Transcripts For MSNBCW Ana 20240702

Statement visit. There you see the live images from the white house where in just moments the president will greet the Prime Minister of australia. Also in washington, fourth times the charm. The house could vote as early as noon today on their latest speaker designee. Who is mike johnson and can he succeed where three others failed . Thanks so much for joining us. Its 10 00 eastern, im Ana Cabrera Reporting from new york, and we begin with the breaking news at the white house where we are about to see President Biden welcome the Prime Minister of australia, and this is an official state visit with a world leader, and hence, all of this pomp and circumstance, its happening as the tensions build in the middle east right now. You see these live pictures from gaza where we see Smoke Billowing once again from air strikes. The calls growing for a cease fire now in this war between israel and hamas. But lets start with nbc news senior White House Correspondent Gabe Gutierrez whos standing by ahead of this official welcoming ceremony. So this is only the fourth state visit since President Biden took office, gabe. Its coming at a very tense moment for international diplomacy, set the stage for us. Reporter hi there, ana, good morning, the australian Prime Minister is expected at any moment. This comes at an incredible time for the Biden Administration as it faces multiple challenges including the war between israel and hamas and the war in ukraine, and also escalating tensions with china. That is part of the reason for the state visit today as the u. S. Seeks to bolster its partnership with australia and the indopacific region. They expect to announce infrastructure investment. But also to talk about that Partnership Within that indopacific region. So again, were expecting the australian Prime Minister here in just a short time. Theres all the pomp and circumstances here that you would normally see from a state visit, a large crowd gathering here to watch the Prime Minister arrive, and of course the highlight of any state visit is that state dinner expected later tonight, and we should point out, though, that that program for that state dinner has been affected. The first lady announcing yesterday that the b52s were expected to perform. That performance was scrapped because of the war in israel. It didnt seem to the administration decided that because of the sorrow and pain that it wouldnt be appropriate. One other thing to mention on that state dinner, ana, you just heard from a senior white house official. We asked the question, with no House Speaker who got that invitation, that slot to attend the state dinner. Were told by a white house official that Steve Scalise and Patrick Mchenry were invited to attend and both declined. We will continue to watch these images and bounce back when we see the president greeting the Prime Minister of australia. Thank you so much for your reporting. Lets turn back to the urgent plea from the United Nations for a cease fire between israel and hamas. The u. N. Warning it is about to run out of fuel and will be forced to halt its already crippled humanitarian efforts there in gaza. Israel responded with a picture of what they say are fuel tanks with more than 500,000 Leaders Of Gas Inside Gaza and the words ask hamas if you can have some. This comes as israel continues its bombardment of gaza, and theres some new video this morning of the extensive damage caused by an overnight strike. This is in a particular area of gaza, so joining us from Northern Israel now is nbc news Foreign Correspondent kelly cobiella. Kelly, israel is rejecting the calls for a cease fire but does seem to still be holding on a ground invasion. Is there any sense that the International Pressure is having an impact on israels Military Strategy . Reporter it appears that way, ana, but nobody from the government, the top levels of government here in israel have said as much. In fact, the idf chief was Chief Of Staff was on the border with gaza talking to the media last night. He said the Ground Offensive is possibly being delayed for tactical and even strategic reasons but said that the military was poised and ready to go and would be conducting that Ground Offensive as soon as the political the political green light was given. It hasnt been yet as we know, so you know, it sits on the desk of the israeli Prime Minister and his war cabinet, his Defense Minister, and that member of the opposition, former Defense Minister who is joined. It hasnt come yet. There is not only pressure from the international community, but also from families of those who have been kidnapped who have been in new york over the past 24 hours, have been pressing their case at the United Nations, and have been asking for some time to allow those talks over Hostage Negotiations to proceed to allow or to pressure their own government really to focus their attention, focus their priority on releasing the hostages, not necessarily on military actions, ana. Okay, so kelly, on that front, do we know whats happening behind the scenes because we know egypt and qatar played a role in some of the hostage releases that have come already . Yeah, we understand those talks are still ongoing. There were lots of rumors flying around in the past 24 to 48 hours about a large group of hostages potentially being released. Nobody was ready to confirm anything, and that still hasnt happened, but what we have heard today from one top official in the qatari government, he is both the Prime Minister and the foreign minister, and he told the media today that, quote, at any moment of time we will see some breakthrough, hopefully soon. Another official said that to get them out