♪♪ good day to you. i'm peter alexander in today for my friend andrea mitchell. here in washington, top justice department officials are debating the best way to proceed after a trump appointed judge in florida granted a request from the former president's legal team to appoint that independent third party, what they call a special master, to review items seized during the fbi's search of mr. trump's mar-a-lago home last month. the key questions right now, who will the judge choose? will the doj appeal parts of the ruling that impact their investigation? how long could that take?

how long will this process take all together with the midterms nine weeks away? we will catch up on the key races heading into the fall. the fight for control of congress as these critical campaigns enter their home stretch. we have a live report from uvalde, texas. survivors of the mass shooting last may there that left 19 children and two teachers dead, they return to school today. another step forward for that grieving community. why some parents say, enough changes have not yet been made. we will take you to the united kingdom where liz truss met with queen elizabeth, receiving the invitation to become britain's 56th prime minister. the 15th to serve during the 96-year-old queen's reign. we want to begin with the special master ruling. ryan reilly, kimberly atkins and chuck rosenberg, a former senior

fbi official. ryan, you are on set. we have been talking about this. walk us through the developments over this weekend, for those catching up, really what impact this will have on the investigation. >> the biggest part of this and what was really -- what people were waiting for was whether that special master was going to lock at questions of executive privilege. had this been a more narrow ruling, gone on the narrow path, she could have said we will look at attorney/client privilege, that would be a subset of the documents -- >> she leans in favor of the former president's claims, what he was arguing for. >> yeah. the executive privilege claims are in uncharted waters. that's something that hasn't been done this way before. usually, special masters are about attorney/client privilege. the most recent example was rudy giuliani's phones. that was a more complicated matter because he was an attorney. he had clients to deal with. that could have been the path

she gone done. but she decided to make this broader than just looking at attorney/client privilege. >> this is going to be a challenge for both sides to agree to a special master the judge would select. >> precisely. that's going to be -- someone with top secret security clearance. it's a narrow category. it's difficult to find someone who both sides will agree with. >> the end of the week being the goal of the date by which she wants that process starting to wrap up. i want to get to chuck on this. an excerpt from the ruling. this struck me. the investigation and treatment of a former president is of unique interest to the general public and the country, and served best by an ordinarily process that promotes the interest and perception of fairness. we heard from merrick garland saying no one is above the law. it sounds like this federal judge is making unique rules for the former president because of that former post. >> nobody can disagree with what

you just read. we're all interested in justice and fairness. that's fine as far as it goes. i think you are right. she does seem to be doing something unusual. it's an unusual case. we don't normally litigate questions surrounding grand jury investigations and mishandling of classified information with former presidents. i understand her instinct to get this exactly right. i think ryan's reporting is really important. i want to reiterate a part of it. special masters, independent neutral third parties, are typically used in cases in which we have attorney/client privilege information. whether or not there's executive privilege, that resides in the former president, is an untested question. it seems highly unlikely. my major concern here, peter, is that we're just slowing down the process. the government doesn't have to take an appeal. they can live with it. that makes some sense to me. i'm curious to see what the government does. >> let me ask kim about this.

how much does this, in your view, damage the justice department's investigation in the short-term? it is specific to the documents, 11,000 plus they gathered in august, last month. hundreds of pages of documents that were marked classified. how much of this is determined by who that special master is, who they select? >> i think, again, i think the point that was made earlier, that it has to be someone -- it's usually a former judge, someone else. if it's a former judge, it's someone who has likely been appointed by a member of one party or another. i think that, in this environment, may make it more difficult. someone who has that level of security clearance, that's going to make it a very small universe of folks. in terms of the overall investigation, it's still ongoing. it's important to know that even if claims of privilege are made, whatever kind, that does not make it okay to have classified

