russell williams is a very intelligent man. ectives allow him to do this. >> next, the detective gets an important denial from williams. his pathfinder with his toyota tires, has it ever been in that field? >> your pathfinder's wheel base is very close to the width of the tires that were left in that field, okay? do you have any recollection at all of being off the road? >> i was not off the road. no. >> what he is doing is building each fact that he presents builds on the fact before. and he allows russell williams to process each and every fact. >> and with each fact that is set before him, russell williams inches towards the abyss. he just doesn't know it yet. coming up. but this detective does. you and i both know that the unknown offender transported murray -- comeau's body -- quite possibly matched me before the evening is over. >> when dateline continues. es what is this place? the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak

his name is william russell. the only photos we have of mr. william russell are ones where he's in the background of trump events, and that makes sense because mr. russell is what is known as the political world as an advance man. his job was to coordinate president trump's movements, his literal muflts from one location to another and to go ahead of the president to make sure everything was setup. he went in advance of trump, thus an advance man. and that makes william russell a potentially huge witness when it comes to january 6th. here was russell with president trump and trump's chief of staff mark meadows on january 6th in the tent at the ellipse before trump's big speech that day. you might remember from the house january 6th investigation that there was drama in that tent before trump went on stage. trump was angry that the crowd was too small. he was mad that security was turning people away if they had weapons. he wanted people inside the ellipse so that they could cheer him on. but trump's anger wasn't directed at his supporters for s

>> we don't know why the grand jury wants to have him back, but william russell is particularly of interest to us because the january 6th house select committee, they never interviewed william russell. this hits at the point that the department of justice and special counsel's office likely has much more testimony but also evidence that the house select committee never was able to get their hands on. you see that image there, william russell was serving as an aide in the trump white house. he was there just before the ellipse speech that donald trump gave that day on january 6th. we are trying to fill in those puzzle pieces and i'm sure the special counsel's office as well as to what extent he may have been privy to conversations with donald trump on that day of the attack and exactly where he was at other points of that day. as you said, he's appeared now multiple times before the grand jury and it also hits at the heart of the fact that the special counsel's office continues. one other point, will smith, he is still being paid through his firm by the trump 2024 campaign, $12,000 a month h

this is william russell.rved in the trump white house has a special assistant, and the deputy director of presidential advance operations. russell spent much of january 6th by donald trump side. he's pictured here at the stop the steal rally. ahead of the attack on the capital, with trump and his chief of staff, mark meadows. russell continue to work for trump after he left the white house, moving with the ex president to florida. he's currently a contractor on trump 2024 campaign and this afternoon at the federal courthouse in washington post. russell appeared before the grand jury convened by -- in the election case. this is not actually the first time the grand jury has heard from this guy russell. he was initially subpoenaed back in september of 2022, when the new york times reported that fbi agents try to approach him in florida. russell then reportedly testified in front of a grand dragon september. he said this in several more appearances. now, people familiar with the matter told the washington post -

so, let's there is our own and the new scene is reporting on trump aide william, russell being questioned about trump's state of mind. what could this mean for this probe? >>, it was a really interesting moment this week because thursday, stanley woodward, who is representing william russell as well as representing another january 6th defendant, who was on trial, was actually a member of the trump administration, a trump political appointee, who physically stormed the capitol on january 6th. he was set to get his verdict handed down at two pm, but his lawyer was actually at this hearing before the grand jury, and ended up being about 25 minutes late for this hearing, then had to explain to the judge when he walked in what was up, and he told the judge essentially that he couldn't leave his other client, william russell, before the grand jury because he was being asked questions that implicated questions of executive privilege. those questions, as nbc news also reported, had a lot to do with donald trump's state of mind after the 2020 election, and exactly whether he knew that a lot of the

his name is william russell,

former trump aide william russell is in a d.c. courtroom testifying before jack smith's grand jury.sell is a curious case. we know he was with donald trump on january 6th for at least a little bit of time. here he is with the former president in the tent at the ellipse where donald trump told the crowd to march on the capitol. what was said in the tent before and after the speech was a big part of the house january 6th investigation. but russell was never interviewed by the january 6th committee according to a source familiar who spoke with our lisa rubin. we know of three appearances before the grand jury that russell has now made, including today. we do not know what his testimony will yield exactly, whether jack smith has anything more from him that maybe the january 6th committee did not, we did just find out a telling detail about what he is being asked about. the news from the courthouse in a moment, beyond that, though, we are left with the road map from the target letter. and on that note, we also have news. clarity from the "new york times" on what the civil rights statute

