Skip to main content

tv   MSNBC Reports  MSNBC  August 25, 2022 8:00am-9:00am PDT

8:00 am
good to be with you, i'm katy tur. the justice department has one more hour to submit its proposed redactions on the mar-a-lago search warrant affidavit to a federal judge, but like we've said, do not hold your breath. doj is arguing releasing the affidavit would severely harm its investigation, and the judge looks like he agrees. on monday, magistrate judge bruce reinhart wrote doj's redactions could render the document "meaningless gibberish," which would make releasing anything pointless. that being said, since monday, we have learned quite a bit about the volume of documents former president donald trump took with him home to
8:01 am
mar-a-lago. could that change the judge's reasoning? we're going to explore that. plus, three months after the deadly shooting in uvalde, the police chief facing outrage for his response, has now been fired. his 17-page response to his firing, calling it a public lynching. what uvalde parents are thinking about that today. and president biden's loan forgiveness plan is getting mixed reaction. "the washington post" editorial board calls it a regressive, expensive mistake. even some former obama officials are shaking their heads. we'll get into that as well. but let us start with that fast-approaching doj deadline. joining me now is nbc news correspondent ken dilanian, legal affairs columnist for the "l.a. times" and host of "talking feds" podcast, lot of titles, harry, and lisa ruben, an nbc legal analyst. ken, so, the justice department
8:02 am
has an hour more. are we even going to be aware when they've submitted it? aren't they submitting this filing under seal as well? >> reporter: that's right, katy. we will only learn when the judge decides to tell us and puts an entry in the docket what might happen here, and two out of the three possibilities are, we're not going to see anything today. and even if we do, it's very likely that we won't learn a lot. but there are possibilities here. i mean, for example, the idea that the justice department felt deceived by trump's lawyers or the trump team in some way about the extent to which classified documents remained at mar-a-lago, that's been reported, but if the justice department confirms that in any way in this affidavit, allows that to be released, that would be an interesting and newsworthy moment. but in general, the judge has made clear -- the judge department certainly wants to avoid disclosing anything that would offer a road map of this investigation, betray sources and methods, provide identities of witnesses, that kind of thing, and that's going to be most of the affidavit. so, it's really unlikely that we're going to see much of
8:03 am
substance, katy. >> lisa, i know that we are waiting for what could be nothing at all, but so much is changing, it seems. i mean, we learned a lot since monday about the volume of records that were inside mar-a-lago, the classification of a lot of those records from a letter that the national archives released that it sent to donald trump's lawyers. there is a lot of public interest. there are threats of violence against public officials. i know we have had this discussion, but when bruce reinhart looks at these redactions, does it behoove him to move in the direction of as much transparency as is possible just to make the public aware that there is a process here? >> look, i think bruce reinhart certainly wants to calm the public and combat any disinformation he can. that having been said, it's not as if the worse things look for a possible defendant, the more
8:04 am
disclosures you should have. in fact, in this case, that might caution the other side, katy, and here's why. we know that the former president was involved in reviewing his records from public reporting. we also know from the letter from the national archives that in the 15 boxes that were returned in january alone, there were about 700 pages of classified material. that might substantiate the need for an investigation, but it also substantiates one of the things the government said in their search warrant application, which is that they have reason to believe there was the concealment or destruction of records that were taken by the former president or those close to him. that would mitigate in the other direction, which is, the direction the justice department wants, please, don't reveal our sources and methods. please don't reveal our witnesses, and allow us to proceed with this investigation, and the most cautious and responsible way forward. >> harry, what are you looking
8:05 am
for, for today? what are you watching? >> question one will be whether the doj has decided to play ball. they initially, in their motion, said, if you make us redact, it is going to be gibberish, and reinhart, who, by the way, is a long-time doj guy before he took the bench, seemed sympathetic to that. so, let's say, though, they've tried. just as ken says, he will not push them on the investigative road map, on witnesses, on national security stuff above all, but what does that leave? if we see things, katy, it will be exactly the kind of back and forth which will be voluminous. by the way, if they release even a fully redacted document, will tell us something, how long and detailed and comprehensive is it? i'm looking for something over 50 pages. but the thing that could most likely be revealed is exactly what would be putting the lie to trump's recent public proclamations of having been
8:06 am
