able to get a definitive answer on if there has been a decline in the number of sightings, but the nypd did say they welcome this measure. listen. >> this is the kind of measure we have been looking for some time, as we have seen more and more drones and commercial drones and hobby drones being seen around the city. having more restricted spaces that allow fewer drones to be flying in the sky is a good thing. that should absolutely quell public concern even further. >> the nypd says they have seen a steady uptick of drones over the years, but they are not seeing an influx all of a sudden the past month. what they actually think it is as more people are just looking at them, they're looking up in the skies and when they see them, they reporting them. authorities say this is not any sort of adversary, these drones

pose no threat and in fact, authority say a lot of these are drones flying legally or even small airplanes. again, posing no threat. as for the bans, most of them will remain in effect until mid- january with the possibility they could be extended. alex? >> priscilla, thank you for all that. appreciate it. in moments, the motive merging for the holiday attack that left five dead. ♪ ♪ good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome, everyone to "alex witt reports". we begin with the government shutdown averted. president biden signed the american relief act for the senate just after the midnight deadline when the majority of federal agencies were on the brink of pledging into darkness just before the holidays. how democrats are praising their senate counterparts for calling back funding for pediatric cancer research after it had been voted out of the bill. >> it was a big victory for us last night. we were united.

we fought for medicaid and medicare. we had a few things we didn't get, but the senate was able to come through. when you think about they wanted to keep language in to help them invest in china, or not them, but elon musk, the real, acting president-elect and then when you think about the senate, who was able to put in the language for cancer, we fought hard for that in a bipartisan way. >> democrats are taking full credit for keeping the federal government open by voting with republicans in defiance of president-elect donald trump's push for a bill that eliminates the debt ceiling. >> democrats are swooping in like superman and superwoman to make sure they can take her of the american people. i just need the american people to have longer memories. >> now that the continued resolution has passed, the next wrinkle for republicans on capitol hill is the expected release of the house epic -- ethics committee report on matt gaetz. the committee secretly voted to release the findings into

alleged sexual misconduct and drug use by matt gaetz. senate majority chuck shumer made a big announcement on judges. >> with the nation's newest 235th judge, we have confirmed more judges under president biden that any administration in this century. more judges than any administration going back decades. listen to this, one out of every four active judges on the bench has been appointed by this majority. >> we got several reporters and analysts ready to go for all of these new developments for us. first let's go to nbc's julie tsirkin on capitol hill. trump's last-minute demands put congress in disarray. how did congress ultimately make its way out of that mess? >> reporter: well, it took plan

a, plan b, plan c. ultimately, they voted on plan d last night, averting a government shutdown. a bill looking very different than the original 1500 page bill that johnson released earlier this week. it was a deal he struck with democrats, to be clear, it had a lot of extraneous provisions on it, something elon musk sending the x space into a tizzy with a slew of social media post. separately, president-elect trump with an 11th at our demand calling on his party to strike the debt ceiling and deal with it before he takes office. that didn't work. nearly 40 members of his own party, republicans in the house, voted against it with nearly all democrats.

we had last night was a version of the bill that extended funding through mid-march and included disaster relief, aid to farmers, did not include anything having to do with the debt ceiling. house speaker mike johnson did say he talked to trump before the vote happened, indicating that trump is optimistic about the bill. we have not heard from trump himself. we will wait to see what he says. i did have the chance to ask speaker johnson why he even wants the job after all of this chaos. watch. to do you still want to be speaker in this experience? >> look, being speaker the house is a challenge. it is a modern era, it is a challenge we accept. it is a great honor. i would not say it is the most fun job all the time but it is an important one. it is a consequential moment for the company. i got into politics because of the future. i think we have a chance to begin to change all that in january. >> reporter: obviously, johnson is a very long road ahead of him if he is reelected speak on january 3. that is a big f because he can only lose one republican vote. all democrats will vote for hakeem jeffries, instead. johnson will have a tough road ahead of him. we heard from a handful of