william russell was with trump for much of the day on january 6th. you can see him there on the ellipse beside trump before the former president addressed the crowd. it is not russell's first time appearing before the grand jury. begging the question, why he was asked to return, making it all the more interesting is the fact that russell was never interviewed by the january 6th house committee last summer. remember that committee interviewed like more than 1,000 people, but somehow, russell was not on that list and his name wasn't even mentioned in the committee's final report. there are still a lot of other questions surrounding this case, including when or if trump will be indicted and if he is, what's going to get charged with. we know at this point there are three key statutes mentioned in the target letter that could guide charges against trump. there are also questions surrounding all of the other involved in the efforts to try to overturn the election. might be cooperating with the special counsel and who else could find themselves facing char

on the ground with a better sense of what you've seen so far and a better understanding of who william russell is and why what he has to say could be important. >> reporter: yeah. william russell, looking for him at the courthouse right now. we haven't laid eyes on him thus far. it's possible he could have gone in the garage. we think that his testimony is likely scheduled for the morning. his lawyer is due in the courthouse this afternoon. we're still sort of staking out and i think that he's someone we did hear from through the january 6th committee. apparently there are indications he would not have any information to necessarily provide to the committee. we ended up hearing from a different witness who gave very dramatic testimony during the january 6th committee hearing. obviously it's sort of unclear what he could be telling to this grand jury, but him being called back multiple times indicates there's something very essential to this broader issue that they're deciding here or potentially checking his testimony and comparing it to new testimony that they've gotten since then. it does re

william russell has testified several times before. why is he back today? do we know? >> i'm told he will be testifying today. our team at the courthouse has set their eyes on the lawyer representing him. for context, this lawyer is also walt nauta's lawyer, and several trump loyalists. will russell is somebody who served as the trip director inside of the white house up until donald trump's departure from it. you can see him in that photo with donald trump and mark meadows on january 6th under a tent at the ellipse. just before donald trump took the stage and delivered his remarks. midday then, the questions around will russell, what may he have been privy to. what conversations was he a part of? will russell was not named in the january 6th select committee's report. he was never interviewed by the house january 6th select committee, and so there's questions over whether new testimony from individuals who had not previously spoken with the congressional investigators had potentially come forward for the special counsel or whether there was evidence that had been acqu

. >> sarah, a federal grand jury heard testimony this week from former white house aide, william russellow works for trump's presidential campaign. nbc news has learned that prosecutors questioned him about trump's state of mind during and after that whole election period. how closely did you work with william russell, and how significant do you think's perspective can be? >> i think that his perspective can be really helpful to the special counsel's investigation. he was someone that i cross paths with. he was one of the trip directors and the advanced department. he was on the road with president trump anytime that he was traveling. he would be aboard air force one with him, and kind of acted as a body meant for him, that offense, and moving backstage with them. this is someone who definitely had very close proximity to the president, to the president would know by name. obviously, he followed him to mar-a-lago after trump left the white house. their relationship is still close given that he is on the campaign. i am curious, i don't know this is been reported, it will russell's lawyer

this year's william russell, he's a trump aide who was with the former president on january 6th, and grand jury that's investigating trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. this guy, you may have, seen this is walt nauta. he's another trump aide who planned not guilty and the mar-a-lago classified documents case. here we have nick luna, trump's former personal assistance in the white house who reportedly testified before the grand jury earlier this year. mr. john mcentee, he's a former trump aide who is involved in crucial election-related meetings in 2020. he is also reportedly testified to special counsel. this guy, michael dhillon ordo, he is a former italian mobsters for the notorious can be no crime family. nothing to do with trump. he ultimately cooperated with authorities and dismantled the crime family. same we'll double, you know him, he's a notorious mob stir who played a significant role and putting john gaudy behind bars. lastly, let's not forget cousin greg, from hbo's succession. also nothing to do with trump. although fictional, greg's character assumes a witnes

garrett, who is william russell? why is his testimony important? >> reporter: well, russell was a trip director and special assistant to the president during the trump presidency, and more to the point, he was considered a personal aide. he was someone who would have been around donald trump a good bit. not a senior person in the trump white house or campaign, but someone who would have potentially privy to a lot of conversations he may have overheard, including on january 6th itself where pictures exist of him standing with the former president around that rally on the ellipse. so someone who had been close to the action on the day of january 6th itself, although it's not clear right now whether that's specifically what smith and the special counsel's office wanted to talk to him about or perhaps even some of his continuing work with trump's campaign. so we're continuing to figure out exactly whether this is the first appearance that he's made, whether there's additional appearances and the kinds of information he may have, but it's pretty clear,

