the reps that won their primaries. they owe nothing to donald trump. they should just remember their voices count as much as marjorie taylor greene and matt gaetz and the other loud mouths. they don't get special votes because they're loud. stand up for yourself. do the right thing. >> susan and tom, always about to see you both. thank you both very much for coming on this morning. and that does it for us this morning. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage right now. good morning. 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. in just a few hours, the man accused of making the palm in the terrorist attack on a flight over lockerbie, scotland will appear in a u.s. court 34 years after the deadly attack. plus, we're learning new details about the high-profile prisoner swap that brought wnba star brittany griner back to the

united states. and the reported divide within the administration over the deal. we'll speak to bill richardson who has assisted in griner's release millions of americans out west are waking up to a thick blanket of snow after a massive winter storm. that system is now headed east. and later this hour, we will look at the efforts to help afghans who worked alongside u.s. forces through the 20-year war and a group of u.s. veterans who took a 7,600 mile road trip to raise awareness. we begin with a step towards justice. more than three decades in the making. a former libyan intelligence officer accused of building the bomb that brought down pan am flight 103 is set to make his first appearance in a federal courtroom in washington this afternoon.

mehsud's court appearance comes 34 years to the day after the plane heading from london to new york exploded over the small town of lockerbie, scotland. all of the people on board were killed, along with 11 on the ground. most of them americans. he was indicted on terrorism after officials received a copy of a 2012 interview by libyan law enforcement. with us now no to take a closer look at this is molly hunter and a former federal and state prosecutor in new york who is now an msnbc legal analyst. molly, what more do we know about this bombmaker? >> reporter: yeah. jose, this is a huge deal. and to be very clear, this will be the first libyan national, libyan operative to be tried on u.s. soil for this attack. what we know really is from the doj indictment two years ago. as you mentioned, on the 32nd

anniversary of the attack. two criminal charges were levied against mehsud. the doj said he has worked for libyan intelligence, he was a technical expert who would have known how to build a bomb of that size, specifically between the years of 1973 and 2011. what's interesting, and i think what we will be finding out during this trial, back in 2001 in the initial lockerbie trial, it was always the prosecution's case that multiple people were involved. even though at the time, in 2001, only one libyan intelligence official was convicted. it is alleged in that doj indictment two years ago he was involved in a diskotek bombing in west berlin that killed two u.s. service members. so many big questions now, what has happened in the last two years, what more do american officials, what more does the doj now about mehsud.

>> molly, do we know how mehsud ended up in u.s. custody? >> reporter: that's the big question today, and we don't. it is unclear. nbc news reporting, and we have of course all of our colleagues, jose, charging and asking on this big question, it is unclear how he wound up in u.s. hands. as you mention indeed your introduction, the doj indictment came several years after u.s. officials got their hands on a 2012 interview that mehsud had done while he was being held in libya on other criminal charges. this case has been confusing. lots of twists and turns in the last 34 years. how did he get from a libyan prison into u.s. hands and into a washington courtroom today. >> actually, how do they handle a case that's almost 34 years old? >> reporter: well, you know, jose, i've worked cold cases myself on a much smaller scale,

of course. and it can be done. and i think that it will be done here. this has been a case that over 50 countries have been involved in assisting with. evidence has been gathered and stored away, really getting ready for this moment. so i am confident that the department can do this. and i should say, just from my own experience, that desire, really that need for justice never goes away. and i'm so pleased for the families who have been waiting for this moment. >> what would justice likely look for somebody like this? >> reporter: so he will be tried in the ordinary course, i expect, in u.s. federal court. he is being brought to the district of columbia for his first experience. the indictment will go through

all the murders that he is accused -- that mehsud is accused of having committed that day. this is not the first time an act of terrorism has been brought to justice in a federal court. >> 259 people killed on board, 11 people on the ground also lost their lives. actually, molly, thank you for being with us this morning. we are learning new details about the high-profile prisoner swap between the u.s. and moscow that released basketball star brittany griner. griner is in front of the american flag with her wife cherelle. he describes what it was like to finally meet griner after spending months negotiating her release. >> we actually tried to give her some space to say, look, you

probably want to decompress after 10 months in a russian prison. she said, no, i want to talk. i want to relate to people. and i found someone kind, generous, above all, authentic. >> businessman and former u.s. marine paul whelan was not part of the swap. conversations are ongoing with russia. >> they hold mr. whelan differently because of these espionage charges. so we are working through that now. we are now more informed clearly having gone through this process the last few months. we have a better accepts of the context here what the russian's expectations are, and we're just going to keep working at it. >> live from san antonio. and doug barrett national security reporter at the "washington post." marissa, you spoke with brittany griner's russian lawyer.

