translated in german and read by kids in the german public schools. they take that responsibility very seriously. at the same time that here in this country, in some places, parents well-meaning, i suppose, don't want their kids to have to know about anything so painful. and yet that's how we learn. as jason pointed out, that's how we change by our knowledge of history and our attention to it. >> thank you to both of you. lois, it's great to have you back as a member of the banned book club. jason, great to have you. we have you here all the time, but not as a member of the banned book club all that often. so it's great to have both of you back. jason stanley is a yale university philosophy professor. lois lowry is someone whose books you should be reading, sort of nonstop. that does it for me. thank you for watching. stay right where you are. the katie phang show starts right now. >> this is the katie phang show live from telemundo studios in

miami, florida. >> water woes, growing demands for answers on how la fire hydrants ran dry as raging wildfires reduced thousands upon thousands of homes to smoldering rubble. >> we'll go live to l.a, where mayor karen bass is set to address the media in just minutes. then first felon in chief donald trump is now the first convicted felon headed for the oval office. we'll break down the rights he's set to lose as a result of his historic convictions. plus chaos cabinet. next week's senate confirmation hearings for the incoming president's cabinet of curiosities, and how democrats are preparing to derail the process for some of the most controversial picks. and later, for facts sake, mark zuckerberg's meta is dumping independent fact checking and diversity initiatives ahead of trump's return to the white house. why president biden is slamming the move as, quote, really shameful. all of that and

more is coming up. we're following breaking news out of southern california and the horrific series of blazing wildfires. hurricane force winds have fueled the flames, including the palisades fire, which has become the most destructive wildfire in los angeles history. 166,000 residents are under an evacuation warning, and that number continues to grow as the palisades fire moves east. so far, 11 deaths have been reported as a result of the fires that have engulfed over 37,000 acres, with entire communities just completely wiped out. any moment we're going to take you live to a press conference from l.a. mayor karen bass, who's going to have updates on the response. joining me now, first, nbc news

correspondent ellison barber, who is joining us live from pacific palisades, california, with more. ellison, glad to see that you are safe. thanks for joining us. what are the conditions right now as you are on the ground there? >> hey, katie. yeah. i mean, look, firefighters are still working day and night. we were at the eaton fire last night, watching them deal with a number of hotspots that had popped up in buildings where it looked like the fire was gone, but there were still pockets of heat underneath, layers of collapsed buildings that were reigniting. and they were working diligently late into the evening trying to get all of that under control. look, we're now in the area near the palisades fire, and you can see behind me just the scale of the destruction that you talked about. we're waiting to hear from mayor karen bass, and there are a lot of questions in this community and all of los angeles county about how something like this could happen. we heard from the los angeles county, the los angeles fire departments chief, speaking to our nbc los angeles station, where she said there have been budget cuts and that she has been sounding the alarm

for the last three years, saying that the l.a. fire department is, in her words, underfunded, understaffed and under-resourced. she said in other interviews that she believes had there been more budget, that possibly they would have been better prepared to deal with this fire coming in. but at the same time, she also said the winds that they were dealing with when all of this started on tuesday, they were unprecedented. and you see the scale of it in the destruction. we've heard from so many residents in this community and also in altadena, california, near the eaton fire. palisades fire and eaton fire, those are the two biggest of five active fires in los angeles county right now. and they tell us they are so frustrated that this could happen. they feel many of them, like the city, failed them and they were ill equipped to deal with what has happened here. a lot of people still waiting, hoping to come to their homes to assess the damage or to get some belongings. you mentioned so many people still under mandatory evacuation orders in the area near the eaton fire. we spoke to people who were so frustrated that they

weren't allowed to get back home, but firefighters we'd spoken to, they said it's because in a lot of buildings, they're still dealing with hotspots popping back up, and they can't ensure that it's really safe for residents to come back. but that being said, the question for so many people is where do they even begin to rebuild when the scale of destruction looks like this? there's so much concern about the insurance issues, the lack of fire insurance for many people in the community, but really just the scale and the toll of this. it's hard to wrap your head around because in so many places in los angeles county, it looks like this. there's nothing left but debris and rubble of what once were homes and buildings. this is insurmountable, what people are dealing with here, and there are a lot of questions. and that's why that press conference in particular this afternoon is so important because so many people have questions for the mayor in particular about what was done, what was not done, and where they go from here. meanwhile, there's still active fires raging on the scanners. just in the last hour and a half, we've heard calls for air tankers

