nomination were decided tomorrow, trump would win, a long way to go there. okay, and from dave, what is been the greatest challenge becoming a host of guangzhou? literally, dave, all the things i want to say -- basically means i have to wrap here. but keep the questions coming. send them our way on twitter, instagram, or text, atlanta more in the future. that does it for me today. we'll be back here next sunday at noon eastern. don't go anywhere, because alex witt reports starts right now. >> a very good at all the msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. we begin with breaking news and mississippi, in fact, any minute now, we're gonna get a live update on the deadly tornado outbreak from the homeland security secretary, fema administrator, as well as the governor, we're gonna bring

that to you as soon as it gets underway. here is the very latest on that. at least 26 people were killed, dozens injured, after powerful storms ripped through several towns. the ef4 tornado spawned winds up to 200 miles an hour, destroying homes, buildings, and virtually obliterating the entire town of lulling fork, doctors in the state's western border. president biden declaring a state of emergency for the area as -- now certain rescue teams are combing through the destruction, hoping to find survivors, and helping those in need. >> we have got our lives. [inaudible]. but we are good. >> [inaudible]. i've never seen anything like this. i've seen tornadoes, but not

like this. >> i must embassy -- joining us from ground zero about that destruction. welcome, let's talk about the situation there. what is it like? what are you seeing? really, there is not much left standing right behind you. >> exactly, alex, you can say, we are right next to the area where the governor will be speaking with an update in just minutes. you can see behind me the piles of debris of what used to be structures. look at this vehicle here, it is completely destroyed after i was moved by the tornado. it's just vehicles in the background, basically in every direction that i look at, i see piles of what used to be homes. it's almost as if the tornado would've picked up the homes, shaken them, and destroying them with all the items inside. we started our day and silver city today, where we saw the same type of destruction, a smaller town, silver city, as

of, now the report indicates four people have died there, we made our way over to roaming fort, this is the scene. alex, the good news is that help is coming in, and the state of emergency, of health coming in on the road, trucks with water, with food, there's also numerous vehicles from the power company working to restore power. the damage on the roads, the power lines that are down. polls have been destroyed, it is extensive, miles and miles that will have to be worked on to restore the power for the area, the people that have been affected. there is actually a lot of traffic from all of the help that's coming in. there is gonna be a lot of work to be done, not just from the authorities, from the power infrastructure, but also from the neighbors i'm selves going through their belongings, you know, we talk to some of the neighbors and silver city who are trying to rescue any type of items they can take with them, understanding the almost everything they owned was destroyed. we're gonna hear from some of the neighbors here.

>> right here behind us there was 30 plus trailer houses. and all my little babies that come to see me, did they get out? where are they? we need to find them. it was just chaos. [inaudible]. it is like a train, but it wasn't, it is the tornado. i had [inaudible]. it was just scary. >> it was like a bomb went off. no safe place. [inaudible]. >> and alex, as we cover these tornadoes, we don't see

structures that are damaged, it's impressive here to see structures like the one where, the preference is gonna be held, this is made from brics, you can see how that tornado tore some of it apart, bricks on the ground. this isn't something we normally see, a tornado tear apart buildings that are made from brick. this is just part of the destruction we can see. as the mayor said, it's extensive, the thomas pretty much destroyed by this tornado, alex. >> i have to tell you, when you hear the word about looking for babies, you hear out of a child's mouth what he had to go through, parents as well, it is just got wrenching. thank you so much for that. let's go now to my colleague, msnbc's yasmin, who is also made her way there. again, it looks like destruction everywhere, yasmin. >> it is, alex, it's interesting, he now, as you're driving into the scene here in rolling fork, a couple miles out, you would expect to see

destruction, that right? you're coming into miles, one mile left, you see nothing, right? and then you cross over this creek, and this entire community behind me is totally flat, i mean, the homes completely wiped out. i've been talking to a lot of folks throughout the community, i'll tell you this, it was in and out in just a couple minutes. i think that's what was so shocking for so many folks as they were experiencing this thing, they did not get a lot of warning. and then it was in and out in for five minutes, right? at one point, one woman told me she was at the end of her bed with her husband, the next moment she was running towards the bathroom, the next moment after that it was over. she huddled in that bathroom and prayed for her life. and her husband's life. she said to me, she didn't know was gonna happen, and what she was gonna stay on the other end. and when she emerged from her home, alex, she came outside, and next to her was her sister,

and it is completely gone the trailer, completely;uq2i gone. she started screaming for her sister, screaming her sister's name over and over again. she heard nothing. her husband ran outside, started looking for her sister, he couldn't find her, and then he discovered the body of that woman. >> come on. >> now, just a couple of days later, she is sitting on the outside porch of her trailer, half of which is completely gone as well, four of her sisters now communing around her, all of them incredibly emotional, and the community really coming together. we saw this overnight rig, and i've covered so many of these natural disasters, you see the community coming together full force. the question is, why did he have to, and all of, this why did it happen this so many of them? asking themselves, now, happy they have their lives intact, that sister not gone for that one family. wondering what's next, right? can they rebelled?

