michael mcfaul is here. he is the ambassador to russia. why to this reaction to buffer zones? >> horrific, tragic, scary, barbaric, but not surprising. i think there's been a lot of hope that if we could just give putin some territory, that he would just go away, and that he would cut a deal. lots of western analysts in europe and the united states keep saying, zelenskyy needs to deal with putin. needs to sit down and cut a deal, blame blaming zelenskyy for his company. and saying he is not going to stop until he is scoped on the battlefield. i wish it were otherwise. but he speaks it plain as day. he said it yet again today, he will not stop devouring ukrainian territory, and killing ukrainians, until he is stopped on the battlefield. >> and ukrainian president zelenskyy as we spoke about, is calling it a buffer zone escalation. and you know, he was reelected at 87%. will anything weaken putin's power. >> well, thank you for putting the word "election" in quotes with your hands. because it wasn't an election. we should stop citing an elec

let's bring in michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia. peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times" who previously was moscow bureau chief of the washington post, and former cia director john brennan. thank you so much for joining us. john, i want to start with you on this. the idea that isis or someone in control of the isis telegram account has claimed responsibility for this, how credible is that, just from your experience? and what would be the motivation for isis to commit this kind of terror attack in russia? >> well, it's a very critical claim. especially given that the u.s. embassy issued a public warning earlier this month about extremists planning to carry out an attack. that usually refers to these fanatic islamic groups. isis-k has long believes the russians have suppressed the muslims in syria, afghanistan, and in the caucus esas well. therefore, i think islamic militants, it's very believable they were the ones to carry out the attack. the fact they mowed down individuals and clearly it was an effort

, for example, the mcfauls remained, such a collective mcfaul, yes here are the remaining ones who aresful, smarter and smarter went into the study of arab states , china, japan, international finance and so on, now those who were undereducated in the nineties, they should have come now and even came, as we see from makfel, yes, to government offices, but and so to speak, the result is about the same, weak, now it is obvious that there is a new wave there after the twenty-second year, ending up in american universities, or trying to end up there, in europe the same thing is happening, so i see at the university of bologna, where there are many.. .worked for years, now they come people who have exactly the same paradigm , to fight russia, and not to study it , this, by the way, is the difference from china, say, because the americans were very interested in china, they themselves went to china, studied the language, culture, and even in all these turbulent years between the first and second world war in china there were a huge number of researchers who lived, wrote, who preserved or str

mcfaul said that until proven something else, responsibility should be considered a working hypothesiska, nordost in 2002, this is a huge tragedy. now to answer your question, there is a whole set of factors why isis is a false trail being created now by the united the states and their allies. by the way, they announced isis. minutes, minutes after this terrorist attack in moscow, it is impossible to draw conclusions so quickly, so it was a kind of preparation. next, well, look at those scum who were arrested today, they are not at all like members of isis and other islamist terrorist organizations. both isis and hamas are made up of fanatics, they are made up of ideological people. or a huge number of people set fire and fled, yes, trying to ensure their personal safety and their personal well-being. sorry, but isis does not behave this way. well , one more factor, today russia is in full solidarity with the countries of the world majority and with the entire muslim world regarding the main conflict that has now divided the islamic world and the collective west, this is the conflict i

alexander vindman and michael mcfaul, thank you. coming up we will bring you the latest defendant trump development, as donald trump and jack smith were in the same courtroom. andrew weissmann and katie feng join us next. us next. sleep more deeply. and wake up rejuvenated. purple mattresses exclusive gelflex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure and instantly adapts. sleep better. live purple. right now save up to $800 off mattress sets during purple's president's day sale. visit purple.com or a store near you. have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further. visit purple.com proudly made in tennessee, a safe step walk-in tub is the best in it's class. the ultra-low easy step helps keep you safe from having to climb over those high walled tubs, allowing you to age gracefully in the home you love. and now, back by popular demand, for a limited time, when you purchase your brand-new safe step walk-in tub, you'll receive a free shower package! yes! a free shower package, and if you call today, you'll also recei

, if you remember, mcfaul also said that he loves russia very much. he was also absolutely sincere in this is not the russia that he loved, we don’t love this kind of russia, russia should be different, only as soon as it has to suffer, yes, like only we began to change in the worst side for them, they immediately changed their rhetoric, that nuland, that mcfaul, for them it happened instantly, this time further, and you don’t think that she is sick just like her father, because her father was a psychopath , just look at some of his sketches there, the fact is that she most likely... why does she like violence like that? yes, most likely she herself was subjected to violence, just like her psychopathic father in his time, and for her this is the norm. if possible, i would like these two episodes, ship meeting with businessmen, looked at it from an intelligence point of view, but for six months on the ship, what is it? this is the study of language, this is the study of psychology, yes, the target audience in which you will work, and what is a meeting with business, this is the beginni

