good morning. i'm lindsey reiser in for jose diaz-balart. we are watching closely for a verdict in the trilt of wnba start brittney griner held in amos cow prison for nearly six months. we'll play for you what she just told the courtroom this morning. on capitol hill, all eyes are on senator kyrsten sinema and whether she'll support the reconciliation bill as democrats try to get it passed before the august recess. we'll ask senator tim kaine where things stand. following speaker pelosi's high-level visit to taiwan, china has carried out military exercises off the coast.

we'll speak with the chair of the house armed services committee adam smith. a final verdict is expected at any moment from moscow. brittney griner's cannabis possession case. the wnba star addressing the court during closing arguments just moments ago. let's go ahead and listen to part of her statement. russian translators have been edited out. >> my parents taught me two important things. one, take ownership for your responsibilities and, two, work hard for everything that you have. that's why i pled guilty to my charges. i understand everything that's being said against me, the charges that are against me. and that is why i pled guilty. but i had no intent to break any russian laws. i want the court to understand that it was an honest mistake that i made while in russia, under stress, trying to recover from post-covid and just trying to get back to my team. >> griner pleaded guilty after

her arrest nearly six months ago at moscow's airport, and prosecutors are asking for 9 1/2 years in prison. joining me is nbc's molly hunter and julia yaffi, washington correspondent at pug. molly, we'll start with you. what do we expect from this verdict? >> yeah, lindsey, that's right. we expect the verdict to come down in about 45 minutes. as you mentioned, the prosecutors have asked for 9 1/2 years. brittney griner is facing two charges that carry a maximum sentence of ten years. they have asked for almost that maximum. what we expect in about 45 minutes, the judge will give a summary of the case. he will walk through what has been happening in the criminal case for the last month or so. then there will be a small section we expect where basically he explains the considerations. we considered this factor, we considered her international celebrity. basically explains the framing of it. at the end of that statement, that's when we expect the verdict. part of that verdict, and i don't expect anyone expects her

not to be found guilty or sentenced. the number of years is the big question. part of that verdict will also include what penal colony, what detention facility she'll be sent to. russian state media is she'll be sent to something called a general penal colony, a minimum security. for example, alexei navalny is in one of the highest, securest detention centers in the country. you just played our audience the last part of what she said. it was an honest mistake, she did not mean to break russian law. that is really what her defense team has been pounding away at. this was an honest mistake. she had no criminal intent, but this morning you heard the prosecutors say that doesn't matter. she should absolutely be facing a very hefty sentence. really, what we'll talk about next steps, legal next steps, if she is sentenced, when we expect her to be sentenced later today. that means her really only escape route is that high-stakes

prisoner swap we have been talk about. >> before we get to that, julia, you've been watching this case closely, what do you think the chances are the judge will issue the hefty sentence or be more lenient given that lack of intent? >> i think it depends on what you mean by more lenient. i think the judge in these kinds of cases -- these kinds of cases are rare, but what i expect is the judge will give her something less than 9 1/2 years, but it will still be pretty hefty. i can imagine something like eight years, seven years, which will, in the context of the russian criminal justice system, if you can call it a criminal justice system, will be considered lenient, but is, in fact, a really hefty sentence. >> molly, let's talk about that prisoner swap deal. we know that it's not set in stone yet. there's nothing that's been officially agreed upon. we know experts believe her

guilty plea is a strategy, expedite the negotiations. what's in the works right now? >> yeah, exactly. you listen to legal experts who obviously watch these cases very closely. as julia said, it's not like there are a lot of cases like this. these are rare. in cases like this, she doesn't gain anything, according to legal experts, by pleading not guilty. pleading guilty, that expedites the case and the verdict. then they can start talking about a prisoner swap. in is the high-stakes deal we spoke about last week that the white house acknowledged to our colleagues in washington. and the proposal, the public proposal from the u.s. is that it would be brittney griner and paul whelan, the former u.s. marine held in russia since 2018 for a convicted russian arms dealer, viktor bout serving a 25-year sentence in the u.s. there's been nothing agreed, no confirmation that the russians have agreed to this.