safely, to get the hostages out safely, we need to make sure theyre not caught in the cross fire. We need to ensure safe passage. Potentially this issue of whether or not to have a humanitarian pause, whether or not the israelis will agree to hold off on striking some of those targets, which they say are hamas targets in gaza to allow for a group of hostages to come out, that remains to be seen. Also, you have to wonder and this may be perhaps another sticking point, how do you get a large group of hostages just logistically out of gaza into the hands of aid workers who are also, by the way, focused on a grave humanitarian crisis in gaza. How do you get a large number of potential hostages out of captivity handed over, and then across the border into israel. So those are potentially the problems that theyre still working on, although we havent had direct information from any of the negotiators that those are the sticking points. Again, some positive words anyway from top officials in qatar that hopefully there will be some good news soon. Ana. Meantime, we continue to see all of that smoke from the air strikes that are ongoing and, you know, there have been hundreds of those air strikes in recent days, according to the idf, theyve struck a lot of hamas infrastructure, tunnel shafts, military headquarters, weapons, warehouses, mortar launches, antitank missile launchers, and so thats just some of what they say is happening in these air strikes as this battle continues. Kelly cobiella, thanks for the latest. Joining us is joel rubin, former Deputy Assistant secretary of state, and anthony baa reen, Executive Director at flash point and former Senior Officer at the office of director of national intelligence. We are, i just have to warn you, still monitoring the welcoming ceremony for the Prime Minister of australia, so if we have to jump out of our convo, if i interrupt you, thats why. Lets continue to talk about whats happening in the middle east. The calls for a cease fire are growing louder, but israel and the u. S. Have been pouring cold water on that idea. Take a listen to what the white house had to say about that idea. J we want to see all measure of protection for civilians and pauses in operation is a tool and a tactic that can do that for temporary periods of time. So does that mean its not the same as saying a cease fire. Right now we believe a cease fire benefits hamas. So andrew, do you agree with that, and what is the difference between a temporary pause and a cease fire . We are now moved into a formal Declaration Of War between israel and hamas, which is a recognized terrorist organization. Probably theyve got a policy of what i might call dehamasification. Im not sure if it matters if you call it a cease fire or a pause. Israel has a right to defend itself and frankly to neutralize hamas permanently. Regardless if you call it cease fire or humanitarian pause, clearly innocent civilians in the battle space need to be relieved from suffering. It is for that reason were seeing more fireworks between israel and the United Nations. This is what happened at the Security Council meeting yesterday. Lets listen. It was recognized the attacks by hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian People have been subjected to 56 years of suffocing occupation. Mr. Secretary general, the u. N. Was established to prevent atrocities, to prevent such atrocities like the barbaric atrocities that hamas committed, but the u. N. Is failing. The u. N. Is failing, and you, mr. Secretary general, have lost all morality. In fact, israels now calling for the resignation of the u. N. Secretary general. Joel, whats the danger of this feud between the u. N. And israel continues . Ana, its without a doubt israels experiencing a shrinking now of the diplomatic support for it globally, and that creates a dynamic that we saw yesterday from the secretary general. Now, i agree with the israeli ambassador that those words were out of step. They were essentially saying that the cause of the Terror Attack on october 7th was israels occupation, and thats too simsimplistic, and really undermines the u. N. s credibility. That said, israel does have to Pay Attention to the global diplomatic space and the Global Opinion on this. That is a crucial component of any activity that undertakes in gaza as well as very importantly for the day after. To have legitimacy for its invasion and a day after plan where there is some type of governance in gaza that restores calm in a posthamas environment as andrew was describing, that is going to require international cooperation, and so, you know, throwing out the baby with the bath water so to speak, would be very counterproductive, but israel is right to reject and oppose that kind of language, which does go too far. When it comes to this potential ground invasion, andrew, we have some new reporting on why netanyahu may be holding off on that Ground Incursion right now. The risk of killing hostages, the heavy potential troop losses, the threat of hezbollah attacking and this becoming a twofront war, and theres reportedly no exit plan firmed up as of yet, those seem to be some really big factors here. Absolutely. And i think also in terms of strategy in warfare or strategy in counterterrorism, israel and its allies want to maintain the time and place of their choosing, the initial Terrorist Strike by hamas, and i will add it wasnt just israel. It was 30 plus nations lost innocent civilians, and there remain more than 200 hostages of hamas terrorist organization. The response, we want that to be at the time and choosing, israel and its allies will want to choose that to get their own advantage. We do need to create some mechanism for easing