mitchell reports," ron desantis is facing potential legal troubles for his decision to send planes carrying migrants from texas to martha's vineyard. there are new reports the next round of flights could be headed to delaware, president biden's home state. hurricane fiona is intensifying as it barrels through the atlantic, now a category 3 hurricane, pushing north across turks and caicos on its way to bermuda after devastating puerto rico. we will have a live report as millions struggle without power. we will take you through a new set of challengs facing the trump legal team in a few hours. president biden will depart for new york ahead of the meetings and a must-see speech before the u.n. general assembly with russia's invasion into

ukraine a major focus. good day to you. i'm peter alexander here in washington in for andrea mitchell as she travels back from london. she's en route to new york for the u.n. general assembly. nbc news heard reports a charters flight is in the air from texas and florida heading to the northeast, this as legal action is being considered against governors ron desantis and greg abbott's response to their sending migrants to areas like new york, d.c. and martha's vineyard. we are following the story for us. what do we know about the reports that there may be a plane in the air right now? >> good to be here with you. this plane we are following on flight aware is operated by the same airline, ultimate air, that

carried 48 immigrants to martha's vineyard last week. it's moving from san antonio texas, according to flight aware, to clearwater, florida, and making its way to the northeast, including delaware and then new jersey. we cannot say for certain who is on board. as you mentioned, the delaware governor's office telling a local newspaper they are preparing for the plane's potential arrival, writing to them, state agencies are working with community organizations to make sure that migrants who arrive here have the support they need. flight aware shows the plane will arrive in delaware around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. we are hearing reports that the flight has since been canceled. we have not confirmed those reports, but something we will follow, peter. >> obviously, this is a conversation that continues around this country right now. i want to get to the details about the most recent flights that left texas. the sheriff in that state, where one of the migrant flights

departed from, announced he is opening a criminal investigation into whether any laws were broken after reports some of the migrants boarded the planes under false pretenses. what more do we know about that? >> some strong words from the sheriff who said that these migrants were preyed upon. he says a migrant was hired to recruit 50 migrants in the area around the resource center in san antonio and that it's clear they were lured in with false promised of work and other assistance. a lawyer tells me they didn't know they were going to martha's vineyard something shortly before the landing. ron desantis, who took credit for arranging the flights, has defended his methods. he told fox news that everyone on board signed consent forms and called president biden's failure to better secure the border the biggest political stunt as we see a record influx of illegal crossings.

overnight, we got a statement from his office reading, florida gave them an opportunity to seek greener pastures. >> keep us posted as we learn more about the potential there's another flight en route to delaware right now. i want to bring in delaware's democratic senator chris coons, a member of the judiciary and foreign relations committees. mr. senator, i appreciate you being with us. your reaction to these reports that governor desantis may be considered additional migrant flights to your home state. >> peter, this is really regrettable. i would argue even despicable. to take human beings seeking asylum and charter a small jet, flying them to a place they don't realize they're going to under false promises of housing and jobs. i've communicated with governor carney, our congressional delegation, with local leaders in the area of georgetown, delaware. we will be ready to welcome them

and support them. our governor is leading that effort. the delaware way is to welcome people and to give them the support they need and deserve in our state. i recognize, as do many of my colleagues, that we have a broken immigration system, that we need to make legislative changes here in congress to address some of the challenges to our asylum laws, our immigration system, to how we manage and support immigration into our country. we have a dramatic need for legal immigration to meet our economic needs. we're not delivering those solutions. what governor desantis is doing to use people as pawns for a political stunt is profoundly regrettable. >> let me ask you a question on that topic. we are hearing from mitch mcconnell, the top ready in the senate, who has been applauding these republican governors' efforts to send the migrants to some of the more blue, more democratic leaning states. he said the following. these well to do blue enclaves are finally witnesses the

smallest fraction of the challenges that open borders have forced on working class communities all across our country. your response to that effort that some of the blue states, as he describes them, should share some of the burden? >> it's nothing new that there's migration into states like delaware, blue states. this has been going on for a very long time. we have a strong agricultural sector and immigrant community, particularly in southern delaware. the difference is in how we respond. we respond by being i think welcoming and supportive and by recognizing that america is strengthened by immigration. we can and should do more to strengthen our immigration system and to ensure that immigration into the united states is legal immigration. but this strikes me as a political stunt that's just designed to get on tv by luring people on a charter jet and dropping them in places like martha's vineyard. it's not new for there to be new

americans or new immigrants into places like the beach resorts in southern dell. . >> maybe one last question on this. there's other topics i want to hit. you are a lawyer. have these governors broken pt law? >> it's inhumane. i will leave it to the sheriff who is investigating whether this is the legal standard that amounts to human trafficking on kidnapping. >> let me ask you about another topic, ukraine. more than a dozen republican senators are pushing for this clean government funding bill, the cr as we describe it, around here, without another multibillion dollar investment. do you think there will be enough republican votes for this to pass, particularly as the ukrainians are demonstrating the ferocity of their counteroffensive and regain land there? >> this is exactly the moment to continue our strong support for ukraine.

