nine tax-related charges. the feds alleging he failed to pay his taxes while spending millions on an extravagant lifestyle. a preview of monday's big case for former president donald trump, where he is set to take the stand as his defense team's final witness in his $250 million civil fraud trial. also breaking overseas, a rocket attack on the u.s. embassy in baghdad. what we're learning about who is behind it. in gaza, massive explosions as israel says it hit at least 450 hamas targets in the last 24 hours. it comes as hamas says it has launched a barrage of missiles against tel aviv. and the state of texas now threatening doctors after a landmark court ruling granted a woman an emergency abortion. we'll hear from the woman at the center of that case. we begin this hour with new legalroubles for hunter biden. a california grand jury has indicted president biden's son on nine charges including three felonies. th charges against him include failure to file and pay taxes, filing a false or fraudulent tax return, if convicted he could face a maximum of 17 years in prison. these charges were brought by special counsel david weiss overseeing the federal investigation into hunter biden. his attorney told nbc news in a statement, if hunter's name was anything other than biden, the charges in delaware, and now california, would not have been brought. with us now ryan nobles, who has been covering hunter biden's legal troubles and nbc news white house correspondent allie raffa. what exactly is in this indictment? >> reporter: well, jose, these are serious charges. and they're far more serious than the original plea agreent that hunter biden and his legal team worked out with prosecutors that fell apart over the summer. as you rightly pnt out, nine tax-related charges that accuse hunter biden not only of not paying his taxes, but actively working against the government to pay those taxes, essentially accusing him of fraud. these are three felony counts. remember that in the summer when he was going to plead guilty to similar charges, they were only going to be misdemeanor charges and involved no jail time whatsoever. perhaps the most damaging at least from the public perception of this case are the details that they reveal in this indictment, that many of us knew but have now been laid bare in a formal court filing, accusing hunter biden of a wide range of activity during this period of time, where he was in the throes of addiction, but at the same time, not responding to the efforts to get him to collect his taxes. between the indictment reads that between 2016 and october of 2020, the defendant spent his money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing and other items of personal nature. in short, everything but his taxes. and, of course, the sum total of all this, if he's convicted, he could face up to 17 years in prison and, of course, it is in addition to the gun charges he's already facing, a serious legal problem for hunter biden, jose, but, of course, a big political problem for his father as well. >> yeah, has the white house had any reaction to the charges overnight? >> reporter: yeah, jose, there was a very valiant effort by reporters on the white house south lawn a couple of minutes ago as the president was departing the white house to head to las vegas and then later los angeles this afternoon. coincidentally where the files against his son hunter were filed. and he, according to reporters out there asking the questions about his son, walked very briskly to marine one and did not stop to answer those questions. but in the past we have seen him engage with reporters and defend his son. when asked about his son's legal woes, he has said he's proud of his son for overcoming his struggle with drug addiction, he has faith and trust, his son did nothing wrong. this is going to be something that the president and the white house officials are peppered with questions about over the next few days. but as we know, as far as how this news broke last night, a senior administration official tells us that the white house had no advance notice, they found out about this new criminal indictment in the news and media reports. and so this is no doubt something that the white house does not want to be the focus of the media and the american public's attention, especially, as we head into 2024. the president trying to shift the american public's focus on that. and we know that as we head into 2024, the president's son could be facing not one, but two criminal indictments as his father runs for re-election, jose. >> ryan this indictment may not be all we learn about hunter biden's tax issues today. what more can you tell us about that? >> reporter: yeah, that's right, jose, just this week that pair of irs whistle-blowers that testified publicly in front of the house ways and means committee a few months ago held another closed door transcribed interview with committee officials and members of the committee. we except that full transcript to be released at some point in the very near future, maybe as early as today. we know that excerpts from that testimony have already been released, and it details, you know, the ways in which hunter biden tried to satisfy these tax debts and that he was given a significant donation, essentially, from someone who ended up being a donor to the biden campaign to help alleviate those tax debts. almost $5 million that gift was to hunter biden to help him pay his taxes. so we could learn more about what these whistle-blowers were looking at, the information that they were collecting during their investigation into hunter biden. of course, they have said repeatedly that they believe he was given preferential treatment by the justice department during that window of their investigation. it is, of course, important to point out, though, jose, that this was during the trump administration that this investigation was initially launched or was under the attorney general william barr who made the decision to kind of counteract some of the pleas by the whistle-blowers to move this investigation forward. >> ryan nobles and allie raffa, thank you. now with us to continue our conversation, msnbc legal analyst lisa rubin and criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos. thank you, guys, for being with us this morning. lisa, i'll start with you. these are charges against hunter biden overnight. how serious are they? >> they're serious charges, including