the president's residence. it's the a-list of a-hole. like ivanka and jared and donald trump jr. everyone has a gift to take home. alert. rudy called win of something. >> i would be asked for him to be disciplined for that. >> rooty-tooty. >> science is saying something if i am wrong, i can go to prison. did you? >>. >> give them hell karen brockovich. this is this week in covid history. >> wow. [ applause ] that was a good one. good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it's thursday, december 2nd, with us we have elise jordan is back with us, the host of "way too early," jonathan lemire, there he is. last night the january 6th select committee voted to recommend another contempt of congress charge. this will one for a formal justice official who was apart of trump's attempt to subvert his 2020 loss. we are learning more about the people around trump who helped him undermine public health. namely, the revelation that the former president tested positive for coronavirus three days before his first presidential debate with joe biden. the news was first reported by the guardian which cited excerpts by the upcoming books by mark meadows. nbc news confirmed the story with three sources. two of the sources characterized the initial test as a false positive after a subsequent test taken hours later came back negative. the candidates were supposed to test negative for the virus within 72 hours of the debate. but as meadows writes in his book "nothing was going to stop trump from participating." here is donald trump discussing and testing and mask use follow by the exchange with savannah guthrie at a town hall event. >> i will have a mask right here and i will put it on if i feel i need it. i wear masks when needed. i will wear a mask. >> your first positive test was thursday, october 1st, when was your last negative test, when did you remember having a negative test? >> well, i tested quite a bit. before the debate which either was a good debate and i felt fantastically. >> did you test the day of the debate? >> i don't remember, i tested all the time. >> trump claims he may have contracted covid during an event honoring gold star families. watch. >> sometimes i will be in group for instance, i met with gold star families and i went through 35 people and everyone had a different story. they come within an inch of my face, they want to hug me and kiss me. frankly, i am not telling them to backup. i am not doing it. i did say it's like, you know, it's obviously dangerous. it's a dangerous thing. if you go by the covid thing. >> the covid thing he already had it and willie. he did what all honorable presidents have done, he threw gold star moms under the bus. >> it's hard to be shocked. my god. >> he tested positive a day before the gold star event. he knew it's covid. >> let's get it straight. he was given the gold star mom covid. that's right. >> he stepped out and he did the event for amy cone y barrett. and once it was public that he has covid to blame the families who lost their sons and daughters in water. >> he knew he had covid before he went to these families who are grieving the loss of their family. >> this is the moment, mark meadows, trump tested positive for covid and perceived to blame everyone else, he threw hope hicks under the bus suggested in this clip that we saw that gold star families may be the one to blame. he had the virus and he went to the super spreader event and he traveled after testing positive for covid. one reporter got sick with covid. he was appeared to be patient zero for this outbreak. and he proceeded to blame everyone else and endangered joe biden's life on the stage at the debate hall that night. >> blame everybody, you are all class. >> mika, he tested positive the day before he met with the gold star families. >> he held a white house event for amy coney barrett and later attended a rally in pennsylvania. the day after the positive test, he was up close and personal with automakers and he held a white house event to discuss covid testing. there was another campaign rally in minnesota and a private fundraiser on october 1st. >> we know he was a run away that was spraying covid like insecticide. >> but even -- keep in mind people are being forced to take tests and having their temperatures checked and everything and all around them while he's breathing covid all over these people. >> coughing and sneezing and sweating. that sweat, my lord. i was thinking of my way, it's just -- the jump suit, this is jump suit elvis material right here and he's coughing and sneezing and sweating all over everybody. plenty of people got sick. >> september 26, the president announced he got covid. he was hospitalized the next day. trump released a statement calling the story "fake news" and mark meadows who wrote the book. >> mark, we got this from you. you wrote the book. so just because trump goes hey, this is fake news, you don't have to be like mike pence when he puts water on the floor. you put water on the floor. you did. and this is what it looked like to america. >> the timing is interesting. was it even a week later that they choppered him to walter reid and the president was very sick. >> any time we look at things and we look at tests and we look at what happened is certainly that's what's outlined in the book and i talked about that walter reid's visit. >> i love some ranch dressing with that word salad. that would go down very well. >> height of recklessness. they're admitting again this is saying you know he's lying all the time. they're admitting now a year later that lie. >> well, that footage where savannah guthrie is interviewing him, when did you test positive and he cooley, not cooley because he's still sweating. just blatantly lies. i don't understand that when my baby got covid, telling us we had to stay inside the house and face penalty of laws but donald trump, no consequences. >> rules does not apply. he does not think rules applied to him. if their feelings are hurt, they can do whatever they want to do. if science does not break their way they can whine and call somebody a nazi if you test positive for a test. don't do it. have your family out there wearing masks and everyone around him is terrified. the reporting was the white house physician called meadows and said, hey, the president just tested positive for covid. do not let him on that plane and no one would say that to him. they called him and oh, that's terrible and he went on the day's event with gold star families and everything else. you do wonder jonathan lemire of what it takes to be a man to written the book and be on tv and be so terrified, he retweeted donald trump's calling his story fake news. he writes the book and threatens by donald trump. >> what the guy with the little neck? >> josh hawley. >> he's very wordy. >> i said real man don't even noticed there is a war on masculinity. these guys that put their masculinity -- look at him. >> careful. they put their masculinity in a lock box for donald trump. there is another body part i want to use it. >> joe. >> something about a blind trust, right? >> yeah. >> exactly. >> exactly. >> the tests. >> anyway. >> there you go. jonathan lemire, you wanted to add something. >> nothing about that. >> certainly a usual strategy. there is a serious point here, the trump's pressure and intimidation and the doctor you just mentioned hey, you should not get on the plane. that same white house physician lied to reporters. i was apart of the news conference pressing him and he flat out lied to the press. the american public of the president of the united states at that moment was at the hospital and seriously ill. so it's the consequences here are significant and beyond. >> who pay those salaries. they owe american people, they owe us the truth. >> they keep on lying. >> remember there was a doctor there actually a respected doctor who tweeted out he was resigning because it was obvious they were lying to the american people. speaking of lying to the american people, i forgot this story, i am not going to lie. this is why i love the new york post. can you get me updated. >> so this guy i remember he said he was attacked, racial attacked and everyone came out and oh, poor jussie and even when he was lying, he still had his defenders. what happened here? you are the jussie molett super fan. >> and joey scarborough also. >> great publication. i was ashamed of what happened. >> i love that. >> we have been following this case all that closely. >> that's why we get the new york post. >> he was accused of making the whole thing up and he hired a couple of people to help him stage the attack. he still denies it. >> don't pull your punches. don't hurt me. >> don't hurt me and this is a tale. yell maga. >> what you just read are one of the guys alleges that he was hired by jussie smollett and he was coached to say umpire and a couple of words i won't repeat here and make sure you say maga at the end here. a lot of this is on video. the trial is not going well for mr. smollett. >> here is a shocking choice. does nbc have this story? tonight alec baldwin says he didn't pull the trigger. >> so what happened? >> exactly. >> somebody did. >> somebody pulled the trigger. >> maybe somebody yelling maga. >> he did an interview with george stephanopoulos. >> well, they only put out little promo clips that no i didn't pull the trigger. >> how is there gunfire without pulling the trigger perplexing. >> let's just wait and see what he says. we have little short clips when he's clearly in a lot of pain, here is what you are talking about. >> it was not in the script for the trigger you pulled. >> the trigger was not pulled, i never pulled the trigger. >> no, i would never point the gun at someone and pull the trigger. >> what did you think happen? >> someone put a live bullet on the gun. >> i can't wait to see tonight. it's still -- at least for everybody that commented oen on the story everything was wrong about that set. one of the most compelling things was george clooney going you don't do this. you don't have live ammo onset. there are thousands of different things that they did wrong that led to this horrible tragedy. >> i just can't believe there is any ammo and it was loaded. >> oh my god. i know. >> and he even picked up a gun that didn't have a safety on. it's baffling for anyone who's handled guns before. someone's job was to secure the set and clearly that didn't happen at all. i never thought about the safety procedures in a western procedural-type show before. clearly something went very, very wrong. >> something was way off. way off. >> finally in baseball here is scherzer, he's paying fans a lot of money to go on strike. >> just under the wire. >> your boss and the red sox. are the red sox going to do anything? yes, we are. we betted 136 last year. >> i am not sure he cracked 150. the prize of the deal is they got two prospects, considering two of the brewers' best. they brought back fans favorite who played wonderful in center field. >> the problem is we were cheating in those years. he was batting 178. >> maybe that's integrity. >> the yankees secured gary sanchez and ruled out some new menu items at the legend club. >> really? >> prime ribs they'll be having in the bag, it's a little pricey. gary sanchez got a raise to come back. they're paying him $8 million a year. >> he hits 201 but he never bends his knees when trying to attack somebody. >> i know gary sanchez, you said that guy he's a mystery wrapped inside an enigma and wrapped inside a riddle. >> you may have had that backward a little bit. i totally agree you. >> all right. >> how are we doing, honey? how is washington? >> it's been eventful here actually. >> tell us about it. >> well, we'll talk about it later. but, no, i had a great day in washington and also we have a lot of news here on capitol hill. still ahead on "morning joe," a fourth person has died as a result of tuesday's shooting in michigan. we'll have the latest of what we are learning of the accused teenage gunman. plus, the biden administration sent a severe warning if russia invades ukraine. we are on the brink of another government shutdown. we'll go over the sticking points as lawmakers struggle to pass a stopgap measure. the new episode of joe's podcast is out now. joe and reverend al discovered the men who killed ahmaud ash arbery. why the rev pushes back on what he calls latte liberals. it's available now. you are watching "morning joe," we'll be right back. e watching we'll be right back. superpowers from a spider bite? 