can this tight close knit community rebelled and be what it once was. one woman told me she worries, this is a predominantly black community, a community they feel often has forgotten. they're hopeful that the government steps up here and helps them rebuild the tragedy they experienced over the last 40 hours. >> you know, yasmin, they rebelled their lives, but they're left with these enormous gaping holes, i mean, i am fighting back tears from the description you gave us that sister running outside screaming, looking for her sister. it is horrific to think, in the blink of an eye, the fragility of life and how storms like this have throw. it is remarkable. i'm so glad are down there, it you're gonna bring us more stories, i know. coming, up 45 minutes, an hour from now, you're on broadcast, i'm gonna suggest people of kleenex for that. yasmin, thank you so much, we also know there is that -- for all of you, leaders, federal, local leaders i'm sure as well, we're gonna bring that

to you, it should be right there, where you see the microphone, we'll bring that to you right away. let's do a bit of politics though, this is developing news as the grand jury is set to reconvene tomorrow as manhattan district attorney weighs whether to indict donald trump and the hush money investigation at a rally in waco, texas, the former president ramping up rhetoric against the multiple investigations into him. >> misconduct is the new tool, and they're willing to use that levels never seen before in our country. we have had it, but we've never had it like this. we must stop them, we must not allow them to go through another election where they have yet another tool in their tool kit. also new today, democratic lawmakers sounding the alarm over the former presidents increasing rhetoric against the manhattan da over a possible indictment. >> absolutely ominous, the kind of rhetoric that is coming out

there. >> these are rallies and demonstrations that is doing right now. [inaudible] and he is trying to play that card again. what he's trying to do is incite violence. >> this man obviously has very little moral compass, if he has spurs, on additional violence, it'll be one further stain on his already checkered reputation. >> also, back and forth intensifying between three house gop chairs. this weekend, jim jordan, james comer, brian steele, all doubling down, so then another letter, seeking more information on the hush money probe, making their case for why congress should be privy to documents and testimony. brad giving his own response, calling the inquiry unprecedented and saying it serves only to hinder, disrupt, and undermine the legitimate work of art dedicated prosecutor. last hour, former attorney general gave -- his thoughts. >> the notion that jim jordan

who ordered a subpoena to testify in the january six investigation would now have the temerity to try to inject himself into a state and local prosecution. the height of hypocrisy. >> that was a mike trout moment right there. coming up, the latest development from florida, to new york, to washington, ember of reporters for you. we welcome you, i were gonna go first, you, julie on capitol hill. julie, lots of new reaction today for the hush money grand reinvestigation from both sides of the aisle. what are you hearing? >> that's right, alex, new developments, even more letters being traded by those three house chairman you showed on the screen there. look, there telling manhattan district attorney, all than brag now in a new letter that has the potential criminal indictment of a former president of the united states by a local prosecutor of the opposing political party and will face the prospect of reelection, implicate substantial federal interest. now, that is exactly what brad is calling unprecedented and his response.

this is washington's favorite past time, this letter back and forth. they're pressing brag on the request for speaker mccarthy to investigate what is assumption ongoing investigation at the state and local level after the former president tweeted, proving his potential indictment, something that still has not happened. yet, these investigations are ongoing. take a listen to what comey, or one of the chairs that something's letters, he's a chair of the oversight committee, had to say today, and what congressman -- a democrat who sits on the oversight committee, had to say in response. watch. >> or the end of the day, this is a presidential candidate, this is, for better or worse, leading contender for the republican nomination of the presidential election next year, as well as the former president united states. it is unprecedented for a local district attorney to investigate. it is not for me to tell a district attorney who to charge or what charges to bring. you can appeal all the way to the supreme court.

