The president has expressed full faith and confidence in me. Fit for duty, the White House Doctor releases his assessment of President Biden calling him a healthy, active and robust 81yearold. The one test he didnt have done. And why. More money, more problems, a judge refuses to halt Donald Trumps nearly half billion dollar fraud penalty. Leaving him less than a month to pay the money or secure what he calls an impossible bond. Plus, the largest wildfire in Texas History grossed more than 1 million acres and counting. How people in one town covered in ash are talking about rebuilding. Our nbc News Reporters are following all of the latest developments. We begin on capitol hill where they push Defense Secretary lloyd austin for answers on his failure to disclose his secret hospital stay last month. Nbcs Courtney Kube joins us now. How did the secretary defend himself . Reporter well, he did make the point over and over, that despite his hospitalization, despite his staff nor he notifying the white house or Senior Leaders or even members of congress about his hospitalization or about his cancer diagnosis that throughout the entire process there was no lapse in the command and control. But, chris, he was really grilled on this process for about two hours. And i have to point out, a hearing like this would tend to be longer than that. Because of his ongoing medical issues and the discomfort that he would feel from sitting for too long, the hearing actually was held to two hours, and the members questions were even held to four minutes. Some of the members didnt get to ask their questions. Thats uncommon for this sort of event. On the back and forth between the members, the republicans really questioned him over and over about the process here and the Decision Making not to inform the white house. Secretary austin once again, as weve heard him do on multiple occasions now, chris, he said that they did not do a good job. And he took responsibility for it. Heres what he had to say. I want to be very clear. There was never any lapse in authorities or in command and control. At all times either i or the Deputy Secretary was in a position to conduct the duties of my office. But we did have a breakdown in notifications during my january stay at walter reed, and that is sharing my location and why i was there. We did not handle this right, and i did not handle it right. As you know, i have apologized, including directly to the president. Reporter now, chris, where he says there we did not handle this right, one thing i was struck by in the hearing. There were several locations today where Secretary Austin said that he would have expected his organization would have done the notifications. Thats the first time that weve heard that exact phrase. And again, he said it several times. The reason i point it out is this review that we got a summary of, the pentagon did a 30day review into this entire incident, the procedures, whether they were followed, the review never actually held anyone accountable, and for the first time here today, despite the fact Secretary Austin did say that we didnt do well, he did actually lay a little bit of the responsibility on his staff for not notifying the white house or Senior Leaders that he had been in the hospital, but, again, theres still no indications anyone is going to be held accountable for this entire thing. Courtney kube, thank you. Now to the white house where the president s doctor says he is fit for duty after his annual physical. Kelly odonnell joins us now. What did the doctor have tonz to say about the president s health. The annual physical is quite routine. Youre talking about the older president to have served when age is an issue in the campaign, it takes on additional importance and people will be looking at the results and trying to discern what they can about what this means for the president s reelection, and his ability to conduct the rigorous work of being president and candidate. Well, dr. Oconnor and the team of physicians who were at walter reed went through all of the important different kinds of assessments of the president , and everything is really very much the same as it was, a little bit of an addition in a common place, medicine that was added to his regimen, dealing with acid reflux, ongoing issues of some arthritis and stenosis in his spine, which has affected his gait, and perhaps to the per perceptions of some who watch him move, they may explain as age related. What doctor made a decision about is the scope of the examination which did not include a cognitive test because of the doctors assessment that the president s cognitive abilities are strong. Karine jeanpierre. The president does not need a cognitive assessment. Thats not my assessment. Thats the assessment of the president s doctor, the neurologist. He passes a cognitive test every day, every day as he moves from one topic to another topic. This is a very rigorous job and the president has been able to do this job every day for the past three years. Reporter and, chris, as you know, the president s physician puts out a public memo, which is available on white house. Gov, for people who want to