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[thud] [clunk] [ding] ugh... mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. oh, no! seriously? hmm! it's not the same if she's not here. oh. -what the. oh my goodness! i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ the snow's comin' down ♪ -mommy? ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 25 past the hour, the u.s. supreme court is now considering what to do in the most significant challenge to abortion rights and at least three decades. the justices heard dramatic arguments in a case that challenges the landmark, 1973 roe v. wade defendant's exhibit. nbc news, pete williams report. >> reporter: hundreds gathering outside demonstrating what's hat stake. >> life is so precious and these babies have a chance now and 48 years ago, they may not have. >> reporter: starting with roe v. wade, states can't ban abortion before the age of viability around 24 weeks into a pregnancy. that's why mississippi law is a direct challenge to roe. >> this is an individual liberty interest for women because it has a profound effect on our health department and our lives in the future. >> reporter: over turning roe would undermine public confidence. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? >> chief justice roberts says he'll uphold the law without overturning roe. >> reporter: several of the courts' conservatives willing to rule for the judge opponents. >> if we think the prior precedents are seriously wrong. why then does the history of this court's practice telling us the right answer of neutrality. >> reporter: in the supreme court did overturn roe, it would not ban it, it would leave it up to certain individual states. some already have bans that go into effect the moment re v. wade wasover turned. maya wylie is joining us now. >> i was surprised by roberts. i thought he's always been an evolution not revolution. he famously said i am not going to overturn obamacare. the fact he moved from viability to 15 weeks to me is just that he knows kavanaugh and coney barrett are moving fast to overturning roe. >> we were all yesterday listening saying roberts is the one to watch here. we knew the likelihood of at least three justices where they would be un-roe because they got statements. he's the institutionallist. as the person who said in the louisiana case making it difficult for abortion clinics to operate because admitting privileges for doctors. that was a case in texas where he says i think it's fine to be able to make it hard for abortion doctors to operate by admitting privileges. in louisiana he says well, that's what we said in texas, we got to say it in louisiana. so here in this case where we have not just 50 years of precedent. all that follows it, he and his questioning essentially ignores the precedents and ignores the fact of viability whether or not a fetus can survive on its own is not the conversation. for him to say choice is for him to ignore actual with the legal arguments in this case. >> let's unwine this for people viewing. for him to say that is a real tale about how far the other five conservative justices. because i sense and i don't know, just again judging by his record, he's an institutionallist. john roberts is not one to overturn a 50-year precedent that 70% of americans don't want overturned unless he thinks he's just -- he's trying to keep them at least at 15 weeks. >> especially if you consider how this case got to where it is. originally mississippi did not go as far as saying let's go for a straight attack on row verses wade overruling. and mississippi says here we go, we may have the votes now. that's exactly what justice roberts have said the courts should never do. that precedent and he said it in writing. precedent is about the principles that say judges had not be political and should not be. that's why justice sotomayor made the point she did. do we understand what we are about to do here? what we are about to do is tell people it's just political. the bench is just political. >> elise, the supreme court always is mindful. they're mindful of the fact they do have this power and authority but they are not elected and appointed. that's one of the reasons roberts is always an institutionalist and here is what justice sotomayor had to be getting at. you had two judges going through difficult and politicized hearings. we saw what happened with republicans just out now lying about the rules of putting justices on the supreme court. they did what they could do legally. that does not mean there is not a shadow that's cast on this court right now that makes overturning a 50-year precedent that only 27% of americans won't overturn. that much more of a black eye for this institution. >> that's something i wonder about whether the process, the confirmation process almost radicalizes judges going into assuming the bench and puts them in a political camp because they are forced into that wing and so that something to watch as the evolution of the court, i am most curious of how well do you think the opposing council did in presenting the case that this would destroy precedents. this is going to stand, that's what's going to get justice kavanaugh and other conservative judges to side with the institutionaists and destroying the precedent is legally damaging. >> i thought the lawyers are fantastic. this was not in this situation where the lawyers did not come and deliberate from -- they stuck the the law and the points and they stuck to the points, they are briefed. i thought they handled the question effectively in trying to explain, it's about a woman's freedom and her autonomy. these two things are not separable and the viability conversation. kavanaugh, what was so disturbing about justice kavanaugh was he didn't really deal with precedents. oh, these are just two equal interests, leave it up to the states and the legislatures. by the way, the supreme court enabled suppression coming out of south carolina cases undermine so many people's ability to get to ballot box. these are just two equal interests, interests of a fetus that's not viable and women controlling their body so we can lever it to politics. this is why we have fundamental rights, the point that lawyers made. no states should be able to take this away from you and the most disgusting thing that happened in this and it was disgusting was to talk about brown verses board of education and compare it to overruling roe. what brown was saying -- >> that came up with justice aledo who kept oncoming back to that and coming back to what courts do in 1869. this is the point, we were comparing protecting fundamental rights to be free from racial discrimination to overruling a fundamental right of a woman's right. >> you are talking about adding a fundamental right instead of stripping one away from every woman. >> roe has been the elusive prize for 50 years of antiabortionists and a lot of people in this country. how do viewers connect the dots here if the supreme court uphold? what's the jump from one to another? >> it's hard to know how they're going to do this, they're straight up overruling roe to say there is no law of the land there is something which i thought i heard justice robert trying to do was how can i say roe is overruled that there is still a right to choice to this autonomy. that was the 15 weeks choice question he asked, don't women still have a choice even if it's 15 weeks or 24 weeks. i believe it was kavanaugh saying, justice gorsuch says is there a rule we can create whether it's 6 weeks or 8 weeks or 15 weeks. all that went to saying there is still something we may say states can't completely take away but we'll allow it to pull so far back that it's essentially almost the same. what we did not hear enough about because justices were not asking about it, not because it was not in the lawyer's briefs. 75,000 women get abortions after 15 weeks. that's a lot of women. what casey said was you can't create a burden. 75,000 who may die because you have 6% of women die carrying a child to term, 1% because of abortion. you are putting women's lives on the line. >> mika? >> katelyn flanagan is out with a piece in the "atlantic" entitled "dishonesty of the abortion debate." we'll read from it here. lysol induced criminal abortion appeared in the journal of -- what the doctors believed to be unusual agent. lysol, the powerful cleaner had been pumped into their wounds. three of them survived and one of them died. i have read many accounts from complications and deaths when the years of abortion was illegal in this country. my mother told me many times she had twice sat besides girls as they died from botched abortions. both girls were interviewed by detectives who demanded to know the abortionists' names but refused to reveal them. they were terrified. abortionists to use the term of that era typically extracted three promises from the women who sought them out. they must keep the procedure a secret and never reveal the abortionist's name and no matter what happened to them afterwards, they must never contact him or her again. the first time i saw one of those new 3-d ultrasound, i was not entirely sure what i was looking at. it was not anything like the black and white images i have used to seeing. it looked like worldly like we finally made contact with the planet we always wanted to breach. for a long time these images made me anxious. they are proofs that what grows within a pregnant woman's body is a human being living and unfolding according to a timetable that existed as long as we have. it would take a profound act of violence to remove him from this quiet world and destroy him. the argument for abortion made honestly requires many words. it must evoke the recent past the dire consequences to women making a simple medical procedure illegal. the argument against it does not take a single word. the argument against it is a picture. this is not an argument anyone is going to win. the loudest advocates on both sides are terrible, representatives for their cause. and their is one truth. no matter what the law says, women will continue to get abortions. how do i know? in the relatively recent past, women would allow strangers to brutalize them and poke needles and hangers into their wombs and filled them with lysol or hot water or lies. women have been risking deaths to get an abortion. we were not going to let one more woman arrives to the hospital with her organs rotting inside her. we accepted that we may lose that growing baby but we are not going to lose that woman. joe. it's a lot there. >> there is. maya, i think caitlan in most compelling and talks about this is such an excruciaing dilemma for millions and millions of americans but what she says a t atthe end is a reality now. women got abortions, risk their lives. had the most horrific things done to them before roe, they'll doll it after roe and let's add another component to it. it won't be middle class or upper class women who'll be forced to have their bodies brutalized. they'll get a plane fight and go to new york or california or illinois or