both militarily and economically. they have recaptured an area larger than delaware, more than 3,000 square miles of ukrainian territory previously occupied by russian invaders. the systems, the weapons we have successfully deployed to front lines that the ukrainians are using to enormous affect are giving them a real chance here at retaking their territory. ultimately, peter, there will be enough republican and democratic votes to support president biden's request. president biden has pulled together our nato allies, our european and global partners in support of ukraine in a way that's making a critical difference in standing up to russian aggression and brutality. we should continue supporting that here in the congress. peter, one other thing we will do here today that i'm very excited about is ratify the treaty that will create manufacturing jobs in the united states and help us export a cleaner, less environmentally

harmful refridgerant. >> do you agree with the president's assessment the pandemic is over? the simple question is, is the pandemic over? >> it's not over. the president was talking around the floor of the detroit auto show and commenting on the fact that folks were present and engaged and not wearing masks. from the whole context of his comments, it's clear he understands there is month public health work to do to get us completely clear of this pandemic. what he was commenting on was, we are back to being able to congregate in large numbers, to go to football games, for kids to go to school, for restaurants to be open. he was celebrating the fact that the detroit auto show was fully reopened. in that context, yes, the shutdowns are over. we still have to invest in delivering the next generation of vaccines to keep americans

protected, particularly more medically vulnerable and older americans. we have work to do to get completely clear of this pandemic. >> to be clear to those republicans who sort of pounced on that language and said if the pandemic is over, the u.s. doesn't need additional relief funding, your argument is, no, the pandemic is not formally over, covid remains with us, we need that money, correct? >> that's correct. frankly, i have been fighting hard for global funding. the last several variants that made the pandemic last longer and be more lethal here in the united states came from outside our country. as full global travel has completely resumed, we are at risk if we don't make sure that effective vaccines are being delivered globally so that this pandemic can truly finally be behind us. >> senator coons, we appreciate your time and your perspective. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. at this hour, puerto rico is under a state of emergency with widespread power outages across communities struggling with historic flooding, mudslides,

even sinkholes. the governor is vowing to get the power back up and running for millions of residents that are suffering through the storm five years after the destruction from hurricane maria. the widespread devastation has left at least three people dead as fiona strengthens along its path towards more atlantic islands. these images that we have seen, they are heartbreaking, they are stunning. tell us what you are witnessing there on the ground. >> reporter: good afternoon. the island in complete disarray. the weather finally cooperating enough for crews to begin their assessment. look at some of the destruction we are seeing on the ground. there's a power line right there in the middle of the street. some officials beginning to

begin some of the assessment of the damage. that's just one power line. look at this one right up here. this one snapped like a twig. as you mentioned, the majority of the island still completely in the dark. 20% of people are back on the grid. the other utility that's been struggling to get back online, water. about 60% of the people here now have water. people here are, of course, frustrated because this today, the anniversary of hurricane maria, and they are enduring much of what they saw during that catastrophe. they were wondering if this storm was going to wreak havoc on their power grid and now they have their answer. the destruction is rampant. people are tired. people are hot. the weather is now starting to get warm here with so much moisture. you can imagine, people without ac, without generators, this is a worst case scenario. many wonder if the governor will be able to make good on his promise to restore power within a matter of days, not weeks,

maybe even months where the destruction is even more rampant. >> five years after hurricane maria and puerto rico still dealing with the impact of that storm and now another one to go with it. george, thank you so much. our meteorologist is joining us. this hurricane keeps getting stronger. the potential it turns into a category 4 at this point, what's the trajectory, its path and who is in the bull's eye? >> i have grave concerns for our friends in canada. right now, the storm is causing damage in the turks and caicos island. maybe in bermuda, too. the east coast, we're not getting a direct hit from fiona. those concerns were gone a couple days ago. it's 115 miles per hour. it's close to the turks and caicos. they are having a ton of life. that will be with them through the rest of today. then we take the storm over the

