night. tonight, donald trump's latest delay tactics in his criminal trial, he is still trying to get d.a. fanny willis kicked off the georgia election case, and fighting his gag order in the hush money trial. plus, wall street journal reporter evan gerst of h has now spent one full year in a russian provision, but the biden administration is doing to bring him home. then rebuilding baltimore's key bridge, the cleanup just beginning, but so is the fight over federal funding. it's the 11th hour underway, this friday night. good friday evening to you, in for stephanie ruhle, we are now 221 days away from the election, and it has been another busy week for republican presidential candidate donald trump. but, not on the campaign trail. he's managing four upcoming criminal trials, plus dealing with massive financial penalties in multiple civil suits, today his attorneys continued their flood of pretrial motions, and challenges to delay the process. in georgia, trump is appealing the judge's decision to let d.a. fani willis stay on the case now that the prosecutor she had a relationship with has stepped down. in new york, his lawyers are challenging the partial gag order in the hush money trial. the judge in that case has been the target of several trump attacks on social media, just this week alone. trump has gone after the judges daughter, who has no connection to the case whatsoever. today, the d.a. asked the judge to declare that trumps partial gag order applies to family members of the court, the d.a. and all others mentioned in the gag order. it was those attacks from trump that led to something incredibly rare, a sitting federal judge going on national television. u.s. district judge reggie walton thought it was important to explain why what trump is doing is so dangerous for all of us, watch. >> very disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge, particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they are directed at one's family. we do these jobs because we're committed to the rule of law and we believe in the rule of law and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm. if we don't have a viable court system, that's able to function efficiently, then we have tyranny. and i don't think that would be good for the future of our country and the future of democracy in our country. >> judge walton noted that his daughter has also been threatened in connection to a case that he was involved with. he also said that threats against him used to be very rare, but since he began prosecuting or presiding over cases relating to january 6th, they have become much, much more common. with that, let's bring in our lead off panel, john allen, senior national politics reporter for nbc, eugene scott, senior politics reporter for actio's and barbara mcquade, a federal prosecutor and former u.s. attorney for the eastern district of michigan, her new book attack from within, how this information is sabotaging america is out now. barbara, i'll start with you and these comments, these rare comments, public rare comments from judge reggie walton. give us some context for what it means for a sitting federal judge to speak out like this in this manner, and what do you think of what he had to say about what him, his family, and other judges are experiencing all because of the cases they are taking. >> judges, traditionally think of their comments as coming only through their orders. they are typically pretty loath to make public comments, particularly about any particular case, because they don't want to suggest anything other than impartiality, so i think it is quite extraordinary for the judge to be speaking out, here, but i think that only judges know what their experiences are like, and the kinds of threats that they're getting and how new this phenomenon really is. we can look at some examples of judges who are on the receiving end of threats to their lives, there was a judge in new jersey whose son was killed with bullets meant for her, there was a judge in chicago whose husband and mother were killed by someone looking for her. these threats can be very dangerous, and, the fact that the judge is choosing to speak out, keep in mind this is a judge appointed by republican presidents, both ronald reagan and george w bush. for him to be going out there, this is not a pro-republican, pro-democrat type of a comment, this is a comment about the state of our judiciary and the rule of law. >> speaking of that, donald trump has publicly attacked so many people over the last nine years, it's stuff we cover on a regular basis. he hasn't faced any real consequences for those verbal attacks, and that's obviously been devastating to the state of political discourse in this country because it's really set new parameters, created a new culture where this seems to be acceptable for some people in trumps circle. what does it say about our justice system that this judge is now publicly raising this alarm? >> it says that this is an issue that is worthy of attention from the highest levels in our country. there's been a report that came out this week from reuters that says, since 2020, attacks on federal judges have more than doubled. since 2015, the year the former president donald trump launched his first residential campaign, that number has more than tripled. you've seen republicans in the judicial system come out and say they believe it is because, in part, the norms that have now been set by donald trump. we haven't seen many republicans on capitol hill, if any, come out and say this is something that needs to stop, and if it does not, we