cooperative. the long detailing of the frustrations in trying to get him to just return the people's documents, about which we're learning more and more in public reporting ever since the search. >> yeah, and we're learning more about it today. there's "the washington post" and "the new york times," both of them have an email or maybe it's two emails, we don't know, we have us an email ourselves, from the national records -- national archives asking donald trump's lawyers for more boxes of documents back, saying that they were asked -- donald trump's team was supposed to give it to them before he left office, and they still hadn't gotten them. so, they were trying to reach out to lawyers and say, please give us these documents back. ken, how'd you read into that? >> i mean, it's just more evidence that the archives was doing everything it could. it was begging, essentially, to get these presidential records back, and that the idea that the trump side was cooperating is just not supported by the records. i mean, they were negotiating
8:07 am
all through 2021, and then, you know, then a criminal investigation began, and there was still a delay in turning over some of the documents, katy, so -- but i think harry's right. to the extent that we learn anything from this affidavit, it wouldn't compromise the investigation to go through that procedural history, but it would tell us more about the extent to which the government bent over backwards to try to get this stuff before it took the extraordinary step of seeking a search warrant and sending fbi agents into that compound. >> you know, i always -- i'm of the mind, and lisa, you tell me if i'm wrong in thinking this, but we got that national archives letter, it was first obtained by another news site, right-wing supporter of donald trump, john solomon, but then the national archives produced that letter on its website in full, and it reveals a lot, and it showed that it was from an official. it showed the whole process, and it made you understand a little bit more about what they were doing to get these documents back. these emails that the "times" and the "post" cite, it would be
8:08 am
nice to see those as well. just to understand, as ken was saying, and as harry was saying, the process behind everything the government did to try and convince donald trump to voluntarily comply. >> i think it would be helpful to see those documents, and in particular, there's one document i'm really looking to see whether it exists and what it says. i think ken referred to it earlier. it's the statement that has been reported by both "the washington post" and "the new york times" that was purportedly drafted by evan corcoran, one of trump's lawyers, and signed by another, christina bobb. that statement was reportedly signed when the fbi agents came down to mar-a-lago, and it apparently says, hey, we've turned over to you all materials we understand to be here that were classified. if that statement was made, if that statement exists, it was false when made, and there could be real consequences for that.
8:09 am
so, in addition to the back and forth, starting in early 2021 between the national archives and lawyers representing trump, i'm looking to see even the later correspondence, including, but not limited to, that statement from june. >> let me ask you on another topic, looking backwards a little bit, ken. going back to the mueller report and the barr summary of the mueller report. the doj has just been required to release the memo behind the reasoning to not charge donald trump with obstruction. walk us through what we learned. >> so, this was an nine-page memo written by two trump-appointed senior justice department officials that bill barr used to support his contention before the mueller report was released that there was nothing to suggest that trump was guilty of obstruction of justice, and my -- and many legal experts have observed that it reads like a brief from trump's defense lawyers, not as a dispassionate analysis of the evidence, and in fact, when
8:10 am
federal prosecutors actually took a look at the mueller report, hundreds of them signed a letter saying that any other defendant would have been prosecuted for obstruction of justice, so it's very controversial. perhaps most controversial is that because trump felt like the russia investigation was illegitimate and interfering with his presidency, he therefore had no corrupt intent when he tried to obstruct, when he dangled pardons before paul manafort, when he told white house counsel don mcgahn to retract his testimony. >> what about, harry, why did the doj argue to keep this redacted? why did they not want to release this memo in full? >> you know, it's a pretty embarrassing document, although it's a good point, because it's obviously written for eventual public consumption. but it's a -- as ken said, it's a very tendencious document and at certain stress points, it
8:11 am
gives an unsupportable view of the facts and the law, and then finally, besides playing in that respect, it actually gives the -- the real problem here on the number one thing that screams out, they determined that there should have been a bottom-line determination, mueller had determined not. why, then, not give it to mueller and it's clear from one line in the memo, it's because they really didn't trust his bottom line conclusion if he were asked to give one. so, it was taken from him and given to steve engel and the two political officials. that's controversial. >> what did they think his bottom line conclusion would be, harry? >> that there -- that there was enough to charge obstruction or at least you could read the memo that way. and other people have worked on the investigation, make it clear that that's where they were coming from. and remember, mueller put out a letter saying that after this -- this memo, saying that it had
8:12 am
distorted their investigation. >> harry litman, lisa rubin, ken dilanian, thank you for starting us off. we are also keeping an eye on a courthouse in fulton, georgia. right now, a judge is hearing arguments about whether the state's governor, brian kemp, will have to testify before a special grand jury. that panel is looking into allegations of voter fraud by former president trump and his allies in the 2020 election in georgia. earlier today, donald trump's attorney, jenna ellis, was scheduled to testify before that same special grand jury. nbc's blayne alexander is in atlanta with the latest. so, blayne, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, katy, good morning to you. there are certainly a lot of moving pieces. let's start with jenna ellis. of course, she was a former advisor to the trump campaign but for the purposes of this investigation and 2020, really what prosecutors are looking at is the role that she played in setting up several legislative hearings in which rudy giuliani came forward and made really a number of false claims,
