special operations forces affiliated with the russian forces and special operations committee. ready to infiltrate. i think if you want to go all the way to kyiv he will in shock and awe blitzkrieg type move. he could limit the invasion. he could leverage more cyber attacks, he could engage in more information, misinformation and propaganda wars, but i think he's got all the capability there now and i think peter is correct, it's his final decision whether he wants to move, but it's clear given all this time, given all this buildup, given all the warnings by the west, the west is ready. the united states is ready. it doesn't mean that they will

necessarily deter an invasion, but whatever comes next, washington and our allies and transatlantic alliance are fully ready for this and his next phase. >> the question that was rolling around washington, d. c., as you will know, jeremy, it's should action be taken now or should be taken if they invade. i want to play with senator lindsey graham said on sunday. take a listen. >> when i can't get over is that the world is allowing him to do all this without consequence. the guy took the crimean 2014. he's got 100,000 troops amassed on the ukrainian border and he's paid no price at all. i would like to hit him now with a provocation and have sanctioned spelled out very clearly, would happens to the oil and gas economy. i think that's what's missing. we are talking way too much and we are doing too little. >> jeremy, does he have a point? >> i think the way the white house views this as i've been talking to senior national security officials, is that if

we actually unveil the sanctions now than putin's basically gonna say already paid for this, i might as well eat it. meaning of already paid the price of the sanctions. i might as well invade ukraine. would i think are appropriately holding this out as a last effort ditch effort to deter -- , as a last ditch effort at diplomacy, if he crosses those lines, chris, undoubtedly we are going to act. >> i wonder what you're hearing from folks at the white house? have you heard anything else about the messaging on this? for a lot of the american people this is a place very far away. they don't really understand necessarily would all the potential consequences are. has there been any conversations about the president directly addressing the american people about what's at stake here? >> yes, we've asked the white house numerous times when we could hear from the president and they pointed to recent comments he's made. as recently as his press

conference to conversations with reporters following events and remarks, but nothing official about when we should hear from the president and remarks to the american people, but i do think that it's important that you can't ignore the political dimension here or can vane this urgency that we're hearing a lot of talking points from the white house and from the pentagon, from the national security council, and i think we have to remember tomorrow marks the six month since the taliban takeover. afghanistan when the biden ministration was heavily criticized for how quickly they were able to tackle the afghan government. and his competency, biden's competency was called into question and i think you have the administration sort of making sure they're not repeating some of the -- any mistakes made and that foreign policy crisis, and communication around that foreign policy crisis, which is

why we are seeing constant communication from the white house about how engaged the president is on the phone with putin on the phone and zelensky on the phone with nato allies, preparing for the invasion with clear communication on what to expect and the sort of relentless effort to coordinate and cooperate with our nato allies. >> courtney, let me ask you as well about the january 6th investigation and john eastman trying to keep thousands of emails from the january 6th committee. what are you hearing about the importance of them? is there since the committee has much of the information needs for the investigation even if these don't come through? what are you hearing about the eastman paperwork? >> it's important, because he was a key adviser to trump in those final weeks between former president trump's defeat and january 6th. and he's provided 8000

documents to the committee. he still has to sort through an additional big -- 48 thousand. it really comes down to zeroing in on this trove of more than 5000 emails. eastman is withholding from the house. sent and received between january 4th and january 7th. which the committees are viewing, it's important to establishing what happened and could sort of help the ultimate goal of the committee which is building out what happened before during and after the events of january 6th, that is something they want to lay out in a report by the summer and those emails could help shed light on those preparations, conversations trump was having with advisers around him. it could also help the committee assess whether trump 's efforts justify a criminal referral to the justice department on a charge like

obstructing an official proceeding and congress. >> and peter, given all the time you've spent covering tunnel trump, i'm very curious to get your reaction to the accounting firm of the trump organization saying no more. we're done. in fact saying that the financial statements from the trump organization for a decade 's worth of financial statements can a longer be viewed as reliable. >> yeah, it's reminiscent of the day when ron signaller the white house press secretary under president nixon said all previous statements about watergate or an operative, accounting -- firms now saying those financial statements from the last ten years are all inoperative, meaning you can't trust them. they've now basically washed their hands of them. it's tied up to letitia james, the new york state attorney general, her probe into president trump's finances and the trump organizations financing, where there is allegation that he manipulated the estimates of what his assets were worth in order to

