fighting since the start of israel's ground operation in gaza, just as families of hostages demand urgent action to save them. also ahead, six people killed in a shooting spree in texas, a suspect now in custody. investigators trying to piece together a potential motive. and the atmospheric river that is totally drenching the west prompting some dramatic rescues. is there any end in sight to the torrent of water? thanks for joining us. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we are just hours out now from the next republican debate, and donald trump, who won't even be on the stage is dominating the headlines for stunning comments about a potential second term. the former president refusing to say that he will not abuse his power should he return to the white house telling fox's sean hannity he won't be a dictator, except for day one. >> under no circumstances you are promising america tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. >> except for day one. except for day one. >> meaning? >> i want to close the border, and i want to drill, drill, drill -- >> that's not -- that's not retribution. i'm going to be -- i'm going to be -- you know, he keeps -- we love this guy. he says you're not going to be a dictator, are you? i said no, no, no, other than day one. >> let's bring in nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster at the site of tonight's debate in tuscaloosa, alabama. also joining us is monica alba. these are jarring comments from the former president is and it seemed like sean hannity was trying to give him an out. >> reporter: yeah, you saw the former president almost laughing at sean hannity's attempt to kind of clean up his comments in realtime, and let's put this in a little bit of perspective here. sean hannity was giving him, the former president donald trump, an opportunity to essentially respond to an attack that you've been hearing from the likes of liz cheney, from the joe biden presidential campaign, and when they say that donald trump, a second term of donald trump would be a threat to democracy, that there are fewer of those guard rails for this potential second term in that he would essentially abuse his power. so sean hannity was giving him an opportunity to address that concern you've been hearing. you heard former president trump laugh it off and say except for day one. i want you to listen a little bit more of what we heard from him during that town hall. >> we have a man that can't put two sentences together. we have a man that doesn't know he's alive, and he's backed up bring the media. >> if i did some of the things he did, they'd reinstitute the death penalty. >> reporter: you also heard him at another point suggest that he doesn't believe that joe biden will be his ultimate opponent, kind of reflecting the language that you've been hearing from some of the other candidates in this primary. it's also a sign he's not really focused on the primary and already looking ahead to that general election as he has that commanding lead currently in this primary process, ana. >> monica, president biden says he's the candidate to beat trump. he already has, and he made comments yesterday about taking on trump that raised some eyebrows. fill us in. >> exactly, ana, speaking of the general election yesterday, the president was raising campaign contributions for his reelect, and in an off camera effect he told donors, you know, if trump wasn't running right now, if the former president wasn't seeking the white house again, quote, i'm not sure i'd be running, but we cannot let him win the president said yesterday, and then when he returned to the white house, he was asked by a reporter to clarify those kinds of comments. take a listen to how that exchange went. >> would you be running for president if trump wasn't president? >> i expect so, but look, he is running, and i just -- i have to run. >> would you drop out if trump dropped out? >> no. not now. >> reporter: and that's the key question here, ana. we do know of course when former vice president biden was contemplaing whether to pursue the white house in 2019, he said he really debated it, and it was the charlottesville riots and at the time president trump's comments on that defending some of the people who participated in that and defending the actions of some neo-nazis involved in that, that then led him to wanting to run for the white house and pursue this battle for the soul of the nation. he has made this point before that it really is donald trump motivating him to run and to run again here, but you did see him saying even if somebody else happens to be the gop nominee, he pledges to stay in this race. >> the talk is about everything but the four people who will be debating tonight. >> reporter: right, ana, this is the fourth republican presidential debate. there will just be four candidates on the stage. if you look at the dynamics of this race, you get a sense this is really a battle for second place. that's a battle that has become more competitive in the recent weeks and months this this process. you look at nikki haley, she's been seeing a rise in polling. she got those major endorsements from the gop donor apparatus, and she's really having an opportunity here to really lock in that momentum that she's been seeing, that momentum that's come at the expense of ron desantis, who wants to show he's still a force in this primary process. he just last week debated california governor