humanitarian suffering and separating the Palestinian People from hamas, the terrorist organization. Thank you so much, andrew borene. Joel, please stay with me. Were looking at these live images as the president of the United States and the first lady greet the Prime Minister of australia at the white house right now, and the Prime Ministers partner there, who is joining him on this visit. And so we are going to see an official Opening Ceremony complete with all the pomp and circumstance with the troops, with the band, with it looks like a photograph. We also anticipate some remarks by both of the leaders here. Joel, as we continue to watch for just a moment these images, talk to us about how this goes over just the juggling act the president of the u. S. Is having holding a state visit with a partner like australia at a time with everything so focused in the world. Of course theres the ukraine conflict as well. Yeah, ana, i think its a great sign quite frankly to have President Biden hosting a Core American ally in the indopacific. Australia and the United States have only grown closer in recent years. Theres a Nuclear Power sub deal that the United States is working with australia and the uk. And that kind of symbolizes the partnership, but it shows President Biden, he is engaging all of our allies in all of these hot spots around the world, as you point out with ukraine, israel and gaza. American leadership is crucial right now at this point in time. The fight against autocrats, the fight against terrorists. This requires leadership and the president by engaging as were seeing right now, it only demonstrates how central the United States is to maintaining these alliances in the face of these threats, and i think its a very strong sign that he can juggle all of this at the same time. Okay, so lets continue to watch these images and bring back our White House Correspondent Gabe Gutierrez who is there right now. Gabe, what are we seeing exactly . Reporter as you can see in these live pictures the president getting ready to greet the australian Prime Minister. There are hundreds of people that have gathered here to watch this state visit. Of course a lot of pomp and circumstance. Weve been hearing the band playing for the last hour or so here as the president gets ready to welcome the australian Prime Minister. This is the Biden Administration reaching out to another ally around the world, and this state visit comes, ana, after the president had to cancel last minute a planned visit to australia earlier this year amid washington dysfunction with congress locked in default negotiations earlier in the year. Now the Prime Minister of australia coming here to the white house just as congress is also paralyzed yet again without a House Speaker at this point. But today, again, the focus for the Biden Administration is on reaching out to this key ally in the indopacific region as the u. S. Faces those escalating tensions with china. So again, we expect remarks here from the president in just a few moments and the National Anthem is about to play here, ana. Thank you so much, gabe. Again, well continue to watch. Well get remarks as soon as the president takes the podium. My thanks to joel rubin as well. So everybody stay close. Well head back when the president speaks. But first, House Republicans preparing for a floor vote as soon as today on their fourth speaker candidate. But does mike johnson have the support to succeed where three others failed . Plus, Donald Trumps legal troubles only multiplying. Could his former lawyers be his downfall in new york and georgia . And could chumps old Chief Of Staff mark meadows be a linchpin for the Special Counsels federal election case . What were learning about reports of an immunity deal. E l, ive got Symptom Relief. Control of my crohns means everything to me. Control is everything to me. Feel significant Symptom Relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less Abdominal Pain and fewer bowel movements. Skyrizi is the first il23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. And the majority of people experienced longlasting remission at one year. Serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. Liver problems may occur in crohns disease. Nows the time to ask your gastroenterologist how you can take control of your crohns with skyrizi. Control is everything to me. Learn how abbvie could help you save. House republicans now have their fourth candidate for House Speaker. We expect a floor vote on their latest speaker designee, mike johnson of louisiana as soon as noon today, whether he has the support to succeed still not clear, and as weve seen, a lot can change in a day. In a matter of just hours yesterday, in fact, republican tom emmer was tapped as the gop nominee, and then he quickly dropped out. His candidacy abruptly ended afronald trump blastedut this truth social post labeling emmer as a ri, eliminating the chance of him amassing the support from maga republicans on the hill. Our correspondent ali vitali is staying on top of every twist and turn for us. Also joining us is republican strategist susan del percio and democratic strategist basil smikle. Ali, talk to us about mike johnson. Hes not a big national name. What can you share about him, and does he have the support to bring us home . Reporter not a national name, but there was a school of thought yesterday, ana, that maybe thats what they needed right now after going through some of the more high Profile Members in the speakerelect slot. Im talking about the members who succeeded mccarthy after he was ousted, jim jordan and that short lived bid by tom emmer, the current whip for the conference. Now theyre looking for the fourth time