convinced he's made a decision. we have reason to believe that. >> to be clear, you are convinced -- you are convinced that president putin is going to invade ukraine? is that what you said a few moments ago? >> yes. yes. >> within biden made a grim assessment after holding another round of urgent talks this afternoon with european allies. the president also described with the administration believes are russia's next moves. >> we have reason to believe that russian forces are planning to, and intend to attack ukraine in the coming week, and the coming days. we believe that they will target ukraine's capital, kyiv, a city of 2. 8 million innocent people. the united states and our allies are prepared to defend every inch of nato territory, from any threat to our collective security's well. we'll also not send troops to fight in ukraine but, we'll continue to support the ukrainian pirro. if russia pursues its plans, it

will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice. the rest is united and resolved. we're ready to impose tougher sanctions on russia, if it further invades ukraine. russia can still choose diplomacy. it is not too late to de-escalate the return to negotiation tables. >> right now vice president kamala harris is leading the u. s. delegation that the three-day munich security conference in munich, germany. the vice president, secretary of state anthony blinken, and 20 lawmakers will meet with allies about the crisis. ukraine's president is planning to join the conference this weekend, but as nbc news reports, the white house is worried that putin might take advantage of zelensky's absence. there are very real concerns about whether he could return to ukraine from munich if war breaks out. a spokesperson for zelensky said that they are monitoring the

situation, and a final decision will be made in the coming hours. meanwhile, tensions are escalating in eastern ukraine, with fears that progressive groups are trying to provoke a war. nbc news chief correspondent richard engel has the latest from ukraine tonight. >> while russian ships conducted drills in the black sea, in eastern ukraine, russia may be building a case for war through a crisis that does not exist. today, russian separatists on sympathetic social media channels put out a barrage of images appearing to show people bracing to the attack of the ukrainian military. an orphanage being evacuated. sirens tested. and this supported carbon. no casualties, ukraine said it was staged. one of the separatist leaders called for people to flee to russia, women, children and the elderly first because he claimed ukrainian army is about to launch an all out war. >> it defies basic logic. to believe the ukrainians would choose this moment with well over 150,000 troops to raid on the borders, to escalate a year long conflict. >> reporter: instead, ukraine

accuses the separatists who are armed, and firing on ukrainian territory in an attempt to bathe ukrainian army into a response. tonight, ukrainian officials accused russia of using the separatist to create a fabricated pretext for an invasion. >> on saturday, vladimir putin is set to personally oversee large-scale drills involving russia strategic nuclear forces. the u. s. army says about 150 american troops, and additional fighting vehicles will be moved into hungary and the coming days. and to u. s. officials tell nbc news, president biden will be closely engaged with his national security team over the weekend. as for the man who tried to stop biden from becoming president, he is facing new legal troubles tonight. a federal judge has ruled that january six related civil lawsuits filed against donald trump can move forward. those suits accuse trump and

others of triggering the capitol riot. he is also facing new scrutiny over the white house records that should have gone to the national archives, but instead ended up at mar-a-lago. today, the archives confirmed that it found classified material among the boxes of records that were taken to the florida state. later this hour, we will have more on all of this, and on the legal implications for the former president. with a thought, let's bring in our lead off guest this friday night, -- way too early. jeremy bash, former chief of staff of the cia, and the pentagon who was in munich tonight. and retired four star u. s. army general barry mccarthy, and former battlefield commander in the christian -- and former member of the security council. what's fantastic line we have to talk about. a very serious business that is going on. let me start with you, general. here is how the former ambassador reacted to biden's

comments this afternoon. >> he said they have reason to believe it will be on the capital of kyiv. that to me was very scary. he would not be seeing it if they did not have definitive intelligence to backup that claim. that is a very serious military intervention. it is not the smaller skirmishes, or minor interventions that we have been discussing for weeks up until this point. you do not come out and do something like the president just did, and report on sensitive intelligence, and lets you think it is going to happen, and that suggests to me, yes they are trying for diplomacy, but they are preparing for war. >> general mccaffrey, do you agree with his assessment of what he heard from the president today? and how significant do you see it that biden says that he is convinced that putin has decided to invade russia? >> well, two aspects of that.

