hey, everyone, good to be with you. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for katy tur. a new report obtained by nbc news from house democrats could unravel a house gop effort to prove the government has been weapon sized against conservatives, an effort central enough to republicans' agenda.

chairman jim jordan has gavelled in an entire subcommittee on this issue. he's touted allegations from dozens of whistleblowers who he said came to him with stories of the discrimination and bias they face, the problem is that was pretty much all we knew about them until now. before we break down what is in this new report, i want to bring you back to an exchange between jim major dan and congressman dan goldman between the first and so far only weaponization of the federal government hearing last month on the quote unquote evidence that republicans claim to have had. take a listen. >> you talk about dozens of whistleblowers, when are we going to get that information? >> when they testify. i'll work with the ranking member on that issue. >> you don't have any transcriptions of their interviews? >> we have the first one and the dozens who have come and talked to our office. >> they talked to your office privately. >> republican staff, right. >> and they're not transcribed, no notes, no nothing.

i mean of the dozens that have came and talked to your staff. >> what do you want me to turn over there? >> their names. >> notes, did anyone take notes? >> i'll be happy to talk with the ranking member on how we handle that information. >> thank you. >> so it looks like democrats did, in fact, get at least some of that information they wanted. 316 pages worth claiming the first three witnesses who testified privately not only failed to offer up any firsthand knowledge of government abuses. they don't even meet the definition of a whistleblower as jim jordan suggested, and they're being paid, that's key here. by a trump ally. i want to bring in now nbc news capitol hill correspondent, ryan nobles to start us off. it's great to talk to you. talk us through first and foremost, who the three witnesses are so far the committee has heard from? >> well, it's interesting, yasmin, because kind of the basis of this argument by republicans on this so-called weaponization committee is these

whistleblowers have uncovered all of what they're describing as a conservative bias within the justice department and fbi. if these three whistleblowers, the first that have been identified in this report by the house democrats are any indication, they don't necessarily represent the sum total of the premise that republicans are working off of. one of the individuals that was mentioned was a former fbi agent. but some in this group was actually here on january 6th as part of the protests that took place at the capitol. as you mentioned, some have been paid by a former trump ally as part of this process, and they also have been described as people that have fallen out of favor in some way or another with their former employer. they don't necessarily meet the standard as what the government defines as a whistleblower that would allow them to enjoy all the protections of that whistleblower status. which is an important part of this investigation and this

process. now, we should point out that this is just the beginning of this process. the house republicans claim they have dozens of people that they believe fall underneath this -- what they would describe as being a whistleblower and are going to uncover a lot. but democrats would contend that these are the first three that you're going to come through, and have sit for transcribed interviews, it doesn't necessarily foreshadow what they are claiming to be a very realistic and an investigation that has merit. >> tell us, ryan, if you will, this need for democrats, with this 316 page report to get ahead of what they suspect republicans are about to do. >> yeah, i mean, that's kind of behind the scenes way these stories play out on capitol hill, and from what we understand and through our own reporting, that there were a number of news outlets, this was something we at nbc news had been tipped off to as well, about the accusations coming out

from the house republicans, and then when some of these media outlets went to report on it, "the new york times," cnn and others, that they brought in information to the house democrats and the house democrats were basically forced to provide their side of these conversations that outlined the real issues that they had with some of these whistleblowers, so it was an attempt by one side of the committee to try and get this information out, and it forced the other side of the committee to rebut those claims, and, you know, a lot of this process, at least at this stage is supposed to be done behind closed doors. transcribed interviews, while not labeled as classified unless specifically done so under specific terms are not supposed to be released to the media. obviously this stuff gets leaked a lot, part of our job as reporters to get that information. democrats were not interested in getting the information out quite yet. they thought that this would come out as the investigation moved forward.