gavin newsom, so not one of his opponents. he got some practice in that debating experience. we'll see if that translates to what we see on stage tonight. you also have chris christie and vivek ramaswamy, many of these candidates wanting a moment. >> we'll be watching, you'll be reporting out the highlights. let's continue the conversation with danielle moody host of the woke af podcast and republican strategist and msnbc political commentator susan del percio. trump saying he would be a dictator on day one. your reaction? >> what else is new? he's been saying that for over a year that he's seeking out retribution should he win a second time. donald trump is nothing but consistent, when he says things like this we should believe him because he follows through on them when possible. if not for a few small, you know, miracles on january 6th, donald trump would have fought to stay in office, and not paid attention to the constitution. he doesn't believe in it. he thinks he can take a mulligan on day one. that should not happen. that's what's at risk. joe biden shouldn't say i wouldn't be running if it wasn't donald trump, he should be saying i'm running because of donald trump, and we have to protect our democracy because that is what is at stake. donald trump will not make the same mistakes in his mind he did four years ago this time around. >> danielle, the thing is trump was given multiple times to clarify, you know, he was given a chance to say that's not what i meant. that came out wrong or here's what i mean by this comment, and instead he just doubled down. that was his answer, and then he was cheered, so clearly he thinks this is what the base wants to hear. why do you think that is? >> do you remember when he was given an opportunity to say that he was against white supremacy and white nationalism, and what did he decide to do then? he told the oath keepers and proud boys to stand back and stand by. every single time that people offer an opportunity for donald trump to say something different than the truth that he actually says, which is i'm going to be a dictator. this is my campaign of retribution. i alone can fix this, right? donald trump, everything that he has said on his campaign trails when he was in office, he has done. so when i hear a crowd of american citizens cheering on the idea of an american dictator, that should send alarm bells through and across this country through everyone's body. this is not a joke. we have one opportunity to save democracy, and that is the election of 2024. we do not have an opportunity to have a protest vote. we do not have an opportunity to sit this one out. right? i understand that there are fears and anxiety and anger that people have, but the idea that donald trump could be the last president of the united states should send chills down everyone's spine. >> susan, we've heard from some voters who don't like a lot of the things that trump says but have voted for him in the past because they wanted the supreme court to be more conatth like s conservative policies that he was able to get through as president. i just wonder if a comment like this saying i will be a dictator on day one, i won't, but except for day one, will be a wake-up call to some of those republicans who don't necessarily love trump himself. >> actually, my bigger concern is those republicans who did not vote for trump in 2020, who voted for him in 2016, said i have enough. ly vote for joe biden, even though i don't support his policies, but we cannot have trump in office. it is that small majority of center right independents and republicans that said no to donald trump, that really got biden elected. my concern is those republicans and those right leaning independents stay home and that is a difference, those folks don't go to biden, so trump is able to keep his support among his base turned out and biden can't turn out the same numbers he did in 2020. >> the dictator comment didn't come out of the blue. you've listed some of the things, we polled from some recent things he's said. he's talked about retribution, having the doj go after political opponents and investigate them. he's been calling 2024 our final battle, calling on the government to come down on cable news networks, and que, make them pay, and saying, quote you go after me, i'm coming after you, and then there's also some of the people who could be in the white house with him. we're hearing from kash patel, a key confidant in "the new york times" reporting that he's threatening to go after members of the media saying we're actually going to use the constitution to prosecute them for crimes. they said we have always been guilty of but never have. danielle, your reaction to this, it's not just trump but it's also who he may surround himself. people like kash patel. >> do you remember the protests that happened in lafayette square and how donald trump cleared those protesters using the police, and then general mattis was walking alongside of him so that he could take a picture in front of a church he doesn't attend holding a book he doesn't read. those are the things i want the american people to remember. when donald trump is telling you, right, that he's going to do all of these things, there will be no general mattis. there will be no jeff sessions to recuse himself. there will be no bill barr. all of the people that provided guardrails that we found out after the fact that held our democracy on by a string