first of all, it is clear without a question that russia's have amassed a sizeable combat force, your ground, see, they could intervene in the ukraine in the very short future. along with a pathetic -- operation about american mercenaries, chemical weapons, etc. so all of the lights are blinking red on ukraine. it is astonishing as well that the president and categorically that they are going to go for kyiv. so you have 3 million people, street to street fighting, a very short distance from belarus. i think very easily reached in the first two or three days. ukrainian forces are facing the east. so we are in a very dangerous situation. there are some questions, why is president zelensky going to munich? that is number one. number two, why are all of the overhead satellite photos that i see have russian armor and

attack helicopters in administrative format? not deployed under camouflage out in the frontier. >> what does that tell you that second point? what does that tell you? >> well, i do not have access to classified overhead military satellite imagery, which is the standard. i am looking at french satellites, etc. but i must admit, if you were an armored division commander, you would not have your heavy equipment parked nose to nose, the attack helicopters would not be lined up along a runway. there is something odd about this. part of it might just be a deception plan of, we do not know. and i think against the final one is, why are the russian diplomats, putin himself, insisting no invasion is coming, and accusing us of hysteria? they are not going to gain anything out of this kind of deception.

no surprise to it. so there is still questions in my mind as to what is going on with the pending attack on ukraine. >> this leads me to the question, jonathan, why this very stark, very frankly frightening warning from the white house today? >> well, for a few weeks, president biden held his tongue. white house aides really debated whether or not they wanted to put him out front discussing the tensions as they escalated on the ukrainian border. and we have no heard from him twice in a handful of days about it. it is part of the overall strategy to almost flood the zone with everything they have. with intelligence, and warnings, almost in realtime. as soon as they develop something, they're putting it out there. it is very unorthodox strategy here. we saw the uk do it as well. and the u. s., over the last week in particular, have done so. when we heard from jackson live in at the end of last week,

suggesting an invasion was coming in a couple of days. we have now heard from president biden going even further saying it could happen at anytime, and that indeed the ukraine capital would be the top target. there seems to be a sense here from the white house that this is an effort to deterrence. if they put this out here, if they put everyone on high alert, if they say hey vladimir putin, we see what you are doing, we see you coming, that might stop him from doing so. and they also hope that it rattles him, it unnerves him. putin of course ex kgb, he really prizes intelligence, prizes the element of surprise. and the u. s. is tipping its hand deliberately and saying, hey, we have a lead on you. we have a sense as to what you are planning to do. and they are putting it out there for the world to see. basically asked put earlier, if -- analogy here, if the burglar is rubbing your house, through the lights on. make sure everyone can see him

do so. and that is when the u. s. is doing, the administration officials that i have talked to over the last day or so, they want the world to know would vladimir putin is up to. they are hoping at the last minute, he will change his mind. >> jeremy, you are on the ground there, whereas the president we just heard a little clip of him saying russia can still choose diplomacy. my question is, do you have a sense from the folks that you are talking to, if that is the american strategy to rattle him, could it be successful? is there still a chance to avoid an all-out invasion here? >> well, here is what i think it has been successful at. it has been successful at constraining putin's options, delaying his march on ukraine, that has given us time. the time has been critical, because during that time we have been able to send millions of weaponry to ukrainians, we have been able to organize a sanctions package that would cripple russian financial institutions right out of the gate. it has given us time to get our people out and close our embassy, and make sure the americans are in ukraine, there are a number of them, are whisked to safety. and finally, it is time to

ensure alliance unity. so i think that this face, what we call phase zero before the shooting starts, which is really the most consequential phase sometimes in a war. this phase zero of information, and misinformation, and counter misinformation, i think the united states is exactly right. i think we have done two things with respect to intelligence. number one, we have been very quick to classify intelligence, and call out the regime intentions of the kremlin. and second, as we have seen, they are false information his social media, we have seen it in realtime, and that has also allowed us to call it out. and in so doing, i think we have done a great job. i think that the biden administration has done a masterful job of constraining putin's options here. one seems pretty amateurish. why would ukraine attack the separatists now when the russian military is on the border, weapons drawn? it defies logic. do you agree with