we do know high-level discussions were taking place on friday. we know secretary of state antony blinken spoke with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov. on the u.s. side, that's what's on the table. >> julia, what is your optimism at this point of a deal getting through and a deal getting through quickly? i mean, how much of this to be determined sentence could griner end up carrying out? >> i think she will end up, unfortunately, serving at least a part of it. it's unclear how much, but according to my sources, things are not really moving. and, unfortunately, whether she pled guilty, whether she pled not guilty, this would have moved at exactly the same rate in terms of a court case. it hasn't sped up in any way the negotiations, hasn't sped up the court case. it doesn't seem like the russians are in any mood to negotiate. they are leaking things to the press and trying to negotiate

this in public. from what my understanding, being incredibly frustrating to the white house, which is taking this incredibly seriously. they're getting pounded -- you know, the white house is getting pounded in the american press as not taking the brittney griner case seriously. they're doing all they can to negotiate her release while the russians are dragging their feet, not really giving, you know -- not caring much, to put it mildly. and offering things that the u.s. cannot carry out. for example, offering to trade for a prisoner who is, a, a murderer, and, b, held in german custody. even if the u.s. -- you know, even if he weren't a murderer, the u.s. wouldn't be able to swap him because we don't have him. so, it doesn't seem like it's

moving in any way. even after the verdict is announced, even after she's sentenced, even after she's transferred to this penal colony, it doesn't seem like it's going to speed up this negotiation, unfortunately, in any way. >> both of you will be standing by for the verdict. appreciate your time. now to capitol hill and the rush to get important business done before senate leaves washington for the august recess. right now the senate parliamentarian is still reviewing that big tax, health care and climate change deal put together by senate democratic leader chuck schumer and west virginia senator joe manchin. there are reports that kyrsten sinema, who has not said whether she'll support the bill, is pushing for some changes. this comes as lawmakers mourn the loss of indiana congresswoman jackie walorski who was killed in a car accident yesterday along with two of her staffers. nancy pelosi ordered flags at

the capitol to be flown at half-staff in their honor. joining me to talk about this is ali vitali. first, is is there any update on where senator sinema stands? >> reporter: that's where we are now, physically waiting to see if we see the arizona senator to ask her about these reported reservations she may have with the reconciliation bill. it's not exactly surprising in the reporting we've seen that sinema wouldn't be on board with the carry loophole provision. that's one of the things she recently laid out as a red line of hers earlier in these negotiations. now we're seeing them come to new light potentially as the senate hopes to be on the brink of being able to actually get this reconciliation deal done. of course, the important thing is sinema is not the only thing they're waiting on. they're also waiting on the senate parliamentarian to finish their scrubs in order to be considered through the budget

reconciliation process. that's a timeline completely separate from senator sinema. nonetheless, they're both parts of the waiting game for senate democrats. >> when do you think the parliamentarian will wrap up? >> reporter: that is sort of the open question around here, too, lindsey. when we heard from senate majority leader chuck schumer earlier in the week, he mentioned they were still going through the scrubbing process on each section of that bill. they recently took up, for example, the energy provisions that are in this. clearly, they are still very much in the legislative weeds as they go through and make sure it abides by the rules it needs to abide by. their plans, the conversations that staffers and senators we're talking to are having, is that they will stay over the weekend to get this done. if there's a possibility of doing it before the august recess, they very, very much want to do that. >> i want to turn now to that big vote in kansas. we're fewer than 36 hours away from that where voters rejected that constitutional amendment that could have led to new abortion restrictions in that

state. how has the mood changed among democrats after that? >> reporter: there were many democrats who were talking theoretically about the idea of abortion being something that could real move metrics for voters in the upcoming elections. now there's sort of proof behind that theory. in talking to senators, especially women, i don't think it's necessarily surprising to know that women across the country were galvanized by this. we saw the polling, for example, that had shown it rising as an election issue for voters. and especially because this is something that has always been an important issue to voters, but one that was never tested electorally. lindsey, this was a right enshrined by the supreme court for 49 years. now this is the first election cycle where it's not just a theoretical threat, it's something that has already happened, that women across the country are now facing. and if you hear people like senator amy klobuchar, this is the key takeaway. listen. >> women want to make their own decisions about their health.