pay less taxes but to gain more credit from banking sources. i think this is a sign from the accounting firm that they're no longer on the train. they in fact have agreed in some ways with the new york state attorney general office that the statements that they helped prepare were not fully forthcoming and accurate. they don't want to be tied to that ship as it may or may not be going down. >> it's only monday, but i'm going to go out on a limb and give peter baker the historical reference of the week award. thank you, peter. courtney subramanian and jeremy bash, thanks to all of you for staying with us. coming up, general mayor cocktail here to discuss what rudy giuliani would need if he could cooperate with the january 6th committee. what would it mean for the investigation into the capitol riot? later, our political experts will break down your reporting on the growing split and the republican party over the former president. why some are just not happy with donald trump's efforts to

punish those who have challenged him in the past. the 11th hour just getting underway on a monday night. underway on a monday night. challenged him in the past the 11th hour just getting underway on a monday night underway on a monday night from the first dose. and you could lose up to ten pounds. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. >> he's been subpoenaed, our

expectation is is going to cooperate, because that's the law. that's the requirement. same as of somebody subpoenaed the court. there may be some changes on days and moments here, because lawyers do their back and forth, but we fully expect that in accordance with the law we will hear from rudy. >> while other members of the trump inner circle are defying subpoenas from the january six committee, the new york times reports that rudy giuliani who was involved in multiple facets of this game to overturn the

2020 election isn't talks with the committee about which one his testimony my take. but times says according to a source quote, mr. giuliani was still negotiating whether to give investigators an informal interview or a formal deposition, and that he had not yet determined how much information he might seek to shield from the committee by invoking the executive privilege or attorney client privilege with mr. trump. we will come back the department of justice veteran and former acting solicitor general joining me ill has argued dozens of cases before the u.s. supreme court. great to see you, neil. you know there are many other members of trump's inner circle, steve bannon who defied subpoenas and requests for documents. would my rudy giuliani's calculation be and considering some level of cooperation? what might likely be weighing in? >> great to see you, chris. i suspect it's calculation is the same as bannon and the others. rudy is not in a vacuum he is a

creature of the donald trump swab and the 18 other people who refused to testify because they're afraid that they're going to tell the truth. when i was in the government if law enforcement asked you to testify or gone cruised to provide information, of course you did, but i think you are the odds swamp creatures will stick together. it's possible rudy will seriously cooperate because he's afraid of legal bills or conscience or whatever. you'll remember rudy is the guy from january 6th infamously demanding quote, trial by combat. if he is not able to negotiate with congress, you might be facing an ordeal that he's even less prepared for, trial by jury. so the reasons for him to cooperate, but at the end of the day i think that it's just a stalling tactic that maybe something to just get -- trump to pay his legal bills. >> go ahead.

>> they might be giving him too much credit, we're talking about the guy who can't tell the difference between a hotel and a landscaping service, but you know, my gut is this is just -- a delay tactic. >> the four seasons. okay, that leads me to the obvious question. let's say they do get some testimony. can he be considered a credible witness? >> well, you know, he's obviously got some credibility issues, but if he's giving statements essentially against his interest and has the documents to prove it as i suspect he probably does, i think that yes, it could be an explosive witness if he did come in turn to testimony. to chris, the story you started the show with, about donald trump's accounting from, same thing, there are lots and lots of documents possibly hundreds of thousands of documents if you look at the numbers of documents that were revealed today, and it is an amazing thing to get an accountant to

drop a company, public or private, i mean financially, that's kind of -- the death knell for most companies. legally this is a huge significant thing, because donald trump is under investigation for exactly what mazars is saying with they're concerned about, get over inflation and under-reporting of his assets at various times. >> let me ask you about another adviser to the former president, he's been trying to shield thousands of pages, claiming attorney client privilege. here's politico and with a road quote, a house specifically asking eastman to furnish documents that would detail his attorney client relationship with trump or his presidential campaign in the closing weeks of 2020. as trump's turn -- overturning the election grew increasingly desperate. what would be needed for a privilege claim to stand up or is eastman just trying to run off the clock until after the midterms? >> probably the latter, but i think eastman faces a real problem, because today chris, a

federal judge issued an order to john eastman, -- basically said i'm not buying a lot of these delays about your claims of privilege and so he insisted that john eastman just a week or so explain the basis for each of his claims of privilege. he has to document that he was actually acting as an attorney, showing engagement letters with a client and stuff like that. eastman is trying to -- , thousands of pages of emails and i think the federal judge will click with eastman with his ability to review these documents in a timely fashion and to explain the basis for privilege. basically you've got congressman moving pretty quickly. it looks like you've got some action by the justice department against lower level january six insurrection, so the question is, does do these two investigations merge and become a high-level criminal investigation of those around and the white house and surrendering them?