that, maybe the larger question is, when you are talking about vladimir putin, does logic have anything to do with it? >> well, the rushes typically are very methodical, intelligent, calculate the risks, only act when they think that they can pull off their operation. this one looks so improbable, it defies my imagination. there is a quarter of 1 million ukrainian troops that will fight back. in 2014, ukrainian navy came apart, so they only had militia units fighting, so these people are reasonably well armed now, they have been trained, and i think that they are going to put -- why would he do this? why would he not turn off the electrical grid, stop the flow of d. o. l., a blockade, none of this lines up. the only thing that i can conclude is that putin has decided his legacy is at stake, he wants ukraine back in mother

russia, he has invaded georgia, he has seized crimea, invaded the eastern part of the country already. maybe he is determined to carry out an operation that looks to me like a strategic disaster. >> jonathan, you have had, i don't know if i called it -- with vladimir putin, i -- you certainly challenged him at a press conference a few years ago. there you are. it joint press conference that he had with then president trump. when the white house is talking about their strategy that you just so clearly laid out, do they believe that there is an off ramp that would look enticing, if not enticing, at least would be face saving for vladimir putin? >> first, i will say that putin does not break eye contact. it is pretty unnerving. the white house here is hopeful that at the last minute, putin will back down. it is a question of what are his motives here? it has been well discussed, including on this panel tonight, that he indeed feels like

ukraine should be part of russia. that is part of his legacy. he wrote about it at length last summer that ukraine is part of mother russia indeed. the question now is, is he still a rational actor? he has been to this point in his time in the kremlin, but there has been some speculation, especially during the pandemic, he has been extraordinarily isolated, surrounded by just a handful of yes men. we have seen the images almost a musing of him at the end of a 30 foot table, keeping his distance from the leaders of france and germany. very covid phobic there in the kremlin. there is nobody really around him to say no. so, if he is indeed committed to going into ukraine, the question is, how much? will it be a minor incursion, to use president

biden's words, where he perhaps she grabs just some territory, maybe some cyber disruptions, but it is not at all in the region. he doesn't go to kyiv. perhaps the fighting stops, and is limited. still terrible, of course, but not the all out onslaught that would be the greatest conflict in europe since world war ii. the u. s. knows that his primary objectives say that ukraine should not go into nato. ukraine is not going into nato, not anytime soon. despite what president zelensky hopes for. maybe there is some sort of off ramp, some sort of face saving measure. the other option is this, as a final point, putin here in some ways, his strategy has backfired. nato and the western alliances are more united than they have been in a long time. on the other hand, he has got what he wants. he is the center of global attention. he has already disrupted ukraine, financial markets there in some trouble. even if he does not go all the way in, even if there are not that many shots fired, parking is significant russian presence on the ukrainian border.

that government and saying, look, this democracy, this bridging democracy does not work, and therefore would not be a model for his own people, the russians, to follow? well, that is a victory. >> another option that people talk about, jeremy, is about just destabilizing ukraine, hurting its economy which is something that has already happened, we already see it plays that are not flying there anymore, we moved our diplomats elsewhere, quote, without outright declaring war taking action that would trigger the harsh sanctions promised by the west, russia's president vladimir putin has once again succeeded in destabilizing ukraine and making clear that russia could wreck the country's economy. so, is that impossible goal? and he can see that as an accomplishment, and again, look for one of those off-ramps potentially that jonathan just talked about? >> i think that undoubtedly

ukraine has been hurt by this crisis. but look, for putin, ukraine as a means to an end. the end is too fracture nato. the end is to eject the united states influence from the european continent. that way, chris, i have to say that this whole thing has backfired. because here at the security conference, the alliance is more unified than ever. i have never seen so many world leaders speaking off exactly the same song sheet, and people are actually supporting each other, and there is a sense here, it is that the west has to stand up against putin-ism. i think that putin's efforts to fracture nato has backfired. >> during the bush got up before 5:00 in the morning, or maybe you never went to bed, thank you for being with us from munich. thank you so much. coming up, why the national

archives is getting contact with the justice department over classified documents found at mar-a-lago. former federal prosecutor cynthia oxen he is here. what it could mean for the former president, then later, the impact of a possible russia invasion of ukraine could have here in the u. s.. why the president is warning about fuel prices again, and what it could all mean for him politically. the 11th hour is just getting underway on a friday night. ay night

