massive, for republicans, rather worrisome campaign cash lead over donald trump. it is very, very early in what promises to be a very, very long general election campaign. but if you had to pick for just this one week, would you rather be candidate biden, or candidate trump? that's tonight's last word, the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle begins now. tonight, donald trump's skyrocketing legal bills, how the republican nominee is covering the cost of all those lawyers, while biden's campaign cashes in is only getting bigger. plus, the surge of conspiracy theories about the baltimore bridge collapse. who is spreading those dangerous lies about the disaster? convicted x crypto king sam benjamin friede is facing decades in prison.

his sentencing now just hours away, as the 11th hour gets underway on this wednesday night. good evening once again, i'm stephanie ruhle, we are now 223 days away from the election and we are learning more about the crossover between donald trump's political fundraising and his court cases. according to the new york times, donald trump has spent, are you ready for this number? more than $100 million on legal bills since 2021. that's more than 90 grand a day. tell your kids to be lawyers one day. trump has relied almost completely on donations from people made to fight the result of the 2020 election to pay for it all. the $254 million donation number you see at the top of your screen right now was what trump managed to raise between the day after the election and president biden's inauguration.

only a teeny little fraction of that money actually went toward challenging the election results. now, that money is drying up and trump will either have to find another source of cash to start putting the bills himself. meanwhile, president biden's poll numbers are showing some very positive signs. a new quinnipiac poll has him leading trump by three, but that is within the margin of error. bloomberg poll out earlier this week found the president's numbers are going up in six of seven swing states, but still trailing or statistically tied with trump. this comes as president biden wraps up an 18 day travel schedule following his state of the union. he made stops in eight different states that could be crucial in november. with that, let's get smarter with help from our lead off this evening, nbc white house correspondent michael manley, he's covered president biden, his family and inner circle of advisers for over 10 years, a staff writer for the atlantic, and a new msnbc political

contributor, and former new york prosecutor and civil rights attorney charles coleman. charles, can we start with this reporting, learning that trumps legal bills, he spent 100 million bucks, most of it donor dollars. i am guessing there have to be at least some people who wrote checks who are not happy that those checks are out there paying his lawyers. >> i would imagine so. >> can they fight this? >> they can try, but this is more of a political problem than a legal problem. what i mean by that is he has apparently followed the guidelines about what he can spend money on, it's the fact that the people who decided to donate to his campaign have been suckered, and they are now understanding that donald trump never intended to have a save the election or protect the election pack, he never intended to do the things that he was saying he was going to do as a candidate. he was speaking primarily as a defendant, but here's something to take about. regardless of how much money donald trump is spending on lawyers, if thomas somehow, he makes it back to 1600 penn, it

was more than worth it. >> well, he could also argue, we could laugh and say i thought he was a rich guy not paying his own bills. he would argue that makes him a smart rich guy. why would he use his own money if, legally, you can use other people's. but, mckay, he's currently struggling to fund raise, at least this time around, now that it's public that all of these donor dollars are going to his legal bills, could it make it more difficult for him to raise money going forward? >> i think that if you are somebody who is donating to the trump campaign, you are going to reach a point where you want to see return on investment. you want to see where that money is going. and i think it's going to become more and more complicated to get those donors to keep ponying up, when you have stories like you saw in the associated press this week showing that in key battleground states across the country, the trump campaign has

effectively no general election campaign apparatus, joe biden has hired 350 new staffers, opened 100 new offices across battleground states this month alone, the trump campaign has done basically nothing. i think that if you're a republican donor and your considering whether to raise money for donald trump's campaign, you're going to have to start reading those stories and wondering, am i raising money just to keep paying this guys legal fees? or am i raising money to win a general election? if the trump campaign can't make a compelling case to those donors, i think it's going to be harder to keep raising money. >> what about republicans, some of these down ballot races? should they be worried that there won't be any rnc money left for them after trump takes it all to pay his lawyers? >> i think that you're going to see mounting discontent and increasingly public discontent if that is in fact the case. it's clear that there's been

some behind-the-scenes blowback on this question, because you see laura trump, donald trump's daughter-in-law, who is now cochair of the rnc, furiously backpedaled, saying the rnc isn't going to cover his legal bills after all, we're not going to do that, every penny of every dollar is going to go to his campaign. you don't see her go out and make comments like that unless you're in a situation where you are hearing, privately, not just from donors but from republican officials that they are extremely frustrated. >> sitting down with garrett haig isn't how laura trump likes to start every wednesday morning? i'm shocked. michael, >> it's how i like to start my day. >> me, too. let's talk about president biden. well donald trump is dealing with these legal bills, the president has been out there campaigning.