i've got to ask you about this. president biden signaled last week that he has his short last. we all know that there are two key players. for political reasons, he can pick michelle childs. she is from this state. but if there is a final three, what factors you think he's considering right now? >> i think he is probably thinking about who will make the best justice on the court. even on the position of the court which is typically -- 6 to 3. but the other two, leona and judge latoya jackson, are the two most in impressive people i've ever met. to most impressive lawyers. very much a credit to the court. i just think, this is a great shortlist. a short list that america should be proud of. and these are judges that i think the courts would really respect. and listen to. these undoubtedly, will bring

diverse respective's to the bench. it's going to be an incredible day for the court, if the reports are right. these are the actual short listeners. >> neil, always good to see you. thank you. and coming up, new targets in the trump -- revenge campaign. and the impact of political pettiness in the gop. when the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues

in my state, donald trump is the republican party. and i think that is true and a lot of states. i do not want to be the one to rain on his parade, especially on valentine's day when we should be thinking would fall hearts. >> well some polls show some republican-leaning dependence -- perhaps souring on donald trump. the base is still needing to break up. and that is generating undeniable tension within the party. from the washington post,, quote the growing split is rooted in the virgin priorities. trump has pursued an interim effort to punish those who challenges efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, while also working to put people in power who would be more sympathetic to him should he try the same thing again. others are more focused on finding palatable candidates most likely to win in november. with us tonight don calloway, president of the voter protection fund and tim miller,

and former communications director for jeb bush. good to see you gentlemen. this split, is it just inside baseball? or is this playing out in republican voters that could have a big impact in november? >> i think the split is happening inside a couple of offices. and it is inside the brains of some of the guys that work there, and that is it. i wish i could give people a valentine's day with lots of chocolates. that says that donald trump is going away, and the voters are moving away from him, there just isn't any efforts of that. when we work together in 2016 on that campaign, it seems like a long time ago. he won that primary with 45 vote share. 40 to 45% vote share. and all the evidence of whether the party is split or not, should just points to the candidates who are running for

office right now. all of those candidates are giving total fealty to donald trump. mitch mcconnell doesn't even have an election coming up. there are candidates that are -- exiting stage right. there are people who won't speak on the record to the washington post to say that they are pro trump. all of the politicians whose names are running for office, they are still sticking with him because voters are voting for him. anything else is just wish casting at this point, unfortunately. >> is that what it is? the fear of just of great skill? >> absolutely. there has not been an intervening midterm election to show that republican primary voters have moved away from donald trump. remember, this is all republican primary. honestly, you have to give them to that to beat them in general. now evidence shows, and polling shows, to win a republican

primary you have to have loyalty to president trump. this is a very dangerous situation, because, on either side i think think the american body has to move away from its university driven, individual politics, and moved towards -- a fealty, towards support for democracy and good governments and norms, and that things. but we typically see a play out in the republican party as hard to distinguish what is the base of -- the base of the party, from the base of the trump allies? >> can you see trump's grievance of -- style. you can argue his main -- latest attacks are he won after maine senator susan collins, after she said no republican should cheer fear him. he said this, trump said that collins was atrocious and he had allowed her reelection in 2020 by not saying anything negative about her.

let's just state the facts. her district in maine, by the way she's not a fair election until 2026, but these kinds of things, are they just pettiness on donald trump's part? or is it a very clear message. you keep trying to break away from me but you're gonna get one hell of a fight? >> nobody does candidly like the former president. there is some catalina's. i think it's more or less petty than the past. i think he has a long time of pretty even pettiness throughout his career while he was in office. he kind of, has a point when he's in -- his point is only true to the extent where he could've tanker. he we saw this in georgia, the way that he has the us obscene -- behavior in january, we've seen what he can do republican candidates when he puts his mind to it. because, if there's one thing that he's good at. one of them is tearing things down. and two is trying to manipulate the media, particularly the

right-wing media, to serve his ends. when he takes someone on in the republican party, it's very much the efforts to overcome that. so i think the idea is the warning shots, to other candidates who might do the very gentle tip away from him. because remember, susan collins said that she would be open to voting for him in 2024. so that would be a wrap on up polls. imagine going further and further and -- supporting a primary fallout -- . >> is clarifying, don, the way that some of the republicans not instep with trump are going to make some reform to the sharp of democracy? >> i think so. we will see. it's pretty interesting that there hasn't been a try of pressure from mar-a-lago on that front. you see a lot of willingness to it. he's a strategist. he's the type to be worried.