if there is something that is not correct, it's not gonna require chairman comer to figure it out, we have one of the best judicial processes in the world, they will make sure that justice is done. >> now, look, the chairman are saying that they have a right to probe this investigation, the bottom line, it's not really clear what they have a right to do here. and it's not clear if this is gonna be nothing more than oversight, which is really what the minority in this case, republicans, as a democratic president democratic senate, all they can do here is investigate and conduct oversight. a legitimate outcome of this? it's not yet known. the -- will continue. we know that for sure. i was gonna say, you can bet on that one, thank you very much, julie. joining me right now is congressman, -- a democrat member of the house education and workforce committee. welcome, sir, good to see you again. so, talk about the kind of pressure that the manhattan da bragg is getting from the house gop leaders? by the way, to republicans risk setting up a dangerous precedent by what they're doing? >> yes, absolutely, they risk

setting a dangerous precedent. but in terms of pressure, da bragg has had an exemplary career, he's been through challenges before, trials and tribulations before. he is built for this, he is built to do his job at the highest level. and guess what? we hear residents of new york state, we have his back, and we support him in conducting a thorough investigation and seeking an indictment if he sees fit, whether it is a former president or not, republicans, because they cannot govern on the issues, they continue to use fearmongering tactics, red hearings, and playing the consistent victim to a so-called woke culture. that's how they're looking to govern, versus done with the facts of this particular case, by the way, facts related to

georgia, and facts related to the department of justice as well. so, you know, president trump has to be held accountable for what he has done, and let's see if that accountability begins with an indictment in manhattan. >> let me ask what i call the mic drop moment, it came via the conversation my colleague jen psaki had the former tierney general eric holder. i have the quote here, the notion that jim jordan, who ignored a subpoena to testify in the general six investigation would now reject him self into a state local prosecution of the height of hypocrisy. how much do you think any republican with whom you serve, weather being quiet about it or not, share that view? >> there have been many republicans who have ignored grand jury invites, if you will, to testify. it's not just jim jordan. there is also hillary clinton's

emails, the entire gop chanting lock her up whenever they had the opportunity. now because donald trump is the target, now it's about a conspiracy, it's political. let me also say this, what the hell is governor andrew -- doing right now? >> i have, i want to ask that question now, you just put it out there, let's not have it be rhetorical. what is he doing? >> what is he doing? he is cowering -- for the maga republicans right now. undermining the investigation of be a brag, going after president biden on how the president has handled -- even though there's been no change in the policies of the president has taken office. see, and the talks about the

cynicism of the american people, governor comer, he doesn't understand that cynicism has been baked over decades, because people like him have been working more for corporate interests than the people of their state in this country. so, please go somewhere and sit down, allow da bragg to do his job. >> yeah, for all of you, we're gonna play what he said a bit later, also talk with someone who used to work with him, and see if she can figure out what it is he's trying to deal. let me ask you about this, though changing gears up but. let's turn to the so-called parents bill of rights, passed in the house. this law requires public schools to post information at the curriculum, including a list of library. comes as republicans are intensifying their ban on certain blocks. they are limiting teaching on issues like racial equity, diversity, sexual orientation. here's your fellow new yorker -- what she said on the house floor. take a listen. >> but before they claim that

this is not about banning books and not about harming the lgbtq community, let's look at the impact of similar republican legislation that has already passed on the state level. look at these books that have already been banned since republican measures. the life of rosa parks, this apparently is too woke by the republican party. >> the life of rosa parks? i mean, look, this bill, as we know, has little chance of passing in the democratic senate. it's an issue that republicans are going to, very likely, in 2024. as a former principal, does this legislation help parents or the process of becoming educated at all? or is this a culture war tactic? >> it's another distraction, it is a culture war tactic, it's a message to racist parents and parents who seek to discriminate, in terms of targeting lgbtq --

and black and latino history books. i have led -- for 20 years. i have been direct partners with parents my entire career, when i was a teacher, when i was a school counselor, and when i was a middle school principal. parents have a very powerful voice and education, and work very directly to teachers and students. this is a messaging bill that is redundant and not necessary. schools are under the local control of their school districts, parents serve on school boards, parents worked for members of the school boards, parents choose the superintendent of their school district, and already have a say and voice in the curriculum. this is just, again, that message to a minority of parents who have a problem with books that they don't agree with, most of them targeting lgbtq students, as well as black and brown students. >> congressman, i will let you know the officials are