coming back in to this area and the palisades fire trying to get it under control as the santa ana winds are coming back. there are conditions today, tomorrow and all the way through wednesday. according to the cal. cal fire chief who spoke earlier this morning at a briefing. that is going to make it really challenging for firefighters with winds coming back also with incredibly dry conditions and dry vegetation. so they're working right now incredibly hard trying to contain the fires, circle around them to make sure they don't spread any further. there has been progress. you mentioned the numbers. we're now jumping up in the eaton fire. about 15% contained the palisades fire, over 10% contained. now it's an improvement from where things were yesterday. but for a lot of people that is the immediate issue. but this question of where do we go from here? it's hard for them to even begin to wrap their head around it or process what happens after those fires are truly contained, because the scale of the damage. katie. it's just so vast.

>> nbc news correspondent ellison barber, i want to thank you, and i want to say thank you to the crews that are there with you and other members of the media bringing us this information in real time, truly grateful. stay safe. thank you. >> alison. joining me now, california congressman robert garcia. congressman, an embattled home for you in the state of california. you are there in california right now to make sure your constituents are okay. tell us and our viewers what you're seeing and what you're hearing, most importantly, from the people that are inside your communities. >> well, thanks. thanks, katie. i mean, this is a really, really hard time. i honestly have never seen anything like this level of destruction and devastation. it is the even the horrific images don't convey just the level of destruction and horror that is that is on the ground right now. we have active fires, five

active fires. and while yes, some of those are much more contained, we are in an active emergency right now. i was just with a group of long beach firefighters from my community, a station that's that's sent out over over ten engines across the county. and what i told them and what i think at this moment is really important, is there are so many acts of heroism going on our our firefighters right now that are coming in from across the country, the western united states are heroes. our first responders are heroes, and they are actively working right now to save people. evacuation orders, get people assistance, save property, save lives. and so the work right now is continuing. and while i know there's a lot of questions, and certainly we want to and we need answers about how we can do better in the future, the most important thing right now is to save lives and property and to help people on the ground.

>> and i'm glad, congressman, that you that you said that i agree there will be time and there should be answers to many questions about the water in this situation. my primary concern, though, is have those problems been fixed? the containment hasn't happened yet. there's multiple fires. what's your information for people that are tuning in right now in terms of first responders being able to access the water to hopefully get all of this contained and soon. >> look, i've been talking to firefighters that are on the ground that are that are working these fires. what they want people to know is to please follow the evacuation orders, to please give them the ability to do their jobs. if you are not following the evacuation orders you're making, trying to make a different decision, trying to stay in your home or in your neighborhood, you are putting in danger the lives of our first responders. that is just more work and all sorts of different challenges for them that people are creating. i think it's really important. right now we have a fire that is critically reaching a dangerous level just

adjacent to brentwood. this fire might grow. it's hard to contain. there are, as you probably know, in brentwood, thousands of homes and neighborhoods that are in danger right now. if we don't contain this fire in a better way. and so please listen to these first responders. and it's whether it's our police officers, our firefighters, the health folks that are on the ground, people need to listen and pay attention. i think it's really important that these tough questions, which believe me, i was a mayor for eight years before i took this, before i got on this job just a couple of years ago. i understand emergencies, there's a lot of questions. local government on the ground is doing a really tough job and we will have time to answer these questions. but right now, we need to support the people on the ground and the first responders. >> congressman, i want to follow up very quickly on this. what about the resources that are made available to those that have survived, those that have been forced to evacuate, those that are seeking help? what's been the federal and the state response to be able to help them?

