machines ethan started musing about using the department of homeland security, we will have much more on that and it is day 377 of the biden administration. the january 6th committee has now heard from a key witness and its investigation. mark sure, the former vice president mike pence's former chief of staff quietly testified before the house camila committee last wednesday. short was with pence at the capitol on the day of the insurrection as a pro trump mob stormed the building calling for pence to be hanged. shorts testimony follows a subpoena and an earlier engagement with the january six committee and this latest development comes as donald trump is amplifying the false claim that mike pence had the authority to overturn the 2020 election. late sunday, trump's that down a statement slamming the bipartisan effort to update the electoral count act suggesting that the law as written quote, mike pence did have the right to change the outcome and they now want to take that right away. unfortunately, he did not exercise that power, he could've overturn the election and quote and that followed his speech at a rally in texas on saturday where he fluted pardons for those charged in the capitol riot if he is reelected. he also attacked prosecutors investigating him in new york and georgia. >> if these radicals are vicious racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal i hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protest we have ever had in washington, d.c., in new york, in atlanta and elsewhere. >> new york attorney general letitia james and manhattan da elton brag looking at trump's businesses while atlanta area da fani willis is investigating possible election interference. willis has now asked the fbi to conduct a risk assessment of the county courthouse and downtown, atlanta. meanwhile, capitol hill is gearing up for challenging weeks ahead. tomorrow will mark one month until president biden's first state of the union. the to do list for lawmakers includes averting possible government shutdown by february teeth, the standoff with russia over ukraine and confirming a new supreme court justice. the white house says biden will meet with senate judiciary committee dick durbin and the ranking member, the republican truck grassley tomorrow to discuss the confirmation. nbc news reports that 13 potential candidates are under consideration for the high court. today, the senate democratic and republican leaders laid out where they stand on the matter. >> i am confident that the president will select an outstanding individual to fill justice breyer's seat. and we intend to move quickly on our constitutional duty to act on its nominee when announced. i can assure you all senators that the senate will have a fair process. >> president biden was elected on the specific promise to govern. stuart our governing institutions and unite a divided country. the american people -- 50/50. i suggest that president biden bear this in mind as he considers whom to nominate to our house court. >> over the week some republicans raised concerns about biden's pledge to name a black woman to the court saying the field of candidates should not be limited. >> the irony is that the supreme court is at the very same time hearing cases about the sort of -- racial discrimination, and while adding someone who's the beneficiary of this sort of quota, the majority of the court may be saying at large, it's unconstitutional. we will see how that arnie works out. >> the fact that he's willing to make the promise at the outset that it must be a black woman, that's offensive! you know, black women are 6% of the u.s. population! he is saying that 94% of americans -- i don't give a damn about you. you are ineligible? >> the way that the president has handled this nomination has been clumsy at best. it adds to the further perception that the court the court is a political institutionally congress when it is not supposed to be. >> not everybody's got the same view on this. at least one republican had a different view with regard to biden's decision. >> i really don't have a problem with singling out a particular demographic group. he certainly won't be the first president who has done that. >> as you mentioned, congress is also facing a growing crisis on ukraine's border. the kremlin has now will win over 100,000 troops on its border with ukraine. nbc news has confirmed that in addition to weapons russia has moved blood supplies to the border which will be necessary to treat casualties in the event of a conflict. the state department says russia has not responded in writing to a u.s. proposal to de-escalate the crisis. that came after confrontation between representatives for the two nations today and our united states secure council meeting. we'll have much more on all of this just ahead. also tonight, on the pandemic front, the fda has now given full approval to the moderna covid vaccine. it's been reported that pfizer will soon ask for emergency authorization to use its vaccine in kids under the age of five. we've got a lot tonight, but with that let's bring in our lead off guests on this monday night. ashley parker, pulitzer price -winning bureau chief for the washington post. sam stein, a veteran journalist and white house editor for politico. professor melissa murray of nyu law school. she was a law clerk for sonia sort of my or when she was on the federal bench before her nomination to the supreme court. we should note and you will know this if you are looking at that picture we had, according to our reporting, melissa murray is among those under consideration or appointment to