pete williams is absolutely the gold standard. we all look up to him. every word. >> historic ruling here, for the first time the supreme court says there is a constitutional right -- excuse me, to same-sex marriage. you can hear the cheer in the crowd. a dramatic moment here. >> he has been handed some of the most difficult assignments. 9/11, terrorist attacks, mass shootings. >> pete williams has been following this investigation. >> 8,000 federal agents and support personnel working on this investigation tonight. >> pete williams for us at the supreme court. thanks. >> pete is the most meticulous, most intelligent journalist on any beat. >> mob could explain it better, earlier and faster. >> steven g. breyer will step down. we want to go to justice correspondent pete williams who's breaking this news for us. >> his intention is to retire at the end of this term. >> when pete speaks, it is fully vetted, you know that it is accurate. you know that it's fair. >> let's go back to pete williams who is continuing to read ahead of us, and we need a breath f

i'm pete williams. >> after college he returned home and got his first tv job at ktwo, eventually becomingctor. >> none of the damages surprise you? >> nothing surprises me >> after ten years at ktwo, pete joined the staff of then congressman dick cheney as press secretary, eventually moving to washington when cheney became defense secretary, propelling pete to pentagon spokesman and an adviser to cheney during the first gulf war >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, i'm pete williams in 1993 pete joined nbc news covering the justice department and the supreme court, breaking stories on spies like the cia's aldrich ames and fbi's robert hanson >> investigators say he was arrested sunday night in the suburban washington park in virginia after dropping off a package of classified information for his russian handlers investigators say he would signal a drop by putting strips of tape here on this sign >> pete's steady hand guided the network and viewers through some of the most difficult news events in history. the bombing of the federal building in oklahoma city >> u.s. officials now tell

the nightly news after starting off in the '70s in kasper, wyoming, doing local tv and radio. >> pete williamsy and when cheney became defense secretary under george h.w. bush pete headed to the pentagon, too, as the spokesperson there. >> okay. let's see. good afternoon, and i do have a few announcements for you. >> he shifted back to news joining nbc in 1993 and by 2012 he hit legend status with this moment getting the court's decision on the affordable care act right. the bottom line is the supreme court has upheld the health care case after other outlets had incorrectly reported the opposite. the next year pete taught a master class in accuracy during the boston marathon bombers. >> several law enforcement sources have confirmed he is alive and in custody. >> even former president obama noticed how good pete was. >> and that's what great journalism is and that's what great journalists do, and that's why, for example, pete williams' new nickname around the nbc newsroom is big papi. >> it's not like pete needed a big finale, he broke one last huge story when justice stephen briar retired a f

. >> there will never be anyone quite like pete williams. >> he is the heart and soul. >> we will trulyve changed over the years. >> you only look cuter >> well the "today" program has always been a great place to break news, and of course, sav, i knew when she was down here in our washington bureau, before she went on to greater things, and it's just, i'm just so proud to have been part of this organization i grew up watching david brinkley back when i was growing up in wyoming and the thought of being part of this organization for 29 years is just a dream come true. and i'm just so proud. >> you know, it's funny, you've been with us so many mornings, your days are packed to the gill, i was just imagining what monday will feel like for pete williams you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you're going to do? >> turn the alarm off and go back to sleep. >> sometimes the alarm comes literally in the middle of the night for you, pete. you're unflappable under pressure you're so fair you're so smart. you're so clear. the way, i mean i would go, when i first came here, i would rea

pete williams has been a north star for this news organization and a role model to all of us. time. pete, you will be missed. that does it for us this morning. this morning our special hour marking 100 days to the mid terms airs at both 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. for now, lindsey reiser picks up coverage right now. >> good afternoon, everybody. it's 10:00 a.m. even and 7 am pacific. right now confusing news in the spotlight. seconds ago we got more data on how much consumers are spending and what they are feeling about the state of the economy and with the "r" word being used president biden pushing back on claims we're in' recession. in a moment i'll speak with brian deese of the white house economic council and officials calling it the worst flooding disaster in their lifetimes. what else kentucky's governor is saying about the catastrophic flooding in the state and an europe date from an emergency management official on the ground there. >>> also new reporting from "the washington post" surrounding january 6th. more texts are missing, this time from high-