>> so i think first immediately, and i think i was really grateful to see in a bipartisan way, republicans and democrats from the state of california came together. we've had discussions when we were in dc when the fires were first breaking out. we worked with our governor, communicated with the governor directly. i think the governor is doing a phenomenal job here, and we made those requests of the president. and i'm really grateful that president biden has essentially giving the folks on the ground the resources they need through fema. the fact that he immediately decided to make reimbursement of 100% to ensure that people are reimbursed appropriately, the local governments have the resources they need was really critical in this moment. and so i think that what the president's doing, what the governor is doing, is just exactly what the local associations or what the local agencies need. what's really important also is what happens in the next week or two, because while fema is on the ground, we need to ensure that folks that are watching this, that are being impacted, please contact fema. that's almost after after

getting safe. that's one of the most important things that you can do is to ensure that we are aware that the federal government of what your needs are, so that we can ensure that we are processing and getting you what you need financially to support you in this very difficult time. and so th that those pieces are really important. i encourage anyone impacted to get in touch with fema and, you know, people don't have an infrastructure anymore. >> communities completely eradicated. how is this information being disseminated, though? how do people know that they have to evacuate? how do they get this knowledge so that they can save themselves and their loved ones? >> well, i mean, obviously the media has such an important role, i think, at this moment for responsible reporting, and i thank you for everything that you're doing. i also think that local agencies and local governments right now are on active alert and getting information out to communities. you have nonprofits on the ground. i think it's really important that folks search out

local agencies and support within their own communities. that part is really important. everyone is connected into the fema system. we have, you know, we have one large organization on the ground that everyone else, all the agencies are able to get information out to. but the truth is, is that people should be following the news. people should be in contact with their local governments, the state and the federal government is on the ground communicating directly with people that are impacted. and so anything that we can do to get folks help, we're trying to do, and i have to also say thank you. there are thousands of la regional businesses and volunteers right now that are collecting food, water, baby formula. the red cross is on the ground. it's just heroic work that we're just incredibly grateful for. >> congressman robert garcia, i know it's you're exhausted, but i know that i'm grateful for you to join us, to give us this information. and i know that the folks there in california are also grateful. thanks for being here with us and getting us started today. i appreciate it. thanks, katie, and we'll be

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inheriting. >> the fallout from meta ceo mark zuckerberg's decision to end fact checking. >> what's your message to concerned voters about where the country may be headed after the

biden administration leaves actually behind closed doors? >> they're still asking what the hell happened? >> we've got los angeles mayor karen bass, along with federal and local officials who are now speaking to reporters on the state's aggressive response to the wildfires there and the ongoing extreme weather conditions that are complicating the firefight on the ground. let's tune in right now and listen. >> and especially what did not. and i know that this is a top priority of the people that are here behind me, and the firefighters and the first responders that are on the front line. >> there is nothing, nothing, nothing that i will not do for the city where i was born and raised. and i know that that goes for all of us. so let me be clear about something. the fire chief and i are focused on fighting these fires and saving

lives, and any differences that we might have will be worked out in private. but right now, our first and most important obligation to angelenos is to get through this crisis. when the fire is out, there will be time for us to evaluate. but at the same time, we also must begin the recovery effort, and there will be more to come from that in the next few days. so you saw last night that the fires intensified. the palisades fire expanded, leading to additional evacuations in encino and parts of brentwood. but despite the flare up, relentless air and ground assaults has led to increased containment of the fire. emergency shelter is open at the lennox regional recreational center in canoga park. we are updating on l.a.

city.gov with information about assistance and up to date evacuations. the house fire is now 76 contained, 76% contained, and the sunset fire is almost 100% contained. fema teams are on the ground providing in-person support, helping angelenos apply for disaster relief at the westwood recreation center and ritchie valens park. the small business administration is now offering home disaster loans, business disaster loans, and economic injury disaster loans, which can be applied for at the at lending lending sba.gov. let me repeat that lending sba.gov and the national guard is here to helping relieve our firefighters and secure the perimeter of our evacuation zones, aiding our los angeles police officers in having zero tolerance for crime.