at a fourterm louisiana congressman age 51, a background as a conservative lawyer with a lot of deep roots in conservative movements, supposing, for example, lgbtq rights as well as Abortion Access and reproductive rights. So he really is a conservative dyed in the wool. He just doesnt have the kind of pr apparatus around him that some of these other Fire Brand Members have. Thats the right profile, and certainly were seeing some members who have been holdouts in the past beginning to say that theyre falling in line here. Well see officially when that commences at around noon, well expect the process that weve now all come to know and maybe not love, but expect on the house floor, which is they gavel in at noon, and then well see them do a prayer, a pledge, a quorum call so we know what the magic number actually is and what the total number of members in the room is, and then well see them go ahead to nominating speeches on the republican and democratic side. Of course we expect Hakeem Jeffries to once again be the democratic nominee and now mike johnson to be the speakerelect on the republican side. Then well see them vote, and weve seen this time and again, that roll call alphabetical system. We expect if he loses any more than five members the bid is tanked. That being said, i think there are real notes of optimism here, certainly as they left last night, whether they were punchdrunk or otherwise after being in the room for hours and hours, all of us certainly seeing that they were optimistic. They even invited press into the room for some kind of a Press Conference, though im not sure we can call it that because when johnson was faced with questions specifically about the work he did to try to justify overturning the 2020 Election Results as well as his past no votes on aid to ukraine, he said no to answering questions about that. The reporter who asked those questions was booed by other members of the republican conference. Not a lot of interest in taking questions, but certainly a lot of interest in the question, which is does he have the votes to become the next speaker of the house. He only got 128 votes when it was the secret ballot, and there were multiple candidates, but it was enough to give him the majority of those votes. Thats a long ways from 217. Susan, weve all seen this dance before many times now, were becoming all too familiar with it. Hes the fourth republican speaker nominee in just the past two weeks. So if he succeeds, what does a Speaker Johnson look like, and can he corral all of the republicans and stop the infighting . I think its a big leap to think we will see a Speaker Johnson. I just dont see how he ends up getting the votes, but if he does, hes going to be a very weak speaker. First of all, he has no experience within leadership, significant experience, and the number one job after getting keeping the government open, which is going to be very difficult with the republican conference, hes then going to have to look at 2024, and raise money for candidates and keeping the house republican, which after this debacle, i strongly believe the republicans chance of keeping the house in 2024 is like at 30 . So basil, its been three weeks really since weve had a Functioning Government or at least the ability to have Legislation Move through the house. Is johnson someone the democrats could work with . Thats a good question, you know, if you hear Hakeem Jeffries this morning, hes saying that the house democrats, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans do seem like they want to find a way forward, but he feels that the House Republicans are on an island to themselves. I dont see that changing with whoever becomes speaker. To key in on susans point about 2024, thats why i was sort of struck by nbcs reporting that no woman has stepped up or has been discussed in these conversations. If you focus on Hakeem Jeffries interest in new york and trying to flip seats in new york, one would think that the number four ranked republican in the house who is from new york, elise stefanik, could be one of the individuals who could have a key role in trying to get republicans, keep those republicans in their seats. Thats sort of speaking to my own interests. Just from a strategic standpoint, i dont understand why thats not really even part of the conversation. Thats so interesting because, in fact, newtgingrich had brought up the fact there were no Women Running. Ali, you dug into this reporting a little bit on the fact that there isnt a female republican speaker candidate. What did you learn . Reporter surprise, surprise, the girl who wrote the book about women not being in the white house is the one whos now digging into the fact that there are no Women Running for the speakership. Basil, thank you for reading. I do think that that was something i was struck by, but my understanding at least around elise stefanik, you have to look at the fact that shes new to leadership. Certainly one of the republican operatives i spoke to made a note of the fact that there might be some kind of unofficial glass ceiling, a few republican operatives who used to work in the republican conference, talked about how youve never seen a woman rise above the position stefanik is right now. Previously it was held by liz cheney, Kathy Mcmorris rogers. I asked about the fact that there were no women vying for the speakership. She kind of shook that off. I think the larger point here is that the women may not have seen an upside in this, and thats what several experts actually told me as i dug into this yesterday. I believe one of the women who runs a pac thats dedicated to electing more women to the ranks of Congress Said that the women are too smart. No offense