will be gone, and those that will be in place will not have pledged their allegiance to the constitution. they will have pledged their allegiance to donald trump. that is it. there will be no one left a because he said that he's going to every single one of those agencies and he's going to clean house. and just a reminder, the heritage foundation has a 2025 plan for the first 100 days of a trump administration to do just that. they are ready to go on day one. so the american people need to be ready to go on election day. >> ladies, i wanted you to listen to something else trump said last night when he was asked about abusing power. take a listen. >> to be clear, do you in any way have any plans whatsoever if reelected president to abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people? >> you mean like they're using right now. so in the history of our country what's happened to us again has never happened before over nonsense, over nothing, made up charges. i often say al capone, he was one of the greatest of all time, if you like criminals, he was a mob boss the likes of which scar face they call him, and he got indicted once. i got indicted four times. >> susan what do you make of trump comparing himself to al capone. >> he got his gangsters mixed up there. >> he was the greatest of all time. >> look who he looks to as far as great leaders, putin. he looks to north korea. he looks to hungary. he looks to people who are seeking to make -- to have dictatorships. he wants to be a strong man. he has no love for this country. that's what i hear, and that to me is still shocking. i know it shouldn't be. as an american to see someone seeking the presidency who has been president, who has absolutely no love of country what solve. it is all there to meet his needs in his mind. >> real quick, danielle, i hear so often people either taking one side where you cover trump too often or the feedback is you don't cover trump's words that are so dangerous enough, you should be constantly raising alarm bells. that's some of the feedback we get in the media. i wonder how a conversation like that, like we're having today is being heard by trump supporters. do you worry, danielle, that this just makes them dig in even deeper? >> we shouldn't be concerned about trump supporters. i'm concerned about everyone else. i'm concerned about the 71% who didn't vote for donald trump. some people considering staying home. we're never going to get back the 30%, ana, they're not coming back. we need to be concerned about everyone else and covering donald trump is a way he needs to be covered, which is not as entertainment, but as a danger to our democracy, a danger to our national security. >> thank you, ladies, so much for the discussion. danielle and susan, good to see you both. when we're back in 60 seconds, new pressure on israel's security cabinet from families of hamas hostages. the dangers in gaza that they're facing at the idf advances on the ground. plus, i'll talk to congresswoman zoe lofgren who served on the january 6th committee, her response to the house speaker now saying he is blurring the faces of rioters in capitol security footage, extreme weather, the trail of destruction in the pacific northwest from all of that devastating rain. and later, dr. vin gupta is going to join us to talk about a new outbreak of pneumonia among kids in ohio. what you need to know. need to . a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. we have some breaking news, i want to go to the attorney general merrick garland addressing some new war crimes prosecutions. >> affiliated military personnel with war crimes against an american citizen living in ukraine. the charges include conspiracy to commit war crimes, including war crimes outlawed by the international community after world war ii. unlawful confinement, torture, and inhuman treatment. like all defendants in the u.s. criminal justice system, the defendants in this case are entitled to due process of law and are presumed innocent until proven guilty. we allege that in april of 2022, two commending officers of russia-affiliated forces, as well as two lower ranking soldiers whose first names are valery and nazar committed war crimes against an american citizen who has been living in russia -- who had been living in russia since 2021. the victim was living by a small village in southern ukraine and was not papg in the armed conflict between russia and ukraine. as such, the victim was what is known as a protected person under international law. after russian forces invaded, the victim was abducted by three of the defendants. one of the commanding offices and the lower ranking soldiers and their co-conspirators. during the abduction, we allege that those defendants threw the victim to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head and beat him with their feet, their fists and the stocks of their gun. we allege that they forced him into a building that russia-affiliated forces were using as a jail and into a closet they were using as a jail cell. as they interrogated him, they tortured him. they beat him again with a gun. they punched him in his chest and stomach. they threatened to shoot him. they stripped off his clothes and took pictures. one of their conspirators threatened to sexually assault him. during the interrogation when the victim's answers did not satisfy the defendants, we allege that butnik, who was also a commanding officer threatened the