state that allows. it will be truly disadvantage that 17-year-old girl from one parent's family who is struggling to make it through high school because she has the dream that she's going to do something nobody else in her family been able to do. she had that inside of her since she was five years old. she's going to break out. she's the one going to be stuck and mississippi or alabama or louisiana or texas. she's going to have to make the decision that could kill her. this is not melo-drama. this is reality if this court ignores 50 years of precedents. it won't happen one time. it will happen over and over and over again across this american landscape. >> what caitlin flanagan did was the thing i was so upset of not happening yesterday in that argument. the actual cause of what the justice do here and she put a face on that cost. i will put another one on it. a young woman who had a baby was antiabortion for herself and look the whole point is everyone should be able to make the choice themselves. no one to tell a woman whether to have a child or not. she spent her life religious, latina, had a child and almost died in childbirth. she gets pregnant again a year later and she knows it's a risk to her life and it changes her view of it because she realizes it's a health issue for her. she then becomes an activist trying to support this right and holding onto it but i think it's because of the experiences that women have, both in putting leer lives at risk to take control of their lives if it's not allowed them or being forced the carry a child to term at-risk of their own life or because joe, most women who get abortions, 60% are already mothers. they're already mothers. it's not because they are making decisions not to have a child. the contraception fails or they were raped. there were all these factors, it's not the role of the state to pass moral judgment on whether a woman's values living her own life being able to survive her own pregnancy and to your point, it's already the case that states have put so many burdens on acts of abortions that we have 38% fewer abortion clinics now with an undue burden test. we have eroded abortions in ways that we don't acknowledge. this is critically important to roll it back to 15 weeks is just another nail in the coffin and that coffin has a woman in it. >> and elise, let's talk about our background. we grew up in the south, baptist church, and i must say that throughout my life i have been, i have been struck by the older i have become, the more not only politics on the right but the gospel of jesus christ has been reduced to a single issue and i will say it's harrowing. i will say whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, we have our own believes. this is just a reality to reduce the gospel of jesus christ to abortion. i don't know when it happen and how but i do know the southern baptist church was not on the forefront fighting abortion. evangelicals decided this is the one issue that matters whether i love jesus or whether i am a conservative, it's a lie. it's a lie that's been jammed down the throats of believers for the past 30 years. they need to read the new testament and the gospels. they need to read the red letters. and then they need to tell me if that's what defines you as a christian. it's not there. it's never there. it will never be there. >> i think we need to look at the political landscape for a moment to understand how we came to this point for women all around the country because why did this go from mississippi to the supreme court. why was this the issue that was seized on as most important by republican powers to be when you had the worst infant mortally rate and the worst maternal mortality rate. this is the issue they spent millions of dollars to fight. yet they'll not approve medicaid expansion so women have access to healthcare in mississippi. i would encourage people who are watching what's playing out in the states to think of women in mississippi. it's easy to pick a celebrity call but what's going to help women. we ignore and we neglect, we hear black lives matter but i don't see -- if democrats want to make a difference, they'll get to mississippi and they organize early. >> we'll be right back. >> we'll be right back no annual fee on any discover card. as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ ♪ well would you look at that? ♪ ♪ jerry, you've got to see this. seen it. trust me, after 15 walks ...it gets a little old. ugh. i really should be retired by now. wish i'd invested when i had the chance... to the moon! 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yes! you'll know exactly how well you slept, night after night. we take care of the science. all you have to do is sleep. and now, save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases. plus, 0% interest for 36 months when you add an adjustable base. ends monday. welcome back to "morning joe" a beautiful shot at capitol hill. democrats and voting rights activist, stacey abrams is running for governor of georgia. >> opportunity and success in georgia should not be determined by your zip code, background or access to power. we are going to need leadership. >> abram will go toe to toe with brian kemp who she accused of engaging in voter suppression in 2018. former president trump weighed in suggesting that abrams will beat kemp. writing the maga base will just not vote for kemp after what he did. some good republican will run and some good republican will get my endorsement. joe. >> donald trump in the state of georgia. >> again, seriously? >> he hates georgia republicans. he just hates -- he's going to be rooting for alabama this week against the bulldogs and the sec championship games. he hates georgia so much. you think about it -- he got a jewish guy and a black guy, he helped them get elected in the state of georgia who were far left of center don't think would ever gotten elected in georgia. donald trump made that remarkable moment possible. now he's trying to beat kemp. >> and didn't happen in a vacuum getting those two senators legislated. he gave the united states senate to democrats to get joe biden's agenda through the congress. it was that deep and republicans continue to be frustrated. >> herschel walker, please come to georgia. no, you have a complicated life, come to georgia and run. >> he was a good running back in the new jersey general. let's stay in the state of georgia. andre dickens is the winner of a run-off election to become the city's next mayor. the ap called the contest yesterday, mayor bottoms announced she would not seek for reelection. atlanta's mayor position is non partisan and mayor-elect andre dickens is joining us now. thank you for joining us this morning. we hear echoes of your campaign of what happened here in new york city as crime is the top issue of your city. >> good morning y'all, i am still floating on cloud 9. this is an exciting opportunity for me to become the 66th mayor and this is the place where i was raised here. i do hear some of that echoes. we are definitely looking for a change to grow our quality of life and to make more opportunities for everyone being someone that grew upton south side of town with limited opportunities. to be the first to go to college, i want to make these opportunities available for everyone and affordable housing and great paying jobs. >> mr. mayor-elect, congratulations. it's jonathan lemire. the country is still dealing with covid and crimes, talk to us about your plan to improve that part of citizens quality of life. >> yes, just as you said across the country there is been a spike in crime and atlanta is no difference. we experienced crime increase in the city since 2020 and it's my job as mayor to bring that crime rate down so this does not become the new normal. i public a safety plan. we are about 450 officers short where with we desire to be. i am going to hire 250 officers and train them in community-based and racial sensitivity and make sure they understand deescalation tactics . just be present and what we really have is a youth related crime problem. about 60% of our crimes is conducted by individuals under 24. i am really going to wrap my arms around them with a lot of nurturing programs at our parks and recs, my technology program that i have to train them how to code and do iphone repairs and get into the arts and stems and sports. we'll do a lot of your youths to keep them out of trouble. >> mayor dickens, we have somebody here who knows a things or two about city politics because she ran a great campaign, maya wiley, she has a question for you. >> first of all, congratulations. it's exciting and wonderful to see strongly new supported leadership in the city of atlanta. we know in black communities and atlanta is still majority a black city that black residents both want to be safe from crime and also safe from police fie violence, can you talk more about that? >> you are absolutely right and i applaud you for your race and this is about safety and justice. my plan is a balance approach. i have said this to white voters and black voters, i have been black a long time. growing up in atlanta during the '80s when we had the highest crime but we also experienced the least of excessive use of force, atlanta created citizen's review board that addresses police misconduct and goes to the citizens and the citizens sit together and they decide whether this was excessive or what their recommendations would be and last year i actually added two new members to the citizen's review board which were required to be under 30. they had to be 18 and 30 because youths, having so many interactions with police and late hours and etc. that was really big because now they get to have their voice and not just a business community or a bunch of lawyers to say if this happens or not. this about safety and justice, we want to make sure every resident in atlanta is safe. we understand there is been so much history of unarmed black individuals being killed or shot by police officers and so one of the things i have added to my platform is that we want to make sure we have a non-emergency respond unit that deals with homelessness and those experiencing mental challenges, behavioral issues that does not need lethal force. these people need services. we'll have task force and specialists going out to deal with those issues verses having police officers. we want officers ready and able to response to violent crimes. >> mayor dickens, congratulations on your victory. affordable housing is a huge issue in atlanta as the city is on the rise and constantly expanding, how are you actually going to make good on your campaign promises of increasing access to affordable housing in atlanta? >> i know viewers across the nation, atlanta is the place we want to move to be able to afford a home. the truth the matter is, atlanta's income is not as high as other regions. my affordable housing plan is housing and affordability. the housing part is to build or preserve 20,000 units of affordable housing over the next eight years and atlanta we have a lot of vacant land here so we can build tense structure on that land and some of it is city owned land which is a hud property or our transit stations. we have big parking lots that can go vertical or be parking structures. i believe we can build housing on those structures and also helping seniors preserving their housing units. that's what i want to do on the housing side. the affordability side is increasing our income because so many people coming to atlanta from high salaries from other places. atlanta needs to get into those ladders to grow economic status so we can thrive in our own city. what i created was a program that's free for low income people that has trained hundreds of folks to get 60,000 or $70,000 jobs in atlanta