they don't want ted cruz making them, they don't want the republican party making them. and they came out, moderate republicans, independents, democrats, and clearly said that last night in the sunflower state of kansas. >> reporter: now, look, lindsey, the ultimate question, though, is whether or not democrats and reproductive rights advocates can sustain that energy through november. that's the big question. >> all right. nbc's ali vitali, thank you. happening on capitol hill, fbi director christopher wray is testifying for a hearing on the oversight of the federal bureau of investigation. joining us right now on this is nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent, ken dilanian. what kind of questions could director wray likely face from lawmakers this morning? >> good morning. it will be all over the map. there's so many important national security threats facing the country that the fbi director is involved in. he may well be asked about the brittney griner situation and what danger this type of

prisoner swap could pose to americans in russia. he'll certainly be asked about china. recall that he went to london and appeared for the first time ever at mi5 headquarters, britain's internal security service, and had an address -- it was about as tough a rhetoric about the risks and dangers from china. he essentially said china was trying to lie, steal and cheat its way to prosperity, and the threat is greater than most western business people even understand. he'll be asked about updates about the january 6th investigation, including, perhaps, about our recent nbc news reporting that the fbi is straining at the seams a little bit amid the massive nature of this investigation, that they're having problems with managing all the evidence and whether they have enough resources. certainly, he'll be asked about the violent crime problem sweeping the country. and republicans plan to ask him about the hunter biden

investigation and whether he's doing enough on things like the border and on shootings of police officers and on violent crime. it will be an eventful hearing. >> a lot of ground to cover there. we also know in the next hour the attorney general is going to make a civil rights announcement. what more do we know? >> we don't know anything, as a matter of fact. we're waiting to hear exactly what this is. merrick garland does not give a lot of news conferences so we're expecting this to be pretty important. >> we'll see you throughout the day right here on msnbc. appreciate it. still ahead, he says he personally opposes abortion, but democrat senator tim kaine just introduced legislation protecting access to it. we'll ask him a little later why in the show. first, an update on primary results in arizona with one race still too close to call. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." , with a le elbow grease, you can do just about anything. thanks, dad. that's right, robert. and it's never too early to learn you could save with america's number one motorcycle insurer.

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18 past the hour. today the political conservative action conference, cpac, is

kicking off in dallas, where former president trump and viktor orban will deliver speeches. we're awaiting results from tuesday's primaries, including in arizona where the republican primary for governor is still too close to call between republicans kari lake and taylor robson. lake said before the election the primary was rigged, that is at least until results showed she was in the lead. joining me from phoenix, arizona, is nbdz correspondent vaughn hilliard. what's the latest? >> reporter: not only is kari lake headed to cpac but dixon, the gubernatorial candidate who won tuesday night with trump's endorsement. kari lake, nbc news we have yet to call here, but we are expecting her lead is going to grow. the remaining ballots yet to be counted were the mail ballots

received in the final 48 hours. county officials are going through the signature verification process here. each day we should get extra tens of thousands of theets ballot results in. when we make that call, it is not quite clear. at the same time, kari lake is already out there, running her general election campaign. holding a press conference yesterday afternoon in which i think it's important to note two things can be true at once. she had a less combative tenor than she has over the last year and a half, presenting herself as a more -- as a voice welcoming everybody into the republican party. independents, democrats, and also i want to let you hear her answer when i asked her whether she needed the likes of doug ducey, karrin taylor robson, who she was running against and took some very personal shots at. >> i want to bring the republican party together. i mentioned that earlier.