what have you learned? >> reporter: well, we learned a couple of things. first of all,, she was so overjoyed throughout the interview as we were talking about this huge win for not just dream griner but their legal team over there in russia. she walked us through some of the moments leading up to the release. she said she had just seen greener physically three weeks ago. they spent a lot of time together because she was so anxious. they spent a lot of time talking about how she could adjust. i know it's been out there how britney had cut her hair. she said that was due to how cold it was. she was feeling like, while she was trying to remain optimistic, she was prepared for this to take longer than she would like. incident was a nice surprise when she got a call a week before it happened saying there were signs of hope. she was optimistic things were going to be happening soon. she said she couldn't tell us

those details. these are negotiations happening elsewhere. she didn't want to give anything away that could compromise that for other people. when we talk about her arrival, she said she hasn't been in touch with britney herself. but take a listen to what she has learned from those who have. >> i haven't spoken to her yet. but i'm in touch with cherelle and agents. they sent us some photos and videos of them together smiling. so i think it's just like great news. i think everybody is happy. happy end just before christmas. it is really a happy time. >> reporter: and, jose, ambassador carsons brought out this story this past weekend how britney went out of her way after handing on u.s. soil to thank everyone, including the drives. and when i asked the russian

lawyer what other thoughts are and she said that is a testament to her resolve, humble attitude and graciousness. >> your latest piece reveals the opposition president biden received within his own administration on this prisoner swap. what were the biggest concerns? >> reporter: the biggest concerns is what sort of long-term message does this send. everybody agrees brittany griner should be back and this was in many ways unfair to her. the question is what do you give up for her. the concern was the person they swapped for her, viktor bout was too high a price to pay. that could send a signal not just to other swaps but other arrests. >> that it wasn't a balanced trade? is a that something that always occurs?

>> a lot of swaps historically, particularly with russia, involves spies for spies. that is considered like for like in the justice department. that is an understandable part of the game essentially of international espionage. i think what the concern is here is that, you know, the u.s. put a lot of lobbying and effort to getting viktor bout handed over to them from the thais, the officials in thailand. and i think their concern is every time the u.s. asks a foreign country to arrest someone and hold them and extradite them to bring them back to the u.s., they have to argue, this is not a political case. swapping shows there is a political calculation in all of this. and the worry among some law enforcement officials is swaps like this one will ultimately make american law enforcement look more political. >> and interesting because, devlin, that would certainly play a factor in what may or may be happening to release paul whelan, or at least secure his

release. >> right. he is a tricky one because they have convicted him of eespionag. the question is did the griner card make it hard tore get whelan back or is there some other card to help get him out. >> thank you for being with us. that's a great point you just mentioned, devlin. i want to talk to former ambassador bill richardson who worked on securing griner's release, former secretary of energy and so much more. secretary, it's good to see you. so, let's talk a little bit about this griner release. are you satisfied with the deal that the united states was able to get? >> yes. i think the president had to make that decision, one for one. we hoped it would be two for

two. whelan and griner for bout and somebody else. i think in the end president putin didn't want to give president biden a victory. so he stymied the last very important component of a deal. in other words, paul whelan. yes, i'm satisfied. but i think, like many other americans, i feel guilty, remorse for paul whelan and his family. he's endured four years, wrongfully detained. the espionage charges are bogus. but at the same time he is suffering. our objective should be, the government -- which i don't work for the government. i work with them on the negotiation. i went to russia twice. we got trevor reid out. the other marine. we made progress on brittany. we're two for two. now whelan is next. i think it is doable. but it's going to take a prisoner exchange and possibly a little more than just one.