8:13 am
conspiracy theories, about the election here in georgia. prosecutors want to question her about the role she played in setting up those hearings. but separately, the other thing that we're watching today, katy, is whether or not governor brian kemp going to be forced to testify under oath before the special grand jury here in fulton county. now, this is very interesting, because over the past week or so, we really have seen what's become this contentious relationship between the governor, the governor's legal team, and d.a. fani willis and prosecutors, and all of this has now exploded into public view through a series of court filings. so, what's happening right now, that hearing is under way. it's been going for 20 minutes or so. his attorneys are arguing sovereign immunity. they're arguing executive privilege, attorney-client privilege, but what they're really honing in on is the argument that this entire process has become politicized. they say it's backing up to the place where this is spilling into campaigning. this is spill into elections
8:14 am
season, and they're saying, if you don't quash the subpoena altogether, at least let the governor come after november, after the election season, just arguing that quite simply, he's too busy trying to be on the campaign trail and run the government to prepare properly for this question. the d.a. is saying, that's not the case. it's crucial that they hear from him, that he knows specifically about what they're looking into, which, of course, is election -- alleged election meddling here in georgia. >> blayne alexander, thank you very much. and still ahead, president biden just told millions of americans that their student debt was wiped out. why the courts might actually say, no. plus, a deadly anniversary attack in ukraine. what is next in the war? first up, though, he's calling his firing a public lynching. pete arredondo, 17-page response to the uvalde school board. , 17e to the uvalde school board ayfai. sometimes i'm a homebody. can never have too many pillows. sometimes i'm all business.
8:15 am
wooo! i'm a momma 24/7. seriously with the marker? i'm a bit of a foodie. perfect. but not much of a chef. yes! ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need. ♪
8:16 am
8:17 am
it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #6 the boss. pepperoni kicks it off with meatballs smothered in rich marinara. don't forget the fresh mozzarella. don't you forget who the real boss is around here. it's subway's biggest refresh yet. wanna help kids get their homework done? don't you forget who the real boss is around here. well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.
8:18 am
uvalde school's police
8:19 am
chief, pete arredondo, has been fired. uvalde's school board unanimously voted to remove him last night three months after the shooting at robb elementary where 19 kids and 2 teachers were killed. last month, a texas house committee report said the police response showed systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making. arredondo's lawyer argued the board did not follow proper procedure in the firing, calling arredondo's firing a public lynching. let's bring in nbc's priscilla thompson in uvalde and public education reporter for the texas tribune, brian lopez. so, priscilla, in calling this a public lynching, making the argument that they're blaming him for this unfairly and they've slandered or smeared his name, what is the parental response to arredondo's response? >> reporter: yeah, katy, a lot of the parents and the community members that we spoke to here really sort of brushed that off.
8:20 am
they just thought it was incredulous and ridiculous that he would even suggest that, and even more so, in that 17-page statement that was released just before this meeting got under way, arredondo's attorney going so far as to say that he should be reinstated with back pay and benefits, something that many people here just, again, found absolutely astounding, and it was a far cry from the type of response that we saw in that very emotional and very charged meeting last night where, as soon as public comment opened, it was very clear that there was still a lot of anger in that room. everyone who spoke publicly calling for arredondo to be fired, saying that they wanted accountability and transparency, and as that school board met behind closed doors for more than an hour, you felt the tension and the anger in the room continuing to ratchet up. at one point, one person even saying, on the microphone, just come out already and stop wasting our time and tell us
8:21 am
what this decision is going to be. but when the school board came out and made that announcement, the crowd erupted in cheers and certainly lots of folks walking out of that meeting last night feeling like they had gotten some bit of justice, some smiles on faces last night, instead of the disappointment that we have seen in the past in coming out of these meetings. and pete arredondo was not in attendance there. his attorneys saying that this whole process is a violation of his due process and saying that he is being used as a fall guy. in fact, he went so far in that statement as to say that 20 to 30 more students may have gotten killed if that gunman had come out into the hallway and they had engaged him in a fire fight, and so, really, coming out on the defense, but since this decision has been announced, we have reached out to arredondo's attorney. he has not responded to our requests for comment, so no word yet on if arredondo plans to appeal this decision or potentially even sue the school district. katy?