and other sensitive documents outside where they're supposed to be. that's not an excuse. that's part of the process here. what i would like to see is -- what i'm interested in is what the justice department does. they may realize, get them in place and move forward. we can continue this investigation at full speed rather than appeal. of course, appealing this -- chuck is very right. this issue of executive privilege is undecided. they could end up with an appeal that not only makes it more difficult to do this job, but can have binding precedent for the future. one thing that i can't understand about this special master to look at executive privilege, this is different from the january 6 committee. doj is part of an executive branch. it's a lot of questions here. >> chuck, doesn't this get to the issue of obstruction? most specifically, as it relates to the documents the former

president hadn't turned over. the argument the justice department made is, this guy has no right to any executive privilege claim or attorney/client privilege to documents that weren't his in the first place, since he is no longer the president. >> that's right. i think the department of justice had a very compelling brief for the judge. she went in a different direction. by the way, peter, i don't see that as nefarious. i see it as wrong. i think to kimberly's point, it may be prudent for department of justice simply to acede. you get your stuff more quickly. >> it moves it along. >> there's a middle ground, too. there are other possibilities between appealing and not appealing. one would be for the department of justice to go back to the judge and ask her to classify her order. what aspects of our investigation are on hold pending this review process? how can we proceed? i think her order is not just

wrong but also a little bit unclear. it wouldn't surprise me, shock me if the department of justice asked for a clarification. by the way, that's what is fun about being a federal prosecutor. you get to problem solve all the time. >> can i ask one quick last question? top doj officials are weighing in whether to scale back work in these investigations within the 60 days that lead up to the midterms right now. there's an unwritten rule that forbids overt actions as it relates to candidates that could have an impact on a campaign. the former president is not a candidate for anything right now. he is the biggest name in the republican party and a lot of what he does undergirds every decision made in the party. is that of consequence to the doj? will that impact the decision making they make going forward? >> maybe. the policy is written. the 60 or 90-day part is not written. there's no rule. there's no post-labor day rule.

what the policy says is that the department of justice cannot take overt investigative steps near the time of an election. this is important, peter. for the purpose of interfering in the election. you can take covert steps or you can take steps that are not for the purpose of interfering, but to your larger point, mr. trump is not on the ballot. policies usually are ambiguous. they can't account for any scenario. i'm confidence the department will be mindful of its own policy. it's been this way for many decades now. i don't -- i'm confident they don't want to do anything that would be perceived as interfering in an election. >> a lot of questions to catch up on as we return from the holiday weekend. we thank all of you for your time. first day back. three months after 19 of their classmates and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting, students in uvalde, texas, are now back in school.

what's being done to help them feel safe. that's next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. .

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we're back now. elementary students in uvalde, texas, are back for their first day at the new school year. three months after a mass shooting at robb elementary that left 21 students and teachers dead. several new security measures are in place, including bullet proof doors, additional security cameras. new higher fencing -- high fencing, you can see there, at dalton elementary where some of the robb students will go to school. law enforcement will be on standby. not all of the changes have been put in place yet. the parents of a 10-year-old shot and killed at robb elementary spoke to jose diaz be a lart.

>> what do you want to know? >> i want to know if she had a chance. >> what is it you want? >> a federal ban on assault weapons. anything else isn't going to work for us. >> strength from those parents. pricella thompson is joining me from uvalde. i can only fathom the heartbreak for parents to watch their kids leave the vehicle and walk into a school again for the first time since last may, may 24th. how are the families, the parents there feeling as they drop off their kids? what is the status of some of the new security measures? >> reporter: peter, it's a day of excitement but also a lot of nervous anxiety around what will happen here. you can visibly see some of the changes that have been made to the school here, the eight-foot fencing that's non-scaleable. it has been put up around some schools but not yet around all of the schools. some of that work still in the