to the eventual speaker but theyre too smart to want this job, and its something that i was joking about, but its kind of hard to reason outside of that too because this is such an infighting and thankless role. Theyre going to have to deal with government funding. Theyre going to have to deal with ukraine and israel aid. These are loser issues even when you come out on the other side of them. Youre making enemies no matter what. The fact that the women are staying out of this, i buy the idea that theyre too smart to want to get involved at this point. Something i try to remind my husband all the time. Everybody stand by, lets go back and dip in to whats happening at the white house right now. The president now speaking with the Prime Minister of australia visiting. Alliance between australia and the United States, an alliance thats marked by imagination, ingenuity and innovation. Nearly 55 years ago, american astronauts took humanitys first step on the moon. They sent a message forever etched in history, quote, thats One Small Step for man, One Giant Step for mankind. But the only reason anyone down on earth saw this feat or heard those immortal words was thanks to a team of australian engineers. As dawn broke at nasa station just outside of they aimed a Radio Telescope towards the heavens, captured the lone voice among all the stars and shared it with millions of people watching breathlessly all around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, mr. Prime minister today, australia and the United States continue to stand together, continue to innovate to push back the bounds and make a giant step towards what could be, to race undaunted toward a future we know is possible if, if we work together. Because time and time again weve seen what America And Australia can do when we stand as one. We saw it during world war i when our troops helped turn the tide of war on the western front. We saw it during world war ii when we fought the forces of fascism, side by side in the pacific, cementing a makeshift between our people. And we saw it again during a War Against Terror when australia invoked the treaty for the first time to stand with the United States after it was attacked on 9 11. And well never forget those brave australians and americans who generation after generation gave their lives to give us a better world. Well never forget our obligation to them to keep upholding the Democratic Values for which they gave their lives, to keep forging a Better Future for generations to come. Together australia and america are meeting that obligation. As two proud pacific nations for ensuring the indopacific remains free, open, and prosperous and secure, including through our Historic Partnership with the united kingdom. Were building stronger economies, economies where no one fears coercion, and everyone, as you say down under gets a fair go. Together were standing with israel against hamas terrorism. Were standing with ukraine against putins tyranny. And were providing and proving that democracy can deliver on the challenges that matter most to peoples lives from Climate Change to cancer. And today were fueling a spark of innovation that has long burned in the hearts of aussies and americans. Innovation that will help uplift people in the indopacific and all around the world. Innovation that took us to the moon will take us further in the years ahead. Mr. Prime minister, the alliance between australia and the United States has never been more important than it is today, and we have never been more committed than we are y. Stlia a ready, ready to do the hard work, the historic work to tackle the challenges we face. Ready to take a giant leap together toward a Better Future. One of greater opportunity, dignity, security, and liberty. For americans, for australians, for all may god bless our alliance, and may god protect our troops, and now its my great honor to introduce Prime Minister albanese, and im honored and invite you to say a few words. Thank you. [ applause ] President Biden, first lady dr. Biden. Firstly, thank you for the great honor of this invitation and the wonderful warmth of your welcome including the wonderful dinner we had in the white house last night. Mr. President , when you and i stood together in san diego in march, the u. S. S. Sterett and the u. S. S. Missouri behind us, we were surrounded by the examples of americas power. To stand with you here in washington, d. C. , is to witness the power of americas example. The ideas and ideals that your great democracy was built on. The selfevident truths that every american generation strives to give deeper meaning, and the Peace And Freedom that america seeks to defend around the globe. The principle that every country, large and small, should be able to seek to shape its own destiny and secure its own future. Where the sovereignty of every nation is respected and the dignity and liberty of every individual is recognized. Where peace is secured not by fear of force or strength of arms alone, but through the collective commitment and the shared responsibility of the international community. This is at the heart of our alliance. Okay. That is the Prime Minister of australia, anthony albanese. We just heard from President Biden as he welcomed the Prime Minister for an official state visit. I want to bring back nbcs Gabe Gutierrez on the White House South Lawn and also with us still joel rubin, former Deputy Assistant secretary of state. Joel, first a reaction, what stood out to you . Clearly President Biden is lauding the longterm relationship between the United States and australia going back to the Lunar Landing and australias role in that. He did also speak to the broader agenda, not just