when they saw republicans attempting to make a move to get it out, this is how they responded. >> ryan nobles as always, my friend, thank you. want to bring in former fbi general counsel and member of robert mueller's investigation into interference in the 2016 election. it's great to talk to you. i want to describe for folks how these, what republicans are calling whistleblowers are being described in this 315 page report and have you weigh in for us. these witnesses are deeply biassed. each endorses an alarming series of conspiracy theories, related to the attack, and the validity of the 2020 election. one has called repeatedly for the dismantling of the fbi, even more alarming, these so called quote unquote whistleblowers are directly connected to a network of extreme maga republican

operatives. at network of organizations, appears to have identified these witnesses provided them with financial compensation, and found them employment after they left the fbi. when you listen to this description, andrew, does that null and void any testimony they have provided and being identified as quote unquote whistleblowers? >> it certainly goes a long way to doing that, and just to step back, you know, i worked at the fbi just based on personal experience, you hardly think of law enforcement as a particularly democrat laden institution. most of the law enforcement is a fairly conservative organization, and you saw that in the recent "washington post" reporting about the back and forth between the fbi and main

justice attorneys about whether there should be a search warrant of mar-a-lago with the fbi pushing back and many people saying no. that hardly supports the idea that the fbi is some hot bed of liberalism, and the attack on merrick garland and the justice lawyers doesn't make a lot of sense. merrick garland is the person who appointed a special counsel for joe biden, the president, and not only any special counsel, he appointed a former trump appointee to be the special counsel. to me, the irony here is it would be a real problem if there was politicalization of the justice or fbi or any of the intelligence communities but you're not seeing any evidence of it. instead, you see republicans sort of claiming it but this strongly suggests that there's just no evidence to support it. instead they're relying on people who seem of at least at face value what you have been reporting is people of serious credibility issues.

but on the other hand, i don't want to prejudge it. they haven't testified under oath publicly, and we remain to be seen. it's certainly something that if there were a problem, it should be investigated, but i don't see any evidence of it, based on the report we just got. >> even to your point, just because historically law enforcement is more conservative. even when you have a democratic administration, it doesn't necessarily mean these agencies are politicizing their work. >> absolutely. i mean, this is something that joyce vance speaks about all the time, which is, you know, when you're in government, the idea that you're thinking about politics and deciding what to do. it just is not in your dna, and i know it sound like this is some ideal that it can be possible, if really is true, you just think about the evidence and whether the person committed a crime. you don't care whether they're a democrat or a republican. whether you're like them or

dislike them, and it is really about the evidence and the law and, you know, you have a corrupt politician, they're a corrupt politician. if there is evidence that that sort of apolitical nature is being violated, absolutely that should be looked into, but there really is no evidence of that and it's, you know -- to me it's such an irony to hear the current republican house representatives saying that this is the most politicized department of justice when we came from the bar just department where by all accounts we saw over politicalization and helping former trump allies in their political cases, so i really do think that dan goldman in the clip being played is quite right to be asking for evidence and trying to get it out to the public to see that there really is no there there,

because it's really important for people to have confidence in their justice department and the fbi. >> can you just quickly explain for us, andrew, and we don't have a lot of time, the baseline standard for a whistleblower? because that is what folks like jim jordan are calling these individuals that i just described from this 316 page report. >> well, let's just start with the fact that they're no longer in the government. so that if these are former fbi agents or former officials they're not whistleblowers, they're not people who are coming forward as current employees, afraid for their employment because they're going to be fired in some way, and also, you're not a whistleblower if you do something like as is alleged, talk to the press while you're working at the fbi without authorization. in other words, if you violate internal rules, and you're called on it, that is not -- does not make you a whistleblower and the fact that you have political views that

you want to espouse doesn't make you a whistleblower. >> andrew weissmann as always, it's great to talk to you. appreciate it. >> thank you. let's talk ohio, if we can for a moment. the president saying he plans to visit east palestine at some point, as anger and frustration has not subsided after that train derailment one month ago now. biden's announcement has come as we get details from norfolk southern about how it plans to clean up the hazardous soil and the debris left behind in eastern ohio. the company's plan, it's not easing the minds of the residents there who accuse officials of lying at a town hall last night. >> we're very sorry. we feel horrible about it. >> get our grand kids out of here now. get my children out. >> let's go to east palestine. nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch standing by.