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>> now that the national archives has confirmed just today that it found classified information among those boxes of white house documents that donald trump took to mar-a-lago, the key question tonight is: what if anything will the justice department do about it? in a letter to the oversight committee, the national archives said quote, its staff has been in communication with the department of justice. back with us, cynthia, former federal prosecutor in the civil rights division of the justice department. good to see, it is so much to talk about. broad question, what is your -- what do you think the doj is likely to do with that information? >> i think that they will open an investigation. i think that even though the presidential records act itself does not have an enforcement

mechanism for the destruction of records for, you know. because they did not think that they would be flush down the toilet, or that presidents would steal them and hide them at their home in florida. so, there is not an enforcement mechanism built into the presidential records act, but there are statutes that do in force, and couldn't force this provision. there is a statute to make it a felony. there is even one statute that says that you might not only have to pay a fine, you might have to forfeit your office, or be disqualified from holding office in the future. so they have some options. the other thing to think about when they look at these documents, what is the reason why they are being hidden? are they being hidden as part of an obstruction so that congress cannot get them? and then that brings into a whole new different collection of statutes. >> yes, so i mean do you think that there is a legitimate excuse that can be given for taking this materials to mar-a-lago? could he for example just argue that he declassified the materials he took with him before he left the white house? >> you can argue that, but you

can't simply take them. you can't destroy them. you can't flush them down the toilet. you can't refuse to turn them over. and remember, these are the documents they found. they are undoubtedly and the course of an investigation are going to find that they did not get all the documents. what's for the people around trump doing? why didn't we have better public servants who cared more about the people of the united states, and less about their relationship with donald trump? because, when i was in the court, my attitude was that i represented the people of the united states. why is it that white house people were picking things out of the toilet, and retape-ing things, why were they boxing up records that they knew could not go to mar-a-lago? why did they do that? and the justice department has to find that out. >> in their letter to the oversight committee chairwoman, congresswoman maloney who has been on this for a while now, they wrote that they have identified certain social media records that were not captured and preserved by the trump administration, and they also

learned that some of the white house staff conducted official business using non official electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into their official electronic messaging accounts. how concerned should we be about that? >> well i mean, first of, all the hypocrisy meter is, -- >> maybe once or twice donald trump might have accused hillary clinton of something like that. >> maybe every single person on fox news did that. and now crickets from them about how to handle this. i think that if they are communicating on secret things that should not have been there, i am pretty concerned about that. frankly, if they use their private messaging up to make tennis arraignment, i am not concerned. i think it matters a lot was going on. if the reason why they were doing that is to hide things from congress, or hide things from the american people, the justice department needs to

find that out. >> there is another big headline that i want to ask you about. today, a federal judge denied donald trump's request to toss these civil lawsuits. that accuses him and others of triggering the capitol riot. what might this mean for the former president? >> well, the most important thing it means is discovery. it is just another concrete block, you know, falling down from the ceiling. he is going to have to give a deposition in this case, and giuliani is going to have to, they're going to have to give the positions in new york, they are going to have to now give depositions in the -- and the district of columbia, they have problems, major business problems, because of the accounting issues, and mazars it's pulling out. their whole house is crumbling on top of them. and the pressure has got to be intense. >> i wanted to ask you about that. i'm sorry to interrupt you.

but you do wonder if they feel like the walls are closing in, because there are so many different things now. so many different levels. so many different lawsuits. so many different stories. >> right. there is so much pressure with no right answer. for example, they are going to have to give the new york case, they're going to have to answer questions and the new york case. if they answer questions, it could be used against them in criminal cases. so do they take the fifth amendment? they don't really want to do that, because trump has already said that anyone who takes the fifth amendment must be a monster, must be guilty, and it can be used against them in the civil case. so all of these things are crashing down on top of them, and there are no good answers, it is all crumbling. >> when you look in totality at all of these things that are going on, we only have three seconds left, but what is the most, if you are donald trump or you are donald trump's lawyers, what is the most troubling thing that is going on, what is the biggest challenge for him legally? >> donald trump is all about money so i think that the

biggest challenge is what will all these lawsuits do when you combine his problems with accounting. and i always thought this case was the most dangerous for him. >> cynthia alksne, thank you so much. great having you on the program tonight. coming up, looking at how a possible russian engagement could reverberate throughout the global economy. stuart stephen is here to discuss possible challenges at for president biden here in the u.s., when the 11th hour continues. continues.