joining me now is michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia, msnbc international affairs analyst, and friend of the navalny family. ambassador mcfaul, it's so good to see you. i want to let you comment on the scenes. if we can put them back up so our audience can see them again. because this made my heart feel good, even though can feel so sad for the navalny family. that scene is amazing. i would love for you to comment on it. >> i agree entirely with you, joy. they didn't expect this. remember, the family had to fight to get his body back. his mother did. originally, the conditions were we'll give you the body to bury him, but you have to have a secret funeral. they resisted that because the navalnys are a resistant group. and then, this outpouring came. remember, every single one of those people right now, they are being filmed. they risk going to jail for years because they were chanting anti-war slogans. by the way, as they marched. and yet, they came out in those numbers and remember, in situations like this, for eve

ambassador to russia and international affairs analyst michael mcfaul. of microsoft threat center and msnbc national security analyst clint watts. there is still so much we still don't know about this. your first thoughts and figure that you have learned? >> well, my first thoughts are like julia, my condolences to those who lost love ones today. there is no excuse and that is my first reaction. my second reaction is i don't want to speculate who did it because we don't know. a lot of -- i like at my social media feed with a lot of russians on it and there is a lot of speculation but not definitive yet. and i would say the ukrainian government has made it clear they had nothing to do with this and that is consistent with the way they have been fighting their war again russia. they do not do terrorist attacks against civilians. i wan to remind everyone that putin does. he attacks civilians in ukraine every day but their armed forces do not. and then finally, i am waiting to see what mr. putin said and his reaction because i've studies and lived in moscow

russian, that is, they were just crazy about this topic, well now... what was removed, well, first mcfaul the fact that they were expelled to yakusia, it was so ideological, i don’t know, but for vekusia it was generally still. so in general, so to speak, honest, the whole family, it either just uses this half-cal and blinkina said, grandma, everything you said, all your forecasts, all your recommendations, did not work, i say, the level of expertise is beyond , so come on, sit on the broom parked, according to my assumptions, that it will be the responsible failures who will appoint her; the ukrainian political system has just appointed a specialist in drainage. yes , so i think that this was the main task , which now, maybe, not not, not directly, well, it will fail, so for this kind of work we’ll take it, another thing, send it to a neighboring country, yes, there, there too can be used, that’s probably what explains the sudden resignation that she submitted and they probably just said, although the appeal itself, i looked at... eh, i don’t understand anything, what’s going on here? wh

ambassador to russia, and msnbc international affairs analyst, michael mcfaul.in pretrial detention for a year. what do we know about his life? >> he was in a kgb prison, now fsb, successor to the kgb prison. people can see for themselves, he looks strong physically. the u.s. ambassador is able to visit him at times, and just reports that he is mentally strong. he's exchanging letters with his family and loved ones and others according to them, they have told us today, and in terms of what's happening in terms of negotiations, we don't know. i mean, we know that there are indications from the russians that there are negotiations, things kind of bubble up, if you like. but the kremlin spokesperson, dmitry peskov saying clearly these things need to happen behind closed doors. the biden administration, evan went to russia to do his job as a reporter, he will continue working every day to secure his release, denounce and impose costs for russia, attempts to use americans as bargain chips, and goes on to talk about evan and paul whelan, americans held abroad. we are

alexander vindman and michael mcfaul, thank you. coming up we will bring you the latest defendant trump development, as donald trump and jack smith were in the same courtroom. andrew weissmann and katie feng join us next. ew weissmann and join us next. sometimes your work shirt needs to be for more than just work. like when it needs to be a big soft shoulder to cry on. which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. in here, you can expect to find crystal clear audio, expansive display space, and better. endless entertainment, and more comfort for everyone. but even with all that... we still left room for all the unpredictability, spontaneity and unexpected things you'll find out here. the new 2024 grand cherokee lineup. jeep. there's only one. i have active psoriatic arthritis. but with skyrizi to treat my skin and joints, i'm feeling this moment. along with clearer skin skyrizi helps me move with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. and is just 4 doses

ambassador michael mcfaul, it's always a pleasure.ery much for your time. >>> coming up, the supreme court has given the green light to the state of texas to basically enforce its own la laws at the southern border. what the justices ruled on nah decision, next. ustices ruled onh decision, next i bought the team! kevin...? i bought the team! i put it on my chase freedom unlimited card. and i'm gonna' cashback on a few other things too... starting with the sound system! curry from deep. that's caaaaaaaaash. i prefer the old intro! this is much better! i don't think so! steph, one more thing... the team owner gets five minutes a game. cash bros? woo! i like it. i'll break it to klay. cashback like a pro with chase freedom unlimited. how do you cashback? chase, make more of what's yours. >>> a new ruling from the supreme court just this afternoon allowing texas to enforce one of their controversial new immigration laws that gives local police the power to arrest migrants, rejecting an emergency separate biden administration while litigat

ambassador to russia and msnbc international affairs analyst michael mcfaul., nobody -- this country skips over the tragedy for the citizens and the terror that it usually succeeds in creating. but i did see reporting that the u.s. sought to warn russia ahead of this attack. are you familiar with what intelligence we had and what we shared with them and how it was received? >> thanks for having me on, nicolle. not with a great deal of specificity but as you know a number of sources inside the intelligence community reported that the intelligence community does exactly what it is directed, by directive, to do under a policy called duty to warn which is that if we have credible intelligence of a potential terrorist strike the intelligence community is obligated without fear or favor, meaning we don't do it more for our friends than for our adversaries, to warn. and in fact that is what occurred. and you know, publicly the embassy in moscow made a public statement about the inadvisability of going to crowded areas. you know, we saw putin's reaction to that shortl

ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul, knows a lot about the thinking.teful for your taking the time. i do not want to over create this but i want to talk about it. he didn't mention isis-k. what did you make of his initial response. what was a horrific attack were over 100 lives were lost. >> it was a horrific attack and i want to express my condolences to all family and friends who lost loved ones. terrorism is never justified and this was a horrific attack. the biggest one in 20 years in russia. the thing that was first streaking about putin's reaction was how long it took. he did not, right away. he took time to figure out the way they wanted to spin it. when he did, make his statement, he did not mention isis-k or talk about that particular organization which they have had troubles with a long time. it would've been easy to explain to the russian people by that kind of terrorist group would've attacked them. instead, this window was open for them to leave to ukraine. think about how strange that is. for a window to be open and ukraine for them to pa

but in general, as ambassador mcfaul mentioned, every time that there have been a taste attack in russiaem, the response has not been an enlightened one and not just counter-terrorism operations in the predominantly northern caucus of russia but a crack down against whatever civil liberty oz democratic rights, whoever is behind the attacks, the kremlin tends to use them to crack down and tighten the screws, not to loose ebb them. >> peter, is that you're experience when you were reporting from there? >> absolutely. and as julia just said, the problem in a russia is that -- is that so many things that may sound farfetched or conspiracies, are true or found plausible enough that it does raise the question of whether we'll ever know. there will be people that blame the russian government and other people who will blame ukraine and blame chechens or the united states because the united states had the warning issued by the embassy a few days ago. and it is an open question of whether there will be enough information that will convince that many people. and you mentioned the carpet bombing fro

the former us ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul, said that saakashvili's death injail would be a victoryrgian democracy. is he right? i don't think he will die in prison. i'm trying to and i will oversee until the end that this doesn't happen, because i agree that that would be a terrible blow for georgia's reputation, which we cannot let happen. that's why i was in daily contact with all the authorities involved, to be sure that nothing of that kind would be happening. but at the same time, there are other ways. the government is directly responsible, thejustice minister. the possibility of extradition is still there... ukraine and poland have said they'll take him. yeah. so that's the government's responsibility. is that the route you think will happen? it might. just a final thought. we're talking about georgia — because of geography, because of politics — being almost at a pivot point. is that how you see it with the elections coming up this year, that these elections are critical to the future of georgia? it is certainly a very decisive year. but at the same time, when i look back,

and here's mike mcfaul. also, until recently, ambassador in moscow.ing everything possible to give rebuff they strike targets on russian territory that they consider military. in my opinion this is true, but they have never carried out terrorist attacks against russians anywhere, at least to my knowledge, therefore it is consistent with the fact that they have not carried out a terrorist attack. now we are dealing with the fact that igilka has taken responsibility for this. i think. playing some strange giveaway, like binladen, like isis, these organizations are very convenient for the united states of america in order to conduct their operations, in order to create. to society, a message from the authorities so that the authorities correct their course, that is , receive this label, yeah, and correct the course, from the point of view of the experience of the most powerful, largest, terrible terrorist attacks in russia, this strategy is useless for russia, since it does not work with the help of terrorist attacks to shift the course of the russian st

. >>> joining us now is michael mcfaul, former u.s.assador to russia and a friend of the navalnys. our condolences. what's your reaction to the big crowds who we see turned out today, despite the risk? >> extraordinary. i have a lot of respect for those people who came out to honor alexei navalny. it's important for everybody to know putin's government tried hard to not allow this to happen. yulia and her team said, we are going to defy you. that shows you they are fighting. everybody who is there is being photographed. they can expect -- they can be threatened with years of going to jail for being on tv with us right now. that is incredible bravery. for every one of them that is that brave, there's another dozen people in russia, in moscow, who are not as courageous but have exactly the same preferences. >> there were so many obstacles getting to this day. his allies say they struggled to find a hearse willing to carry his body. how big of a threat did navalny pose to vladimir putin? >> first, i want to underscore how horrendous it wa

on the other hand. such an authoritative person the former american ambassador to moscow, michael mcfaul. well, finally, a representative of the white house announced that they had information about the planned attack. i want to ask you, elena vladimirovna, leading specialist at vystok, what do you think about this version, that this is the responsibility of isis. the terrorists' style is indeed similar to the operations that such groups have recently carried out, like the banned islamic state and al-qaeda, also banned, but we know very well that other forces may well be behind these organizations, i constantly communicate with specialists in the middle east who are fighting... with these kinds of groups and i know very well , that among specialists there is a clear understanding that these scumbags, they cannot be called in any other way, may well be used by other forces, whether these forces represent any countries or organizations, but the fact that infiltration within these groups is very strong, that is, the penetration of other forces is very... anyone who is not even an expert in