expect it to continue, and there could be worse consequences than some of those we've already seen, which have been severe in some cases. >> as you pointed out, judge walton was appointed by republican president, the washington post points out that other republican appointed judges have also spoken out about this, it's clearly not a democratic or republican issue at this moment, no matter what donald trump says or what he tries to portray it as. but, what can be done, and is the fact that he has been given so much leeway where he has not been held to account just for the rhetoric of what he said about judges, clerks of the court, daughters of judges, family members of judges, is that in and of itself unprecedented and dangerous that he's not held to account? >> historically, you didn't have to tell people not to make death threats about judges and their family members, or not to say things that were likely to inflame the public come a such that they would become the subject of these kinds of threats. so, we've really crossed over into a new era, donald trump is going to look for any loophole he can find in these gag orders, the one that was issued by judge merchan did not include the judges family. so, that's who donald trump goes after. who is left? who is outside of the scope? the judge can amend that order, and i suspect he will, to include the judges family to make the next go around prohibited, but donald trump will look for somebody else. because the judges have been careful to exclude themselves and the prosecutors from these gag orders to allow donald trump to criticize the prosecution and the judiciary in these cases. i do think, though, that the way to curtail some of this is through vigorous prosecution. you may recall that when merrick garland was asking u.s. attorneys around the country to gather their law enforcement partners and be sure to have a program in place to prosecute people who were engaging in threats at school board meetings, with health officials, with election board officials, when he testified before congress, members of the senate cracked down on him as suggesting that he was violating the first amendment rights of parents and other people in communities. threats are not protected by the first amendment. we have to make that very clear, here, that this is a serious crime and it threatens to affect the rule of law in this country. those people who give any sort of serious discussion to this, as if prosecuting threats is in any way violative of the first amendment is absolutely absurd, and just enabling those who communicate these threats. be met john, let's bring you in, two big stories that are connected this week, the bond trump has to pay in a fraud case, reduced to $175 million, and stock for his social media platform, truth social, going public, the value of that public stock in the billions, even though the company doesn't really make any money. and all of this against the backdrop of the clock still ticking for trump to post his bond. where do you see all of this heading? >> let me go back for one second if you don't mind. i just want to say, we don't have to theorize about what the effect of donald trump's words are when he goes to the tax people. we have seen it. he has seen it himself. he told his supporters that mike pence was the problem with the 2020 election and they went to the capital and chanted that they wanted to hang him. they sought out mike pence, they sought out lawmakers. this is not an abstraction, it's not something we have to wonder about, it's not something donald trump can pretend he doesn't understand. the best argument for him by january 6th is he said something and people taken more seriously than he wanted. just wanted to get that out of the way. as far as what's gone on with trump in terms of the reduction of bond and what's going on with his truth social stock, it's a very good monetary week for donald trump, it could have been a very bad one, and it looks like he's going to be significantly wealthier at the end of this then we might have expected heading into this week. >> according to the washington post, some of the gop billionaire donors who backed away from trump after january 6th are suddenly rediscovering their support for him. make that make sense for us, what should voters be taking away from it? why are they suddenly pivoting to a guy that many distance themselves for what he did on january 6th two suddenly embracing him in the span of less than four years. >> that's pretty simple. it's two words. it's tax cuts. president trump, when he was in the white house, put forward legislation that made things very lucrative for many of these billionaires, and president biden has pledged to advance legislation and laws that could see these individuals experience a decrease in their wealth. so, despite being very upset with former president trump, after january 6th, or vocalizing that, you've seen a number of billionaires attend fundraisers, and planning to attend the one that the trump campaign's is suggesting next week will bring in $33 million, with the hope that if trump gets to the white house, then they can remain the billionaires that they currently are, and hopefully make even more money, something that is at risk if biden is to win the election. >> for the most part, trump has been able to choose when he wants to be in court, and once his hush money trial starts april 15th, he'll actually have to be in court a lot. president biden, the democrats are already massively out raising trump, definitely out raising the gop, what is this campaign going to look like