republicans, maybe more, they say they don't have confidence in johnson. some republicans think elon musk should be speaker, i don't think that will happen. if johnson is reelected on january 3, alex, like i told you last hour, that would be the easiest moment for him in the next few years. >> elon musk, he has a job or two or three already. anyway, thank you, julie. let's go right now to allie raffa joining us from west palm beach, florida. what level was donald trump at this and how lawmakers were reacting to his input? >> yeah, we talked last hour about the input of the 11th hour by president-elect trump as well as elon musk, what they had on the evolution of this funding bill and how it eventually got across the finish line. as you heard julie mention, one key ingredient that president- elect trump has been including about the debt ceiling was really not included in the final version of this bill. we know that the way he influenced elon musk and how

lawmakers cut hundreds of pages of legislation from this bill that eventually did pass, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were expressing anger and frustration with the level of involvement and influence that elon musk was having throughout this whole process. making note of the fact he is not an elected official. especially making note of his threat on social media to find primarily that my primary challenges to those who didn't support the version of the bill he supported. listen to some of the reaction from democratic lawmakers like representative joyce beatty. >> they came back with the most ridiculous, self-serving plan for billionaires. we know elon musk was calling the shots. we knocked that down. >> i think elon musk and, um, a few others look at this as some kind of a game they want to play. we are playing with peoples lives here. we, as elected officials, ought not be giving up our

responsibilities to someone that has never been elected to anything. >> reporter: alex, the trump transition team is downplaying the level of influence elon musk had in this whole process, saying all of his comments and commentary throughout this process were at the blessing of president-elect trump. this is definitely something to watch over the next four years, especially in this critical transition process, as we see elon musk visiting mar-a- lago more and more frequently and as he is leading that effort to cut government spending, alex. >> allie raffa, thank you very much from a very noisy balcony around there, a lot of people around you. joining me now we have

democratic congresswoman from pennsylvania madeline dean sitting in her kitchen,, as usual, i believe. that's fine. even if a dog barks, it is fine. we had the bipartisan agreement on a government funding bill, which was torpedoed after a series of disparaging post from billionaire elon musk on his own social media platform. luckily, a government shutdown was averted just in time. how do you explain to americans what happened here? >> well, what i explained to americans is that democrats were strong and united for the purpose of what is in the best interest of americans, of the working people, of people who just want to do better for the families, for their farms, for their futures, what we saw, the theatrics we saw this week were really cynical and corrosive. could you imagine? this was the deal that was negotiated, all sides, republicans and democrats, neither side got everything they wanted, that we wanted, that they wanted. it was a negotiated deal in

good faith. it was blown up, literally blown up, overnight by elon musk. following him, the president- elect. so, elon musk is not elected to anything. he is just reaping the benefits of this election cycle. his net wealth has doubled since election day from one quarter trillion dollars to almost, you know, 600, $700 billion. so what i would say to the american people is, this is very sad. this is not the way it is supposed to work. article 1 of the constitution gives congress the power of the purse. it is our responsibility. yet, the speaker of the house and the majority, public concern and control, they write the bills and put the bills forward, were unable for the last six months, to pass the 12 appropriation bills that would fund our government. we were stuck in this crisis of

their own making. the speaker, musk and trump created a crisis. we averted it, democrats averted it, for the american people. >> let me focus on what you said there. you talked about elon musk tweeting out voluminous tweets, he was talking about things. donald trump followed up. what do we know about the dynamic there, elon musk bleeding, trump following. are you hearing anything about that? >> let me be very clear. i am not friends with the lawn or the president-elect. >> nor my suggesting that. you are hearing from other colleagues on the other side of the aisle? >> we know it certainly is or will be under president trump's skin that president musk got out ahead of him and the president-elect threw in the debt ceiling. let me be clear about the debt ceiling. his friend shook i don't think, islam for this well. mr. trump likes to be in the spotlight. he doesn't want anyone else to

