florida p plus the u.s. embassy in baghdad hit by rockets. and plus -- >> i shouldn't be sitting in a courthouse and i don't have to sit here. >> donald trump at a courthouse instead of on the campaign trail. is this about the law or politics? good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm kasie hunt. it is friday, december 8. happy friday. 5:00 a.m. here in washington, 2:00 a.m. in california. new trouble for the president's son. hunter biden now facing a second criminal case with nine tax charges brought by david weiss. the 56 page indictment filed in california alleges hunter schemed to evade at least $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016 to 2019. and instead he spent his money on drugs, escorts, girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing. so basically everything but his taxes. if convicted, hunter could face up to 17 years in prison. let's bring in civil rights attorney areva martin. good morning to you. thanks for being here. what stands out to but this case? >> i think what stands out to me the most is the charges in this new 56 page indictment are similar to if not the same charges that we've learned about earlier this summer that were going to be a part of a plea deal that was going to be entered into by hunter biden, but we know that federal judge derailed that. so here we are with the same charges about tax evasion being brought in this very, very serious indictment after clearly no agreement could be reached between hunter biden and the special counsel assigned to this matter. >> so what do i think of the strategy that hunter biden's defense team has been using, the fact that the plea deal fell apart and now their reaction to these charges in california? >> i think what we've heard consistently in this case is is that according to hunter biden's attorney, this is all political. this is a case according to his attorney that would not be brought if hunter didn't have the last name biden, if this was any other taxpayer that had not paid their taxes but, you know, subsequently did pay because we do learn -- we have learned that hunter biden did pay the taxes owed according to his lawyer. this is all political. that this is pressure brought by the republican party on this special counsel to move forward with these charges, charges that he says otherwise would not have been filed. >> which set of charges do you think carry more risk for hunter, the new tax charges in california or the gun charges in delaware? >> i think these are very serious charges. there are six misdemeanor and three felony. and not only are the tax charges when you look at the indictment, it is not just that hunter didn't pay his taxes, there are also allegations that he tried to defraud the government, that he claimed business expenses for items that clearly were not business expenses, and that he engaged in conduct to try to avoid having to pay taxes on substantial income that he earned during the applicable period. and we've seen other individuals serve jail time for similar charges. so i think these tax charges are very serious and as i stated earlier, any effort to resolve them via any kind of plea agreement seemingly has fallen apart. and we know hunter's attorney on tuesday of this week sent a letter to the special prosecutor asking for a meeting to talk about the charges. and apparently that meeting wasn't held and the suspect prosecutor went forward filing the charges. >> a reva martin, thank you for getting us started this morning. i appreciate it. to politics now. in iowa and new hampshire the candidates hitting the post debate campaign trail except donald trump who instead is getting ready to testify in a new york courtroom in his civil fraud trial. that of course doesn't mean that he is not using the platform that he has to still continue campaigning. >> this is a political witch hunt. this is meant to influence an election. it is a disgrace to our country. again, i should be right now in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina. i shouldn't be sitting in a courthouse. and i don't have to sit here. i could just do whatever i want to do. but i want to make sure that you get the true story. >> so the former president will get to tell his version of the story and he will be under oath when he takes the stand for the second time on monday. alayna treene is joining us with more. thanks for be here. trump saying that i don't have to be here, i should be somewhere else. this is what his lawyer said about his testimony yesterday. take a look. i think that we have that sound. >> he still wants to at that time stand even though my advice is that you should never take the stand with a gag order. but he is so firmly against what is happening in this court. >> what is going on there? >> well, look, a couple things. one is that this is a case that donald trump cares very much about. it strikes at the heart of his brand, both as a business person and business mogul, but also what he has staked his career on as a political leader. he is running for president. we saw in 2016 and 2020 and now the third time that he is running that he talks about his businesses and his success as a real estate mogul a lot on the trail. so that is something that he cares deeply about. the other thing is that, you know, increasingly the last several months now donald trump's campaign has really merged his legal strategy with his political strategy. we've seen over the course of the summer when he was indicted four different times that he's been i r enjoying a fund raising boost, polling boost. and what is really interesting, you know from my conversations with trump's team that there was a concern at one point sure, they are seeing a boost in the polls, boost in donations in the immediate term, but will that boost continue. and i think that they have kind of seen it has. so what they have done is lean into the messaging. of course you are hearing his lawyers say we don't want him to take the stand and testify. but the political part of it actually lends good optics to the campaign. >> pretty striking, good optics. i'm not disagreeing with you, but a remarkable set of circumstances. what do you goektyou expect to his testimony? it won't be on camera, but he will be on the stand. >> i think it will mimic some of what we saw last month of course then he was grilled by the prosecutors. this time he will be in the driver's seat answering questions from his own defense attorneys, very carefully