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ethnic questions that live in ukraine, there is a lot of ethnic russians that live in the capital of ukraine, kyiv. russians are gonna suffer, and we are going to suffer too, because president biden and his allies and partners have promised a massive comprehensive package of economic sanctions against russia, that will reverberate throughout the global economy. we are gonna be a part of this. we're not just gonna be on the sidelines that's gonna affect us as well. >> its former ambassador to russia michael mcfaul, echoing president biden's warnings about the effects of war between russia and ukraine here at home. analysts say the most notable impact would be rising fuel costs, most likely. higher prices, obviously, would

add to political challenges for a president who's already juggling multiple crises. with us to talk about it, a veteran political strategist to progressive candidates and causes. and stuart stevens, veteran of mitt romney, and george w. bush presidential campaign, was now with the lincoln project. his latest book is, it was all a lie: how the republican party became donald trump. good to see both of you. anita, look, the biden administration is already trying to warn americans about the fallout, and he did talk in a speech tuesday, for example, about rising fuel prices. but if it really happens, how worried should the administration be about fall out, and as michael mcfaul put it, you know, the reverberations throughout the global economy? >> yeah, the president has been very intentional about communicating with the public, what to expect throughout this entire crisis. and i think it's paying off with people supporting his move for sanctions i think one poll put it at 63% of americans support that move. and when he did that in his speech, naming that we're gonna feel this, is making a tangible and real about the impact that

we're gonna feel here, giving people a heads up essentially. and i think it also went on to say that he and his team are gonna look into mitigation efforts to address what could be high rise in expenses for energy. he has to give on the public asap, because republicans are gonna jump on this as their newest talking point about him adding to people's woes right now, about him creating additional problems right now, especially during a midterms cycle. and republicans have already shown that they're willing and able to attack him on russia. i do think that he has to get back to the public a staff on what that plan is, to remind americans not only that he's working on it, but they have some type of relief coming their way because it's not going to be a surprise at this point that this reverberation from the sanctions imposed on russia's gonna hit people in their pocketbooks. >> well, speaking of republican attacks, stewart, i wanna play this from fox news earlier. there are russian reporter is

responding to a suggestion that the white house might be getting up the ukraine crisis to deflect some of the hillary clinton allegations false hillary clinton allegations that are coming out of the john durham investigation. take a listen. >> right now, every american should be watching this, and knowing that this is deadly serious. this is not some whack the dog situation. to even mention the durham probe, in this same sentence as what we just know, and what we see with our own eyes, in terms of a military buildup, and knowing with ladder putin is capable of. >> how interesting is that, stuart stevens? >> look, i think we're in a very interesting moment, you know, since reagan ran against carter. republicans pretty much own foreign policy, and so, donald trump came along. and what we've seen is a complete collapse of the republican party, as a strong on russia, strong on standing up to autocrats and bully

guards. the party now is really a party of trump, and you can't take back these words. you can't take back these images. you had ronald reagan for the berlin wall, saying mr. gorbachev turned down this wall. you have donald trump taking a soccer ball like a train sail from putin announce a key. it's a disgraceful moment, and this is playing out now. and i actually think in a long term, this may be ahead for democrats who, for a long time, own foreign policy. it may be that they're gonna return to that. >> juanita, this week the times row that there is a potential for biden to win back right ability on the foreign policy front, which obviously he lost in many quarters after the afghan pull out. republicans have been divided over this ukrainian crisis. canada democrats stay unified? >> i think democrats can stay unified, and they've been showing that they've been our. especially in the juxtaposition

isn't the republican party. and if anything, i think that's what democrats should point to, when we expect these attacks on republicans. and whether it's driving energy costs, or biden's response to russia, to point to how the republican party is fully fractured based on lies, handled by which we see on fox, what we hear from the extremist members within the center of the republican party at this point. and show people the difference, show people how different people are responding. just like steve said, so them the just position of biden standing up to putin versus trump, praising on him in helsinki, right? like show people exactly what they're up for, because biden is proving that this is a redemption moment for him on foreign policy, and i think that's gonna continue to play out as it continues to proactively communicate to the public step-by-step, what's happening in this crisis. >> and weather what's going on is real or imagined in the minds of some of the folks on the right, we know they're gonna attack, right? donald trump repeatedly brought

