should be done. >> they let somebody who tried to shut the engines down walk freely on the airplane. >> emerson was hired by horizon, but works for alaska. pilots over the age of 40 must go medical evaluations every six months and disclose mental health issues and medications, and full mental evaluations are not part of the physical, and his last physical, believe it or not, was last month. >> tom, thank you very much. that will do it for us today. see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. until then, i am ana cabrera reporting from new york. josé diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning. it's 11:00 a.m. eastern, and 8:00 a.m. pacific. i am josé diaz-balart.

we are following news this morning where another codefendant in the trump georgia case just plead guilty. overseas we are hearing from one of the two hostages and what she says are the horrifying moments about t kidnapping. and we will talk to netanyahu about what the releases mean for the war. and then we will talk to congressman gregory meeks. and meanwhile, congress is trying to decide who they think could be the next speaker of the house. we will break down who could have a path to victory. we begin this very busy hour with breaking news out of georgia where just this morning a former trump attorney, jenna ellis, plead guilty in the state's election interference

case. ellis is the fourth codefendant to accept a deal instead of going to trial. >> if i knew then what i know now, i would have declined to represent donald trump in these post election challenges. i look back on the full experience with deep remorse. i have taken responsibility already with the bar -- >> this is a big deal. how big of a deal is this for the broader picture? >> good morning, josé. this is significant because, as you said, she's not only the fourth codefendant to plead guilty in the election interference case, but she's the third member of the legal team, an insider and somebody that can speak to the conversations about what exactly the scheme was to try and overturn the election results in georgia. prosecutors there laid out exactly what the theory is in

terms of what she's now actually pleading guilty to, and it comes down to aiding and abetting false statements around december of 2020, and she was going in front of the cameras and reporters with rudy giuliani and essentially trying to get states to overturn their election results, and put forward pro trump state electors, and putting forward false claims and hearing prosecutors layout a litany of things that are false, and talking about dead voters and people that voted illegally, and none of it was true and all of it was false and she accepted that, and in exchange she is getting probation pleading to a felony, and that's significant in itself, and has to apologize to the voters of georgia, and in exchange she is getting a reduced sentence, josé. >> if you are the prosecution and you are seeing this specific person having a plea deal, what

does it tell you? what are you looking at going forward with the other codefendants? >> this certainly amps up the pressure on people like rudy giuliani and others, who she, according to prosecutors was working with as part of the scheme, and the question is whether any of them feel the need to come forward and also cooperate, and prosecutors offer you a small window that is discreet. the time is now for people who want to get deals like this, and they are getting probation for felonies, and that's not a small thing. the window will start to narrowing, and it's open season in georgia now if you want to come in and cooperate. >> great seeing you this morning. thank you. two elderly israeli women have been reunited with their families after hamas freed them for compelling humanitarian

reasons, quote. earlier today one of the newly released hostages said she went through hell and described what happened to her as translated by her daughter. >> my mom is saying that she was taken on the back of a motorbike, with her legs on one side, and that she was taken through the plowed fields with a man in front on one side and a man behind her. while she was being taken, she was beat by sticks, by a shabaab -- yeah. >> this release comes days after an american woman and her daughter were freed by hamas but the family says they can't celebrate until all of the hostages, including other loved ones, are free. meanwhile israeli air strikes continue to pound gaza.

the world health organization says two-thirds of gaza's health facilities stopped functioning as fuel supplies have run out. at this hour the united nations security council is holding a meeting on the situation in the middle east, and secretary of state, antony blinken, is scheduled to speak at any moment. when he does, you will see that right here on msnbc. nbc news correspondent, jay gray, joins us from tel aviv this morning. as the two women spend these hours back in freedom after a horrendous or deal, hundreds remain as hostages back in gaza. >> it's amazing to see the strength of an 85-year-old grandmother speaking publicly less than 24 hours after her release. where things stand as far as gaza is concerned, continued bombing from the israeli defense forces. it's a wide scale operation and they are calling it, and they