that they might make a filibuster exception. that they might be able to get manchin a bond on board for a narrow filibuster and to the electoral count act. frankly, i think that would be a good thing. and i hope there are developments for that. that is the most urgent of the many different voting rights issues that are prevalent. >> both of you merge saying with us. just ahead, democrats are working through divisions of their own. and you'll never guess who's behind some of those. when the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues it's a battle, you know. i'm going to be there. keytruda and chemotherapy meant treating my cancer with two different types of medicine. in a clinical trial, keytruda and chemotherapy was proven to help people live longer than chemotherapy alone. keytruda is used to treat more patients with advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies

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struggling with fallout from the twice impeached president. as the washington post points out, some people are talking about him too much. he has every day kitchen -- table issues. but others believe, voters,

both the liberal base and some swing voters in the suburbs, need to hear a message that links gop candidates to the attempts to overturn president biden's victory and future threats to elections. still with us, don calloway, tim lyn miller. don, what should they be focusing on right now? >> we have to focus on building back better. i hate to focus on this, but the reality is that we have to find somewhere to focus on our historic right to equal rights with everybody, but also trying to look at wet it feels like to have a good job, and unforgivable housing. and environmental justice in a post-covid world. and nobody knows with that looks like yet. and either party here can walk away from the crazy. crazy on one side being trump akhil-ism. and crazy on our side from trump-ism. if we're willing to walk past that, then both sides have a real opportunity to grab hold of what this country looks like in a post covid, yet fully operational area. to redefine what it looks like

gather responsibly. what it looks like to maximize vaccines and -- at the same time. and what it is to see jobs of the future. i think we need to gave do a good job with inclusiveness, but we have a hard time doing that when we continue to talk about how bad of a president trump was. we know he was that, and he continues to be an abhorrent person, but there is a different future that people need to buy into. in my 20 years of campaigning, i've learned that people would much rather have something to vote for them vote against. so really is crunch time for the messaging and perspective in the midterms of 2024. >> well obviously, we're focusing on trump too much didn't work too much in virginia. if not, trump is part of a messaging vote in terms of democracy, or do you stick to those, forgive me for a better term, kitchen book issues. pocketbook issues.

yeah look, the incumbent party in a midterm has always suffered a challenge they need to make the days for themselves. how are they been helping voters in the first two years in addition of making the case against the other side. one of them is much easier. they can just say what would've been bad about the mid ministration, that's why the first midterm is always that for the incumbent president. so that's where you start from. for me, the challenges, yes, we need to have a negative message about how extreme the republicans are. that includes trump, that includes the anti-vax craziness, that includes whatever craziness happens between now and november. and we know republicans are part of some of that. but we do need to message. and that's when you get to approaching the table issues. how can democrats address the concerns of -- the concerns voters have about getting back from covid.

the concerns voters have about inflation. i think that is where that is the main question. and how can we have a message that says, we understand there's concerns about inflation, we understand -- there's but here are the things that we are doing to address that. here are the things that we did, like infrastructure and broadband that major lives better. and so, being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, that's gonna be what's -- an anti vibe message. >> don, one of the things that republicans have had great success in motivating their voters with's nominations. i've seen it, i've gone to door the door with them, where they've talked to people and talked abortion, say to them who say, i've never voted in an election so far, and get them to the polls. with donald trump's message, will democrats be able to do the same? is the supreme court nomination something that will help the democrats in november?