and let me just say that again, zero tolerance for crime. and so that means if you are bold enough that you are going to go into a fire area and attempt to break into homes or do looting of any type, you will be arrested. you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. in the grief and the anger and the pain that we are going through. the idea that there would be predators out there that would try to take advantage of this situation will not be tolerated. i want the people of los angeles to know that your emergency departments are working as hard and as fast as they can for you. we are a city, los angeles. we have been through tragedies before. i remember 1992, the civil unrest when we had to rebuild the city. i remember 19, the big earthquake, this tragic event will bring us together. we will

say together, we will get through the fires and then we will we will rebuild our city and we will rebuild our city even better. with that, let me introduce our fire chief, kristin crowley. >> thank you, madam mayor. so good morning, everyone. thank you for being here. as mayor. bass has stated, she and i met yesterday to discuss our shared priorities. number one, first and foremost, we are both focused on our urgent needs to mitigate these devastating wildfires. our top priority remains saving lives and protecting property. second, we are committed to working together on community recovery and rebuilding efforts. three, we are focused on building an lafd that reflects the needs of the community we serve and which will prepare us for the many, many challenges that are ahead of all of us. i will now provide

an update on the current fires. palisades fire. yesterday evening there was a significant flare up on the northeastern boundary of the fire, threatening mandeville and sullivan canyon areas. we immediately redeployed resources from the san fernando valley to begin evacuation and extinguishment efforts. with a relentless air attack utilizing all available aircraft in the area, i can now report that we have increased the fire's containment from 8% to 11%, with 3712 personnel that are assigned to this incident. the fire is now at 22,660 acres, with all evacuation orders and warnings. they all remain in place. the hurst fire, 799 acres, 76%

contained two structures were damaged, 305 personnel are assigned to that incident. sunset fire halted and i want to focus on that word. halted and stopped at 42 acres, 100% contained. due to the due diligence of our first responders that are out there doing their work currently in the mop up and patrol status and no active threat to the public. now, looking forward over the next few days and into the next week, we will be facing another critical weather event. i want to assure the residents within our incredible city of los angeles that mayor bass, chief mcdonnell and i are in lockstep together and that we will utilize every single resource at our disposal to ensure public

safety and that we holistically protect angelenos. thank you everyone. and next, i have the honor to introduce police chief mcdonnell. >> thank you, chief, very much. as we navigate this challenging time, our primary focus remains the safety and security of our community. we're committed to protecting lives, safeguarding property and maintaining order in the areas affected by the fires. determining the cause of these fires is critical. >> and to that end, mayor bass, chief cali and i are announcing, in conjunction with our partner agencies the creation of the los angeles regional wildfire investigative task force. >> this task force is made up of local, state and federal partners designed to investigate the cause of these fires and to see if there's any connection between them. the task force will be made up of, or is made up of investigators from the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, cal

fire, the los angeles fire department, arson, counterterrorism section, los angeles county fire department arson, los angeles police department major crimes division, and the los angeles sheriff's department arson and explosives. the just announced this morning, or decided this morning that the atf will take over as lead agency on that. they have tremendous resources and expertise and can bring in resources from across the country to do their investigation. so we're very thankful for them and their resources. the lapd remains on tactical alert, and we have dedicated resources to ensure the safety of our law enforcement and city, state and federal public safety partners. lapd officers are actively patrolling these areas around the clock. these efforts include enhanced visibility in evacuation zones and neighborhoods where homes and businesses are vacant. we're deploying marked and unmarked vehicles, as well as foot patrols to ensure a strong presence and swift response to

any issues that arise. lapd currently has over 600 officers deployed to these areas with support from port police, who provided personnel, and the national guard, who've provided 40 personnel at various posts throughout the palisades. and we're truly grateful for their support. also, we've continued to respond to radio calls with reports of looting, although i'm happy to share that so far, none have been substantiated in that fashion. let me let me be clear on this. and the mayor just talked about it. we do have a zero tolerance policy for anybody attempting to exploit this crisis. looting and other illegal activities will not be tolerated. and we've taken significant steps to prevent such behavior. additional patrols are actively monitoring evacuated areas, and we've implemented a system of surveillance and rapid response. lapd is enforcing a curfew in los angeles city areas, where mandatory evacuations are still in place. the curfew will run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. last

