now it is vladimir putin s time for choosing. invade ukraine or back down. plus, a cnn exclusive. senator mitch mcconnell prefers he and donald trump just ignore each other, but a new interview highlights a likely mcconnell/trump midterm crash. the republican leader says it s critical gop candidates avoid trump s big lie. and spiking crime is an every city challenge. the new york mayor vows to lead the fight and his plan relies on reviving a controversial police unit. we begin with the ukraine standoff. the white house holds two classified briefings to brief lawmakers and bring them up to speed on the security situation in ukraine. president biden says he is now ready to send 8500 more american troops to eastern europe. nato has put more assets in the region. the intent? to add military muscle to the diplomatic pressure and get vladimir putin to back down from a potential ukraine invasion. whether the russian leader takes that off ramp, though, is an open question. this
birds. the lead starts right now. the rioter who smashed in that capital window, and another who helped organize the violent attack new quite lengthy prison sentences for the so-called proud boys and we begin to see the u.s. justice system come down on those who played lead leadership roles in trying to over turn the 2020 election. plus two years has gone by and where are we? to be frank, we re knee deep in bullshit. a demand for answers from grieving parents. 13 u.s. service members were killed in that chaotic withdraw from afghanistan. gold star families this week were asking their leaders pointed questions today, where we re going to try to begin to start to get some answers. but first, the judge s decision expected at any moment that could change the trajectory of the fulton county case, including donald trump. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper. and we begin with our law and justice lead. at any moment, a u.s. district judge could decide if former trump
leader mitch mcconnell while he was answering questions from reporters. how his team is responding to growing concerns about the republican s health, including from some leading republicans. also ahead, rudy giuliani s lies about the 2020 election are catching up with him legally and financially. we ll explain yesterday s ruling by a judge. meanwhile, two of donald trump s co-defendants in the georgia election interference case now are requesting separate trials. we ll have the latest on a possible timeline in that case. good morning. welcome to morning joe. it is thursday, august 31st. i m willie geist. with us this morning, the host of way too early, white house bureau chief at politico, jonathan lemire. we do begin again this morning with tropical storm now idalia. it weakened overnight but still making its way through the carolinas, dropping massive amounts of rain, flooding streets, causing widespread power outages. charleston, south carolina, recorded its fi
treated for prostate cancer happening around christmas and new year s time. the decision to keep the president and others in that period in the dark for days. secretary austin spent several days in intensive care and transferred authority to his deputy but didn t tell her why and didn t inform the white house immediately. this is the first time he will answer lawmaker s questions in public and keep an eye on that coming up right now. he has picked a beautiful spot. disrespect to brownsville residents he has chosen to waste his trip looking at absolutely nothing. this trip is just so pointless. bill: we spoke to a bounceville resident earlier today as president biden gets ready to leave the white house making a rare visit to the southern border. his second as president. the same day as former president trump will be there as well. brand-new hour begins now. dana has the week off. she is back on monday. i m bill hemmer. welcome to thursday. hello, gillian. gillian: i m gi
trial. we ll have expert legal analysis for you on that in just a moment. also ahead, the end of an era for senate republicans. the party s longest serving leader in the upper chamber is stepping down at the end of the year. we ll take a look at mitch mcconnell legacy and who could replace him. and that comes as congressional leaders now have a deal to fund part of the government for a few more weeks, giving lawmakers a little more time to get a lot done. o get a lot done good morning, and welcome to way too early on this thursday, february 29th, a weekday, just what we needed this year to be a little longer. i m jonathan lemire, thanks for starting your day with us. and we begin with some massive news that broke late yesterday. the supreme court has agreed to consider former president trump s claim of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case. the conservative court s decision to hear the case will further delay a potential trial. the high court has