this executive privilege mention today about this witness, william russell, appearing in the grand jury. he was an aide who is kind of a low level assistant, but constantly, with the president and the white house on the call on the body, man always there to handle whatever needs to be handled. we see pictures of him very close to president trump when he was president. is there anything left that they could be talking about involving executive privilege in that grand jury? >> well, it's his third time testifying and the bigger point i think, there's some real tea leaves here as i see it, lawrence, because this guy was also with trump at mar-a-lago. he's been involved in both investigations, that they were talking about executive privilege, which we just found out by happenstance means that the testimony was about january 6th itself. and that in turn to me suggests that this final charge that has been a little bit of a puzzle for us, the first one is the electors, the second is the obstruction focused on pins, pence -- events of january 6th themselves, which we might have expected smith t

white house aide william russell who's with the trump campaign today is testifying today. he already testified before the grand jury. they're bringing him back for follow-up. that is consistent with the reports from donald trump and others that he got the target letter and the indictment is looming. we're getting potential details or clarity on what the charges could entail. several outlets reporting russ smith is eyeing -- and then possibly a third charge. details on that according to "the new york times" are that the third statute might be a civil rights law that's previously been used in voter fraud cases, conspiracy against rights. the two or more persons conspire to intimidate, injure, or -- a person in a constitutional right. that was enacted during the civil war. when feds were trying to go after white supremacists, including the kkk, trying to stifle black voting. in the modern era it's been used in cases, including those that involve voter fraud conspiracies. to show that jack smith is serious about potentially issuing a potential second indictment of donald trump

nbc's vaughn hillyard reports that former trump aide william russell was asked that yesterday. as a reminder, this is russell right here with the former president at the ellipse on january 6th. could russell also corroborate any of what cassidy hutchinson said of that day? that trump knew the crowd was armed and that he was pushing to go to the capitol himself. joining me now is nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake, good to have you. let's talk about a trial date. has the trump team responded in any way? >> they have, katy. they're claiming victory, despite the fact they had initially pushed to have the trial moved after the election. they are taking may, mid to late may and running with. they have foiled a doj plot here to go after donald trump in the middle of election season, and they're sort of right in the sense that a may time line gets you past most of the big primaries, gets you well into the winner take all territory, around the same time he locked up the nomination in 2016, so if they could kind of land the plane between him locking up the nominati

federal court with william russell's attorney, stanley woodward. gave up some interesting info. can you explain what happened, lisa, and what it might reveal about the grand jury's focus. >> stanley woodward came in today to his sentencing for one of his other clients, a man by the name of freddie klein, who was a trump administration official who was charged with crimes associated with january 6th. he was late to that sentencing. that's a huge no no as a defense attorney. and when he was asked by judge mcfadden to explain himself essentially said, your honor i couldn't leave my other client alone at the grand jury, because there were issues involving executive privilege, and he needed to consult with me. that shows that they are our intimate conversations between will russell and the president -- former president trump -- that were at issue today during his examination by the grand jury. >> charles, one lawyer, stanley woodward -- you just heard lisa referencing him, represents walt nauta, will russell and several other trump adjacent figures -- just how unusual is it for so ma

former white house staffer and current member of the trump campaign william russell. his testimony could actually prove crucial to the federal government's case, since he was with the former president for at least part of the day on january the 6th, including at the -- where trump deliberately -- deliver his speech shortly before his supporters stormed the capitol. nbc news has learned, direct disappearance, prosecutors questioned william russell about trump's state of mind during and after the 2020 election. in fact, his disseminate can't just 48 hours of the trump himself revealed that he had received a target letter from special counsel jack smith in the election interference case. according to nbc news, that letter outlines three federal statutes the ex president is accused of violating. deprivation of rights, conspiracy to defraud the u.s., and tampering with a witness. receiving this type of letter is typically the final step before a person gets indicted. you might remember that trump actually received a similar target later just days before he was charged with