so we'll see. it's being negotiated. we're each doing our own thing. the government and my private group. but things have changed a little bit. in the past there wasn't prisoner exchanges that much in north korea, cuba. they were done for p.r., humanitarian reasons. the other country. but now it's evolved into a prisoner exchange modality, which is not good. but we have to bring our hostages home. and it's going to be a price like viktor bout. it's inevitable. and i'm sorry about the law enforcement people that have worked so hard in the past. but sometimes a president has to make these tough decisions, and he did with brittany. >> so, ambassador, let's talk about one specific thing. if the russians said no to whelan for bout and bout was, many say, probably the highest echelon person that the united states has in custody here, or

in prison, what could then, if this new modality that you speak of is now one for one, what could bring whelan back? what could the united states have? >> well, it has to be -- we can't get into policy. in other words, it would be a mistake if the russians said, okay, we want this on ukraine and you get paul whelan back. i don't think you want to mix policy with humanitarian issues. so what the relations will want -- they have a list. there are a lot of other russian prisoners in americans jails. not a lot. that have been i think subject of negotiations, which i'm not going to get into. i think it will be a prisoner exchange. and i think it will be relatively soon. despite the horrendous relationship with the u.s., they

went ahead with trevor reid, a marine in russia four months ago. they did greiner. we've got not just paul whelan but i'm working on two other cases in russia, grady prekracy in ukraine. there's more to discuss. we have to keep it on a humanitarian basis. let's not get into the policy, and i don't believe we will. >> and so if indeed politics is a part, or at least perceived to be a part of any possibility of releasing americans held in russia specifically, ambassador, do you think that russia would in that list that you have seen and that you say they've put out, in that list, would they start including political positions like support for or not for zelenskyy and ukraine?

>> no. i don't think so. i think u.s. policy has been sensible and has kept it separate. you know, our support for zelenskyy is strong. but i think eventually there's going to have to be some dialogue, ukraine, the united states, european union, russia. but i think at this stage the intensity and negativity of the relationship is not going to come in to humanitarian issues. what has happens is the russians have dealt, despite the bad relationship, with trevor reid, with brittany. and i think with whelan it will happen. brittany had an excellent strategy. her legal team, her agent, cherelle, her wife, they put the pressure on the u.s. government, on people like us, on the

public, the wnba. she herself was diplomatic. she showed remorse with the russians. it's a case on how to conduct yourself. i know it was painful. her father, a vietnam veteran, stayed very low key and is now surfacing. it's a test case on how to handle the public and the government pressure-wise correctly. >> but, ambassador, what happens if you don't -- if you're not a wnba star, if you're mark fogle, a teacher, after being sentenced to 14 years bringing cannabis cartridges in the country. what happens if you don't have access to 24/7 coverage, if you don't have the wnba behind you and your agents, et cetera? are you out of luck?

>> we represent the families. go public. don't hide things. put a little pressure on the government. get your name out. go on shows. our government will say the opposite. they will say, no, no, don't rattle things. i don't work for our government. you have to work very closely. yes, there's cases very high profile like brittany that get the attention. but at the same time we are able to get and release others that are not so high profile. it has happened. and it's going to continue to happen. i've been doing this for 20 years. and you do have some successes. it's just been a different modality. but paul whelan deserves to come home. he's a veteran, military guy, wrongfully detained. four years. his family has been very diplomatic and gracious. so that has to be our next big priority. and i think it's going to

happen. i do. >> and you said that twice, ambassador. why do you think it's going to happen and fairly soon? >> well, because i said that brittany and whelan would be released i thought by the end of the year. brittany is now home. we have a few more days for this prediction. maybe 20 days. i do think it will be another prisoner exchange. look, it's going to be something that people will be concerned with. we have to bring our hostages home. what we should do is adopt a new policy where we pre-announce sanctions and target officials, visas that detain americans, a

forward-looking policy. so far the state department, carsons, john bahner did a good job. brittney is home. we should celebrate that. >>ed indeed. thank you for being with us this morning. good to see you. >> thank you. still ahead, the latest on where the january 6th committee stands days away from its final report. first, states coast to coast are bracing for brutal conditions. winter storms are set to hammer the country for the next few days. we're live where it's already started. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." az-balart .