process. we also saw department of public safety officers patrolling as those students were being dropped off. there are more than 30 of those state officers who are going to be on campuses across uvalde throughout the duration of this school year. all in an effort to make sure that parents and students feel more safe as they are dropping their students off at school. for the most part, every parent said their kids are excited about this new school year, excited to see friends and be back in the classroom. there is also a little bit of nervousness. i spoke to one parent of a student who was at robb elementary on the day the shooting took place. her third grader is going to attend dalton elementary. wasn't to play some of our conversation. take a listen. any concerns about this school year? >> let's see. i think they have everything. let's see what happens. for right now, i think they're

in good hands. i think, yeah. >> how is your third grader doing after all of this? how is she feeling? >> she's fine. she was a little traumatized. she's received counseling. she's fine. >> reporter: that trauma is a really big concern. the district is going to have comfort dogs who will be on campus for the first three weeks to help students with that transition. they are working to hire social workers and counselors, which they hope will be on every campus at some point. peter? >> you can't get over the measures that we have to take in parts of this country right now, given what happened at uvalde and elsewhere, that they have an eight-foot fence around a school. it looks more like a penitentiary than like a place of learning. despite the outrage over what happened there in uvalde, the republican governor of that state, greg abbott, resisted raising the age to buy assault-style rifles. last week, he claimed it would

be an unconstitutional move to make that happen. >> there have been three court rulings since may that have made it clear that it is unconstitutional to ban someone between the ages of 18 and 20 from being able to buy an ar. it's clear that the gun control law that they are seeking in uvalde, as much as they want it, it has been ruled to be unconstitutional. >> that was governor abbott. joining me now is texas state senator gutierrez outside the school where so many kids returned to class today. thank you for being with us. i want to get your reaction to the governor of your state saying it's unconstitutional to raise the age to buy assault-style rifles to 21. what do you make of that? >> peter, it's a lie. greg abbott is a lawyer, former supreme court justice in the state of texas, former attorney

general. he knows better. the fact is, if he wants to have a debate on the constitutionality of fifth circuit cases, that were denied review by the united states supreme court, we can have that debate. greg abbott is not being truthful with the texas public. he doesn't want to have the real discussion on guns we deserve. >> let me focus on the situation at the schools in the community there. how much concern, mr. senator, do you have that not all of the security measures are in place yet as they return to class? some parents are complaining that the district can't say with certainly whether any of the 33 officers assigned now to monitor the campuses there were among those who responded to robb elementary in last may, have enough fixes been made to satisfy your view? >> the fact is, peter, there's several schools that don't have fencing. that's the problem. we have turned our schools into little mini prisons.

in the fore ground, i saw students talking to the playground with a trooper behind them. do we want a meaningful discussion on guns? this governor refused to talk about the thing most important to texas families. 65% of republicans want an age limit on ar-15 access. this governor refuses to have that conversation. >> at the end of the day, is this a voting issue? is that the only way this gets resolved? in texas, obviously, it's a majority republican state. there's a lot of moderates who have views similar to yours on this issue. at the end of the day, does this change unless there's change at the ballot box? >> we certainly need to have accountability. from everything that happened here, we have a district attorney, republican district attorney who has refused to let go of any radio transmissions or bodycam footage because she's claim something kind of investigation. she's refused to allow dps, the

main law enforcement entity that was there on the scene within the two minutes, to give us the information that we are asking for. these families deserve accountability, transparency. they deserve a change of laws. if greg abbott doesn't want to have that discussion, then we will have our accountability at the ballot box. my message to every republican voter is, this is going to happen again, unless we do something about this type of weaponry in the hands of 18-year-olds. >> it's that fear that haunts so many americans, not just in texas, but around the country. texas state senator roland gutierrez, we appreciate your perspective and time. thank you very much. >> thank you. midterm keystone. big focus on battleground pennsylvania as both president biden and his predecessor donald trump campaign for their candidates ahead of the critical midterms. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. mitchell reports" only on msnbc. . it's a delicious night on... for everyone at the table.

