medical evacuation, remained with the troops, fought bravely and provided leadership and inspiration to the regional force company as they repelled several assaults. when friendly reinforcements arrived, captain davis refused medical evacuation until he recovered a u.s. advisor under his command who had been wounded and presumed dead. while personally recovering the soldier, he found him clinging to life. captain davis directed the helicopter extraction not leaving the battlefield until after all friendly forces were recovered or medically evacuated. captain davis' heroism and selflessness beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the united states army.

[ applause ] [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please receive this benediction. gracious and everlasting god, as we depart, inspired by the -- >> a powerful and long overdue honor at the white house at this hour. good day. i'm peter alexander in for my friend andrea mitchell. we have been watching president biden awarding the medal of honor to paris davis for gallantry during the vietnam war. he was one of the first black officers to lead a special forces team in combat. dragged his fellow soldiers to safety, despite suffering multiple wounds and grenade fragments during a 1965 raid. an honor that is decades overdue coming to fruition in the east room there at the white house. we have been following breaking news from south carolina. convicted attorney alex murdaugh will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a powerful

preamble, the judge clifton newman, sentencing the lawyer this morning after a jury spent fewer than three hours deliberating last night before finding murdaugh guilty of murdering both his wife and their youngest son. >> the murder of your wife, maggie murdaugh, i sentence you for a term of the rest of your natural life. for the murder of paul murdaugh, whom you probably loved so much, i sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life. >> murdaugh addressing the court one final time before hearing his fate. >> i'm innocent. i would never hurt my wife maggie. and i would never hurt my son

paul. >> joining me now is ellison barber. she's outside the courthouse. laura jarrett and former u.s. attorney joyce vance are here. ellison, i want to start with you. you have witnessed a lot of this from there on the ground. murdaugh not showing any emotion during today's sentencing. we notably did not hear from any family members during today's hearing. what struck you in the closing -- the conclusion of what has been a dramatic and heavily viewed moment in american justice? >> reporter: it was a very different alex murdaugh than the one we saw take the stand. when he arrived in court this morning, this is the first day where he was not in plainclothes. he was dressed as a convicted murderer. he was in a jumpsuit. his hands were shackled as were his feet. when members of the press shouted question at him, if he had anything to say, he said nothing as he made his way into the courtroom.

showed very little, if any, emotion today. very little, if any, emotion when the guilty convictions were delivered last night. when he was on the stand testifying in his own defense, he was asked why he lied about being at the kennels shortly before the state says maggie and paul murdaugh stopped using their phones for good. at the time he said that he lied because he felt he was paranoid, he didn't trust police, he was on drugs, all of these factors. when he was asked why he kept lying, he said, what a tangled web we weave. the judge asked him about that moment. listen. >> oh what tangld web we weave, what did you mean by that? >> i meant when i lied, i continued to lie. >> the question is, when will it end? when will it end?

it has ended already for the jury, because they have concluded that you continued to lie and lie throughout your testimony. i know you have to see paul and maggie during the nighttime when you are attempting to go to sleep. i'm sure they come and visit you. i'm sure. >> all day and every night. >> i'm sure. they will continue to do so. reflect on the last time they looked you in the eyes. >> reporter: twice alex murdaugh told the judge and the court, i'm innocent, i did not hurt my wife maggie. i would not hurt my wife maggie. i did not hurt paul. the judge said to him, it might not have been you.

it might have been the monster you have become. another incredibly powerful moment was when the judge talked about sitting in the courtroom and thinking of the legacy, the legal legacy of this family. he talked about how he had made the decision to have a portrait of alex murdaugh's grandfather removed from the courtroom so he could get a fair trial. he said that he respected the state's decision not to seek the death penalty in this case, but said as i look around this courtroom and think about how your family, including you, have tried cases in this courtroom for over a century, the fact that there have probably been instances involving your family members where they have handed down sentences for death for crimes that are much lesser than this. he said he was very struck by that. our courtroom producer, inside watching things for us, she said that alex murdaugh did not look back at his family at all when he was in the court today.