8:22 am
>> priscilla, are the parents asking for anybody else to resign? there were hundreds of officers there. >> reporter: absolutely. all the parents that i spoke to said this is only the beginning. this is the first piece of justice, but this is not the end. people would like to see members of the school board resign. they would like to see members of the sheriff's department here out, along with accountability at the state level, something that state senator roland gutierrez spoke to me about yesterday. the majority of officers on scene that day, he said there needs to be accountability at the state and local level. everyone i'm talking to here saying this is far from over. >> brian, and priscilla, let's let's play a little bit of the sound from last night's school board meeting. >> you don't care squat about these families. if it was one of your children, heads would be rolling right now.
8:23 am
but because it's not, you don't care. >> i have messages for pete arredondo and all the law enforcement that were there that day. turn in your badge, and step down. you don't deserve to wear one. >> so, as you would imagine, pretty heated. brian, the uvalde school district goes back into session in two weeks. what are kids and parents saying about their readiness to go back? does the school board feel the community and the school itself that they're going to go to now is ready to have them? >> yeah, i think it really just depends on who you ask and who you talk to and, really, what a parent's situation is. i've talked to parents who are working, they have to get up at 7:00 a.m. one of the family members works out of town. they have two kids in the district. they can't afford to keep them at home, do online learning, when that -- we saw that wasn't
8:24 am
very good for some children. you have some that can't afford to go to a private school, that can't afford to go to a district in nearby towns, but overall, the feeling from the school district is that they're doing everything they can to prep the schools. they're introducing about 500 cameras on all the campuses' fencing. but one of the concerns from parents is, on the high school specifically, won't be done by the first day, and the campus, the high school, i mean, it's very -- it's a very open campus, so there are still even doubts how you secure that campus. so, at the end of the day, really, it's about who you ask. some people have no choice but to continue going to the district, even if they don't feel safe. others do have different kinds of resources where they can make that decision to go down the street or to a private school. >> it's a scary decision to make after the trauma of what happened back in june.
8:25 am
the firing of arredondo, brian, priscilla was saying, and we heard from that sound, that the parent want to see more. they want more of those officers to either get fired or turn in their badge, voluntarily resign. do we know of anybody else who's facing any sort of disciplinary action at this moment? >> no. it still remains to be seen what happens after arredondo. like priscilla mentioned, parents after the meeting, there was a sense of being bittersweet, both because they are getting some closure, but also, they want to see more done. school board members, they're thinking, you know, if they have to vote them out election, and they're looking at state politics now, something before this -- before this tragedy, many of the residents there weren't looking at, how do i vote? when do my school board meetings take place? there's a civic engagement awakening happening there now.
8:26 am
they're going to be in austin, the capital of texas, text week to protest and ask to raise the age of when a person can obtain an assault rifle, so i think going forward, you're going to see a lot of -- these people won't stop the fight, basically. >> brian lopez, priscilla thompson, thank you. and coming up, cheers and backlash for president biden's plan to cancel student loan debt. biden's plan to cancel student loan debt >> i just feel it's a little slap in the face to knows who worked hard to pay it you have. >> i'm 46 years old, and still have this, you know, over my head, so this announcement definitely gives a little hope. we'll explain the mixed reaction and why some prominent democrats are concerned. reaction and why some prominent democrats are concerned. the tenth pick is in the new all-american club. that's a “club” i want to join! let's hear from simone. chuck, that's a club i want to join! i literally just said that. i like her better than you the new subway series. what's your pick?
8:27 am
8:28 am
8:29 am
man 1: have you noticed the world is on fire? the new subway series. record heat waves? does that worry you? well, it should. because this climate thing is your problem. man 2: 40 years ago, when our own scientists at big oil predicted that burning fossil fuels could lead to catastrophic effects, we spent billions to sweep it under the rug. man 3: so we're going to be fine. but you might want to start a compost pile, turn down the ac. you got a lot of work to do because your kids are going to need it.