there were 200 people or so at this town hall. it got really fiery, which is expect, right? these folks are understandably worried about their future, worried about their health. still symptomatic, in some way, shape or form, many of them, take us through what happened and what we're hearing most from residents there right now. >> i think the one word we can say to unify all of this probably is frustration, people are frustrated with the government, they're frustrated with the railroad, even after hearing from officials on the stage, people continue to express skepticism and continue to say they weren't getting answers that they needed. you mentioned people worried about their health, worried about their financial health as well as their physical well being. these people's homes, they have invested in these properties. we met someone in recent weeks who run a bed and breakfast. people who live here. you buy a home, we expect that to appreciate in value. people wondering if their homes

are total losses. some of that came to a head in exchange for residents and representatives from norfolk southern. it's not the ceo, and people were calling out, where's allen. people wanted to see the ceo there. he was not there. a representative for the railroad was. here's part of one of those exchanges. >> has there been any talk about relocating? >> there has not. >> would your company be willing to pay for it if the epa found it necessary? >> what i will state on this topic, this is going to be an evolving conversation that will go on for quite a while. >> my kids are sick, or my grand kids are sick, before you do anything. we are close enough to that place, we should not be there. i don't have the means to move my family or we would have been gone. i'm getting backlash from everybody else, you should be gone, you shouldn't be there. how do i get out? >> you can hear, these are the

ongoing concerns of residents in this community that we were just showing there. a neighboring community where i am in canfield, ohio, right now. i want to also point out there, one of the things that's a development today, norfolk railroad has begun to remove temporarily train tracks, which is something the epa had to remove before they could begin. that is another thing that has raised concerns in the community. we have heard from the epa that there's the potential for vapors and odors to be in the air as a result of this, and i had a comment from the epa, i just want to read part of this. odors from the chemicals involved in the derailment can be strong at levels much lower than what is considered harmful to health. even if people smell something that doesn't necessarily mean it's harmful to them. this community being talked about having potentially more put into the air, as they continue to try to figure out what exactly has been done to them by what was previously put into the air. again, all of this, you can

imagine, contributing to that skepticism, that is still very much in that community. >> and i'm sure they certainly don't trust statements like that that are being put out. how do i get out. that is the question they want answered the most right now. it seems in that community. that very much needs help. jesse kirsch. thank you. good to talk to you. alec murdaugh sentenced to life. what his own lawyers are saying might have sealed his fate. plus, what is happening behind the scenes at cpac. why some of donald trump's own supporters are saying they're ready to move on: what walgreens just decided that will further restrict a woman's right to choose in a post roe america. we'll be right back. n a post roa we'll be right back. switch your car insurance to progressive, and you could save hundreds. -feel better now? -not really. switch to progressive, and you could save hundreds.

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verdict in just three hours for the murder of his wife maggie and son paul. nbc's craig melvin sat down with the defense team following today's sentencing hearing, and he asked them about the video that put alec at the scene of the crime. >> how damning was the lie about the kennel video? >> damning. >> extremely. >> we were talking about jim and i were getting prepared four or five months ago, and, you know, we were looking for a way to get around we call it the lie. it's the lie. how do you get around it. how do you explain it? and apparently he didn't. >> so this case really boiled down to the big lie versus the big why. why would he do it? and to this day, the why would he do such a thing has never been answered. >> you can watch more on the interview tonight on a special episode of "dateline," joining me from walterboro is nbc news correspondent ellison barber and on set, nbc news legal