the high court. good evening to all of you. good evening for being -- thank you for being with us. i want to work with you through this, actually, the breaking news story that we got from the new york times. reading from it quote, a new account show that mr. trump was more directly involved than previously known in exploring proposals to use his national security agencies to seize voting machines as he grasped unsuccessfully for evidence of fraud that would help him reverse his defeat in the 2020 election, according to people familiar with the episodes. the new accounts provide fresh insight into how the former president considered and to some degree pushed the plans. it would've taken the united states in uncharted territory by using federal authority to seize control of the voting systems run by states on baseless grounds of widespread voting fraud, and quote. actually, the specifics of the story are new and the sentiment is not. we now know that on or around december 18th after the election, before january 6th happened, there was a lot of talk about federal agencies getting involved in seizing voting machines, resulting in a document that we still are learning more about, that look like an executive action. it was unsigned, but this is putting a little bit more light on trump's role in the whole thing. >> that's right. this brings it closer to the former president himself, right? we knew there were some of these order ideas floating around, including what was first released by politico. you couldn't tell how close to the president got, although there was still a sense that these world people trying to please trump and do his bidding, but [inaudible] briefing books were not always read -- a bit more information bringing it to closer to trump's himself. but i have to say to echo you, it's not surprising at all. former president trump is someone who -- the secretary of state to ask him to find the exact number of votes that would flip the states to him. this is someone who at his rally this past week basically signaled that he was that -- would potentially pardon all the insurrectionists and that they were treated unfairly. in that same context urged supporters to protest like they've never protested before. if you keep in mind, how they protested before with the deadly insurrection on the u.s. capitol, this is a president who after he barely lost the free and fair election, wanted to do everything he possibly could to hang on to power with just about every means possible. the story is another bit in that broader cannon. >> in the story it indicates trump was presented with this idea of using the department of defense which most people have we've spoken to experience with the department of defense would know it's not possible. finally he calls rudy giuliani and giuliani says unless there's evidence -- interfered in the election there's no chance the military could have any role in this whole thing so according to this article it makes the case that she thinks the chinese and the venezuelans and others were involved, but in the end, donald trump then direct giuliani to call the homeland security department and even -- the dhs says we can't do this. the bottom line is this is all stuff that donald trump is still talking about. he talked about it last night in texas, he talked about it on saturday night. he's not creating a lot of space between himself and its narrative. >> yeah, on the one hand it's not terribly surprising that trump is acting this way because today or yesterday he was saying the former vice president of mike pence should have overturned election but on the other hand when you think about it and it's totality, it's shocking to have a sitting president and explore not just one but three different departments for avenues to overturn the machines. for him to be pushed back by one of his attorney generals, his personal lawyer, his white house counsel and continue to look for lawyers who would affirm his instincts, to do what it took to overturn the election, but it's about the shocking revelation and a reminder that we're close to having one or two more compliant aides who would have indulged his impulses. i think that's the really, that's the thing you need to grapple with. the institutions held of course but could they have broken? it would have taken one or two people to say yes, let's do that and let's have the department of defense going count voting machines. let's get the lawmakers in the state of michigan to go and pass the -- wood happens in that case? i think that's what's troubling for some of the people heading into 2024, when you have trump running unapologetic platform, there's a chance it would not just win the republican nomination but become president again. >> yeah, i think you make an interesting point. we see time and time again, there were lots of opportunities for people to do the wrong thing. four people approached by pressured by trump, just firing a few degrees off and things could've been very different. this argument that donald trump made and texas that mike pence should have done it. he had the authority and should have overturn the election. a very circular argument he makes. he is saying that that's why nobody should try to change this law, so he's got himself into a principle there, he argues that mike pence had the authority to overturn the election even though he thought that was an election that did need to be overturned because he actually won it. >> i don't think -- it speaks to the way in which we really have been held together by norms. not really law. in fact what's happening now is we have to put guardrails