>> certainly, and it already has. i think it's been out there for about a month. we know he's gonna pick a black woman, and that is a good thing. by doing that, biden will get a little bit more of an electoral van as we move into the spring and the summertime. so i'm sure it will follow up with more impressions with the biden administration, and for democrat ballots. as we see the black women were allowed, and the press gets to know her during the confirmation process. but at the end of the day, we're still gonna have to have something happen in november around build back better, reminding people about all the good has happened. we have to come together with the liaison's and the people of the former administration, to figure out how to build -- bring home the money from the bipartisan infrastructure, and how to make peoples lives better. and that is a big thing to

happen between now in november. what with the actual planning, and then the messaging that they decide to do. i think they're gonna be a substantial bump in the biden polling for the supreme cardamom, and that will be different when you go into election season. >> we're going to have 45 seconds left. i want to ask you this. will republicans always have more scotus than democrats are? >> i think so. it's a part of the nature of the coalitions. i think hopefully, to don's point, if democrats can engage on the basis of the african american voters, that's gonna be super important. but i think it's just the nature that republican moves forward. >> john shakes his head. >> tim, you're not wrong, it's important to know that republicans can organize around things like that. when you've been fully allowed to participate in the process for 20 or 25 years. black people are allowed to participate, and their members of the democratic party. we've been around since 1965.

so we've been around -- but not quite got around to the sophistication of organizing around courts. around voters, around courts, and the supreme courts in that. we are just trying to participate, we're just trying to vote. we're just trying to have an african american candidate for the first time. there is a history of organizing, and galvanizing voters around issues that are not happening in the democratic party, fundamentally because we've been intentionally excluded. and a lot of people who have voted democrats have been excluded from the process. >> gentlemen, great conversation. appreciate it. coming up, an update on the trucker protest. and the policies the truckers say they are protesting. when the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues

as we mentioned at the top of the program, justin trudeau, today, became the first leader of canada to evoke the emergencies act. as he tries to end the weeks -long blockade in this country.

truckers have a similar protests in other places of the world. a report tonight, from nbc news correspondent, a gutierrez. >> so-called freedom convoy. protesting covid restrictions have been bubbling for weeks. but now they have arrested 11 people, they seized pod guns, body armor, and -- a large quantity of a man unison at a border blockade. today, the canadian leader justin trudeau invoked his emergency powers. >> these pockets are illegal. and if you are still participating, time to go home. the time to go home is now. >> over the weekend, the bridge connecting detroit and windsor reopened. after protesters block it. clogging the supply chain for u.s. automakers. but similar trucks have been popping up around the world, from new zealand, to france, to israel. in the u.s., they are being

embraced by some conservative politicians. >> i hope the truckers do come to america. >> but this information is flourishing. facebook officials tell the nbc news that some of the groups that promotes these convoys are being run by fake accounts. tied to content mills in vietnam, bangladesh, and romania. researchers some are warning that many anti vaccine conspiracy driven communities in the u.s. are quickly pivoting to promote this. disruptive calm voice. >> these people are using these trucker convoys to pull their anti vaccine messages. it's sort of worked in canada, and you're gonna see it work in the united states. >> u.s. federal authorities have been monitoring the possibility that the convoy would disrupt the super bowl. that did not happen. now online groups discussing another day for road closures across the u.s.. march 5th. back to u.s.. >> gutierrez, thank you for that. coming up as -- troubling news dominates the headlines, we'll tell you what the white house loves this

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love of my life in the life of my love, julie. happy valentine's day. and he included the photo of a couple on the beach together when they were younger. and just like she did a year ago, the first lady celebrated valentine's day with a display on the white house lawn. this year, it is our work in the shape of the biden's dog and cat. it's inscribed with the bible verse, three things will last forever, faith, hope, and love. the greatest of these as love. doctor biden also invited a second grade class for tour of the white house. to tour the artwork they had to sign themselves. the students were instructed to use the words love, peace, kindness, and unity to build a display in the east room. the teacher, one washington d. c.'s teacher of the year of ward last year. so before it's too late, we are wishing hallie and valentine's

day to you at home. that is our broadcast view this monday night with our thanks for being with us. after all of our colleagues at nbc news, goodnight. all in with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on all in! >> let's have trial by combat. >> rudy giuliani's expected to cooperate fully with the january six committee and donald trump's longtime accountant dumps him. tonight maybe a big step forward for the capital investigation and want the retraction of financial statements sensual to two trump investigations is a pretty big deal. and julio fee on what we know about what's actually happening as larry putin vladimir putin friends with the invasion of ukraine. concerned citizens who took back their small town for the grips of white ring right-wing demagogues. >> it encourages you to think