so they don't need to be on affordable houing and they can pay for their own mortgage, that's transformation. i am working on a whole lotto get great salary and build affordable housing. it's a battle and i am the person to keep pushing to get it done. >> atlanta mayor andre dickens, thank you so much. we appreciate you coming on this morning and maya wiley, thank you as well for being on this moment. we'll update you on january 6th attack now ramping up its probe as liz cheney issues a new warning to former president trump. lie and there will be penalties. first, three minutes past the top of the hour, the inevitable has happened. the worst case of the omicron variant reported in the u.s. yesterday in california. the cdc announced the patient returns from south africa last week and developed symptoms a few days later. the individual who was fully vaccinated showing mild symptoms and recovering in isolation. everyone who has close contact with the patient has tested negative. on the hills of the first u.s. omicron case, dr. fauci encouraging americans once again to get vaccinated and also to receive that booster shot as soon as they are eligible for it. >> people say if we are going to have a booster specific vaccine, should we wait? if you are eligible, six months with a double mrna dose and the two months j&j, get boosted now. the mistake people make is let me wait to see if we get one, if you are eligible for boosting, get boosted right now. our experience with variants such as the delta variant, even though the vaccine is not specifically targeted to the delta variant, when you get a high enough level of immune response, you get spill over protection and have every reason to believe that kind of increase with a boost would be helpful preventing severe disease like omicron. as we get more people vaccinated not only in this country but globally, we'll see a situation where viruses will not have the opportunity of what they have right now. the more protection you get with vaccines, the less likelihood of a virus has to do that and the less likely you will get a variant. there is no doubt this will end, i promise you that. >> dr. fauci advised on how people can save their lives. republican senator ron johnson is criticizing dr. fauci's response to the virus. here is what he said during an interview. >> this virus has evolved. why would you expect anything different with the coronavirus except for you want to create a state of fear to keep us in the state of fear to maintain the controls and that's what you are seeing here in the united states. fauci did the exact same thing with aids. he overhyped it saying it could affect the entire population when it could not. he's ignoring therapy and pushing vaccines and the solution was dealt early treatment which we have not robustly explore that and it's a trap. >> speaking of a travesty. >> my god. >> overhyped aids? have he ever traveled to africa and my god. the case we heard from ron johnson and his colleagues. there is some limits there. >> you mean because of the rocks that he was flown in his head? >> that's what some of his colleagues will tell you privately of their limits. >> i don't know. i have not seen his brain scanned, i don't know if there are rocks in his head. i know his republican colleagues say. if you move really fast, you can hear it. >> i have not heard it so i am not suggesting that's the case. >> most are cynical plays to the base. there is ignorance about aids and vaccines and dr. fauci explains to us how virus attacks the host. facts be dammed and history be dammed. i get it and understand and even though i am deeply offended by it. i get a lot of defund police for critical race theory stuff. i know what they are trying to do and appeal to it. i must say dr. fauci, i still don't get it. at least i don't understand why they think attacking this guy who is committed his entire life to this. and this suggestion that and these overhyped of something. more people have died than the civil war, any other war from covid. i remember when we got to that vietnam number, 57,000. now it's like 11 or 12 vietnam is going to end up being 15 or 20 vietnams likely. is it possibly of overhyping that? >> they trim the fat. >> that's right. that's their attitude. >> it's insanity. >> fauci became the symbol of the anti-science movement and also just need to have a villain and have a bad guy of government control. speaker pelosi played what role for a while for the people of the right and now dr. fauci. >> it was bill gates for a while. >> we are all going to have it sooner. >> forget about the virus. fauci stepped into the breach to become the face of this. the villain that needs to be pointed out and you see campaign funders. >> that's just something. >> can i suggest something more, something darker? >> i would love it. >> at this point and you think forget about back in the early days of the pandemic, over the course of hiv when it first came out in a scourge here. the republican party becomes a death cult. and you have these arguments who cares about 70 or 80,000 people died of aids. they see political advantage of covid becoming a problem because they know it hurts joe biden and they see continuous advantage of covid and you look at arguments they're making over and over again. the pattern is what they want is public health and others to fail. you hear them and they were talking about how democrats are bringing us back from the midterms. their sense of the politics of this is dark. they think if covid goes on longer, it puts them in a better position. they are right about that. >> of course, you look at joe biden's number. he was hurt by afghanistan. there is no doubt about it. that goes to the issue of competence and that's not lingering and not would have been as harsh of a drop. his numbers started collapsing when delta comes along. if omicron is a big deal, his number will stay low. it's a nightmare for joe biden even though if there is this bizarre ronnie jackson. >> you take ron johnson and when you are talking about a quote, "death call," you take a doctor who knows better even though he does not act like it on television and he's constantly working along with other republicans to undermine confidence in vaccines and wearing masks. there are republicans and democrats and insurrectionists and there are a good number of republicans mike mitch mcconnell who has been strong taking the vaccine. we don't want to paint with one stroke. there are so many reckless people. >> who is the most powerful voice right now? tucker carlson. carlson talked about alex jones is a more credible journalist than most people in our profession. >> what's that about? >> the guy that said sandy hook did not exist. >> he's not an idiot. this is now the primary conveyer belt. crazy conspiracy theories with anybody with a platform this america. fox news empire is on this and its got to be about politics because they're not morons and not stupid. to the rocks in the head thing, they're not dumb, they're doing this for a reason. >> there are relative people in fox news, unchallenged and prominent figure comparing fauci to nazis. that's the story that fauci is profiting from the vaccines and all these things that's not true. he's asserting hils power by trying to get people vaccinated and protect the american public from this disease that killed 700,000 people. >> if people follow fauci, there is a chance that covid will go away. it's just the math on this. >> let's bring in claire mccaskill. i saw over the weekend another group of host on that certain network once again, saying this was a con pir si that you know i wonder why they are cooking it up now and cooking up these variants. it's like these friends of mine that i talk to who ask them the stupidest questions of vaccines. wait, look at what i have been doing for 50 years. it's complete detachment from reality which is what the big lie is about. just completely shape people up and disconnect them from reality. >> the jarring part of this now foundational part of the republican party is you have them out of one side of their mouth talking about life and arguing that we need to blow up 50 years of precedents giving women control of their own party over life and out of the other side of their mouth they're saying don't wear a mask and don't take a vaccine and ignore science and pay attention to people like you know shock jocks and far-right circus clowns that are trying to make fun of science that saves lives? which are they? are they the party of death or life? i feel like the message that a lot of independent voters are getting in places that really matters to control congress that they are primary the party of death. >> they're not a party of life. and that's never been more clear than over the past two or three years. claire, let's talk about the abortion, the case out of mississippi, the supreme court heard it yesterday. we talked about the legal angle of it and maya wiley and if roe v. wade overturned for 50 years and only 20% of americans wanted returned. return? what's the impact on our political system? >> the reality is states like mine are going to go to the extreme link to make women criminals that want to terminate a pregnancy. they're going to make doctors criminals that want to assist a woman in terms of assisting a pregnancy. >> the viability is gone or roe is gone. it looks to me they got five votes for that. you are going to have a bunch of states that's going to make it illegal and in missouri, they passed person-hood which puts in the question for ivf for couples trying to conceive. and those positions are very, very unpopular politically. very unpopular. will they be enough to swing right red places back to something more centrist? they could be. let me speak about my experience as a prosecutor and the children, the 13 or 14 years old girls who have been raped by their stepfather or mother's boyfriend or uncles, the neighbors, and threaten with their lives if they told anyone. the young girls i can't forget who was so afraid to tell anyone did not realize she was pregnant. by the time everyone figured out what was going on. what about her? what about her? the state is going to tell her these people that yelled "liberty," you must bring your stepfather's child to term and coney barrett saying you leave it at the hospital after the baby is born. it's unbelievable for poor women and young girls. it's going to be terrible for them. >> no exceptions in some of those states. i don't want to boil this down to politics but the supreme court is a political institution. >> always has been. i just wonder the impact if roe is overturned. i remember we conservatives, of course, the soviet union collapsed on christmas day in '91. war's over. we win. republicans were right, those leftest were wrong. long live ronald reagan. the dog caught the car or the bus or whatever. and so here for 49 years, almost 50 years with roe, it has been the same thing. this is defining the base of the republican party and i just wonder what happens when the dog catches the bus and again a lot of really well intention people take that position, i know them very well. just politically what happens when the dog catches the bus and some of those people, instead of being against something, start reading the story of caitlin flanagan wrote today. >> a lot of people talked about this in the legal context. what 50 years of precedents do giving women fundamental rights that it creates all kinds of expectations of how they're going to live their lives before. it also creates the politics where this issue animated the bases. we do politicize the scotus hearing. there is a giant consensus in the country and what bill clinton defines how americans think of abortion, safe, legal and rare. you take legal and rare, it's not legal in a