anthony fauci's last day as the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. for decades, dr. fauci served as the nation's top infectious disease expert, leading the country through several national health crises, including the aids epidemic, the ebola outbreak, and the coronavirus pandemic. he plans to keep busy. it is the end of an era. coming up in the next, our covid hospitalizations are on the rise as we head into another year of the pandemic. plus, you might have feared on a resume before, but i bet you've never padded won so much that the feds open an investigation into you. that is coming up next in another hour of velshi which starts right now. good morning. it's saturday, december 31st. it is not i am in the east, six

i am in the west. i'm mehdi hassan filling in for my good friend ali velshi. i want to start this morning with a little bit of a quiz for you. do you know where and when he went to college? do you know if you attended college? do you know where he worked? do you know if you are jewish or not? of course, you know all the answers to those questions. for republican congressman elect george santos, there have been tough questions, we really tough questions. over the past couple of weeks, he's been caught lying in spectacular and fantastical fashion about each and every one of those things and more. george santos did not attend or graduate from any institute of higher education. he did not previously work for citigroup or goldman sachs. he did not found an animal rights charity. he tweeted that, quote, 9/11 claimed my mother's life. five months later he, tweeted a conflicting statement saying his mother died only five years ago in 2016. we don't know when exactly george santos's mother died.

those are vastly different accounts of his own mother's death. his grandparents, meanwhile, or not jewish refugees who fled the holocaust. he has tried to rectify that that he never claimed to be jewish. he meant he was jewish, whatever that means. there is no evidence that his family is any kind of jewish. there were such exceptionally egregious lives that tulsi gabbard could not hide her disdain when she interviewed him on fox on tuesday night. >> congressman-elect, integrity means, yes, carrying yourself with honor, what it means telling the truth, being a person of integrity. if i were one of those in new york's third district, i'm finding out all of these lies, these are blatant lies.

my question is, do you have no shame? do you have no shame in the people who are now are asking to trust to envy their voice and their family in washington? >> i hate to admit, but tulsi gabbard makes a very good point. will be representing the third district of new york when he is sworn in on january 3rd just three days from now. in that same interview, santos said he has made mistakes and admitted to, in his words, embellishing his resume. he has ignored calls from his own constituents on long island for him to resign. nbc news has attempted to reach santos for comment but has not received any response. meanwhile, many republicans remain silent on the matter, including kevin mccarthy. he needs santos's vote in his own precarious bid to become the next speaker of the house. the extent of santos's lies have caught the attention of local and federal prosecutors

in new york who are now looking into how far his deception goes. as reported by the new york times, santos loaned his campaign several hundred thousand dollars of his own money. this comes after he reported earning at least $50,000 a year back in 2020. two years later, his financial disclosure forms and the company was worth more than 1 million dollars. how did that happen? where that campaign loan come from? how on earth are we okay as a country to see the talented mr. santos be seated in congress this coming week? a lot to unpack here. back with me now our -- author of the book go back to where you came from and ruth ben-ghiat, professor of history and writer of the news letter lucid, also author of the book strongman. thank you both for re-joining me this hour. let me start with you. how on earth did this man

managed to get elected to congress in new york without anyone noticing that his entire life story seems to be alive? >> i want to take question with one analogy you gave. george santos, it's like mr. ripley without the talent. i admire his shamelessness and lying. it's remarkable, the fact that he's been able to get away with it. it shows a failure to audit -- a failure of democrats in new york. it shows a failure of the media who did not do some basic research. they didn't even go to wikipedia. this man has lied about everything, his financial background, discipline history, his family. the one that is most shameful is the lie that you mentioned about his mother dying in 9/11. he is going to represent republicans. this is where i think people fit in with the republican party. they will tolerate all of it. to quote, nobody's perfect. if he comes down and says, an auto republican, that is when they will turn on him.