18 days, eight states, tell us about it. >> as a political reporter, we're trying to outwork our competitors, get inside the campaign playbook, get the scoop of what the strategy is. the biden campaign put their cards on the table, they said these are the battleground states and we're learning not just where the the president spent his month where he thinks he can compete, we're learning how he thinks he can compete. he goes to north carolina, talking about healthcare, abortion rights, the expansion of medicaid in north carolina, they think those are issues the president can run on and win. in nevada he was talking about housing costs. we know the impact of the housing crisis in 2008, the affordability crisis is a big issue. new hampshire, lowering prices. we're learning a lot about how the biden team thinks they can win in november, and one of the things that the point of contrast during those 18 days, donald trump was only holding one campaign event the entire time. we've talked a lot about age as an issue in the campaign, the biden campaign is wondering when is anyone noticing that we're the ones campaigning, the one that's running in the basement or the courtroom is

donald trump. >> i want to talk about president biden and his messaging. we're not hearing him use the term biden onyx anymore. there are lots of great data points, lots of positive things about the economy, however, inflation looms. is that the reason, while he's going state to state, is he hearing that from voters and that's got him changing his messaging? >> what i talked to democratic strategists, they say there's a good economic story to tell but what they want to hear from the president's empathy. he needs to understand that these trends look good, the stock market is high but biden has never been somebody who puts his economic value on what the dow jones says, he wants to know what the middle class, the person who grew up in a community in scranton thinks. when you take the biden campaigns bidenomics strategy, they were thinking when it was originating, let's look at how successful obamacare was, the affordable care act, it was, they turned that around and made it a success. they wanted to get ahead of what they thought republicans were going to do, which is attack them on the economy when they saw things getting better.

maybe they've dialed away from the slogan but that's not stopping the president to do what he can in these events to talk specifically about the ways he thinks his economic winds are translating for voters. it still comes down to a gut feel, though, that's something i need to work on. >> let's talk about donald trump and is classified documents case. he was indicted over nine months ago. it seems like aileen cannon is tipping the scales for him every chance she possibly can get. most people out there think there is no chance of a trial before the election. what do you think? >> that's pretty wise. it's uncanny to consider how much outside truck help donald trump has had on all of his criminal court cases. >> there is a two tiered justice system and he's in the good tear. >> he is, he's at the top of the good tear. there's no question that this is not a complicated litigation. the mar-a-lago documents case is probably the most straightforward of all of his criminal indictments that he's facing, and so the fact that it has been as low, and we haven't seen much movement, is clearly

an indication that, beyond what he's been saying in the public, beyond the maneuvers that his attorneys have been doing, and even beyond what aileen cannon has said, you are now seeing how this justice system actually works. the one thing i will point out is i do think that aileen cannon has gotten a bit gun shy because of how she's been treated by the 11th circuit, so she's not as quick to make any hasty decisions. not that she was moving at rocket speed before. >> she's not making any decisions which is a gift to trump. >> of course, but to answer your question, i do not see this getting off the ground before the end of the year, certainly not before the election. >> let's talk about the hush money case in new york, because less than 24 hours, donald trump was hit with a partial gag order. he is out there attacking two people tied to this case, but not mentioned in the gag order. the judge and the judge's daughter. any possible consequences for trump, or he's going to keep on trucking? >> he's going to keep on

trucking. it's a difficult space for judge marchand to be in, because there is a technical conflict of interest by saying to him, i'm going to silence you regarding talking about me. with respect to his safety, should he have the right to do that? absolutely. but we're talking about a two tiered system of justice, i could not be in court for a traffic ticket and talk about the judge the way donald trump has without his repercussions. it is important to point out and illustrate how the notions of power and privilege continue to play a part in how people tiptoe around this man who has no regard for the rule of law. >> let's talk about another very powerful man who does have great regard for the rule of law, president obama. new york times is reporting that the former president is now working a lot more closely with the biden team, not just undoing the potential appearance or a fundraiser, but actual strategy help, for the president, because of his great concern that trump could win