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24 past the hour this morning. more than 15 million people are under winter weather warnings or advisories as a major winter storm moves across the country. the national weather service says travel may become impossible in some areas. sierra nevada saw three inches of snow per hour over the weekend. we are live in lake tahoe. miguel, the sierra nevadas have never had a more appropriate name, the winter snow mountains. >> reporter: indeed. it is a winter wonderland here.

that socked this area, layering it under a blanket of snow. you mentioned three inches, a 48-hour time frame. 48 inches of snow in this region, four, four and a half feet. we think it got to five feet here because it is so thick and heavy. wind speeds 169 miles per hour at their peak along the summits as snow was blinding drivers flying side ways. major thoroughfare was shut down for several hours. five inches of rain in the bay area. they were dealing with flash flooding and mudslides. here in the snow it was a whole different situation. there's concern later in the next 24 to 48 hours, some of the

tree limbs could be snapped, come crashing down and fall on power lines, creating a whole other problem. it's 10 degrees. if people lose power, heat, it will create another disaster in this area. the storm system that did all of this is headed east towards your direction and will make its way there in a couple of days. >> miguel, you may get the prize for best outdoor live shot and the whole report. thank you, miguel. good to see you, buddy. congress has days to avoid a government shutdown. why congressional leaders are struggling to reach a deal on a massive government funding package. plus, we'll talk to an army veteran who is putting the heat on congress to protect afghan allies here in the u.s. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." g "jose diaz-balart reports. shell-fish-pression.

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in just nine days, the january 6th committee is set to release its final report, with members meeting on sunday to discuss potential criminal

referrals to the justice department. the committee is considering issuing a referral involving former president trump as well as other individuals. congressman adam kinzinger addressed why the committee felt it was important to vote on these referrals. >> the criminal referrals themselves aren't necessarily something that will wake doj up to something they didn't know before. it will be a symbolic thing the committee can do. very clear that congress thinks a crime has been committed here and the doj should investigate it. ryan, good morning. what's the latest this morning? >> they are still deliberating how many criminal referrals they want to issue as part of their final report. and just to what agencies they want to send the referrals. the department on of justice at the top of the list.

they could be sent to the federal elections committees and others. they held a meeting sunday night where they discussed these issues. they want unanimous agreement among all nine members before they move forward. it appears a final decision has not been made. >> congress is facing a government funding deadline friday. where are lawmakers are reaching a deal there? >> well, there is optimism. senator brian shan't from hawaii thinks there will be an omnibus spending deal in place. right now leaders have not agreed on a top line number. the amount they want to spend in total and exactly what the priorities would be underneath the top line number. they do appear to be making some progress, jose.

they have options here. they could do the formal omnibus spending plan. there could be a resolution that takes them through next year. e short-term in the next couple days. >> meanwhile, companies from air wide range of industries are looking to pass legislation. >> it seems like a tall order at this point, jose. there has been some bipartisan negotiations between kyrsten sinema and thom tillis of north carolina. these small groups get-together and start to make progress. as soon as the details work out to the wider range, they end up falling short. this, like any other deal in congress, would require 10

republican votes in the united states senate. it seems unlikely they will get to that point. they will continue through the end of the year. it seems like a high par they will have to clear. >> ryan nobles on capitol hill. thank you so very much. one thing not on the agenda is a bill to do more to help afghans. the afghan adjustment act would end the possibility of deportation or joblessness for 73,000 evacuees who entered the u.s. under humanitarian parole, a two-year program that expires next year. a group of veterans took a road trip to raise awareness and to convince lawmakers to report it. an afghan combat vet is senior adviser to iraq and afghanistan. always a pleasure to see you, my friend. what's the reality in

afghanistan today, matt. >> afghanistan remains hell on earth for the people left behind. there is an ongoing famine killing people for the better part of the last year. the popular phrase is winter is coming. winter is here in afghanistan, and it is brutal. they have a systemic effort to hunt down the people we left behind and murder them. >> that is a daily -- a daily danger for thousands of people and their families, matt. what are about those who made it to the u.s. what challenges are they facing? >> so we evacuated some 78,000 afghans last year who came in under humanitarian parole. for lack of a better term, they're here as guests. they are allowed to stay here as long as the government says they can remain in the united states. they don't have permanent work

