Transcripts For MSNBCW Alex 20240703

This our, Princeton University professor eddie glaude talks to me about President Bidens graduation speech at morehouse. The interview in just a few moments. A very good day to all of you from msnbc World Headquarters in new york. Welcome everyone to politico reports. First two political headlines. Here is what is happening right now. President biden arrived in atlanta a short time ago. He will attend Campaign Events later today and is expected to deliver the Commencement Speech at Morehouse College tomorrow. Earlier today, The White House released photos of a friday meeting with members of the divine nine historically africanamerican sororities and fraternities. Biden also spoke at the National Museum of African American history and culture. Together, the naacp and this museum are monuments to the power of black history to black history is American History. It is american. It is a really important thing to continue. We have a whole group of people out there trying to rewrite history, trying to erase history. Donald trump will be in texas today as he campaigns before his criminal trial resumed on monday. He will address the Nra Convention in dallas. Last night at an event in minnesota, he falsely declared he won that state in 2020, despite democratic president ial candidates carrying that state for more than 40 years. We are going to win the state. 1952. Can you imagine . I thought we won it in 2016, i know we won it in 2020. We have to be careful. We have to watch those votes. We dont need the votes, we have to watch the votes. That is the big danger. Stop the steal. Also new today, texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett speaking out after a chaotic clash with georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene over a series of personal attacks during a House Oversight committee hearing. They decided they would skip work and go to new york to be involved in trumps trial. So then we get back at 8 00 p. M. And instead of focusing on the task at hand, which was whether or not ag Merrick Garland was going to be held in contempt of congress, Marjorie Taylor greene started talking about judge juan merchan, which is why i asked her do you know why we are here . And, ultimately, it devolved into the debacle that it did. New calls for Supreme Court Justice Samuel alito to recuse himself from cases related to donald trump and january 6th. This comes after samuel alito denied involvement in the flaying of an Upside Down Flag in his yard in January Of 2017 as reported by the New York Times. He should recuse himself from any january 6th related case, from any case relating to President Trumps because he is associated with the stop the steal movement, whether he wants to be or not. We have a number of reporters and analysts ready to talk about all of these new developments and we will begin with nbcs Aaron Gilchrist joining us in atlanta. Welcome. The last we heard about trump and biden was the back and forth regarding the debates. Where does that stand now . Reporter the Biden Campaign, alex, has said the debate over debate is over. We know that this week the Biden Campaign announced that they were willing to participate in two debates with former President Trump. They went to the networks that eventually won the debates, cnn and abc with a set of rules, a set of guidelines they wanted to be followed in order for them to agree to take the debates. Those were agreed to and we later heard the Trump Campaign agreed President Trumps would participate in those debates on cnn and abc news. The first one happening here in atlanta in june at cnn. Later, though, the trump Campaign Announced it would also agree to bates or had agreed to debates at other points in time on fox news. The Biden Campaign said that, it talked about to the extent it was going to the debate it will participate in and that is it. The debate over debate is over. Of course, we know both men are campaigning today. President biden is here in atlanta. He landed a little while ago. Former President Trump will be making his way to dallas, texas tonight to participate in the National Rifle association convention. He was in minnesota for the Lincoln Reagan dinner, a gop fundraising dinner, where he spoke for roughly an hour or so and talked about things referred the former president address before. This was frankly a profanity laced speech he gave. He did indicate that he had some expectation that minnesota was in play. That is something we have heard from his campaign, that there is a possibility they believed they could win the state of minnesota. Now, he lost in 2020, that state, and he lost in 2016 as well. As a matter of fact, every republican president ial candidate since 1972 has lost the state of minnesota. So, that is something that was sort of put out there by his campaign, the Biden Campaign tried to strike that down. I want to hear some of what the former president had to say from the podium as it relates to debating President Biden. I just want to debate this guy. But, you know, im going to demand a drug test by the way. I am, i really am. My predecessor and his extreme friends are going after diversity, equity, and inclusion all