in place to prevent that from happening again so that we don't have to rely on norms and other people's better angels. we will have firm guardrails in place that will keep these things from happening in the future. so yes, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but not a lot has made a lot of sense in the last four years. >> yes, asking guests on the show to make sense of something that happened with the former president. marc short testified before the committee earlier and cooperated in some fashion with the committee last week. we sort of knew that he was testifying and was cooperating with them, which is interesting, because it suggests to some observers from the outside that maybe mike pence's as well without giving testimony himself. tell me why mark short, for our members of our audience who are not clear on this, why is mark short so important? >> he's an incredibly fascinating witness for a couple of reasons. one is he's a longtime conservative republican. he's a mike pence loyalist. he's not a donald trump loyalist. does not mean he's was never a trumper, but he's not part of that maga base or one of the aunts scurrying around to try to do former president trump's bidding. he was also with pence all day on january 6th. so he has this window into, as the protesters were chanting, hang mike pence, throughout the entire day, no one from the white house, not the president, not a low level staffer, no one called the then vice president or his entourage to see if he was okay. at one point short himself called the white house and said hey guys, just so you know, we are sheltering in this particular location, we are fine. i think the real -- it's not really -- it's all those days and weeks leading up to january 6th where marc short was one of the few people who was often in the room or on phone calls with trump, with pence, with some of trump's lawyers and allies who repeatedly tried to pressure pence to, as trump tweeted out prepared in the statement the other day overturn election. that's one of his -- exactly what trump wanted. what he was saying. how you view that day of january. i think that's probably what will be most valuable for the january committee. >> melissa murray, can i just ask you about process? pardon me. at the moment the democrats have the number to pass whomever the senate signs off on. do you think there could be any problem in joe biden getting the nominee that he wants? >> i think they have a closely divided senate -- but all 50 vote the same when you have vice president harris breaking the tie, there should be no problem. again, -- even before she's actually been identified, and i agree with senator kramer this idea that this is the first time the president has identified and particular candidates based on particulars constituencies, it's not sure we've seen this before. eisenhower selected william brando because he wanted to appeal to catholics, ronald reagan -- and nominated o'connor. it's curious that senator cruz chose to note about this person out of only -- 6% of the american public. we don't know who this person is. there are women who are daughters of immigrants, public defenders. these women could relate to a wide number of americans not simply black women, but it seems odd to single her out even before she's been identified and it's that she has to make her case to the american people. >> it is kind of a remarkable attack on somebody whose face we don't know, whose name we don't know, to whom we have not been introduced. sam stein, how much of an effect will succeeding in nominating and appointing a justice to the supreme court have on the democrats fortunes come november? >> well it can't hurt, right? if you can at least get the presidents nominee through. it's a victory for the party. it's a victory for democrats. for the supreme court, for the democratic party. there is a conventional wisdom that democratic voters are more motivated by judicial wars like this. bringing out the base for republicans and democrats. i think that has been turned a little bit. not going to be the confirmation fight itself that will have an impact for democrats and the party. it is going to be the decisions that the court hears. specifically on the future of roe v. wade and abortion rights in this country. that is going to be far more galvanized for democratic voters. then an emmy nominee. however stoke she may be, when it comes to the midterms. >> appreciate the analysis from all three of you tonight. ashley parker, sam stein and mueller summary. thank you. coming up, all eyes on russia as it moves more supplies, including blood to ukraine's border. i will ask a former cia chief of staff sanctions against russia will work and what to expect in the days ahead. later -- is or isn't dealing with this latest attempt. the 11th hour, just getting underway on a monday night. 11th hour, just gettin (man) oh, no, no, after you. wahoooo! 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(music) discover more in the all-new sub♪ i think to myself ♪ss. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medication. the brand i trust is qunol. ben isn't worried about retirement his personalized plan is backed by the team at fidelity. his ira is professionally managed, and he gets one-on-one coaching when he needs it. so ben is feeling pretty zen. that's the planning effect from fidelity >> the discussions about a threat of war is provocative. you want it to happen. you're waiting for it to happen. the >> threats of aggression on the border of ukraine, yes on its border, is provocative. >> if russian officials are serious when they say they do not want a new war, russia must continue diplomatic engagement. it pullback military forces it amassed along ukraine's borders. >> tensions on clear display during un's security council meeting, as russia and the u.s. accused each other of provoking escalations in eastern europe. the washington post sums up the meeting this way, quote, the verbal confrontation, one of the sharpest in years and in international forum, was rife with historical references dating back to the end of world war ii. the accumulated grievances of the cold war and two decades of often tenuous piece that followed. while both sides had the way out was through diplomacy, neither indicated an intention to yield. back with us tonight is jeremy bash, a former chief of staff at the cia and the pentagon. jeremy, good to see you. but that article is implied that you don't know. however, it is worth noting, that the diplomacy has not ceased. there are still talks, still letters, that the russians want assurances from the americans. the americans gave them a document. we've heard reporting tonight, there's been a written response to that. what do we know about the two traps that are occurring. the hot top that is going on about troops, and the diplomacy? >> i think the diplomacy is going to continue up until the moment that vladimir putin decides to invade. and frankly, even afterwards. the object of our united states and our allies is to prevent putin from escalating. from conducting military operations inside ukraine. from threatening the territorial integrity of ukraine and other nations. showcased at the un security council today. a number of patients came together to rebuke vladimir putin's threats against ukraine. stand up for the principle that countries can be deciding their own path. decide who to be allies with. can't be forced to redraw borders by force. fundamental principles of the un charter and good to see them vindicated on the international stage today. >> jerry, does it matter. but growing up when i heard there was a security council meeting to over an international event, i had hoped that it had worked. does it matter today? is russia going to do regardless of the international pressure? >> the un security council ali, does not have a military that can stand in putin's way, if that is what you are asking. but it does bear importance that the international community is condemning these threats against ukraine. and those values of territorial integrity, of allowing a democracy, i'll be imperfect, but a democracy nonetheless. from ukraine to decide what's pat wants to take. who wants to be an ally with. those will ultimately be defended. potentially by force. certainly by collective action on the international stage. in terms of sanctions. and i think ultimately, there will be a number of countries that will have to arm, train and equip a ukrainian resistance. if lawyer putin pushes his forces into ukraine. >> i want to play something for you that the russian ambassador to the un said today, made by the russian federation, let's listen to it together. >> the deployment of russian troops within our own territory has frequently occurred on variants scales before. and has not caused any hysterics whatsoever. this deployment of russian troops in our own territory is getting our western and u.s. colleagues to say that there is going to be a planned military action. they're however, is no proof confirming such a serious accusation, whatsoever. being put forward. >> jeremy, you worked intelligence, you worked with the military, tell me what is going on here? because the russians are basically saying, we can put troops anywhere we want in our country and they can. we've gone from 100,000 on the border, 230,000 on the border. now reports of blood supplies going to the border. what is actually going on? the russians are making the argument, we are just moving troops around. >> and they're also saying ali, this is just an exercise. that is a cover story. they wouldn't put 100 to 125,000 troops on the border with ukraine, unless they had designs on at least preparing for a military invasion. they wanted to conduct exercises, there are ways to do. moving logistical splash forward. like blood, like plasma. to ensure that if there are casualties, they can replenish those supplies. this is all of the hallmarks of a preparation for an invasion. and i think the united states has been absolutely correct. the biden administration has been absolutely correct in pointing a finger at this activity. warning the international community about it. staying clearly, they are going to keep the allies together. there will be sanctions. supporting ukraine's territory. making this a spotlight shined on the entire world for this. of course, if we hadn't spoken out. if we hadn't brought our allies together. then putin would have anticipated and seen a greenlight, you probably already been in there. >> jeremy, always good to have your analysis. thank you for being with us, jeremy bash. coming up, with the republican vice chair of the january 6th committee said today about the former president for capital rioters. why liz cheney says donald trump would quote, do it all again, when the 11th hour continues. d quote, do it all d quote, do it all again, ♪ ♪ continues. if you have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure... ...you're a target for... ...chronic kidney disease. you can already have it and not know it. if you have chronic kidney disease... ...your kidney health... ...could depend on what you do today. ♪far-xi-ga♪ farxiga is a pill that works... ...in the kidneys to help slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. farxiga can cause... ...serious side effects including dehydration,... ...urinary tract or genital yeast infections... ...in women and men,... ...and low blood sugar. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect... ...that may lead to death. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection... ...in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away... ...if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection,... ...an allergic reaction,... ...or ketoacidosis. and don't take it if you are on dialysis. take aim... ...at chronic kidney disease by talking to your doctor... ...and asking about farxiga. if you can't afford your medication,... ...astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪far-xi-ga♪ not only do centrum multigummies taste great. they help support your immune ma defenses, too.lp. because a healthy life. starts with a healthy immune system. with vitamins c and d, and zinc. getting out there has never tasted so good. try centrum multigummies. [♪♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. >> if i run and i win, we will treat those people from january six fairly. we will treat them fairly. and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons. >> that was the disgraced former president of the united states this weekend with, perhaps his most forceful endorsement of the attack on the u.s. capitol to date. that has prompted this warning from the republican vice chair of the committee, now investigating january 6th. >> i think the two things, suggesting that he would provide pardons for the january 6th defendants. and again, we know that a number of those people have been charged with seditious conspiracy. and also the acknowledgment that he was in fact attempting to overturn the election. those two things really demonstrate what his intention was. demonstrates what he would do if given the chance again. but >> with us tonight is victoria defrancesco. but dean of the university of arkansas and an msnbc political analyst. also michael steele, former lieutenant governor of maryland and host of the fabulous michael steele podcast. good evening to both of you, thank you for being with us. i thought have to say, their choices that we make on our language and this is one of the. i think we have to stop calling this the attack on the capitol. because the pivotal part of what happened on january 6th, with each passing day, seems not to have been the attack on the capitol, as horrible as it was, it was this forceful attack on democracy that was underway. before and after. led by the former president of the united states. >> it is. and it is viewed that way by many americans. but there is also a segment alley, where we see folks viewing a parallel reality. and this is something that donald trump is very good at. when i saw this clip, i had flashbacks to charlottesville. to the speech that donald trump gave at the time. saying there are very kind people on both sides. donald trump is extremely adept at taking rhetoric and normalizing things that are seen as not normal. as things that are unacceptable. and making it acceptable. and he is a master at this. we saw him do this with regards to talking about the proud boys. now we are seeing this with january 6th. we've seen it drip drip drip over the past couple of weeks. this is something we need to watch out for. i'm going to go one step further. not only is he normalizing the actions of january 6th. but he is framing them as a balance being put in the place for something that was unbalanced. but one point he likes to arrive at, is that he is a underdog and fighting for the little guy. keep this in mind as we see the rhetoric unfold over the next couple of months. next couple of years. he is very adept at this. >> michael, here is the thing. talking about things. talking about things that were not normal. that clown car of legal advisors that surround donald trump in the days after the election was not normal. and yet, when you read through this interesting new york times article that came out tonight. describing the involvement that donald trump had in some of the worst things that happened. rudy giuliani looks like either the adult in the room, or the adult lawyer in the room. or the one that still remembers some little bit of legal training. which would come to a surprise to many. >> i don't think it was that gracious a moment. beyond maybe the fact that he figured that actually invoking the military to seize ballots from around the country, at least in the key areas that they were focused on, was a bridge too far from him. look, the president was getting counsel from a whole host of people. and he was going typically outside of the chain of command if you will inside the white house. beginning with the chief of staff. and of course going to the other various advisers. homeland security, etc. that would be involved in these types of discussions. to the extent that he did. he got rebuffed. in the one thing that i have come to know in working with trump years before. and watching him over certainly the last five or six years. he doesn't appreciate being rebuffed. this is a man who otherwise has his finger on the pulse of everything. that is in his orbit. so this idea here that a lot of people like to protect situate. particularly in trump world. that he is sort of not involved. we were talking about this and he was unaware. it is bull. he has his finger on everything. and with the new york times is reporting tonight, gives you the extent. to which not only does he have his finger on it, but he is actually directing