Meet the Press NOW — November 19

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Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington, where the Trump administration is navigating multiple political headwinds on the Epstein files, the economy, and now a major setback into the prosecution of one of the president's perceived political enemies after the Justice Department acknowledged today in court that it did not follow proper protocol when indicting former FBI director James Comey, a stunning admission. We will have much more on that in just a moment, but we do begin at the White House. where after months of debate and delay and despite the president's initial objections, a measure to compel the release of the Epstein files is about to be signed into law. The bill which passed in near unanimous fashion through Congress gives the Justice Department 30 days to release the files. Survivors of Epstein's abuse cheering and hugging when the news was announced. The Senate has passed the bill under unanimous. The president has pledged to sign the bill, even as he continues to lash For the issue, arguing it's a democratic hoax to distract from his achievements. The president's handling of the issue has frustrated some notable figures in his fiercely loyal base. At a moment when some of his allies in Congress are also voicing frustrations with his approach to core economic issues like affordability and jobs. Today, the president brushing aside criticisms about comments he made favoring highly skilled foreign workers over American workers for certain jobs. I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA, but this is MAGA. And those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips. And in a short period of time, our people are going to be doing great. And those people can go home where they probably always want to be. They're unbelievable patriots, but they just don't understand. Our people have to be taught. The president today also dismissing concerns around affordability issues, which fueled big wins for Democrats in this month's elections. We're also making incredible strides to make America affordable again. That's a new word that they're using. Affordability, they talk. They're the worst inflation in history. They had the highest prices in history. The country is going to hell. The only thing that we're going up in is our stock market, okay? The only price that we really have, I mean, we're bringing prices down. It comes as a new NPR PBS mayor's poll shows voters believe the administration's top priority should be lowering prices. No other issue even comes remotely close. That same poll found the president's approval rating declining with 57% now disapproving of the job he's doing. And voters favoring electing Democrats to Congress in next year's midterms by a whopping 14-point margin.

Joining me now from the White House is NBC's Monica Alba and Julie Serkin is on Capitol Hill to start us off thanks to both of you. Monica, let me start with you. When do we expect President Trump will sign that Epstein bill into law? That is the question of the hour of the day, Kristen. And we frankly do not know. As of just moments ago when we checked, the president hadn't yet signed the bill. And remember that this is the kind of thing that he can do privately. He can do it quickly. He can do it out of the view of cameras. Or he could decide to do it in front of cameras as we have seen time and time again with other kinds of legislation. But it's unclear. And the White House hasn't indicated yet which way this is going to go in terms of how we're going to learn about it. senior White House official did indicate, and the president himself a few days ago, that the president does plan to sign it. So we'll see about the logistics of how that takes place. But I do think that as we saw just in the last week or so, when the president wants to sign something quickly, he does. And when he reopened the government, for instance, once all of the details on Capitol Hill were wrapped up and the bill was actually transmitted to him, it was done in fairly quick order. So today they are still working on that. We'll see, but we know, again, he does intend at some point to sign it, and then that does give the 30-day kickoff to the Department of Justice to do what they need to do on their end before we might see any of this information. So, Monica, let's talk about those 30 days. Could this be a resolution or a potential delay tactic those 30 days? What are you going to be watching for? There are so many questions we have about exactly what's in the files. You know, there had been such a continued push. to release the files, but what does that actually mean? Well, now perhaps we get to find out. And of course, like with anything related to sensitive information, there may have to be some redactions, there may have to be some information withheld if it is connected to, as many of the victims have pointed out, things that have to do with, of course, any identifying details that they would not want out there. But then also, Kristen, there's this question of the, quote, investigation that the president launched his own attorney general, Pam Bondi, to initiate, which could also be an obstacle to some of the release of this information, because they could potentially say that that is a reason for not doing it. At the same time, remember that earlier this year, the DOJ had assessed that there wasn't credible evidence, but just today, the attorney general, notably saying that she did believe there was some, quote, new information, but she didn't share more details about what that could lead to, what impact that might have on this crucial release that really the victims, the survivors have been pushing for and cheering and are celebrating. But again, the real question is what might be in there and when might we actually see it? That is still a huge target for us.