across america. They want a country for some, not for all. Reporter that was President Biden at the National Museum of African Americans history and culture, speaking on the 70th Anniversary of the brown versus board of education Supreme Court decision that ended segregation in schools. The president here in atlanta primarily for the Commencement Speech that he will give at Morehouse College tomorrow. We should note that as he landed here, he was met by a group of Morehouse College alums, who had, led by senator Raphael Warnock as well as several other leaders from this area. He will address the graduates here, some 400 blackman tomorrow morning in a speech we are told by The White House official there that will be focused on a message to the graduates, not so much on the Broader Community and what we might want to hear from the president. Of course, there is that concern that there might be some protests here and The White House has said they are prepared for the university doesnt expect a large commiseration during the ceremony. Meantime, i thank you. Lets go to dramatic moments in Donald Trumps Hush Money Trail as his former fixer Michael Cohen prepares to return to the Witness Stand one day. Judge juan merchan told with signs they should be ready to present Closing Arguments tuesday if no Defense Witnesses are called. It is unclear whether trump will testify. Michael quinns 14 hours on the stand heated up thursday in a tent and theatrical showdown when trumps attorney todd blanche try to get Michael Cohen to admit to telling lies. Joining me now in the studio, hugo lowell, political investigations reporter with the guardian, covering this from the courtroom from the very beginning. Also with me, voicemail, former federal prosecutor, Law Professor at the University Of Alabama and cohost of the sisters in law, podcast and msnbc legal analyst. Welcome both of you. Hugo, you were in court this week, would you describe the showdown, how did trump react to it . Reporter it was very tense and we finally got it after a couple of days of Michael Cohen being on the stand. Two big things came out toward the end of Michael Cohens crossexamination. One is that trumps lawyer finally attacked the court charged against trump, that the prosecution has been burning, that it is a falsification of Business Records but to Michael Cohen and said there was a legal contract, there was a Settlement Agreement by to buy the rights to Stormy Daniels story and Michael Quinn affirmed yes. There was a legal agreement, hush money is not illegal. That was very important. Number two, he really attacked Michael Cohens credibility. He basically made a case that over the years, Michael Cohen has lied and has light whenever it has suited him. Whenever he needs something, he lies. He lied allegedly before the judge who presided in his 2010 tax evasion and false statements case. Todd blanche set Michael Cohen, you said you werent being quiet and taking a guilty plea. Now you are saying that he felt assured and you only had 48 hours to plead and you wanted to protect your wife. He admitted to that on the stand. So, the portrait that is emerging is that Michael Cohen lies with abandon, lies with ease and todd blanche was saying it is all in the motivation to get whatever you want. In this case, it is to see trump in jail. Let me just say, the timing of those lies, he had not served time in jail with those lies that he previously presented. Is that at all something that has made its way diffuse through the courtroom and that is the money . No, and it is because it got lost in the theatrics. Todd blanche, at some point, at one point accused Michael Cohen of directly lying. He wagged his anger and said cant admit that polite and Michael Cohen stuck to his story and said no, im not playing and this is the truth. Joyce, you wrote that todd blanche created confusion by skipping around the timeline of the events and that added to the chaos because it is creating doubt. Todd blanche struggled to land a real gotcha moment during crossexamination tuesday. How much of his yelling thursday might have been a performance for an audience of one . Todd blanche is a lawyers lawyer, a former federal prosecutor. He understands that his reputation hinges on a credible performance here. And, he has been widely panned, alex, by people who say he hasnt landed significant punches. Hugo is making this really interesting point about the evidence and how things look. The reality is the lawyers dont get to argue the evidence to the jury while they are examining or crossexamining witnesses. That will all happen in closing statements. That is when we really really find if any of these things that Todd Blanche Has tried, from creating this appearance of chaos, hoping that one or more jurors will be confused and perhaps refuse to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, to the specific instances where he has questioned credibility of Michael Cohen and other pieces of the governments case. We will find out when we hear the Closing Argument whether any of that is going to have the potential to lead with one or more jurors. My director is going to put up this document, we want to look at it. It is people exhibit 35. It was presented monday and appears to show the trump organizations plan to reimburse Michael Cohen for the 130,000. 