he only looked forward. then he was taken out. peter? >> ellison barber with a great description. laura, i want to ask you, quickly, your reaction to some of this. first i want to play what we heard from one of the jurors who spoke to abc. take a listen. >> when you first got in the room, you took a vote? >> it was two not guilty, one not sure, and nine guilty. >> what was your vote? >> guilty. >> from the start? >> yes. everybody was pretty much talking. about 45 minutes later, after all our deliberating, we figured it out. >> it took basically 45 minutes for you guys to come to a decision? >> probably about that, 45, maybe an hour. >> that's really fast.

>> the evidence was clear. >> laura, that was interesting to hear. i think throughout the course of the case we heard anecdotes where the jury appeared to be moved by alex murdaugh at times, even passing him a box of kleenex when he became emotional on the stand. clearly the holdouts didn't need a lot of convictions. >> it's interesting. what moved them, what didn't? it makes you realize that it's a fool's errand to think what juries will do. a lot of people wondered if the jury would be split, would hang, whether they could convince just one juror to believe his story. it's interesting two of them were inclined to vote not guilty, but obviously, were persuaded by the rest of their colleagues, which is what happens in a process of deliberation like this. also interesting that later in the interview, the juror explains that they were not as moved by the financial evidence, something the state fought so hard in this case to get in.

something the defense fought tooth and nail to try to keep out, which will be one of the grounds that they will try to appeal in this the case. the jurors were not as persuaded about that as much as the video we have seen where you can hear his voice on that tape just minutes before everyone agrees these murders happened. that piece of evidence was really the thing, along with the lies, that seemed to have sealed his fate here. >> i think you are right. joyce, we heard from the state attorney general there in south carolina telling nbc news, my colleagues on "today," that murdaugh did himself in by testifying. how do you view it? what do you think the keys were to his conviction? >> so i think that's a good assessment. it's always risky when a defendant takes the witness stand and ends up hanging themself with their own words, which is what murdaugh did. really, he had very little opportunity to make a contrary decision. had this gone to the jury without the jury hearing from him, they would have almost

certainly convicted. this goes to the point that laura is making. juries are unpredictable, but here it was the strength of the government's evidence. when you layer evidence upon evidence upon evidence and the government argues there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt, because all of these different little factors confirm guilt, then that makes the jury's decision easier. >> it was striking as you look at the video, you see the other son, you see buster murdaugh sitting there looking at his father, looking away at times, but certainly didn't testify on his behalf in this sentencing phase. laura, walk us through -- the judge did mention the appeals process here. take us through how that would work. >> it's interesting. the judge made a number of evidentiary rulings throughout the trial, which mostly favored the prosecution. the number one being the evidence of his prior financial crimes, which we have heard a lot about. some 99 different crimes he is

facing, in front of this very judge, i might add, which is interesting. the judge made a point to say, i'm not going to comment on those today. on the witness stand, he admitted to a fair amount of evidence that's pretty damning when it comes to those. the judge made a number of rulings that that evidence could come in, not to show bad character or propensity to do bad things, but on the issue of motive, which is one of the evidentiary exceptions. for a lot of people, the financial crimes as motive was always not that intuitive. the idea being that he wanted to invoke sympathy from the public to distract away from the financial crimes. so he committed these heinous murders was a curious notion. for this jury, it appears to have not mattered. the state didn't have to prove motive. you heard them arguing in closing arguments they didn't have to prove motive. they said, maybe he just lost it. clearly for this jury, they weren't bothered by the lack of clear motive, at least. >> joyce, of course, there's also the issue of paul

murdaugh's 2019 boating incident. this family, obviously, has been badly tainted by tragedy. there are still these other cases that still stand before them. >> there are. this is -- murdaugh was absolutely correct when he talked about the tangled web he had woven of all of these different sorts of criminal conduct, his own personal involvement with drugs, his son now deceased involvement in the death of a friend. this is, i think, perhaps a cautionary tale about concentration of power among people who are willing to abuse it, not to draw too strong of a parallel, but i think there's a lot we can learn from this as americans, as voters, about who we entrust in positions like judges, like district attorneys, like prosecutors and to think very carefully about the limits of that power and how it should be used. >> i think a lot of people agree