correspondent, laura jarrett. ellison, talk me through it first, right? it was quick this morning to say the least. we thought it was going to take a lot longer than it actually did. take us through what actually took place in the courtroom. >> reporter: we thought we were going to hear a lot of victims' statements because that's a part of a process commonly known as allocution, laura, i'm confident can explain all of that better than me. my understanding is it's not something that takes place in a whole lot of states. but because that's something that happens here, we expected to maybe hear hours of victim statements and that did not happen, instead, what you had was a very brief statement from the prosecutor, a very brief statement from the defendant, alec murdaugh, saying i am negligent, i would not hurt my wife maggie. i would not hurt my son paul, and then a lot from the judge as he went to sentence him, and

there were some really powerful moments there that seemed to resonate with everyone in the courtroom as he talked about knowing murdaugh before this, seeing what his life, what he has become, and also the fact that they were in a courtroom where this family, the murdaugh family has tried cases for close to a century. and he talked about respecting the state's decision not to go with -- not to pursue the death penalty in this case, but saying as i look around here and think of how your grandfather, your father, even you have tried cases in here, and think about how surely people in your family have handed down and seen over, you know, death penalty cases for lesser crimes. all of that was factoring in. he said you might not have done this, but the monster you have become did. and just listening to all of that back and forth was a really compelling moment and then outside the courthouse after, there was this big frenzy,

scramble of a lot of people being out here. some spectators, and others tied to the case who had come back to sort of see how it would end, and in this process, we were able to speak with one of the prosecution's most important, arguably most recognizable witnesses, the forensic expert who testified and came back to testify during the rebuttal. he was one of the last witnesses that the jury heard from before they took their trip to go to the crime scene. he told us that he thought that visit was incredibly critical here. that as well as that now notorious kennel snapchat video. i asked him as we were talking, is there anything we haven't talked about that you just really wish people would remember or you think it's really important for them to know about your work and this case, and he made a really specific point about the way in his expert opinion maggie murdaugh was found, and her final moments, final steps. listen. >> we heard several times in the testimony that ms. maggie

murdaugh was running away. she was shot as she was running away, and i'm so thankful to attorney general wilson for letting me get that in there, because i thought that was very important, the whole trial she was doing what a mother does. she was running, in my opinion, toward her baby. >> reporter: he told us after the trial, he actually went and met with the jury and he said that was at the jury's request. he said they wanted to meet with him, which is something he said never happened before. i asked what he talked about, he didn't get into details but the jury wanted to thank him, and they thanked him for his testimony. >> there's two major things i want to get in to while i have you. first and foremost is how quickly this came out. three hours. >> stunning. >> i was shocked when this popped up on my phone. abc news got an interview with the first juror. let's take a listen to that. >> so it took basically 45

minutes for you guys to come to a decision. >> probably about 45, maybe an hour. >> that's really fast? >> yeah. the evidence was clear. >> what made you so sure that he had. >> his responses. how quick he was with the defense, and his lies. steady lies. >> did you feel like he was a liar? >> a good liar, but not good enough. >> what do you make of that? >> especially as we sat here for the last couple of days, talking about the motive that was built by the prosecution, how it seemed somewhat flimsy, yet they were sold. >> two of them weren't initially. isn't it interesting that they managed to flip two people in the span of 45 minutes. maybe they weren't that dug in on positions, a relatively short amount of time, and it shows you how you do not need specialized knowledge, they were so bothered by the lies, you can see in his face, he wasn't that good of a liar. he was so moved by that, and we

saw alec on video, time and again, lying with a straight face, and lying on the stand. >> why don't you think the state didn't pursue the death penalty? >> it's a great question. when they announced the decision, it was based on the facts and circumstances, it is worth noting in south carolina, you actually have to have a unanimous decision by the jury to have a death penalty case, and so maybe they were worried they couldn't get a unanimous jury on that issue, and they thought it would be easier. >> you don't think there was some sort of biases considering who he was. >> we know the prominence of the family and the town. they had to remove the picture of his grandfather from that very courtroom. there's no question that there is a level of privilege within that family, something the judge spoke about quite eloquently today, but the state says it was based on the facts and circumstances. >> laura jarrett, thank you. for millions of american women, the option to end a pregnancy with an abortion pill got harder.