crafted questions i'm told. but look, i think that it will be a lot of political speech again. we saw last month the judge and him clash very heavy because donald trump wasn't answering questions directly. he was trying to give political speeches. a lot of what you've heard from rallies where he is railing against the judge and the attorney general in new york who has brought this case forward. and again, that was when he was being questioned by the prosecution. so i think monday when he has the opportunity to speak and being asked by his own lawyers, i think that you will see a lot more open reign for donald trump to make those kinds of statements. and of course he will be very defensive. i remember when i was speaking with his lawyers when he was testifying last month, they said he would be defiant, he wants to push back on this. and you see him go between the courtroom and camera, always knows which camera is where to deliver his message, to call this what we've heard him say about all his cases so far, that this is a political persecution, that it is election interference. of course the lawyers completely disagree with the claims. but that is what he is trying to get out to the public. and i think here too that as we've seen with donald trump and his other cases, new york as well, that they don't necessarily want to fight this in the court -- inside the courtroom itself, in the legal courtroom. his campaign, again talking about his campaign and not his legal team, but they want to fight this in the courset of public opinion. so i think that you will hear him ramping up the rhetoric, going after this case, being very defensive. and also i think that they will take the opportunity to try and get donald trump to show -- there is a lot of questions about his valuations, about what kind of personal activity that had gone on with his accounting. because this is a fraud case and i think that they will try to get him as well to just make this seem like he was doing exactly what he was being toldg. things that they have been laying out in their case so far. >> all right. alina ayna treene, thank you ve much. and still ahead here, republicans in the house take another step toward an impeachment inquiry into president biden. plus a pair of rockets hitting a u.s. embassy. we'll have those developing details ahead. and severe thunderstorms headed to the east coast. don't go anywhere. now to this developing story. two rockets hit the u.s. embassy in the heavily fortified green zone in baghdad, iraq just a short time ago. no casualties reported and minor damage has been reported at the embassy compound. i no group has claimed responsibility but appear to be initiated by iran aligned militias. this as secretary of state antony blinken is set to meet in washington with america's arab partners this afternoon. jennifer hansler is joining us now with more. jennifer, good morning to you. blinken met with human rights leaders in washington on thursday. he had some critical words for israel. this of course all coming now with the backdrop of this rocket attack. tell us what he said and what are the goals of the meeting today? >> good morning. we have heard secretary blinken become increasingly more pointed in his calls for israel to protect civilians as they take out this offensive. and also allow more humanitarian aid into gaza. we've seen the secretary travel multiple times to israel to meet top leaders including benjamin netanyahu and in each of those meetings, most recently last week, he has called for easy really to take additional steps to make sure civilians are safe. and he has made clear that the u.s. does not want to see the current offensive being carried out in the south prosecuted in the same way that israel carried out it offensive in the north. he wants to see specific actions taken to ensure that civilians are safe, that they have somewhere within gaza that they can go to to ensure take they will not be hurt, they will not be killed as forces are carrying out this offensive. this will be a key topic of conversation as blinken meets with arab counterparts here in washington today. this is something that we've seen sharp divides between the u.s. and the region on the -- u.s. has not called for a ceasefire, it continues to not call for a sceasefire, but he hs urged humanitarian pauses. we've seen leaders speak out sharply against the israel offensive and need for unlimited humanitarian aid to get into gaza and they also want to see a ceasefire now. >> so the u.n. security council is also voting on a resolution to call for a ceasefire in gaza today. obviously tensions between the united nations and israel are very high. what do expect there? >> we'll watch to see how the u.s. responds to this resolution. we have seen them veto resolutions in the past that do not condemn hamas for example, that do call for a ceasefire. because they continue to say that now is not the time to see this happen. instead they want to see the limited humanitarian pauses as we saw in recent weeks to get hostages out, to get aid in and to help civilians move about gaza safely. so we'll be watching to see how that vote plays out today. but we'll also be watching to see the discussion around the future governance of gaza. this is also going to be a key topic of conversation today. >> for sure. jennifer hansler, thanks for that reporting. appreciate you being here. and still ahead here, just hours ahead of hanukkah, a man fires a gun in front of a new york synagogue. what police are saying about that. and multithreat storm system brewing. we'll tell you where it is headed, up next. first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. quick hits across america now. police say a 28-year-old man is under arrest after firing off two shots from a shotgun in front of temple israel in albany, new york on the first night of hanukkah. officials are investigating the incident as a hate crime. ethan crumbley will be sentenced today. he pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism charges and he faces life in prison. first case in the country where a school shooter was convicted of terrorism. the house voted on to censure democratic congressman jamaal bowman for pulling a fire alarm in a capitol hill office building as lawmakers scrambled to fund a bill in september. the vote mostly along party lines. now to weather. heavy rain, strong winds and even snow could hit the east coast this weekend. here to tell us where it is all going to