the Security Issues in the indopacific. He spoke in particular about innovation and Climate Change. That is a major concern in australia and the island states throughout the pacific, and i think the president understanding full well how important it is to lead on that, he engaged there as well. And i think its just this idea of shared values and shared interests in American Global leadership, even in the midst of crises, that really shows a strong hand for the president right now. And what we heard from the Prime Minister talking about americas power and the power of americas example, that stood out to me. Gabe, this is just the beginning of the state visit. What else can we expect . What happens next . Reporter yeah, thats right. Were expecting, ana, remarks by how the Prime Minister of australia and President Biden a bilateral meeting throughout the day, and a News Conference early this afternoon. All before that lavish state dinner thats and wanted for later tonight. Use as he mentioned in his speech, President Biden touting not just the partnership of australia when it comes to china, but he also made a point to mention the war in ukraine, how important it is to have a l lies in that war against vladimir putin. There are certain things that will come up, not just Economic Investment throughout the afternoon, but also this issue of shipping nuclearpowered submarines that the u. S. Has agreed to do, but requires congress to agree on a Shipment Method to australia. Unclear how that will play out without a House Speaker and a barely Functioning Congress at this point. That state dinner later tonight, the b52s on hand as guests but will no longer perform because of the war between israel and hamas. Certainly hundreds of people here, many australians here on hand to witness the arrival of the australian Prime Minister greeted just moments ago by President Biden. Were hoping to hear from him in a Press Conference later and maybe a couple of hours from now. The menu tonight, Butternut Squash soup, Roast Beet Salad and braised short ribs. Sounds pretty tasty. Thanks gentlemen. Up next on ana cabrera reports, could Donald Trumps legal fate be sealed by his own former allies . The dangers he faces from his former lawyers. Plus, has former Chief Of Staff mark meadows flipped on his old boss, what hes reportedly already told investigators in the federal election case. Ors in the federal election case. Here in the bay,s and all of our stuff where we want to go. But, our cars cant take us e with unpaid tolls. Vehicles with overdue, unpaid tolls may not be able to renew their registration until outstanding balances are paid. Payment assistance is available. Visit bayareafastrak. Org ase so go pay your unpaid tolls y and keep your wheels on the welcome back. Donald trump is expected back in a new york courtroom today as the legal jeopardy around him grows. First to new york where trump and Michael Cohen are set to face each other in court for a second day as cohen testifies in the civil fraud trial. Cohen isnt the only former trump ally now turned legal threat. In georgia, this is jenna ellis, shes the latest trump lawyer to accept a plea deal, while abc news is reporting that trumps former Chief Of Staff mark meadows has been granted immunity in jack smiths federal election investigation, and we should note nbc hasnt confirmed that report and meadows lawyer called it, quote, largely inaccurate. Lets bring in nbc news Correspondent Dasha Burns Outside the new york city courthouse, and also former federal prosecutor kristy greenberg. What can we expect for day two . Reporter ana, first, let me catch you up quickly on what was an explosive day in court yesterday as Michael Cohen took the stand and gave testimony that really only he can give as the a. G. s star witness. He described in detail how former President Trump directed him and trump organizations cfo Allen Weisselberg to inflate his wealth significantly. He described how trump essentially asked them to reverse engineer his wealth, describing how trump would give them a number that he believed was appropriate for his net worth, and then how he would ask them then to essentially make that true. At one point saying he would look at the numbers, they would give him saying it was 4 billion. That was his net worth, he would say, no, i think im worth more like 6 billion and have them go back to the office and essentially make that happen by inflating the value of his various assets, his properties, et cetera. Now, where we left off yesterday and where we pick up today is the cross examination of Michael Cohen by trumps attorney, alina haba. Yesterday she put him in the hot seat undermining his truthfulness talking about how in 2018 in his guilty plea, getting him to admit that he lied in that guilty plea. The reason that is important is again, she is trying to undermine him, paint him as a liar in front of the judge and hoping that that helps her case, helps the defense here, ana. Okay, so kristy, trumps lawyer getting cohen to admit he lied many times before including under oath before a judge, before congress. How big of a deal is that . Its a very big deal. Michael cohen pled guilty to tax evasion, making false statements in financial documents to bank and campaign violations, so he lied to the irs. He lied to banks in making these financial statements. He also lied to congress that was a separate charge as well, and he repeatedly lied to the Special Counsels office in their initial interviews with him in the mueller investigation. Now that hes pled guilty to all of that, after his guilty plea hes claiming he lied at the guilty plea and saying, no, actually, i didnt commit tax evasion, when he said under oath to a