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welcome back, everybody. today, attendees of the conservative political action conference or cpac, heard from the republican party's most vocal members, including marjorie taylor greene, matt gaetz, lauren boebert, nikki haley, mike pompeo as well.

arizona's kari lake is going to speak at the conference, ronald reagan dinner keynote speaker tonight, those ahead of donald trump with high stakes for his 2024 campaign as his party, and even some of his own former supporters appear divided on a second term for him. joining me now from national harbor is nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard. good to talk to you. take us inside. what have you been seeing for us so far today? >> yeah, kari lake is going to be the featured speaker here later tonight. i just saw her in the hallway here, gave her a head nod. she declined to come over and chat, yet over the last 36 hours, i have had the opportunity to talk to a great number of conservatives here at cpac, and we should note this is a trump loyal crowd as you'll see in this video, and when you're looking at the video of the stage, there's a lot more happening beyond those lights, take a look.

>> we are at the 2023 cpac, yes. >> reporter: this place, cpac, used to be conservative's weekend out, the annual gathering for the who's who across the republican party. >> the conservative movement is alive and well. >> reporter: george h.w. bush made the rounds, dick cheney, mitt romney and paul ryan too. >> i don't see this great divide in our party. what i see is a vibrant debate. >> reporter: the rise of donald trump has changed these halls. >> trump, trump, trump. >> reporter: nikki haley, mike pompeo, ted cruz are here, but ronna mcdaniel, mike pence, and ron desantis are not. >> what does it say from the trump team's perspective about governor desantis not being here? >> i think the absence speaks volumes. i know who is going to show up, president trump. >> reporter: also not mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy gl . >> what does it say about you

being here versus mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy? >> you're going to name enough names, i'm not a rhino, that's why i'm here. >> reporter: how has cpac changed since the rise of donald trump? >> cpac is always raucous and wonderful, there's an electricity to it, and i think there's been more of an electricity. >> reporter: other republicans including speaker mccarthy are not here. you are here. why are you at cpac. >> he's the activist of our party. we can't do anything without him. >> reporter: perry johnson, you got a shot for 2024? >> i believe. i wouldn't be here otherwise. >> reporter: this is media row, but they are all right wing outlets. >> chatgpt is politically biassed. >> this is the single best news in the country. >> grass roots. >> reporter: the attendees here largely remaining trump loyalists. >> why are we at cpac.

>> who do you got in 2024? >> trump, are. >> trump. >> trump. >> this includes a mock oval office, and all of this ahead of trump's appearance for the final major speech on saturday night. >> what does it say about donald trump coming here this weekend? >> it's awesome. i play golf with him once a month. he's ready to go, a lot of energy. i'm anxious for him to get on the trail, touching flesh and telling people what he's going to do. >> reporter: now, for the number of republicans including mike pence, ron desantis, mitch mcconnell, that did not come here and meet this very pro trump crowd, nikki haley, the other major presidential contender she did and took the stage just this afternoon, and she received a friendly reception, but i would it was very far from being enthusiastic, but not markedly cold. when she left the stage, there were chants of trump in her

direction, and i attempted to ask her how she was going to win over some of these trump loyalists and she declined to answer, made her way out of the building, and back on to the campaign trail. the big question is tomorrow night, how will the crowd respond to donald trump in the final major speech. >> you look like you're having too much fun there. thank you my friend. good to see you. i want to bring in former republican congressman from florida, and msnbc political analyst, david jolly. the folks that are not showing up to cpac, which is a pretty loud, it seems message they're sending per the direction of the republican party. is there a sense, right, and you and i, david, have talked about this, that the larger the swath of people running for president, the better it is for the former president, these folks my coalesce around one candidate if they find that's what's