are using staging areas and command centers. we heard from the israeli defense minister that said they are right now preparing for multilateral operations with forces from the air, ground and sea. it appears they are still poised to move banks into gaza at some point. hamas responding it has been the deadliest 24 hours since this war began, and 704 dead. we know aid continues to move in from the other end of the gaza strip, the border crossing, they are inspecting the truck and making sure no fuel has been allowed in. that has been the case, the organization that supplies support, education, and help for those in gaza said they are

pulling out because without fuel they cannot continue to provide their services, and hospitals are closing down, and those that are still open they have less than a day of fuel left now. we know t the hospitals are already at more than 150% capacity. the health ministry in gaza said the hospitals, if no fuel is delivered and delivered quickly will become mass grave sites. they say they don't have the ability to take care of those that have been injured in the strikes. >> jay gray, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate it. with us now to continue the conversation, the israeli ambassador from the united kingdom, and ambassador, i thank you for your time. we have seen these four hostages released in the past couple of days. is this something we can expect to see more of going forward? >> i don't know. i don't know what hamas' next

move will be, but it's a bit ridiculous when they say we are releasing these people for humanitarian reasons. yes, this is an organization that two weeks ago slaughtered innocent civilians in the most brutal ways possible, crimes against humanity, and murdering children in front of their parents and murdering parents in front of their children, and they are committing terrible, terrible crimes, and we are supposed to believe they are releasing these people for humanitarian issues? our assumption is let's ratchet up the pressure and increase the pressure and we will get more people out. >> the other pressure that we have been reporting being carried out is by the united

states, by the biden administration to israel, to hold back and put on pause any ground invasion into gaza. what are you take into consideration when you decide what your next step is going to be? >> obviously, we have no better friend in the world than in the united states of america, and when americans say things to us we take them very seriously, but as washington itself has said, this is an israeli decision and we will go in when it's the right time for us, and when we can have the optimal moment for our military operation, and obviously we will not speak about that ahead of time. our goal remains the same, hamas, we will end their rule over gaza. the bottom line is this, israelis refuse to go back to where we were on october 7th. we refuse to have a situation where we have as an immediate neighbor this terror enclave

capable of the most atrocious butchering, and we say no. the gaza strip will be different when this is over. israeli civilians don't have to live in the fear of somebody knocking on their door and killing their entire family. ultimately, i think it's good for gaza. they deserve better than the current bunch of terrorists that rule over them. >> ambassador, it's important to state that we are in week three after the horrendous massacre of more than 1,400 israelis, men, women and children, that were massacred. i want to remind everybody, in war, unfortunately there will always be civilian deaths. what is israel doing to minimize the casualties of the palestinian civilians, as they never forget what happened just three weeks ago.

>> you are 100% correct, josé. we don't want to say civilian casualties, and we know, as you said, sometimes that's unavoidable in war, but it's our responsibility as a democratic society to keep those numbers as low as possible. we have urged people to move out of the northern battle of the gaza strip, and we are asking civilians to move south and they have done so in the hundreds of thousands. they should not be in the combat zone. they should try to stay out of the fray so they don't get caught in the cross fire between us and hamas. there's a mechanism for humanitarian support, and it's not easy for people moving, i understand that, but at least we can try and have the humanitarian support for them in the south as they try to find shelter in this very difficult situation. >> yeah, and you have the gaza

health ministry in charge, among other things, of giving official numbers out. on the 17th of october, that group, they said 500 people were killed in an israeli air strike on a hospital and that turned out to not be the case. yesterday the israeli military showed journalists video, and why show that video and why do it now? >> two points you raised. i want to address each one of them, if i may. on the first point, you are 100% correct. all the statistics coming out of gaza are from the hamas controlled ministry of health, and if we believe we are only hitting innocent civilians and not have killed one hamas

person, that's incorrect. and then why we showed the journalist what we had yesterday, that was hamas' material, and what is interesting, when terrible regimes have done terrible things, you know, hitler's germany, you know, they hid their crimes. there was an operation done by the ss actually to takedown concentration camps and to try and hide they exterminated the jewish people, my people. here in hamas, they don't hide it, they put it up on video cameras and take pride in their crimes, and it's a new level of inhumanity, a new level -- a new low for mankind.