8:30 am
mom: hey! cheap flight alert! daughter: hawaii! can we go? dad: maybe. i'll put a request in monday. sfx: shattering glass. theme song: unnecessary action hero! dad: was that necessary? unnecessary action hero: no. neither is missing this deal. with paycom, vacation is yours to manage. unnecessary action hero: not to mention benefits, scheduling, payroll. it's hr in the palm of your hand. dad: wow. unnecessary action hero: ask your employer about paycom. and make the unnecessary, unnecessary. dad: approved! yesterday, president biden told millions of americans that he erased if not all then a decent portion of their student loan debt, but while lots of folks celebrated, critics on both the right and the left worried about the plan's impact on the economy, warning it will make inflation even worse. it may also face some legal challenges based on the idea that biden does not have the
8:31 am
authority to wipe out that debt, as the a.p. points out. in june, the supreme court said the administration must point to clear congressional authorization when it asserts new power over an important part of the economy. tremain lee joins us. also with us, ben white. i want to begin with you, tremain. what are folks telling you? when they heard this, when kids heard this, knowing that they were probably going to be in a large amount of debt on the other side of schooling, what was their response? >> reporter: i'll tell you what, katy, texas southern university is a proud historically black college and university and we know that black borrowers tend to have $25,000 more debt than their white counterparts. many of the young people we talked to were just freshmen, but the one thing we heard from one young lady is that there could be a generational shift. the burden of these loans isn't
8:32 am
just on the present generation. it's on their parents as well. let's take a listen. >> great thing, because my mom, she has student loans right now, and i know i'm about to have student loans, and i really want her to be forgiven because certain things, you can't do with student loans. so, for that to be forgiven, i feel like that's a great thing. >> reporter: we think about the burden that these loans place on the imaginations of what is possible and what you can do might be lifted just a little bit. again, this is pie in the sky for a lot of these students, they know it's a tough road ahead. >> 45 million americans with student loan debt would be helped by what the biden team proposed. ben, there's a lot of pushback. the editorial board of the "washington post" says this is not a good idea. you got some prominent democrats saying this is not a good idea. some of them saying colleges are going to be incentivized to
8:33 am
charge even more now, even more than they already charge, which is completely outrageous. what's the economic outlook? >> all of those are legitimate complaints. trymaine's points are very valid, it's a crushing burden on a lot of people. the question is, how much is it inflationary? you're essentially putting money in people's pockets if they don't have to pay their student loans. they can spend money on other things and that the at a time when inflation is really high. not a big impact on inflation, and, in fact, might be canceled out by the lifting of the moratorium on payments so you get a little front-load inflation and then it goes away. i don't think it's a massive deal on inflation. i think the incentivizing of higher prices is probably a long-term, bigger problem, but right now, i think there are some democrats that you mentioned, guys like jason furman, who say, this isn't really worth it because we're really trying to battle inflation. it's going to go to some people at higher income levels who don't necessarily need it, but this is not a game changer.