00 payment to Stormy Daniels. How critical was this and the other documents presented to the jury during the trial . This is the key document. On this document, you seem the handwriting of the chief Financial Officer where it says we are doubling the payment back to Michael Cohen for tax purposes. The problem that Todd Blanche Has, despite trying to get Michael Cohen to say yes, this was all legal and legal work, the First Republic bank statement, which is what that document is, it lays out the entire repayment scheme and it lays out how Allen Weisselburg wrote about. For the jury to believe that Allen Weisselburg and Michael Cohen conducted essentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in repayment and for trump to not know about it seemed ludicrous. At the end of the day, if you apply common sense and look at this statement, you have multiple witnesses corroborating this is emil boves handwriting, everyone knew this was how the repayment would go, we will come up with a cover story this is Legal Expenses. That is the problem trumps defense team faces. Joyce, overall, give us Michael Cohens evidence, has he established a nexus between trump and the alleged Criminal Activity . If the jury accepts Michael Cohens testimony, he absolutely has. He puts trump in the center of things and he makes it clear that he never did anything without calling the boss for approval. That is by there are these repeated phone calls. This is why it was so important for prosecutors to, in essence, corroborate Michael Cohen before he ever took the Witness Stand. They used witnesses from early on in the trial who would say the same things that Michael Cohen would say but none of them go as far as he does in eliciting these conversations that are directly with donald trump. Thats the Leap Of Faith the prosecutors will ask the jurors to take to rely on Michael Cohens testimony. Well, and then there is Michael Cohens surreptitious recording of donald trump. What kind of a will is not expected to play . That was, it kind of came up on the sidelines. This was Michael Cohen recording trump saying yes, we are going to move forward with the repayment. He says he made that recording in order to reassure david pecker the reimbursement to him was coming. It is not directly on the Stormy Daniels payment but i think it kind of shows in a circumstantial way that trump was being kept apprised of all of the developments. Why would he know about that and not Stormy Daniels . You know about david pecker being reimbursed and you dont know Michael Cohen is going to pay back this money and Legal Expense is . It doesnt track. Joyce, feel free to state the obvious here but what are the challenges for trump if he insists on testifying . Right, there are so many of them, alex. For one thing, the first one will be for him to stick to the truth. That has always been a big challenge for him under oath. He could object himself to perjury or push the jury Over The Edge to convicting him. But, also, there is this entire demeanor issue. This is a judge who has shown ability to have great control of his courtroom. If trump makes the bombastic statement hes prone to understand, this is a judge who will shut him down. Nothing good happens for this defendant if he takes the Witness Stand. Ultimately, it is the clients call. If his lawyers are unable to persuade him to stay off, he can testify. But, we dont really see any great love on trumps part for the idea of getting on the Witness Stand, subjecting himself to crossexamination. The judge has already said prosecutors are entitled to a lot of his prior bad acts and potential crimes to cross examine him. I dont think this is a defendant with a loss of appetite to testify. In all likelihood, it is very much performative on trumps part. When do you think the trial will wrap, hugo, and is there any advantage to doing so, getting to the jury before a long Holiday Weekend question lets see if trump testifies. That will be the key in this case. If trump doesnt testify, which is what we are expected, what will happen monday is we will get the remainder of Michael Cohens crossexamination redirect. The balance of that time on monday is probably going to be a federal elections expert, if trump put that expert on and then we will get to jury instructions. That is what judge juan merchan instructed at the close of business. We are also on tuesday probably going to get to summations. If we have summations to say, the jury could have the case by then. If not, they will have it thursday and we will see how long it takes to deliberate. More to come, hugo and joyce. Thank you both so much. Either way, joyce, you have to stick around. In a few minutes, we will talk about a Supreme Court justice embroiled in controversy. First, treating the green at the center of all that Ugliness On Capitol Hill this week. New reaction from someone in the middle of it when we are back in 90 seconds. Seconds. 