this thing. >> president obama is all in, according to president biden's re-election, there's a lot at stake including his legacy. i was told by a senior adviser to the former president today that he and his team are talking to the biden team, if not every day, multiple times a day. a lot of people wonder, why am i in new york right now, it's because what's happening tomorrow. there's this major fundraiser, not just barack obama, bill clinton, joining joe biden, it's going to raise at least $50 million for the campaign, money here in new york city, across the street, radio city, plan accordingly. it's going to be a little bit of a zoo. this is a major event bringing in money for the campaign, but what's also being helpful for the biden team is the advice he's getting, to the current president. i was told on friday when he was at the white house they were taping content about the affordable care act. he was talking about, your state of the union was great, it's gotten people fired up, stay on the road, do what you're doing. it's connecting with voters and hit that empathy point.

these two men worked so closely together in the administration, there was a little bit of hurt feelings, let's say on the part of the president that he did not support the idea of him running in 2016, biden decided not to run, but they are fully locked arms right now. >> i understand hurt feelings. i told our audience he made a special appearance tonight for the 11th hour and now you just told me, no, he came for obama. mckay, today, very sad news, former senator joe lieberman died at age 82. he was a fiercely independent voice on the hill, he served as al gore's running mate in 2000, but we've heard from him most recently because he's been the chairman of no labels, the group trying to field a third- party ticket for president. what is his legacy, and could be defined by what no labels is up to right now? >> you know, it's interesting. i think that what is happening with no labels represents the end of lieberman's arc is a

public figure. for a long time, i think he was seen as, in some ways, an ideal statesman. he was happy to work across the aisle, he had friends on both sides of the aisle, he was once floated as a potential running mate for john mccain in 2008, that shows just how politically eclectic his various friendships and positions were. and i think, for a long time, a lot of people would look at him and say that the senate should have more people like that. that is what we wanted from the senate. we are at a moment where politics is much more polarized, much more divided, the stakes seem higher, a lot of people believe that the stakes are actually the very existence of democracy in america, so there isn't as much patience for or appetite for what lieberman was up to, and no labels, i think, now has

represents where that centrism, bipartisanship, can go wrong. because a lot of people have real questions about what they are actually trying to achieve. will they ultimately serve as a spoiler ticket that helps donald trump get back to the white house? there's been some really good reporting on the behind-the- scenes of the no labels operation, even some of their own donors are questioning what they're up to. but, i hope that we can remember the good that lieberman did, and the period of washington that he represented, which was a period when it frankly was, you could argue that politics was taking place between the 20 yard lines, on a football field, meaning that republicans and democrats were a lot closer together 30, 40 years ago. but, it is still, i think, that what no labels is up to is going to be something that

hurts his legacy going forward, probably. >> before we go, new topic. you've got to do extra credit tonight. talk us through what is happening to sean combs. it's been reported two of his homes in l.a. and miami have been rated, a source telling nbc news he is the subject of a federal criminal investigation. there's obviously a ton we do not know but what can you tell us? >> what i can tell you is this is probably not a good sign for sean combs. we know little about the situation but here's what i know, you cannot get as a federal agency a warrant to conduct a raid if you do not have a demonstration of probable cause which means at this point, it's likely that investigators are dotting their eyes and crossing their keys, not trying to go on a fishing it's expedition. the other thing that's interesting is i'm wondering how we know that that he was the target of the raids, but who else is involved? i'm not certain that this

investigation is squarely limited to sean combs, so it's going to be very interesting to see how deep this rabbit hole goes, and finally, we all know he has a bunch of civil cases that he's dealing with. is it possible that some of those allegations and some of those witnesses are going to feed into this investigation? because that is very plausible in terms of how law enforcement conduct their investigation. we could really see some of these actual civil cases become part of his criminal charges. >> is it possible, would you say, in your experience, it's probable? >> that he's getting arrested? >> no, that some of the people associated in the civil cases. >> yes. yes. >> i will not ask you. i see mike sweating and saying, i'm not here for those questions. no worries. mckay, mike, charles, thank you. when we come back, the misinformation machine ran wild after the baltimore bridge collapse. fu disgusting, unimaginable, but it happened. how to comb , especially in high-stakes election years like

this one. speaking of elections, the new rnc chair insists that 2020 is in the past. did her father-in-law get that memo? the 11th hour just getting underway on a wednesday night. . , but starting it eight months pregnant... that's a different story. i couldn't slow down. we were starting a business from the ground up. people were showing up left and right. and so did our business needs the chase ink card made it easy. when you go for something big like this, your kids see that. and they believe they can do the same. earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase with the chase ink business unlimited card. make more of what's yours.