we're one big happy, sometimes dysfunctional family, but we can come together. as i said, i'm from a big family so i understand that you don't always get along on every issue. but i want to bring people together. and i think we have a great moment here. >> reporter: lindsey, many republicans on the side that are not kari lake have described to me over the last 48 hours that this was anything but dysfunctional. there were a lot of expletives used to describe the way kari lake and others within this republican party came in guns ablazing to take down what lake called the john mccain apparatus of this republican party. those candidates, if kari lake pulls this off, had a clean sweep here. it's important to note, kari lake in that press conference, she didn't moderate her message. she continues to claim there's fraud and irregularities in this primary. she's continued to say the 2020

election should have been decertified. she doubled down on her assertion that katie hobbs, secretary of state here in the 2020 election, her current democratic gubernatorial opponent, that she should be jailed for her actions in the 2020 election, though she has made no specific allegations of how she supposedly broke the law. kari lake is not changing. perhaps, is she trying to better articulate a message that has greater appeal to those here in the maricopa county suburbs? absolutely accurate. over the next 95 days you would expect to see the same kari lake here in what is going to be a heavily financed and is nationally focused gubernatorial race. >> correct me if i'm wrong, but she also took to the stage on election night, we still don't have results, but she declared victory? >> reporter: she declared victory when she was at a deficit of 7%, when she was down by 7%. and, again, we expected those ballots here, those late ballots

turned in by very -- the types of republicans who are increasingly skeptical of our election system. they have been urged by this wing of the republican party to come in and turn their ballots in at person at the polling sites. it's no surprise she cut that deficit down like she did. as you just said it, this is kari lake who declared victory before she had even taken the lead. >> thanks so much. still to come, an nbc news exclusive. how one of president zelenskyy's top advisers sees the war ending in ukraine. we'll get reaction from adam smith, chair of the armed services house committee.

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officials say ukrainian shelling killed five people in the part of the region now held by separatists. nbc's josh lederman joins us now. josh, what did you learn? >> reporter: lindsey, i just spoke with a top adviser to zelenskyy, who told me that president zelenskyy is now urgently seeking direct conversations with president xi of china. he says they have been trying since the start of this war to arrange a conversation with the chinese leader because of the role that beijing is playing in supporting ukraine -- in supporting russia's war in ukraine. not only politically but also with supplies. he says they want to try to persuade china to withhold support for russia in this war. but the adviser to zelenskyy also told me that they are unwilling at this point to cede any territory to russia, even if that means ending this war. they think that would only

provoke russia to go farther with its imperial ambitions. i want to understand exactly how they see this war coming to an end. this is what he told me. >> you believe ukraine can defeat putin's army militarily? >> translator: with the help of our partners and with the help of much more effective weapons. by the way, another result of this war will be that russia will lose sales markets for their weapons. as this war is showing they are ineffective. doubtedly, the only possibility for ukraine to remain an effective, competitive and free state is to inflict powerful, tactical losses on the russian army and push them back from ukrainian soil. >> reporter: lindsey, i spoke with him in the presidential office, which just to paint a picture for you, the first thing you notice when you walk into that building is just how dark it is because all of the windows have now been covered up with sandbags as they try to really

buttress the building from russian attacks. they're working largely in the dark in there. i asked the adviser to zelenskyy about that vote in congress, overwhelmingly approving finland and sweden joining nato and whether ukraine should be the next nation to join nato. he said, not only should it, but ukraine should be a key nation in nato. he says they are now fighting one of the strongest armies of the world on behalf of the rest of western values. he says this is not about this war. it is not about ukraine. it's democracy versus autocracy, that's what they believe they are fighting for and nato is fighting for. >> thank you. with us to continue the conversation is washington congressman adam smith, chair of the house armed services committee. congressman, thank you for being with us. first off, condolences on the passing of your colleague, jackie walorski. i want to ask you about what josh is reporting and the purported meeting that president

zelenskyy wants to have with president xi. what do you make of that? >> i was in ukraine a week and a half ago. i think ukraine is doing everything they can to be successful. they see the crucial role china, and china is playing it both ways. not openly supporting russia but behind the scenes helping them. i think it's smart of president zelenskyy to recognize that and send a message out. whether president xi meets with him or not, it brings china out into the open and what they're doing in this war. >> what did you see on the ground in terms of what they need? we've already given $40 billion in aid. do you whoer that aid will wane? >> i do worry about that. that's why we went on the trip, to keep it in the news and let people know how important this fight is. now is a crucial time. as we head into winter, ukraine wants to take back at least some of the territory russia has taken. that's why they are so urgent on getting them the weapons and arms they need now. the himars system we have sent.