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And moved to strike. I moved to strike. Order. Julie sirkin is here in studio with me. That is a big treat. It isnt a treat is the fact that we have to talk about this kind of dysfunction that seems to be commonplace on capitol hill. What are we hearing from Marjorie Taylor greene and Jasmine Crockett now question i have to tell you, thursday night when we were watching the oversight hearing, we want exciting that level of dysfunction. Was supposed to be an ordinary markup, as ordinary as that can be, to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of congress. This was the republicanled Oversight Committee meeting at night. Turned into a lot of chaos, jabs traded back and forth, for started with Marjorie Taylor greene is throwing a jab at Jasmine Crockett, saying she couldnt read or understand the material through her false eyelashes. Jasmine crockett retargeting. Here is what Jasmine Crockett had to say last hour to our own katie phang. Watch this. Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share for your fellow congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene . Dont come for me. That is all that i need to tell her. Dont come for me. We showed up ready to work and unfortunately, we could not have our hearing. They are in the majority, they set the agenda, this is what they want to do, this is what they believe is a priority for the american people. Obviously Jasmine Crockett and greene are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Jasmine crockett tried to have greenes words struck out of the record due to the lack of decorum. That is once retaliated and through her remarks back at greene. Greene doubling down on her comments, posting on ex the other night, saying she said what she said, it is just a fact. Those are her quotes, not mine. Really ugly here. The men and women on the committee did not want to be a part of it. I almost have to apologize because it usually brings such stellar reporting. I am almost sorry to have to ask you to talk about this. We will see you back here soon on on other important public. I want to bring in more house graduate eddie glaude, professor at Princeton University and msnbc political analyst. Can i get you to describe these attacks, Marjorie Taylor greene initiated . Is there any remedy to this and who gains from this level of incivility . The only remedy actually first of all, it is great to see you, alex. The only remedy is for her constituents to vote her out of office. I think this is a deliberate effort on her part. Sometimes the bully has to be smacked in the mouth. Oftentimes, you dont have to do it every single time but sometimes you have to. I think it is what congresswoman Jasmine Crockett demonstrated was an unwillingness to cede the space to the nonsense of Marjorie Taylor greene. That also contributes to the kind of Legitimation Crisis the House Of Representatives faces. On the one hand, i understand Jasmine Crocketts response. On the other end, there is a broader problem we have to face and that is the crisis that the House Of Representatives represents for us these days. Listen, i have Jasmine Crockett on my show quite often and she always brings a terrific understanding of the depth of the issues that she is debating and what is happening on capitol hill. I want to almost apologize like i was doing to julie for having to enter Marjorie Taylor greene and Jasmine Crockett ceilings in the same sentence, especially around this issue. Lets talk about the New York Times obtaining that picture of the American Flag flying upside down and Supreme Court Justice Samuel alitos home. In the days before the january, 2021 inauguration, this had become a major symbol of Trump Supporters and the election and it was flown at the january 6th right and there it appears at the justices home. The chair of Senate Judiciary dick durbin called for samuel alito to recuse himself from all cases regarding january 6th. He said, the court is in an ethical crisis of its own making. He calls for congress to pass a bill for ethical conduct. How serious is this . I think it is absolutely serious. When we look at their numbers, Approval Ratings, what we think about the way in which the American Public, American Public opinion had a deep sense of doubt and skepticism about the court. Look, we are facing a legitimacy crisis across three branches of government. We just talked about the house of her percentages, the congress. Lowest Approval Ratings in its history almost, right . We already know what has happened with the presidency. The executive branch. We are facing the first time a president has ever been hauled into court in the way donald trump has been hauled into court. Now we see this in relation to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. It gives us a sense, a window into the crisis our democracy fixes. We also know that samuel alito and clarence thomas, they dont care. They are sitting in their positions not with any regard for the standing of the court. They are there to do their bidding and we have to judge them by their actions, it seems to me, and we should be deeply, deeply worried and skeptical. Lets move to President Biden, who gives the Commencement Address at Morehouse College in atlanta tomorrow. Faculty voted to give him an honorary doctorate, though apparently that vote