victim with death and asked for his last words was we allege that nazar and other conspirators took the victim outside. there they forced him to the ground,f his head. the victim believed he was about to be killed. they moved the gun just before pulling the trigger and the bullet went just past his head. after the mock execution, the victim was beaten and interrogated again. at one point he was told through an interpreter that he was, quote, going to sleep, and he was told by mercurcian, quote, good night leading the victim to believe, again, that he was about to be killed. during his ten days detained by russia-affiliated forces, the victim in this case was tortured, threatened with sexual assault and execution, forced to perform manual labor and beaten in the head, chest, and stomach with the soldier's feet, their fists, and their guns. again and again he believed he was going to die. these charges against four russia-affiliated military personnel with the justice department's first criminal charges under the u.s. war crimes statute. they are also an important step toward accountability for the russian regime's illegal war in ukraine. our work is far from done. i want to recognize the criminal divisions including the human rights and special prosecution section and the war crimes accountability team, the u.s. attorney's office for the eastern district of virginia, the fbi, and the department of homeland security including homeland security investigations. their diligent and skillful work is what made these historic charges possible. i also want to recognize the incredible courage of our partners in ukraine, specifically our counterparts in the ukrainian prosecutor general's office. in the midst of war, ukrainian prosecutors and investigators have risked that are lives to pursue justice for the ukrainian people. we are honored to stand alongside them. finally, i want to recognize our partners in the international community. we will continue to work closely along side them to gather evidence and build cases so that when the time comes, the united states and our partners will be ready to ensure accountability for russia's war of aggression. this is an historic day for the justice department that builds on a long history. the war crimes accountability team prosecuting this case is modeled in part on the justice department's decades' long effort to identify, denaturalize and deport nazi war criminals in the united states. during that effort, the department's office of special investigations brought more than 130 cases against perpetrators of nazi crimes. in the vast majority of those cases, the perpetrators were not identified until decades after they committed their horrific crimes. this history should make clear that the justice department and the american people have a long memory. we will not forget the atrocities in ukraine, and we will never stop working to bring those responsible to justice. throughout our work, we will continue to put our trust in the rule of law. the rule of law is the best answer we have to crimes that cannot be truly answered. the rule of law is how we pursue true accountability for the individuals responsible for those crimes and how we deter future aggression. and the rule of law is how we pursue justice in a way that protects people and protects our shared humanity. i'm now honored to turn the podium over to secretary mayorkas. >> thank you very much, attorney general garland. in 2008 the department of homeland security and its homeland security investigations or hsi created the human rights violator and war crimes center. the only agency focused entirely on investigating these global atrocities. for 15 years this select group of special agents, attorneys, intelligence analysts, criminal research specialists and historians from across the federal government have worked together and with their international counterparts to hold those who engage in the perpetration of war crimes, genocide, torture, and other human rights violations accountable. today an investigation more than a year in the making by this center and its federal partners bears fruit. for the first time in in our nation's history, federal agents gathered sufficient evidence to bring charges of war crimes perpetrated against an american citizen in violation of title 18 of the united states code section 2441. the allegations which the attorney general has described detail gruesome events. the agents who made this case possible were tireless in their investigation, giving extraordinary attention to every detail and making considerable sacrifices throughout. in august 2022, these hsi agents traveled with their doj and fbi partners to speak with an american citizen who had recently been evacuated from ukraine where he had been living with his wife. the u.s. citizen told our hsi agents how a few months earlier he had been violently abducted from his home in the village of mill low va by members of the russian armed forces. he told hsi investigators as the attorney general noted that these russians had stripped him naked, threw him face down to the ground, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head and severely beat him including with the stocks of their guns. the russian soldiers took him to a nearby russian military compound and held him illegal for ten days. he reported he was subjected to two interrogation sessions during which he was tortured by the four defendants named today. he reported