lot of places. >> an overwhelming majority. >> i stated and you can look at polls over the past. it's 27% support and maybe 30% or 32% support, not a lot more. >> that's the baseline of our politics now where suddenly it's not safe. it's not legal and safe and it's rarer, that up ends a lot of politics and make the democratic base wake up in a way that brings in the play this other thing which i think the most important political facts in american life that nobody talks about that conservatives and republicans have understood how state legislatures are in a way that democrats have not over the last 30 years. why has the country moved over this time. what happens when abortion where two-thirds of majority becomes a state by state political battle where democrats have woken up to the fact that safe and legal and rare is no longer a thing that you have to fight for the rights of two-thirds americans you should have. i don't know how that plays out. there are places that claire says that are going to ban abortions. there are a lot of places where you will have intense party fought in the trenches with tons of money raised and ton of new money who never been engaged in politics are going to be out fighting and world war democrats base understand state level politics - it's a really different american political battlefield for what we have had. and if you talk about redistricting. state after state, you talk about jury instruction and voting rights. it's all because democrats had just stopped really focusing on local race and state legislatures and they're paying a horrific price for it. >> and it accelerated during the obama administration. claire, you know we obviously we have hints as to where we think the court is going with this. i talked to a number of republicans and democrats about it. there are some strategists who recognize there are conservatives, they are nervous about this. this could become an an mating issue, ahead of next year's election if roe is overturned or gutted, that can motivate democrats to turn out. we got majorities here and why have we not been able to protect it. some suggests that maybe abortion rights like voting rights have been no federal movement on. it's also the timing of this. there is a decision won't come perhaps as late as june. how do you see this shadowing next year's midterm elections? >> the interesting thing to see if robert is put into closet and saying the institution is no longer important to the five justices that are i would say hard-right and they may actually try to bring the decision out earlier to avoid it being used politically. they have to know in the battleground states for the senate next year. i can assure you mitch mcconnell knows this is really a very different political territory for them. the majority of those states do not want roe overturned. i do believe it will become a huge political issue in the midterms and the supreme court if they're going to go in full vote on being political, maybe they do the decision earlier just to avoid it being a huge motivating factor in june which is about the timing democratic operatives would need to motivate the base. >> one last point as john was saying we don't know how many states could change their laws if roe is overturned. there are 12 states that already in the books including mississippi and texas the moment roe is overturned, abortion will become illegal in those states and 22 states who have said we'll outlaw if abortion is overturned. >> john harmon and claire mccaskill, thank you both. we'll speak to the white house's covid white house responder about omicron and how donald trump played into yesterday's testimony of the sex trafficking child of ghislane maxwell, you are watching "morning joe," we'll be right back. gold bond. champion your skin. superpowers from a spider bite? 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>> well, yesterday us with a tough day for the prosecution. they called what we thought would be their star witnesses and maxwell's attorney was very successful in pointing to a lot of consistencies between what she told authorities and fbi and u.s. attorneys over the past year and a half to two years where she's been interviewed several times and what she testified to on tuesday. >> so the one sort of area that has seemed untouchable in everybody trying to cover the story over the years has been the express, the private jet used by epstein. we heard by the pilot in this trial which i thought was more interesting, what more can you reveal? that's one track you have been following and it's difficult to sort of pinpoint, what has been revealed in this trial so far and what can you determine what we have heard in terms of how this plane was used and who was on it and where they were brought and for what? >> they're not asking why these powerful people were on the plane. i think and i was a little surprised that they brought it up at all during the case. what anyway need to do is show the idea that maxwell was somehow involved with under age girls and i don't think the pilot helped them at all. he saw no one appeared to be under age and he saw no sex. his testimony as well didn't exactly help the prosecution in this case. and then as a court, he mentioned all these famous people and powerful people that he flew with. it didn't go further that that. it didn't name any dates or didn't name any specific incidents. >> why not? what's up with the prosecution? >> well, i think because what anyway need to do is find evidence or present evidence against maxwell. look, there is really no dispute that epstein did these crimes. the witness testified yesterday, it was clear she was abused in some way. what is not clear is how maxwell was in this case. >> the prosecution would know this day will come, why are they so ill-prepared. this particular witness never want to talk about it. she's a well-known actress. even as last year she refused to cooperate. you are dealing with a witness who really didn't want to be there in the first place. >> but again the connection with maxwell to the crimes, do they not have a more effective witnesses? if they don't then is the prosecution really going to be able to meet the burden? >> well, it's a tough case and always a tough case and also because so much time has gone by . with the witness yesterday, it's 27 years that this has happened. that's a hard thing to prosecute. there are three more witnesses that's scheduled and one of them are a victim. it may hinge to the last victim. the defense that ghislaine is a scapegoat and she's a stand in for jeffery epstein. and it's clear that jeffery did these horrible atrocious things but maxwell may not be guilty by association. is that playing well in the courtroom? >> keep in mind they only presented two witnesses and they have not presented any corroborating evidence, no plane tickets or things like that that could probably help victims. so like i said, i also, you know, ghislaine has the best defense team that money can buy. they are good lawyers, her defense lawyer did a good job yesterday at pointing to all these different inconsistencies that the victim presented of what she told authorities. >> julie k. brown, thank you very much for coming on the show. thank you for your persist tant coverage. coming up, 89 increase in the number of threats of federal judges. we'll talk to a judge whose son was killed and husband was injured in an attack that was meant for her. "morning joe" is coming right back. "morning joe" is coming right back lly want it, by jimmy cliff ♪ [suitcase closing] [gusts of wind] [ding] where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don't worry sweetie, she promised she'd be here for it. oh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity. with wifi speeds faster than a gig. me too. [claps] woah! look! [chuckles] mom is on tv! she's amazing! [screams and laughter] yeah! xfinity brought us together after all. get started with xfinity internet and ask about wifi speed fast than a gig. click, call or visit a store today. welcome back to "morning joe." the daniel judiciary -- nbc's savannah guthrie reported on what happened. >> the 20-year-old who was shot and killed. when the doorbell rang, daniel and his father mark went to the door. >> daniel being daniel protected his father and he took the shooter's first bullet directly through the chest. the monster turns the attention to my husband. >> mark was shot multiple times but survived. the gunman hollinder took his life, he compiled personal information of the federal judge as he once appeared before. >> the justice report reveals 89% increase in security incidents against federal judges between 2016 and 2019 and u.s. district judge este celeste is joining us. >> i want to ask you on how your husband is doing. >> thank god, it's a blessing, he's back. >> you are back at work not only in this. creating more justice for judges. the increase is exponential in threats and you know threats to judges that you know since your son was murdered. >> absolutely. >> since the murder, i have been threatened along with two other judges from my district and the threats just keep oncoming. and what's more alarming is the manner they are coming. they are so aggressive. think about my case, this man came to -- a lawyer came to my door on a sunday, people walking all around and rang that doorbell on a mission to assassinate me. i mean it's unreal. >> how did he -- what are the ways that this act would prevent it from happening? >> this act targets protecting the identifiable information of what we call pii. the need to get pii off the internet for judges. this is a narrowly tailored bill aimed to protect our judges, the protection of democracy. this is not just trying to protect judges. we are talking about judges standing at the front line to protect our constitution. all we are doing is our jobs and people who disagree with us want to kill us. >> as a judge, you are choosing to serve and you faced the threat of people who are anger by your decisions or your positions, but here in your case of a painful example of how the family is also very much sitting ducks if this information is out there for everyone to see. >> absolutely. it's important for us to remember that we are not trying to stop the access to our opinions. by all means our opinion should be open and transparent. if you are upset with our opinions, you can take it to the supreme court. what i am asking for and judges across the nation and the judges i would like to call my brothers and sisters, we are asking that we not be necessarily gun down in our homes. we are asking that we are protected and we are asking that our leaders protect us and send a message. al clear message that the unite is not tolerated. we will protect our judges. >> you're doing this to protect other judges. are you also doing this for your son? >> you know, if you would have asked me that question a few months after his murder, i think i would have answered it differently. i'm doing this to protect judges. we never want anyone to feel what we feel on a daily basis. he is the first thing i think of in the morning and the last at night. i don't think anyone should have to feel that, and i think we have to, we have an obligation, to try to avoid this travesty, this tragedy from ever happening again. so that's why i'm here. that's why i'm here. i am begging our members of congress to do something, to enact this common sense bill that gets to the root of the problem. we need to be pro-active not reactive. i've heard people say let's go after the bad guys. in my case we didn't know he was a bad guy. there was no clue. this manifesto that he put out there he said awful things about me but not actionable. to lie in wait to literally plan to assassinate me and other judges out there, we've got to stop