You're absolutely right, Monica, and the reaction from the survivors incredibly emotional indeed. Julie, let me turn to you on Capitol Hill because even though the bill has passed, there are some new tensions emerging. House Speaker Mike Johnson had say he wanted to see changes to the legislation once it reached the Senate. That did not happen. It passed without any changes. Talk about the tensions that Speaker Johnson is airing at his counterpart. Yeah, this is super interesting, Kristen. We've kind of picked up on this over the last couple of weeks. It wasn't just the Epstein issue, which we'll talk about in a moment, but it was before that a provision that allowed senators to sue retroactively because of the January 6th probe. That provision caught Speaker Johnson completely off guard. Today, actually, the House is going to vote to repeal it. and John Thune are still at complete odds. When you talk about the Epstein matter, that's yet another thing. Speaker Johnson had a lengthy press conference yesterday morning in which he said, he started it off, saying that he spoke to John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, about making amendments to the House-pass bill. The bill, they were poised to pass in a couple of hours from then. Johnson took issue with the fact in his mind that the bill does not give adequate protections to the Epstein survivors that Monica was just referring to that may not want to be named. came out after that saying, look, I looked at this with my counsel. There's nothing in there that we have to change, talking about the overwhelming vote that came out of the House. And then, of course, he let, as well as the other 99 members, an effort from Leader Chuck Schumer just passed on the floor, Johnson, seeming a little bit irritated about that last night. There's some really fascinating dynamics that will continue to track. Let me ask you broadly speaking about the Trump base because we started to see some fractures. Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, who President Trump started to call a traitor because she was demanding the release of these Epstein files, among other things. He, of course, changed his position, started to say, yes, he would sign this bill into law, but he doesn't want it to distract from his overall agenda. But do you think the cracks that we saw in the base could be long-term, Julie? What are your sources telling you? Yeah, I'll pick up where you left off there, because Marjorie Taylor Greene, the congresswoman from Georgia, said something really interesting yesterday at a press conference with survivors before the vote took place. She said something to the effect of, Mr. President, you called me a traitor, but the real traitor is an American that puts foreign governments over the American people. And I thought that could mean a whole host of issues. It could, of course, mean the tensions we've seen in the MAGA base when it comes to the way the president has approached the issue of Israel and the Middle East, starting new. wars overseas. It's something we've heard over and over again, but also as it relates to H-1B visas, the temporary visas given to immigrants who come here to work essentially but are not permanently residing here or looking for that kind of status. The president at total odds with his MAGA base on that issue, he defended it again today saying that people here need. in certain areas and also on the issue of Affordable Care Act. So I think this is just beginning and is something we'll continue to follow. All right, Monica and Julie, thank you so much for starting us off on a very busy news day. We really appreciate it. As we mentioned, we are also following breaking news in the Justice Department's case against former FBI director James Comey, which now appears to be in serious jeopardy. After today in court, it was revealed that prosecutors did not follow proper protocol when indicting James Comey. Interim U.S. Attorney.

Lindsey Halligan and her team acknowledging that the. jury never reviewed the final indictment against James Comey. It is a major error that could get the case thrown out, according to legal experts. Additionally, federal prosecutors also conceding that they were under orders from the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office not to disclose whether career prosecutors have previously written a memo recommending no charges be brought against James Comey. The two admissions coming during a hearing in which James Comey's attorney urged the judge to dismiss the case. case, calling it, quote, selective and vindictive while accusing the president of weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to silence a perceived political enemy. The Justice Department responded to those allegations telling the judge that James Comey was indicted because he lied to Congress. James Comey has denied those allegations. NBC News Legal Affairs reporter Gary Grumbach joins me now along with Ty Cobb, who served as a White House attorney during the first Trump administration and is also a former federal prosecutor. Thanks to both of you for being here. Ty, I will talk to you in one minute. Let me start with you, though, Gary. Set the scene here. Just how stunning is it that today in court you had this. admission that the grand jury never saw the final charging papers. Yeah, stunning, shocking, choose your adjective here. It really was. Let me walk you through exactly what the DOJ say happened in that grand jury room. They were presented with three charges. They indicted on two of them. One of them that's called a no bill. They did not indict. So a grand jury coordinator, according to the Department of Justice, went and edited the document to take out. that first count that was not indicted. They then took that two counts indictments. The four person of the grand jury signed it. Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia signed it, and they presented it to the judge. The entire grand jury never saw that operative document, and that is a huge issue in this case. Well, and it's one that clearly is what is at the center is putting this case potentially in serious jeopardy. This other admission, prosecutors acknowledging that Todd Blanche's office, the Deputy Attorney General, instructed them not to reveal whether career prosecutors had effectively written a memo recommending that no charges be brought against James Comey. What's the significance there? You know, so often we've seen Department of Justice attorneys go forward into a court and say they don't know. They were not given this information. This attorney came forward today and said, actually, I was told not to say this information. And he said he was told by the Deputy Attorney That's Todd Blanche's office. And that's a very significant admission here because clearly this judge wants this information of whether or not there was a declination memo. NBC News has reported that there was a declination memo in this case. He would not say whether or not that was the case. And no decision today by the judge. Where does this go from here? What's the potential timeline for when the judge could make a final decision? So in James Comey's case alone, there are three different decisions that we are waiting on related to Lindsey Halligan's appointment, related to Graham.