night, we arrested a total of five people for crimes involving curfew violation in the in the palisades burn area. i want to remind everybody that unless you are public safety personnel or another type of disaster worker, you have no reason to be at these locations. and if we see you in those areas, you will be subject to arrest any person who refuses or willfully neglects to obey the curfew order, in effect in any evacuation order zone or evacuation warning zone within the city of los angeles will be physically booked for a violation of california government code section 8665. a violation of a curfew order is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and potentially imprisonment for up to six months, or both. the countywide curfew order is enforceable in the city of los angeles by lapd officers. enforcing a curfew is an important tool that will help keep the burn areas and evacuated property secure,

keeping looters out. this effort also helps protect public safety personnel who are operating in darkness and in very difficult circumstances. i want to reassure everybody that your safety and security of your property remains our top priority. we understand the stress and uncertainty you are feeling, and we're doing everything in our power to protect what matters to you. i urge you to continue following safety guidelines issued by our emergency management partners, and abide by any security checks and screenings. these measures are in place to protect lives and to allow first responders to do their jobs more effectively. in closing, i want to thank our officers who continue to work extended hours in a challenging environment. the national guard and all of our partners, particularly our fire partners, for their tireless efforts in responding to this crisis. i also want to express my gratitude to our community for your resilience and your cooperation. we will continue to provide updates as the situation develops and remains steadfast in our mission to protect and serve. thank you and please stay

safe. now, my honor, to introduce fema regional administrator bob fenton. thank you. thank you bob. thanks. well, let me start out by saying our hearts go out to everyone affected by the wildfires. >> and as our administrator yesterday said, we're committed to be here to help the community recover as long as it takes. >> one of the things that's important to us is having a strong relationship with not only the mayor, all communities in the state and delivering assistance to those communities that have been affected and will continue to make sure that we're here to do that. in addition to providing support. on the response side, one of the areas that we're focusing now on our priority is to help those that have been affected by this event. >> and one of the ways we do that is through our individual assistance program. and i want to start off with how to apply

to that program. >> so the easiest way is to go to the website to disasterassistance.gov and apply there. you can also download the fema app and use that to apply. or you can phone or 1-800-621-3362 number to apply for assistance. >> we've already had over 16,000 applications as of this morning, and we'll continue to take reservations, registrations into our system and will be probably reaching out to many of those individuals. those who have that are insured. >> i urge you to go ahead and call your insurance company first, as you'll need that information through the registration process with fema. as you go through that application process. one of the positive things that have happened in some of the changes of our legislation is we can help those that are underinsured, which i suspect will be a significant need here in from these fires. fema is

starting to expedite serious needs assistance. it's a one time payment that helps survivors with costs associated to disaster related needs, such as whether it's water, food, infant formula, things you had to purchase as you evacuated and that's a one time payment. other forms of assistance include displacement assistance to help with hotel costs, minimal repairs to your house, other needs, assistance costs for if you have medical bills from this event, the unfortunate funeral costs that will come for some if you lost your car in this event, you could go ahead and put that in for assistance from fema. and then ultimately, as we've seen, the great devastation and loss of housing, temporary housing, whether it be through our rental assistance programs or other forms of temporary housing that will work with the city, the county, on how to provide those in the in the best way that meets the needs of the community

here. so i'm working closely with the state and county and the city to ensure that we bring not only the full weight of the federal government, but working with community partners to make sure that we bring the resources that are needed to help recover. we are sending staff out to the field to help individuals register for our program. we'll start with going to the shelters and some of the other places, and we'll expand out and help individuals that need help registering. however, i urge you to go to the three locations they gave you. register online or register through the phone number as it's a. it's better to register before coming in and asking for extra technical assistance. ultimately, we'll work with the county and the city to set up local assistance centers, where we'll have processing in processing centers to help with your application. lastly, i just want to continue to reiterate, we are here for