be, allison chinchar. good morning. >> good morning. yes, we also have the potential for some severe storms, but that will be a multiday threat. we start with the marginal risk over mostly arkansas and northeastern texas. by tomorrow it still includes the same area but now we start to see the threat expand a little farther east and south. so you now have nashville down through new orleans and even back into houston that will all have the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms. and it is all about the system that will develop across the center of the country that will bring rain from chicago down to houston. you've got some snow and a bit of mixed precip on the north side, but that system will progress its way east taking with it the heavy rain to places like nashville, atlanta and eventually charlotte. by sunday, now you are talking pretty much up and down the eastern sea board looking at rain and interior portions and especially hire hgher elevation now you are getting mixed precipitation and yes even some snow as we wrap up the latter half of the weekend. by monday still a little bit of snow showers lingering across interior new england and upstate new york. ove overall most of these areas are looking at about 2 to 4 inches of rain. when we talk about the snow, unless you are in those extreme high elevations eof the white ad green elevations, most 2 to 4 inches of snow. but farther north some spots could pick up about half a foot total. >> wow. all right. pre-white christmas. allison chinchar, thank you very much for that. have a wonderful weekend. and up next, politics and law colliding on both coasts. hunter biden indicted on more criminal charges in california. and donald trump back inside a courtroom on civil fraud charges in new york. back in a moment. good morning. thanks for being up early with us. i'm kasie hunt. it is just before 5:00 a.m. on the east coast -- 5:30 a.m. on the east coast. hunter biden is under indictment this morning in a second criminal case. among the nine counts filed yesterday, failure to file and pay taxes, evasion of assessment and filing a false return. david weiss alleges that he engaged in a four year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019. instead weiss says he spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle including drugs, escorts, luxury hotels, exotic cars and clothing and other personal items. he faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. let's bring in our legal analyst and criminal defense attorney joey jackson. good morning. always good to have you here. hunter biden's attorney, abbe lowell, released a statement that said if hunter's last 9/11 was anything other than biden, charges in delaware, which is his first indictment, and now california would not have been brought. what do you think of this strategy? >> yeah, so good morning to you. you know, i think the strategy is one that he is trying to really suggest that this is a politically motivated prosecution. we've heard that before, right? it comes there all angles. and so the issue is, is there justice in filing a multicount indictment, nine counts, with respect to taxes that aren't paid in 2016, '17, '18, '19. is there a better way. should this be criminal, should it be assessed really with respect to a civil type of proceeding. and so i think that if it were not for the whistleblowers and obviously we also know that the republicans released a statement with respect to their committee saying that just the opposite of this, right, that because of the whistleblowers, that he is received favorable treatment from counsel weiss. but at the end of the day, it is about justice. and you harken back to delaware, all of this was supposed to be resolved with a misdemeanor, so why are we here. so i think the strategy is to suggest that enough is enough, the system has to be just to everyone, not just a person because you are the president's son treating him differently. >> yeah, i mean, do you -- if you were the defense team here, if you were hunter biden's team, what regrets might you have about that plea deal and how you handled those conversations and decisions? >> yeah, so there are many, right? obviously from a defense perspective, you want to limit the exposure that your client has. and that exposure should have been limited months ago. and we shouldn't be here because now he is exposed to as you noted 17 years, not that he will get anywhere near that presuming that this case will resolve itself much more favorably than that, but we're in a climate now where it is so politicized. right? cases should be about truth and justice and the american way. it should be about right or wrong, it should be about treating everyone similarly. but if you treat his son differently, what about the trump family, what about what you're doing with him. so ultimate link the defense shdefense -- ultimately i think the defense should have resolved this along with the gun case. so multiple regrets. when you have a hand, play it well. get out. and i think the fact that we're here now is problematic and it is troubling for them. >> do you think it will go to trial, the california charges? >> i don't think so. i mean, there is really no imperative do that. these tax cases are paper cases. did you pay, did you not. did you know that you had an obligation to pay, did you willfully not pay, did you willfully file false statements or anyone else. so paper cases are very difficult to overcome. i think that the best play of the defense is really to try to get this resolved much more favorably, that other case similarly were resolved really from a civil perspective and not a criminal perspective and see if you can get a misdemeanor plea and get it out from under you. i don't see any basis to go forward it and it is embarrassing indictment quite frankly. you read the 56 pages and it is a lot about him and his entertainment and his prior, you know, habits and experiences. people have sometimes difficulties in life. who wants to litigate that at all much less before the public and in the press. >> sure. let's -- you mentioned civil cases. let's talk about donald trump's civil case because we expect him to be on the stand on monday. he of course was out in front of the cameras complaining that he should be in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina. i think it is important to underscore it was his decision to be there. he could have easily been in any of those states instead, but he