was evenly split if you want to include those who abstained from the vote. The president of the college says he will cease of the graduation if there are major disruptions. You, sir, are a Morehouse College graduate. Who also serve on the board of trustees. What are your expectations for what President Biden was a tomorrow and the potential protest, how mighty those might be . Alex, just a full disclosure, The White House reached out and consulted with me about the speech. I have an idea of some of the things that he will reach for. Is going to talk about the history of Morehouse College. Hes going to talk about the reality of the racial divide that defines the nation. And, i guess he has to speak to those young folk, speak to what is in front of them. Look, this is occurring against the backdrop of the most serious moral challenge this generation faces. Might intuition, my expedition is that there will be protests. Those protests will take the form and shape they will take. I hope they are not too disruptive but i think President Biden has to speak to this generation directly. He cannot speak past them. He cannot assume that they are not informed, alex. He has to speak to the fact that these young folk across the country are clamoring, are calling for and holding him to account and claim for an idea of a country that is consistent with their moral values. He cant speak beyond that, he cant dismiss it. He has to speak directly to these young folk. Edward scription, and you do have an inkling of what hes going to say, the campaign and The White House has said this is not going to be a campaign speech. This will be something presented for these graduates, something for them to think about, it is directed to them. Yet, what you are suggesting he talked about does sound Like Campaign as well. Well, i mean, look, the campaign has to address the reality. This is unfortunate. We just lost signal. Maybe we can get him back and if we do, we will finish the conversation with eddie glaude. You are back. I think it was just a mere hiccup. I apologize. The reality of what the president is going to have to do, addressing the graduates, thats what he wants to do. This is a campaign season, a very important one, and the things you are suggesting, does look to the future and what he will promise, perhaps. I dont know so much about promise. I think he needs to speak to the controversy, to the vexed nature of our politics in this moment. What College Campuses represent, they are petri dishes of ideas. They are the spaces in my view as a person who has worked there for 30 years, where democracy flourishes, students are grappling with what are their values . What are the ideas that you define how they understand themselves as political and moral agent . President biden is stepping into that environment, an environment that is vexed over the issue of the mass murder of babies over the defense of israel and the execution of the war. Weve had another hiccup. I had the best question to ask him. Are you back, eddie . Have we lost in . Oh goodness. The best question was yet to come which means we will have him back very soon. Eddie glaude, thank you so much. Surveillance video from a Hotel Hallway and the new questions it is raising about a music superstar. Superstar. I thought i was sleeping ok. But i was waking up so tired. Then i tried new zzzquil sleep nasal strips. 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New calls for Supreme Court ethics legislation following a E Jean Carroll , the New York Times report that an upside down American Flag was photographed at Samuel Alitos home days after the Capitol Attack and days before President Bidens inauguration. So, the Upside Down Flag was also flown by stop the steal rally goers during the Capitol Attack. Justice samuel alito told the New York Times he had no involvement, saying his wife is behind. Joyce fans is back with me. The courts ruling on trumped Community Claims is weeks away. What troubles you most about this . Look, as american citizens, we are entitled to expect that our judges and Supreme Court justices, above all else, will be neutral, that they will be fair, that they will be impartial. That is why judges under the Ethics Tannins are charged with avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. Now, there are no binding cannons for two Supreme Court justices like there are four judges in the lower courts but they have still agreed to voluntarily adopt those principles. By flying this flag, i know that justice has said it was his wife, not him, but they share a home, he presumably drove home for the days the flag was flying, saw it, and let it remain there. To the notion he would then dissipate in a case that involves tran25 makes it difficult for people to have confidence in his fairness. He should clearly step aside. Considering the calls for Justice Samuel alito to recuse himself from any trump related decisions, how often , joyce, does a Supreme Court justice recuse him or herself . Well, they do, we have seen, for instance, Justice Elena kagan did it with regularity after she went on the bench. She had been in the Justice Department as of the solicitor general. She had been dissipated in the