approaching the microphones there in mississippi where we have federal leadership there. so, i'm gonna apologize to. we need to take, that lucky to come back and talk about the education issue that you unveiled in this new proposal, more teaching, less texting, we're gonna have you more to talk about that. all, right let's go to mississippi, thank, you sir, for your time. take a listen to this news conference from mississippi on the latest on those tornadoes. eight >> i'm proud of them, i am proud to represent them, i am proud to take this opportunity to get as many resources here as we possibly can, as you know, secretary mayorkas momentous, i'm sure fema director will as well, but in our emergency declaration, we started with the four counties hardest hit, clearly. and the president approved, both public assistance and individualists tense for the

individuals in those communities. and we appreciate that, in addition to that, we're gonna continue working, we have mima and fema joint team on the ground here, but also joint teams that are doing their thing from our emergency operation center in every region of our state. we appreciate them. when we have these natural disasters, unfortunately had more, we care to think about, we appreciate our federal partners and them showing up. finally, before i turn it over to the secretary, i just want to personally thank mayor walker, -- just walk this through and lead the delegation through, had the opportunity to see an awful large number of individuals that are hurting right now. here is the story about where people are, where they're staying, who they're staying with, but more than anything, what i heard, what everyone behind me heard, the people who have been displaced, whether they're staying with their son

in greenville or with someone in clinton, every one of them has said, well, mom, dad, or me, i live in this community for 30, 40, or 50 years, i want to continue to live in this community. i can assure you we're under everything we can throw housing another means to get those people back in this community as quickly as we possibly can. so, that, again, i want to reiterate my thanks to the secretary and his working with the president to expedite our emergency request. thank you for being here on the ground in mississippi. it matters to these people, it matters when their federal partners are here. it matters when they're local representatives are here. so, secretary, thank you for being here. i'll turn over to you. thank you, sir. >> thank you. thank you very much, governor. i want to echo the sentiments of the government, and i want to echo two words, heartbreak,

and inspiration. we walk down the street of this town, seeing devastation on both sides of the road. congressman thompson and i were able to speak with an individual who traveled from houston texas, just to help the people of this town, said something i thought was a very appropriate, very powerful, one can see photographs of the devastation, but there is no substitute for actually seeing it in person. that is indeed what we have come to do, we have come to see it in person, to communicate to the people of mississippi that we're here, not just today, but for the long haul. it is heartbreaking to hear of the loss of life, to either devastation firsthand. it is also, as the governor expressed, inspiring to see the people of mississippi coming

together, not just the people in mississippi, but the people of this country. to come to assist those in such dire need. it's also inspiring to see the first responders, the disaster response officials, the volunteers, even individuals who themselves have survived a disaster, come rise and help their fellow mississippians in a time of such great need. the president has directed us to be here, to assist the people of mississippi, to be here on an enduring basis. not just through the response, but through the recovery as well. we're mindful of the fact that that will take time. we are here for the time it will take. we see extreme weather events increasing, only increasing in gravity, and severity, and in frequency, and we have to build

our communities to be best prepared for them, to prevent the devastation to the extent possible, to be able to quickly respond and recover, to prove ourselves resilient. we cannot do that alone, we need one another, and that is what we're here to communicate, the federal government, under president biden's leadership, is here to support mississippi, to support the governor, to support the senators, smith, hide, and wicker, to support the members of congress, to support the local officials, mayor walker, we are here for the people and it's my honor to introduce the graded minister of the federal emergency management administration, deanne criswell. >> thank you secretary. i'm so appreciative of you joining us here today on the

ground, i said, it just makes such a difference to be able to see firsthand the impacts that these communities have faced. governor, thank you for your partnership, we're gonna be here with you throughout the duration of this. and mayor walker, so inspired by how you have let your community, how your community continues to come to heal. true leadership and action. and it is gonna be really important in the days and weeks ahead. also, i just want to thank the entire congressional delegation, they are here to make sure that we're bringing everything we can to support this community. they are here to make sure that we're bringing everything we can to support the community. you've heard president biden did declare and approve the governor's request for a major disaster declaration. he did that yesterday. what that means, that includes public assistance, which means to help with the debris removal

from the communities like this, to help pay some of the overtime costs, for carole humphreys, monroe, aaron sharkey's county. it also means that individual assistance is approved, the governor mentioned, the same county, is for carroll, humphreys, monroe, and sharkey county, this major disaster declaration, we can bring in the right resources now to help start the recovery process and support any of the ongoing response actions that may be needed in these communities. when i spoke to the president gave him an update yesterday, what i was hearing on the ground, he is a very clear to me all the time, make sure that the entire federal family does whatever they can to support these communities. that's what we're here to do. so, i want to tell the individuals to. start here in one of those four counties, if hearing carroll, humphreys, monroe, or sharkey, you can contact your insurance company, first line of defense,