authorization. they don't have permanent status in this country. imagine you're a parent of a young child and you've been evacuated in the last year from the only country you have of known. now you live here in the united states. you would probably want to get your kid registered for school, to start providing for that child. what if you didn't have permission to work. what if you weren't guaranteed in a year you would still be residing in the united states. that bes did falls the vast majority. without the adjustment act, they don't have a permanent place here in america. and starting next august, they're likely going to begin being deported by the government unless we get this law passed. being deported to a place, where you told us in the beginning of our chat, there is a systematic hunting and killing of people who worked wr or

supported the american mission. what exactly would this adjustment act do for them? >> so there's three things it does. first off, for all the afghans that got evacuated, they could apply for adjustment of status. we base this law on two different laws we passed at the end of the vietnam war. 1975 endochina settlement act and azo american act. it allowed for vietnamese to apply for a green card, adjustment of status. the difference here, in order to get the green card, the afghans would have to undergo an additional round of vetting, the level of vetting that most people occurred had occurred before they even got on the airplanes to come to the united

states. the next and probably the most important thing to veterans is there's some 300,000 left behind interpreters and their family members in afghanistan who are, again, being systemically hunted down by the taliban. without the afghan adjustment act, these people have no ability to get to the united states. the reason for that is under the current law, anyone who wants to apply for a special visa set aside for the interpreters, they have to undergo an in-person interview at the u.s. embassy in kabul under current law. there is no more u.s. embassy in kabul. it would allow the state department to conduct the legally required in-person interview instead of at the u.s.

embassy. it would allow them to do it online. it would create a task force to speed up the processing and extend eligibility to the afghan commandos and special forces who do not have a viability pathway under any plan currently available to the united states. >> matt, to hear the surrealism in this brattic paperwork which boils down to men, women and children who are unable to escape that hell hole as you described of the regime there in afghanistan, it's amazing. there's no embassy. that's where you have to go to get the paperwork done. >> yeah. >> i thank you, matt, for being with us. it's really important that we continue to have this conversation. >> i thank you for having me. for folks watching at home, if you want to help us, show up. call your member of congress, tell them you want them to pass

the afghan adjustment act. >> matt zeller, i thank you so much. >> thank you. up next, president trump's challenge of the search of his mar-a-lago estate. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." g "jose diaz-balart reports. ouple was hd to the farmers market... when they got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service the way you need it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ this holiday master your kitchen with wayfair. ♪ ♪ keep it fresh with colorful cookware. whip up holiday treats with ease. slice and dice with the best of them. and with wayfair, you can express yourself. ♪ ♪ wayfair, holiday your heart out. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ (scrooge) bah humbug! my signal is totally ghosting me!

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it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. we are following breaking news from florida where a federal judge officially tossed out former president trump's lawsuit challenging the search of his mar-a-lago estate earlier this year. justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian joins us. >> good morning, jose. this was the final stop, a formality, really, in the 11th circuit court of appeals ruled against donald trump and decided that judge aileen cannon of fort pearce, florida, had no business imposing a spharbl master to review the 13,000 plus

documents. the special master has gone away, and the judge has dismissed the trump lawsuit that asked for the special master. all the documents, everything seized at mar-a-lago is in the possession of the fbi investigators who are handling this case. they're allowed to use all of it as they see fit in this criminal investigation. an important moment. even though the special master has gone away, we learned a few things. we learned donald trump's lawyers were unwilling to say trump had declassified any of the documents, even though trump said he did publicly. and we also learned they may make claims of executive privilege on these documents in the event trump is ever charged in this case. for now hit ends the whole special masters saga we spent many hours discussing. ultimately, it is dismissed. >> ken dilanian, thank you very much. appreciate it. the new mayor of los angeles is declaring a state of emergency on her first full day