8:34 am
it does take all the deficit reduction from the inflation reduction act and wipe it out, $350 billion or so, this is going to cost, takes all that away, so so much for the debt reduction. >> you hit on that point a moment ago, what the white house is saying, which is, this is not going to contribute to inflation because we're going to restart the repayment of these loans for the other stuff in a few months, and they're going to cancel each other out. i mean, if i'm somebody who has $50,000 in college debt, which is not unreasonable, if i have $20,000 in college debt, if i have $10,000 in college debt, and you're saying to me, hey, i'm going to take this burden off of you, and then you can maybe buy a house. you can may save money in your bank account instead of spending every day. i mean, wages are not incredibly high, especially for people who come out of school and have a large amount of debt and have a hard time paying it off. how can you make the argument that it's just not worth it when it is -- when people feel like this is a thing that's going to enable me to achieve the american dream that my parents
8:35 am
were able to achieve? >> you make a good point, katy, on household formation, which is a key pillar of our economy, and has been suffering, partly because of student loans. so, there is that. the caveat to that point is that, people who take out these loans and get higher education, four-year degrees, tend to be lifetime loaner earners, so maybe it takes them a little longer to start a household, but over the long-term, they're going to make more money, so is it really right necessarily to be giving them this gift right now and long-term they're going to make more money? but you're not wrong about its impact on household formation and making it easier to do that, because so much of the economy is dependent on building houses, services housing, setting up families, going to home depot and all the rest of it, so you do have to factor that in. i think all in, it's probably net nothing on inflation. it's going to help some people. it's going to make other people a little upset that they didn't get their loans canceled, but this is not like a game-changer
8:36 am
on the economy that's even going to sink us or make everything groovy again. >> i think the issue is more systemic than all of this. find out how we can cut down on the cost of going to college, period, because it is exorbitant. ben white, trymaine lee, thank you very much. teachers and students in columbus, ohio, should finally be back in the classroom in-person on monday. following four days of demonstrations demanding better working conditions. smaller class sizes, and more support for arts education. details of the agreement have not yet been announced. and still ahead, ukraine's independence day marred by a russian rocket attack at a train station. more than two dozen people were killed. while in kyiv, this warning from the city's mayor as the country marks six months of war. >> any second, any minute, the
8:37 am
russian rockets could land in any building. coming up next, i'm going to talk to a former advisor to ukraine's president on the mood in the country and what victory looks like right now. d in the country and what victory looks like right now ess acid prn for a full 24 hours. unlike pepcid, which stops working after 9. 24 hour protection. prilosec otc one pill, 24 hours, zero heartburn. (woman) oh. oh! hi there. you're jonathan, right? the 995 plan! prilosec otc yes, from colonial penn. your 995 plan fits my budget just right. excuse me? aren't you jonathan from tv, that 995 plan? yes, from colonial penn. i love your lifetime rate lock.
8:38 am
that's what sold me. she thinks you're jonathan, with the 995 plan. -are you? -yes, from colonial penn. we were concerned we couldn't get coverage, but it was easy with the 995 plan. -thank you. -you're welcome. i'm jonathan for colonial penn life insurance company. this guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance plan is our #1 most popular plan. it's loaded with guarantees. if you're age 50 to 85, $9.95 a month buys whole life insurance with guaranteed acceptance. you cannot be turned down for any health reason. there are no health questions and no medical exam. and here's another guarantee you can count on: guaranteed lifetime coverage. your insurance can never be cancelled. just pay your premiums. guaranteed lifetime rate lock. your rate can never increase. pardon me, i'm curious. how can i learn more about this popular 995 plan? it's easy. just call the toll-free number for free information.
8:39 am
(soft music) ♪
8:40 am
new astepro allergy. now available without a prescription. astepro is the first
8:41 am
and only 24-hour steroid free spray. while other allergy sprays take hours astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can... astepro and go. at least 25 people, including two children, were killed by a russian rocket attack on wednesday on a train station in eastern ukraine. that is according to top ukrainian officials. the blast came exactly six months after the war began and as ukraine marked its independence day. president zelenskyy had warned the russians might use the holiday week as a chance to do "something particularly cruel." nbc's meagan fitzgerald joins me now from kyiv. so, meagan, what else do we know? >> reporter: well, what we know is that this took place overnight in the eastern part of the country in nipro. as you mentioned, this rocket crashing into this rail station, setting cars on fire, killing 25
8:42 am
people, injuring 31 others. we also know that another missile collided into a residential home not far from the site of this railway accident here, killing an 11-year-old boy. but look, as you mentioned, this is a country that had been on heightened alert, anticipating a particularly nasty attack from russia, and this is what they saw yesterday. this was the deadliest attack the country has seen in weeks, since the middle of july. there was an explosion just outside of kyiv yesterday where residential buildings were targeted. this is consistent with the intelligence information that the united states and the ukrainian officials put out. residential, along with government buildings, were among the target, and of course, certainly, a reminder that russia is trying to escalate their attacks. we know today that president putin signed a decree where he is trying to get more people into his military, wanting to increase the military by 10% where he has a total head count of about 2 million soldiers.