the only time they will turn on him is if he comes down and says, i was lying about being a republican. with that slim majority that they have, about four seats, my prediction is that they will go along with anything and everything as long as the votes for their agenda. this is where democrats should shamelessly use george santos and make him a heavy garland around the neck of republicans for the next two years. this is your party. you tolerate lies like this. this is who you are. >> that's such a good point you make. they drop him as if one of his lies included him being a republican. i would also point out that they dropped madison cawthorn after he said he witnessed cocaine fueled orgies. there is some lines and republican legislators can't cross. ruth, you are a historian. have you ever come across a story like george santos is before, this level of shear across the board deception and misrepresentation? >> trump, so, i haven't

commented. >> to be fair to donald, trump i can't believe i'm saying this, we do know where he went to university. >> yeah, but, again, i haven't commented on santos yet. this is my first time. i've been saving it for you. won a corrupt autocrat takes over a party like hijacks a party, his values in a way of doing things become their own. lying and fraud is what trump has always been about. when he ran for president 2016, he was under investigation for fraud. for trump university up through one of the criminal referrals of the january six committee, it was for defrauding the u.s. government. lying and fraud are part of the gop's identity and practice. honestly, yes, it was nice that toasty guard was eviscerating him, but i think that that was a bunch of it you know what.

it was wedded to a big lie. when she talked about integrity and lies, i have no sympathy for santos. he's actually following the trump playbook by which he is refusing to resign and step down. that is what trump would do. he's another example of having learned from trump and being rewarded for this. >> yes. one of his many absurd and offensive claims was claiming to be a proud jew, claiming his grandparents were holocaust or virus. let me play a clip of santos's answer during his interview with fox earlier this week regarding this claim of him being jewish. have a listen. >> not being raised to practicing jew, i've always joked with friends and circles, even in the campaign, guys i am drew-sh.

i know everyone wants to nitpick out me. i'm going to reassure this once and for all. i'm not a facade. i'm not a persona. i have an extensive career that i work really hard to achieve. i'm going to deliver for my experience. i remain committed and delivering the results for the american people. >> he clearly is not sorry for what he has done. i'm still flabbergasted by this. when i heard him say that, i felt like, is he doing a bit? is this a quick prank? that can't be a real statement made by a prospective lawmaker in 2022 in america. in>> yet it was. he still has not been held accountable. i will say this, if i may, for some levity. i'm offended by that statement. as a muslim, i will make the claim that i am the most to-ish non jew. we believe in moses. we keep kosher. we are always guilty. we have intrusive

mother-in-law's. you and me are the most jew-ish. there is no limit, right? he feels so important. you have donald trump as a leader of the party. when you have seven years of normalized lies which are rewarded by the base or there is no accountability whatsoever, you say, hey, this is the playbook? why not meet? if donald trump lies so casually like you and i breathe, i will lie as well. so far, as we have seen, even despite those numerous lies and the one you just showed, republican leadership is like, oh, no one's perfect. they are going to go along with it. they think of the stories wanted i down because they need his vote. kevin mccarthy is going to stay quiet until he becomes how speaker. if it becomes so egregious that he becomes a liability like madison cawthorn and his story about being invited to a cocaine orgy by other republicans, then and only then

will they drop him. the lies they are okay with them because that is the party, the party of liars. he fits right in. >> i'm trying to imagine the republican response to kevin mccarthy. if aoc or ilhan omar had told even one of the dozen lies that george santos has told. >> congressional investigations. >> ethics committee, which we're not going to see much of. ruth, you're working on an article about george santos. you teased a quote from it. what a corrupt autocrat such as trump coffers a political party, here makes it in his own image, lying and fraud are prominent part of trump's identity they are part of the gop's identity and practice. he is now under investigation by long island, new york, and federal prosecutors. just taking a step back, big picture, lying, serial line, plain line.