what can you tell us about this appearance from william russell? >> this is really critical. investigators really want to get to the heart of the question of, what exactly donald trump was doing between the time we lost the election in november 2020, and the time that january 6th happened. i think the other testimony that's really been out there as important, mike pence is. which happened awhile back. a number of people who really gone in to the grand jury. this is someone who's not testified in multiple times, indicating that there's that they're obviously very interested in. this is someone who was with trump at these critical moments, and knew what he was really thinking. mark meadows also someone who would know that. the question is about mark meadows, what exactly role he's playing in all of this right now? he's been pretty sidelined and quiet in this critical period. we don't know exactly what role he's playing. he certainly not an act of communication with a lot of the trump team, from what i understand. so, it's a big mystery to a lot of other defense attorneys who ar

nbc news has just confirmed that william russell, a former trump white house aide will testify tomorrow. russell who now works for trump's 2024 campaign has already appeared multiple times before. is he the last witness or are there more and when could we see an indictment? nbc news has confirmed that jack smith had a road map in the target letter he sent donald trump to attorneys with direct knowledge of the document tell us it included three federal statutes, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy to defraud the united states, and tampering with a witness. we'll explain what those all mean and why this testimony, this particular testimony from the january 6th hearings could be relevant. >> ms. moss, how has this experience of being targeted by the former president and his allies affected your life? >> it's turned my life upside down. i no longer give out my business card. i don't transfer calls. i don't want anyone knowing my name. i don't want to go anywhere with my mom, because she might yell my name out over the grocery aisle or something. i don't go to the grocery st

stanley woodward was at the courthouse in washington representing another trump employee named william russell, who was giving testimony to jack smith's january 6th grand jury. while his client was in the grand jury room, stanley woodward was supposed to be in another courtroom in the same building for the delivery of the verdict in the trial of federico klein for his part, his violent part in the attack on the capital on january 6th. when judge trevor mcfadden complained, about stanley woodward being late to arrive what turned out to be the guilty verdict against his client client, gently woodward told the judge, i couldn't leave my client in the grand jury where he was being asked questions that specifically involved executive privilege. we'll ask our legal experts in a moment if there's any shred of executive privilege left for trump white house witnesses to hide behind in that grand jury. in an interview, defended trump lied about what it would mean and what would happen if jack smith convicted him of federal crimes. keep in mind, when you look listen to what donald trump has to say that t

what more can the jury learn from william russell. this is somebody who wasn't even mentioned in the j-6 committee report? >> that's one of the things that's so fascinating about his repeat appearances before the grand jury. it's a reminder that special counsel jack smith has information that even the january 6th committee, as thorough as that investigation was, did not have. and, you know, we can only speculate at this point about what will russell is bringing to the table. he was a young 30-something special assistant. deputy director of white house advanced operations, and as you said, he stayed with former president trump after he left office. he was paid by the save america pac. which figures into the investigation in terms of jack smith looking at how money was raised in terms of allegations of election fraud. one of the things he may bring to the table is simple proximity to mr. trump at various particular moments. he may be in a position to testify about exactly what mr. trump said in particular meetings. that's the hardest th

according to nbc's exclusive reporting, exit staffer william russell testified about trump's mindset on january 6th. all this as trump's first federal case gets a court date. a judge here in florida setting the classified documents trial for may 2024, despite trump's insistence that there is absolutely no rush. former impeachment manager eric swalwell calling trump's delay tactics a sign of guilt. >> someone who is as innocent as donald trump claims he is would not want to delay justice, the whole point of a speedy trial right, which he could use and go to trial very quickly, is to protect people who are wrongfully accused. so he is your acting like a guilty person. >> trump's florida charles is joining a pact court schedule, with two civil cases and two criminal cases all before the election. and that is before the doj possibly drops a second indictment, which, of, course would bring the former presidents total indictment account to three. with us to kick off the hour, msnbc contributor and former watergate prosecutor jill wine-banks. she is a co-host of the hashtag sisters in the p

william russell testified yesterday.ide to the former president who was reportedly by trump's side for most of the day on january 6th, 2021, although he has previously testified before the grand jury, russell's level of cooperation is unclear, since he still works for the trump campaign. we did, though, get a possible hint as to why prosecutors are questioning him, in a bizarre scene that played out during an un unrelated court proceeding. the same building he was being questioned his lawyer showed up late for a different client. >> what was that? bank fraud? a. client sentenced for his role on january 6th. when the judge pressed why he was late, he didn't want to leave russell alone with the special counsel's prosecutors because hi client was being asked questions which potentially involved executive privilege. that could indicate that the doj is questioning russell to help piece together trump's words and actions from the day of the insurrection. the judge then sent a u.s. marshal to summon the doj's prosecutors to the