the long term. we're here to financially support the response costs and to help individuals recover from the fire and have the full weight of the federal government behind me to support any needs that the state or the county or the city have in response to these fires. thank you. thank you mike. >> next is sba district director julie quarles. >> thank you, mayor bass. thank you to all of our government officials, fema, and especially our first responders. thank you so much for everything you are doing for the community, for those that are affected by these fires. my heart is with you. my team and i live here. we know what the challenges are ahead and we're here to help you through that recovery process. sba disaster loan programs are open. they've been fully activated and they are open, and people can apply. today. the applications are available for homeowners, for renters, for

businesses of all sizes, and for private nonprofits here in la county. a quick overview of the programs for you. the disaster home loan program is loans to renters or homeowners to repair or replace disaster damage, real estate and personal property, and this includes automobiles. loan maximums are 500,000 for real estate and 100,000 for personal property, and this is for uninsured or otherwise non-compensated losses. business. physical disaster loans are also available for businesses of all sizes to repair or replace their disaster damaged property, including the real estate inventory, supplies, machinery and equipment. businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply, and the loan maximums are 2 million. economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses and nonprofits as a way to provide working capital to help

them meet their ordinary and necessary obligations that otherwise could have been met. but for this fire, loan maximums for this program are 2 million. interest rates are extremely low under 4%, and in some cases 2.56%. for homeowners and renters. we have a 12 month deferment on interest and payments, and we are process of setting up some centers, but everyone is absolutely eligible to apply online today. sba.gov/disaster will take you right to the info page and application. also sba.gov. we have banners on our home page to direct you right to these resources as well, and you may also reach out to our customer assistance line at. email box at disaster customer service at sba.gov. again, disaster customer service at sba.gov. and we also have our cadre of business advisors through small

business development centers, women business centers, veteran business outreach centers, and score who are all over the county with free business assistance ready to support any business concerns you may have from recovery and rebuilding to applying for any of the assistance we talked about today. thank you. >> to. >> who is lynette? >> oh, there you are. yes. last night, early this morning. >> and the threat to our communities is very real. >> what do you tell these residents that are now finding themselves under evacuation orders? well, you know what? i think that the people in palisades and in most of the areas have been doing everything they can. they've been responding to the evacuation orders. i think that is critical that they do that. we know that those people who stay behind

might not be able to get out. and i think that it's important that people pay attention to that. the good news is, is that the fires have been slowly being contained. we i know that the palisades area is one of the ones that is the most vulnerable for the winds to continue to spike up, and it's anticipated that the winds will kick up again at the beginning of the week. so having national guard there, having law enforcement there is going to be very critical because not only do we have to protect ourselves from the fires, but we also have to make sure that no one goes up there and attempts to loot and attempts attempts to do anything that is inappropriate in the areas. well, they need to pay attention to what the orders are, you know, in some of the areas they've been told to evacuate. i know that west of the 405 people are supposed to evacuate. i know east of the

405. it's a warning. so i think people need to pay careful attention to what the instructions are. and please, please, please not try to wait out the fires and the proudly walk into your office. >> yesterday, were you planning to fire her? >> were you angry with her over her media hearing? oh my goodness! >> and do you agree with her that the fire department is very underfunded? >> let me just say that as you see here, the chief and i are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency. right now, we want to make sure that we save lives. we save housing, we save businesses. and if there are differences that we have, we will continue to deal with those in private. thank you. no. next question, julie, as governor newsom said, all

right. >> we've been bringing you the live press conference out of la mayor karen bass and other federal and local officials talking about the status of what is going on in the southern california wildfires. i'm just going to underscore very quickly something that the fema regional administrator said, which is if you are affected by this fire, you can go to disasterassistance.gov or download the fema app or dial one (800) 621-3362. that is from the fema regional administrator. if you've been affected by the wildfires, please go and do that. and we're going to switch gears quickly now to talk about how in nine days, donald trump will make history as the first president of the united states to recite the oath of office as a convicted felon. >> this court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of a judgment of conviction without