he isn't ashamed about that line. that is a part and parcel of autocracy, of rising authoritarianism, is it not? >> it is. one of the ways we look at warning signs. people come to power in elections most commonly. one of the things they start to do is blatantly lie. it's very interesting. some of the research shows that when people -- they build personality cult which say they are infallible. mussolini's slogan was that mussolini is always right. the lying is perceived by the most devout. they like the fact he was lying and stretching the truth. it was like him giving the middle finger to the establishment. debasing the truth and saying that you have the power to be above the truth and decide what is true is part of autocracy. so, the system degrades and you

get -- this is what happens. you get these candidates who, that is what they are about. they're not being punished for it. the others are corrupt. one of the reasons that kevin mccarthy is staying silent, he needs santos's vote. it's like a pandora's box. when a party has the main identity of being a big lie, if you call people out the, whole thing might fall apart. it's like a house of cards. >> one last question to you. we're talking about kevin mccarthy and his silence and his need for george santos's vote if he's going to have any chance of becoming how speaker. that seems to be looking less and less likely. he doesn't have the votes right now. people are talking about -- do you think he will end up a speaker? if he does not, how much will you be laughing? . >> he'd be out ted cruz, who

was the favorite. as we know, kevin mccarthy has seen donald trump as a threat. he recognizes him as a threat to national security and democracy. he made a false bargain to go along with it, to normalize it. >> will that pay off? >> i don't know. if it does, it will be short lived. >> that's a good point. thank you both for your time this morning. still to come this hour, we will get reaction from rome following the death of retired pope benedict just hours ago. kyiv's mayor is asking residents to stay in shelters after another russian airstrike. er after another ruiass airstrike.

people couldn't see my potential. so i had to show them. i've run this place for 20 years, but i still need to prove that i'm more than what you see on paper.

today i'm the ceo of my own company. it's the way my mind works. i have a very mechanical brain. why are we not rethinking this? i am more... i'm more than who i am on paper. this morning, the vatican

announced that pope america's benedict has died at 95. he suffered the decline in health early this week. the vatican says the body of pope benedict will lie in st. peter's basilica beginning on monday so the faithful can formally bid farewell to him. nbc news correspondent is live in rome with the latest. molly, do you have more details on the funeral arrangements? >> before i get to the final arrangements, i want to show you that there are people walking behind me. they've done a huge security speech. we will see a pre-scheduled mass later today. we will expect this to be the latest opportunity for him to address the news of the passing of his predecessor. we're going to keep an eye on the mass in about 90 minutes. as far as funeral arrangements, these were not polish. these were not openly contributed to the -- what we understand is that his

body will lie in state starting on monday. it's a chance for people to come into town and go into st. peters basilica, pay their final respects, say goodbye, his funeral will be thursday at 9:30 am right here. the mass, the funeral mass will happen in st. peters square as expected. pope francis will preside over the funeral mass. this is an extraordinary moment of course. it's the first time a sitting global preside over his predecessor's funeral, the first time in more than 600 years. we don't know exactly whether it will be a seafood or a. we understand from the holy see that we have asked for -- we know that it will be in the mode of simplicity asper his wishes, mehdi. we know he would've had a hand in the planning of not only his retirement but his final days and his funeral and his burial. this is a moment for the catholic church to start normalizing or think about normalizing and institutionalizing the retirement of a pontiff.

the procedures of a title, what that person might where, where that person might live. yes, he will have a legacy of his eight years as pontiff, his intellectual accomplishments, but his defining legacy will be that he retired from a lifetime job in 2013 and possibly opened the door for future popes to do the same. >> that's molly haaland live in rome. thank you for your reporting. turning now to the war in ukraine, an airstrike in kyiv has killed at least one person and injured 20 others. the mayor is urging residents to stay in shelters. this comes as russia targets energy and military point in an effort to weaken ukraine. despite this, the government says they've thwarted six iranian made missiles from striking major cities, including the capital of kyiv. this comes as russia and china strengthen their relationship.

matt bradley joins us from a bunker in kyiv. what has been going on there this morning? >> i would normally come to you with more of a polished, see a background. we are in this bunker. it's really just the parking garage beneath our hotel. i can show you a little bit about how it looks out here. the hotel has very kindly set everything up for everyone. this just keeps happening over and over again. all the guests are down here. almost all the guests at this hotel are journalists who are covering the war. one of those journalists, a japanese journalist, was one of those that you mentioned who was injured. this is the third straight day of massive bombardments that we can see by the russians against kyiv. it kind of fulfills a prediction, a warning that the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy gave around christmas time. russia is going to punish ukraine in the lead up to the new year. that's exactly what we are