most of the material that we have that shows their crimes against innocent civilians, whether it's, you know, the shooting of children, the taking of hostages, beating people to death with garden hoses and so forth, they are not trying to hide it and it's horrific. >> it is, indeed. to talk about the examples in the past when these horrible people have done everything they can to hide their crimes, and i think that has gone on throughout history, this is a unique instance. yet, many are willing to turn away. thank you for being with us this morning. very much appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me, josé. much appreciated. still ahead, who is in and who is out in the race for house speaker? later, former president trump and his former fixer,

michael cohen, to face-off in a courtroom today. what prosecutors are trying to get out of cohen's key testimony. we're back in 60 seconds. you're watching "josé diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. n. ♪♪ fastsigns. make your statement. want a smarter way to mop? introducing the new swiffer powermop. an all-in-one cleaning tool with a 360-degree swivel head that goes places a regular mop just can't. mop smarter with the new swiffer powermop. ♪ my name is josh sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. i was 5...6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet. once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people.

all you need is a perfect, amazing team that will guide you through the right steps to be successful. and that's what bank of america was for me. what is happening now on capitol hill, republicans are meeting behind closed doors as they try to work to select the next house speaker. the short list of contenders are down to five after congressman gary palmer dropped out and two others were eliminated in the first two ballots. joining us now, cofounder of punchbowl news, jake sherman, and also an msnbc contributor. jake, take us into the activities going on this morning. >> activities is a good way to put it. they are for the third time

trying to nominate a speaker candidate. tom emer is probably the favorite in the last round, which was the second ballot. he got 90 votes. up 12 from the first ballot. does he squeak by and get the bare majority, and then he has to go to the house floor. the interesting thing, josé, is the democrats are taking a walk, quote, unquote, when it gets to the speaker. they would do that because emers, they see him as the least objectionable candidate. you will see some angst, and the reason is because he voted for federal protections for same-sex

marriages, and that's a disqualifier for some. >> of course, we have got the continuing cr that runs out in short order. i mean, there are kind of like a lot of things happening that need to be dealt with in some fashion, but right now there's nothing possibly moving. just wondering, patience is running out. what kind of timeline when the patience is running out and the world is up in flames? >> yeah, farm bill, faa authority needs to be renewed in the next couple of months. at chief issue is the israeli aid, and congress needs to move on that relatively quickly. the senate is already in gear on

that, at least planning for a supplemental spending bill to help aid israel. i have to imagine you will see somebody go to the floor and try to elect another temporary speaker while republicans continue to try and figure this out if they don't get one soon. >> it's great seeing you. thanks. >> thanks, josé. joining us now with more is democratic congressman from new york, the ranking member of the house foreign affairs committee. always a pleasure to see you. thank you for your time. you have had any conversation wz party leadership or any of the republican colleagues about a bipartisan answer to the crisis? >> yeah, we have. we offered and talked to mccarthy about it, and we talked to, you know, mchenry and other folks, let's try to find a

bipartisan way forward. we need to get this government open and we have always said there are basic things that have to get done. you are right, november 17th is upon us and we have to make sure the government does not shutdown. number two, we had an agreement with republicans on the debt ceiling on what the budget level should be with the cuts, and let's go and continue to meet with that agreement. number three, we need to make sure the supplemental plan the president sent over to the house dealing with israel and ukraine, that those -- that package must be voted on. there's a lot going on. we're looking for a bipartisan way forward. it's the republicans that seem to do not want to do anything bipartisan and continues therein to have their dysfunction and internal gang fights among one another. we are open to a bipartisan way

forward. >> congressman, so would that, include, for example, the position on emmer? >> well, the reporter in the last section is correct, what is important for us is somebody that did not try to overturn the elections, you know. people are looking at our country and democracy in and of itself. he seems to be the one that is left that did not try to overrun the election results, so emmer could be somebody we could look to work with if, in fact, the republicans want to make sure there's the open government. and moderate republicans, they vote a lot a like the maga republicans, they need to stand up and use their voices, because