william russell testified yesterday, he is a longtime aide to the former president who was reportedlyry 6th 2021. although he has previously testified before the grand jury. russell's level of cooperation is unclear. since he still works for the trump campaign. we did get a possible hint as to why prosecutors are questioning him in a bizarre scene that played out during an unrelated court proceeding. in the same building where russell was being questioned, his lawyer showed up late for hearing for a different client. >> got a busy lawyer. was it bank fraud? >> no, it was a plan -- a client who was sentenced for his role on january 6th. when the judge pressed him on why he was late, the lawyer said that he did not want to leave law russell alone with the special counsel's prosecutors because his client was quote, being asked questions which potentially involved executive privilege. that could indicate that the doj is questioning wrestled help piece together russell's words and actions from the day of the insurrection. the judge then sent a u.s. marshal to sow in the doj's prosecutors t

william russell is seen pictured with then-president trump on january 6, 2021. he spoke before the same special counsel prosecutor whose informed mr. trump he was the target of their investigation meaning he is likely to be indicted former trump attorney rudy giuliani met with prosecutors earlier this year, according to one of his advisors. the former new york city mayor was a key figure in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. in washington, speaker mccarthy denied a report that he had promised m trump a house vote to expunge his two impeachments the former president denied breaking the law and has slammed many investigations into him as quote, a big and vicious witch-hunt bit left. >>> in another case connected to january 6, a former appointee in trump's state department was convicted thursday of seven felonies federico klein was found guilty on charges of obstruction of a proceeding, civil disorder and impeding officers. it came from judge trevor mcfadden while he did not enter the capitol that day, prosecutors argue klein was in the tunnel where some of

but why is the status of this trip in kenya, and where he and present william russell to discuss the trade and bilateral relations tips widely seen as an effort to reduce iran economic isolation. as a result of us functions, while you see will also visit zimbabwe, staying in kenya, or at least 5 people were killed during violent protests against a raise in texas. please find 2 guys to demonstrate. as in nairobi and the poor seated mombasa, the opposition is cool for weekly protests thing. life will get worse for many canyon struggling with a high cost of living. and it was being suspended following an appeal by an opposition send that to send us a. hong kong says it will bind sea food in port some 10 regions in japan and if it goes ahead with its plan to release radioactive water from the folk ashima nuclear plants into the c. c nami damage the plant. 12 years ago. hong kong is the 2nd largest and push of japanese food products off the mainland china. you and you can watch drug says toe case plan is safe, but china, south korea, and pacific island nations are against is or to my why

with trump white house and campaign aide william russell expected to testify before the grand jury tomorrowws learning of prosecutors subpoenaing surveillance video of vote counting in georgia, probing conversations between mr. trump and arizona's former governor, and interviewing election officials in wisconsin. the former president calling allies on capitol hill, urging his gop supporters to defend him publicly. >> i spoke with him yesterday, and this is yet another example of the illegal weaponization of the department of justice to go after joe biden's top political opponent. >> i don't see how he could be found criminally responsible. >> why? >> well, what criminal activity did he do? he told people to be peaceful. >> and, garrett, this all playing out as the former president suffered another legal setback today. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, lester. a federal judge denied mr. trump's effort to move his hush money payment trial into a federal court. the judge ruling that the alleged crimes had nothing to do with his job as president and that the case belongs in state

course, and i wrote a whole today for the patient pending further legal proceedings. president william russell has cooled on his support is to hold counter price and peru demonstrates is preparing to march in lima more than $20.00 other regions that demanding the resignation of the president and cooling for new elections. the government says police will be deployed to gun of the capital of them will use force if necessary. marianna sanchez as the assembly man are all interest to the capital secured. police say they're searching for nights, mercedes, or any legal weapons that these provisional passengers may be carrying on their way to email police on high alert hours before a nationwide protest to demand a change of government. when most of the people are for the best to get, we can protest without violence. it's all right in the constitution. more than a 1000 police are being deployed on wednesday to protect lima rights groups. say their powers search are unconstitutional. the mean, this is not a harassment, it's a preventative security measured to guarantee not slam people's rights. since pr