be in a better spotlight. let me talk about that throwing in of the two-year extension or just elimination of a debt ceiling. the debt ceiling is about paying for the bills we have already incurred. this was a perversion, yet again, perversion by mr. trump, and attempt to say give me carte blanche to offer huge tax cuts, continuing tax cuts to the wealthy, like mr. musk. so that i don't have to worry about the deficit. irresponsible. democrats would not stand for it. we are not can it just give out tax cuts at the cost of our financial fidelity. you know, the republican party constantly talks about being the party that cares about deficits. yet, it is mr. trump who blew up the deficit last time around with $2.3 trillion worth of tax cuts to the wealthiest. he wants to do it again. again, i hope people take away we made a mistake in the

selection by electing mr. trump. thank god we have democrats who will serve however we possibly can be. >> speaker johnson said trump had his back on the resolution has remained silent throughout the vote. even though it is tricked out, the provision suspending the debt limit that trump demanded, does that signal anything to you about trump's political capital? do you think it is waning a bit? >> i don't know, but i do think it is interesting. you saw in the first bill put on the floor, after the failure put forward of the agreed-upon language, 38 republicans said no. and then the bill passed late last evening, 34 republicans said no. it was a unanimous democratic caucus. we must fund the government. it does not work for the american people when the government gets shut down. what i think is, it is telling. there is a break from mr. trump that is growing in the

republican majority. remember, when we come back as the majority, it will be two seats, two votes. mr. trump and mr. musk are in for an interesting ride. sadly, the american people are, too. we should have never have been in this position. you don't turn your term paper in one day before christmas. this is funding the united states government. this is paying federal workers. it's -- it's irresponsible and extraordinarily reckless. >> let me ask you about the speaker vote two weeks away. i do you think it goes down? says he's day is speaker, mike johnson? >> i don't know. i know he will be greatly challenged, in part because of the very slim majority that his party holds. but the other reason is, take a look at the last two years, the 118th congress has failed to govern.

effectively, you have seen it, time after time, democrats have governed to avert a shutdown, to make sure that the american people can move forward, to be sure that supplemental bills, disasters, hurricane disasters, we made sure we fund those things. for the francis scott key bridge, the things that we do, as democrats, matter. you will see a very unified vote around hakeem jeffries. i have to tell you, his leadership has been extraordinary, along with katherine clark and pete aguilar. the speaker faces a huge challenge, he already knows he has several votes against him. i don't know how he succeeds and becomes speaker, especially after the bungling of this week . >> i guess we will find out anyway 3. congresswoman jeanette, great to see you. cities around the world on alert after an attack around the world in germany. we are back in 90 seconds. 90 . . moat the... library.s right... for a better clean with less...

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suspect. i will get to him in just a moment. i want to focus on the victims. the attack, it is 24 hours now, over 24 hours since this unimaginable scene unfolded at the christmas market. hundreds were gathered there when a car was driven into the crowd. five people killed, among them, alex, a nine-year-old child. 200 people injured, 40 of them with severe injuries, some of them life-threatening injuries. olaf scholz, who is the chancellor, visited the site this morning and said no stone would be left unturned. turning now, shifting focus to the investigation, here's what we know about the suspect. he has been identified by his first name, taleb a is how he is identified. he came from the middle east

to germany in 2006 and describes himself as a former muslim. he has posted online quite a bit, criticism of their religion . he is accused the german government of not having done enough to combat what he called islam a schism in europe. the interior minister today said he had expressed islamophobic views. he worked as a dr., a psychiatrist, in a nearby time this mac town. that was confirmed to us by the medical establishment he worked for. so, despite everything i just told you, the motive for investigators, still 24 hours after the fact, remains unclear but everything i just mentioned, his online activities, his views he expressed online, all of that, that will be part of the investigation. we also know according to authorities, all of this unfolded within a three-minute window. it was shortly after 7:00. he entered the market using the emergency access route. he was able to go slowly at the

beginning, still managed to injure people going slowly but then accelerated and was into the scenes, the horrific scenes we saw. olaf schulz, the chancellor, also referenced the 2016 attack. this was eight years, almost to the day when a man who pledged allegiance to isis, really, polar opposite profiles, if you will, rammed his vehicle into the ground, killing a dozen people, injuring dozens more. it was already a traumatic time for so many germans, even more so now. alex? >> daniele, thank you very much