judge that he did. So this is a lot of baggage. There is a lot there for a Defense Attorney to work with in cross examining him. You had the sdny during the plea talking about his deception and his pattern of just brazen criminal conduct. Theres a lot to work with, but really this is not a jury trial. This is trial just before a judge, and so really what the judge is going to do here is assess his credibility, but really look to see if there are ways that Michael Cohen is being corroborated, in the ways that hes talking about the inflation of assets, you know, is there any corroborating evidence, whether theres other testimony of other people who are part of these conversations, any documents. I think there was some testimony about the fact that donald trump in his handwriting would put certain numbers in red ink about what the number he wanted to reach was. Those kinds of things, if there is evidence to corroborate Michael Cohen, then you know, potentially the judge is in a position to credit him at least with respect to some of this testimony, and in order for the a. G. To succeed on a number of these counts that require proof of intent to defraud, Michael Cohens testimony is incredibly important to proving that intent. So lets go through a couple of other developments. Lets turn to georgia here. Four codefendants, four have now taken a plea deal in the election interference case in fulton county. The latest, jenna ellis and heres how the Washington Post described her in court yesterday. Quote, her pleaam with something the others did not, a tearful statement to the court at suggested she is prepared to cast blame up t chain, whether and how much that includes trump is a big question. But it would seem to be bad news for Rudy Giuliani and potentially by extension for trump himself. How worried should giuliani be and trump . So i think that giuliani should be worried. Its clear from what she said in court that shes flipped on giuliani. I think trump actually has less reason to be concerned, and the reason i say that is because of what her statement said. She its important to note she did not admit that she knew at the time that she was making these voter fraud claims, she did not admit that she knew they were false. She said if i knew now you know, if i knew then what i know now, i wouldnt have done it. But she basically claims she was duped. She said that she was relying on more experienced lawyers like rudy to give her truthful and reliable information and really, shes just guilty of not Fact Checking them. And of course, thats preposterous. This is a woman who was not a junior lawyer. Shes an experienced lawyer. Shes 38 years old to just say, well, i relied on somebody else for the evidence when all she was saying the entire time was that you needed the facts. You needed the evidence, and that that was the core of their claims. Its just really preposterous and she really seemed to me in her statement in that plea not to really own her conduct, not to own her role. Of course she knew that trump didnt win in a landslide. Of course she knew there wasnt evidence of that and she knew it at the time. So part of what the prosecutors are going to want to know is her conversations, what giuliani knew, what trump knew. If she cant say what she knew, how is she going to be believed when shes pointing the finger about what they knew . Jenna ellis, chesebro, sidney powell, three lawyers now taking those plea dealing and agreeing to testify in proceedings. Dasha, we also have this new news from abc news thats reporting former Chief Of Staff mark meadows has been granted immunity by Special Counsel jack smith and that meadows informed the Special Counsel that he repeatedly told trump that the Election Fraud claims were baseless. Trump just spoke about that. What did he say . Yeah, thats right, ana. I asked him about this news as he was about to go into court this morning. Again, nbc news has not confirmed these reports, but heres what he had to say. Ive spoken to mark meadows many, many times over the years, and he strongly believed the election was rigged. Mark meadows always felt it was rigged, the whole thing was rigged. It was rigged and it was stolen and because it was rigged and stolen our countrys gone to hell. Reporter and again, meadows lawyer telling nbc news that these reports are, quote, largely inaccurate, ana. Dasha burns and kristy greenberg, thank you very much. Up next, a house in paralysis, republicans now have their fourth speaker candidate, the chaos leaving israel aid and efforts to stop a Government Shutdown in limbo. Ill talk with new york congressman Gregory Meeks Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Live next. Mbe Affairs Committee live next. 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Now theyre focused on learning knowing that their data is secure. we are keeping a close eye on capitol hill, where we could see a vote on the fourth speaker nominee in the past couple of weeks in just over an hour from now. Louisiana republican mike johnson intending to take his bid to the house floor. But does he have that support to clinch the gavel and finally get the house back to work after weeks of chaos . Joining us now is congressman Gregory Meeks, democrat from new york, and Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs committee. Lots to discuss with israel as well. Lets start with this new speaker vote, which could come in just an hour or two. The house has gone three weeks now without a speaker . Were about three weeks away from another potential Government Shutdown. What should you all be working on and do you think this could get resolved today . Well, it is starting to look that way. We dont know until we take the