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from new jersey and oz and his team questioning fetterman's health after his recent stroke. this morning, outgoing republican senator pat toomey joined oz at a news conference calling on fetterman to take part in a debate. >> this is not about health. this is about honesty. two months from the election with the absentee ballots sent out over the next two weeks, for him to agree to a debate or own up to what's happening in his health. it's his choice. >> joining me now from philadelphia, vaughan hillyard. you were there for that news conference a short time ago. give us a sense of where things are as we look into this race just a little more than 60 days out. dr. oz this weekend campaigning alongside donald trump from whom he tried to distance himself to win back some of the moderates in the suburbs. >> reporter: right. john fetterman was on the campaign trail last night in pittsburgh alongside president biden.

the contrast is stark. what you are looking at in materials of polling is the fact that oz is down by several percentage points. you are looking at a u.s. senate map where republicans are hoping to pick up seats. if republicans were to not pull off the victory here, they would lose one. oz is looking to replace outgoing republican senator pat toomey who joins him at that press conference standing alongside him, making the case it's important for the republicans to regain the majority. the issue is that john fetterman has yet to agree for a debate. tonight was slated to be the first. fetterman did not agree to partake. that's where you see this pressure from not only toomey but oz calling into question whether fetterman, if he is not able to articulate policy on a debate stage, oz's contention, then is he able to do the job of a u.s. senator over the course of six years, as they were making the case, that a job that

requires a great amount of interpersonal deliberations and conversations here. i want to let you listen to another part of the press conference. i had the opportunity to put the question to oz about whether if he had been in the u.s. senate on january 6 of 2021, despite just two days ago campaigning with donald trump on the campaign trail, a man who is claiming that he should be in the white house right now, whether he would have objected to joe biden's win and the certification of the 2020 election results. take a listen to what he said. if you had been in the u.s. senate on january 6 of 2021, would you have objected to the certification of the 2020 election and joe biden's win? >> i would not have objected to it. by the time the delegates and those reports were sent to the u.s. senate, our job was to approve it, which is what i would have done. >> reporter: do you support senator toomey's vote to impeach

president trump? >> i would not have voted to impeach president trump. >> reporter: he is walking a fine line. you heard here, saying he would not have objected to the election results. of course, joe biden pulled off the victory here in 2020. peter? >> vaughan, good reporting, good question. thanks for sharing that with us. joining us is the senior house editor. it's nice to see you. folks tuning in everything you post to get a sense where things stand. let's give folks a progress report. we come back from the holiday weekend. we head into the 60 plus days -- 63 to be exact, nine weeks out from the midterms. what are the chances of fetterman flipping that senate seat? you changed it from tossup to leaning democrat. >> they are very good. i don't believe this race is over. i don't buy that fetterman has a double digit lead in a state razor thin in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

i'm in line with the susquehanna poll that had fetterman up by five points. i think there's a danger over the next couple months that the longer that fetterman is unable to debate and those close to him say he has a hard time understanding speech, that the focus does shift more on to his health and his ability to perform the job of senator. that could make the race closer in the home stretch. >> i want to say how impressed i am of you speaking through your light going on and flipping it back on without a flinch. let me ask you if this election were held today, would democrats hold their senate majority? where do you see things right now? key races from georgia to wisconsin, a lot of folks are keeping eyes on. >> i think it will at this point come down to georgia, arizona, wisconsin, pennsylvania, perhaps new hampshire. if republicans want to win the majority, they have to pin the bulk of those races. democrats at this point could

hang on to a 50/50 majority in which they pick up pennsylvania and perhaps lose nevada, which is perhaps the most unblemished pickup opportunity. the odds of a democrat senate are higher than three months ago. >> you mentioned new hampshire. the republicans haven't picked their senate choice in that state yet. that could have a big impact whether that race is competitive. a lot of people believe. or whether it's leaning further democratic. why? >> yeah. the primary is everything in new hampshire. if chuck morse, who is a more conventional conservative, wins the primary, then republicans are still very much in the game. if is running a more maga-style campaign and has been disparaged by the governor wins the nomination, it's a trickier proposition for republicans. keep in mind that these races