judge clifton newman did a great job keeping that on track. we appreciate you. coming up next, surprise move. president biden angering democrats as he tries to balance -- find the balance between a tough on crime stance and the self-government of the nation's capital, the district of columbia. this is "andrea mitchell reports." you are watching msnbc. reports. you are watching msnbc ell you ae greatest roster ever assembled. the monster, the outlaw... and you can't forget about the boss. sometimes- you just want to eat your heroes. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ the subway series. ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ lomita feed is 101 years old this year and counting. i'm bill lockwood, current caretaker and owner.

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we are back. president biden is siding with congressional republicans in a rare reversal that blindsided some democrats in an effort to show that he is tough on crime. the president told senate democrats yesterday that he will no longer veto republican attempts to reverse the new d.c. crime law. in a tweet, the president cite ed that.

i pressed on this issue and the broader impact yesterday. why should americans believe the white house when it says he doesn't support something if the president will sign it? >> what is different about this is, as i mentioned before, the d.c. council was put forward over the president's objections. the president wants to make sure americans feel safe. >> the administration said it would not support it. now the white house says that it will. here with me is the homeland security correspondent julia ainsley, jeff mason and joyce vance. julia, let's start with you. we discuss the issue of crime

ahead of the election in 2024. this changes how d.c. punishes, prosecutes cases of crime, including carjackings. walk us through that. >> it's an unusual position for the president to be in. when else would he weigh in on the minutia of a crime bill at this local level? in d.c., he can. what this would do -- it would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences. it would allow for jury trial in the cases of misdemeanors. it would lower penalties for carjackings. having a jury seems like a good idea. but in d.c. when you talk about a backlog in court, that could mean people being let go, they will not be held in detention, not held in jail while they wait for the trial. as you wait for a jury, longer and longer, those people could be out committing more crimes. it's something the mayor here actually opposed and the city council passed it. >> the mayor saying self-rule is more important. our decision making is more important than this issue.

jeff, the white house, as we tried to get to in the exchange with the press secretary yesterday, is in a pickle here. they like to say, we stand for the district of columbia. we like them to be the 51st, to rule themselves. on this issue, we have to intervene. we believe they have to be tougher on crime here. it does raise a lot of challenging questions for them, especially after what we witnessed with lori lightfoot, the chicago democratic mayor who lost her bid for re-election even in the primary. is the white house trying to demonstrate it is tough on crime? what's the motivation? what changed here? >> i think the difference was the mayor opposed this. i think president biden can't look soft on crime. that's something he faced in the midterm elections. it didn't end up hurting democrats as much as many republicans thought it would. it's going to be an issue going into the presidential election. it's something president trump will bring up -- former president trump will bring up and other republican candidates.

it's something biden opposed. both as a candidate and president, he is somebody who opposed de-fund the police, despite some push for that. that's not in line with biden's views. this wasn't either. >> you can see the way this would have played out. president biden in his own backyard supported a weaker stance on crime. it's not unusual for congress to block a law. but d.c.'s crime code has not been updated for more than a century, since 1901. >> it hasn't been. here we see one of the reasons why it's this unique situation in the district of columbia. this begs the entire issue of criminal justice reform. there is a lot of data that suggests that the pursuit of smart on crime policies actually reduces crime and makes communities safer. there's some effort to track that sort of data in this new

bill. but we also see the reason that criminal justice reform has remained in many ways an unattainable goal. it is because of political bump bumper stickers. the fear when they impose smart policy they will be rejected by voters. >> julia, i want to ask you about another topic. absolute immunity, saying mr. trump, the former president, can be sued over january 6th attacks, the things he said ahead of the violence that we saw on that day. the brief filed yesterday is careful not to say if former president trump is liable for damages. the trump team says it's frivolous. >> they are telling the federal appeals court that the president -- former president or anyone in the future cannot claim that it's political speech or that they are protected by