that the russian defendants had again stripped him naked, photographed him, and severely beat him about the chest and stomach. one defendant staged a mock execution of him. after asking for the victim's last words, one of the defendants named today forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head and pulled the trigger purposely missing the victim's head by mere inches. throughout this past year our hsi agents with the assistance of hsi's human rights violators and war crimes center and alongside our fbi partners have worked to corroborate the victim's allegations. they traveled internationally to interview the victim's family. they identified and interviewed individuals who were present within the general vicinity of mee low va around the time the victim was held in captivity, who confirmed the russian forces' occupation in the area. based on the information they obtained, the hsi agents and their fbi partners were able to identify the four defendants whose indictments are announced today. i'm extraordinarily proud of these federal law enforcement agents. thanks to their exceptional work, the united states will hold the russian perpetrators of this unthinkable mistreatment, this unacceptable human rights violations accountable. the work of these agents and the indictments unsealed today speak to two fundamental truths. first, there is no higher -- >> okay. we are going to pull away and we'll monitor and bring you any additional information we learn. we're just hearing from some of the cabinet secretaries within the biden administration. there is alejandro mayorkas, before him we heard the big announcement by attorney general merrick garland announcing war crimes charges here in the u.s. against four russian nationals for actions that happened in ukraine, in the war in ukraine. joining us now is nbc's ryan reilly. this is a first. >> it really is, it's really an historic measure the attorney general is taking here and involves an investigation that the justice department has been working on for a while now. it's a new authority they have under this recently passed u.s. war crimes statute, and this is the first sort of that we're getting involving that statute as well as -- as well as the war in ukraine, and it's an indication that when american citizens are targeted during any of these conflicts, the justice department is going to be pretty aggressive about going after those individuals who perpetrated those crimes. in this case we really only know the first names of two of the defendants here. obviously there's going to be more investigation here, of course the broader issue is when are they actually going to be able to be taken into custody. russia and the u.s. are going back and forthright now with long lists of people who are banned from each other's country. so when the u.s. would actually get an opportunity to take these individuals into custody is a real open question right now, and one that could take really years to resolve or never be resolved potentially if they choose ending up living out the rest of their lives in russia. this is certainly a strong step from the justice department and from the fbi here, but we don't really know when this case in the end will be resolved. >> okay, ryan reilly, appreciate your reporting. now to the breaking news from the middle east. israel and hamas engaging in new fierce battles as the idf pushes further into southern gaza, and new warnings about the increasingly dire conditions. for the remaining 138 hostages still held by hamas. their families telling the israeli security cabinet, quote, we have received solid intelligence that there are hostages whose condition has deteriorated and who are now in immediate danger of life due to untreated injuries or illnesses. we demand that you take urgent action using your initiative and creativity to reach a deal for the immediate release of all the hostages. i want to go right to nbc's raf sanchez in tel aviv, israel. raf, at last check, negotiators had left qatar so what is the status of the efforts to free hostages? are there ongoing talks? >> reporter: ana, no formal talks going on at this time. that's according to the white house, in the days leading up to that cease fire last week, you had israeli intelligence officers in qatar who were then going over to hamas, officials trying to bridge the gaps between the two. that formal process is not happening right now. it's very likely that there are more informal channels going on, but at this point, i can tell you here in israel and for people we're speaking to in gaza, it doesn't feel like there is any cease fire imminent. the expectation is there's going to be days, maybe weeks more fighting before there will be any talks, and as you said, there was that fiery meeting last night, hostages, their families, and the government of prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the message they really pressed home was that time is running out for those remaining 138 or so hostages. they fear for these people's lives amid this israeli bombardment, amid the reports of sickness, some of the wounds that these hostages sustained on october 7th. we don't know whether or not they have been treated, and one of the real frustrations among the families of the hostages is they feel like they can see what the outlines of a deal to free their loved ones looks like. it involves releasing senior hamas palestinian islamic jihad prisoners from israeli jails