when the trial starts in a couple weeks time? >> you talk to senior republican officials, campaign officials for trump, they say they don't need to raise as much money as joe biden in order to win the election. i guess that's good news for them, because they are not going to raise as much money as joe biden, if things continue along their current trajectory. what this campaign looks like once his trial starts is you're going to see a lot of donald trump in court, and you're going to see some donald trump on the campaign trail, we're going to see him on the campaign trail on the weekends, we may see one day a week or so of court not in session, where he gets out and does some events. you're going to see surrogates out there in terms of family members, other people who closely identify with his brand and he'll make the argument that the trial is, in fact, impeding his ability to campaign. obviously, some will have less simply for that than others, but i think we'll see trump on the campaign trail. in some ways it benefits him, he doesn't like to be out there all that much. and now he has a ready-made excuse. >> i'll close this out with the theme we were opening with, that is the outlook for trump's appeal of the fani willis situation in georgia, perhaps the trial that most were looking forward to as one to hold trump accountable for january 6th in some fashion. now, sliding by the day, but is this appeal likely to go anywhere? >> i don't think so. first, we have to see acidification from judgment kathy, although he's indicated that he would do that. i don't think this appeal is likely to either delay the case, because it's not an issue of substance, it's an issue about the qualifications of the prosecutor, and i don't think it's likely to succeed, to have her removed from the case. judgment kathy found that there was no actual conflict of interest, what he found was the appearance of them by eddie, so he went above and beyond by suggesting that nathan wade should be removed from the case. so i don't see any success resulting here. i think this case is finally on track to go forward to trial after these motions get decided. >> barbara, eugene, john, thanks for starting his office our. when we come back, as the wall street journal puts it, one year stolen. evan gershkovich marks 365 days in a russian prison, his crime, journalism. he is now being remembered for the new efforts to try and free him. later, one of the biggest salvage missions ever is underway in baltimore, but as the cleanup begins, so does the fight over federal 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provided no evidence. he's spent 365 days in prison, awaiting trial. his parents only able to catch a glimpse of him during court appearances. they sat down with my colleague andrea mitchell today. >> did you ever think it would last this long? >> we knew it was going to be a marathon. but still had hopes. >> do you think they're doing enough? >> we know they're working hard, we want them to continue. >> in a statement, president biden renewed his commitment to secure evans release, adding, we will continue to denounce and impose costs for russia's appalling attempts to use americans as bargaining chips, and we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists, the pillars of free society. the wall street journal drove that point home with a 24 hour read up on of evan's past coverage of the region. here's the thing. his reporting, his perspective on russia, is invaluable. that's something his colleagues stressed today on deadline white house. >> there are many times i think, wow, i'd love to read evans reporting and his insight, whether it was mutiny or novotny's death or the terrorist attack in moscow. he's such a gifted reporter and he's an american reporter raised with russian heritage. his parents fled the soviet union and taught them to speak russian and he had this amazing ability, has this amazing ability to connect russia and the west, and help us understand what is going on on the ground in this country. >> a singularly unique talent and a stark reminder of what we are all missing, the paper left an entire section of today's front page blank with the headline, his story should be here. former u.s. ambassador to russia and an msnbc national affairs analyst joins me now, it's great to see you again. i hate that it is on this occasion, but, it's important that we have this conversation nonetheless. evans pretrial detention was extended for another three months, is there anything, is this even common in russia that a year-long detention, illegal detention shows no beginning to a trial date or nothing on the horizon? >> first, everyone needs to remember, there is no rule of law in russia under vladimir putin. there is no rule of law. what is common and not common, he decides arbitrarily. that's tragically what's happened with evan. and it will be that way for as long as he wants it to be that way, and i think sometimes we get trapped, not us, but viewers and listeners think, what about the legal procedures? what about his rights? there's no rights for anybody in putin's russia today. this is purely at the discretion of the kremlin. and he will be released when the kremlin decides to release him, not when a court of law decides whether he's guilty or not. >> is there anything that the u.s. can be doing to increase the attempts of securing his release in some kind of negotiations or any other leverage they may have? >> they're most certainly committed to it, they said frequently, i'm glad they said what they said today. and certainly the bind