encroaching upon the highest office in the land is an unconditional discharge. therefore, at this time i impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts. sir, i wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office. >> i wish all of us godspeed. new york judge juan merchan delivering trump a long overdue sentence yesterday morning. however, if we're being honest, it's really a sentence of no sentence with this unconditional discharge, trump will face no jail time, no probation, no fines, nothing. still, that slap on the wrist didn't stop trump from throwing a tantrum, as usual on social media, calling it a despicable charade and vowing to appeal. joining me now for a deeper dive kristy greenberg, former s.d.n.y criminal division deputy chief and former federal prosecutor. kristy, thanks for your patience. obviously important information. we need to get out. you know, i just want to ask you

one question about this and then move on. but there's still an appeal that is going to be taken by donald trump. and so we do recognize he is now a convicted felon about to take the oath of office on january 20th. but there's still an appellate process that needs to be played out as well. right? >> there is. he has said he intends to appeal. there's a real question whether that appeal will go on while he is in office, and if it does, then he's got to find different lawyers to handle it. the two lawyers that he has now are set to be the number two and number three at doj. and they can't wear both hats, though i'm sure they it's going to be hard to maybe distinguish that once they are at doj, if they're not just still doing donald trump's bidding, but at least formally, they wouldn't be able to continue his appeal. he'd have to have different lawyers if he is going to continue with that while he's in office, and administration of people that fail up even when they lose criminal trials. >> let's move on. i know that

this sentence has been talked about a lot. i want to talk about the jack smith reports, because i think that that's really important. the final report, jack smith's special counsel, volumes one and two, a lot of legal filings going on in the 11th circuit court of appeals, which is the federal appeals court above judge aileen cannon, who is in the district court in florida. your take and i don't want to get into the weeds on this, christie, in terms of the filings, but your take on the viability of the arguments raised by donald trump to block jack smith, it's not just donald trump, by the way, but his co-defendants, walt noorda and carlos de oliveira. but christie to block the release. and let's talk about volume one, which is the january 6th insurrection election interference stuff versus volume two, which is the mar-a-lago classified documents case. >> yeah. so with respect to volume one, the january 6th case, these two co-defendants don't have a leg to stand on as to why they would have any standing to block the release of that report. it has nothing to

do with them, nor does it have anything to do with judge cannon. but everybody's got the memo that if you want something done for donald trump, you go to judge cannon. so that's what they did. and she obliged. she she blocked the release of both of those volumes of the report, even though she had no basis to do so, no jurisdiction to do so. so right now, those co-defendants have gone back to judge cannon, even though the 11th circuit has agreed with the government that that the reports could be released. they've gone back to judge cannon and said, well, can you hold a hearing, which we know she's more than happy to do? because remember, they only need nine days. they just need to delay this kick the can down the road so that trump's doj can come in, and then the reports don't see the light of day. as to the florida classified documents case, that report, merrick garland is, you know, made, i think, a really bad call here. he said, well, because this appeal of cannon's dismissal of the case, as to

those two co-defendants is still going on, because that's pending. we're not going to publicly release the classified documents volume, and we're just going to share it with certain members of congress privately, because releasing it publicly could potentially prejudice those two co-defendants. well, in nine days, that case against those two co-defendants is going away. trump is trump is going to have his doj drop that appeal. so why not just drop the case against them, drop that appeal against them now and then? you can release this report. it's silly. it's not pragmatic. that report to me the classified documents report is actually the more interesting report because jack smith has said that if he were to go to trial, there is unclassified evidence that he would have relied on to answer the question of why donald trump so desperately wanted to keep all of these classified documents and what he planned to do with them. and that, to me,

is a really important thing for the american people to know what he was looking to do with the nation's secrets. as he is set to assume office for the next four years. and also, who is he potentially sharing information with? that seems like it's important information the public is entitled to hear, but doj ag garland has made the decision that we don't get to know that. and i think he's wrong really quickly. >> christie, let's just say jack smith, doj merrick garland drops the case, drops the appeal right now. what is the practical effect quickly? what's the practical effect of that injunction by judge cannon? >> well, right now it's still in place because it's three days after the 11th circuit's order, when it's when her injunction blocking the release of the report is still in place. so we still need to have those three days play out. the doj has gone to the 11th circuit and said, look, just vacate her order. just vacate her order. but

again, she's still got the three days in place. so we'll see if she does anything different. we'll also see if the defendants go to the supreme court. >> ring, ring ag merrick garland, drop it. we don't need this. they're going to get pardoned anyway. have a nice day. christie greenberg, as always, thank you so much. and again, thank you for your patience. i sincerely appreciate patience. i sincerely appreciate it. thanks. and dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ asnarrator: at this veryt moment, children at st. jude are fighting to survive. with a gift right now, you can join the battle to save lives.