seeing. we saw three waves of projectiles or self exploding drones. we saw those flying all over the country. people capture those images and videos. this was one of the worst we have seen since this style of attack normally targeting electricity infrastructure. this kind of attack started early in the fall. >> matt, yesterday, putin held a video conference with xi jinping. there is concern that china could ramp up support for russia. what is the reaction for the ukrainian government and the u.s.? >> from the u.s., we learned of

this was concerning. when we look at these two man, and i think the new york times headline put this the best -- to strongman in a week moment. obviously, putin's president. he has been launching a disastrous invasion of ukraine ever since late february. china's president was doing very well. he lifted the lid off of his own covid crisis that he had been keeping unwrap serve the years by imposing the population in their homes. he has big problems there as well. these two men who need each other. one needs them way more than the other. vladimir putin definitely needs china more than chinese putin. we saw that dynamic in the statement they made after, much more fulsome encouragements from putin side. you know, both of them need each other symbolically as well. vladimir putin and xi have both

a bit of a hobby of describing themselves, stylized-ing themselves as the two great opponents of western hegemony. to be able to execute that, they need each other in a symbolic and political capacity as well. that is kind of what we are seeing with these repeated meetings. it was only a couple months ago that they signed an agreement together calling their relationship no limits. it's clear that there are limits to this relationship. we saw that today. china doesn't necessarily want to get totally on board with letter putin. >> matt bradley in kyiv for us. thank you for your reporting. please do stay safe. coming up, what happens when three viruses hit at the same time? i will ask a top epidemiologist about the tripledemic amid the continued threat of covid-19. we are back after a short break. do not go away. back after a shor break. do not go away do not go away ♪

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we still have a problem with covid. we are still doing a lot of work on it. the pandemic is over. >> that was president joe biden back in september. he declared the covid-19 pandemic over. yet, here we are at the end of the year. the cdc predicted more than 260,000 americans died from covid in 2022. nearly 2600 americans died of in the last week. this winter has brought a bad case of déjà vu. hospitals across the country are overwhelmed with patients. this time, it is not just covid-19. it is a collision of covid, flu, and rsv cases. it is called the triple pandemic. this is the cofounder of the -- thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. how worried, eric, are you

about the burn on hospitals right now? >> thank you for having me. the burden on the hospitals already at record levels. there is the hospital capacity over 80%. this is high as it has been during the entire pandemic. there is the combination of flu, rsv, and covid. some people are saying that the flu looks like it is cooling down. at the same time, covid is seriously on the rise. hospitalizations in new york, massachusetts. many states have doubled with covid in the last month. there is this new super variant. it is likely to get even worse. in many ways, we have found the variant that is going to take over the world in the next two months. right now, hospitals are already on the brink. i think it will only get worse because winter is just starting.

>> according to the cdc, only 15% of americans are eligible for the covid booster shot. how big of a problem is that? >> that is a serious problem. the virus has mutated so different from the original vaccines. unless you get the booster, you are not fully protected. the new variants are getting worse. it is like a software update. iphone and ipad updated. if you are still relying on your infection from 2020 or 2021, there are vaccines from two years ago. you are not protected. the vaccine alone is not enough. you need to ventilate the air. there are also the tests. where a mask in crowded places.

>> there is the mask issue. that is according to the covid state project. people are still wearing masks out of some -- outside of their homes. that is a decrease from october of 2020. 50 percentage points. i should add that there is some progress. many americans would support masking in indoor crowded public places to prevent a surge. the cdc is now recommending masks once again. should we'll still be wearing masks in indoor public places? why did hicks along for the cdc to cut back with the new mask mandate? >> the cdc has been very behind. they've documented it in the last month. they didn't sheepishly. they are always behind the curve. the new variant is already here. i wish among people that masks are varying from variant to variant. in certain ways, there is the

ventilation aspect of the mask. they are all agnostic. people forget about that. what when -- we have to realize that we are only halfway through this pandemic. we are at halftime. we still have a another year or year and a half before we can really defeat covid. that depends on what we can do. >> eric, three years after wuhan, china reported the world's first case of covid in wuhan. nbc news reports that wuhan has been dealing with a hyper surge and covid-19. that was after the chinese government lifted the zero-covid kony in measures after the latest protests. the u.s. and uk governments insist on negative covid tests on travelers coming in from china. how could rising covid cases in china impact the u.s. in the rest of the world. >> what happens in china where