for very sobering and sad story there. let's bring in the former new york state homeland security advisor. michael, welcome. let's start here at home. it is a busy weekend or the holidays, plenty of clout -- crowds out doing last-minute shopping. is there any cause for concern? >> not at this stage. the challenge, of course, you don't truly know the motive but based on the information reporting so for is that this is an individual, the counter narrative to what happened eight years ago, where, you know, his perspective so far has been anti-islam and the perspective eight years ago was obviously in furtherance of isis and al qaeda. so there isn't this network of terror that there was eight years ago. therefore, what it looks like right now is that this is an individual who decided to do something on his own. this is the worst case scenario, as you know, for security officials. >> it is almost more scary when you have one individual who could have a level of disgruntlement or issues that they could go off and behave this way, this is a suspect who was taken into custody, reportedly very critical of germany, posting online about what he called the appraised

tolerance of radical islam. for those who may share his extreme views, what about that? does that prospect of a potential copycat attack, does that concern folks? >> there are three takeaways from this, alex, that are really profoundly disturbing. the first is, this came out of nowhere. they have been monitoring social media but for the most part, you're not going to know the timing of something that they will do. secondly, the method of attack is so easily reachable by anybody, somebody could get a bomb, a gun, but you just take your card you don't have to use a weapon. third, these types of areas, the christmas market or any type of public avenue, even in new york, on halloween, years ago, we had a similar incident where an individual drove a car and killed people on a bike path right by the river. >> right on the westside. >> remember that? and then in 2016 on this deal day you had the same thing. what is the danger there? there is no way to secure every

single public gathering we don't have any time in many advance notice and they are not using something like a bomb during an activity to put it together. >> at this christmas market where it happened, there were security measures in place. there were large, concrete blocks at the entrance to the market. we see it around here at rockefeller center with the beautiful christmas tree we have sitting outside this building. that driver still found a way to get in. is it possible to entirely protect large events like this, or will always be some sort of a risk in places with large crowds? >> there'll always be some type of risk. unfortunately, that is the reality we live in, especially we have an individual who decides they will use such a common form, like a vehicle. they will just take it into their own hands. the other thing, also, this could be a mental health issue. this individual just could be crazy. they decided to take

their lives and how do you predict that? how do you prevent that? to your point, large gatherings, yes, we have done a lot post 9/11 to try to protect them, especially in major metropolitan areas, lay new york city. in these types of cities, something like an emergency access, okay, did we anticipate that? how would you stop that? in some ways he is kind of diabolical in the way he used an access road for first responders to commit this attack. >> stay safe, my friend. thank you. the debt ceiling drama, what did it accomplish? we got answers next. ♪ ♪ next. ♪ ♪ but crest pro-health's antibacterial fluoride protects all day. so it stops cavities before they start... crest. now is the time to go back in time. and shine a light on the family journey that led to you. detailed dna results. inspiring family history memberships. now's the time to save at ancestry. ♪♪

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it's official. a holiday government shutdown is averted as president biden today signed a last-minute stopgap funding bill passed by the senate early this morning to narrowly avoid a government shutdown. democrats reacting to the chaos in the final days. >> a strategy, but appropriate, this term has ended that started it. we started with mccarthy, santos, gaetz, we ended the term without mccarthy, santos or gaetz. a republican party that is at war with itself, it is pretty

clear, based on last night's vote, there is a significant block of republicans that don't like johnson. >> on that note, joining me ameshia cross, former advisor to the obama campaign and brendan buck, nbc political analyst and former press secretary to john gaynor, -- john bader, who i am reminded, who had that infant is quote, try to manage and organize this republican party is like herding cats. i'm sure you remember that one. i am sure things haven't changed that much. we will start with musk. we averted a shutdown once again right before christmas and have a resolution going only until march. what is your sense of reaction by the ongoing spectacle driven by republicans, what is on the brink again in march? >> first and foremost, that is a lot of questions. i think we will definitely be back on the brink again in