open water for about two days. no problems whatsoever. at that time, it could get up to 140 miles per hour. that's a category 4. it's going to go it looks like west of bermuda. bermuda is just outside the cone of uncertainty. it's improving for bermuda. it's getting worse for someone else, that would be the canadian maritimes. this is a very rare event. this is going to back into the history books. hurricane egor is the worst to strike up here. it caused $300 million worth of damage. that is potentially what could happen with this storm, maybe even worse. we will have to watch this extremely carefully. they are making preparations in this area. it's this area of greatest concern. a super storm sandy like event. we will see large battering waves, rip currents from

wednesday all the way through the weekend. be careful, anyone heading to the beach. we also did have tropical depression 8 form. that's a fish storm. not going to hit anyone. this area down here, it's very far south, hurricane center says 70% chance of development. this is the area to watch. it's going to be heading into the caribbean seas, some of the warmest water, that's the fuel. we are at the peak of hurricane season. once it gets into the caribbean, it has to hit a land area. a lot of our computer models take this into the gulf of mexico the middle of next week. that should get everyone's attention from texas to florida and the southeast. that's the next storm to watch. that could be the next storm. >> it was slow but things are picking up quickly. appreciate it. more news ahead. block party. donald trump's legal team refuses to say what documents

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liz cheney now accusing her own party leaders of treating former president donald trump like a king. she received a standing ovation monday night after she recounted a story about an unnamed house republican colleague who mocked mr. trump calling him, quote, the orange jesus. >> bit by bit, excuse by excuse, we are putting donald trump above the law. we are rendering indefensible conduct normal, legal and appropriate. as though he were a king. you know, in the cloak room on january 6th, before the attack happened, there were so many who wanted to show they were objecting that they set up these

sign-up sheets in the cloak room. as i was sitting there, a member came in and he signed his name on each one of the state's sheets and then he said under his breath, the things we do for the orange jesus. >> in just over an hour, the special master appointed to the trump investigation convenes his first hearing concerning the classified documents retrieved from mar-a-lago. moments ago, the trump team just submitted a new filing to the 11th circuit court of appeals. vaughan hillyard is outside the federal courthouse in brooklyn where the special master is based. a lot to unpack here. what do we know about this new filing? >> reporter: there are a lot of layers to this. importantly, this new filing from trump's team, it was due at

noon eastern today. this filing was in response to the department of justice's request to the 11th circuit court of appeals in atlanta to put a stay on the special master existing and looking over these classified materials that the department of justice argues is important not only towards its criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of federal government documents seized at mar-a-lago but also in weighing the national security risks and implications of those documents being potentially in an unsecure environment in florida. that is where now it's up to the 11th circuit court of appeals, now that they have the response are trump's team as well as that initial stay request to determine whether they will allow the department of justice to continue its criminal investigation as the doj wants them to do. in the meanwhile, at 2:00 p.m.

eastern time, an hour and half from now, the special master is meeting with trump's attorneys and with the department of justice prosecutors under the assumption that no stay is enacted. what is going to happen at this 2:00 p.m. hearing is determining what the schedule and what the process of reviewing these classified materials will ultimately look like as both sides have put forward their own requests in the last 24 hours about the way in which they want this process to be handled, if, in fact, it does end up happening. >> vaughan hillyard outside the federal courthouse in brooklyn. we will check in with you over the course of the day. for more, we are joined by two former u.s. attorneys, joyce vance and paul charlton. joyce, mr. trump's lawyers made a remarkable statement in their filing there where vaughan is in brooklyn. they acknowledge the possibility that the former president or his aides could be criminally charged. that's why they don't want to get into the argument over what

documents are declassified or not. what do you make of that? >> it's a very disingenuous argument. because they're the ones who brought this whole proceeding, trying to shake loose these documents and remove them from the government's control so the government can use them to investigate its case. i suspect every criminal defendant would like to be able to allege they have a secret magic wand defense that they're not going to tell the court. it means the government can't continue to investigate them. i don't expect this argument to have much force. >> paul, let me ask you out of the gate, the special master judge dearie is trying to do what the trump appointee did not by making the trump team disclose these specific details. what do we take away from what judge dearie is indicating that he wants to see? >> two things. first, it's not just that this judge has said, put up or shut