william russell spending hours behind closed doors with special counsel prosecutors, who warned mr.unday he is a target of their investigation, likely to be indicted. >> what a job you did. >> reporter: mr. trump seen in videos on social media hobnobbing with guests last night at a movie screening at his new jersey golf club, where he remained today, choosing not to testify, and releasing a fundraising video ababout the inindictment. >> the lefeft is once e again trtrying to destroy y me becausese by destroying me, they destroy you. it's a big and vicious witch hunt. >> reporter: tonight nbc news has learned former trump attorney rudy giuliani, a key figure in the efforts to overturn the election met with special counsel prosecutors earlier this year, according to an adviser. and in washington, speaker mccarthy denied a report he promised the former president a politically divisive vote to expunge his two impeachments, including for mr. trump's actions on january 6th. >> i support expungement. there is no deal out there. >> reporter: an expungement vote would have no practical suppo

month. boss, of course, and i re be hosting that implementation, pending further leaving as of william russell has cooled on his support is to hold counter places he waves in the northern hemisphere, have again highlighted the urgent need to combat climate change. top officials from the wells to biggest pollutants are discussing the issue in the chinese capital you as climate and boy, john kerry is on the 4th and final day of his visit to paging. as a us soldier is in custody. a north korea officer illegally crossing the border from south korea. the soldier identified his, travis king was taking part in the tour and that the minister rises. and this separates the 2 careers when he crossed over, according to local media and witnesses, he was with a group of visitors when he suddenly bolted across the folder. yeah, what i can confirm, and i would say upfront that were very early in this event. and so there's a lot of that that we're still trying to learn. but what we do know is that one of our service members who was on a tour, willfully and without authorization crossed the military demarcation

and that witness, william russell, a trump staffer who was with the ex-president on january 6. and this is not his first appearance before the grand jury. the "new york times" report the back in september that he received a subpoena from the justice department. so what does this appearance today mean? he is not even mentioned in the sweeping final report by the january 6 select committee. but he does make a cameo in the january 6 public hearings. the committee showed this photo of donald trump speaking to his then chief he have staff mark meadows. that is russell on the other side of them. this is just before trump delivered a speech to thousands of his supporters, many armed to the teeth urging them to march to the u.s. capitol and fight like hell and promising to go with them. and here is what cassidy hutch enson told the select committee about what was happening in that moment. >> we were in a tent and i was part of a conversation. i was in the vicinity of the conversation where i heard the president say something to the effect of why care if they have weapons, take the fing

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yesterday a long time aide to the former president, william russell, testified before special counsel jack smith's grand jury. and also was reportedly by trump's side for most of the day on january 6, 2021, and previously testified before the grand jury. russell's level of corporation is unclear since he still works for the trump campaign. but we did get a possible hint yesterday as to why prosecutors are questioning him. in a bizarre scene that played out during an unrelated court proceeding in the same building where russell was being questioned, his lawyer showed up late to a hearing for a different client who was sentenced for his role on january 6th. when the judge pressed him while he was late, his lawyer said he didn't want to leave russell alone with special counsel prosecutors because his client was, quote, being asked questions which potentially involve executive privilege. that could indicate that the doj is questioning russell to help piece together trump's words and actions from the day of the insurrection. the judge then sent a u.s. marshal to summon the doj prosecutors

but tomorrow, former white house aide william russell, who now works for trump's 2024 presidential campaign is set to testify again before the grand jury. russell has already appeared on multiple times. according to former u.s. attorney barb mcquade. the target letter and invitation to testify does not necessarily signal the end of the investigative process. >> what is often the case is that the investigation will continue to go on and the grand jury may continue to investigate other crimes or people. especially once people get charged. the defendants decide they want to cooperate and so additional charges could get added into the indictment. >> the bad legal news just keeps coming for the former president. today, a federal judge in manhattan upheld the 5 million dollar jury verdict against trump in the e. jean carroll sexual abuse and defamation case. and denied trump's request for a new trial. meantime, another district court judge has denied trump's bid to have his hush money case moved from new york state court to federal venue. that trial is expected to begin in march. with that, let u