jury material being passed over to the defense and now relating to this decision from Judge Nakmanoff today. We hope all of this is done by Thanksgiving, but all of it is sure to be appealed. All right. Well, Garrett Grumbach, thank you so much for setting the stage force. That brings me to Ty Cobb. There's so much to unpack here, but I do want to start with arguably what is the most stunning revelation that the grand jury never saw the final indictment. Can you put this into context for our viewers? What's the significance and what are the implications? Well, it's wholly improper. It's really prosecuted on misconduct and wholesale ineptitude. The fact that the grand jury did not. receive the two-count indictment after having rejected the first count in the three-count indictment, particularly given the fact that we now know from the record that the grand jury asked several aggressive questions of Lindsey Halligan in connection with which she misrepresented the law as to James Comey's Fifth Amendment privilege and also urge them to go ahead and indict because that The government had stronger and better evidence than they had seen that was trial, you know, gross misconduct on both fronts. But the fact that the grand jury never saw this indictment and only the four-person approved it is, it really makes the indictment a nullity. They're really, as Michael Dreven. who is one of the most skilled advocates in America. He was at the Justice Department for a long time, argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court. As he pointed out to the judge, this means there really is no indictment, and I think he's legally correct on that. So technically, there's no indictment based on your understanding. Have you ever seen anything like this before, Ty, in all of your years of practicing law? Oh, no. I mean, I don't think anybody has. I mean, this, this is, you know, this is just so, it's so remarkable that, a, a, somebody who had been a. criminal lawyer for 72 hours, went into the grand jury alone. It's not surprising that it didn't get handled flawlessly, but it would have been impossible for even experienced prosecutors to effectively navigate the circumstances where the top count of the indictment was rejected by the grand jury. And then, you know, create their own indictment and take it to the court. And remember that the deception here by Lindsey Halligan goes back to that first presentation of the indictments in the court after the grand jury had completed its work. And the judge asked,

multiple questions about why did he have two indictments? And none of this information was presented to him. So the wholesale attempt to mislead the judiciary on this that came to somewhat of a conclusion today is just shocking and really requires the termination of this case. And then going, I was just going to say, I'm going to your... you know, issue about Todd Blanche. You know, Todd Blanche having ordered that the prosecutors deceived the court with regard to the existence of... of the declination memo, which everybody knew existed. That is just unheard of. Now, we do know that Bovet, when he was at the Justice Department, ordered his prosecutors to defy the judges. And now we've got defy and deceive as the marching orders from the top of the Justice Department. That's never been the case in American history. And it just shows you how disgraceful and corrupt this Justice Department is. So I just want to be very clear about what you are saying, Ty, what do you think the likelihood is, as I have this conversation with you, that this case is going to be thrown out? Oh, this case is going to be thrown out, and this is only one of the reasons. I mean, it's, A, as a vindictive prosecution, B, Lindsey Halligan was not legally appointed, and C, the prosecutorial misconduct here is so severe that almost any judge would toss it with the possible exception of Eileen Cannon in Florida. So I think this case is dead. You know, the government may go down, you know, fighting and gasping, but this case is dead. Do you think Lindsey Halligan, Lindsey Halligan, or Todd Blanche could face disciplinary actions based on the revelations today, Ty? Well, I think Lindsey Halligan and Pam Bondi for sure could face disciplinary action because Pam Bondi has twice affirmed the purported legitimacy of Lindsey Halligan's grand jury presentation before the court. And, you know, those affirmations, you know, were false. There's no way that any seasoned prosecutor could say this was done according to Hoy. No way. And Lindsey Halligan, definitely. And Todd Blanche, it's hard to say that has to be sussed out a little bit. We need a little bit more factual development. I would love to see Todd Blanche, Pam Bondi, and Lindsey Halligan under oath getting the questioning they deserve from Patrick Fitzgerald, who I think would skewer. And just to be very clear, what, if anything, would the disciplinary action look like? Could that mean being disbarred?