but also begin the process with fema. you can do that by going to disaster assistance.gov, or you can call one 800, 6 to 1, 3362 to apply for assistance. you can also use the fema app, we also have people on the ground that will be in fema shirts. they're called disaster survivor assistance teams. we'll have ipads with them. they can also assist in registering for assistance. these are just the first counties, as the governor said, where gonna work with the team, with the state team here to assess additional counties to see if any more needs to be added to this declaration. we know that this is going to be a long term recovery event. and we can see, just where we're standing here, one of the major issues that we're gonna face is and how we help the individuals that have been impacted by this horrific event, i know our partners from the american red cross are already on the ground and providing

shelter for those that need it. i think, as you heard the governor say, so many family members, extended family members, neighbors helping neighbors, already supporting some of that initial temporary sheltering solutions to help people stay safe right now. we are gonna continue to work with our state partners to find the right solution for individuals in this community. we know that every individual has a unique made, every family has a different situation. so, we want to make sure we understand what the needs are and what the best tools are gonna be to come and support this community as quickly as possible. i'll give a little bit of an update on some of the things we are doing on the ground right now, our region administrator, she is here with me today, she has been in constant communication with the state director, as well as the governor. even before the incident happened, we were monitoring the threat for what was gonna happen. original response coordination center has been activated, being able to support and

sending resources at the state's request, if they're any additional needs or gaps identified, we would when able to bring those and and supporters needed. we've sent an incident management systems team. they're right out the state emergency operation center. there are better there they will work side by side with our state partners to support them in helping to make sure that the right federal resources are available are here and supporting these communities. yesterday as, i mentioned already, i directed our disaster survivor assistance team to come in and start going door to door into these communities. helping people register for a substance. i would say right now our number one concern is still life safety. you look around here and you look at the debris. just really encourage everybody to remain vigilant. stay cautious. there is a lot of hazards with in this debris. unfortunately, there's been so much loss of life which is just

heartbreaking. we often see additional injuries and additional loss of life after a disaster because of the type of hazards that are eager to breathe so please listen to your local officials and if there is roads are closed and barricades please don't go around them that means that there is a hazard over there. if you are going through your homes and you're looking for your belongings, please take the extra care to make sure that your keeping yourself and your family safe. with that, i would just say that fema is here, we remain committed to the people of mississippi. we will be here for you now. we will be here for you next week. we will be here are long after these cameras are gone and to make sure that we are assisting you with all of your recovery needs. governor, you have my commitment that we will be here throughout the duration of this recovery effort. with that, i would now like to turn it over to senator wicker for his comments. >> thank you, madam administrator. i'm joined with congressman

thompson, congressman come up here and senator come up here. i want to stand to gather. because i want you to know that this delegation is a shoulder to shoulder for mississippi in this regard we got a letter together. both of our senators. all four members of the house of representatives yesterday afternoon. got it up to the president of the united states. i want to thank the president for calling each of us individually. i want to thank you for sending a member of his cabinet here. we don't always get cabinet members but we thank you, mister secretary and madam administrator. we are also reaching for the long haul. we appreciate -- the law enforcement that have come in and we realize this is going to be a long process. let me say this before i turn

it over to senator -- mister representative thompson. we're about to spend some local and state money on this. we're gonna do it in coordination with one of the best state of emergency management teams in the country. we're good because we have the experience. we really would prefer if we didn't quite have as much opportunity to show how good we are. but the governor has put a good team together and we've been visiting with him yesterday and today. madam administrator and mister secretary, we're gonna spend some money. we're going to get the best guidance we can from jackson and washington d.c.. we want cooperation when we ask for reimbursement. we have had a problem in the past. i don't anticipate any problems in the future because we're gonna work with you. we're gonna spend the money the right way according to the

statute. we want to smooth transition of those funds. i am impressed with the spirit of can do. there is no victimhood in this community today. where there with you. we will be back again and we are with you for the long haul. >> thank you, senator wicker. i tell you. when i got the text body -- friday night instead of the morning start coming to my phone. i knew it was sad. but until i got here yesterday. it is indescribable until you see this. it is our job to step up right now. we're over at the napa auto parts store. we got in and we prayed and that is certainly what we need. this morning, early on national news, i saw gentlemen talking about being in one of the houses and he said after the storm, it got quiet. but i heard children crying.