it. he is trying to reach a particular outcome. and he wants to manipulate the system. internally and externally. to reach that outcome. and to put a fine point on what vicky was just saying. all of the things she said about trump's true. but here is the most important thing american people need to take home tonight, as they should have four or five years ago. he is a dangerous man. he is a very dangerous man. and he is empowered by sick offense and grifters and others. that perpetuates that dangerous nature that he has. and if you think that the last four years of trump was crazy. you have not seen anything until you get into the red tribute to have stage of his presidency. of 2025 and beyond. and you have the indication ali, they want to put people in jail who served on the january 6th commission. starting with liz cheney and adam kinzinger. they want to put people in jail who blocked or refute their narrative. they want to free the people who try to overthrow our capital. this is what we are dealing with. and americans need to wake up to the reality that the man on that stage in texas is dangerous. and needs to be stopped. >> i want to explore this a little more vicky. to a lot of republicans, i think they get the idea that donald trump is dangerous. but he is dangerous to their opponents. he's dangerous to the people they don't. like he is dangerous to the left. the problem is, all of those dangers that michael just outlined, the things that he said, that donald trump is set out loud that he would do or wants to do. are fundamentally anti democratic. how do you square this with republicans who need to understand that he is dangerous for everybody, not just for democrats? but >> i think there is two camps. when we talk about the republican party, just like when we talk about the democratic party. need to look at different slices of it. i think there's one slice of the republican party that really does see that he is a protector of the interests of the united states. they have come to see a parallel reality. but i keep coming back to this. and then i think we have the other part of the republican party. that sees, this is the lesser of two evils. it's in my self interest. i've gone into far. i've already gone this road. i can't pull back now. and i think we see a lot of this, with regards to the attitudes in congress. folks who have retired. i think it is one base that is in it to win it. and they blindly believe in donald trump. and the other one that just went down a path that they can take back. >> i'm going to ask the two of you to stay, because this is a hearty and robust conversation that needs to continue and americans made here. coming up, rolling out a new strategy as democrats in the white house battle to get their priorities in track. as the 11th hour continues. priorities in track. priorities in track. as thepeople. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? or high blood potassium. it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medication. the brand i trust is qunol. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire ♪♪ anything else? do you also take orders online? yeah, we do that. yeah, we do. chef, can we hire another hostess? umm... psst. yeah. i was gonna add an exclamation point. secure payments, the tools you need, people who can help, we do that. talk to a clover business consultant today ♪ ♪ people who can help, ♪ ♪ we do that. >> i think it's an appropriate. i don't want to reinforce that filing the capitol was okay. i do not want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future. i want to deter people that did on the january 6th. those who did it, i hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them. because they deserve it. >> lindsey graham was a former military prosecutor. he is talking about donald trump on saturday night. saying if he is reelected, that he would consider pardoning the participants in the january 6th attack on the capitol. michael steele, when i hear less stuff like that from lindsey graham. i go here he is. there's that old lindsey graham. he's got a spine. and of course, i don't know how long that lasts. in the end, tell me how these republicans who have at times, sounded like they are standing up to donald trump, have folded. >> look, to lindsey's point. yeah, he wants to throw the book at them. because they deserve it. until donald trump tells him that they don't. and then what he is going to do. he's going to come on airways across the country and make the excuse for why donald trump's decision to give these people their freedom. to pardon them. it is okay. the reality of it is, for lindsey graham, susan collins, who can't seem to decide after she voted to impeach the guy, yeah i can't vote for him again. the reality is this. if you give donald trump another buy at that apple, he will take it and run it down your throat. he will shove it down your throat. you are on that list too. don't sit there and get that twisted belief that somehow because you stand in proximity of donald trump. and you got here, and blast back his narrative and his crazy. that when push comes to shove, that you are going to be off the list. when they start rounding people up and prosecuting people. holding hearings, etc. unless your name is michael flynn. and you are that far up the tree. if you know what i mean. you are not. you don't get the sanctity and the safety of being in trump's orbit. we have seen time and time again. you need to read michael flynn's book. you need to listen to michael, trump's lawyer. >> michael cohen. >> yeah, michael cohen. you've got to listen to what he tells