Yes, it could be disbarment. It could also be being prohibited from appearing before the Eastern District of Virginia. There are a host of serious sanctions that can and should be imposed. And the implications tie for the other cases against Letitia James, for example? So what happened today is not really relevant to the Letitia James case other than adding the context of deception and misleading the court. But I think with regard to Letitia James' case, Certainly on the vindictive front, she has probably a more compelling argument than James Comey does, but each should prevail. And with regard to the appointment issue, they have the identical objection, and I think they'll both succeed on that. Ty, very quickly, before I let you go on the Jeffrey Epstein case, President Trump expected to sign the bill into law, which will call on the Justice Department to release all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein in 30 days. Do you anticipate that the Justice Department will comply with that? Not a chance. No, I mean, the whole scam about, you know, the order from Trump to prosecute Democrats, not Republicans, reopen the case. You know, Pam Bondi has said twice on the record that there are no cases that could be presented. She's purported to have exhaustedly reviewed all the evidence and told the world that there will be no further charges because none can be brought. Today, she says there's new evidence that would justify her reopening the case. That's amazing in view of the fact that she reopened it 17 minutes after. Trump ordered her to do so. I'm not sure how she discovered the evidence that quickly, but I don't believe it happened. All right. Ty Cobb, as always, we really appreciate your being here and your perspective. Great to see you as always. Always wonderful to be with you, Kristen. Thanks, Ty. You too. Take care. And coming up, a Texas-sized redistricting setback, rising prices, and the never-ending Epstein-Files saga. The panel digs into the political headwinds facing the Trump administration. Plus, powder trails. The Justice Department announces a major breakthrough in the manhunt for a former Olympic athlete who's also one of the FBI's most wanted drug traffickers. You're watching at the press now.

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ran and he convinced a lot of Americans, not just his base, a lot of Americans that the government was weaponized against him, that Democrats and prosecutors throughout the country were too aggressive. And I think that's something that resonated with a lot of voters, right? He won the election convincingly. Now it is something that could... be used against Republicans in a what will very likely be a very difficult midterm. So this is a legal case, but there's a lot of politics here too. Ashley, we don't know yet if the case will be thrown out. We know that it's in jeopardy, though. And there are serious questions about... How the DOJ handled this case against James Comey. Politically speaking, do you anticipate Democrats to pounce on this moment? How does this point? Absolutely. And especially the judge's words that he thinks that there was a lot of prosecutor. prosecutorial misconduct that's taking place here. And then I think, you know, that bridges to all the other cases as well. But here's the thing that I'm curious to see what happens. We've seen now the president in retreat on a lot of fronts. And I'm curious whether or not this is going to be a setback for his retribution campaign. He's going after all of his political enemies, James Comey being won. Now the list keeps growing by the day. So my question is whether or not he will sort of retreat from this. This will be a sign that I'll give him some sort of pause. All right. Well, this setback comes as. we are getting some new polling that I want to let you guys see. This is a generic ballot, according to a new NPR, PBS, Marist poll. 55% of voters say they would vote for a Democrat in next year's midterm elections, which is a 14-point edge over Republicans. So with the president and I guess the question, Eleanor, is... What are the implications of this for President Trump and Republicans as they look at that? Here we are a year out before the midterms. I think it's the latest string of losses we've seen for the Trump administration, right? There's seen pushback from Congress on the Epstein files. Obviously, the Senate passed the bill releasing all of them last night. We've seen pushback on this idea of cutting Americans' checks of tariff revenue. We've seen... push back on this idea that lawmakers should just send Americans money for health care instead of extending enhanced affordable care subsidies. And so this polling, I think, is the latest in a series of setbacks. Actually, when you look at that polling, what do you see and what does it tell you about what Democrats should be focused on and any concerns about... Overconfidence heading into the midterms. I mean, I wish the midterms were tomorrow. No, I think the party is feeling is riding a high after Tuesday, clearly. I mean, the president's approval is in the tank. It's at, you know, under 35%. Disapproval on the economy is highest I've ever seen of any sitting president at 63%. So I think Democrats are feeling really good about it, but my advice is to keep your foot on the gas. I was just on the phone with Leader Chuck Schumer.