if they stand up and get a vote on the floor, we could probably open the house and get things done for the american people and put people over the politics of which it seems the republican conference is currently engaged in. >> congressman, just waiting to hear your thoughts on the war between israel and hamas. we are now in week three after the massacre that hamas carried out in israel. what is your view of how things are going and what we should be worried about going forward? >> look, josé, i have to tell you, i am worried. i am worried about escalation. you know, you have what is taking place in gaza. i am worried about -- you know, worried about hezbollah and the north and what we see on the west bank. i know president biden has been working 24/7 to try and deter

this mass dissension on to israel and into the war. that's why he has engaged various battle ships and strike forces in the area. i am concerned because it could be a very combustible situation if hezbollah jumps into it, if iran jumps into it, and then syria. those are my concerns as we look forward. >> i know that -- sorry. go ahead. >> i was just going to say i know president biden is working hard. >> yeah, and as you mentioned, as i was just reminded, you and your colleagues from the foreign affairs committee is set to receive a classified briefing this morning. what questions do you have this morning? >> i have a lot of questions of where we are on the ground, and where we are in reference to

hamas. hamas is clearly a group that has to be completely gone because they just stand for trying to say that israel does not have the right to exist. you never get the peace in that way, so i also want to talk about -- my questions is where do they see us now? what do you think can be done in the long run, because we have to talk about where we think it will end and what we do there after so maybe we can continue the conversations we have had with saudi arabia and others with the abraham accords. the way you finally get to peace is some of the palestinians and other arab states saying israel has the right to exist, and if they acknowledge israel's right to exist, then you can have real conversations. with hamas, that's why they did the attack when they did it,

because of the conversations and other arab countries coming onboard saying israel has the right to exist, and when that happens hamas is going out of business. hamas is only there to try and destroy israel. that's unacceptable. i am hoping that conversation with other arab states continues so we can move forward in that direction, and don't let hamas win in that regard either because they try to start and stop those dialogues from taking place. >> what a clear explanation, congressman, of what is a very complicated situation. i thank you for being with us, this morning. thank you for your time. >> thank you. next, a former trump executive and fixer, michael cohen, testifying today in a manhattan courtroom. the risks his testimony poses

for trump's legal case. we will cover the four candidates for speaker of the house and more, right here on msnbc. nbc. o things at once. two things at once! ♪ two things at once. i'll have the... ...two things at once, please. now back to two things at once. ♪ two things at once. that's not two things at once. moooom! travis? ask about getting this season's covid-19 shot when getting your flu shot. theo's nose was cause for alarm, so dad brought puffs plus lotion to save it from harm. puffs has 50% more lotion and brings soothing relief. don't get burned by winter nose. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists.

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here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. we are returning to one of our top stories this morning. former trump lawyer, jenna ellis, is now the fourth trump codefendant to plead guilty in the georgia election

interference case. now michael cohen and trump, it's the first time they have come face-to-face since he testified in front of congress. msnbc legal analyst and former acting assistant attorney general for the national security in the department of justice. mary, we have seen four people plead guilty in the georgia election interference case. does this give the prosecution leverage in any way? >> one of the things that has been significant, particularly about the last three please -- >> mary? mary? i'm so sorry to interrupt you. i apologize. but secretary of state, antony blinken is speaking at the united nations. we will be right back to you.

getting aid to civilians in gaza, and to the entire u.n. team. their incredible bravery and their dedication, and all of those that continue to serve in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, we express our gratitude and admiration. i am here today because the united states believes the united nations and this council in particular, has a crucial role to play in addressing this crisis. indeed, we have put forward a resolution that sets out practical steps we can put together towards the ends. the resolution builds on many elements that were put forward last week, and it includes feedback we have received in the recent days, and there are views i heard firsthand after hamas' appalling attack on october 7th,

and views the united states shares. first, we all recognize the right and, indeed, the imperative of states to defend themselves against terrorism. that's why we must support israel. young people beheaded, and families burned alive in a final embrace, and parents executed in front of their children, children executed in front of their parents, and so many taken hostage in gaza. we have to ask, indeed it must be asked, where is the outrage? where is the rejection and the