i'm so concerned about the mental welfare of these children and these adults way beyond at the storm. i have a staffer abbreviate staffer whose name is gibson clark. and when anybody in washington d.c. said where are you from? he said rolling fork, smic it. be they would look at him so strange like rolling fork? this torments put rolling fork on the map. we have other areas. we have four counties that have damage. but this just really highlighted this community but i've got news for you. this community's gonna come back. and this community's gonna come back strong. we are here to help you. we are here to provide the services. we want you to have the -- be able to relocate, be able to restructure your alive. now to come back and i want anyone to give up on that hope. the folks behind me, this administration, the secretary, this direct or fema.

we are gonna be here for you. we're gonna do it every day till we get people in a position that's a livable again. thank you for being here. thank you for putting this word out. i do ask for your prayers and what should be conscious of the mental effect of this is gonna have on these residents in any help we can reach out with with any of that. please let us know what that is. thank you. congressman thompson. >> thank you very much. let me first thank the biden administration for a record approval of a disaster declaration. i recommended this area for quite awhile. and i've never seen a disaster declaration turnaround in this kind of time. so i am excited, i think the governor for making the request. in a timely manner. i think all of the state and local partners who got us to

this point. i want to thank supervisor smith and supervisor smith from shark county. i want to thank bill walker. for always being there in this time of need. i want to thank secretary mayorkas, administrator criswell and their teams for demonstrating that this administration cares because they're here today. as the senator said, most of the time, they'll send somebody not so high up. but i think this demonstrates the seriousness about the effort. and we appreciated. there are other notions behind this declaration. there are approved normally when state and local resources have been overwhelmed. and so now that those resources have been documented not to be here at the state of local level. if your federal government that will back fill the need in this

community. we don't want anyone who's impacted to make a decision to leave because they did not get made whole again. we have that process. we have two documented over time that our goal is to have this community as close to what it was. before friday night occurs. it'll require cooperation on the part of everyone. again, when we think all of the partners who have been here from day one. and everyone has a story. but all the stories so far are positive because everyone who showed up with so far is here to help. apart from that. let me turn the mic over to mayor aldrich walker. the male of rolling fork mississippi. >> thank you, congressman.

first of all, data to secretary katie -- governor of the great state of mississippi and all the representatives who are here from this great state. flags from pittsburgh mississippi. on behalf of this entire community. first we want to say thank you. we want to thank you for all that you are doing for our families here. and making sure that the city of rolling fork will come back. bigger and better. the never before. we want to make sure that our displaced families are taken care of. that's being done. we want to make sure that there are priorities for the personal hygiene and everything that's needed in its in place.

this is being taken care of. we're well on our way to bringing rolling fork back to where it once was and to make it even better. on behalf of the entire board of alderman of this city. again, we want to thank you. and we want to let you know that besides your help, the volunteers, we have volunteers here from as far away as arkansas, tennessee, louisiana, they're right here in the city of rolling fork helping us out. and we are thankful for what everybody is doing to help us in this devastating time. we kind of remember those of us who -- this is a bible belt. we're all taught that a family that preys together stays together. this is a family.

a family of unity. a family of strength. and this is what we need to make this community come back. once again. and lastly, i'm not only just the mayor of this community. but i've lost personal friends. i'm also the local funeral director. and now i'm having to meet my family's -- those who have lost loved ones and help them make it through this traumatic time. you know what? i'm a firm believer that when you do right, right will follow you. and i think that i've been prepared to take on this task. and i'm going to do it in the name of the mayor of the city of rolling fork and of the man that i am -- that god has made me to be.

i want to thank each of you who are here for all that you have done. you know that you will do in the future days. thank you so much. >> that is an extraordinary news conference we have just brought to you all of. you've seen an incredible convergence of power and influence their. you have federal government membership, you have state and local government membership. perhaps the last point that was made their. you have a mayor of a small town. rolling fork, mississippi. who serves not only his community as mayor but as the funeral director and i think of the task that he has ahead of him given the incredible devastation as a result of these ef4 tornadoes. it really can give you chills to think about he -- has for all of our prayers. will join him in sending him his way. meantime, everyone, before we go to break. i'll tell you what we have coming up on the other side as we promised to continue this coverage for mississippi for

you. we are getting a political talk about -- too wet and. we're talking about former governor of new york andrew quorum we'll run it on all of the legal cases against donald trump. what he said might leave you shaking your head. also, donald trump is clearly having a great time in his texas rally. but then, people started asking questions. and his mood quickly changed. -- right in the middle of all of that. he's gonna tell us what happened next. of eczema... with steroid-free cibinqo. not an injection,... cibinqo is a once-daily pill for those who didn't respond to past treatments. and it's proven to help provide clearer skin and relieve itch fast. cibinqo continuously treats eczema whether you're flaring or not. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots.