administration has done swaps, they've done that before. and there have been rulers from time to time that that might be true in the case of evan. most recently, putin himself even alluded to it, in a press conference he was giving, he talked about a russian patriot who is actually, an assassin, he went to germany, his name, he went to germany, he assassinated a georgian of chechen dissent, and putin alluded to, maybe we could trade this patriot, in his view, for the american journalist. the problem with that, of course, is that he is a real killer, a real criminal, and is being held in germany, not the united states of america. that very much complicates the story, it doesn't mean there's not something to be done, of course, we won't know what's being done because if we did, that gets in the way of private diplomacy, and i hope that something is being done to free him. >> you worked within the system, you understand russia better than most. what did the signal from the kremlin today about the need to have silence in order for negotiations to progress signal to you, if anything. does it mean anything? >> they came close on some other deals before with other americans, including some that are still in prison with evan, and at one point, american officials were talking about it, and the russians said don't talk about it, let's do this deal behind closed doors. that makes me cautiously optimistic that there might be something going on, but did you notice i really put the emphasis on the adverb cautiously, because these are very difficult things , what putin wants is not something we have to give. and i think we need to be modest in our expectations about how easy it is to put one of these deals down. >> given the lawless nature of russia, as you pointed out, and as the president has pointed out, putin making a habit of arresting americans whether they be basketball stars or wall street journal journalists, he takes them to use them as bargaining chips. should americans avoid russia now at all costs? >> i believe so. i know there are some very courageous journalists working there, i admire what they're doing, i think it's important that we know what's going on inside russia. remember, that's why evan was arrested, he was a fantastic journalist. i've been reading journalists from russia and the soviet union, he was one of the best. that's what got him in trouble. that's the paradox that journalists face. on the one hand, you can't do your job as well from lithuania or germany. reporting on russia. on the other hand, you face these arrests, but no one should go to russia believing that if they get into trouble that the united states of america or the ambassador to russia, my colleague my former colleague and friend, can get them out, because there is no rule of law in russia today. >> can you expand on that, the culture that exists within russia? the wall street journal wrote a story headline, loved rush of the country that turned on him, you obviously lived there, you work in russia, and then you got sanctioned by the kremlin, i wonder if you can explain a little bit about what that's like for our viewers. >> i share a love for russia, for russian friends, tragically. most of them live in exile and one has been recently killed, by this regime. what it is, it's back to the soviet days. it's actually worse than the late soviet days, putin fears anybody that has independent wealth, independent political power, or independent information. he is extremely paranoid these days. think about the election that he just ran. he removed anybody that was a slight challenger, and he insulted in my opinion, russian voters by saying he won 87% of the vote. that harkens back to the old days of the soviet union, and that means is extremely dangerous for anybody with independent thought, but it also means people that love russia and have roots with russians, as evan did, are tragically, for him, in jail or, for many thousands of others living in exile. >> one year to long for evan, and all the others being held in russia, now, illegally. thank you so much for your time, we greatly appreciate it as always. when we come back, as if congress doesn't have enough to fight about, now there is a new battle brewing over who should foot the bill to rebuild the collapsed bridge in baltimore. they get into it, when the 11th hour continues. hour continues. in ideas you be. spot a trend in electric vehicles? have a passion for online gaming? or want to explore the space economy? choose from over 40 themes, each with up to 25 stocks identified by our unique algorithm. buy it as-is or customize to align with your goals. all at your fingertips. schwab investing themes. 40 customizable themes. up to 25 stocks in just a few clicks. ♪♪ ♪ i am, i cried ♪ up to 25 stocks in just a few clicks. 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baltimore after the catastrophic bridge collapse. today he confirmed he will be in the city next week, of clearing the wreckage to reopen has begun. nbc news tom costello has the details for us. >> the biggest floating crane on the east coast, able to lift 1000 tons, for one of the biggest salvage missions ever. just part of a flotilla now in route including the crane that lifted the miracle on the hudson plane out of the river. in all, seven floating cranes 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels, and five coast guard boats. 