their job if they are using that speech to bring about violence. >> this is about official comments versus unofficial ones. some done as president. others done as a campaigner here. help us understand how we should view this. >> it's complicated. i think the right way to look at what doj is doing here is they are saying, presidents have a very broad expansion of conduct that they can engage in that should be considered part of their official conduct. but this, what julia is correctly characterizing as an incitement to private violence, that's beyond the scope of anything a president can reasonably do while he is in office. the president has no immunity here by virtue of his federal

employment status. he can be sued just like any other american could be sued for the charges that are being brought by members of congress and capitol police in this lawsuit. >> jeff, quickly, complicates the issue for donald trump as he looks for 2024? >> it does. that will keep coming up and it's something democrats can throw at him as well. >> nice to see you in person. joyce, we appreciate your expertise as well. next, life of the party. with a clear focus on the former president, donald trump, and the annual cpac conference, the list of who isn't there is almost as notable as who is. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." we are only on msnbc. "andrea mitchell reports." we are only on msnbc so no matter what the market's doing, he's ready. and that's... how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain,

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today's speakers. vaughn hillyard talk to some of the attendees, including sarah palin. >> reporter: what does it say about you being here versus mitch mcconnell or kevin mccarthy? >> well, if you keep going down the line, you will name enough names where you say i'm not a rhino. that's why i'm here. >> single best news source in the country. steve bannon. >> donald trump! >> reporter: in 2024? >> trump. >> trump. >> trump. >> guess what she was going to say. i think it rhymes with drum. joining me is vaughn hillyard and jeremy peters. i want to ask you about this. donald trump junior attacking john fetterman, who has been suffering publically from clinical depression. what has been the reaction there to top republicans skipping the

conference and most notably ron desantis? >> reporter: right. as it pertains to don junior, i will say they were grotesque comments and unfair as he continues to go through his own health care situation. as for the conference as a whole here, you have donald trump who will speak here tomorrow. nikki haley will speak two hours from now as well as potential presidential contender mike pompeo. let's be very clear here. this is a trump loyal base of support. ron desantis is not here. mike pence is not here. mitch mcconnell, speaker mccarthy, they are nowhere to be seen here this weekend. what you see and hear from the supporters, when i went up to one person after another, it was donald trump, donald trump, donald trump. ron desantis is young. he should wait four more years and pick up after donald trump.

this is a moment where there is a base of support for donald trump. to what extent does that extend beyond here? there is club for growth that's meeting with others like youngkin as well as desantis and pence, individuals not here this weekend. that's another conservative group here that is looking to help finance a not donald trump candidacy over the next 11 months. the question is at the voter level. we will get a better understanding. for now there are allies of donald trump who are here this weekend that are making the case, the grass-roots of the conservative movement continues to stand by donald trump and is loyal to him and everybody else should step aside and wait. let's be clear, if you are nikki haley, you will look atception . i have not met a single supporter here this weekend. can she make inroads over these months ahead? >> of course, we will not play

those comments from donald trump junior. we are joined by michael steele. i want to ask you about this. we heard it was striking to hear one after another of attendees say how much they love donald trump. why do they maintain faith in a person who lost the house and the senate and then his own re-election, to say nothing of january 6 and the like? what is the basis for that? hasn't it been proven the guy cannot win for their party? >> it's just not about winning. absolutely, for the party regulars and the establishment, that's the end game. but for these guys, donald trump represents something more. he represents the permission to say and do and behave the way they have, to push back against the culture, to push back against the democrats and the liberals in the country, to push back against this idea of what america is evolving into versus