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that region. they joined additional search and rescue teams that have been sent to help locate any missing people. please stay with msnbc for updates as we provide them throughout the day. and now, president elect donald trump has a growing list of day one initiatives that, if enacted, will completely reshape america as we know it, including ignoring a constitutional amendment. general william tong. i believe we have attorney general william tong. >> katie, how are you? >> hey, so sorry about that. it's been a little bit kind of tech gremlins this morning, but i'm grateful for your patience. attorney general, you've gone on the record saying, quote, you'll be the first to sue if trump goes after birthright citizenship. you yourself coming

to the unite your parents coming to the united states. you're born here in the united states. you are the american dream. does donald trump think that the 14th amendment doesn't exist anymore? >> yeah, i don't know what he thinks. let me just say, first of all, that the images from los angeles are heartbreaking. one of my best friends and his family lost their home, and i just hope that everybody is safe out there and cared for. >> and i think it underscores in this moment, i wasn't going to say this this morning, but this is not a time for the federal government to turn its back on the american people, to go after us, to attack immigrants and people seeking reproductive health care, to dismantle the epa and stop our fight against climate change. >> this is when we need the federal government to stand there and help us and help the states. >> but if donald trump is not going to do that, well, i'm going to do everything i can to protect connecticut and connecticut families, including the american born children of immigrants who have birthright citizenship like me.

>> in one generation, i've had the chance from to go from working in my parents chinese restaurant to being the attorney general of this state. and even ronald reagan acknowledged that that's the essential character of our nation, and it's core to the american dream. >> you know, attorney general, we speak frankly and in practical terms here at the katie phang show, manage some expectations, though i understand and i admire the work that you and other attorney generals are doing across the united states. how does this work, though? if you get a federal order from donald trump, from tom homan, for example, border, the borders are coming in. how does that work vis a vis a federal edict, executive order, or some type of federal administrative order? and how do you do that? as the connecticut ag? >> so state attorneys general, particularly democratic attorneys general, are ready for this fight? i was here for the second half of trump 1.0. i am on the front lines for trump 2.0, and democratic ag's are going to be a firewall for people in our states. and so if

he tries to go and rescind or deny birthright citizenship, that is clear under the 14th amendment right, the 14th amendment clearly says that if you're born on american soil or in a place subject to the jurisdiction of the united states, you're a citizen. period. full stop. and the supreme court confirmed that in a famous case called wong kim ark about chinese american immigrants more than 100 years ago. so we're going to go right into court and we're going to stop him. >> attorney general, i did want to also follow up. you have said something very interesting. you said calling connecticut, for example, a sanctuary state or sanctuary jurisdiction is actually not only legally incorrect, but it kind of sends the wrong message quickly. speak about why it's important for people to understand why the use of that phrase is probably not helpful. >> first of all, it's the policy of the state of connecticut to respect, honor, and protect immigrants and immigrant families. and i'm just going to

say what we mean and what our policy and our law is. there's no law. there's no statute. there's no ordinance that says sanctuary. and it's not helpful because on the other side, they'll say that that suggests that we're not going to comply with federal law or state law. totally not true. we're going to protect connecticut families and immigrants in full compliance with the law. and i also think that sanctuary, you know, it just gets people ginned up. it's inflammatory language. and it also suggests that we can provide 100% protection for everybody at all times. that's also not true. and so we have to be accurate and clear and precise in our language, particularly in difficult moments like this. >> connecticut attorney general william tong, it is good to see you again, sir. my thanks to you and hope to see you again here on the katie phang show soon. thanks. thanks so much, katie, and my thanks to all of you for joining us today, for going along for the ride. you can catch me back here next saturday

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