three felony counts and certainly degrees more serious than the counts against him when he had a plea deal over the summer that fell apart. i think it is also important to note that the reason the plea deal fell apart was because the judge in delaware didn't want to be responsible for determining whether hunter had violated the tern terms of the agreement at a later point in time. through that plea agreement, the department of justice wanted to push that on the judge. why? because it was a two-year agreement and they were afraid if donald trump were to be elected, a trump-led department of justice might be retrib tiff with respect to hunter biden. the idea we have gone from there to here demonstrates the gravity of the situation that hunter biden is in. >> in delaware and now california, that is more for the defense. >> particular by because settling one of the cases in one jurisdiction won't, as you noted, alleviate his problem in the other. in situations like this, it is not unusual for a defense team to try and seek a global resolution with the department of justice. here, that would be special counsel david weiss. but i don't think it is likely you'll see them resolve these cases piecemeal. >> how unusual is this, danny? >> in the statistically tax crimes are broad, they are very rare among the overall federal crimes. i believe in 2022, somewhere around 400 were sentenced for tax crimes. and that's among thousands who are charged and sentenced in the federal system. and while these charges are serious, they carry some stiff maximum penalties. that's always the case when in federal court. what is interesting to me is that you have the evasion charge, which requires an affirmative act. this is not a place he can defend by saying, oops, i made a mistake. the government plans to show an affirmative act like hiding assets, something like that, that demonstrates this takes it to the felony level of tax evasion. what is really interesting also is the false statements portion, which doesn't even require the government to show a tax deficiency. in other words, the taxes may be okay, it is about making a false statement on a document that is submitted. so if i'm hunter biden's team, i am trying to negotiate with everything i can to get this back into misdemeanor land. any way possible to see if anything that was on the table several months ago could possibly be brought back to the table. just to give you an idea of sentence, the average sentence in 2022 for tax offenders was around 13 months. and of those who were sentenced, only about 60% were even sentenced to prison. while the maximum penalty sound pretty draconian and they are in federal court, i can tell you from experience, the sentencing guidelines might take us -- take hunter biden closer to possibly even something around a year, maybe two years, it all depends on the dollar amount of loss and the over a million here that is apparently alleged could put him much higher than the average sentence for tax crimes. >> for someone who doesn't know the judicial process from the inside, one of the things ryan talked about, that the -- hunter biden has -- had a benefactor who gave almost $5 million as a gift or as a -- i don't know what you would call it, to pay off that, you know, debt. how does one get a benefactor and are there any legal consequences to getting a benefactor, just if you find someone who has the money to give you the money, you pay it off, is that how it works? >> you can do that, you can get someone to give you money and, by the way, my phone lines are open for anyone who wants to be my benefactor. but most people don't have those kinds of benefactors. as long as you properly make the entries in the proper business records for tax purposes, i mean, a gift is a taxable event. it has consequences. and the way the irs can get you is when people try to falsify business records, take something that is a gift and make it something else. and that's why, for example, hunter biden is going to have difficulty. this indictment is designed to short circuit the ignorance defense. it is commonly said ignorance is not a defense to the law. that's generally true. sometimes it is a defense, where a willfulness requirement is written into the statute. you see that with regulatory crimes. you do see that to some degree in the tax code, and the way the government is going to show that willfulness element is not just the failure to file taxes or the failure to pay your tax liability, but the affirmative acts that they're going to allege that he was being deceptive, moving money around, concealing money, those are the ways you get the felony land in federal tax crime. >> now to the former president's legal troubles in the civil trial here in new york city, $250 million trial that you have been covering on a daily basis, why are his lawyers trying to put him back on the stand on monday? >> jose, that's a very good question. my guess is privately they're advising him not to. and the reason why, in addition to the fact that every time trump opens his mouth in a legal proceeding, he gets himself in some hot water is also because the gag order in new york is now in effect and trump's appeal of that gag order can't be decided any sooner at the very earliest than monday late afternoon or evening. that means if and when donald trump takes the stand, he will be under an order not to mention any courtroom personnel. and with that principle law clerk sitting literally feet away from him, i don't know donald trump can overcome that temptation. this is a person known for his impulsivity and long windedness. my guess is chris kise and team are having serious talks with their client to persuade out of taking the stand on monday. >> lisa rubin and danny cevallos, thank you so very much. great seeing you. up next, israel intensifies its assault on hamas in gaza as a u.n. official warns society is on the brink of full blown collapse throughout the strip. plus, we'll talk to the mother of an israeli teenager whose brutal kidnapping by hamas was captured on video. why she says the world still needs to see this video. we're back in 60 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc from new york city. g "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc from new york city biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in many people whether you're 18 or 80. with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to undetectable—and stay there whether you're just starting or replacing your current treatment. research shows that taking h-i-v treatment as prescribed and getting to and staying undetectable prevents transmitting h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your healthcare provider. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. no matter where life takes you, biktarvy can go with you. talk to your healthcare provider today. 14 past the hour. new today, there was a rocket attack on the u.s. embassy in the iraqi capital of baghdad. an embassy spokesperson says the complex was attacked by two salvos of rockets. a spokesperson says assessments are ongoing but there are no reported casualties. no group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the embassy spokesperson says there are indications it was launched by iran-backed militia groups. iran-backed groups launched dozens of attacks against u.s. interests in the middle east since the middle of october. turning now to the latest on the israel-hamas war, today, loud explosions and sirens heard in tel aviv after the hamas military wing said it launched a missile barrage on that city. no injuries were immediately reported. meanwhile, across the gaza strip, israel's defense forces say they struck almost 450 targets just on thursday. israel says this video shows a strike on what it calls terrorists in the southern gazan city of khan younis, but nbc news is unable to verify it. this as the u.s. is warning israel they must, quote, put a premium on civilian protection. just this morning, u.n. secretary-general antonio guterres addressed the desperate humanitarian situation in gaza. >> the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exists. >> and in israel, prime minister netanyahu attended today the funeral of the son of a cabinet minister who died in gaza on thursday. joining us now is nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez in tel aviv. a senior u.s. official tells nbc news israel agreed to a border crossing in gaza that was closed throughout the war? >> reporter: jose, that's right. this is the karem shalom crossing. the israelis are saying they will allow for the inspection of aid trucks at that border crossing once the trucks are inspected, they can go over into egypt and then cross into gaza, so the hope is that that will allow for more humanitarian aid to get into southern gaza, where it is so badly needed. but it will still be just a fraction of what those 2 million civilians inside of gaza need. the u.n. is warning today, jose, in the loudest possible language, that we are on the brink of irreversible disaster in southern gaza. they say there is not enough aid getting in, and what little aid is getting in cannot be distributed because of the intensity of the israeli bombing and because israel is not allowing enough fuel in. and as israel closes the net around that southern city of khan younis, where it says senior hamas leaders who planned the october 7th terrorist attack are hiding, there are hundreds of thousands of displaced palestinian civilians, many of whom fled their homes in the north because israel told them to, who are inside the city. i've been speaking the last couple of days with the palestinian british man named mohammad and our team in gaza was able to catch up with him, in khan younis yesterday. and i want to play you a little bit of that conversation. >> everywhere we have been has been under bombardment. so, like, the our, our apartment, the building has been bombed. the apartment that we sheltered in was bombed. my father's health center, bombed. and the hotel, bombed. >> reporter: and, jose, that's what we're hearing from palestinian civilians all across southern gaza, israeli strikes are landing everywhere. if you're a parent, trying to make decisions about how to get your children to safety, there are no good options for you right now. mohammad and his family are considering going even further south, down toward rafah on the egyptian border, but there have been israeli strikes down there. they don't know if they'll have any shelter, any food, any access to water if they flee once again. jose? >> raf sanchez in tel aviv, thank you so very much. right now, 137 people are still being held hostage after already spending more than two months in captivity. 19-year-old nama levy is one of them. she is the young woman in this video, one of the first images people saw around the world in the immediate aftermath of the october 7th terrorist attack. she is bloodied as hamas grabs her bay the hair and takes her hostage. joining us now is her mother. that video is so difficult to watch. i'm not going to show it again. i know that you feel that it is important that people see that. and i want to thank you for being with us today. >> thank you. >> just how are you doing today? >> well, right now i'm kind of -- we just heard the loud bombings, we are near tel aviv, so right now my heart is beating because of that. but well, we're doing -- i'm breathing. i'm doing whatever i can just to bring nama back. i don't know how i'm doing. i'm just -- i'm just trying to do my best and then bring my little girl back home and all the kidnapped that are still there. there are still women and young women and girls there, like my naama, she's 19. since october 7th she's been held and kept by hamas in the gaza strip. and it has been 62 days today. and i just -- i am here, and, you know, i'm -- i bring myself to these talks just to ask for, please, help, to bring naama and all the kidnapped back home. i thank you for hearing me and for listening and for hearing naama's story and i just -- i ask for all the efforts to be extended and for the awareness of these crimes against humanity that have been committed by hamas and especially the violence against women and women used as weapons of war. you see the video and, you know, i've seen frames of it, i've tried not to see the full thing, but as you can imagine, we are doing pretty bad. >> i'm wondering, because, again, you know, it is like what do you ask? i don't know what to ask because this -- this reality that you and your family are going through is just, i don't know how you can put words, and i want to thank you for putting such eloquent words together to talk about this. i know that you're not only her mother, but you're also a doctor. and i'm just wondering, what did you see in that video of your daughter in those pictures, the frames