will impact the house down ballot. in pennsylvania, there are three races we see as highly competitive where democrats are hoping fetterman's coattails will allow them to hang on. in new hampshire, both congressional districts are highly competitive. this is going to have a trickle down affect on whether republicans are able to pick up the five seats they need to win the house. they are probably going to do so at this point. not by the margins we would have expected three months ago. >> let me ask you about the house. the cook political report moved five more races in democrats' direction. initially, had you it 20 to 30 in favor of republicans. now it's closer to 10 to 15, maybe 10 to 20. 18 is the sweet spot that a lot of republicans claim they can accomplish. how likely are democrats to hold on to the majority? >> the odds aren't great for democrats. the way we see it now, there are 213 races that at least lean towards republicans.

190 races that lean towards democrats. that leaves 32 toss-ups. democrats might have a 20% to 25% chance. >> this is why we watch and it's why folks vote. we will keep a close eye to the midterms. thanks for your expertise. appreciate you being here. >> thanks, peter. playing for time. donald trump's legal team gets what they want with the special master review of documents taken from mar-a-lago last month. will that really delay the investigation underway by the justice department? you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. businesses have to find new ways to compete in order to thrive in an ever-changing market. the right relationship with a bank who understands your industry, as well as the local markets where you do business,

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i think i changed my mind about these glasses. yeah, it happens. that's why visionworks gives you 100 days to change your mind. it's simple. anything else i can help you with? like what? visionworks. see the difference. trump has not responded to the decision from a judge he

appointed in 2020 to grant his legal team's request for a special master to review the documents seized during the august search of his florida home. joining me now is ken dilanian, jonathan lemire and blayne alexander on the ground in georgia. jonathan, we have seen social media posts from mr. trump in the last 24 hours saying doj and fbi have been in his words, caught, and it takes guts to fight them. this is old hat for him. he has been doing this for several years. he is trying to weaponize this to his advantage. what impact is this having with those non-maga republicans and independents? >> the former president not chained to the facts in his responses to what happened over the weekend. doj is frustrated by this federal judge saying the special

master could be appointed and stopping the probe in the interim. this will slow things down. although, some people close to the process note that it was unlikely that if charges were ever to be brought against the former president, it wouldn't happen before election day anyway. even trump not on the ballot, he is a dominant figure in the republican party. a charge would be seen as political. there's that. in terms of the former president, people around him are treating this as a bit of a victory. they know they have a long way to go. it's been interesting watching republicans who in the first days after the search, defended trump, and attacked the fbi. a lot have gone quiet about how information came out about how much classified information wag inappropriately stored there at mar-a-lago. the more each day people talk about trump, the better for democrats, here we are two months out from the midterms. >> the former president accused

the fbi and doj of corruption. even the federal judge in this case, who he selected before he left office, said that there was no disregard for his constitutional rights. ken, to you. i want a take on what you are learning from the doj folks with whom you are speaking about where this investigation goes right now given the judge's new ruling. >> peter, first of all, what i'm hearing is that this ruling does not -- does not put a halt to the investigation. it says is that it enjoins the fbi and doj from using the contents of what they seized in august. let's not forget, they had classified documents taken in january and more classified documents turned over in june. that's the essence of the investigation. how did those documents get to mar-a-lago? who knew about it? what did donald trump know? why did one of his lawyers mislead the justice department as to the continued existence of classified documents by signing that statement saying there were none left? the fbi can continue to