preparation of some of the cases that were hurt her first and second term and she routinely recused from them. We saw, more recently, we saw the newest justice, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, i always invert her last name, you see me in fear of doing that and calling her Jackson Browne. That justice recused herself from a case which she was on the board at the university that was a party to a lawsuit just to avoid any appearance of impropriety. It is not unusual for justices to do that. Here, because the application of some sort of partiality involves politics, one would think it would be even more important to recuse. Justice samuel alito has shown no inclination to do that whatsoever. Here is what he wrote on a sub stack. Will there be any consequences in Samuel Alitos case . Doubtful. Will samuel alito continue to sit on this case is alongside clarence thomas, who has his own ethical issues . Undoubtedly. Is there no avenue for accountability, joyce . In the short term there is no way to force Justice Samuel alito to recuse from the case. A powerful Chief Justice might be able to bring compelling reasons to bear. But, it just seems very unlikely here. We have seen, for instance, Justice Thomas continue to sit on cases where there is an Even Stronger implication that he might have an interest because of his wifes involvement in events after the election. If theres going to be a account ability, it will be long term. It will depend upon congress. There are certainly democrats on the hill who are interested in seeing some form of legislation that would impose mandatory ethical rules for the justices but that is fraught. For one thing, it is difficult in this political environment to pass those rooms and it is also constitutionally difficult to figure out what the mechanism for asking is someone other than the justices to sit in judgment on their behavior would look like. The problem is the justices have established the fact that they cant be expected to police themselves. Theres a lot of good reason for congress to engage in this work and to push it forward, even though it will be challenging to do it. Joyce vance, as always, many thanks. I am a Jackson Browne fan and a Brown Jackson fan. We are in good company. It cost 320 million to build and could help slow the spread of famine in gaza. There are new and important elements to share today. Today. Otherwise the flakes will come back. Tiny troy hes right, you know. Is that tiny troy . The ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. Microbes, really . Theyre always on your scalp. Little rascals. But good news, theres no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here i love tiny troy. And his tiny gorgeous hair. Hes the best. Make every wash count little help please. Clems not a morning person. Or a. People person. But he is an i can solve this in 4 different ways person. 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Breaking news israel hamas war. National security adviser Jake Sullivan is in saudi arabia today meeting with the crown prince. This ahead of traveling to Israel On Sunday to meet with Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. This, after the first round of badly needed humanitarian aid was delivered into gaza through a temporary floating pier built by the United States. Floating dock part of a makeshift effort to stave off famine in gaza. Joining me from london, josh letterman. What can you tell me about Jake Sullivans visit . Reporter the fact that hes going to saudi arabia, alex, signals the u. S. Has not yet given up on this grand bargain they have been pursuing where saudi arabia would recognize israel in exchange for israel opening a Legitimate Pathway Toward Statehood for the palestinians. When he is in israel, is going to want to speak with israeli officials about the floating pier 48 into gaza, which is a logistical nightmare. You have a u. S. Troops who are protecting the actual floating dock that they have installed but not going on land. The Israeli Military handling the security within gaza while age groups in the u. N. Are supposed to distribute it to gazans but hes going to want to speak with mr. Benjamin netanyahu about the Israeli Military plans for graphic, where the u. S. Has been urging israel not to go in with a full scale incursion. In fact, no conditioning u. S. Aid and weaponry to israel on israel not going into rough and aware for a long time, well over 1 million palestinians have been sheltering. Here is what white house Spokesman John Kirby had to say about What Sullivan will have to say about the rough operation. Jake will raise this issue when he goes to Israel On Sunday. They have a right and responsibility to do that. How they do that matters. That is part of the conversations we will have and jake will have about going after that terrorist capability in a way that is targeted, precise, and quite frankly, effective. We dont believe, still dont believe that the way to do it it use to smash with a large body of armed forces on the ground in an indiscriminate and reckless manner. Reporter a quick update on the hostages. Yesterday, we reported israel had recovered the bodies of three hostages in gaza. We have