that access of information. we're talking about my home address, social security numbers, phone numbers. it's not unreasonable to ask that information be sealed. >> willie geist has a question for you from new york. willie? >> sure. >> good morning, judge salas. i'm so sorry, again, about your wonderful son, daniel, who you've told us about in great detail over a couple of other visits here. i'm curious because i think some people watching at home may be wondering what keeps her going. if you lost your son, you almost lost your husband because of the work you do, what gets you up. >> faith is the first thing that has been holding mark and i up since this happened and our faith in god. the other thing is daniel -- daniel loved what i stood for, the first latina district court judge in new jersey, daniel loved his mom and daniel loved that in this great country his mom, who was raised by a single mom, a cuban immigrant, could rise to the point of becoming a united states district court judge. not only daniel and god but to my fellow brothers and sisters that are serving with distinction and do it because we love the rule of law and because we obviously took an oath to uphold it, and i won't give up. i can't give up. and i just continue to ask that we do something and we do it soon. the time is now. it's going to be 17 months since i lost my son. >> 17 months. how old was he? >> 20. >> just a boy. >> just a boy with so many dreams, was going to go to law school. was talking about law school, following a life of faith. he was such a good boy, a good man. he would kill me to say boy. one thing i love about daniel was his love of life. he lived every day like it was his last. the senseless act of violence and makes sense now of daniel's life. >> he was really proud of what you did. >> i was thankfully nominated to becoming a judge and i was laying in bed with him. he was not only 11 yet and i was tucking him in. that's how close we were. and i said, daniel, i'm worried about taking this job. i'm going to have to be away from you for a longer time and a lot of responsibility and i'm worried about you. it was pitch black in the room and he paused. i understand that, mom. and he paused. but if it was me, i'd take the job. and that was his way of saying, mom, it's okay. i need you to do this. i want you to do this. i had no -- listen, i have no regrets. the only regret i'll have is if i don't use that beautiful boy's face, and if i don't use my voice to advocate for change. >> to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> judge, thank you so much. i'm sorry, with covid we're so far apart. i wanted to reach out to you. >> thank you for this opportunity. thank you, willie, and god bless. enjoy the holidays. >> god bless you, too. thank you so much. the new bill to protect judges is being marked up today, and we'll see what happens. best of luck to you. and still ahead on "morning joe," why congresswoman liz cheney, the vice chair of the house committee investigating january 6th is issuing a new warning to former president trump. plus, we'll talk to a member of the white house covid-19 response team about what to expect from the biden administration now that the omicron variant has been detected in the u.s. "morning joe" is coming back live with a packed 8:00 a.m. hour. 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coins? >> coins going from the top. >> i have not read in on that. >> 55 stories. there were some injuries but that's okay. a good time was had by all. some new items in the nbc gift shop. there's this miniature model, jonathan lemire, made of licorice. it is edible. red licorice and green licorice. >> beautiful. exciting. >> put it in every stocking on the fireplace. we could use some way too early merchandise in the nbc store. >> well, the show is thriving under your leadership, so it's time for some "way too early" merch. >> time to cash in. >> that's right. >> and that's what this holiday season is all about, commerce. >> make a little extra on the side. >> new york city, though, man, shut down. i mean, it was -- >> last night? >> it was packed. >> it feels like old times, i have to say. you walk out around the holidays, it was strange for all the obvious reasons. you walk out of this building and, bam, it is wall to wall on the sidewalks and that's a good thing for new york city. >> a lot of tourists coming out. it was very exciting. one of them, of course, former u.s. attorney for the northern district of alabama and an msnbc legal analyst who is here for girls week. not girls weekend, girls week. on the weekend joyce vance has to be back home to watch the crimson tide, s.e.c. championship game. how about that iron bowl? that was 59 frustrating minutes, wasn't it? >> did you not have confidence the whole time that coach saban would pull that out? >> of course i did. i turned to my son and i said, now this -- and mika was there. >> it was really rough. >> i was supposed to pick her up at the airport. the game was so tight, she said get an uber. i did turn to jack and mika heard me, jack, this is horrible. this is the worst i've ever seen them play. jack, if you want to win a highsman or if you want to be a champion, you have 59 horrible minutes of football and you take that one minute and you turn yourself into a heisman winner, a champion. jack said, okay, i never thought they would do it. i taught him a lesson and they did it. >> a great warm-up for the georgia game. coach saban prepping the players for this week's festivities. >> is that what it was? mika, everybody laughs about how much you hate sports. >> i don't hate sports. >> that was one of the most compelling games -- it was so compelling, mika came in, she did the courtesy, sit on the couch with joe for, like, three minutes, and you stayed. >> i did. >> and your daughter had to get an uber. >> i like bryce. >> unbelievable. >> so smart. >> bryce was still in high school the last time alabama was an underdog going into a game. he's never seen what they'll face. >> eisenhower was president the last time alabama was an underdog. >> dinosaurs roamed the earth. >> 6 1/2 point underdogs going into the s.e.c. championship game this weekend. it will be a lot of fun. >> roll tide. >> there is such, willie, an unfair expectation for coach saban. every year you're supposed to be the greatest. sometimes you have rebuilding years. this is literally what a rebuilding year looks like for nick saban because the defense is not -- this is not as good as past alabama teams. but they found a way to win last week. >> i would like to have an 11-1 rebuilding year. you saw some of that frustration spill out last week. nick saban, a viral clip, and some fan sort of insinuated why aren't we winning by more? why are these games so close? when i got here people were just happy to win a game. and now you're worried -- he goes into the speeches that we're not winning by enough and how about a little gratitude for the players. he's frustrated. the truth is georgia is great. they're undefeated. but alabama is the king until somebody knocks them down. >> and that is true. so unfair not only for coach saban but also for those players, these kids that come up, they're 11-1 and you have people complaining they're not -- they're not as good as past teams. i mean, i take that as more credit to their character. again, the fact that they could get knock around the field by a 6-5 team for 59 minutes and figure out a way to win. that's a life lesson. >> potentially could win a national championship if they win some games. saban has built such a program there are unfair expectations. there's a parallel to the pros. they're being paid a lot of money, but the same with bill belichick. they're down one year and are back in it thanks to alabama quarterback mac jones. >> roger bennett may not be appearing on "morning joe" for quite some time. he is in mourning. everton destroyed by cross town rival liverpool, 4-1. mika, now for some other news. all right, during a closed door -- all of this stuff happening with marjorie taylor greene and these hideous racial and very dangerous comments being made. well, apparently during a closed door meeting with rank and file republicans yesterday house minority leader kevin mccarthy addressed what he calls this drama and infighting playing out among gop members and urged his colleagues to stop attacking one another saying, quote, congress is not junior high. he said 99% of members are doing a great job. the other 1% should follow suit and stay focused on winning the majority. it was the first time house gop members have been together since congresswoman suggested congresswoman ocasio could be a terrorist. i wouldn't call that junior high but okay. >> well, i mean, if your junior high school was in italy. go ahead. the congresswoman boebert's anti-muslim remarks. there is concern boerbert would use retribution. there is a judgment about how we contribute to their fund-raising and publicity. the heads of five democratic caucuses called on boebert to be removed from her committee assignments. a question of accountability, how can this be allowed, joe, and yet if something is done they raise money on it. >> even us talking about it right now gets reaction, gets the response. ventures that say shocking things, offensive things, bigoted. they go online and raise a ton of money. and the more the democratic party or nancy pelosi or msnbc or cnn goes after them, jonathan lemire, the more money they raise. making a great point. you would like to ignore these ventures showing bombs and racist statements to get a tension. when it slips over into fascism and violence, you have to respond. >> there are lines that have to be addressed. some of the democrats who were individual lawmakers or celebrities and they have the ability thanks to social media, thanks to their following, they're always desperate for cable news hits, they need the party power behind them a lot less often and they are. you say something inflammatory you get picked up by breitbart and cross over to fox and that's how you raise money and power. they have their own ability to sort of generate power and influence to win their next election. >> what is the line? how far could they go and have kevin mccarthy and leadership say nothing? they've eye accused colleagues of being terrorists because of their faith. would kevin mccarthy do anything? >> he has demonstrated by not doing anything in this case that he's scared to police his own caucus. when you have the cross fit woman going on steve bannon's show saying she is the base now, that she reflects the base, letting this group present themselves as the base which i still don't think they are but they've sure ignited a lot of fervor. do you think this is the base? >> they're not the base but the crazies, the more racist things they say, the more money they make and that is the difference between 20 years ago and now if you offended the leadership, if you offended the group of members then your fund-raising would dry up. we saw it happen a couple years ago. they take you off the committee. for these people the more racist, bigoted things they say, the more from extremists. i am shocked by these hatemongerers raise. that's their power base. they're rewarded for the hate speech. >> i wonder the reward. maybe they should just be fined. some sort of accountability that they can't then make money on. they should be accountable for these kinds of dangerous statements. >> they're accountable to their electorate. this is happening usually in the house and not the senate. this goes back to state legislatures gerrymandering districts so much that you can say whatever the you want to say. and then you'll win because no democrat will ever win in that district. >> mitch mcconnell has control of his ranks in a way that kevin