what they fantasize it being or thinking it is. it's not just about the politics of the winning. that's the electoral process. that's the tool that's used to achieve that -- those types of goals. it's more than that. this is -- we are in the midst -- the beginning at least, of a culture war. they see that quite literally. there's a reason why they go after trans americans. there's a reason why they go after black history. there's a reason they go after those things that eat into the cultural whiteness in this country. this feeds a lot of energy into that space in a way that nikki haley -- not that she can't do it, but she won't do it. >> she talks about a desire to win. a lot of these are less concerned about that desire to win than about the desire to sort of lift up donald trump as

their sort of leader on all the cultural issues you take about. jeremy, how much is cpac this week a reflection of where the party is right now and where it's headed? >> peter, i think it has always been a reflection of where the hard core base of the party is. there was a time when that hard core base was a much smaller piece of the republican party. remember back in 2011 when trump first spoke at cpac, ron paul was the darling. trump referenced ron paul by name and said, give me a break, that guy is not going to win. he got booed from the crowd. it's now entirely the trump show at cpac. it's a reminder of how much the republican party has changed and how much it is still very much donald trump's republican party. >> jeremy, as you look -- ron

desantis is making traction there. i speak to white house officials, they think before they talk about donald trump and ron desantis, they have to have it out with each other. how do you view that? what should we anticipate? what's likely to be a real serious brawl with a lot of folks, even as i speak to them on the road, some republicans say, we love 90% of donald trump, what he did. we dislike 90% of what donald trump said. >> they have always been saying that. people have been saying that since 2015 when donald trump first started running for president. republican voters who like him have this amazing capacity to be both privately disgusted by some of the things he says, but they also enjoy it. it's kind of these two emotions in conflict. they would rather have somebody like that for all his flaws fighting for them, because they perceive him to be on their side

in these culture wars. while that is certainly a lane that ron desantis has taken up and taken up to great affect, one of the things we have seen time and time again is that when donald trump attacks an opponent and belittles them, that really drives down their approval and their popularity among republican voters. it's the primary voters in the gop that will make this decision. those folks are much more like the people who are attending cpac than they are the folks who are lining up behind nikki haley. >> we will watch a lot of this over the next several months. we have been watching the house ethics committee that says it will move forward with investigating new york congressman george santos, who fabricated major parts of his background, almost all of it as we have heard. in a unanimous vote the

committee said they will investigate whether santos broke any laws during his 2022 campaign as well as his financial disclosure forms and allegations of sexual misconduct that santos denies. his office says he is cooperating with the house ethics committee. joining me now is the republican congressman anthony desposito who represents a neighboring area to santos. first, how does this ethics probe move the ball forward here? >> i think, first of all, we need to focus on the fact that leader mccarthy -- speaker mccarthy has been a man of his word. he has spoken to the new york delegation and those of us who have been super critical of george santos. he said there would be an ethics investigation, it would be swift, comprehensive. that's exactly what we have

begun to see yesterday. i'm looking forward to the results. i spent a year -- my life in law enforcement, years in law enforcement. i don't need all that law enforcement experience to know exactly where this ethics investigation is going to end. >> you said it has been swift. it has been two months to launch this investigation. are you satisfied by that timetable? your party in particular has been whacked left and right by storied where george santos has been a representative of the party and he has been tarred by scandal after scandal. >> i am. we obviously had an interesting first week when we were doing our speaker election. recently, we were assigned to committees. i think it's moved as fast as it possibly can. i think the leadership has been very understanding and had an open line of communication between us new yorkers who have been extremely vocal. we have -- i was the first member of congress to call for his resignation along with every other elected republican official in nassau county.

i believe all the other freshmen in new york have also called for his resignation. we have legislation, which you referred to in the beginning of the show, that we are putting forward. it's a good government agenda. i'm looking forward to getting support from republicans and democrats. >> i want to drill down on what i started by asking about, this proposal that would block him from making money with books or media appearances. his name is now nationally recognized. this would prevent him from making money after he leaves office. how would that work? >> again, i think this is one of those good government initiatives. the fact is that we have seen over the last two months that george santos loves the news, he loves the media, he loves sparking interest in his lies and his deceit and the facts that he duped the american public. we saw it on the night of the state of the union where he needed to sit on the aisle to engage with the president of the united states. this is someone who has -- as