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"we do know is a bridge like this one completed in the 1970s was simply not made to withstand a direct impact on a

critical support peer from a vessel that weighs about 200 million pounds. >> tonight, investigators are learning more about the deadly collision that destroyed the key bridge in baltimore, nbc tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: while the dolly remains trapped under tons of wreckage from the collapsed bridge, and bsc teams were on board today gathering evidence and identifying key crew members to interview. investigators have downloaded data from the ships so-called black box, including the ships speed, position, power and throttle settings at 1:30 a.m. tuesday. >> that will help us, enable us, to begin to put together a timeline of events, that occurred prior to the striking of the bridge. >> reporter: ntsb chief says they will also look at whoever receives contaminated fuel, which could have shut down the engines causing it to lose power before crashing into the

bridge. >> while we wait for answers, one thing is for sure. misinformation about the collapse has been spreading unchecked. according to x eos, on the site formerly known as twitter, there were baseless claims that the ship had been the victim of a cyber attack or had intentionally rammed into the bridge. absolute lies. some post even blamed, ready for this? diversity and inclusion initiatives. another said it was an attack from israel. such garbage, i struggle to even say it, and it wasn't randoms on social media. public figures, people like maria bartiromo on fox news who used to be an icon in business news, you know what she did? she blamed it on the border. the open border. marjorie taylor greene speculated it was unintentional attack and nancy mays of south carolina blamed joe biden's infrastructure bill. all of this is false, disgusting garbage, and it happened within the last 48

hours. bodies still aren't recovered. former fbi special agent clint watts joined me not to discuss, he's also a consultant to fbi counterterrorism division and an msnbc security analyst. as you can tell, i'm upset, i'm disappointed, i am disgusted. it hasn't even been a full two days since the collapse, and these conspiracy theories are everywhere. it seems like they're spreading faster than they used to. what is going on? >> stephanie, it is not surprising, unfortunately, while disgusting, lies outpace the truth, that's the way social media has become over the last decade, anytime there's any sort of calamitous event, catastrophe, some sort of tragedy that happened, something that induces fear, you see these conspiracies immediately start to pop up. important to remember that

audiences tend to believe things whenever they're scared or where they've seen something that never seen before. this was one of those cases, it was immediately shocking, he couldn't believe that it happened. but the vulnerability is something that people pray on, and everything from criminal fraudsters trying to get people to click on links to donate two things, to conspiracy theorists that are trying to create an arrangement and engagement to grow their following or draw attention to themselves. is not that surprising, the key thing is these things aren't exactly the same, the theme is not exactly the same but it rhymes. we've seen these conspiracies, there were 911 hoax conspiracies around 20 years ago, this is similar in terms of how it pops up, the same folks that do it over and over and they push these conspiracies faster than we can know the truth. just what you did on this segment, we're trying to get to the bottom of why this happened right now. >> but it's not just your crazy uncle grandpa spreading conspiracy theories, the reason people often believe it is because they're hearing it from

trusted sources. they're hearing it from their local congresswoman, who is saying, it was joe biden's infrastructure bill. from their morning news lady on fox, saying it was the open borders. how damaging is that, that is not just coming from some weirdos on the fringe? it's coming from public figures. >> that's right. it hits the three criteria of what people tend to believe. that which they hear it first, that which they hear the most and that which comes from a trusted source. if you're hearing that from many different sources that they trust, a conspiracy that's being created very quickly, it's really hard to disrupt that. you saw the secretary going out with some facts, talking about the investigation going on, you are mentioning what some of those causes might mean, and we just don't know yet, there hasn't been enough time for investigation. meanwhile, a firehose of falsehoods will be lost across the social media ecosystem, and the mainstream ecosystem as well, when you combine all of

that together, people aren't sure what to believe. i can tell you personally, i received a text message last night, somebody asking who was behind this? was there some sort of conspiracy? they were asking me personally and i had no reason to believe anything other than it was an accident and we needed more time to figure it out here it tells you at a personal level, i feel it myself, i know that if you're out there in the open looking at information space, 10 years ago if we went to social media we would assume things are true, today if you go out into the information space, you have to go in thinking that it's false, or quite a bit off, especially in dynamic breaking news scenarios like this. >> rather than focus on that garbage, some of these conspiracy theories also focus on the deep state. i want to point out tonight what the actual state of accomplished in baltimore yesterday. after the ship sent out a made a call at 1:00 in the morning, local law enforcement had just minutes to shut down traffic over the bridge. we know from the 911 call