up, you say these documents have been declassified, show me how it's true. he has also said to the trump team, why are we here? why are you in front of judge cannon? why don't we have this issue resolved in front the magistrate judge who already issued the search warrant here? the trump team who may have believed they selected or suggested that they special master be someone who is going to be favorable or look on their arguments in a favorable way has now found that there's a grown-up in the room. this judge has been on the bench since president reagan appointed him. he was on the foreign intelligence surveillance court. he knows what classified information is. he put the trump team on the back foot. show me why these documents are not classified and tell me why it is we're in front of judge cannon and not in front of the magistrate judge. >> a reminder, this judge dearie you are looking at, he is a judge that trump's lawyers had

suggested as one of their two proposals. the doj signed on as well. now it's obvious he is, as you note, putting the trump team on the back foot. there's reporting the former white house lawyer, you saw him during the january 6th hearings, warned mr. trump about potential legal peril if he refused to return the classified documents. why is that potentially significant here? >> it's important evidence because when the government prosecutes people, it has to prove not just the acts they committed but it has an obligation to present proof of whatever congress has required when it has written the federal law that becomes our criminal code, which often includes a state of mind. it's not enough to hold on to the documents. you have to do it either intentionally or willfully or with knowledge that you are engaging in something that the law prohibits you from doing. in this case, his statements --

his testimony remains to be seen. but if the testimony is as good as what's revealed in this reporting, it will be powerful evidence of the former president's knowledge that what he was doing when he retained those documents violated the law. that's the kind of evidence that doj will be searching for in grand jury investigation and as it talks to witnesses. if it's as strong as the reporting suggests, this will pretty much answer the question of whether the former president acted wrongfully when he retained documents at his mar-a-lago home. >> paul, let me ask you, at the end of august, i think the 31st to be specific, the former president sent out a truth social, his social media site, a post that ended with, lucky i declassified. if we give him the benefit of the doubt here, wouldn't the national archives have to have that paperwork to show that he actually did declassify it in the first place? >> think for a moment, peter,

about what it would mean to truly declassify information that related to human intelligence. classified information at its highest level in which people are overseas working to benefit our republic, helping us to gather intelligence information. if you were to secretly or quietly declassify information without letting the intelligence community understand exactly what you have done, the lives of those people who have been putting themselves at risk may be very much in peril. it does not make sense that you could secretly or quietly declassify information such as this. there would have to be internal workings, careful documentation and removal of people from harm. that's why that defense made publically but not in court doesn't seem viable. >> they have showed no evidence that at any point the former president declassified any of the documents. frankly, even if he had, this

would be information that did belong to the national archives. joyce, paul, we appreciate your expertise and your time. thanks. great expectations. what was once predicted to be a wave election not looking that way anymore. just seven weeks before the midterms. what the latest polling shows. that's next here on "andrea mitchell reports." you are watching msnbc. ." u are watching msnbc ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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are now available. brought to you by pfizer & biontech. exactly 49 days until the midterm elections. the latest poll shows that it might not be the wave election that many were expecting. the head-to-head matchup for congressional preference is a dead heat. while republicans lead on the economy, border security and immigration, democrats hold a high advantage on abortion and a double digit lead on health care. two very different campaign approaches with these platforms. mark murray is here to help us sort through the data. the past three elections, there was a clear advantage in the generic congressional head-to-head. not this go around. >> it's close as our ballot shows. it's important to note that

congressional ballot is just one metric we use. others would be the president's approval rating, the direction of the country. when you look at who people are voting for, it shows a close race. it's closer than it had been. clearly, issues like abortion as well as donald trump's increased presence on the national stage has ended up boosting democratic enthusiasm. that interest in the election and enthusiasm matters in a midterm election. getting your people motivated, that's happened for democrats. on the other side, republicans see a lot of the traditional metrics breaking in their favorite. they have the advantage on the economy. they see a president who has rebounded but is still at 45%, which is danger zone. >> what was interesting is we did through this nbc news pole, courtesy of our bipartisan pollsters, they put together the messaging of both sides. they did it generically. if there's one guy who is saying

this, another guy or gal is saying the following, where do you lean? this was striking. the one with the platform mirroring democrats leads by 14 percentage points. more than 20% of republicans picked that platform as well. explain why the democratic platform is polling better than for the democrats themselves. the message sticks but maybe not the idea of being a democrat, i suspect biden's numbers. >> it's important to know what we did. we took out democrat and republican, biden and donald trump to ask a straight question on what's testing better. candidate jones, the democratic message, somebody who wants lower prescription drug prices, lower health care costs, wants to increase taxes on corporations, protect democracy, against deniers, when you put that up against the republican message, gas prices are too high, we need change, grocery prices are high, crime, immigration, covid lockdown have