last week and made the point that now is a time for Democrats to roll out a proactive agenda, to roll out an affirmative agenda on what we would do on the economy to capitalize on the momentum from last Tuesday because it's clear that the American people are rejecting this president's economic agenda and that they, you know, that they want a different direction for the nation. It's not getting any better for him. Congress has been in for, been out for six weeks and now they're in today. They're not voting until late tonight, but there's no agenda. There is no sign that they're going to recalibrate on the economy. You to give Democrats an advantage, but they have to start telling people what they're for. Give it a year, let it cede, and then we'll see what happens in November. Well, to that point, respondents were asked what the top priority for the Trump administration should be. Take a look at what they said. 57% Carlos Covello said they should be focused on lowering prices. I mean, it's not even close to the other issues. The second one controlling immigration at 16%. think President Trump, who several days ago, said affordability is a dead issue, do you think that he needs to shift his strategy? Kristen, I would tell you that I watched this movie in 2018, but I actually lived through it. It was a very difficult election for House Republicans in particular and for those that represented suburbs like me. This is a wonderful time. for the administration for congressional republicans to reach out to democrats there are still a number of them who will work with them and and try to focus on issues that people really care about permitting reform, transportation, infrastructure, issues that can really show that these aren't just people trying to advance Donald Trump's agenda and his personal agenda, but that they want to do things with Democrats. Part of the issue here, and both parties go through this, they control the entirety of the government, they use reconciliation, the public perceives that they're going it alone, excluding the other side, half of the country, and then there's a backlash. Republicans are running out of time. change that narrative, but it's still not too late. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say, I mean, I think the thing that should be most concerning for the Republicans is this, the Trump administration's own admission that we're in the middle of a recession right now. That inflation is way too high. Way too high. We're not saying as Democrats, that's what the president's team is saying. And for him to say, you know, move on, eat cake, let them eat cake. And Republicans risk making the mistakes of the Biden administration saying, hey, we know you're feeling this. But don't remind the numbers don't reflect what you're saying. Well, okay, but there are headwinds for the Democratic Party in this poll as well. Take a look at this despite their...

large margin in the generic ballot. The Democratic Party is one of the institutions that voters have the least confidence in. Eleanor, when you look at that, the message for Democrats, they clearly have an uphill battle as well in some regard. I mean, this has always been the hurdle for Democrats, is they are historically the least trusted party on the economy. And so I think the question going into the midterms is going to be, how can they talk about voters in a way that's not just saying we want... to return things to the way that they were but also here's what we want to do differently to your point so i mean we saw a pretty big admission by the Trump administration that consumers are bearing the impact of some of these tariffs when they said last week that they would repeal tariffs on coffee and tropical fruits. Yeah, it was an extraordinary moment. Can I just say one day for Democrats? I think that we're spinning ourselves. We think that we won on Tuesday, but really Donald Trump lost on Tuesday. So that's really the concern. We've got to do more work to up those numbers. All right. We'll leave it there, guys. Great conversation. Thank you so much, Eleanor Ashley and Carlos. Appreciate it. Coming up next, our peace. negotiations gaining momentum in Ukraine? We have the very latest as the U.S. Army's top commanders arrive in Kiev for high-level discussions. That's next on Meet the Press Now.

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Welcome back. Top Army officials arrived in Kiev this morning as the Trump administration looks to revive peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The Army says the U.S. delegation will meet with Ukrainian officials as part of a fact-finding mission and to discuss efforts to end the war. It comes as President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russia's envoy have put together a framework for a possible peace deal that needs to be presented to the Ukrainians, according to three U.S. officials. Today, the Kremlin downplayed reports. of a possible 28-point peace plan saying there is nothing new on peace efforts since President Trump's meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. But despite efforts to resume peace negotiations, Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, launching a wave of strikes this morning on a residential building in Western Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say 26 people were killed in the strikes, including three children and nearly 100 others were injured. Joining me now is NBC News, Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent and Chief Washington correspondent, Andrea Mitchell. Andrea, thank you so much for being here. So this was somewhat extraordinary news because we thought that peace talks with Ukraine and Russia had been derailed were on pause. And now this development, how significant? Is it? It could be very significant indeed. And what is so surprising is that I was traveling with Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, and the National Security Advisor last week at a meeting with all of the allies, the G7 in Canada. And he told us on camera at the conclusion of those meetings that there would be no further meetings between the two leaders like Alaska until... Russia was willing to make some deals and that Vladimir Putin has shown no sign of an interest in peace that he wanted all of the Donbas part of Ukraine that the Ukrainians now control at least 14% of in the war. That said, Steve Witkoff, we have confirmed, has been negotiating with a Russian counterpart in Miami, and this plan would have Russia getting all of that territory that Ukraine now controls in exchange for security agreements that would be given to Ukraine. So it would be major concessions to Russia. Given that, Andrea, is there any sense that Ukrainian officials have been briefed on this or would ever sign off on an agreement that includes such significant concessions to Russia? Well, it comes at a point of very big vulnerability on the part of Volodymyr Zelensky because as the Europeans were meeting in Canada with the U.S., There was an explosion of allegations against some of the officials. The cabinet minister is closest to Volodymyr Zelensky. He's had to deal with this corruption scandal. They resigned, and they're very close to him. And the thought is that Vladimir Putin saw that this was a point of maximum weakness. In fact, some of the...