interview witnesses in this investigation, can continue to gather facts. they just can't use the fruits of this search. that does pose a complication. there's no doubt about it. right now, it's not clear whether the justice department plans to appeal this ruling. a lot of people think they should because they think it's deeply flawed. there's a strategic issue here. an appeal could take longer than going through the special master process. at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if a lot of these documents are privileged. it's unlikely a lot were. that doesn't go to the question of, were any of these laws cited in the warrant about mishandling government records and even the espionage act, were any of those laws violated, that's the main question. >> that's my question. does this impact the obstruction portion of this investigation? i guess, at least, temporarily, right? because these are the documents the former president never turned over, documents he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. >> i would say the contents of the classified documents, it doesn't matter to the obstruction case. we can -- it's possible that they seized other relevant

evidence. when you search somebody's office and you take all their correspondence and notes, memos, it's possible that they seized other evidence relevant to the obstruction issue that now they are not free to use. that's an impediment to them. >> ken, thanks for that. blayne alexander, the ongoing investigations in georgia, a new news story on an election office visited by election deniers, trump allies, multiple times in january of 2021, including the day after the january 6th attacks. what can you tell us? >> reporter: peter, all of this centers on a small rural county to the south. right now, that is part of investigations going on not only by the georgia bureau of investigations, but also georgia's secretary of state's office, into an election data breach, an alleged data breach of the election system. that's where these new

surveillance videos come in. you talked about the visits by the so-called election deniers. multiple visits there according to the video. it shows that members of a data firm that was hired by the trump attorney went down to georgia and they were met outside of the elections office by a person who was then the chairwoman of the county gop, the republican party. the video shows they walked inside together. why is this note? it gives a glimpse into just the extent there was coordination to overturn the results and the actions that were taken to try to overturn the election results here in georgia. it's worth noting that we weren't able to get in touch with her attorney. she told "the washington post" that she would not knowingly be involved in any impropriety in the election. it's worth noting that that election -- former elections chairwoman is one of the 16 so-called fake electors.

>> a reminder of the separate investigations into former president trump and his allies taking place in a variety of jurisdictions. jonathan, to you. how does this play into mr. trump's calculus about what's next, another possible run for president? >> it's an extraordinary amount of legal pressure on many fronts on the former president. he has been telling aides that he plans to run again. you recall there was talk that he might even announce this summer. that, of course, seems unlikely now. people i have talked to in the trump orbit say though angry, obviously, about what he sees the probes, the department of justice, he is at least for the moment, heeding republicans who say to wait, who feel like it's not the right time to announce a candidacy it would be a distraction between now and the midterms. if he holds to that, a lot of republicans will breathe a sigh of relief, who don't want to talk about him every day between now and november. the former president plans to run again.

the exact announcement date, tbd. potentially by the end of the year or early next. >> democrats trying to use that to make it clear this is not a referendum on the current president but a choice between two different visions, this one and the president who preceded him. to all of you, thanks for being with us this afternoon. changing of the guard. the queen welcoming britain's new prime minister in a way that's never been done before. open arms. russia putting in an order for a huge munition shipment from one of the world's most dangerous regimes. those details are next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. unlike pepcid, which stops working after 9. 24 hour protection. prilosec otc one pill, 24 hours, zero heartburn. i'm aline and i live in castle valley, california. my husband, barney, and i have been married for 32 years. i think the most important thing in life is to stay healthy.

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there is officially a new prime minister in the united kingdom. liz truss took over after meeting with the queen. she spoke moments ago outside 10 downing. >> united with our allies, we will stand up for freedom and democracy around the world, recognizing that we can't have security at home without having security abroad. i will deal hands on with the energy crisis caused by putin's

war. i will take action this week to deal with energy bills and to secure our future energy supply. >> moments ago, president biden extending his congratulations to the prime minister, the prime minister. in a tweet writing, he looks forward to working with her on those global challenges including continued support for ukraine. joining us now from there with the the latest is senior international correspondent keir simmons. what more do we know about liz and how we can expect her to lead the uk? the country's challenges, inflation first among them, have only intensified. >> reporter: that's so true. and in fact, in that speech, liz truss talking about the count truss facing global economic head winds and going on to say together we can ride out the storm. it was a moment full of metaphors, just minutes before