i think it's like 16 of those systems now in ukraine, making a huge difference. they have been able to strike russian targets and prepare themselves for this counteroffensive. now is crucial. that was the biggest message that president zelenskyy delivered. help us now so we can take back territory because if russia is able to hold on to what they have, we've seen how they're depopulating areas. basically committing genocide. moving ukrainians out and russians in to basically take part of ukraine. if russia is able to do that, to get that foothold, it's going to be very difficult for ukraine to survive long term. >> we mentioned president xi, but do you worry he might feel emboldened as a result of russia's war in ukraine? we've seen, for example, these live fire missiles after speaker pelosi's trip to taiwan? >> we worry about that a great deal. that's why it is so important, as the white house always says, that this is a strategic failure for russia and putin so the world looks at it and says, this

was a mistake. this did not advance russian interests. if not only putin could think there are other places he wants to go, there are places china wants to go. if people think military force can be used to steal territory from other countries, it upsets the entire global order. that's why this fight is so important. >> another question before we wrap up. senator menendez wants to push a bipartisan bill that will not only strengthen taiwan's role on the world stage but also strengthen and maintain military and diplomatic ties. is that a piece of legislation you would support? >> i have to take a look at it. i do think we support taiwan. we have it in law that we will provide weapons to taiwan. the taiwan relations act. pushing that further as a way to sort of -- i don't know, i think it can unnecessarily inflame tensions. we support taiwan. we don't need to push and make it look like we're in favor of independence for taiwan. that is an absolute red line for china.

>> do you think speaker pelosi balanced that line on her visit? >> yeah, i do. that's would i find so ridiculous. just visiting taiwan, china had no right to freak out about that. sorry. just to be blunt. members of congress have visit taiwan forever. have an absolute right to do that. if we start coming in and saying we're going to change or policy of strategic ambiguity, our policy of one china. if we start challenging china to go beyond, that's a different set of issues. that i don't think we should do. i think we should continue to support taiwan the way we always have without ramping up tensions. just visiting a country should not ramp up tensions. >> congressman adam smith, thanks for your time. >> appreciate the chance. up next, we'll talk live to senator tim kaine about the democrats' reconciliation package and the challenges they face ahead. you're watching naim name. face ahead you're watching naim nam e. moves fast, and now you can too by asking your healthcare provider if an oral treatment is right for you. oral treatments can be taken at home and must be taken within 5 days

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finish work on that big tax, health care and climate change bill. before they leave for aulgt recess. with us now to talk about this and some other topics is virginia senator tim kaine. senator, good morning. thanks for being here. >> you bet, lindsey. glad to be with you. >> what would this bill mean for your constituents in virginia and for the american people? >> well, its going to do great work for virginians and others because it will bring down prescription drug costs. it will extend premium support for people who buy health care on the exchanges. the announcement came out two days ago that the uninsured rate in the united states is at the lowest it has ever been because of this premium support we put into the american rescue pan and it will continue that. it will also dramatically accelerate our path to a cleaner energy economy. in virginia what that means is offshore wind where we are positioned to be a national leader. there's also one other important provision, a health care provision that matters in virginia which is fully funding

the black lung benefits program that protects the health care of our miners and miner retirees. this permanently funds the program so that our miners and their families will get the health protection they've earned. >> senator, are you concerned about getting support among your entire caucus? we know senator sinema wants to make a couple of changes. one of them would be mixing that tax loophole and another would be drought funding. if those are added, is that something you'd support? >> look, i'm going to be very glad to vote for this bill. there will be some things in it i may not like and some things that will not be in the bill that i wish were, but the overall package is great in terms of fighting inflation and helping our economy expand. right, there's sort of three issues between now and when we get to final passage. first, the parliamentarian is ruling on the pieces of the bill to make sure they all fit within the reconciliation framework.