8000 local jobs are waiting. >> we need to clear the channel and open the vessel traffic to the port. because the health of the maryland economy and the national economy depend on it. >> reporter: on the water, the army corps of engineers is using underwater drones and sonar to map the precise location of the wreckage, then lay out a coordinated salvage plan for divers. >> how we can cut it up into the pieces we need to be able to lift. >> reporter: investigators still interviewing crew members and gathering evidence on the crushed cargo ship, now trapped under the weight of twisted steel. a piece of highway, lying on top take a look at the front of the ship, at the bow of the ship, you see the piece of steel that's lying across it. that's three to 4000 tons, that is so heavy it's pushing the bow into the water, down into the bottom of the river, and then it's lifting the stern up out of the water. below the waterline, the river depth is roughly 50 feet. to reopen the port, the cranes will lift massive chunks of steel, concrete, and sunken cargo containers, some hazardous. all of it must be gone, the sand on the bottom completely clean. >> what an incredible operation, there is a ton of work to be done to get the bridge replaced, but before that can happen, the president has to convince republicans in congress to fund the project, and that battle, as you can imagine in this current climate, is just starting to heat up. former executive director of the new york state democratic party, and susan helper co, msnbc political analyst and a veteran political strategist are here to discuss this. there's not a surprise that this is heating up already. the hill reporter that's been covering this had an interesting quote from republican congressman ralph norman which was, basically, robbing peter to pay paul. and i find that very interesting, that there's always a fight on capitol hill, but this now is happening. >> and i guess in some ways we shouldn't be surprised, because everything is such a fight, on capitol hill, but, let's not forget we are the united states of america, you talk about something that needs to be done for the health of the countries economics. you want to have money to spend. >> why would republicans want to be fighting for this? >> because they want to fight. that's all it comes down to. >> republicans are trying to pick up a senate seat, this doesn't seem, maryland in november, this doesn't seem like good politics. larry hogan, a wildly popular governor has a shot, but he's about to be hamstrung by his fellow republicans haggling over how to pay for a new bridge, or even this cleanup effort. >> at the top, it was 8000 jobs potentially, and most if not many of them, i would imagine, our union jobs as well. it does seem to hamstring a potential, a candidate that could use this, as part of the platform. we're also in a time, when the city, baltimore's city were young african american mayors have to go on tv to talk about the fact that he is essentially being called the n word and being told, having to refute claims that because of his race, that's why the bridge fell. that's where we are in america today. when you consider that kind of climate, it is no surprise that you have people in congress that should just, in a knee- jerk reaction, fix this problem. and go to the aid of a very important city in this country, not to mention the fact that there's already been stories about challenges with the supply chain because of this, because of this bridge collapse. so, if you have voters that are concerned about inflation, this is one way to address that issue, that is fixable, maybe not the short-term but is fixable. why are they choosing not to do it, or not to speak on it, is just a sign of the times. >> you bring up an important point, and i'm sure biden is confident that he can sway some lawmakers, but when congress returns, when you look at the totality of what congress has to do outstanding issues to take up like aid to ukraine, border funding is going to be a big one as well. what are the chances that getting this port up and running or getting the funding that is needed for this port to get up and running is going to be lost? >> sometimes, and i say this a lot with mayors and governors, to some extent perhaps president and congress can do this in some way, ask for forgiveness and not permission. just give the support. give the aid, and if you need to find a way to backtrack and get the kind of permission and the regulations somehow suspended even temporarily to be able to get this through, it is worth it. i can't see a scenario in which this isn't worth it and should not be done. sometimes, just using the power of the office, particularly if you're a governor or the mayor, using the powers of your office to get projects like this done, and the money and the support for it done, ask for forgiveness and not permission. that might be the way to go. >> you got the speaker of the house, mike johnson, who is prioritizing impeaching homeland secretary, something that he wants a full trial. he's not going to get that in his current senate, but nonetheless this is what he's prioritizing as one of his main things when they come back. you have to look at this and wonder, what the republicans are thinking about their priorities. whether or not he's just throwing a bone to his base. >> and i think that's what he's doing. this is an easy one for speaker johnson to play to the conservative, the ultraconservative folks, like marjorie taylor greene. let's impeach the secretary, then let's dump speaker johnson. so i think that's a fight he's willing to put up there, at the end of the day, he has no control over. and i think he wants to get certain things done like ukraine funding, and he's going to have a problem with that within his