mccarthy does not. >> mika, nancy pelosi has control of members that have said things that have found to be offensive and censored them on the floor. >> well, we'll be following this. other headlines pertaining to the january 6th select committee. they voted to charge jeffrey clark with contempt of congress. he will appeal saturday for another deposition. vice chair liz cheney sent a message to former president trump saying he, too, may find himself on the committee's witness list. >> mr. clark's attorney sent a letter to the committee, stating that mr. clark now intends to assert his fifth amendment privilege against incriminating himself in this process. this is, in my view, a last-ditch attempt to delay the select committee's proceedings. however, a fifth amendment is a weighty one. we have just learned that mr. clark has agreed to appear again to continue his deposition. however, we will proceed tonight with considering the contempt request as this is just the first step of the contempt process. >> he has recently suggested that he wants to debate members of this committee. this committee's investigation into the violent assault on our capital on january 6th is not a game. any communications mr. trump has with this committee will be under oath and if he persists in lying then, he will be accountable under the laws of this great nation and subject to criminal penalties for every false word he speaks. >> the rules committee will consider the contempt charge recommendation today against jeffrey clark. the full house vote awaits the outcome of saturday's deposition. joyce, let's take a quick step back and remind people why jeffrey clark is significant, who he is, what role he might play, what testimony might be valuable. >> clark was the head of the natural resources division. how does that guy find himself thrust in? suddenly this is a high-ranking doj official but not someone who visits the oval office and has conversations with the president, which clark apparently does ultimately coming up with a plan that suggested to georgia, how you can steal the election. so what happens here, clark gets subpoenaed and rather than coming in and testifying about it he plays the delay game and finally the january 6th committee gets tough and says, you know, we're not going to have any of it. you can go the same way as steve bannon and here i think chairman thompson has done something incredibly smart. he recognizes how very principled about bringing these prosecutions in the bannon indictment it talks about bannon's total failure to comply with the subpoenas. make sure they give every chance to clark to comply with the subpoena and will take the fifth amendment. the committee seems geared up to not let him do that in a blanket way in a letter from his lawyer but to force him to respond to every question. so we have a record about where he says he may have criminal exposure if he answers the question. >> the next name is mark meadows on certain measures here. what's the latest with him? he's been in the news and what recourse could the committee take if he fails to cooperate in the manner they deem appropriate. >> they said, well, we'll judge it as it's ongoing. i'm not sure there's a high confidence mark meadows is committed to fully responding to the committee. we won't see 11 hours of benghazi-style testimony out of mark meadows. it's more like an exercise in pulling teeth. again, he faces the strong possibility that if he is not compliant he, too, will face sanctions and, of course his situation is different. so far he's tried to suggest there might be executive privilege because he did work for the president. there are news reports he was using phones not his official government phone, the sense that what happened on january 6th was more about the campaign than running the country. he could face a dangerous prospect at doj. >> joyce vance, thank you very much. we appreciate your insight. the u.s. is warning russia of serious consequences if it invades ukraine and is urging moscow to pull back its troops from the ukrainian border. secretary of state antony blinken wrapped up a meeting with lavrov expressing concern the large-scale troop buildup on ukraine's border and other pressure tactics resembled the kremlin strategy before it invaded ukraine in 2014 and seized the crimean peninsula. andrea mitchell is traveling with the secretary of state and joins us live on the phone from stockholm. andrea, this is looking very familiar, and what else can you tem us about the message the united states is hoping to send to the russians? >> they're really talking past each other. tony blinken first laid this out at nato. yesterday he said there were tens of thousands of combat troops, on the ukraine border that is comparable to what we saw last spring and most urgently comparable to what we saw just before the 2014 invasion. and said there would be serious consequences coming out of the nato meeting, all 30 that they would take national sanctions, economic and political sanctions against russia such as russia has never seen before. if it crosses that border. so going into this meeting today, tension was very high. we were in there for that ten minutes before they had a 30-minute -- well, not one-on-one, because they had delegations with them. before they kicked us out blinken repeated there would be consequences, what they could or could not do on the ukraine border and he wanted to hear blinken's explanation. it was pretty tough, pretty awkward between the two. and now we see the possibility of something that president biden alluded to a week ago, that there could be a conversation between presidents biden and putin in the coming days. we're hearing there could be some intense diplomacy at the highest levels and russian social media is saying that lavrov would like to see a conversation between biden and putin. get back to the constructive talks that they had in geneva. >> andrea, it's jonathan lemire, there's been some suggestion that putin would love another face-to-face meeting with president biden in the not too distant future. we know how that elevates the standing of any russian leader. but talk to us more, if you will, about what lavrov's pushback was suggesting nato was overstepping its bounds and just is there any sense here what sort of support does the u.s. have from its allies, particularly in europe, to taking such a potentially tough stance against moscow? >> really interesting that talking about the putin suggestion, that's what we've been hearing the last couple of days, suggesting a face-to-face. it would be virtual, jonathan. this would not be another geneva but a virtual summit, perhaps by the end of the month, perhaps in january, something the u.s. has not agreed to but is not ruling out and that might be the best way to resolve this. they are interested in a diplomatic way, an off ramp, if you will. but they disagree about the terms of the so-called agreement, the 2014 agreement what russia could or could not do along that border. as long as they're disagreeing about that and the fact that blinken and the nato secretary-general very clearly said that nato and nato alone, its members, will decide who can or cannot be a defense alliance and russia cannot declare a fear of influence around its boarders as it is claiming. lavrov's position is any suggestion of a nato expansion to the west, any inclusion of ukraine would be a threat to russia's sovereignty. blinken says that's laughable, that it could be a threat to russia's. there's no suggestion at all of a u.s. boots on the ground. the u.s. is definitely considering more money. $60 million in defense weaponry to ukraine. there could be more. 30 minutes apiece. nothing specific mentioned by the ukrainian foreign ministers and what they want but they do want a package of more defensive weapons and to your final point about nato, it was absolutely solid. we spent two days there, and everyone, according to the u.s., according to other nato allies we've spoken to, they all, including germany, were rock solid, ironclad that ukraine cannot be threatened by russia and that it's really laughable that russia feels ukraine is a threat to its sovereignty. >> andrea mitchell, thank you very much. reporting live from stockholm this morning. the head of the women's professional tennis tour has announced all wta tournaments in china will be suspended because of concerns about the safety of peng shuai, a grand slams doubles champion, who accuse add former high-ranking chinese government official of sexual assault. peng dropped out of public view after raising the allegation in a social media post last month that was quickly taken down. a statement from the wta chairman and ceo reads in part, quote, unfortunately, the leadership in china has not addressed this very serious issue in a credible way. while we know where peng is, i have serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation. he also tells the ap cancellation of wta events in china could extend beyond 2022. china was supposed to be the site of several tennis tournaments next year including the prestigious season ending wta finals. willie this is a bold move, and i think a necessary one. >> mika, it has to be pointed out the wta has been courageous in its convictions in a way other sports leagues, movie studios, other places that don't want to give up their business with china certainly have not, been happy to look the other way. the wta from the very beginning has been critical of china and now given up a whole bunch of money by pulling its tournaments out on this principled stand they're taking. and still ahead on "morning joe" the omicron variant of covid-19 detected in the u.s. just as president biden prepares to unveil his winter plan against the virus. we'll talk to the coordinator of the white house covid response team and donald trump is crying fake news over the story that claims he tested positive for covid before his debate with joe biden. so was the timing of his subsequent hospital stay just a coincidence as well? it times out perfectly. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. 