explicit condemnation of these horrors? we must affirm the right of any nation to defend itself and to prevent such horror from repeating itself. no member of this council, no nation in this entire body, could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people. as this council and the u.n. general assembly repeatedly affirmed, all acts of terrorism are unlawful and unjustifiable. they are unlawful and unjustifiable whether they target people in ryobi or bali, or istanbul or mumbai, in new york, and they are unlawful and unjustifiable whether they are carried out by isis or al

shabaab or by hamas. they are unlawable and unjustifiable whether people are targeted for their faith, nationality or any other reason. and we denounce any group of fund or train hamas, and any other terrorists group that carries out such horrific acts. let's not forget among the 1,400 people that hamas killed on october 7th, were citizens from more than 30 states, and that includes 33 americans. all of us have a responsibility in defeating terrorism. second, we all agree on the vital need to protect civilians. as president biden made clear

from the outset of this crisis, while israel has the right, and, indeed, the obligation to defend itself, the way it does so matters. we know hamas does not represent the palestinian people, and palestinian civilians are not to blame for hamas carnage, and that mean hamas must cease using them as human shields. it means israel must take all possible precautions to prevent harm of citizens, and that means aid must be flown into gaza and to those that need them. it must mean civilians should be out of harm's way, and humanitarian pauses should be given. we continue to coordinate closely with egypt, israel and partners across the region as well as with the united nations

to build mechanisms that will enable and sustain humanitarian assistance to flow to gaza. president biden appointed one of our most senior diplomats to lead the humanitarian efforts, which he is currently doing on the ground. the united states pledged additional assistance, bringing the total aid we brought to the palestinian people to more than $1.6 billion. that makes united states the largest single country donor by par to the palestinian people. we call on all countries, particularly those with the greatest capacity to give to join us in meeting the united nations' appeal for the humanitarian situation in gaza. at the heart of our efforts to save innocent lives in this conflict and in any conflict, for that matter, is our core

belief that every civilian life is equally valuable. there's no hierarchy when it comes to protecting civilian lives. a civilian is a civilian is a civilian, no matter their nationality, gender, faith. we mourn every nationality and faiths, including 35 u.n. staff members. that's why it's imperative to protect all civilians in this conflict, and to prevent more deaths atop those that have already occurred. i, as others have, have the

occasion to meet with the families of those missing and suspect it to be in the hands of hamas on my recent trip. several, as you know, are in this room with us today. none of us -- none of us can imagine the nightmare they are living, something no family should have to endure. their loved ones must be released immediately, unconditionally, and every member of this council, indeed, every member of this body, should insist on that, insist on that, insist on that. we are grateful to qatar, to egypt to see the release of the four hostages, but at least 200 more, and again, from many of our nations, are still in the grip of hamas. so again, i implore every member here, use your voice, your

influence and leverage to secure their unconditional and immediate release. third, we're all determined to prevent this conflict from spreading. this goes to the principle responsibility of the security council maintaining international peace and security. the broader conflict would be devastating, not only for palestinians and israelis, but for people across the region, and, indeed, around the world. to that end, we call on all member states to send a firm united message to any state or nonstate actor is that considering opening another front in the conflict against israel, or who may target israel's partners, including the united states. don't -- don't flow fuel on the fire. members of this council, and permanent members in particular,

have a special responsibility to prevent the conflict from spreading. i continue to work with my counterpart with the peoples' republic of china to do that when he visits washington later this week. now, it's no secret to anybody on this room or on this council that for years iran has supported hamas, hezbollah and other groups that continue to carry out attacks on israel, and their leaders have continued to threaten to wipe israel off the map, and iran's proxies have attacked, and let me say to this council and what we have said to iranians through other channels, the united states does not seek a conflict with iran, and we do not want the war to widen, but