conference. might as well chum the waters as much as he can. >> i want to turn quickly to the presidential campaign for a moment, and the biden campaign actively courting nikki haley voters. what is your take on that strategy? is that even strategy more symbolic? >> i think it's significant strategy. is not going to be easy. the thing that the biden campaign has a huge advantage right now, is the money advantage. it takes a lot of resources to get a voter to the polls that's already reluctant, by nature of the fact that they're likely republican, and they may not want to vote for donald trump but the question is, do they actually want to go out and vote for joe biden? i think there's an opportunity that it's going to take resources, a lot of what we would consider this handholding, but it is worth it because any vote matters on the margins, in a race that so many of us still think is going to be tight. when you consider the money advantage that we've all been talking about, this is where the money advantage makes a difference. >> what do you think of that campaign strategy? is it going to make a difference at all? >> it is important, we know where those nikki haley voters went in 2020. they went for joe biden. those with a 5% of republicans and right-leaning independents that voted for biden. the question is, can they get them to do it again? because he needs those votes, so yes, they should go after them, but they should do it through different surrogates. it doesn't help telling a republican to vote for joe biden. you have to tell a republican why it's dangerous, right. >> basil, 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believe that's unforgivable. >> there's not a thing america can do if we set our mind to it. >> this isn't just about investing in america. it's about investing in the american people as well. folks, america sends me a congress that are democrats, i promise you, we will restore roe v. wade as the law of the land again. >> before the state of the union, everyone, even democrats seem concerned about another biden candidacy, but you don't hear so much about that lately for the last three weeks, president biden has flexed his political dexterity on the campaign trail delivering his new and improved messages to key swing states, and there is no one better to discuss this with and celebrated author residential historian michael, it's great to see you, thank you for making time with us tonight. >> thank you, always great to see you. >> the state of the union was meant to be a reset for the biden campaign, it was meant to be a way to reframe this election for what it really is about, a fight for our democracy. has that message crystallized in the president's remarks going forward? or since then and continuing forward? >> i think absolutely. donald trump keeps on saying things that suggest that you cast a vote for him this fall, and i'm not in the business of suggesting that people vote when we were the other, but if you care about democracy, and if you hate dictatorship, remember that no major party nominee, all the way back to george washington in 1789, has said, elect me and i will do things like be addict orders for a day. or i might suspend the constitution. or, i might hit the defense department and the justice department against my political enemies in a great burst of retribution, not to mention in certain circumstances, disbanding nato, telling vladimir putin our current enemy, go ahead and do whatever you want. i think people are beginning to see that joe biden is the tradition, not only of every other american president, back to the 18th century in george washington, but also because of the tableau we saw in radio city music hall, where he appeared with bill clinton and barack obama. this is the candidate if you have to design a candidate who exemplifies the traditional democratic party, it would be joe biden. this party brought america the space program, medicare, civil rights, he's right in the center of his party, you can't say any of that for donald trump. >> to that point, president biden seems to be hitting his stride, there was concern a couple weeks ago, that the administration or the campaign was not taking the threat of trump seriously, but they have been clear with the messaging, but then there are other challenges which seem to be, right now, the war in gaza which presents itself as the biggest threat to his presidency yet. how do you see his presidency right now, through that lens? >> it really depends on how this ends and how much he has done to obviously bring liberation of the hostages, of the israelis, but at the same time this is tens of thousands of people being killed in gaza, in a war that goes on and on, and now, against the will of joe biden, who is traditionally been her uncle's unhappy. i'm sensing an underlying issue. it's t-mobile. it started when we tried to get him under a new plan. but they they unexpectedly unraveled their “price lock” guarantee. which has made him, a bit... unruly. you called yourself the “un-carrier”. you sing about “price lock” on those commercials. “the price lock, the price lock...” so, if you could change the price, change the name! it's not a lock, i know a lock. so how can we undo the damage? we could all unsubscribe and switch to xfinity. their connection is unreal. and we could all un-experience this whole session. okay, that's uncalled for. teaching a class on curiosity. who better, my friend? and on that note, i wish you a very good night. an remember to catch my show every weekend starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on nb