the east asian china. we are learning that he heard way. the china cases could spur more variants. it could affect 60% of china or the next three months. that is never going to be good. in terms of the medicine shortage, there is a shortage of adult medicine across europe, u.s., and canada. china has a shortage to. this is going to hurt china's exports. not just medicines, but also other hardware. what is at stake's economic security. >> think about it, stopping covid is the best way for our society to move on and move out of this. and not be blocked by the

supply chain. not suffering for more economic fallout. you want to stop the virus. >> 30 seconds left, eric, quick last question, does the chinese experience of trying to go to zero covid, does that affect the ability of people in this country to push forward? >> i think that the last it is that china let go of the regulation. they have this huge calamity. the u.s. feels like it is not acting fast enough in many ways. they want people to take care of each other. they want to really think about how they can protect their neighbor and family. these mitigation that you do will protect and keep our kids in school. it will keep our kids learning, our places open. that is the best way of looking at this. you might want normalcy in life. you need to focus on stopping

the virus. >> asking people to wear a mask or get a shot is not that big of deal compared to the other measures that china had. thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> coming up, 2022 is drawing to a close, we take a look back at some american breakthroughs in space exploration. stay with us. stay with us (classical piano music) - [reporter] one of the deadliest mass shootings in us history at pulse nightclub in orlando. - [barbara] walking into the building for the first time after the shooting, it was crippling,

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2022 is a pivotal year for a space exploration. from artemis, dark, to a new diverse generation of astronauts. we are preparing for a return to the moon. here is nbc's tom costello with a look back at a remarkable year. >> three, two, one. boosters and ignition. lift off of artemis one. >> it was a year of triumph for space exploration. nasa's artemis moon mission was the headline grabbing finale. a 25-day and 1.4 million-mile test flight. it is the new orion spaceship. it will one day carry astronauts back to the moon. the 80 mile high high resolution flyover of the moon. long orbit deep into space. >> orion is one of the money. coming right down the pipe. >> a spectacular reentry with a heat shield hitting 5000 degrees. that is half of the temperature of the sun. >> there it is.

high over the pacific. >> a gentle parachute drop into the pacific ocean. >> splash down. >> it is the beginning of the new beginning. that is to explore the heavens. >> that new beginning will include astronauts on a similar test flight around the moon in 2024. then, a lunar landing in 2025 or 26. with a crew that includes woman and a person of color. the first return to the moon since those heady days of apollo. >> this is the base here. the eagle has landed. >> nasa is also leaning heavily on private companies. spacex now regularly launches both crew and cargo to the iss. >> this is the view of earth from the international space station. it is a simulator at nasa in

houston. the blue richness of earth, the blackness, the deep blackness of space. right there, the canada arm. it has reached out to grab an incoming cargo vessel. >> spacex is now working overtime on it starship that will carry astronauts to the moon. perhaps marginally 2030's. another huge success in 2022. nasa's d.a.r.t. mission. >> we have impact. >> the spacecraft was in a time lapse. traveling at 14,000 miles per hour. it slammed into a small afternoon -- asteroid named dimorphos. it pushed it slightly off of its orbit. a critical success if nasa hopes to one day deflect an incoming planet killing asteroid away from earth. >> this is a watershed moment for planetary defense. a watershed moment for

humanity. >> the most visual space achievement in 2022 where the spectacular endamages from the deep space james webb telescope. it uses infrared cameras. we are now looking at light billions of years old. the creation of the universe, distant stars and galaxies. stunning nebulous. paying the question, are we alone? >> we can have unanswered about whether or not their life in the universe. that would change everything. that would change our entire understanding of what we were in who we are in the universe. >> it is big and beckoning for a new generation of explorers. tom costello, nbc news, houston. >> still to come, the tax returns but donald j trump did not want you to see. the house committee just released six years worth. they show an america first president with a lot of business beyond our borders. eyd our borders.