if iran or its proxies attack u.s. personnel anywhere, make no mistake, we will defend our people, we will defend our security swiftly and decisively. to all the members of this council, if you like the united states want to keep this war from spreading, tell iran, tell its proxies in public or private, through any means, do not open another front in the conflict and do not attack israel's partners. and we will go a step further. make clear if iran or its proxies widen the conflict and put more civilians at risk, you, you will hold them accountable. act as if the security of the region and beyond is on the line, because it is. fourth and finally, even as we

address the immediate crisis, we all agree we must redouble our collective efforts to build an enduring political solution on the road to peace, and that was president biden's underscore from day one. palestinians deserve freedom and justice, opportunity for dignity, and israelis have a right too. president biden said we cannot give up on peace. indeed, it's precisely in the darkest moments, like this one, that we have to fight the hardest to preserve an alternative path, to show people making it real, improving their lives in tangible ways is

possible, indeed, and necessary. we have heard many countries express in recent works for a durable solution. our message today is this, help us build that solution, and help us prevent the spread of war that will make two states and broader security and peace in the region harder to achieve. members of this council, we stand at a crossroads. two paths lie before us. the difference between them could not be more spark. one is the path offered by hamas. we know where it leads. death, destruction, suffering, darkness. the other is the path toward greater peace, greater stability and greater opportunity and greater normalization and integration, a path towards people across the region being able to live, to work, to

worship, to learn side by side, a path toward palestinians realizing there's a path to a state of their own. nothing would be greater to hamas of allowing them to choose for us. the united states stands ready to work with anybody that is ready to forge a more peaceful and secure future for the region, a future its people yearn for and deserve. >> i thank -- >> antony blinken was speaking at the united nations security council, and bringing up four major points that he is re-emphasizing the points he

made earlier. the secretary of state had very clear words of support for israel and its right to react to what happened there on the 7th of october where more than 1,400 men, women and children were massacred. >> exactly, josé. some news out of secretary blinken's remarks just there, updating the fact that tragically 33 american citizens lost their lives as a result of those terrorists attacks by hamas in israel on october 7th. that is the latest count that we have now heard from the secretary of state, who was very clear in the united states' continued support of israel, but continuing to plead for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into gaza, because right now the convoys, the trucks that have gone in, according to the u.n., those really just amount to a drop in the ocean of what is actually needed critically on the ground when it comes to

food, fuel and water. but secretary blinken there, also in a more pointed message in terms of a clear warning also to anybody considering entering into this conflict, telling them not to but simply taking that a little further by saying specifically to iran, if there is any kind of provocation that goes against any u.s. interests in the region as well, that that will be met swiftly and decisively with a response. that's a message and a tone we have seen from the white house over the last 24 and 48 hours and a more targeted manner, but one that we are now seeing secretary blinken amplify on this stage at the u.n., at this high-level ministerial meeting, and they are determining what the next steps will be as we don't know when the ground invasion will come, and

critically in that calculation, it has to be the need to protect civilian lives, and civilian casualties, so far, have already been so great. that's why secretary blinken is appealing to all of the partners and counterparts he has there for those countries to continue to condemn hamas and the terrorists actions they have taken, and to also be very mindful of what is at stake here for innocent people literally caught in the crosshairs now, and the u.s. pledged an additional $100 million to gaza from a humanitarian perspective and the west bank, and over the last couple of years, the u.s. has sent more than $1.6 billion in aid, and they are calling for more that needs to happen in the very, very crucial hours. >> monica alba in washington, thank you so much.

we want to turn back as we were doing before the secretary spoke at the united nations to former president trump's legal saga. he's in courtroom with his former lawyer, michael cohen, and his former attorney, jenna ellis, plead guilty in the georgia court case. back with us, our guests, acting attorney general at the department of justice. i am so apologetic that i just had to cut you off, but this is what we do, it's breaking news and we cover it i want to ask you again -- we were discussing the jenna ellis plea deal. do you think this gives the prosecution a lot more leverage? are we likely to see more plea deals in the near future? >> i think we are likely to see more. i think one thing significant about what we have seen so far, particularly the pleas of sidney