march. i think the general american public is quite frankly upset over the back-and-forth of this. we have come to the edge of a government shutdown multiple times at this point. i think they are used to the countdown clocks run on cable news networks when it comes to government shutdowns. but the thing that brought most people to the polls this past election cycle was the economy. and if you are talking about republicans who stood on the republic -- economy and said they could protect it better and stand for the working class and you see them push against the necessities for that class of individuals, whether they are talking about not insuring federal workers get their chance, we are talking about

possible delays in faa services and things like that because that is also government-funded. we are talking about issues related to people who are on ssi, social security and disability. all of these things fall under the purview of the federal government. i think about every day individuals, every day and americans who rely on food stamps, there was a lot of fear as to what could occur. at this point, it is who were the republicans, who was donald trump actually aligning himself with? it seems as though at the very last minute elon musk basically pulled the rug from under the republican party who already in good faith made negotiations to ensure that continuing resolution got across the aisle. at the end of the day, they decided to basically go against it at the behest of a billionaire, the richest man in the world. i think at this point, a lot of americans are saying, who actually is going to be running this nation? is it to be donald trump, who did campaign and won a percentage of the votes, or will it be elon musk, who, at the end of the day, who is not elected and also does not care about the sacrifices every day american people make and was willing to shut down the government, force a government shutdown and obviously cannot count because the votes were not there. >> brendan, i am curious about

what you made about all this drama, the debt ceiling, especially. the bill passed yesterday didn't even touch it. what does it say that trump made this wild call to raise the debt ceiling, which doesn't line up with republican positions for the last decade plus and throw this process into 11th hour chaos and not even get rewarded? >> donald trump really woke up to the reality to the game he will be facing when he becomes president. you have to raise the debt ceiling. that will have to happen at some point. the debt ceiling, i think, will be hit in january. there are a few things to do. by summer, he will have to take place. that is always really hard. especially when republicans are in charge. we have a lot of members who simply won't ever vote to raise the debt ceiling. it's a bad vote. so trump's team, i think, realize, we don't want to have to have that problem on our election, let's take care of it now and raise the debt ceiling now. this way, i can focus on my agenda. of course, that didn't happen because there were enough republicans who didn't want to

do that. the problem is, the same dynamic is going to exist in the summer. republicans have made a lot of promises over the last several days. they will be very difficult to. we are talking about $2.5 trillion in spending cuts they want to do. i am curious what they're looking at, where they will find that. they already ruled out budgeting most of the big spending programs. i think they have set themselves up for failure next year. it is too bad. it could really get into the way of the things they want to do. >> ameshia, is trump delusional trying to assign blame to biden and democrats for the chaos? if there is a shutdown, b on biden's watch? how far would that even get and if he is prompting the chaos? >> well he was absolutely delusional but i think his calculus was, if it happens before donald trump takes office, the american public generally, regardless of when a shutdown occurs, does not necessarily look at congress as a person the blame. they have always looked at the

person sitting in the seat of power in the white house. he is not often that ideology. i do think he was off in how he went about that approach. what we saw, we saw on x, multiple pieces of commentary from elon musk himself, was pushing for the shutdown, arguing for things who were not even available in the continuing resolution to begin with, frankly, just lying about it. the american people caught on. there was a frustration of this happening or potentially happening so close to the holiday season, so close to christmas. for all of the back-and-forth the media gave, wondering why president biden wasn't speaking out on it, what commentary did he have? he didn't have to speak out on it. you have donald trump over

here, as president-elect, shouting up and down the street on true social, yet elon musk on x tweeting up a storm. the two people who negotiated this outside the congress where the individuals who were willing to shut down the government for donald trump in his own mind to come back and save it , the debt ceiling, he is the person who ran up the national debt to the tune of $7.6 trillion during his first turn. this is the guy who was never willing to pay. he was willing to not have an american budget but to continue take out massive amounts of debt but he does it with the blame on him. he wants to come in and be a savior from the chaos. he created it. >> brendan, you know the players in the game. mike johnson said he talked to trump before the vote, i guess to get an okay, but he also talked to elon musk, how bad of a look is that for republicans? how do you think gop folks on the hill receive that? i heard a trump supporter said they did not recall voting for elon musk in november. >> it will be a huge problem for governing. when i was working for speaker ryan, donald trump was president. we were always one tweet away from trump screwing something up for flubbing up a plan we had. at that point, donald trump had