damaged our kids, the democratic message, candidate jones, ended up doing better by 14 percentage points than the republican party. it's important to note that our generic preference shows an even score. what's going on here -- i think that we see this democratic message that our pollsters devised testing well for democrats. that's just one component of politics. put democrat, republican, biden and those just having those brandiings move numbers. >> what are you watching before the midterms. president biden seeing his numbers grow. we have the new information that shows that donald trump doesn't have the same grasp on the party. more people view themselves as a republican than a trump republican. we have seven weeks to go. the races are tight. >> i'm still a traditional metrics person looking at the president's approal rating. usually midterms elections are a referendum on the sitting

president. biden's approval rating has gone up to 45%. that's been an increase because core democratic groups like women, younger people are more favorable to the president than they had been. 45% is still a danger zone. when you look in key states and polls that came out in georgia as well as wisconsin, have the president's approval rating in the high 30s or low 40s, that is a big problem. sometimes you actually -- you probably want those numbers to be up higher. >> this is what strikes me. people ask, what do you think? those approval matters number. look what they are in the states that matter. that say more than anything. mark murray, good to be together in person. >> thanks. the world stage. how can president biden play the role of the uniter at the u.n. general assembly when the leaders of several key countries don't plan to attend? don't p tod

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president biden travels to new york city this afternoon ahead of his address to the united nations general assembly scheduled for tomorrow. the war in ukraine is going to be front and center. climate change and the global economy, including rising food prices and food costs will be on the agenda as well. joining me now is carol leigh from new york and richard haas. carol, to you first. the president forfeited his prime speaking spot toward. he is traveling back from the queen's funeral. what are we hearing will be the main focus when he speaks in new york? >> peter, what we hear from the president's national security advisor jake sullivan briefing reporters on what the president intends to accomplish while attending is that one of the main themes of the president's

speech is, of course, ukraine. one of the things he is going to do is offer a firm rebuke, according to jake sullivan, of russia's war in ukraine and really attempt to try to rally the world around continuing to show support for ukraine and to unite against russia and to really call on them not to divert their attention as this conflict continues to drag on. another thing that you are going to hear from the president tomorrow is an emphasis on u.s. leadership. not just when it comes to ukraine, but also the president will point out that the u.s. is trying to lead on things like economic issues, food security and other things and likely take a bit of a victory lap in terms of him believing that he followed through on what he outlined the u.s. would do in his first speech to them last year where he talked about that the u.s. would restore alliances and that it would defend friends and allies against adversaries

who were trying to redraw their borders or otherwise come out aggressively against them. you will hear those are the main sorts of themes from the president as well as other issues that are important to him, including climate change. >> for sure. richard, let me ask you -- it's notable the leaders from china, india and russia are not going to be there. without them, how does that sort of change the messaging here? obviously, an opportunity for the rest to sort of unify on some of the issues. how does that change this conversation? >> not a lot, because they're not members of the coalition, obviously, dealing with russian aggression. the president is speaking to the members of the coalition in europe and beyond or would-be countries or would-be members that could be more supportive of sanctions or critical of russia. he needs to compensate for the truly disappointing speech by the u.n. general secretary who barely mentioned the conflict in ukraine, was not willing to

criticize russia, essentially punted. if you needed a demonstration where the u.n. lacks influence, you heard it this morning. the president has an opportunity to clear up confusion about his comments on taiwan. it's important to signal the united states is not comfortable with the idea or accepting the idea of taiwan declaring independence. we should make clear -- i hope the does this -- that he opposes unilateral actions by the mainland or taiwan. >> let me ask you that taiwan issue will make news no matter what the president says. i want to ask you about ukraine over the course of the last couple weeks. a lot of people were distracted by the queen. hundreds of bodies have been retrieved, includes those of children from a mass grave, one of 20 towns and cities that had been liberated during this

counteroffensive. many bodies showed signs of torture. how do you address this at the u.n.? the atrocities just continue to grow, richard. >> absolutely. i was in ukraine last week. i went to bucha where there's a memorial to the atrocities. it's hardened the views in ukraine. the war aims have gone up because of the atrocities and the brutality and part because of their recent military gains. i think the president needs to highlight this. say, we're dealing with russian aggression, dealing with russian atrocities. this is why the world can't give putin any quarter. we need a united nations, if you will. if there was ever a moment this organization would prove its worth that it was committed to its own founding principals this is the moment. the president ought to challenge the world to act like the international community it says it is but rarely is. >> you wrote in an article that