powell, kenneth chesebro and jenna ellis is each one is pleading to a different facet of the multi-stage conspiracy that make up the entire rico conspiracy. we have sidney powell whose plea relates to the attempts to obtain voter data from the voting machines, to use this to substantiate false claims of election fraud. kenneth chesebro's was on the fraudulent elector scheme to get electors for trump to meet and cast their votes and submit those to the president to count, even though mr. trump did t win georgia. now with jenna ellis, her role according to her plea was on that pressure and the false statements made to the georgia senate judiciary committee as part of the effort to pressure

senators to actually substitute a slate of trump electors for the legitimate slate of biden electors in georgia. that included many, many statements that were false, including that literally over 100,000 people voted who weren't qualified to vote. those were false statements. everyone else who is indicted is now thinking, okay, now there's a cooperating witness who has information about the phase of this conspiracy that might relate to me. the more that fani willis and her team obtain pleas covering this rico conspiracy, the more pressure on others to plead. to see that the case -- the state's case is strong enough to get these people, including some very high level individuals in trump's orbit to plead guilty, has got to make people feel nervous about the case against them. >> meanwhile, dasha, what are we expecting today in new york

city? remind us why cohen is a key witness. >> reporter: this is the most anticipated day of the trial so far. we are talking about five years of bad blood between these two individuals that had so far been relegated to social media posts, to news media, to books written by cohen, now spilling out in person in this courtroom. we saw both men as they arrived here today. both made some statements. take a listen to what they said earlier. >> this is not about donald trump versus michael cohen or michael cohen versus donald trump. this is about accountability, plain and simple. we leave it up to the judge to make all the determinations on that. >> he is a felon. served time for lying. you will see it for yourself. he is a liar trying to get a

better deal for himself. it's not going to work. this case would have been over by any other judge. we did nothing wrong. that's been proven. >> reporter: here is the key piece of information for our viewers to remember as they watch this play out today. it's michael cohen's testimony to congress that sparked this investigation from attorney general etitia james that led to the trial. it was in his testimony before congress that he claimed that trump overstated his wealth. that's really why we are here today. he is now a star witness in this trial. jose? >> mary and dasha, thank you very much. appreciate it. up next, an update on the speakership race in washington where it stands now. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. . and you know i didn't.

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the real test is what comes next. right now, you have a one-on-one

race between mike johnson and tom emmer. emmer is the current majority whip. his job is to literally count the votes and figure out where members are. he is the former head of the nrcc, the house republican campaign arm. he has worked with many of the members to help elect them to congress in the first place. he is one of those key people who was charged when he was the head of the committee with keeping their seats as well. a big awareness of the political environment and the way the congressional maps work as well as the way that it works here in congress on the inside and getting stuff to the floor. the getting to the floor part is the question we will seek to answer next. they will go through another balloting round, closed doors, secret ballot in the room behind me. members are saying people are frustrated, fatigued. they just want to get this over with. emmer, according to members we have spoken to, was close to hitting the majority he needed

in the room to actually earn the speaker designate title. he is not there yet. a few votes shy. with hern and donalds dropping out, it's a two-man run to the finish. we will see if emmer can actually pull this out. it brings us to the next question we are trying to answer, will he immediately go to the floor? we watched speaker pro tem mchenry go to open the house floor in the last hour or so. they are ready and willing to receive. it's a question of whether or not emmer or whoever thinks they have the votes they need to become speaker on the floor. that has really been the elusive thing. i think there's one step that will help us figure out what happens next. whoever clinches the speaker designate spot, they will be the designee and we will see them vote and have a sense of how many will vote for them on the floor, that will dictate what happens next. >> ali vitali on capitol hill, thank you very much.

that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," israel celebrating the release of two elderly women hostages, with one incredibly courageous 85-year-old describing her ordeal with her daughter translating. >> my mom is telling the horrific stories. while she was being taken, she was hit by sticks. there are a huge network of tunnels underneath. it looks like a spiderweb. my mom is saying they were friendly towards them and they took care of them. >> as top arab diplomats come to the u.n. pushing for a pause in israel's air strikes.