second, senator sinema and other dems have to look at the final package and say, yes, we know we'll get zero republican votes for this bill. third, we have to go through a gruelling amendment process and hope there aren't poison pill amendments added that cause a good bill to turn into a bad bill. i am very confident we'll get to a good place, hopefully by the end of the weekend, and put this bill into the house and ultimately on president biden's desk. >> what are your poison pill amendments? what can you not get behind? >> the amendments have not been filed yet, but we know a trade in reconciliation bill doesn't take 60 votes but the trade is then it's unlimited amendments. so, the other side will put in amendments on immigration. they'll put in amendments on inflation. they try to put in a lot of gotcha amendments and you could conceivably have an amendment

that was so destructive, if added, would raise questions about the support of the bill. i hope democrats stick together. we can vote for amendments that will help the bill and vote down any amendments that will hurt final passage. >> there's a piece of bipartisan legislation that you senator collins and murkowski have introduced that would codify roe v. wade protections into law. but blumenthal and warren say they will vote no because it doesn't go far enough. >> there are some that believe it wasn't far enough. our goal was a very specific one, which is sort of use a time machine and return american law to where it was before dobbs was decided, where people get a statutory right to reproductive freedom that was what the constitutional law was before dobbs. now, some don't like that constitutional law pre-dobz. the right wants to overturn it all and some don't think it goes far enough. our goal was to show that there

is a bipartisan majority in the senate that wants to codify roe. we can have a good faith discussion about the best way to do that. earlier votes on the women's health protection plan only got 49 votes. i thought it was not a good thing to send a message that there wasn't even a majority of the senate willing to codify roe. we've shown there's a different path that's bipartisan. and we've demonstrated there's a majority to do it. i think we're ultimately going to get there on a bill to create a statutory guarantee because the post-dobbs reality of 10-year-olds smuggled across lines to get an abortion from a rape and the powerful referendum in kansas and other states, i think that post-dobbs reality is creating a groundswell of support for a federal statutory guarantee. >> senator tim kaine, thank you. >> absolutely. we want to take you live now to when we are awaiting a verdict in brittney griner's case in a russian prison.

we are expected to hear from a judge soon as she faces up to 9 1/2 years in prison on those charges. we will be monitoring this. we'll bring you the very latest. also still to come, as cases of monkeypox continue to rise, we have new reporting on how the white house is struggling to catch up after delays in its response. we'll get a doctor's opinion. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." ♪ ♪ aleve x. its revolutionary rollerball design delivers fast, powerful, long-lasting pain relief. aleve it, and see for too long, big pharma has been squeezing americans for every penny, and inflation has only added to the pain. but congress has a historic opportunity to deliver relief, by passing a bill to let medicare negotiate lower drug prices and put money back in the pockets of seniors. 87% of americans support the plan,

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while other allergy sprays take hours astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can... astepro and go. nearly 48 past the hour. we continue to monitor breaking news from moscow where we're awaiting a final verdict to be read in the brittney griner case. we're watching live video from that courtroom right now. we'll bring you developments as soon as we hear anything. in an hour from now, hhs will hold a telebriefing with the new monkey response team to share its efforts to contain the virus. as of now, the cdc has confirmed more than 6,600 cases across the u.s. and the quick spread of this virus has officials at the white house now scrambling to play catch-up after weeks of logistical delays and providing critical tetsing, treatments and vaccines. joining us right now with the very latest is nbcnews.com

reporter shannon pettypiece. what can you tell us about the shortcomings so far and the new approach? >> well, the federal government's really in a race against time here. right now this virus is mostly spreading among men who have sex with men. it's a relatively niche group. there's a sense if they can keep it isolated in this community, then they have a chance of stopping and containing it. there's a lot of concern because this virus has spread faster than federal health officials anticipated. and in that time when it was spreading, going from a few dozen cases to now thousands of cases in a matter of several months, there were a number of setbacks at the federal level when it came to quickly distributing a vaccine and a smallpox treatment that are believed to work in monkeypox patients. public health officials worry that has cost them precious