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>> the president is going to unveil a very robust plan, pull out all the stops to prepare for the winter, prepare for the new variant. this will all them our path out of the pandemic and protect americans. most importantly the president is announcing a national campaign to boost $100 million americans who are now eligible for a booster. boosters provide the highest level of protection against covid. the president is announcing hundreds of new family vaccination sites which will enable us to vaccinate more and more of the 5 to 11-year-old kids who recently became eligible to be vaccinated. parents can bring their kids to get their first shots. a grandparent can bring their grandchild and the grandchild can get their first shot and the grandparent gets their booster. the other plan is testing, free at home testing covered by insurance going forward and tens of millions of tests available around the country free at home tests. this is all in addition to the 20,000 locations people can walk in and get a free at-home test. it's important to spot the disease early and accelerate our path out of the pandemic and limit the spread. >> boosters, we're hearing more and more from top officials the booster really makes a difference and people should get them and where you can get locations, additional locations, where you can get vaccines. key messaging on all of that. what about mandates, vaccine mandates? do you expect there will be any enhancements to existing mandates? >> vaccine mandates work. we've seen increases of 20% in the vaccination rate. private companies, universities, here in the federal government, 97% compliance. vaccine mandates work and businesses, 60% of businesses are now implementing them and we're seeing significant increases and rates and that's so important. the best tool we have is vaccination and for those who are fully vaccinated to get boosted to take their vaccination level or protection level to the highest level yet. >> so since they work, since they're proven to work, what more can the white house do to expand on mandates? where else can they go with mandates? federal mandates? >> it's important we implement existing mandates. international travel, as you know, right when we heard about the w.h.o.'s classification of the new variant as a variant of concern, we took action and limited travel from those countries where there were hundreds of cases. in addition today president biden is announcing stricter travel requirements. to travel to the u.s. you need to be fully vaccinated. now you need to be tested predeparture within one day. furthermore the president is extending the mask requirement for travel both domestically and internationally. so we are tightening our international travel protocols as part of this response. >> and all travelers, is there a vaccine mandate for all travelers in and out of the country and in the country? >> that is correct. now we're tightening the testing requirements, all testing has to be done within 24 hours of departure. extending the mask mandate for all domestic and international travel. >> jeffrey, it's jonathan lemire. there's no requirement yet for any sort of domestic travel on planes or trains, right? that's not in the cards at the moment? >> the masking requirement is part of domestic travel. in terms of vaccine requirements we're focused at the work place, very efficient and effective. the requirements work, the vaccination requirements driving vaccination rates oftentimes up to 98%, 99%. so we'll continue at the work place. >> let me push you a little bit why the hesitancy to require proof of vaccination with the rise of the variant a number of health experts who advise the administration who say that is in their estimation the next step that should be taken to prevent further spread. >> we do have those on the work place requirements. everything is on the table. >> jeffrey, can you explain the logic banning all travelers from south africa, for example, if they have to be fully vaccinated when south africa did what we want countries to do, to identify these new variants and let the world know. >> well, the president relies on his medical team, his scientists, to make the recommendations. there were hundreds of cases in south africa in that region. the decision was to stop travel from that region and getting prepared, part of the robust plan today. more boosters, more kids getting vaccinated. more free testing. the measures are taking now and the measures will help slow the spread in the u.s. and allow us to get prepared. >> white house covid-19 response coordinator jeffrey zients, thank you very much. and up next donald trump's first presidential debate with joe biden seen in a new light after the revelation he tested positive for covid days before taking the stage. we have more on that new reporting next on "morning joe." real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? 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(sha bop sha bop) ♪ ♪ ♪ alexa, play our favorite song again. ok. ♪ i only have eyes for you ♪ as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. ok. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ we are learning more about the people around trump who helped him undermine public health. namely the revelation the former president tested positive for coronavirus three days before his first presidential debate with joe biden. the news was first reported by "the guardian" which cited excerpts from the book from white house chief of staff mark meadows. nbc news has since confirmed the story with three sources, two characterized the initial test as a false positive after a subsequent test taken hours later came back negative. the candidates were supposed to test negative for the virus within 72 hours of the debate. as meadows writes in his book, quote, nothing was going to stop trump from participating. here is donald trump discussing testing and mask use on the night of the debate followed by an exchange with nbc's savannah guthrie at a town hall event. >> i mean, i have a mask right here. i put a mask on when i think i need it. tonight is an example everybody has had a test and you've had social distancing and all of the things that you have to. i wear masks when needed. >> your first positive test was thursday, october 1st. okay. when was your last negative test? when did you last remember having a negative test? >> well, i test quite a bit, and i can tell you that before the debate, which i thought was a very good debate and i felt fantastic, i had no problem before. >> did you test the day of the debate? >> i don't know. i don't even remember. i test all the time. >> trump also claimed last year he may have contracted covid during an event honoring gold star families. watch. >> sometimes i would be in groups of, for instance, gold star families. i went through, like, 35 people, and everyone had a different story. they come within an inch of my face sometimes. they want to hug me and they want to kiss me, and they do, and, frankly, i'm not telling them to back up. i'm not doing it. but i did say it's like, you know, it's obviously dangerous. it's a dangerous thing, i guess, if you go by the covid thing. >> the covid thing. he already had it and, willie, he did what all honorable presidents have done through the years. he threw gold star moms under the bus. >> it's hard to be shocked anymore about donald trump, but my god, of all -- what we know is he tested positive the day before the gold star family event. he knew he had covid. >> let's get this straight. he was giving the gold star moms covid. >> that's right. and then he stepped out, did the event with amy coney barrett -- >> got more people sick. >> and then he goes to the gold star events and has the gall to blame those who lost their sons and daughters in war. >> jonathan lemire, he knew that he had covid before he went to these families who were grieving over the loss of their children. >> yeah. >> let's remember, he feuded with a gold star family during the campaign back in 2016, and this is a moment where he, all based on his own chief of staff, mark meadows, trump tested positive for covid and proceeded to blame everyone else in the orbit. he threw hope hicks, the aide, threw her under the bus, suggested that in this clip we saw gold star families might be to blame. he, who had the virus, as he went to that supreme court event which became a superspreader event, he traveled to a pair of rallies after testing positive with covid. he came back on air force one to speak to reporters in close quarters, one of those reporters got very sick with covid. he was, it appears to be, patient zero here for this outbreak, and yet he proceeded to blame everyone else and, of course, endangered joe biden's life on the stage that night. >> blamed everybody. mika, as willie said, he tested positive the day before he met with the gold star families. >> yeah, and on the day he tested positive, he held a white house event for amy coney barrett and later attended a campaign rally in pennsylvania. in the days after the positive test, he was also up close and personal with automakers on the white house south lawn. he also held a white house event to discuss covid testing. there was another campaign rally in minnesota and a private fund-raiser on october 1st -- >> so we know he was a runaway beer truck. >> yes! >> that was spraying covid, like insecticide, everywhere. >> keep in mind -- >> everywhere he went. >> keep in mind people are being forced to take tests and have their temperature checked and everything all around him while he's breathing covid all over these people. >> coughing, sneezing, sweating. that sweat, my lord. >> ew. >> you see those clips of elvis in '76. singing "my way." >> the jumpsuit elvis. >> this is jumpsuit elvis material right here. and he's just coughing and wheezing and sneezing and sweating all over everybody. a lot of people got sick. and coming up, a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning including alec baldwin speaking out about the deadly shooting on the set of his movie "rust" back in october. he says he, quote, didn't pull the trigger. "morning joe" is coming right back. ck vo: just getting by, it's an ongoing struggle. that's why president biden and democrats in congress have a plan to lower costs for america's working families. lower costs of healthcare premiums and the price of prescription drugs. pay less for electric bills by moving to clean energy. and do it all by making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. it'd be a win for the everyday american family. right when they could really use one. congress, let's get this done. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. this is the new world of work. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ each day looks different than the last. but whatever work becomes... the servicenow platform will make it just, flow. whether it's finding ways to help you serve your customers, orchestrating a safe return to the office... wait. an office? 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>> no. i would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger. >> reporter: posted clips do not include the actor's explanation for how the gun went off. but it contradicts what baldwin himself told officers, investigators say he was in costume practicing a cross draw when the deadly shot was fired. >> someone put a live bullet in the gun. >> reporter: the interview comes as authorities release details about how live rounds may have made it to set. fell reed, father of armorer hannah gutierrez reed told investigators, seth kenny, who supplied some of the ammunition on "rust" had live ammo. he said that bullets were used on a prior production they both worked on and may match the ammunition found on the set of "rust." officers searching kenney's prop shop tuesday night finding suspected live ammo. neither responded to our request for comment. >> i think back and i think of what could i have done -- >> there's two gun shots we need two ambulances. >> reporter: when the prop gun was fired, the bullet stuck the film's director, joel souza, and killed 42-year-old cinematographer, halyna hutchins. >> she was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with and liked by everyone who worked with and admired. >> reporter: with no charges filed, this morning authorities are still working to pinpoint who is ultimately responsible. >> that was nbc's miguel al ma al ma kwar reporting. that does it for us. stephanie rhule picks up the coverage after this final break. coverage after this final break. mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. seriously? 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(tiger) this is the dimension of imagination. ♪ ♪ hey, there. i'm stephanie rhule live at msnbc headquarters here in new york city. let's get smarter. in a few minutes we'll take you to the house where the rules committee starts the process of charging a trump era doj official with contempt of congress, despite his attorney saying he's pleading the fifth. supply chain strain. what president biden is doing to make sure the shelves stay stocked ahead of the holidays. we have to start with the omicron variant found here in the use. identified in a traveler who returned to california from abroad. >> the individual was a traveler who returned from south africa on november 22nd and tested positive on november 29th. the individual is self-quarantining and all