officers tried to get those construction workers off the bridge, but for them it was too late. within hours, the fbi and ntsb were on the ground, the coast guard and recovery divers were in the water and the governor and mayor were coordinating with members of congress and the transportation secretary. clint, it's extraordinary what they did. this level of coordination, of heroism, prevented this disaster from being even worse. this is an extraordinary example of local and state government working. how do we recognize this? how do we honor this? we know when the government gets it wrong, we all talk about it. but every day, day in, day out, if these government workers, the infrastructure, the regulation around us that protect us, that keep us functioning and safe. >> stephanie, you're telling the first story that i've heard about this, it's important for us to note, everything that did go right in terms of the response.

absolute catastrophe, but look at how bad it could have been. having driven across that bridge, dozens of times, that is a bridge that is heavily trafficked. it was in the middle of the night, but there is enormous amounts of traffic going through. what they pulled off in terms of the response, how quickly they responded, how quickly they coordinated the rescue efforts, it's remarkable that they were able to do that. it shows everything that's happened particularly over the last 20 years in terms of local, state, federal coordination to emergency response to law enforcement. hats off to all the responders that were there, and they likely prevented a lot more lives from being lost in the last 48 hours. >> extraordinary heroes, we're grateful for them, thank you so much for joining us tonight. when we come back, the rnc claims it is ready to move past trumps 2020 election loss. but is trump ready to? we're going to get into it when the 11th hour continues. contin.

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and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. >> is this the position of the rnc in 2024 that the 2020 election was not fairly decided or that it was stolen somehow? >> i think we're past that. we learned a lot, certainly we took a lot of notes. >> i'd like to know what was in those notes. laura trump saying that the 2020 election is in the past,

perhaps she should tell her father-in-law that. despite the rnc chairs shift in messaging, donald trump cannot resist talking about his 2020 election loss. this week he even claimed without any basis in fact or reality, that the 2024 election is going to be rigged, too. but only if he loses, of course. for more, i would like to bring in my old friend, axios political reporter hans nichols and amanda carpenter, writer and editor for project democracy. she is also a former senior staffer to republican senators jim dement and ted cruz. has anybody really going to buy this, especially when trump spreads lies about the election every chance he can get? >> trumps voices going to be the biggest in the room. i don't think any of us should think that trumps not going to drowned out everyone on this. what matters from laura trump isn't necessarily what she's saying, what matters is the mechanics of what the rnc is doing.

if the rnc is doing what she's hinting at throughout the interviews that garrett had, she's hinting that they're going to go big on early voting, and that's really the true test. look at what a politician does, not necessarily what they say. trump may be saying that it's stolen and that it was rigged, but if they are leaning into this idea of banking early votes and trusting mail by vote, which is something that didn't happen in 2020, that's a strong indication that the mechanics of this, on a technical basis, the rnc is proceeding as though the last election wasn't stolen, it wasn't rigged, and they're going to try to win by the rules that are out there. >> amanda, this shift is being called a dramatic shift in messaging. but i want to share more of the interview that she did with garrett hake, and to be clear, what i'm about to share, none of what she is saying is true. watch this. >> we had to learn a couple of

hard lessons in 2020, believe me, we are taking those, we are applying them across this country and every single state and we want to ensure that indeed, every single legal vote is counted. >> for facts sake, every single legal vote was counted in 2020. there was no widespread voter fraud. amanda, what is she talking about and who is she trying to reach with this you mark >> she is trying to play it both ways. this is a very hard interview to watch. i feel like she's playing a big joke on us, because we know the things that donald trump is saying. technically, yes, the 2020 election was in the past. that is a true fact. but donald trump keeps the stolen election narrative alive at every rally, talks about pardoning january 6th rioters, he is the one that clings to that. the stolen election narrative is the basis for his retribution agenda that he promises in his second term, but for the fact of the rnc, yes, every halfway decent election official wants republicans to go back to early