floor. We know that the republicans have been in complete disarray and whether or not they can come together and vote for somebody and get 217 votes, the democrats, we are resolved, we are behind solidly Hakeem Jeffries, so youll see the 212 of us vote for Hakeem Jeffries. Should the republicans, you know, try to have a ceasefire within their civil war and come up with someone, that would be, i think, good in the sense that we can open up the House Of Representatives and do some of the work that is necessary. November 17th is upon us. We dont have work done by then, we have a complete Government Shutdown. The president has sent a supplemental budget to us. First on the foreign side, giving funding for israel and giving funding for ukraine, giving funding for humanitarian concerns, giving money for the south pacific. Those are all things we got to get done. And if we dont have a Functioning Congress, none of that gets done. So, there is a lot of work to get done. Lets talk about the israelhamas war and what you spoke of, the many areas that congress could be involved in, providing support to israel and the humanitarian aid that so desperately needed in this situation. You and the rest of the Foreign Affairs Committee Received a classified briefing on the war yesterday and i know youre constricted in what you can share. I know a focus of it had to do with iran and the nuclear program, their missile and drone programs. What is your assessment of that threat right now . Well, again, i think that the Biden Administration has been working 24 7 to try to deter iran, hezbollah and other iranian affiliates excuse me and warning them do not get in this. I apologize. Thats why we got secretary austin putting various battleships in place to let them know that were serious. Dont question the resolve of the United States of america. And ill let you take another cough if you need it, i know how that is when you get a scratch in your throat. So, do what you got to do while i ask this next question. We have been reporting on the Drone Attacks on u. S. Bases specifically. You mentioned extra troops in the region, extra assets in the region like the uss joe ford, the uss eisenhower, but the attacks on u. S. Bases, supported by iran, were told, how concerned are you for the u. S. Troops who are deployed in the region right now . Im concerned about the region. Im concerned about the region exploding. Thats why the president is work 24 7 to try to be a deterrent. We also had the occasional attacks and we have done back wh w had them, but it is begito escalate. So i would be lying to you if i sa i was not concerned. Im very concerned. And i hope that hezbollah and iran takes the message, do not question the ability of the United States military. So were not going to be the aggressor. Were not going to try to were letting them know, dont enter into the war between hamas and israel and do not mess with the United States military and our personnel. That message loud and clear. Thank you so much, new york congressman Gregory Meeks. Well leave it there for today. Lets stay in close contact in the days ahead. Up next on ana cabrera reports, inside the chaos at a Gaza Hospital as the humanitarian crisis there intensifies. Hows the chicken . The prawns are delicious. Oh, i have a shellfish allergy. One prawn. Very good. Did i say Chicken Wrong . Tired of people not listening to what you want . Its truffle season ah thats okay. Never enough truffles. How much are they . Its a lot. Oh okay im good, that its like a priceless piece of art. Enjoy. Or when they sell you what they want . Yeah. The more we understand you, the better we can help you. Thats what u. S. Bank is for. Huge relief. Yeah. What youre about to see is difficult to watch. Reporter if the walls of Gazas Al Shifa hospital could talk, they would tell a story of perpetual hell. Of children crying out in agony, bloodied, fighting for their lives after israeli air strikes. 40 of all of the wounded are children. This is a 9yearold boy with a huge blast defect in his back. Reporter they would tell you how the hospital has no room, how medical teams have been forced to treat patients in the hallway, the walls of Al Shifa Hospital cannot speak but the dedicated doctors working here can. My name is dr. Al sattah. We received over 600 dead and over three times the number wounded. This is putting even more pressure on the system that is falling apart. Were running out of everything from simple dressings to complex burns dressings. We have over 150 patients ventilated in intensive care areas. And fuel is becoming an issue. Were having more and more cuts, we know that one of the major hospitals in northern gaza, the fuel there has run out, and theyre now running a much smaller generator for the Operating Room and any minute now this is going to happen to Shifa Hospital as the fuel runs out here. Reporter the idf says they have struck more than 300 hamas targets in the last 24 hours. But with these doctors witnessing every day is the massive impact those strikes are having on palestinian civilians. This war is different in terms of the type of ordinance used has a much bigger incendiary component to it. Reporter the walls of Al Shifa Hospital cannot speak. But they carry the echoes of the most brutal, often unspeakable moments of war, if the world listens. Nbcs ellison barber with that reporting. Heart breaking reality of war. That does it for us today. Thanks for joining us. Were back tomorrow, same time, same place. Until then, im Ana Cabrera Reporting from new york. Thanks for being with us. Jose diazbalart picks up our coverage right now. Good morning. It is 11 00 a. M. Eastern, 8 00 a. M. Pacific. Im jose diazbalart. Were just an hourwa