>> to my understanding, what i'm told is william russell who was the white house trip director but also an informal personal aide to donald trump there in november, december 2020, and into january 2021, including on the day of the attack, you can see him there standing next to mark meadows, the chief of staff, and donald trump, just before the president took the stage to speak at the ellipse of that event. i'm told the questions to will russell were not about his actions that day or even the planning of the january 6th event, but instead, the questions to him from prosecutors and special counsel's office had to do with donald trump's state of mind, his thinking. the conversations that existed around him, not only there at the time of the election but in those, we should be clear here, right, literally two months that followed that led up to january 6th. the big question that is still outstanding, was anybody privy to donald trump acknowledging that he lost, in fact, lost the 2020 presidential election. we are not sure at this hour, whether mark meadows, the chief of staff has spoken wit

today, we're learning new details about what exactly the special counsel wanted to know from william russell, trump's personal aide who testified before the grand jury yesterday. nbc news has learned that prosecutors questioned russell about trump's state of mind during and after the 2020 election period. which russell probably knows a thing or two about. a source tells nbc that he would often informally engage in conversations with trump and other key staff, including mark meadows in the west wing and in the oval office. not to mention he was with trump for much of the day on january 6th. you can see him here with the former president at the ellipse. and while russell has previously testified before the grand jury, notably, he never testified before the house select january 6th committee, meaning he could potentially have key information about trump's thinking on and leading up to that day that we have not yet heard. meanwhile, there's breaking news tonight, "the washington post" is reporting that the special counsel also reached out to georgia governor brian kemp for information about trum

we know that one former white house aide to donald trump, william russell, will be testifying today.don't know whether donald trump will be testifying. he has that opportunity. i would bet no. >> does it surprise you they are hearing from witnesses at this late stage? >> no, you want to hear up to the moment you are ready to do the next stage here, which is when you are done with the witnesses adds a prosecutor, you then present the grand jury with your draft indictment. you say here are the charges we propose, here are the elements of the charges, and then the grand jury will take a vote. now, you hear how easy it is to get an indictment from a grand jury. from firsthand experience, that's true. >> i thought you would say it wasn't. >> no, it's true. there is a big difference between a trial jury, sometimes called a pettit jury, and grand jury. trial jury has 12 members. grand jury is bigger, hence the word grand, 23 members in a grand jury. a trial jury much more difficult because you need all 12 to convict. in a grand jury bare majority of 12. and the biggest difference is at tria

her testimony from william russell, that is the sky here. little personal aide and ship director who began working for trump and the white house in early 2020. he remains his aide to this day, notably russell was with trump for at least part of the day on january 6th. you can see he here with trump at the ellipse. where trump gave an incendiary speech shortly before the insurrection began. nbc news has learned that prosecutors questioned russell about trump's state of mind during and after the 2020 election. a crucial point in determining if trump knew he lost the election and still spread lies about voter fraud. with corrupt intent. the insurrection at the capitol was a shock to the system, but as we now understand, it wasn't a spontaneous instant, it was an act of coordinated assault. carried out by desperate, defeated president trying to cling to power. and the plan to deny joe biden the presidency was complex. it involves the sustained effort to spread dangerous lies about election fraud that persist to this day. plans are underway for f

. >> you know, congressman, william russell, a former white house special assistant who then went to as the deputy director of presidential advanced operations, testified before the grand jury last week. did your committee, did the january six committee speak to him? >> you, know i would have to go back through our voluminous transcripts. i don't think that i was president if he was one of the witnesses deposed. we interviewed hundreds and hundreds of witnesses, and i just couldn't tell you at this point. >> okay. as these investigations, and looming indictments are unfolding, and there are so many of them, are you learning anything new? anything you didn't already know? >> you, know's we haven't seen what the evidence will be, if charges are brought vis-À-vis january 6th. i would imagine there will be a whole body of evidence that was not known to the january six committee because many of the witnesses that the grand jury is hearing from our people that refused to answer questions before congress. we just didn't have the enforcement mechanism to require its, and it couldn't be domin

because at that point i think they had seen so many people, they're talking to people, and we know william russell, for example, who is top aide was with trump asking these questions about his state of mind at that point. especially because we'll russell is the third time he's come before this grand jury. there's obviously something very interesting. given the amount of people that have come in at this point, you know, even though we are seeing these future meetings set up with potential witnesses, going for the next few weeks, even into mid august, it's still a jump ball of whether they're going to pursue this and have other investigations going on a separate truck, or whether they are going to wait out these other interviews. i think that more signs are pointing towards they're going to really be in the wrap up stage of this, and they're going to return to the former president shortly. >> ryan riley, thanks so much for getting us started. outside of trump's washington d.c. case, world's opinion an eye on his legal woes in the state of georgia. joining me now, barbara mcquade, msnbc legal analyst