financial benefits, the loans that were being considered at that meeting last week in Canada from the Europeans, frozen Russian assets were not offered, as they might have been. And I was told by two other diplomatic officials that they're not going to be until this corruption scandal is cleared up. So it was a real setback for Volodymyr Zelensky, and that's why Vladimir Putin might be moving in and making this offer. But it certainly indicates a lot of confusion as to who's in charge of diplomacy. Well, and that takes me to my next question. Steve Witkoff at the center of these reports that somehow he's still the person leading the charge trying to negotiate an end to this war. Yeah, and after Alaska, which didn't go that well, it was assumed that since he was so busy on Gaza and the Middle East, that he would be focusing on that and not on Vladimir Putin and Ukraine. And this came out of really out of left field or nowhere. But it seems as though he still has the president's ear. He is the closest friend to the president. And the president wants deals. He wants peace agreements. And that's what the signals are from the White House that this is a real deal. Well, Andrea, to that point, just the broader context here, this is a president who campaigned on a promise. to end the war in Ukraine on day one and then acknowledged it was proving far more complicated than he had anticipated. So this is still a real priority for him. But Vladimir Putin has still made no concessions, and it comes at a time when the U.S. had finally said they were going to sanction, tough sanctions against Russia. And we haven't actually seen that take place. It's all very much, very murky. And Vladimir Putin's team still seems to be calling the shots. All right. Well, Andrea, thank you for being here to update us on this really fast-moving story. We really appreciate it. Great to see you, as always. Coming up after the break, immigration crackdown, we'll have a live report from Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Trump administration says Border Patrol has arrested more than two. 150 people in just a few days with no operations potentially set to expand. Stay with us. I'll meet the press now. Welcome back. We are following breaking news in the search for a former Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin. The administration now offering a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Ryan Wedding. The former Canadian Olympic snowboarder is on the FBI's most wanted list. U.S. officials today unsealed an indictment against him and others, charging him with murder for allegedly ordering the killing of a witness set to testify against him in a federal trial here in the U.S. Look. Make no mistake about it. Ryan Wedding is a modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He's a modern day iteration of El Chapo Guzman. This Justice Department and this FBI will work with our Canadian counterparts and the government officials across the world to bring him to justice. He is responsible for engineering a narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism program that we have not seen in a long time.

NBC News senior justice reporter Ryan Riley joins me now. Ryan, this is extraordinary. An Olympic snowboarder for Canada, now a wanted alleged drug kingpin. What else did officials... say today about who Ryan Wedding is. You can see the screenplays being written now, don't you, Snow, maybe the working title. But basically what they alleged here is that this guy, as soon as he got out of jail for cocaine charges previously in 2019, or rather in 2009, then he ended up restarting this enterprise and was communicating with these really high-profile figures. up until when, as soon as he got out in 2011 and was continuing to run this sort of massive criminal enterprise. And this is, you know, a really significant bus. Of course, he's still on the loose. And that's the key thing that I think the FBI, you know, is trying to hammer home here, look out for him. They say he would stick out in Mexico. But they did, you know, indict all of these other alleged associates alongside him. How do you go from being an Olympic athlete to... someone running a drug ring of this magnitude, according to officials. Yeah, so 2002 is when his Olympic career, I guess, sort of peters out. And then you look toward seven years later that initial arrest. And then two years after that in 2011 is when this enterprise all sort of starts to unfold. So, you know, this is a serious case that the Justice Department was very big about rolling out sort of the red carpet for they brought in people from California to make a big splash out of this. They had a Canadian law enforcement official. there, of course, as well to talk about the international component of this. But, I mean, in this case, you know, we'll proceed forward with all of these other players in it. But, of course, the big sort of person out there is still on the loose. Yeah, you know, FBI director Kash Patel compared him to El Chapo, Pablo Escobar. I mean, based on the information they revealed about the activities of Mr. Wedding, was that overstated at all? Or is that accurate? I mean, there was an assassination in a restaurant that was linked to this. So that was, I mean, pretty serious charges. I think it's a very serious case involving a lot of players here and murder. So it's got all the elements there. All right. Well, keep us posted, Ryan Riley. Thanks so much. Great to see you. We want to turn out to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina. That effort dubbed Operation Charlotte's Web now in its fifth day. Homeland Security officials telling NBC news that 251 arrests were made between Saturday and yesterday. Federal agents' presence in North Carolina's largest city has sparked. both fear and outrage, with protests taking place across Charlotte and hundreds of people attending a community meeting at a church last night about organizing efforts to watch out for Border Patrol agents. NBC News, Senior Homeland Security correspondent, Julia Ainslie is on the ground in Charlotte, North Carolina. Julia, thanks so much for being here. So what is the very latest that you are witnessing there as this crackdown intensified based on what you're seeing? Yeah, what you heard that 250 number just as of Tuesday, that's up from 130, 24, about 36 hours before. So you can see they continue to add on between like 50 to 100 a day. We're waiting for what those numbers might be today. And Kristen, they're not breaking down the criminality. The first time we got 133 based on the first 48 hours of this operation, 44 of those had serious criminal charges.