my colleague hallie jackson has a look back at his extraordinary career. >> reporter: pete williams mightis report. he doesn't really have any scoops. it's probably overwritten. so, let's do the pete thing, and just get to it. everything is done over nearly three decades, five administrations, and approximately 465 trillion live shots. that's hyperbole, by the way. details that too. >> pete williams. >> nbc news at the supreme court. >> reporter: he's covered the courts and the department of justice for years, a super stressful beat. but at the guy sweats, you wouldn't know it. watch how steady he is in 2000, reading through the courts decision on florida's voting machines that decided that year 's presidential election, live on air. >> if there is no room for a recount, this election is over for vice president al gore. and that is what you think -- >> yes, i see nothing that in any way is compatible with that. >> reporter: it did take him a couple of decades to get to the nightly news, after starting off in the 70s. in casper, wyoming, doing local tv and radio. >> -- >> reporter: in the

and that pretty much says it all. >> thank you, pete williams. we will miss you!st thing before we go. i've got one more. i've got to wish a very special thank you this week to my next -- you're looking on the screen right there, john. he took being neighborly to a whole other level. this week, spring into action on multiple occasions, after my printer and his home studio went on strike. mr. john, i would like him to know, this show would not have happened this week, without you. i and my audience are grateful. and on that note, i wish you, and just gonna say, fred rogers, you're smiling now on you from having. on that note, i wish you a very, very good night. and a wonderful weekend. from all of our colleagues across the networks of

i want to bring in justice correspondent pete william, lisa rubins. pete, what are we learning?the investigator is interested in what mr. trump told others and said about, a, the efforts to get the slates of electors from states that president biden won, get those slates sent to the archives, get them on to the floor of the house when the vote were counted and then, b, try to persuade vice president mike pence either to honor those alternate slates or not count any votes from the disputed states. either way of course that would have given mr. trump the electoral college victory. at least that was the plan. so they want to know what the president was saying and doing about those things. so that's the first thing that we learned. and the second thing we learned is the administration officials have also confirmed that the justice department obtained telephone records of some senior white house officials, including the chief of staff, mark meadows, and did that back in april. and that's a sign many people in the justice department are saying that the government is actually doing a l

thank you >>> and the january 6 committee is hearing from more of president trump's inner circle pete williams joins us now. who have they heard from >> reporter: the latest to testify today in private was one of president trump's closest aides mick mulvaney, the acting white house chief of staff until early 2020 he became special envoy to northern ireland but he resigned the night of the capitol riot mike pompeo who was trump's secretary of state now says he's talking with the committee about possibly testifying and the january 6 chairman bennie thompson says the committee has worked out a way to share all the evidence and witness transcripts with the justice department meantime the trump legal team is urging a federal court to rule that he's absolutely immune from the civil lawsuits filed against him over the capitol riots. they say he was acting in his official capacity when he questioned the election results and spoke at the january 6th rally. >> all right pete williams, thank you. >>> in 60 seconds controversy over the saudi backed golf tournament being played at donald trump's golf club

buy guns despite his past threats and two encounters with police we get more on that now from pete williamsreporter: anyone wanting to buy a gun or ammunition in illinois must first get a firearm owners identification card, issued by the state police it can be denied if the applicant, quote, poses a clear and present danger to the community. state police say they were notified in 2019 when highland park police were called to robert crimo's house and told he was threatening to kill people they confiscated several knives but in a statement, state police say because no one was arrested and no one in the family made a formal complaint, the matter was concluded they also say crimo told the local police at the time, he did not feel like harming himself or others. and they say the knives were actually returned to crimo's father later that day because he said they belonged to him. the father's lawyer says there was no threat >> when the police got there, everyone said, the situation wasn't dangerous. it was overblown the police didn't perceive it to be a dangerous situation. >> reporter: three mont

lester >> all right, pete williams starting us off. thanks >>> this evening, new calls by members of the january 6th committee for a criminal investigation of donald trump after last night's explosive testimony. here's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, january 6th committee members are intensifying pressure on the justice department to investigate former president trump after its high-stakes hearing thursday night. >> i sure as hell hope that merrick garland has an open criminal investigation into donald trump. >> reporter: it all comes amid new revelations at the hearing overnight including these outtakes of taped remarks from january 7th when mr. trump refused to say the election was over. >> but this election is now over. congress has certified the results. i don't want to say the election is over i just want to say congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, okay >> reporter: and the chilling testimony of an anonymous white house security official who said members of former vice president pence's sec