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office for los angeles new mayor karen bass. she was sworn in by vice president harris on sunday. her first action will be to declare homelessness an emergency in the city. gadi schwartz dug deeper into the housing crisis. >> this is our living room. >> reporter: for the past two years she has worked to make this house a home. >> this mess is all donations for unhoused community. >> reporter: the house isn't hers. she and her two daughters moved into the property in march 2020. no mortgage, no rental agreement and no permission. >> it's extreme measures because we're in extreme urgent times. the housing crisis is at its boiling point. >> reporter: activists who call themselves reclaimers, broke into the empty state-owned home at night and moved them in. they're a few of the 40,000 people in l.a. with nowhere else

to go. >> i was unhoused for over a year and a half. the rent was really high and i was unable to get a job. we really need to do something about it. >> reporter: these houses were among 700 homes that the state transportation agency purchased to make way for a freeway extension that was never built. in october of 2020, caltrans worked with the city's housing authority to issue two-year leases to some of the group, including marta, but now those leases are expired. >> you're finally, i have a house and breathe and establish yourself and then the minute you move in, like, you need to get out. >> reporter: california state senator who represents the area says there was a plan in place to get these houses to low-income people and organized groups disrupted it. >> it has interrupted the process that we were going towards in order to have affordable housing and to be able to sell back to the

community. >> reporter: the average monthly rent in l.a. county is $2,300. to pay that, renters would need to earn more than $45 an hour, three times the city's minimum wage. it's not just in l.a. organized groups took over homes in oakland back in 2019 and tried to move into more homes later in 2020 resulting in a confrontation with police. it ended with more than 60 people under arrest. the housing authority in los angeles says it's going to do everything it can to help marta transition into other housing options. what happens to these houses is up to caltrans who says they're planning to sell 37 houses to organizations that provide low-income housing. their future is still unknown. >> i have a college degree. i was born and raised here and this is stressful, but so is living a life that's not sustainable. >> reporter: despite the paperwork she received, caltrans the homes that had leases will continue to be used as

transitional housing until july of next year. and it's considering extending the leases past that to help families who are experiencing homelessness. >> thank you so much. up next, after three weeks full of drama, it's down to the semifinals in the world cup games. what we can expect this week. it's going to be exciting. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." risk-rewars help make trading feel effortless and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market with powerful, easy-to-use tools power e*trade makes complex trading easier react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity flu symptoms hit harder than the common cold. so it takes the right tool for the job... to keep it together. now there's new theraflu flu relief

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57 past the hour this morning. the remains of grant wahl, the american journalist who died while covering the world cup in qatar are back in the u.s. his body arrived in new york this morning according to a senior state department official. wahl was reporting on the quarterfinal on friday when he became ill and was taken to the hospital. he was 49 years old. meanwhile, the world cup semifinals are now set. argentina taking on croatia tomorrow. france facing morocco on wednesday. the games were set after an exciting weekend that saw one of the tournaments favorites, brazil, lose to croatia in a penalty shootout. joining us now is meagan fitzgerald. it's great seeing you again. what more can you tell us about this week's games. >> i know, jose, this is one of the most thrilling world cups i think i've ever seen. you just don't know what to

expect. as you mentioned, argentina taking on croatia tomorrow. argentina upset in their first game. they advance today the semifinals. on wednesday we're going to see morocco take on france. morocco is the cinderella story. the first african nation to advance to the semifinals led by ronaldo on a quest to try to get the title. he allude today that on his instagram page. morocco squaring off against france. the finals are on sunday. it really is anyone's game. >> it really is. i'm all -- i'm just still not happy that portugal decided not to bring in ronaldo until the second half. that was a major mistake. you're right.

the morocco story is just amazing. >> reporter: i know. i know. it's huge. you really feel it here because obviously qatar, the first arab nation to host the world cup. it's a win for the entire arab world. and so there's a lot of excitement, and so i think, you know, morocco could be the team to watch. you never know. they could pull it all off. >> first african country to get to the semifinals. thank you. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can always reach me on twitter and instagram at jdbalart. please follow the show online. i thank you for the privilege of your time. alex witt picks up with more news right now. ♪♪ good morning to all of you. i'm alex witt here at msnbc headquarters in new york city. we're following a very busy start to this week beginning with justice. more than 30 years in the making, in fact, for victims