just learned a fourth body was also recovered from gaza in that operation. His name was ron benjamin. Are going to the group that represents Hostage Family craves a 53yearold mother of two out riding his bicycle on october 7th when he was captured by hamas and brought to the gaza strip. Alex. Josh, which he believed to be alive until recently, do they have any details on that . Reporter the Israeli Military and the information they just put and said they believed he was actually murdered in israel and his body was brought to gaza, which is the case with many of the hostages, according to the intelligence that israel has at this time. Thank you so much for that report. Newly released video of an awful scene that unfolded in a Hotel Hallway. Hotel hallway. I thought i was sleeping ok. But i was waking up so tired. Then i tried new zzzquil sleep nasal strips. Their four point lift design opens my nose for maximum air flow. So, i breathe better. And we both sleep better. And stay married. , Los Angeles County officials addressing a video allegedly showing wrapper Sean Diddy Combs ventura seen walking down the hall, followed by Sean Diddy Combs wearing only a towel scene grabbing, dragging and taking ventura in the elevator bank. This appears to be from an incident described in a lawsuit ventura filed against sean combs last november. The complaint states around march 2016 at the former Intercontinental Hotel in century city, sean combs became intoxicated and punched his ventura in the face, giving her a black eye. It goes on to describe how he followed her into the hallway, grabbed at hurt, took glass vases in the hallway and through them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape. The complaint alleges sean combs paid the hotel 50,000 or percent for the Hallway Security Footage from that evening. In a statement to nbc news, intercontinental said this hotel is no longer under Ihd Management and we do not have any access to prior Incident Records Or Footed adding it did not receive money for the footage. So far, there is no indication from Law Enforcement officials any criminal complaint was filed by ventura. This video could create huge problems, especially with people who may be thinking about bringing allegations against diddy but havent done so yet. Reporter ventura declined to comment on the footage friday but her attorney released a statement saying the gutwrenching video has only further confirmed that disturbing and predatory behavior of mr. Combs. They settled the lawsuit over this lawsuit earlier this year for an undisclosed amount of money. At the time, combss Team Released a statement. In the past, he has repeatedly denied committing acts of domestic violence. This comes as the music mogul faces multiple civil lawsuits with allegations including abuse and Sexual Assault spanning decades. In march, federal agents raided his properties in los angeles and miami. If federal authorities are investigating for Human Trafficking violations, this video could be very interesting evidence to them. The response to this video has been overwhelmingly supportive for Cassandra Ventura and the fallout continues for combs and it will be interesting to see what will happen with this federal investigation. Ali velshi, you know him, you love him, so do i. He joins me next to talk about the show of support donald trump got in court this week, and his new book. Book. Heres to Getting Better with age. Heres to beating these two every thursday. Help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need. Without the stuff you dont. So, heres to now. Boost. When did i call leaffilter . When i saw my gutters overflowing onto my porch. Leaffilter is a permanent gutter solution, so, you never have to worry about costly damage from clogged gutters again. Its the easiest call you can make. Call 833. Leaf. Filter today, or visit leaffilter. Com. Nothing dims my light like a migraine. With nurtec odt, i found relief. The only Migraine Medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. To those with migraine, i see you. For the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of Episodic Migraine in adults. Dont take if allergic to nurtec odt. Allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. Most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. Its time we all shine. Talk to a Healthcare Provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. In a new book, my colleague ali velshi is tapping into more than a century of his Family History to highlight the importance of social justice. Small acts of courage is a heartfelt exploration into his own life and stories of those Who Fought For Democracy and freedom against all odds. Ali velshi joined me now. Of course, msnbc anchor, correspondent, and host of ali velshi. Such a dear friend. Before we get into your remarkable new book, we will talk about Donald Trumps trial going on in new york city. This week, a number of republican lawmakers, most of them far right, they went to court to stand in solidarity with donald trump. That includes matt gaetz, lauren boebert, what did you make of this . It was kind of weird. The men had suits and red ties. It was weird. It had a bit of a cold feeling to