staff around him, there were systems in place. we could get in touch with them and sort of straighten things out. elon musk is just some guy out there floating around and saying things. as ameshia said, what he was saying about the bill wasn't true. he mischaracterized what was in there. that is hanging over you at any time. somebody is not actually involved in the process, really difficult then to have any type of, you know, order in the house. people are trying to line up votes for things and all of a sudden, this guy saw something on the internet, saw something on twitter and starts blowing it up. of course, republicans have made this problem for themselves. they empowered it, donald trump empowered him. the only thing, any sense of optimism you could have for republicans, i don't know how donald trump will tolerate the idea that elon musk is actually in charge here. it is very clear donald trump is in the front of the parade after musk blew this thing up and donald trump is now the most second powerful person in government and he will take aim

at that sometime soon. >> always good chat with the both of you. thank you so much. meantime, a taste of things to come if you have not hit the road yet. what you need to expect before you get to the airport. ♪ ♪ airport. ♪ ♪ —no peeking. —okay. okay. ♪♪ open. ♪♪ ♪♪ over 600,000 usps employees working in sync to ensure everything sent on its holiday ride ends with a moment of joy. ♪♪ the united states postal service. if you're living with hiv, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills.

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♪ right now, americans are hitting the roads and airports for the holidays, but weather is putting a damper on some of those travel plans. tripoli is reporting have record high numbers is a project over 119 million of us traveling as 2024 comes to a close. tsa agents preparing to screen nearly 40 million players a seasonally. winter, snow and rain conditions are causing cancellations across the country. we will check back in right now at the chicago o'hare international airport where travelers certainly picking up. how are the travelers with all the foot traffic there? >> alex, this afternoon they are doing their best to navigate the crowds and simply taking it in stride. as you mention, aaa estimates between now and january 2 at least 119 million people will travel this week for christmas or hanukkah. >> reporter: tsa expects to screen nearly 40 million passengers. we spoke with some of them passing through checkpoints here at o'hare. take a listen. >> just trying to be the hustle and bustle and get out there. fingers crossed with all the snow but it has been pretty good so far. i recommend getting to the airport early, especially at o'hare, it is always busy.

the weather, just getting here on time is a good thing. >> reporter: some people have shown up on time. the chicago department of aviation is recommending that folks booked their parking before they arrive at the airport because those parking ramps are also filling up quickly. right now, we have been checking. there are about 5000 delays for flights coming into and going out of the u.s. according to our flight tracker, flightaware. as far as flight cancellation, little more than 200. >> thanks for the stats. we will check in again. meantime, the how and why how things got so particular and peculiar on capitol hill next. tol hill next.

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today president biden signed the federal expansion approved by congress through mid-march ending days of shutdown drama. the last-minute deal came together after president-elect trump inky ally elon musk torpedoed the house's original bipartisan deal and demanded a new bill that also included suspending the federal debt limit. those demands were rejected by republicans, with help by democrats. the deal was ultimately reached that funds the government at its current levels and avoid the shutdown right before the holidays. join me now is former virginia congressman and senior advisor

for the january 6 committee and a good friend to us. good to see you, former congressman. the world's richest man, elon musk, has become one of the most powerful voices in politics, thanks to his influence killing the original stopgap spending deal. democrats are calling him coast president or shadow speaker among other titles. some say he should replace mike johnson a speaker the house. [ laughter ] >> what does it say about a gop and billionaire chaos agent like elon musk is calling the shots within the party? is it a republican thing, or is at a trump era thing? >> it is the same thing, right, alex? the trump era and the republican party are the same entity. there is no way to separate them now. you can only separate them with much pain. you don't let elon musk take this leadership. he already doubled as well since trump was elected. i think he lives in the oval office and he has a sleeping bag right now next to the desk. it seems that way. he is talking a lot to the president. the other thing is, what is the first thing the democrats would do if elon musk was elected speaker, that would be an