senator romney said, he should keep to himself. he loves the limelight. this is a step to make sure that moving forward, when george santos decided to write a book or pen a book or be part of a tv movie or being on "dancing with the stars," whatever the case may be, he will not generate a profit from legitimately duping the american public and making a mockery and a stain he caused to the institution of the united states congress. >> congressman, not mincing words in his views of george santos. we appreciate your time and perspective. thank you. >> thank you. have a good one. coming up, a white house visit for a key u.s. ally in the fight for ukraine. what's at stake? we will speak to john kirby next live here on "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. reports. by treating my skin and joints.

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we are back now on msnbc. president biden is meeting with the chancellor of germany at the white house as the war in ukraine enters its second year. both have been vocal about their concerns that china could supply weapons to russia. joining me now is john kirby, coordinator for strategic initiations. i want to start by this visit. it's a working meeting. there's wide reporting that germany and france want this war to wind down quickly. does the u.s. agree with germany and france on this? >> we would like this war to end today, peter. it could if mr. putin would do the right thing and pull his troops out of ukraine where they don't belong. short of that, we want to make sure if there's negotiated peace, it has to be done in full coordination with ukrainians, with president zelenskyy. nothing about ukraine without ukraine, you have heard president biden talk about that many times. that's our position.

obviously, we would like to see this war end as soon as possible. the ukrainians, no less, than anybody else would like to see it end. we have to make sure that as it ends, it ends in a way that respects ukrainian sovereignty, interests. those interests have to be defined by president zelenskyy. >> obviously, one of the challenges is to continue to maintain this pace of providing weapons, support for ukraine. right now it's been nearly a month since berlin gave european allies permission to send those german tanks, the leopard 2s to ukraine. there has been a problem getting some of those tanks to ukraine. some countries report discovering the tanks in their armory don't work or they don't have spare parts. "the new york times" reporting it demonstrates how unprepared european militaries are right now. how concerned is the u.s. about that challenge that allies are facing right now in an effort to arm ukraine? >> there hasn't been a day since the war began over a year ago that we haven't been concerned about making sure we get ukraine

the kinds of capabilities that they need on the battlefield as fast as possible. some cases you can get things there within a matter of days. they are making a huge difference. other typetimes it takes longer. we will work with our partners about these capabilities to make sure we are doing everything we can to get them ready for the fighting in the weeks and months ahead. there will be more vicious fighting in those weeks and months. >> let me ask you about nato. officials say the russians are amassing aircraft across the border from ukraine. is the u.s. anticipating an imminent campaign by the russian air force? >> we have been talking to the ukrainians for weeks about what potential there might be for a russian offensive when the weather improves. i don't want to get into intelligence estimates here on tv. i can tell you that we are watching this very, very closely. we are sharing the information that we have directly with ukrainians. they are doing the same. that's why we are working so hard here in these winter months as winter comes to a close to make sure the ukrainians are in

the best possible position they can be come spring. >> you and your colleagues at white house and across the administration have made it clear right now there's a real concern and a warning to china not to provide weapons to russia. as you have told me repeatedly, they haven't done that yet. nothing is off the table right now. you have seen, like i have, some of the numbers of american support for this war has begun to wane. if you were to have to pursue something consequence, some punishment for china, how would you be able to reinforce sanctions here? do you worry the american people say, enough is enough? that would have an impact on the u.s. economy. wouldn't it? >> let's not get ahead of where we are right now. we haven't seen the chinese move in this direction. it's true they haven't taken it off the table. you heard concerns about this potential move. we don't believe it's in the chinese's best interest to provide weapons and capabilities