up obama for example, for the russian annexation of crimea. is this something that reverberates with voters? is it going to come down to whether it ultimately affects them in their pocketbooks? i wonder what you think the political on the ground, people going to vote in the midterms ramifications could be? >> you know, we're really in a moment we've never had before. in a foreign policy crisis, or 70% of the republican party doesn't think joe biden is a legal president. and that person, how do you react to that? how do you deal with that? we've never had a propaganda wing, like we have in fox news, just reading off the russian talking points. this never happens. i mean, walter cronkite didn't do this. and i think it is terribly weakens the americans image in the world, of a unified strength and foreign policy

crisis. but i honestly think, they're really not thinking about politics a lot. i think this is a defining moment, this is why nato was invented. joe biden has been a person who's gone through these crisis before and the senate. i think that this is the presidential moment, and i'm just glad that we actually have a real president. >> both steward and juanita are staying a bit longer. coming up, the headline states, squat politics backfires. a reality check on this week's big developments on both sides of the aisle, when the 11th hour continues. 11t hour continues

>> this has been a pretty wild week in politics, for both parties. on the republican side, former vice president mike pence defended himself against donald trump. house leadership endorsed list cheney's primary challenger at trump's, and special counsel john durham, today distanced him self from the right wing space this accusations about hillary clinton. but, democrats are facing a bit of an identity crisis of their own. axios is characterizing the conflict between the progressive and centrist wing of the party as squad politics

backfiring. still with us, juanita tolliver and stuart stevens. axios describes the democratic split this way. quote, the push to defund police, rename schools and tear down statues has created a significant obstacle to democrats, keeping control of the house, the senate and the parties overall image. and a lot of folks are pointing to the san francisco school board, three democrats being ousted as a warning sign. what do you make of that? >> i reject the premise, right? i think that statement ignores the reality of everything set against democrats, including biden's worsening approval numbers. and thanks in part to folks like centrist manchin and centrist sinema, who helped attend portions of his agenda alongside republicans, and ignores reality and impact voter suppression on silencing voters across the country, and it ignores the reality that historically, incumbent parties ruth loose in midterms. all of those things need to be taken in consideration, so i truly do reject the premise of placing anything like this at the feet alone of the squad. like, i am really confused about why these groups are

trying to outdo republicans, essentially, by attacking their own, at a moment where they need to recognize that they're centrist candidate, for example, terry mcauliffe, lost in virginia. so i don't think that this is the way the democrats need to move into this midterms cycle at all. >> meantime, the republicans, stewart, after days of wall-to-wall conspiracy theories that a filing by special counsel john durham, with somehow proof of hillary clinton's fine on trump. durham poured cold water on the narrative. we call that misinterpreted. i wonder if this is a story outside of right-wing media, and even if it isn't, isn't the kind of story that keeps the base fired up, and the gop wants a fired up base, obviously? >> you know, it's been a long

time since hillary clinton, secretary of state, ran for president. the fact that republicans are talking about this is this sort of pathetic. there is no agenda here. there is no policy in the republican party -- >> but they know stewart, when they do this and put it on emails, they can send money. >> i think it's all about money, as most corrupt organizations are. the republican party really is not a regular political party, it's like a syndicate. it's like opec, so there's no higher moral purpose. look what happened with liz cheney, i mean, that just sort of shreds any pretense that this is about anything except power. liz cheney, one of the most conservative records in the house, she's a cheney, for crying out loud. and mccarthy, who is not gonna be the next speaker, if republicans take the house, it's gonna be someone like jim jordan, they're gonna get that guy aside, because in a heartbeat. list cheney it's not the place

for her in the republican party. i think what's happening with the democrats as a function of having a very diverse party. 85% of the trump coalition was white. it's very different, but it doesn't address where america is going, and it's why republicans are so desperate with these laws, because they know that the ground is shifting under their feet. >> one thing that i think we could see bring democrats together, when you, that is the impending announcement -- on a play what press secretary said about the timing today. >> i can tell you that february is not that much longer, it's ten days, if my math is correct. and we remain on track to make an announcement about the presidents election for a qualified and credible nominee to serve on the supreme court before the end of the month. >> what do you think that this is gonna look like?