happening? >> that's right. and this is a year in which the chair of the conservative political action conference has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct, so that might also be in play for some people. it's a convenient year to not attend. to your point, donald trump really being the heavy rating, showing up for what is the heart of the republican party still, even among other speakers, gaetz, boebert and the likes. but those who are not in attendance, desantis and pence being two that we focus on are actually cocktailing with kind of the new establishment crowd in the republican party, the club for growth, which for 20 years was the far right group, but is now looking to be the counter weight to donald trump, and so the question is, does donald trump tomorrow night go right at desantis and pence and hit them on missing maga nation, and also hit them on hanging out with the establishment crowd? we have not seen that level of kind of keenness and willingness to really hit at desantis. this is the stage for donald trump if he chooses to do so.

>> when we're watching and listening to the voices that are coming out of cpac, obviously it's all pro trump, and i want to read for you a quote from a desantis book event. pretty strong supporter saying this, donald needs to retire, and i love donald. this is the man who is going to change the direction of this country. the former president is too big for his britches. he thinks his stuff does not stink. and i'm pretty sure this is not the only person that feels this way at this point. >> that's right, which is why you see ron desantis polling neck in neck with donald trump. there are two heavy weights, donald trump and ron desantis, and arguably ron desantis is running the better campaign. to your earlier point, the more non-trump candidates in the race, the more it helps donald trump. you've seen nikki haley, mike pence, and others not hit at donald trump, and hit at ron desantis. it's an acknowledgment that he

is the heavy weight that the party is waiting to get into the race. the numbers right now still favor donald trump but ron desantis has not yet begun to run. donald trump needs to worry about ron desantis, and we'll see tomorrow night if he is. >> david jolly as always, great to talk to you. we have breaking news out of the white house. the results of skin lesion, biden's, it was cancer cell tissue, all of the cancer was removed, and quote, no further treatment is required. of course we're going to be following this story and bringing updates as we get them. coming up, what tennessee's newest laws on drag performances and gender affirming care really mean for the state's lgbtq community. and it's the northeast post roe battle over access to abortion pills. what the nation's second largest drugstore just did that is raising many concerns. we'll be right back. that is raising many concerns. we'll be right back. and homema. they're called 'small businesses.' but to the people who build them

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welcome back, everybody. the second largest pharmacy chain in the u.s. says it will no longer dispense abortion medication in several states, including in states where abortion is legal. walgreens made the decision in response to a letter signed by 20 republicans attorneys general, that threatened legal action if they distributed medicated abortions in their state. joining me is nbc news investigative reporter, chloe at kins. explain the letter that

walgreens got and why it is they would cease distributing this medicated abortion pill in states in which abortion is legal? it doesn't seem like the state's attorneys general are on any kind of legal ground? >> what we saw happen late last night, yasmin, is the second largest pharmacy chain as you laid out, walgreens come out and confirm to nbc news that they will not be dispensing medication abortion in 20 gop states, including states like you said, where abortion is legal, and as you mentioned, this move didn't come out of nowhere. it came after they wrote a letter to these -- to walgreens, and said, hey, look, if you dispense medication abortion in our state, we will take legal action. you know, they have cited an array of state laws and federal laws, and you know, look, at times, your questions are right on point. it's confusing. it makes it hard for many companies, whether it's walgreens, cvs to navigate this

ever evolving landscape, and they told nbc news that in a comment late last night. look, this is a very complex influx law or area of legal, and so, you know, they really are acting out of precaution and abundance of precaution, and what it does do is it emphasizes how access to medication abortion or abortion generally speaking really varies from state to state after the overturning of roe v. wade and where abortion is legal. >> how long did this stand for walgreens, did they say anything, how long are they going to keep this going? >> right now, they are in the process of applying to become certified in the 20 something other states out there where abortion is legal, where they have not received in letter from an ag in that state. they confirmed with nbc news that they are taking those steps. we don't know when they will. that is something i am closely tracking and i'm also too, very