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from don trump during his first official campaign rally of the 2024 election season. nbc's vaughn hillyard joining me now from west palm beach. bond, welcome. my name been traveling. you are in waco last night. when the president former president repeated a number of his usual falsehood grievances. i hear you got a chance to talk to trump with the cameras were gone a. tell us what happened.

>> right, alex. for more than our to have, donald trump talked about what he called the prosecutorial misconduct from the stage. really it was less so a political campaign event for president. in a more so a campaign event to undercut the multiple investigations into him. and the credibility of the prosecutors. -- that one -- that could lead to even indictment as soon as tomorrow. in manhattan the, district tierney expected to convene that grand jury again. we are one week away now from when you talk to michael cohen, alex, here and ask him some important questions. particularly around the facts of what donald trump in when he knew it about the stormy daniels payment. before i play for you the next soundbite of my exchange with donald trump on his airplane last night. it's important context because michael cohen said donald trump directed him to make the payment to stormy daniels before the 2016 election. in the -- federal prosecutors echoed the

same thing. donald trump is denied ever doing that. but he's not clarified when he was at least aware that the stormy daniels payment was made. that is where we get to this conversation. take a listen. >> when did you realize that you are paying michael stormy daniels -- >> wants that letter was a -- very accurate letter. he wanted to ingratiated myself to me. to show me what a hot shot he was. >> what do you find out the payment was going -- >> ida know the exact tampa later. he wanted to get it done. he did it. and he did it to ingratiated a selfie. like he's a big shot. what i can do. he always had terms of going down to the white house. that was gonna happen. >> what did you think you are paying michael cohen for? >> i don't know exactly what the status or exactly what the question is as to how much but he did work for us. he didn't do very much work for us. >> alex, the --

as to whether donald trump was aware that he was engaging in what would amount to a potentially a campaign finance violation. donald trump was paying reimbursement checks to michael cohen from his personal checking book. as late as december 2017. and so if he was not aware of it before the 2016 election. he still could've been complacent in what federal prosecutors or see progress uterus are going to potentially allege was a election a law violation. if he was aware of it. his money was reimbursing michael cohen for that stormy daniels payment. up until the point of that december of 2017 check. this is where the prosecutors who, don't even out all the evidence that they have right now. these are the conversations that are still happening in realtime. donald trump not willing to say exactly when he was aware that he was reimbursing michael cohen for that stormy daniels payment. >> very good if you have a conversation or bring it to us so we can all hear the very latest from trump himself.

thank you so much for that. vaughn hillyard. meanwhile, manhattan district attorney alvin bragg is firing back it up house republicans who want to intervene in the trump match many of assignation. the congressman jim jordan, brian steele edgecomb are. who sent a letter to brag demanding the da's office provided them with documents related to the probe. in a statement, bragg rejected their request saying in part it is not appropriate for congress to interfere with pending local investigations. it's a president inquiry by federal elected officials into an ongoing matter serves only to hinder disrupt and undermine the illegitimate work of our dedicated prosecutors. joining me now 80s -- westchester county discreet ernie and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. welcome, i'm glad you're here. give me a sense of how you interpret this statement from da brag and how unusual is it that he had to release or did release a statement at all. >> hi, great to be with you.

i think what da break is saying is let us do our job. they have put out several statements. they've made -- to the office. as the da's often due to the staff of their office. saying we are going to hold steady and do our job. and that is really what this is about. this isn't about any particular case in my mind. this isn't about any particular person. this is about allowing elected prosecutors to be independent from a political system. in any kind of interference with that should be endangering warning signs to prosecutors including election prosecutors of every party. democrat, republican, independent. this isn't about political parties. this is about the independence of our justice system. >> let me ask you about álvarez who took over the investigation after his predecessor put it on

hold. yesterday, i spoke with one of the top aides. karen freeman -- about the recent behind his decision to -- let's take a listen to that together. >> he put this case on hold partly because he had multiple investigations going into donald trump. don't forget it's under -- he indicted the trump organization. he also had another case involving the evaluation of assets. he had this case one, point, finance went to the supreme court of the united states to get donald trump's tax returns. there were multiple cases going on at once. >> you are a prosecutor. you got a lot of cases the land on your desk. do you understand why vance decided not to pursue the hush money case and at that time? >> look, i can't speak to what was or wasn't in the da vance's mind or da brad's mind? what i do know is that both of