And the others did not. And the more people I talk to here say they feel like it's targeting. I talked to a woman today who said she's a legal permanent resident. She's been in this country for 25 years. But she is Colombian by birth. And she was stopped and asked for her documentation. She said that had a real impact on her. She's very afraid. And there are a lot of people in the Latino community here, Kristen, who have just gone underground. And that's one of the reasons I hear right outside this church. Over a thousand people and the non-Latino community are coming here tonight. to learn how they can watch out for their immigrant neighbors. They're forming neighborhood watch groups where they can alert people about the presence of Border Patrol. There's been a huge turnout. Meanwhile, Latino churches are closed. Well, Julie, I know you've been talking to some of those residents. Tell me specifically what they've been saying to you about this operation. Yeah, that's right. We went out today this morning with a group of parents who are trying to make it safe for kids to be able to come to school, especially as many of their parents no longer feel comfortable with them leaving home. Here's what one of the parents had to tell me. We're seeing the community step up and say, how can I help? What can I do? So people are taking time out of their work days, they're rearranging schedules, they're driving different parts of the city, just to make sure that kids are, again, able to come to school safely and to learn. So this is really about safety. It's about the dignity of our community. And it's been really inspiring to see people kind of step in and chip in in ways that, you know, big and small. Part of the reason Kristen for her hat there in the costumes that we saw today is to make kids feel not afraid to come to school. Sarah Kay said that no child should be afraid and they've been able to take some children to school while the parents stay at home. Well, just an extraordinary look on the ground there is Charlotte. Thank you so much for being there, Julia, and for your report. We really appreciate it. Still to come, everything's bigger in Texas, including the fight for control of Congress. A Texas Democrat responds as the redistricting war in the lone state heads to the Supreme Court. Lone Star State heads to the Supreme Court. Stay with us. You're watching at the press now. Democrats.

In the house, we're just going to unilaterally disarm, roll over, and play dead was a fantasy. And I told that to Mike Johnson months ago, directly. This is not going to end well for you. They started this redistricting fight. We will end it. Welcome back. That was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries today as the redistricting battle heats up and comes after Republicans were dealt a major blow yesterday after a three-judge panel blocked Texas from using its new congressional map that favored the GOP. Joining me now to discuss this Democratic Congressman Jasmine, Jasmine of Texas. Congressman, thank you so much for being here. Absolutely. Really appreciate it. Let's start right there. Texas is appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court. What are you anticipating? will happen. Do you think that the GOP maps will hold or do you think they'll go back to the 2021 maps? I think we'll be on the 2021 maps. A couple of things that are important for us to denote in this is that number one, this was a temporary injunction. So as it relates to the fact that this was signed into law, we did not have enough time to flesh out and have a full-blown trial. But this three-judge panel was able to have a 10-day hearing where they heard testimony. And that is something that the Supreme Court justices do not have have the benefit of is actually listening to the testimony and judging the credibility of the witnesses. One of the most important witnesses that was brought forth was actually the map drawer, the map drawer that they hid from the plaintiffs the entire time we were fighting the 21 lines, but they decided to put him on the stand this time, and the court did not find him to be credible. And I think that that is so integral and important, especially since he drew the 21 maps, and they had argued for four years. that there is no racism here. These are beautiful, amazing maps, but all of a sudden, you decided that she wanted to change the maps. So if... Your prediction proves right. If in fact, this goes back to the 2021 maps, do you think that other Democratic-led states like California, for example, should abandon their efforts to redraw the maps in favor of Democrats? No. First of all, California decided that this was going to be a ballot measure that would be put to the people. They did the work. They invested. They canvassed. And they were able to get the people to make a decision. The people have already decided this is the map that they are going to be running on until the next new. maps need to be drawn after the census. That is that. And that was triggered because Greg Abbott decided to sign this new map into law. In addition to that, we know that Missouri