8:43 am
this, of course, coming after a top military official in the russian army acknowledged the fact that the russians are not gaining as much ground, and, in fact, their operation is stalling. i talked to the mayor of kyiv yesterday, and he put it very blatantly in saying that nowhere in this country, nowhere in kyiv are they safe right now, katy. >> wow. meagan, thank you very much. and joining us now also from kyiv is igor novikov, a former advisor to ukrainian president zelenskyy. igor, let's start with what meagan just said, that they believe that nowhere in ukraine, nowhere in kyiv, even, is safe right now. >> that's exactly right, unfortunately. russia targets everything and everyone, so nowhere is safe, but let me tell you this. after six months, you kind of learn to live with it and learn to kind of build as good of a life as you can under those conditions. >> so, what do you do? i mean, you're saying, build a
8:44 am
life as good as you can. what is the feeling, the sentiment among ukrainians? do they -- do they feel like it's a good idea to be back? is there a sense that, you know, come what may, i got to be here, i got to take a stand, this is my country, not russia's? >> well, yes. basically, look, i mean, the war changes you, and you know, you learn to, first of all, appreciate the small things, and the mood on the ground is not exhausted. there's no sadness or depression. people are defiant, and let me tell you one quick story, because the president said yesterday that the country's been reborn, and it's exactly true. friend of mine, who's a famous volunteer in ukraine, who's done a lot of fund-raising, so, a few days ago, he's walking to his house, like late at night, right before the curfew, very deutsche neighborhood in kyiv. he got stopped by two guys because he thought he was
8:45 am
getting robbed. he takes out his wallet, they ask for his credit card number and donate $500 to him right there on the spot. that's what the country's become. it's incredible. it's lovely. kyiv is beautiful, full of love and energy, so i don't think we're losing this war. >> that's an amazing story. what does victory look like right now? i know there's still heavy fighting in the east. do ukrainians feel like they need to maintain all of that territory? >> well, look, there are two victories. first of all, in terms of territory, the mood on the ground has shifted. back in february and march, i think people might have accepted tiny territorial loss. i mean, at least people were scared, frightened, and they wanted everything to end. now, the mood is defiant. now, ukraine wants crimea back. now, ukraine wants all of its territory back and is willing to do everything it takes to get there. the second victory and the more important victory is getting out people -- people's mindsets,
8:46 am
keeping what we've built over these months. so, a patriotic, a loving european ukraine, and that's what we're fighting for as well, so it's not only about the territory. it's also about people. >> it's also about messaging and keeping the attention there. there was a reuters pollthat came out this week saying that half of americans say they're paying more for gasoline to defend another sovereign country. more than half of americans, which is still good news, but it's down ten points since march. how do you continue to convince people that supporting what's happening in ukraine, supporting the fight against russia, is worth it in the long-term? >> well, it's a process. i call it a apollo 12 effect. people can name at least somebody from apollo 11, but people that flew on apollo 12, nobody knows. it's a struggle.
8:47 am
we're doing the best to reinvent the ways we communicate with our western friends and partners, and it is difficult. let me tell you that. i'm running a fund-raising campaign now for prosthetics for children, the amputee children in ukraine, and fund-raising has become incredibly difficult. but you know, we're doing our best and we're trying to engage bloggers and celebrities, and everyone. so, anyone can help. and we're asking for that help, and we need that help. katy, if you'd like to help, please retweet the fund-raiser. >> i will do that. igor, thank you very much for joining us. i always appreciate having you on. even despite all of the terrible things that are happening in your country, you have come on in good spirits, and i think that's admirable, and you make a good case for why your country is a place that anybody should want to visit, maybe even live in. igor, thank you very much. coming up next, the biden administration's first legal win in the fight for abortion rights since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade
8:48 am
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
8:49 am
8:50 am
8:51 am
one prilosec otc in the morning blocks excess acid production for a full 24 hours. unlike pepcid, which stops working after 9. 24 hour protection. prilosec otc one pill, 24 hours, zero heartburn. a near total ban on abortion was set to go into effect in idaho this morning but late last night a federal judge blocked key parts of the law. the justice department sued idaho earlier this month, arguing the law would stop
8:52 am
doctors from giving patients emergency medical care. nbc news correspondent julia ainsley joins me now. so julia, is this the judge siding with the doj or is it the judge just kicking the ball down the court? >> well, there will certainly be more on this to come, katie, and by and large a big piece of this law will still go forward, which a near total ban on abortion except in cases of rape, incest and emergencies. but what this does is it keeps prosecutors in idaho from charging doctors with felonies if they perform an abortion in an emergency situation but then later couldn't prove that that abortion was specifically to save a life. you can understand how that would put doctors in a really tough position if deciding, look, this abortion might be needed in case of an meshlgs, but what if i won't be able to stand in front of a jury and convince them that this was because of saving a life? now doctors don't have to worry about that. the judge said that because of the biden administration's argument that it was in violation of the emergency medical treatment and labor act