time. so, now the administration says they're going to be finally shipping out hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses and targeting them at people they believe are the highest risk for infection. so, in this instance the way the virus is spreading right now, it would be men who have sex would with men, who have multiple partners or people who were exposed or are in a close contact. so there's this race to get as many people vaccinated as possible. and at the same time, a communications message to try to urge people who are at high risk to curtail risky behavior, at least in the interim, while they can get more vaccine out there. but of course, in the meantime, there is this concern about a spillover effect, that, you know, the virus may already be spreading more widely than we realize because of constraints in testing, and the longer it is out there, the more it could spread torre groups, even potentially to children and kids, as people return to school. that's some of the worst-case

scenarios that people out of there right now. so as you mentioned, the administration is holding a briefing. they've appointed a new monkeypox coordinator who is going to try to coordinate and improve efforts as they make this big push to contain this virus. >> and i spoke to some people outside of a clinic on monday here in new york city, and the demand is there. and people are frustrated. why is it so hard for me to get this. i'm in the high-risk category. and we know from "new york times" reporting, that the government is now distributing about 1.1 million doses, but that's less than a third of the 3.5 million that health officials estimate are needed to fight this outbreak. who do you want to hear from this white house team. >> i want to hear they're going to get rid of loyalty to bureaucracy and take the actions that are important to people on the ground. we've seen there have been so many constraints, but these constraints are government-initiated constraints. they need to be removed, and a coordinator something that would

be able to hopefully make the government work for the people that actually need it to work. we've seen this happen with covid and ebola. it's unfortunate we need to appoint coordinators to do this,. >> dr. ayman and shannon pettypiece, appreciate your time today on this critical issue. appreciate it. we want to go back live to a russian courtroom. what we are monitoring here as brittney griner awaits to hear her sentence from a judge in this drug case. she could face up to nine and a half years in prison. i want to bring in nbc news foreign correspondent, molly hunter in london. i also want to bring in chief foreign correspondent, andrea mitchell, as well, to talk about this situation. molly, we're monitoring live pictures right now from the courtroom. talk to us about closing arguments today as well as what we can expect. >> yeah, lindsay, that's right, we've just seen her go back into the courtroom. she's speaking with her lawyers

and her translator. we are expecting that verdict to come down any minute. and now, as i mentioned earlier, the whole process, the whole announcement of that verdict will be a long one. the judge will start with a summary of the case. will walk through the criminal case of the last month and a half. then we'll goat to a portion, we expect, at the end of that summer, where he explains how they kind of framed it, the considerations they're going to take into account her international celebrity. and at the end, when they read that verdict, and the big question is how much years, her two charges carry up to ten years. the prosecution has recommended nine and a half. the big question is what the judge decides. in that sentencing portion, they will also say where she will be headed, what kind of penal colony level. so russian state media says she will be going to something called a general penal colony, lindsay. a fairly low-security detention facility, just to compare for context, for our audience, alexei navalny is in the highest security detention facility in that country. we will learn a lot about next

steps. we expect her lawyers to appeal. however, that is really just kind of a legal process on a timeline that we do not know, lindsay, and really don't expect that to overturn the judge's sentencing. >> do we have concerns about brittney griner's safety should she, in fact, be housed in a general penal colony? >> i think there are a lot of concerns for her safety, and certainly her lawyers and legal team will be addressing those, no doubt, as part of the response today, and certainly as part of any kind of appeals process. it's going to depend a lot on what penal colony, which detention facility the judge chooses and sentences her to, and we should know, as you say, any minute now. really, though, lindsay, big picture, is once that sentencing comes down, that is when things hopefully for brittney griner's case start moving more quickly. whether or not that happens, but whether those negotiations and

prisoner swap deal moves forward. but it appears her only way out of that detention is doing to be through a high-stakes prisoner swap. the one the u.s. has put on the table is brittney griner and paul whelan, that former u.s. marine who has been held in russia since 2018, in exchange for russian viktor bout. we have not had any confirmation that deal is anywhere close to done, that those negotiations are moving forward today, and we don't have a firm response from the russians on that specific deal, lindsay. >> because we know that the russians countered and said, no, we also want convicted murderer, nadeem cosikov, who was in prison in germany, which john kirby said isn't even a serious counteroffer. how unusual is it for these sides to be playing the negotiations out in public?