took away a seat there so that we know that they're currently in litigation. We know that the only reason that Democrats don't control the House right now is because North Carolina, as soon as they ended up with a Republican majority on that Supreme Court, they decided to take away three seats from us, three seats that we had won. And it would have made the representation in that delegation 7-7, which is basically representative of the state of North Carolina that consistently flips back and forth. Where they decided that they wanted to go an extra step, take another way, another seat. away. And now Florida has decided that they want to dig in. So no, I don't think other Democratic states should abandon this. But just to follow up, what do you say to the argument, including from some Democrats, that this will become a redistricting race to the bottom? So I don't disagree with that. I think that that is a proper assessment. The problem is that we have a president who has consistently decided that he wanted to employ disastrous tactics. And he's used to Democrats rolling over and saying, okay, whatever, because we want to be the nice guys. It is time to get into the ring. And as Governor Gavin Newsom said, we are going to fight fire with fire. So he wants to play stupid games. You get stupid prizes. All right. Let me ask you about the fact that the bill to release the Epstein files has now passed both chambers. It's headed to President Trump's desk. He says he's going to sign it. You are the vice ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. There's a big question mark about whether DOJ is going to release the files or about whether they will say, actually there's an open and active investigation, and so we therefore need to withhold the files to preserve the integrity of the investigation. What if any recourse do you have in the House to force the release of these files if that were to happen? Listen, the way that I look at this is that when you have the full support of the House, then that's when we can finally go to court if we need to. Now, obviously, it's still a Republican-led majority, so we could only see where we could at least ask a court to review in camera and make it as to what legally could still come out, if anything. I will tell you that this is all a game, though, because Donald Trump, just like when we reopened the government, he immediately signed that into law. He has a veto-proof majority. He literally could have just been like, bloop, here it is. And he hasn't done it. And we know that the speaker was complaining and saying, well, we were hoping that the Senate was going to make some changes to this. Listen, if you believe in transparency, you campaigned on this, then be as transparency. as possible, I don't care people's political affiliation. As someone who has been involved within the criminal justice system, I care about making sure that accountability is real. You made a promise, we all made a promise as public servants to these survivors, and more importantly, to make sure that there is no other children or women that are going to go through this type of sophisticated system if this system has fully been torn down, which we don't know. We need to learn from our mistakes and decide that we will pass legislation that will prevent something like this from happening ever again. Are you bracing to have to go to court? Do you think you'll have to go to court? I think we're going to have to be aggressive. I think we're going to have to be aggressive in whatever ways. I mean...

Myself, I can't go to court just as a sitting member. It would take the speaker saying, listen, we have this. It is lawful. And he would have to be the one to initiate. Unfortunately, it seems like we don't have a separation of powers nowadays. It seems like everything as relates to the Republicans has ceded their powers to the president. But we will see. I want to get your reaction to some new polling that shows Democrats outperforming Republicans on the generic ballot, but more voters have confidence in the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. Do you believe that Democrats have a credibility problem when it comes to your base and voters? I do. I do. I absolutely do. Why do you think that is? So, well, I think there's a couple of things that someone who traveled this country as relates to the election. I think that one of the things we've not done a really good job is of is communicating our wins, right? So a lot of times, Democrats, their goal, their job is to get in there, put their heads down, and make sure that they do the work. They haven't really been going around and doing the propaganda side of things, right? And so. There are not people that realize that your overdraft fees, when they got capped at $5, that was the Biden Harris administration. And ultimately, it was this administration that decided that they wanted to get rid of that. So this is something for that working class person who's like, listen, I need to overdraft so that I can get to my next paycheck, right? Well, they're saying, you know what? We want the banks to make more money off of you, right? Like, we've not sat down and made sure that people understood that the Affordable Care Act, I think people understand. now, right? But the tax subsidy, that extra money, or when we look at the child tax credit, they didn't fully understand that. Or even when we look at the stimulus check, they didn't fully understand that because we did not take our time to make sure that we communicate. Very quickly, because we have less than a minute left, but you've said you're weighing a possible run for Senate to replace John Cornyn. Have you made your decision yet? I have not. How close are you? You know, I mean, I'll get my polling back. I'll talk to my pollsters today. Are you leading it back on Friday? I am definitely open because I did not spend all this money just to be a no. So we will see. All right. Congressman Jasmine Crockett, thank you. We appreciate your honest answer. Thank you so much. All right. Great to have you here. Thank you for joining us. We're back tomorrow with more Meet the Press now. There is more news ahead on NBC News Now.

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