and getting their loved ones back. their message to the government is go and make this deal and do it now while our loved ones are still alive. ana. >> no doubt about it, this is a really, really tough time for those families and we have heard from all the officials in israel and the u.s. that they are working aggressively to try to make it happen for them. thank you, raf sanchez, appreciate your reporting. and up next here on "ana cabrera reports, a suspect in custody after a terrifying string of shootings in texas left six people dead, what we know about a motive. plus, flood fears in the pacific northwest, where five rivers could breach from a revoling door of storms. >> i didn't want for it to rise this quickly. storms. >> i didn't want for it to rise this quickly [camera shutter sfx] he thinks his flaky, red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. 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austin independent school district police officer was shot and injured. about an hour after that, police received 911 calls to an address. when they arrived, they found two people that had been shot, one died at the scene. another one taken to a hospital who also died. now, a few hours after that about five hours later in the afternoon, they also had another report, this one from a cyclist, who said he had been shot and injured, and then after that they had a 911 call to an address when they sent an officer, an officer arrived, he found a man in the backyard, and that suspect shot at the office, injured him. the officer did shoot back before the suspect got in a vehicle and fled. a lot of moving parts here. this is preliminary information being shared by the austin police department. that suspect then fled. he was followed by other officers and minutes later crashed his vehicle and was arrested. now, the officer who was shot at the address received attention, was taken to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. during this time officers also entered that home, that second home where they had received the call, and they found two people dead inside. here's a part of the briefing press conference that was held by the austin police department last night. >> based on information obtained over the course of these investigations, we strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents. the nature of the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect is unknown. >> so we also know that after all of these events, apd contacted the sheriff's department south of austin, and they wanted the offices there, the deputies to check on an address that was connected to the suspect. deputies arrived at that address and they found two more bodies. that's why we are now saying there are six people dead in connection to this suspect. all of this is preliminary information shared by authorities, ana. >> that's quite a lot. what a scare for all those residents in the area. thank you. and the rain just keeps on coming, a powerful atmospheric river is relentlessly drenching the pacific northwest for a sixth day unleashing heavy rain, flash flooding, landslides with two more storms set to crash into the pacific coast before the week's end. just take a look at this video out of washington state. a man airlifted from a surging creek, top of his car you can see barely visible there from the rising waters. nbc's miguel almaguer is standing by. >> reporter: the rain is slowly beginning to taper off. a local landslide has cut off amtrak service in this area, and some smaller communities are surrounded by water. it's a punishing weather system that's still on the move. >> powerful cascading torrents tore across communities near seattle, fueled by days of drenching rain, dangerous walls of water triggered flood alerts for some 9 million across the pacific northwest. at least five raging rivers are threatening to breach their banks. some already partially submerging homes, cars and roads. >> it doesn't matter if it's a couple of inches or a full foot of water. it's a very dangerous situation. >> reporter: emergency teams raced from rescue to rescue, the coast guard swooping in to pluck one driver from their truck while hoisting another family from their home after it was surrounded by rising water, but authorities say at least one man was swept away. >> how would you feel if you watched your best friend going in the water knowing you couldn't do nothing about it. >> with three major storms dumping a conveyor belt of steady rain 8 inches could fall by thursday. >> i didn't expect for it to this quickly. >> reporter: a water logged region desperate to dry out, but this morning still on the brink of disaster. miguel almaguer, nbc news. up next on "ana cabrera reports," congresswoman zoe lofgren reacts. plus, could donald trumpless own words come back to haunt him in a court of law. the evidence that could be used in his federal election interference case. federal elec interference case. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. two new developments this morning in washington related to the january 6th capitol attack. first, the new house speaker announcing he'll release more footage from that attack that he plans to blur the faces of the rioters. he says to protect them from prosecution. >> house republicans trust the american people to draw their own conclusions. they should not be dictate bid some narrative and accept that as fact. as you know, we have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don't want them to be retaliated against, and to be charged by the doj. >> and then there's this, house republicans announcing a new probe of the january 6th committee and whether there was, quote, cooperation between that panel and fulton county, georgia, district attorney, fani willis. let's bring in california congresswoman zoe lofgren who served on the january 6th committee. congresswoman, thanks for joining us. let's take these one at a time. first i want to get your reaction to those comments we ahead by speaker johnson to protect the identity of january 6th rioters by blurring capital footage! it's incredible, i served for years with mike on the judiciary committee. he doesn't make casual comments, so i think he fully intended to obstruct justice to prevent rioters from being prosecuted. the bizarre thing is that these -- the films of the rioters have already been shared with the department of justice. not only is he trying to prevent rioters from being prosecutored, -- prosecuted, it's a bozo move to think he could keep this from doj. >> you just said you think he's trying to obstruct justice? >> well, he made it pretty clear. blur the faces so the rioters could not be charged, what else is that? >> your republican colleagues are investigate fulton county d.a. and her investigation into election interference alleging there was cooperation of some sort with the january 6th committee, which you served on, and so we have jim jordan writing a letter on judiciary committee letterhead, and i quote him here. it says recently, the committee became aware of cooperation between your office and the partisan january 6 select committee. congresswoman, can you describe the nature of any communications that the january 6th committee may have had with the fulton county d.a.? >> well, the letter that the d. a. sent to us is not a secret. i guess it took a while for jordan to actually look at the material. she asked for transcripts, and we made a decision as a committee to the to provide transcripts to anyone else until we were through with our work, and then we would make those transcripts available to everybody, the public including everybody else. we asked our staff lawyers to get on the phone with the d.a. in fulton since she had asked and let them know that, and that's the extent of the cooperation, although i must say there would be nothing wrong had we decided to share those transcripts with the district attorney. we just made a different decision. >> congresswoman, i also want to get your reaction to what we heard from former president donald trump last night saying he would act as a dictator on day one if he is reelected. you spent a lot of time investigating donald trump's reaction to his loss in 2020. what do those comments suggest to you about a second trump term? >> i've learned that we ought to take seriously what he says because he intends to follow through. he said last december that he intends to terminate parts of the constitution. those are his words, not mine. he's made it clear he doesn't intend to adhere to the rule of law. i think my colleague liz cheney is entirely correct. this needs to be guarded against, if he is elected, i wouldn't assume we'll have another election for president. >> congresswoman zoe lofgren, i appreciate you taking the time with us. thank you for sharing your perspective. special counsel jack smith just revealed evidence in the election interference case against former president trump. his own words in a nine-page filing prosecutors say they intend to focus on trump's long history of calling fraud when election results don't suit him, and not just in 2020, but also in 2012 and 2016. msnbc legal analyst lisa rubin is joining us now. what do you make of this strategy and this evidence they're sharing? >> they're sharing this evidence to give the trump team ample notice. this kind of evidence can be used to show a defendant's prior bad acts or propensity to commit crimes. and what the department is doing here is saying, no, that's not the reasons that we would introduce this evidence. we want to show these acts that happened well before the conspiracy and things that happened after because we think they're illustrative of trump's motive and intent and we think they're relevant and admissible. >> i recall when trump was still a candidate back in 2016 and then during the course of his first term, we often heard from supporters, allies of his, don't take trump seriously. take him literally or maybe it was the opposite, take him seriously, not literally. forgive me. do you think that, the fact that they can point to multiple times people said that that that hurts prosecutors trying to use his words against him? >> no, i don't, because when someone shows you who they are the fist time, believe them. and time and again, donald trump has said things that at the time seemed ridiculous and yet proved to be true. what prosecutors are pointing to here is a pattern of conduct that shows trump knows full well what he's doing, even when he says things that on their face at the time he says them are bombastic if not ridiculous. >> cnn is reporting that mike pence is on the witness list in trump's georgia case. what do you think pence's testimony could bring to light? >> pence is an incredibly important witness. what he can bring to light is the pressure campaign that he was under, the direct conversations that he had with donald trump, and