it. It is not that congress is in recess. They had work to do all weekend there are many hearings and things that were delayed as a result of this. It was a very strange show for the former Law And Order party or the party of lincoln or whatever the Republican Party likes to think of itself as these days for them to have done this show of support. They continue to try and make the case that this is all a witchhunt brought on by joe biden and his administration. The business they were missing in congress, alex, was actually a discussion about impeaching, possibly impeaching or censoring the Attorney General. On one hand, everything is political and on the other hand, they were busy politicizing things while not doing their jobs. It was surreal, it was hard to understand what was going on. Listen, that hearing got underway so late. It was 8 00 at night. By the time they all got back and everyone is going to be cranky and tired. Im curious what you thought about it. Jasmine crockett was on your show. Im also going to add this as a caveat, i wonder , Marjorie Taylor greene was not there in new york. I wonder if she was not invited and she was mad and she came to that meeting with a hornets nest, right . She was mad and she picked a fight. You have to know among your coworkers, you always know who is going to pick a fight with and who is not good . Marjorie Taylor Greene should have figured out that alexandria ocasiocortez and Jasmine Crockett are not people to pick fights with. So, she, they gave it back to her. Jasmine crockett said something. Was hoping we would give it in the complete context because she did things that called Marjorie Taylor greene names but she phrased it in terms of asking james comber, the church say so this is allowed, if i were to say this and then she said a bunch of stuff, would that be allowed . She is a lawyer and was trying to make the point, what are the actual rules . She was doing it in parliamentary procedure, asking the hypothetical. It was such a, insert words here. Anyway. Lets go on to Secretary Of State Antony Blinken visited ukraine on wednesday to reassure Volodymyr Zelenskyy he has american support as the country is struggling to defend itself against russia. You spent a chunk of time in ukraine. Do you see an end in sight to this conflict . There are two very distinctive ways this ends. One is that Vladimir Putin is hoping that donald trump gets elected because donald trump has made it so clear, especially with his proxies in congress, that he will not continue to support this war, that it is entirely conceivable, not a foregone conclusion, that russia wins this war if donald trump becomes president. For the moment, this is a waiting game for Vladimir Putin. On the ukrainian side, they are getting tired and the delay in getting this money and the stuff that comes with it from the United States has really hurt morale. That is why Antony Blinken was there to say we have your back, we have 60 billion worth of stuff, we are trying to get into the front lines as fast as possible. If that continues, if the support from the United States continues and continues after this next election, it is entirely likely ukraine will prevail in this war. I think we are not going to see a solution for the collection and i think that this election will have more to do with the outcome of that war than possibly any other election in American History would have on anybody elses internal problems. Lets talk about the book, which chronicles your families century long journey from india to south africa during apartheid and up to kenya, then over to canada and then finally your journey to america. Tell me how your parents being born into inequality and her Family History of activism in public service, how does that inform your worldview and your approach to journalism . It is uniquely important in this moment, alex. We are in this world where people feel overwhelmed by all of the things that are going on, whether it is in other places in the world, was going on, autocracy, climate, clinical polarization. The whole point of my book is that small things matter. People should do what is in front of them. How many times have you and i covered stories about people fight back on book vans or things like that and they succeed . They get elected to local counsel were these legislators who we meet. The point in my book is that dont worry about boiling the ocean. Theres work for everybody that could be done. I use my familys history as an example. Frankly, ive had a lot of people read the book tell me that reminds me of my Family History and my family that came from europe or ireland or wherever they came from. Immigration is a big part of it but this idea th for the justices and injustices that are right in front of you. While you may not feel the reward or think it is moving fast enough, you are doing so influences and minerals, it influences your kids or your grandkids or the world around you to make the world a better place. It is a tome to the fact that things can be better and it is in our hands to make them better. By the way, you do even just from the studio. I just want to say that. This is the book. Its like the perfect bedside table book. It