she arrived here in downing street, there was a downpour that soaked her supporters, including many members of parliament and people likely to be senior members of the cabinet. the crowds cleared and she was able to walk there. i noticed a little stumble. so many metaphors in this moment. a little stumble and then in that speech that she gave, i thought britain's third female prime minister really echoing britain's first prime minister, margaret thatcher, who students of history will know famously stood outside that famous door and said, where there is despair, may we bring hope. where there's discord, may we bring harmony. a similar message from liz truss. we are facing difficult times, but we can get through this. do not despair. the question is whether she can

deliver. we have seen boris johnsonen joy a longer summer good-bye. she now faces a long, hard winter. she is in her late 40s. she's married with two children. we saw her and her husband on the step of downing street there just a moment ago. she has politics in her blood. former foreign secretary, she's been criticized for some of her performances as foreign secretary. with all the challengings, will will try not to get into a fight with the european union and improve relations with the biden administration. >> you talk about the challenges and many of them are for what's going on. what is her vision for the uk's role there? >> her vision for ukraine is she's been 100s% behind ukraine

and standing up to putin. when she met sergey lavrov, it was describinged as talking to a deaf person. it's so similar to there in the u.s. and as cross the pond because it's the domestic issues. as someone once said, it's the economy that's going to be the challenges that she faces in the future. just to give you an example. can she port remoney to cut taxes and help struggling businesses here, but not have a debt crisis. the pound is the lowest it's been since margaret thatcher was in power against the dollar. >> a lot of folks are concerned about their pocketbook. she said she's going to have some announcements by the end of the week. thank you very much for that report. speaking of ukraine, there's a troubling new update on the ongoing war there. nbc news has learned that russia is in the process of purchasing

millions of rockets and artillery shells from north korea to use in its attacks on ukraine. it comes days after the u.s. learned that russia received initial shipments of iranian-made drones as moscow struggles to maintain its supplies for its invasion. for more, we're joined by courtney kubi. what does it say about the sanctions and expert corralling are affecting the military supplies that they are leaning on the north koreans for assistance? >> leaning on the north koreans and iranians to resupply. had this highlights two things. one is russia is having a hard time resupplying what they are using up on the battlefield. but the other thing is it shows just the unbelievable amount of fire power that russia has been unleashing over the past several months. in addition to that, one of the u.s. officials who i spoke with about this earlier today said it also underscores that much of

russia's military equipment is old. it's not all working very well. they are in need of getting additional equipment. so in this case, it's ammunition. we know russia and ukraine have been unleashing hundreds, if not thousands of artillery rounds on one another. that's one of the things that according to this new downgraded classified information that the u.s. provided today, according to the new information, russia now needs more of these artillery shells and specifically short range rockets for the ongoing fight there. specifically down in the southern part and southeastern part of ukraine. >> and obviously, just quickly, this details the complexities that exist as it relates to china. russia now north korea in the mix, there's a lot to watch out if you're the west. >> that's right. one of the big questions is what does china think of this it? they have been able to step back and not take a side on what's been happening.

not siding with russia or ukraine, where so many allies have been rushing to the ukrainian's defense providing weapons and training. now the question is if north korea is providing some of this ammunition to russia, was that done with the knowledge or even the approval of china as north korea generally doesn't make a lot of big decisions without running it past china. >> it's a concerning headline. it tells us a lot about the situation overseas. thank you. that will do it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember to follow the show online on facebook and twitter. "chris jansing reports" is next, right after this. "chris jansingep rorts" is next, right after this new astepro allergy. no allergy spray is faster. with the speed of astepro, almost nothing can slow you down. because astepro starts working in 30 minutes,

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good day. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for chris jansing. today mark the first day of school for a lot of kids and the start of the run for the midterm elections now just nine weeks away. the summer far better for democrats than they could have expected. raising hopes that they could defy political history and keep control of the senate. maybe even the house. for republicans today marks the start of a new