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the house ways and means committee released six years of donald trump's tax returns. these returns showed that trump paid absolutely nothing, zero dollars, in federal income tax for 2020. he made no charitable contribution that senior despite repeated promises to donate the entirety of his 40,000 dollar salary as president to charity each year. we also learned that during his first presidential run and as he entered office he had bank accounts in several foreign countries, including china, yes, communist china. trump reported earning business income from a long list of foreign countries while president. he paid more in foreign taxes that income taxes. that's what he calls making america great again.

for more on all of this, i am joined by bill pass correll of new jersey. he serves on the house ways and means committee. thank you for joining us. what surprised you most? what stood out to you most from the tax returns? >> after a thorough examination -- mehdi, happy new year to you when your family. i can't forget that. >> same to you, thank you. >> let's hope it's a good here. our interest in the subject matter has not waned. now, six years of taxes have been made public. what shocked me most is the fact that -- what is an audit? the president should be audited every year like every president. this is not about donald trump. the fact of the matter is every president and every vice president should have to lay out where they made their money,

what their income is, whether assets are. this is on forever. we want tax fairness in the united states. it's a good place to start as the president of the united states. i'm looking forward to what's going to happen next year. >> congressman, is there a reason that while democrats have control of both the house in the senate -- they are about to lose control in a matter of days. should the party have worked harder to pass a law making it mandatory for all presidential candidates to release their tax returns? >> it's been 1329 days since i started to look into his taxes. the law is over 100 years old. it applies to democrats republicans. it should be applicable. when we are obstructed in the

first place and then delayed by judges, appointed by the former president himself, you can't get the pressed about it. you can't put your head between your legs here. you have to continue to fight. that is what this is all about. over six years, they tried to discourage us. i want -- the ways and means committee six years ago. they don't want any part of it. let's do this in a bipartisan way. there is no question about whether it is going to be political. this is not political. this is not about donald trump. this is about fairness. >> on his tax return, trump lists business income taxes -- china, qatar, the uae, turkey.

should americans be concerned about potential conflicts of interest? >> yes, if one president can do that, it's giving the tax man. anyone can do it if they are smart enough as donald trump would say. this is a conniving way to get around the tax laws. the people do not want that. they want to know that the other person is paying his or her fair share like you are doing. when your property taxes -- if someone on your street doesn't pay the taxes, that doesn't mean the cost of government in your town goes down. they didn't pay what they were supposed to pay. it's applicable to the federal system as well. >> congressman, the top republican on your committee called the release of tax

documents unprecedented. they have on least, quote, -- how do you respond to that. >> it is interesting that you mention that name. i have great respect for kevin. he's a hard worker. i don't agree with him on the subject of taxation and being fair. one iota -- he is the chairman of the committee at the time. let's do this together. he had no part of it. you want to know something? he laughed at me. i don't like that he laughed at me. don't laugh at what i am trying to do in earnest. don't try to undermine what the peoples responsibility -- mnuchin lied about it. trump lied about it. it's a clear language.

anyone can understand it. all i did was -- they wasted our time and they wasted our money, besides the fact that he talked to both sides of his mouth that he would give us the public those taxes. it took these guys six years. >> one last question -- your committee previously published to reports about trump's taxes which showed the irs failed to conduct a mandatory audit during his presidency. what can be done about the irs? how can americans have confidence in the leadership. it was a clear failure on their part. >> republicans have been -- just like i have been not increasing the number of people that work for other government agencies. that's what we are supposed to

be doing. we need to have a fair system that does not punish you because you make less money. that scrutinize is what you do. these taxes were very complicated. he had businesses all over the place. if you don't have the resources to look at this, maybe too much of that -- maybe too much of that is to avoid the law. maybe too much of it is -- >> that's what requires -- that's what would require further investigation going forward in 2023. we will have to leave it there. we are out of time. democratic congressman bill paschal of new jersey, thank you and happy new year. >> happy new year. >> that does it for me. thank you for watching. you won't see me tomorrow night

during my regular hours, evening hours. i will be back in this seat for may day am to 10 am eastern. have a happy and safe new year. msnbc report starts right now. msnbc report starts right now. what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. good morning.

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