even down to that misplaced comma. you'll recall that jack smith's folks are reportedly talking to pence about when he said to trump, right before january 6th, you know, i don't think i have the power to decide this election, that he was saying to trump, not, you know, comma, but you know i don't have the power. to hear from mike pence that trump understood full well that was his view and mounted a pressure campaign against him that could have resulted in violence, that would be incredibly important to prosecutors in both georgia and in washington, d.c. >> we will watch, literally, the testimony in georgia, once that trial gets under way, since cameras are allowed in the courtroom there and to see if former vice president trump's own former vice president takes the stand against him in this case could be just obviously historic. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. we have a date for the election to fill the new york congressional seat formerly held by george santos. new york governor kathy hochul announcing the election will be held on february 13th. as for santos himself, he may have been ousted from his old job, but he's found some new ways to make money. santos has signed up for the app cameo, one of those services that allows people to buy personalized videos from celebrities and public figures. so how much is he charging? you can get your own video from the indicted former congressman for about 400 bucks. up next, respiratory illness on the rise as winter sets in. dr. vin gupta is here with what you need to know to keep your family safe. before we head to break, "time" magazine just revealed its 2023 person of the year from a short list of nine candidates, including the hollywood strikers, xi jinping, king charles iii and barbie? are you ready for it? i'll give you some hints. the winner has a big reputation. they battled haters, learned to shake them off, made 2023 their era, some might even say they're the man, and, yeah, that video was not obviously the winner. now you're looking at her. taylor swift for transcending borders and being a source of light, "time" said no one else can move so many people so well like taylor swift. now, how's that for karma? a better plan would be verizon. 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(soft music) welcome back. there just 19 days until christmas. and with the holiday season in full swing, flu is unfortunately here too. 11 states in the south and southwest reporting high levels of flu-like illnesses. rsv, covid cases ticking up. joining us is dr. vin gupta, always so good to see you. this is now the fourth holiday season after covid broke out. fortunately things are different now. but we are seeing an uptick in covid and rsv, flu. what do we need to know how do we stay safe as we get ready to meet with family? >> what is interesting is that we were seeing vaccine rates across children, across adults decline to below prepandemic levels, which is worrworrisome. what we do to minimize the spread? if you have young kids and they're sick, keep them home. if you're in 30,000 feet in an airplane cabin, wear a mask, even if you're not medically high risk. we have to deal with the fact that transmission is high despite vaccine rates being low. >> we're learning about an increase in pneumonia cases, particularly among children and this is really spiked in ohio. what more do we need to know about this? is this something that is unique? is this a new virus of some sort? >> glad you brought that up. it is called mycoplasma pneumonia. it is a combination of known causes, ana, but now it is a type of bacteria that causes walking pneumonia, less severe than pneumonia from the flu. it has been mislabeled as white lung pneumonia. >> that's what we have heard. >> there isn't a single medical textbook that refers to mycoplasma as white lung. it doesn't cause white lung manifestations at all on an x-ray. it causes in some cases moderate types of pneumonia that rarely requires hospitalization, but this is all known causes of pneumonia, something we should be -- >> we don't need to raise bigger alarms than necessary. rsv leads to as many as 80,000 hospitalizations, and 300 deaths per year among children under 5. it is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants under 1 year old and we're learning high demand rsv treatment for infants is outpacing the national supply. that sounds concerning. >> it is an expensive medication, a monoclonal antibody, you remember those from the height of covid. you want to give infants under 8 months of age if mom did not receive the rsv vaccine. this is all new. patients across the country, previously didn't have an rsv vaccine. they didn't previously have the ability to get their young instant, less than 8 months of age, this treatment. it is a form of a preventative medication, monoclonal antibody that can give you protection on infusion. but 8 months of age for your infant and younger, that's the demographic that really needs this. especially if mom didn't receive the rsv vaccine. have a conversation with your pediatrician. >> thank you very much. that's going to do it for us today. thank you for tuning in. we'll see you back here tomorrow, same time, same place. until then, reporting from new york, i'm ana cabrera. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >> good morning. i'm jose diaz-balart reporting from new york. today, break news, moments ago, a first for the u.s. as itil