>> pete williams for us tonight, thank you. >>> when we come back, a broadcasting legend signs off. the music of his life next >>> finally tonight, he is a living catalog of jazz, inspiring voice of jazz radio who has signed off his famous show for the last time. ♪ >> good to be here at 88 years of age. >> for nearly six decades, when it came to jazz, philadelphia turned to that one unique voice wrti's bob perkins, known as bp, who kept them swinging, spinning everything from duke ellington to miles davis. over the years, meeting the likes of president jimmy carter, touching the lives of everyday listeners and renowned musicians. he described the complicated, beautiful and uniquely american art form this way. >> when you can take the guitar, saxophone and a piano and make them talk, you play a part of your life. you must have experienced something that made you come out with those notes, you know >> but now at age 88, bp is ready to sign off. >> thank you so much for sticking with me all these years. >> perkins says it is time to pass the ball to the next era of jazz lovers. his mes

efforts to move the country from coal production to cleaner alternatives justice correspondent pete williams has details. >> reporter: in one of the most important environmental rulings in decades, the court says the epa does not have broad authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions by shifting energy production away from coal burning plants and toward cleaner sources like wind and solar. by a 6-3 vote, the court said such a major action would require explicit permission from congress writing for the majority, chief justice john roberts said, it is not plausible that congress gave epa the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme. >> it has really cut off the agency's ability to do the farthest reaching, most impactful thing to cut carbon emissions from the power sector that's the sector of the economy that produces about a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions. >> reporter: for the dissenters, justice kagan says this makes the ruler the decider on such things i cannot think of many things more frightening. the court's ruling also could have broader implications because it sa

finally, i want to announce that pete williams is retiring at the end of this month. he is a legendary journalist, a washington institution, and a dear friend of this program. he will be very much missed, even though i know he is a little embarrassed right now, i have to give him a tribute. thank you for joining us all from home and thank you, pete. >> corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> consumer cellular has been providing plans designed to help people do more of what they like . our u.s.-customer service team can help on a plan that. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. >> additional funding is provided by the u.n. foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities, central and carl dilley magnuson, rose partial and andy shrev's, robert and susan rosenbaum, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] announcer: major fundin

pete williams, nbc news, washington >> we're joined now by congressman brad schneider who represents highland park congressman, thank you for being with us. my understanding you were just pulling into highland park when the shooting broke out can you tell us what you saw and experienced? >> sure. i mean this is one of five independence day parades we do every year it's a tradition here in town. i just finished the first one and was coming into town for the second one when i was talking to my team they said shots just rang out and everyone is scattering. i was probably a half mile away. i went around the parade area. what i saw were people leaving the area in a hurried fashion. i think most people were in shock. and unclear exactly what was happening as governor pritzker called it a monster with a high-powered assault weapon shattered what is an annual celebration of america's independence day with untold numbers of rounds killing -- murdering six people and wounding at least 24 others. >> police have said it was a high-powered weapon you're saying it was a high-powered assault weapon

let's bring in nbc news pete williams. pete, what stood out yesterday and what could we expect moving forward. >> several of the jurors did say they knew about steve bannon and didn't like some of his comments. they didn't like the people he associated with. they say they didn't like his statement during his podcast that he was going to make his assault on the government's medieval. so they were all excused needless to say from the potential jury pool. but they did get it down to 22 and today it will be wittled down to the final number of jurors and then the government will begin presenting its case. and the government said its case is straightforward. that he got a subpoena and he didn't obey it. and they will call at most they say three witnesses. and an fbi agent who investigated what bannon did and they say his refusal to testify, and two of the committee counsel from the january 6 committee, one maybe two of those and then that is the government -- that is it. bannon's defense has been seriously cut back by the judge.