voting. when she's going to try to do that, while at the same time they are very clearly screaming to make sure that election deniers are going to the rnc. there was a story this morning talking about how there is a litmus test for that, new employees are asked, do you believe the election is stolen. the reason she has that job is because rhonda mcdaniels was ousted from the rnc because she didn't cling to the election integrity issues hard enough, and she was replaced and the person that laura trump brought into the rnc was a conspiracy theory-woman, christina bob, i did all kinds of terrible things in arizona to remote the cyber ninjas and caused a lot of damage to election officials in that state. so she can sit there and tell garrett hake come we're going to do everything on the up and up and bank early votes, at the same time, her rnc is doing everything it can to keep the big election lies going, so i think it's very hard to take

anything that she says with a straight face. >> she's changing her messaging when she's talking to garrett hake, but they are certainly not changing what they're doing behind the scenes and on the ground. biden administration is changing some of their messaging, but not their work. messaging around the economy, we hadn't heard bidenomics during this eight state tour that the president just did over the last 18 days, what's your take on that? >> but he said it on tuesday, my colleague alex thompson and i noticed that the president had gone totally radio silent on bidenomics, and then it was on tuesday that he said it for the first time in two months, in north carolina. but, the story holds, and it's even truer when you look at congressional democrats, there was a big pick up on using bidenomics over the summer, when the president finally embraced it, and the basic idea, stephanie, for your viewers, is to do for bidenomics what obama did for obama care and to take a

liability, take something that's toxic and turn it into a political asset. and the white house really pressed on this over the summer, and then slowly they got some pushback from democrats who didn't think it was a great idea and it started tapering off and it went silent. the bigger drop off, there's a big drop off from what the president is in his verbiage, and remember, residential speech is a lot of effort and time go into them. yes, president biden speaks off the cuff on occasion but with the president says matters, and they do think about this quite critically. on the congressional side when you look at all the press releases, quorum studies this, all their social media posting, it has dropped off a cliff. that tells us something, and that is yes, the economy has improved, consumer confidence is up, consumer sentiment is up a little bit higher, we'll get the final reading at the end of the month, we do our bloomberg thing, that's the one thing, the one data point at the white house is really looking at. but it's flatlined a little bit, so you have a healthy economy but consumers aren't feeling it the way the white

house wants them to, and they appear to be shifting gears a little bit. >> it's the sticky inflation, it doesn't feel good. thank you both so much, i'm going to let you go, i know you like to have a late night drink before bedtime. when we come back, from crypto king to convict, sam bankman- fried will learn his fate tomorrow when he receives his sentence for committing one of the largest white-collar crimes in u.s. history. when the 11th hour continues. is a rate based on you, with allstate. because there's a right way to. stop! and the speed limit definitely isn't. 700 million mph. so why would you pay a rate based on. a terrible boss with a terrible haircut! save with, ooh. save with drivewise and get a rate based on you. you're in good hands with allstate ok, someone just did laundry... no, i add downy light so the freshness really lasts.

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he was convicted for fraud and conspiracy last year, a scheme that led to the collapse of fdx cryptocurrency exchange. prosecutors are asking for between 40 and 50 years in prison, his lawyers say that 6 1/2 years would be enough. here, now, the expert on all things sam bankman-fried, investigative reporter for bloomberg business and bloomberg news, hero of the must read group number go up, inside crypto's wild rise and staggering fall. give it to us. this sentencing is hours away, this judge could go anywhere between six and 50 years. that is quite a range. >> it's totally up to him. he could go over that, he could give him 150 years like bernie made off. he's got complete discretion

and sam's lawyers, they are arguing that because the bankrupt fdx estate has said that they were covered enough assets to repay the victims of this broad that sam deserves a light sentence. the government is saying that's irrelevant. fraud is fraud, it's one of the biggest of all time. >> is not the donald trump argument? there were no victims so i should be okay? he was found guilty of committing massive fraud. >> and basically the reason that money has been recovered is that he made a bunch of bats with other people's money, some of them have worked out pretty well, it looks like, and it seems like they've made enough that they're going to get the money to pay back the victims. the judge, though, already heard this argument during the trial, and what he said was, it sounds like you're telling me this guy went and robbed fort knox, he played the lotto, and