curious, we talked about this right before we got out of commercial break. these attorney generals sent these letters to rite aid, costco, walmart, so i'm also very curious if they're going to follow in the same foot steps. >> thank you, chloe, appreciate it. so the aclu is saying that it plans to challenge the state of tennessee over a pair of laws that could impact queer tennesseans across the board. the first, a total ban on gender affirming health care for transgender youth. the second is criminalizing drag performances in public places, that will take effect april 1st. it is a broad law that could serve adds a blueprint across the country, considering similar legislation. antonia hilton has more on this. >> good morning, just yesterday, tennessee governor bill lee signed senate bill 3 into law.

this is the first statute of its kind, passing a law that's going to restrict drag performances in public and any place where a child might be able to see them. the lawmakers who worked on this bill say it's all about child safety, protecting children from having to see what they describe as overly sexualized adult cabaret performances. but lgbtq community members in tennessee, business owners who work in the space say they're being unfairly targeted for an art form that has existed in this country for hundreds of years. the language in the bill has been described by attorneys as overbroad and vague. particularly when it comes to the sections that describe the places in public where someone might be able to see a performance, and there's a question here on the ground of who's going to make the determination of what qualifies as overly sexual. i got to sit down with a senator who wrote in bill. take a listen to some of our conversation. who's going to decide what's sexually explicit, what's

inappropriate? i've looked through the language, it's not clear who's going to make that determination. >> with our law enforcement, our district attorneys, the same way they prosecute any other criminal offense. if an allegation of wrong doing is made, they can look at the evidence, and make a determination and potentially take it to a grand jury. they may choose not to do that. but that's the case with any type of criminal law we have on the books. >> reporter: already civil rights groups and attorneys who work on first amendment issues are planning to challenge this law in tennessee, and they're keeping an eye on more than a dozen other states where similar bills are moving through state legislatures. so while this law goes into effect on april 1st here, the fight is far from over. back to you. up next, we have breaking news in the last hour on one u.s. official's unannounced visit to ukraine. we'll be right back. icial's una visit to ukraine we'll be right back. no. he's making real-time money moves with merrill. so no matter what the market's doing, he's ready. and that's...

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justice department has been active in assisting ukrainian investigators. the past few years. it's far from the only surprise. it's arriving unannounced. merrick garland. so it's really turning it into a bit of a war of attrition.

what do we know about that? >> sure. this is actually one of the murkiest, strangest incidents in the war so far at least that i'm aware of. it began when the local russian governor said two villages near the border were under attack by the ukrainian sabotage group 40 to 50 strong. russian officials immediately started contradicting each other about the details. they got involved with their own interpretation. it wasn't clear what was going on especially since kyiv was officially denying it. partisans as they were calling it. as the back and forth was going on, a third group emerged calling themselves the russian volunteer core. they appeared to be a far right group operating out of ukraine. they claimed credit for the attack and the video posted

online. kind of further throwing us for a loop on what actually happened here. suffice it to say president putin definitely seized on this opportunity in very harshly worded statements about ukrainian terrorism, attacking children and students. there's a narrative on the russian side of a pretty braze zen ukrainian incursion as they would describe it into russia to attack civilians and children. we're still not sure what the kremlin is doing with this. we've seen it with a lot of claims especially of ukrainian strikes within russia, heightened security presence in russia, a lot of paranoia within russia about their striking power in ukraine and president putin's meeting was dedicated towards that. he very quickly closed the session to the public so we don't yet know if any sessions were made. >> we'll be watching that and seeing what takes place, of course, over the weekend in bakhmut for us. thank you. that does it for me today, everybody. i'll be back tomorrow, sunday as

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hi, everyone. 4:00 in new york and if it's friday or for that matter any day that ends in y, we have more breaking news. the disgraced twice