here's pete williams >> reporter: the homeland security inspector general says the secret service erased many agent text messages from the day of the capitol riot and the day before a part of a program to upgrade cell phones. in a letter to congress the ig said the messages were erased after his office asked for records of electronic communications. >> we're going to get to the facts about why that happened, and we'll do whatever we can to retrieve the substance of those texts. >> reporter: both the ig and the secret service agree that some texts were wiped out when the agency began a long-planned migration program to upgrade cell phones, but the secret service says the ig didn't begin asking for the material until late february after the migration was under way, and it says none of the texts the ig was seeking had been lost secret service policy forbids communicating by text so both officials and agents say there won't be much to find anyway, but now that's hard to confirm. >> somebody at a senior level within the secret service should have said, yo know what? let's hit pause because af

i'll telling you, for the last time, joining me now is pete williams. mr. williams.ance here with merrick garland. no matter how lester holt asked him a question about investigating trump, he basically gave a version of that anser. >> right. >> what does he want people to take away? what is that rorshok response he wants? >> number one, to indicate the justice department is doing a lot more than it appears. we don't have a good clue of what the justice department is doing. these little glimpses wan we see. and, two, they're quite serious they don't know where this will end up. shortly after the biden administration came into power, i asked a senior administration official, can't we just assume that if you do get the goods on donald trump, you'll just decide that's a bridge too far, that it would be too divisive for the country and i was told, no, don't assume that, anything is on the table. now, of course, he did say, you know, people who are criminally responsible. and one big question will be, okay, what is the crime? is it obstructing congress? is it dereliction o

abortion access with chief white house correspondent peter alexander and nbc justice correspondent pete williams. thanks to peter and pete. peter alexander, first to you. the president making news with his pivot to supporting a filibuster change. what can he accomplish today? >> you are right. this is a frustration. it's a good message for democrats that the president says he does want that carveout, that limited exception, as it would relate to the filibuster specifically for abortion rights. he had only said something similar specifically on voting rights. democrats don't even have the votes right now to change the filibuster rules. the 50 democrats in the senate, only 48 support a possible change. sinema and manchin oppose it. they say when republicans take over, they can do whatever they like. the president will speak with those democratic lawmakers today. you noted nine of them who will be in attendance virtually. california's governor was initially expected to attend but no longer can due to a scheduling change that's taken place. he will be using this meeting as a way to really sort of de

we begin with pete williams. pete, the letter from the office of the inspector general reads in part the department notified us that many u.s. secret service text messages from january 5th and 6th, 2021, were erased as part of a device replacement program. the usss erased those after oig, the inspector general, requested records of communication from the usss as part of the events on january 6th. pete, this is the whole dispute, before or after. if it was erased before they were asked to save the records, not such a big deal although a little bit coincidental. after, that's a big deal. >> two things about that. first of all, the secret service agrees with the first part of that statement. yes, lots of phones were migrated. it was a general migration program to upgrade the cell phones of secret service agents and it did as a result fail to record some of the text messages that were apparently not backed up as they should have been. the question is, though, when did the ig ask for it. on that point the secret servic

pete williams joins us. how can he try again? definitive. >> all the attention he could be getting from the january 6 hearings could influence the jury pool, but the judge said steve bannon's name has come up all of about 30 seconds. bannon says now we've seen yesterday's hearing. bannon was mentioned a lot more plus what the lawyers for bannon say, cnn intends to run a documentary about bannon that could be highly critical and influence the potential jury pool. so once again they ask the judge to delay the trial. bannon is asking the judge to let him tell the jury that he is now willing to testify before the january 6 committee, because he says trump's earlier assertion of executive privilege has now opinion waived and lifted, so he's free to talk. the government says, a, you never really had a blanket assumption of executive privilege, and b, it says what you're willing to do now has nothing to do with the crime you committed in october when you refused the committee's subpoena. so we're waiting for the judge to rule on these l

you will be breaking all of this down with pete williams. that is an interesting thing. he is saying goodbye after 30 years on the air. that is something special. >> it is. it is amazing he has had two great runs professionally. it is something a lot of people can only hope for. like i said i hope to be pete williams. >>> coming up in about 30 minutes from now we will talk to the political analyst for our weekly segment. we will take a look at how democrats help some republicans when their primaries and the reason they say it will ultimately help democrats win in the midterm elections now just 100 days away. >>> developing news across eastern kentucky the death toll from this week's floods keeps rising at least 25 people have died due to the surging waters. the floodwaters are starting to pull back but now the fear of the death toll is becoming a reality. among the dead are four children, all siblings, it means rescue teams can reach more survivors. those searches are still urgent. >> i am worried that we are going to be finding bodies for weeks to come. thousand still h