you. because he should know. and there is a lot of truth in that reality. and i don't think a lot of people are being realistic, when it comes to donald trump. and specifically, how much he appreciates them, because he don't. >> you make an interesting point there. i think there are a lot of people that don't want to hear anything from michael cohen. but it is interesting to hear what he knows about them trump. it quite informs your thinking. about what donald trump is going to do. he is still a major presence for us. in fact, vicky, tim miller at the bulwark wrote this about donald trump's anti democratic salvo's recently. unless the gods of the actuary tables intervene, exercising trump from the gop was always going to require political pain. cancer doesn't get removed without surgery and chemo and the treatments sucks. most likely answer is that the republicans are fine with the status quo, and prefer the pain of dealing with trump, and the pain of losing power. the idea of victoria, of dealing with trump and losing power. is something republicans are going to have to come to terms with in the next few months and years. >> they are going to have to come to terms with the. but i am also going to walk out and when you the institutional factor. that have really seen our parties go to extremes. starting with the fact that we have our primary system. where we see winning happen. the fact that all of our -- most of our states, not all of our states. are restricted by partisan commission. creates a very partisan environment. we have very safe districts. and folks do not have the incentive to work across the aisle. so there are all of these institutional pieces that reinforce that point. where folks know that they cannot do is in their heart. maybe do what's right. push up against trump. because they know that institutionally,. they are not only going to be rewarded, but they are going to be punished. there is a double figure here. and at the end of the day, elections he can as that number one goal of elected officials. that is the goal they went into this with, in addition to public service. but also, that aspiration to stay in power. with the hopes of doing something good. that doesn't always turn out. >> i think that's great you point that out. everybody who seeks and elected office is not looking to hold on to power for all eternity and do bad things with it. michael, you are one of them. that institutional point is valid. at this point, if you are a republican who wants to denounce donald trump, you just may not be around your position to do so. >> that is exactly. but you have to decide what your public services about. if your public service about the people who interested to represent them. to be an extension of their interest. and their concerns. and help them as best you can to make government work for them. or is your course about being loyal to one person, or one party. look, when you take the oath of office as an elected official, you take the oath to represent people under the constitution of your state and the constitution of our country. you don't stand there and swear an oath to donald trump. all these republicans running around here. acting like pure fools. and bastard eisen the oath that they took. undermining the constitution. not only should be a same, but should be removed from office. they've given up on with the value of public service is about. it is not about yourself interest and your reelection. it is about doing the job the best you can in the time that people give you to do it. now that falls back on us to ali. that we have to recognize the citizens, that we need to check these fools. when we get the way that we see them behaving right now. if you want the system to stay on the correct course. because if you don't, guess what, january 6th happens over and over again. >> yes. that is a good warning to bring to us. and an admonition to all of us as citizens. that this is our work to. thank you to the two of you. i'm deeply appreciative. for your insight on this monday night. coming up, sub freezing conditions in the sunshine state. the latest challenges facing florida farmers. we'll have more on that story when the 11th hour continues. we'll have more on that stor we'll have more on that stor when in fact, subaru has won most trusted brand for more consecutive years than any other brand. as their best overall brand. once again. it's easy to love a brand you can trust. it's easy to love a subaru. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i 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costs are double. our fertilizer costs are 65% higher. now we are facing the freeze. >> florida citrus growers, desperate to save their fruit. have iced over. locking in at 32 degrees. as temperatures drop even lower. >> that is actually freezing. we've had three days of freezing. this is damage from. that >> florida is on pace to produce the smallest crop of oranges since world war ii. larry blacks family began citrus farming in the 18 hundreds. is the freeze that you just had the biggest problem? >> no, the biggest issue is citrus greening. >> and when a tree is hit with that disease, it drops its fruit early. upwards of 40% that is at complete loss. >> we've been dealing with the disease for about 15 years. citrus greening. this is, before the freeze, was going to be the smallest crop since the 1940s. >> with the freeze, the price of some fruits and vegetables will now rise at the grocery store. as farmers across the state scramble to harvest would survive. carrie sanders, nbc news, 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