we're not only facing this winter of discontent in ukraine but also of decision. what do you mean? >> the question is, do you continue on the current trajectory? what war aims do you make? is mr. putin willing to define success down and compromise? ukraine has to decide whether to press ahead, demanding every square inch of territory be liberated. the most important decisions will be made in europe. do they stay the course despite the problems that are going to be caused by energy shortages, by russian pressure, by economic difficulties? the most interesting decisions this winter are going to be made by the european countries. are they prepared to stand by ukraine against russian aggression? that will be the critical thing to look for. >> among the president's key meetings when he gets to new york, a visit with the new prime minister of the united kingdom. we appreciate both of you being here. ahead, doing justice.

thousands in jackson, mississippi, finally start to get clean water back into their homes, we look at the decades-long fight for environmental justice and what still remains left undone. this is "andrea mitchell reports." you are watching msnbc. i tried always discreet underwear. it absorbs an entire glass of water. it fit like a glove. it just felt like real underwear. game changer! it's the protection we deserve. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis persists... put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable,... i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. check. when uc held me back... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc got the upper hand... rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections,

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that left residents without access to safe oning water. this comes on the 40th anniversary of the environmental justice movement and as the department of justice has a new office of environmental justice. joining me to talk about is washington correspondent yamiche with an interview about the doj office's mission. let's talk about this. this boil water advisory went into effect awhile ago. and there's so many people there who had been waiting to get clean water. it was finally lift, i think, last thursday. that was seven weeks during which time they had been waiting for that clean water to come out

of their taps. i remember the pictures. it was awful to fathom the experience they were having there. what is the doj doing about what's happening in mississippi. >> it's a key question. jackson, mississippi, is the kind of environmental justice issue they are going to prioritize. i sat down with the attorney general, who is the head of the civil rights division, and also an assistant attorney general. together they are overseeing this new renewed focus on treating environmental rights as a law enforcement issue, which is new in some ways. they are putting the power behind the 1964 civil rights act in this. i asked about jackson, mississippi, and the role doj is playing. take a listen. >> the epa is down there investigating what is happening. why is the doj not there yet? >> we can't speak to that activity. but i can say that our

comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy makes clear we will be prioritizing cases where we can do the most for communities in need by jackson. >> i want to be clear. it is heart bracking to see what is unfolding in jackson. it's not lost on us that we're talking about a community that is home to a disproportionate number of low-income black people in mississippi. it is deeply troubling and concerning. >> so there you have it. the doj saying that they are going to do everything they can in jackson, mississippi. they are also having other investigations into sewage failures. seeing all the raw sewage pooling in people's yards. they have a lot of challenges on their hapds. this new office is part of that ability to try to do something. >> this goes through the lens of president biden. saying from the start he wanted equity to be an issue through

which we saw all of these broad issues. among them is voting rights. that's a topic that you ewe guys discussed. >> as you sit down with the head of the civil rights division, you have to talk about voting rights. and i said how concerned are you about these threats, what is the toj doing. she said confronting the rise in hate that we are seeing in communities across our country is a top priority doing everything we can to ensure that eligible americans have access to the pal lot box. there's the head of the doj saying she understands that it's important. she's going to be putting the whole power and tools of the doj behind it. and this is also related to all of the other civil rights we talk about. it's policing, it's access to clean water, it's all the other things that are under this umbrella. as you said, it echoes the language and actions that we have been hearing from the president himself. the predecessor had a different take on this. and part of what the doj is

trying to do now is build systems to try to keep in place all the different things they are doing so their legacy lives far beyond whatever administration comes next. >> thank you for being with us in person to share it with us. that's it for us this hour. the department of justice also announced its busted a covid fraud scheme that cheated taxpayers out of $250 million. prosecutors say the suspects exploited a federal program meant to feed low income children and spent the funds on commercial real estate, luxury car, fancy homes, even coastal property. the u.s. attorneys say it amounts to 125 million meals that kids never received calling it a brazen scheme of staggering proportions. that's it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." i'm peter alexander. andrea will be back tomorrow. i'll be back right after this. w i'll be back right after this.

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good day. you're watching "chris jansing reports." i'm peter alexander. we are expecting president biden to come out at any time now to push the disclose act, a bill that would require superpacs and so-called dark money groups to disclose donors who give more than there are 10,000. while we wait for that p we're an hour or so away from the first hearing of the special master. that court ordered third party regarding