maybe hit his numbers, he's going to give the money back, i don't care. he still robbed fort knox, this is a relevant. i don't know if he's going to like that argument better now. >> how about good behavior? how is that going to play? >> even before the trial, he was annoying the judge from the start. he was out on house arrest at his parents house, he had a pretty cushy set up, he got sent to prison for using a vpn to watch the super bowl, at least that's what his lawyers said he was using the vpn for. and for leaking his ex- girlfriend's diaries to the new york times. they said that was tampering with a key witness. then during the trial, he chose to take the stand in his own defense, which anyone can do, but the judge can then hold that against you if he thinks that you've been dishonest. and when he was testifying in his own defense, sam when he was asked about almost any fact relating to what happened at fdx, he kept saying, i don't

recall, i don't recall. even when he was presented with evidence of statements he'd made in the past. >> the prosecutors believe they're making the argument, that they think he will reoffend if he's given the chance. why do they say that? >> it's a funny argument. they're saying that he has such a twisted personal philosophy that he convinced himself that he wanted to do good for the world, and the way to do it was to make a ton of money even through fraud. they're saying if the opportunity presents itself again, he would do it again, and that if anyone needs a deterrent, it's him. >> what you think is going to happen? you follow this from the beginning. early on he was talking to journalists, he's not speaking to anyone, his parents aren't speaking to anyone, how do you see this playing out tomorrow? given how well you know him? kn? tomorrow given how well you know him? >> it is pretty crazy. i was just thinking about when i was sitting with him in the bahamas. i'm thinking to myself and my

next to the next mark t zuckerberg? now i think he's going to be going to prison for most of the rest of his adult life. >> where is ftx now ? thinking about the giant estate, the th building, the penthouse in the bahamas, where is all that, s, where's the team, where on the assets, where are the buildings? >> the bankruptcy lawyers who sam is very mad at and he's got a little conspiracy theory thate they are the ones responsible for its failure, they have r seized these assets and are in the process of selling them off. the weird thing is among the assets they recovered were about $1 billion worth of tokens, like one of these weird cryptocurrencies. if you haven't been paying attention, the crypto market has been booming. that is now $10 billion worth of tokens. >> it is all a circus and we will leave it there. circus and he's found himself in a big kid. i'm guessing you will be in court tomorrow.

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people who simply just went to work yesterday to work on potholes, they had no idea that some going to work was going to turn into a deadly occurrence.

when i had a chance to speak with their families and pray with and for their families, they reminded me of who they were as people. they were fathers, they were sons, they were husbands. they were people who their families relied on. >> the last thing before we go tonight, remembering the victims of the bridge collapse in baltimore. families are grieving tonight as maryland state police announce the bodies of two of the missing construction workers were recovered from a submerged pickup truck this morning. 35-year-old alejandro hernandez fuentes, originally from mexico, and 26-year-old dorlian cabrera, originally from guatemala . four other workers remain missing and are presumed dead. our own tom llamas has more. >> some of the missing construction workers were inside their cars at the time of the collapse. you can actually see their vehicles lights blinking on the bridge just before impact. >> going to be very, very

difficult, i think, to find them. >> reporter: jeffrey pritzker is an executive with that construction company. he says the entire company is in morning and still in shock. >> that the message get to your employees that the ship was going to crash into the bridge? do you know if they realized that? >> i don't know. i wasn't there. i can only tell you they were right in the middle span of that bridge, right in the center of the middle span. i doubt if they heard anything, frankly, or knew that it was going to happen. then this is >> reporter: you are saying they may have been caught completely by surprise christmas >> they may have been. >> reporter: he says one member of the crew survived and is still unable to speak about what happened. among those missing, miguel luna, a father of six from el salvador. there he his at a gender reveal party for his grandchild just this month. and maynor sandoval, his

brother emotional, saying it is not easy seeing the bridge, knowing that monster of iron strapping my brother." >> according to the washington post, both men were members of an immigrant organization called casa. their executive director said this. "in a time there was so much hatred against the immigrant community, we look to the quiet leadership of miguel and maynor and appreciate how they uphold our society so americans can live comfortably ." we are grateful for their contributions of these hard, hard working men. our hearts go out to their families tonight. on that note, i wish you all a very good and a very safe night. from all of our colleagues across the network set nbc news, thanks for staying up late. we will see you tomorrow. tomor

for years now, donald trump has insisted his favorite book is the bible. for years now, he has also been seemingly unable or at least unwilling to recall any of its specifics. >> the whole bible is incredible. very much so, they hold up the art of the deal, i say my second favorite book of all time. i think the bible is very special. >> wondering what one or two of your most favorite bible verses are