those prosecutors as well as really most prosecutors that i know. really try to make the decisions about a case based on the facts and the law and the circumstances surrounding it and whether it's the right thing to do now where they're gonna win or lose. not who the person is. not what political party they are. that is what we are taught as prosecutors. that's what i was taught at an early -- back in 2000, 2001. i served under u.s. attorneys who have prosecuted people on both political parties. i myself am not afraid to bring investigations regardless of political affiliation. i think that is the message that we need to keep bringing home. of course, there are certain people who are gonna want to make this about them. this is about a much bigger thing. than anyone in our country who cares about democracy. this is what distinguishes us from authoritarian regimes.

then we have a justice system. that it's independent of the political system. i believe that the prosecutors -- da brag and really all of the prosecutors that i know are trying to make this decision independent of that kind of interference. i call upon the da who are republican democrat independents around the country to stand up for this. it isn't about one apiece, one party. or one issue. it is about the rule of law. >> westchester county da being recorded in front of us here. thank you so much for joining us. little shorter than i was going to speak with you but given everything mississippi. we'll have to be back again soon. thank you. meantime, for all of you in a new interview former new york democratic governor andrew cuomo's chastised investigation into the former president. listen to this. >> i think it's all politics. i think that's with the people of this country are saying.

it just feeds that anger and that cynicism in the partisanship. it's a coincidence that bright goes after trump and his goes after trump in georgia goes after trump. that's all a coincidence. i think it's feeds the cynicism and that's the cancer in our body politic right now. >> joining me right now is my sunday family. don calloway, democratic strategist, founder of the national voter protection action fund -- republican strategist. and david jolly former congressman from florida. msnbc political analyst. welcome guys. again, mississippi the coverage of that important story. we're not stay on one theme here. i want to talk to about. let's talk first of all about the one sentence that andrew cuomo chested there. he's trying to blow up every single legitimate investigation into donald trump. he went even further saying that prosecutors are politicians. you just heard me rocha, the

westchester county da saying that it's not what they're supposed to be. what's going on? >> i think it's hard to -- andrew cuomo is a man scorned. he had an ignominious -- and so the cancer is not the fact that there are some kind ability. the can't stories the underlying act. both for donald trump on himself. what we're seeing here are powerful new york men who are railing against a system that is holding them accountable. >> okay, we've heard of slight show from susan. it could be a loaded chuckle because at one point you worked for governor cuomo. give me your sense of his angle on this. >> i think he's just angry. i think he -- don't forget he was some will say justly, some will say unjustly when asked -- state attorney general. i will say just for the record. if you are elected to office.

you are a politician. so yes, da's or politicians. this da -- new york city da's are terminated. of course he's looking into his future. i don't care -- if andrew cuomo, this is awful special. to go this way when -- thoughts radius him trying to make a political comeback. i think it's now clear. his political comeback days are over. >> given how fraught history david. listening to cuomo. do you think donald trump here is that? seizes on it and tries to spin it to his advantage. do you think oh go oh look andrew cuomo equity -- >> i think the cancer in the body politic here is old school politicians are play by their own rules when it comes to power. violating rules and violating the norms of sexual conduct as well. i think the important lesson to draw from this culturally that it does reflect what a lot of people are if. this is framed as a payment to

an adult porn star, people who received in one way. within the legal context, this will be a case about probably a tax violation and campaign finance violation. what cuomo is saying is that a matter that rises to the level of putting the former president behind bars. if he's convicted of a felony. i think it's clear a lot of americans would say no. that is something the reflects for a lot of america's. >> i needed short and sweet and you guys made it powerful short and sweet. thank you so much. look for to see you guys next weekend again. meantime for, all of you. that's good for me on this edition of alex witt reports. i'll see you friday 3 pm and again next saturday at noon eastern. our friend, yasmin vossoughian, continues our coverage. be live for you in mississippi. and genoa salami. you can't stop that much meat. you can only hope to contain it - in freshly baked bread. try subway's tastiest menu upgrade yet. my asthma felt anything but normal. a blood test helped show my asthma is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma.

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good afternoon to you. i'm yasmin vossoughian. coming to you live from rolling fork mississippi. this is a town that is grappling with tremendous grief and loss today. we can tornadoes. ripping through this and surrounding areas. taking a look at live drone shots right now over the area behind me. a town just completely flatten. tearing homes for their family foundation. sending cars flying. we -- leaving entire families searching through the rubble fors