pete williams is covering the trial. hey, pete. what's happened so far? did they start jury selection? >> yes. this has been the amazing shrinking defense for steve bannon because of rulings by the judge. this judge carl nichols is a trump appointee, but he's tied both of bannon's hands behind his back in terms of the defense. he cannot argue when he refused to develop with the january 6th committee that he was just acting on the advice of his lawyer, who told him he didn't need to respond because of justice department policies. the judge says he can't argue about the lawyer or the judgment policies, and he can't say to the jury that he refused to cooperate simply because he was advised by a lawyer for former president trump not to appear because of executive privilege. the judge says it's not clear that the lawyer told him to completely refuse to cooperate with the committee. at one point in the proceedings leading up to the trial, one of bannon's lawyers said, what's the point if there isn't much of a defense? and the judge said agreed, which was probab

we want to bring in pete williams, charlie savage, chuck rosenberg. we have a great group to get us started. pete, confirming the questions asked related to donald trump's actions on that day and leading up to that day. what specifically do we know? what is the focus? >> specifically we don't know. this was first reported by "the washington post." i think that the lesson is that everyone has sort of had this impression that the january 6th committee is way out in front of the justice department. i think this is just one little slice of knowing that that's not necessarily true in everybody case. as the attorney general said to lester yesterday there are some things the committee found out that justice didn't know and said things justice knows that the committee doesn't know. he said that's to be expected with two parallel investigations. it simply means that as the justice department continues this massive investigation they are getting closer to the oval office. asking people around the president about his actions but asking about his actions. and i th

. >> with us now to talk about all of this, correspondent pete williams. capitol hill correspondent allie vitali and congressional reporter luke broadwater and it chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney and open now on msnbc. pete, let me start with you. executive privilege in his refusal to testify before the committee. what can you tell us about this? >> well, the government says it doesn't matter and the trial should go ahead for several reasons. number one, he was never covered by executive privilege in the first place because it deals only with official conduct, official business while bannon was in the government and what the committee wants to talk about are things that have happened long after he left the government that have nothing to do with official business so the whole executive privilege claim they say doesn't matter. there is a question of whether the president ever properly asserted it in the first place or had any juice left in order to exert executive privilege. secondly, they say this effort by bannon to testify, his willingness to testify

nbc justice correspondent pete williams leads us off tonight. pete, walk us through the ruling on the epa case if you would what kind of imimpact could that >> roe was a constitutional decision this is another part of the supreme court day job is sprpting federal law and the question here is whether existing fraul law that sets up the environmental protection agency gives it the authority the epa wanted to have the rn here is air pollution there is no doubt the environmental protection agency has the authority to limit that. but the question was can it do it only -- a power plant by power plant within the call walls and the fence line of that power plant. or did it have broader authority to encourage utilities to shift more of the nation's generating capacity away from coal-burning plants toward wind and solar ask today, the supreme court said the answer to that question is no. chief justice john roberts righting the majority opinion said a decision of such magnitude and consequence recollects congress itself or an agency acting pursuant to a cle

pleased to welcome justice jackson to the court, and to our common calling. >> that was nbc's pete williams reporting there. >>> still ahead, president biden calls on senators to change the rules to protect abortion rights. but are the two holdouts in his own party listening? >>> plus, something you don't want to see during a busy holiday travel weekend. this right here, hundreds of picketing pilots and what airlines are doing to address the issue on an already strained system. those stories and a check of weather when we come back on "way too early." "way too early." ♪ my name is monique, i'm 41, and i'm a federal contract investigator. as a single parent, i would run from football games to work and trying to balance it all. so, what do you see when you look at yourself? i see a person that's caring. sometimes i care too much, and that's when i had to learn to put myself first, because i would care about everyone all the time but i'm just as important as they are. botox® cosmetic is fda approved to temporarily make frown line, crow's feet and forehead lines look better. the effects of boto