and do you think it is the time, and in a situation where democrats are gonna come together, and not just come together but strongly, vocally unified. >> chris, i can only hope so, because that's what this nominee the first black woman nominated. it is going to need unified continuous support, and i was looking at focus groups findings from his strategies that in part show that black and brown voters want democrats to come out in full force, just as hard as republican state for someone like kavanaugh. they wanted to make sure that they're protecting her, but fighting for her, to make sure that she has suffered from all of the attacks that we know are gonna come from all directions. and chris, i just gotta say, i was not banking on the courts being the winning issue for democrats going into this midterms. but this is absolutely something that's on a mobilized and energized democratic voters, and something that democrats, if they love it and move

through this confirmation process smoothly, can definitely see pay dividends at the polls. >> on the flip side, we've only got 45 seconds, stewart. but for republicans, there will be some, want to go after the nominee whoever she is, is back to the advantage of the democrats. >> yeah, actually i think it is. but gyms are all about turnouts. typically, one third of voters show up. i think this can be a mobilization to remind democrats what is at stake. they have a shot at holding on to the house. >> stuart stevens, juanita tolliver, great to see both of you on this friday night. thank you. an update on what appears to be a confusing new normal in a world still threatened by covid.

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almaguer. >> reporter: moved by the metrics, the national drop in covid hospitalizations infections, and deaths. tonight, every state in the mainland has or will soon lift restrictions, like mask mandates. moving faster than cdc guidance, and nation eager to face and new normal will likely still struggle with a hodgepodge of conflicting rules. take this year's oscars. performers and presenters won't need to be vaccinated, just test negative. but everyone else attending must be inoculated and test negative twice. >> we're actually in a confusing thing with a pandemic, because one, there's some uncertainty, but also number two, i think we have let the cdc guidance to determine what's best to do next. to lift masks, to relive vaccine mandates. we do both at the same time? >> reporter: with the surgeon general announcing today he and his family have tested positive for covid, and your model

projects nearly 75% of americans may now have immunity from omicron. >> well we can't predict the future, we can better prepare for it. >> reporter: it comes as california's governor announces there's no end date to the pandemic. instead, saying the state will now follow a covid blueprint, focusing on vaccinations, while easing restrictions, and warning mandates like masks will return with a surge. >> we are more capable to understand the nature of this disease, the mutations, it's variant. >> reporter: california's new plan may not be simple, but it could be adopted in other states. the basic understanding is that companies here to stay, and when it spikes, mandates will come back. back to you. >> miguel almaguer, thank you for that. coming up, a look back at how the former president dealt with vladimir putin. when the 11th hour continues.

>> the last thing before we go tonight. we heard more tough talk directed towards vladimir putin today from president biden, in an effort to deter russia from invading ukraine in the days ahead. but it wasn't so long ago that a totally different tone was coming from the white house. as you likely remember, the former guy was pursuing a much cozier relationship with the former kgb officer, who tonight, maybe on the verge of launching europe's first major ground war since world war ii. >> i think putin has been a very strong leader for russia. it's been a lot stronger than our leader, that i can tell you. >> putin likes trump, and he said nice things about me. he called me a genius. >> do you respect putin? >> i do respect him. >> really! >> putin is a killer. >> a lot of killers, a lot of killers, when you think our country is so innocent.

>> i believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. >> mister president, will you tell russia not to meddle in the 2020 election? >> yes of course, i will. do not meddle in the election, president. don't meddle in the election. >> i think it would be better to have russia inside the tent than outside the tent. >> at the same time, i like putin, he likes me, and we get along. >> the current president also clearly believes in clearly getting along, but in his case, it's getting along with the european union and nato. the traditional allies who have stood by the united states, and who believe in democracy, not flattering. and so, as we head to this tense weekend, let's keep the hope that a unified message from them can be enough to prevent as the president today put it, a catastrophic and needless war in eastern europe. that is our broadcast for this friday night. with our thanks for being with us. on behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, have a good weekend and a good night.

od night. a 3:00 a.m. knock at my door. they said, "your dad's been shot and he's been killed." i screamed. the scariest thing that you will ever go through. my whole world crumbled. >> cara was the kind of teacher students just love. >> she was a rock star at her school. >> with the same man for 20 years, enjoying life together by the beach. >> the balcony was like our second living room, you can hear the waves on the shore. >> but she was all alone that night when, according to her, an intruder burst into her bedroom. >> i was scared to death. i didn't have any other choice. >> you shot him? >>