so that was volpe case. on second thought, i possibly would have said maybe we should assign a lawyer here and i wonder today if i would have made the same decision so i talk about that. peter: you mention the role of the bureau of prisons. can the bureau of prisons release people? judge block: before the first step --, -- before the first step act, the bureau of prisons had the power to reduce someone sentence or set them free but it was rarely exercised. they didn't -- they did it if someone was dying or it was a medical emergency but the rarely exercised that power. they would make an application and a final decision and i think statistics over the years they admitted may be one or two dozen cases a year and that is why congress acted so that the defendant would not have to be subject to the bureau of prisons decision but also could have direct access to the judge and it made all the difference in the world. peter: out of the six cases, what is one where you granted compassionate release due to the first

so that was volpe case. on second thought, i possibly would have said maybe we should assign a lawyer here and i wonder today if i would have made the same decision so i talk about that. peter: you mention the role of the bureau of prisons. can the bureau of prisons release people? judge block: before the first step --, -- before the first step act, the bureau of prisons had the power to reduce someone sentence or set them free but it was rarely exercised. they didn't -- they did it if someone was dying or it was a medical emergency but the rarely exercised that power. they would make an application and a final decision and i think statistics over the years they admitted may be one or two dozen cases a year and that is why congress acted so that the defendant would not have to be subject to the bureau of prisons decision but also could have direct access to the judge and it made all the difference in the world. peter: out of the six cases, what is one where you granted compassionate release due to the first

we're going to make john della volpe answer for all young men in this country.t before we go to break, another reminder of the type of jobs that doge is cutting, please watch this. >> well hello everyone. >> i am doctor ben. >> andrew and i. >> serve as the chief of. >> safety and. emergency management at the philadelphia va. this was a mission critical role. >> that ensured the health and safety of all those who entered. >> into our facilities. >> from the doctors, nurses, support. >> staff. veterans and veterans families. our goal. >> was to be sure that the environment. >> of care was. >> free of. >> hazards and. >> anything that. >> can create a hazardous condition. >> for a person. >> in that hospital. >> i chose public service because my. mother worked 30 years for the va medical center in new orleans. as a kid, i said, one. >> day i'll. >> work at. >> the va. >> ten years in. >> the navy. >> i spent some time also working in private sector, and then the opportunity presented itself, and i gladly accept it as a safety professional safety isn't just about p

john della volpe is here. >> director of. polling at the harvard kennedy. >> school institute of politics. kurt anderson joins us. he wrote the new york times bestseller, evil. geniuses the unmaking of america a recent history. john allen joins us, senior national politics reporter for nbc news. he's the author of the new. >> book. >> fight inside the battle for the white house. it is out on april 1st. all right, mr. allen, to you first. the former joint. >> chiefs of staff, cq brown. >> this man spent four. >> decades in the military. he's a fighter pilot with. >> thousands of hours of flight time. he's an instructor this man has flying in combat. i think something like 300 hours. what should we make of his firing and the shakeups at the pentagon? >> one can't. >> say he wasn't qualified for the job. >> no, he was certainly qualified. >> for the job, stephanie. and also in a job that's largely supposed to be apolitical. well, we can make of his firing, is that he was caught up in basically. what president trump describes as