. >> nbc's justice correspondent pete williams is following the case.t's happening in court today? >> that may be his defense outside of court. inside, he hasn't gotten to his defense yet. it's been the government's witness. the first one who is the chief counsel. the committee understood bannon talked with the president in the weeks leading up to january 6. therefore, wanted to understand what bannon could say about the connection between any of those events. she said the subpoena demanded that bannon provide any communication he may have had with the proud boys, oath keepers, as well as some of the lawyers advising president trump at the time, including rudy giuliani, john eastman, michael flynn. she explained her contacts with bannon's lawyer who agreed to accept the service of the subpoena, the formal handing over, if you will, on bannon's behalf. she talked about her exchange of letters with the lawyer who informed the committee that bannon would not comply because president trump asserted executive privilege. the view was that was not a valid reas

>> pete williams in washington.ou so much. >> you bet. >>> president biden's facing intense pressure to do something about prices of gas, groceries, and other items that continue to rise at the fastest pace in 40 years. according to government data, prices were 9.1% higher last month than they were in june 2021. prices rose more than 1% between may and june driven by increases in the cost of gas and food. even though gas prices continue to fall and they fall constantly now, they have for the last couple of weeks. and the latest cnbc all america economic survey is telling us more about how people are feeling about the fate of the economy and how they are coping with the rising prices. cnbc's senior economics reporter steve leesman joins us now with the latest on that. steve, it's great seeing you. take us through the key findings here. >> reporter: so politically i'd say the big finding is the drop again in president biden's both economic and overall approval rating. he's now at just 30% on approval on the economy. t

. >> and pete williams is joining me with more.is to hear from a justice speak out like this? >> well, like that, it is pretty rare. you know, i think justice alito has made comments like this before. i think perhaps all those years as one the dissenters on the court has sort of shaped his view of criticism of his decision and it has taken him a while to realize that he is now in the controlling seat in the court, things are sort of breaking his way and he doesn't seem to have quite caught up with that. >> the supreme court term starts in october. what can we expect? >> there are a lot of big cases on the term, a showdown over of a affirmative action over college admissions. is this a more conservative court now, so probably less inclined to uphold it, this is a challenge from both a public university, the university of north carolina and a private one, harvard. there is a question about whether businesses can as a matter of religious freedom disregard state anti-discrimination laws specifically this is a website designer in colora

so joining us now is justice correspondent pete williams. chuck rosenberg is still with us. te, walks through what you are waiting for. >> we're waiting for the jury to be seated but it hasn't happenet they have to get to 14. and right now the lawyers and the judge are discussing what evidence is admissible. basically the main defense that steve bannon has left now is his claim that the committee kept despite the fact that the so-called deadline for the subpoena had passed, the committee kept asking him for more information. and it has been bannon's contention that that meant that they kept extending the deadline. they kept pushing it off saying, okay, we still want to hear from you, we still want to hear from you, and the question now is how much of that can be told to the jury, what kind of evidence can they use to back that up, what sort of exhibits could be offered, what letters could be offered had are not hearsay. and that is what the judge is trying to figure out right now. so until we get that sorted out, they won't get to the jury selection part. but once they start

joining us now for this, nbc chief white house correspondent kristin welker, pete williams, to confirm breaking news, phil rucker, and jonathan lemire, host of "way too early" and author of "the big lie, election chaos, the state of american politics after 2020." well-timed, jonathan. kristin welker, the president went straight back to work and seemed happy to be back. he seemed energized. sort of a victory lap for paxlovid and getting the shots and boosters. >> reporter: it was a victory lap that we witnessed in the rose garden. there's no doubt about that. stage craft was at work as well. president biden emerging from the residence where he has been in isolation for the past five days. then walking out to the rose garden, making his remarks and then walking back into the oval office underscoring that he is getting back to work. officials who are gathered in the rose garden with him with the media all applauded as he walked back in. putting the focus on his message, he used this as a teachable moment. frankly, as a chance to tout his administration's response to covid-19. the fact tha