i know russia has criticized some of the u.s. for making some of their offers public. >> that's exactly right. going back, bringing our audience up to speed. the u.s. made public their offer, clearly, that was a strategy that the white house thought would obviously help brittney griner. joe biden has made very clear that this is a priority. we know that secretary of state blinken has spoken with his russian counterpart at the highest level, sergey lavrov, but making that offer public was clearly part of the strategy that the u.s. thought would work. what happened after that offer, as you just mentioned, and our colleagues in washington, d.c. have confirmed this, is that russia back-channelled a counteroffer for vadim krasikov. he's a former colonel, he is a convicted murderer. he's being held in germany. this is a third party country. the u.s. does not have jurisdiction over him. so the response, as you just mentioned from john kirby was, this isn't serious. not only aren't they going through become channels, they're also trying to throw in someone

else who is, yes, very valuable to the russians, but not someone the u.s. can actually deliver. whether these negotiations continue to public, we don't know, lindsay. >> i want to bring in chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. and andrea, catch us up to speed here on what we know as far as brittany's state of mind and also the efforts that her wife has been undertaking to keep this front and center. >> of course. and our moscow producer is communicating that they have found her guilty. they found her guilty of drug smuggling and possession. we don't know the sentence. it may have been delivered already in russian. we're waiting for that translation, as well. and this is also being reported by the wire services in the courtroom. you can see brittney griner in the cage, in which she's been held. she had asked at the beginning of the entire procedure, her defense lawyer asked if she could be let out of the cage

because of her height. it's 6'9", and it's very uncomfortable for her sitting in there. she can't stand up. she was told that she has to stay in the cage, but can remain seated instead of standing. in any case, you can see from her expression, she's been listening to her translator, listening to her lawyers who are outside the cage right in front of her that the guilty verdict, which she's done, lindsey, is % 99% of them are found guilty. only 1% are acquitted. so this was a long shot at best. she was appealing for leniency. she was saying it was an accident. she didn't know that the vape cartridges were in her suitcase, she was in a hurry, she had just taken a covid test, loves the russian people, has played there for seven years for this people. but in all of this, that was not to her avail. she has been found guilty.

>> guilty on drug smuggling and message charges. we know a guilty plea on the case of brittney griner could expedite these proceedings as we wait for that prisoner swap. do you believe that the judge in this case will consider intent or lack thereof in the sentencing? >> so the judge believes what he's going to take into account. we have just heard, as andrea just said, the some thing we know is she has been found guilty of conscious smuggling and possession. she was charged with two articles under the penal code. she has been found guilty of both. what we are waiting for right now, and there's a little bit of a clay from what's happening in the courtroom to the information that gets to us. i'm staring down at my phone, waiting to see if anything comes in. we do not know exactly what they

have decided to sentence her. the judge summarizing the charges. she has already pled guilty. we are waiting for those additional considerations, the additional things that they took into deciding her sentence. but as andrea says, the expectation is that she will be sentenced. the question that we have right now and we are hoping for is what exactly that sentence is and we don't have that yet. >> molly hunter, thank you so much for joining us on this breaking news. that wraps it up for me. i'm lindsey reiser. andrea mitchell picks up with more breaking news right now. >> and good morning. i'm andrea mitchell in washington, kicking off this special two-hour edition of "andrea mitchell reports." as you've heard the breaking news, we are watching that russian court, you see wnba star brittney griner. she has just received the guilty verdict. a guilty verdict on drug possession and smuggling. it's a critical step that had to take place before any chance of getting her home. there was a long shot of acquittal, but that wa