so that mr. putin can kill innocent people. we believe they should see that it's not in their interest. as for what we would do should they move in that direction, you heard secretary blinken talk about it. there would be consequences. it's not helpful to get beyond where we are. we hope that china makes the right decision here. obviously, it is their decision to make. we hope they come down on the side of not wanting to help mr. putin continue these murderous ways. >> i'm asking what the leverage is here. wouldn't it potentially chip away at u.s. support for this war here? doesn't china know that? >> i think it's difficult to know -- we don't know where china will go here. but if there were to be consequences, if they make a decision and there were to be consequences, it's difficult to know what impact that would have on the american people and their opinion about what's going on inside ukraine. i don't think we want to get too far ahead of ourselves since china hasn't made this decision. the president believes the american people understand well

what's at stake here. it's independence. it's an ideal all americans can understand. he knows that they know that if mr. putin were to walk over ukraine, to take it away as an independent state, where does it go from there? where does he stop? the cost in blood and pressure to our allies and partners could be exponentially higher. >> as president biden said to me not long ago, he said he doesn't believe president xi wants to rip up the relationship with the united states and with himself personally. last question to you. we haven't heard a lot about balloons recently. are you tracking more right now? if so, why haven't any others been shot down? >> i'm not aware that the pentagon is tracking any other unidentified balloons or objects at this time. >> we saw -- you said when you fixed the radar, you saw so many. after fixing the radar, there haven't been any you are aware

of since? >> remember, what's different now is we put in place some additional protocols. they are in a classified setting, but some protocols to help us discrimination what needs to be worried about and what doesn't. i can't speak for what north com is doing. i understand they have not made changes to the radar parameters. what has changed is a new set of protocols to help us decision krim nature what's a threat from what is not a threat. >> important to point that out. i appreciate your time. see you at the white house. >> yes, sir. fallout. andrea mitchell has a look at the havana syndrome on the country where it began. that's next on "andrea mitchell reports." itchell reports. that's next on "andrea mitchell reports." mitchell reports. i feel so accomplished. pet me please! great prices. happy pets. chewy. get refunds.com powered by innovation refunds

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we're back now, and this week the u.s. intelligence community officially declared that havana syndrome, the mysterious illness afflicting thousands of american diplomats and spies overseas for the past six years was not caused by a foreign adversary or weapons. u.s. intelligence investigators blame underlying health conditions or environmental causes. the diplomatic fallout is still

poisoning u.s. relations with china. the host of this program, andrea mitchell has a closer look. >> reporter: august 2015, the stars and stripes are raised at the u.s. embassy in havana for the first time in 54 years. diplomatic relations restored after decades of hostility. seven months later, president obama and raul castro were side by side signaling the u.s. and cuba could play ball with each other. >> i have come here to bury the last remnant of the cold war in the americas. >> it was a sea change for millions of cubans, opening the door to cruise ships landing with tourists eager to visit havana's historic sites, stay in renovated hotels and revive the island's sagging economic fortunes. but then american diplomats in havana started getting blinding headaches and hearing piercing sounds. >> it was gripping. it was like i had been seized by

some invisible hand and i couldn't move. >> reporter: and donald trump was eager to roll back the obama opening to cuba. >> effective immediately, i am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with cuba. >> reporter: within months citing reports of the havana syndrome, the trump state department expelled cuban diplomats from washington and withdrew american personnel from the embassy in havana. >> we understand the cubans don't like the actions we've taken. we don't like our diplomats being targeted. >> reporter: before leaving office secretary of state mike pompeo designated cuba a state sponsor of terror for harboring fugitives, further sinking the island's economy. and after cuba cracked down brutally on protesters that year, president biden twice renewed that designation, souring relations. and even though the administration now says cuba was not responsible for sickening american diplomats, the ties between the two countries may take years to heal.

>> that was andrea mitchell there reporting, and that will do it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." andrea will be back in this chair on monday. i hope you'll remember to follow the show online, you can do it on facebook and twitter @mitchellreports. you can follow me @peteralexander if you like. "chris jansing reports" starts right after this. no matter whae market's doing, he's ready. and that's... how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ your money never stops working for you with merrill, ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪ ♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ there's always a fresh deal on the subway app. like this one! 50% off?! that deal's so good we don't even need an eight-time all-star to tell you about it. wait what?

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