cathy park is in illinois, pete williams, mike is covering the white house and we are joined by clinto worked as a consultant to the fbi counterterrorism division. >>> there are still some unanswered questions that will be important as this investigation continues to unfold. first of all the motive, right? as well as any charges that could be filed. we may find out more about that piece of it some time in the next 60 to 90 minutes and what about the person of interest? police said it was contact of what they described as a nonviolent nature. what does that mean? do we have any more details on that? we are also waiting to learn the ids of all six people killed in this attack and there are questions as to whether president biden will visit highland park. he was noncommit al when asked. >>> talk to us about what we have learned and i understand new numbers now on the number of victims. seven people killed. presumably we know now another person has died in the hospital according to the lake county sheriff. >> hali, that's right. the number continues to be very fluid. obviously we are now

here's nbc news correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: the homeland security inspector general says the secret service erased many agent text messages from the day of the capitol riot and the day before as part of a program to upgrade cell phones. in a letter to congress, the ig says the messages were erased after his office asked for records of electronic communications. >> we're going to get to the facts about why that happened and we're going to do whatever we can to retrieve the substance of those texts. >> reporter: both the ig and the secret service agree that some texts were wiped out when the agency began a long-planned migration program to upgrade cell phones. but the secret service says the ig didn't begin asking for the material until late february, after the migration was under way and it says none of the texts the ig was seeking had been lost. secret service policy forbids communicating by text, so both officials and agents say they won't be much to finds anyway, but now that's hard to confirm. >> somebody at a senior level within the secret service should have said, yo

joining me now is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. i am looking at the jury notes and there seems to be a state department employee on the jury, an art salesman, nasa contractor, doctor, architect, and handful of d.c. government employees. a lot of whom have extensive experience serving on juries. >> it means a typical d.c. jury. two d.c. government employees, someone who works for the state department, somebody who sells appliances in maryland, a photographer, a guy who works for a covid testing firm, and the architect says he watched nbc news reports about the bannon case and the task here is to find people who say they can judge the case based on the arguments in the courtroom so we are past the arguments about whether the trial should be moved. the judge has given preliminary instructions to the jury and now the trial starts in full with opening statements from the government and then steve bannon. the government has said it only intends to call two maybe three witnesses. an fbi agent who will testify about the work between bannon

pete williams reports. >> reporter: from the moment the charges were filed, steve bannon vowed to turn the case into an attack on the january 6th committee, the democrats, and the biden administration >> i'm telling you right now. this is going to be the misdemeanor from hell for merrick garland, nancy pelosi, and joe biden. >> reporter: he has been maintaining the defiance on his podcast but in court his legal defenses have withered away he is charged with contempt of congress for refusing to obey a subpoena from the committee for documents and testimony. he insists he couldn't comply, saying a lawyer for former president trump directed him not to, citing executive privilege. the judge, carl nichols, a trump appointee, tossed out that defense saying it is not at all clear that mr. trump's lawyer ever told him not to cooperate with the committee. the judge ruled bannon cannot argue he was following advice of lawyers or that justice department policies against subpoenaing administration officials applied to him. bannon has been barred from calling members of congress as witnesses. the j

6th riot, an signs of a greater focus on former president trump than was previously known here's pete williams >> reporter: administration officials familiar with the investigation tell nbc news that the justice department's lawyers are trying to find out what president trump was saying to those in his inner circle in the weeks leading up to the january 6th riot to try to undo his election loss to joe biden. specifically the officials say investigators want to know what he was telling his aides an lawyers about the efforts to have trump presidential electors sent in from battle ground states that biden won. and about urging vice president pence to recognize those slates when congress met for the official vote count on january 6th the officials also say investigators back in april obtained telephone records of senior white house aides, including mar meadows, the chief of staff. those developments were first reported by "the washington post." the fact that those records were obtained at least three months ago is a sign that investigators are moving more aggressively than was first thought. some

, the justice department says, hallie, don't even have health insurance in the first place. >> pete williamsr us in d.c. to break that down for us. pete, thanks for keeping an eye on that for us. appreciate it. next up the cdc says the u.s. is the global leader in known monkeypox cases. we'll talk more about why the white house has not yet declared this a public health emergency. after the break. this a public health emergency after the break. and in it. mostly. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand. over 2000 high quality products. real world tested by you. and particularly kind... to your wallet. i recommend nature made vitamins because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp... ...an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the number one pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. ♪ ♪ this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to p