8:53 am
that went too far, the idaho law went too far and he sided with the biden administration saying that yes, in fact the idaho law was in violation of that act. it's working here, kateer, but it might not work in other states. and that is why these cases right now happening all across the country in idaho, texas and elsewhere are being so closely watched, to see that now on this post-roe america if that law, that emergency medical treatment and labor act will somehow serve as a safety net to keep some abortion rights and access in place. >> so that's what i was going to ask. will this be used as a template in other places? because there's a lot of hospitals in country that get medicare funding. and the argument the justice department was using was that in order to get it you've got to provide emergency services. so will we see this in states that are -- there are a lot of them now that are going to try to impose these near-total bans. >> yeah, i think we definitely could see this happening in
8:54 am
other states. but they're also learning different lessons. for example, from texas where a judge there ruled that the biden administration's move to try to preserve abortions in case of medical emergencies, the guidance that they put out actually went too far when it allowed people to go to other states to get abortions. all of the guidance that they sent out, that that went too far and was in violation of the supreme court's order. so there's a lot of moving pieces. a lot of very confusing, conflicting decisions that are coming out, which makes it even more confusing and conflicting for health care providers and for women seeking abortions. but they're definitely going to be watching this case in idaho, katie, because as you said, so many hospitals, a majority, are dependent upon medicare funding and if this would keep them from getting that funding then you'd know they would definitely be challenging this in court and watching that. >> julia ainsley. julia, thank you very much. and a federal jury has awarded vanessa bryant, the wife of the
8:55 am
late nba superstar kobe bryant, $16 million in her lawsuit against los angeles county. she brought the suit over leaked photos of the hermt crash that killed kobe and their daughter gianna back in 2020. jurors agreed that deputies and firefighters who took and shared photos of their remains invaded vanessa bryant's privacy and caused her emotional distress. they also awarded $15 million to the husband of one of the other victims in the crash. after the verdict vanessa bryant posted a photo of herself with kobe and gianna with the caption "all for you. i love you. justice for kobe and gigi." and some promising health news this morning. new york city's health commissioner announced that the department is cautiously optimistic about a steady drop in cases of monkeypox over the last several days. the department will continue to monitor the virus's progress. there are more than 16,000 monkeypox cases in the united states right now, with the highest number of cases in new
8:56 am
york and california. and before we go, tennis star novak djokovic just announced he will not be traveling to new york to play in the u.s. open next week. djokovic does not currently meet the cdc requirements for foreign tourists to show proof of vaccination for covid-19. he has said multiple times that he will not get vaccinated and has previously been unable to compete in events in both the u.s. and canada, most infamously in australia earlier this year as a result of that. and that is going to do it for me. i'll be back this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. well believe it baby! because wayfair always delivers. the look you want at the prices you want. so you can have the home you want! see we told you. wayfair always delivers small prices for big dreams.
8:57 am
♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ new astepro allergy. now available without a prescription. astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free spray. while other allergy sprays take hours astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can... astepro and go.
8:58 am
it's the all-new subway series menu! 12 irresistible new subs... like #9 the champ. rotisserie style chicken double monterey cheddar. the champ is truly made for a champ. gee, thanks chuck. who said anything about you? it's subway's biggest refresh yet. in order for small businesses to thrive, who said anything about you? they need to be smart. efficient. agile. and that's never been more important than it is right now. so for a limited time, comcast business is introducing small business savings. call now to get powerful internet for just 39 dollars a month. with no contract. and a money back guarantee. all on the largest, fastest reliable network. from the company that powers more businesses
8:59 am
than anyone else. call and start saving today. comcast business. powering possibilities.
9:00 am
good day, everyone. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. this hour a major deadline in the fbi's seizure of classified documents from donald trump. the federal government has to file its proposed redactions with the judge, deciding whether to release the affidavit justifying the mar-a-lago search. so we'll bring you any developments of course as soon as we get them from the court. but first, praise and criticism as president biden fulfills a key campaign promise to cut american student loan debt. 43 million americans have student debt and an average of $36,000 each. the president proposing up to $20,000 debt forgiveness for some, half as much

142 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on