ethics investigation. that is what i would do. that is a hard no for elon musk to be speaker. people like marjorie taylor johnson, [ laughter ] marjorie taylor greene, my goodness. [ laughter ] i think about it, alex, my goodness. >> anyway. >> i think it is pretty amazing to me there are people who would really consider that but they are. we are living in a fantasy world if you think some people have been elected, they think the january 6 election was stolen, they still believe in conspiracy theories why not have elon musk as speaker, that is what they are thinking right now. >> calling for a criminal investigation of former congressman -- congresswoman liz cheney over her role in the january 6 committee. they say she should be

investigated for witness tampering and colluding with the former white house aide and star witness, cassidy hutchinson. you were an advisor to that committee. what you make of all this? >> you know, this is a cya congressional oversight committee. you know, from the house ethics committee when you look at barry loudermill. i know him. i know he had issues with the security and i read the 120 page report, alex, it is crazy i actually read it but there is no evidence of that. not only is there no evidence, most of it is conjecture, innuendo and hearsay. they have no data to back up these types of, i would say, gosh, they are referrals. they made a criminal referral

on liz cheney. i think it is ludicrous. when you read the report, it is incredible how different it is from the january 6 report and how little evidence there is to back that up. i think that is what people need to do. the need to go read that 120 page report, see how many times they use the word may, sugar that is probably what they met. it is not a great way to do an investigation, especially to have the data, the metadata, to back that up. what you see right now, they're going after liz, it is a ridiculous thing for republicans to do. i would not be surprised if donald trump pardoned liz cheney just to make sure she does not become a hero or martyr for the people against him. that is something that could happen. >> that is interesting, not make her into a folk hero. let me quickly get to early this month with trump telling nbc news january 6 committee members should go to jail. his pick for fbi director kash patel has called for criminal probes for committee members accusing them of writing false testimony and destroying evidence. are you worried about political retribution for your role on the committee? >> [ laughter ] i would be stupid to say if i weren't worry about it or have some concern. i say bring it. i don't want a pardon. i don't want anything like that. i would rather be in the fight. i would love to have that opportunity to sit in front of

individuals at the house, talk about what i saw the day of january 6. it would be a lot of fun for the entire american public. i think there are some people who have a right to be concerned about the type of retribution you see here, especially if you have kash patel leading the fbi. this is an individual who is seriously underqualified and also is pretty much a january 6 q1 on guide. that is the issue we have right now. they might get a conditional pardon but there are people, the senior staff, the senior technical advisor and as a person who looked at all the data, and might get to me but there are other people who should be more worried. i don't think liz, adam, nobody is really worried about it. they will enjoy the fight. that is what it comes down to, i would enjoy the fight. i think they would, too. >> my courageous friend. thank you very much. see you soon. in the next hour, the clock is ticking on tiktok. why the supreme court decided to consider the ban in just a

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the u.s. removing a bounty on the syrian rebel leader who overthrew the government, this comes after u.s. delegation visited damascus friday since the fall of assad. what can you tell us about the discussions and what was accomplished? >> so alex, we know that assad

governed the area. this is designed to kind of make first contact with the rebels, get a sense of their intentions and try to push them in the direction of what the u.s. is calling an inclusive, syrian lead and hopefully ultimately, democratic form of government inside of syria, as you mentioned, the highlight of this trip was a meeting with the head of hts, the largest of the rebel groups that overthrew assad. he's a man that up until this week, had a $10 million american bounty on his head. the u.s. has now removed that as a kind of initial gesture of goodwill but they say it's also practicality, you can't really conduct diplomacy with a man who in theory, you would like the fbi to arrest at first chance. the diplomats said that this was a constructive meeting and they said the rebels continued