read all of the particulars about the assessment that was done and the results of the various tests and so forth, and the doctor is saying that the president , at age 81, is able to do the job, chris. Kelly odonnell, thank you. A judge just denied former President Trumps request to put up less than the entire 464 million he owes in the civil fraud trial ruling. Msnbc Legal Correspondent lisa rubin is back with me. So yesterday you and i talked about how trump wanted a 100 million bond instead of paying the whole thing. What exactly does the judge think about that . The judge didnt think much about it, chris, because trump was essentially trying to play lets make a deal to a court of law that is charged with enforcing legal obligations. New york state law is particular. It says where youre ordered to pay a sum of money, you have to put up an undertaking in the sum of the amount youre ordered to pay, in order to secure a stay as you go through the appeals process. And so theyre not going to allow trump to circumvent that. At least not on an interim basis. Yes, i will grant relief from a couple of facets of the judgment. In particular, you can borrow money. Your sons can run the business right now. I wont relieve you of the monetary obligation to secure a stay. Which means what . Which means that unless and until a full panel of the new york appellate division, thats the first level of the Appeals Court here in New York State relieves him from that obligation between march 18th and march 25th. March 18th is when the briefing will be complete. March 25th is when the bond is due. Thats what hell have to pay. Hell have to pay all of it. So we could start seeing potentially some of his properties going on the market. What are the options here . I think the options are that seems like a lot of money in a short period of time that he doesnt seem to think or hasnt said he has. Well, yesterdays order may solve some of that problem for him. In allowing him to borrow from Financial Institutions that are registered or chartered with New York State. That opens up some avenues for trump in terms of borrowing. He had complained to the judge yesterday that he wasnt able to secure a surety bond in part because of those restrictions on his borrowing. Well see on or before march 25th if this loosens anything for donald trump, and allows him some financing that he says right now he doesnt otherwise have. Lisa rubin, dont go far, weve got other stuff to talk about today. Thank you. Just hours away, or rather, just hours ago, one of the many wildfires scorching the Texas Panhandle officially became the largest in texas state history, its showing no sign of slowing down. Morgan chesky is live in texas, it looks like a mess behind you. Whats going on . Chris, its tragic in every direction you look in the Texas Panhandle. Canadian incredibly hard hit. Dozens of homes were burned there. Weve moved south to fritz, texas, which suffered from a different fire. This is one of the structures that were burned authorities tell me this is the windy deuce fire, 160,000 acres strong, and we know its only 30 contained. Meanwhile, that large Smoke House Creek complex now a million acres, only 3 contained. The wind is fierce right now in the Texas Panhandle as it so often is. And thats one of the main concerns. I want you to hear what one of the park superintendents here overseeing some of the wild Fire Fighting had to say about conditions. Take a listen. The wind is changing. Thats one of the things that happens around here in the panhandle of texas, its always windy. These winds do concern us. Theres a lot of area thats burned. Theres a lot of Unburned Area around here. Fuels that are Still Available to pick up. As these winds change, its going to test our lines on every direction. Reporter yeah, chris, in the last 24 hours, we have learned that this fire complex has turned deadly. A woman in texas was killed and we heard from her son earlier today. Incredibly tragic here, chris. The woman was deaf in one ear, and was sleeping on her good ear. Her son telling us, even if someone had been pounding on the door tell her to get out, she wouldnt have heard it. Chris. That is unbelievably tragic, morgan chesky, thank you, we appreciate it. In 60 seconds, a Supreme Court stunner for special counsel jack smith. Is there potentially another legal blow coming tomorrow . Er legal blow coming tomorrow a vaccine to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Its not for everyone and may not protect all who receive it. Dont get abrysvo if youve had an allergic. Reaction to its ingredients. A weakened Immune System may decrease your response. Most common side effects are tiredness, headache, injectionsite pain and muscle pain. Ask about pfizers abrysvo®. Because every breath matters. Is special counsel jack smiths really bad week about to get a whole lot worse. After the Supreme Court agreed to hear Donald TrumpsImmunity Case, the time line for that federal trial is now a big question mark, and tomorrow he will also learn whether his maralago classified documents case will be delayed as well. Let me bring in former federal prosecutor kristy greenberg, lisa rubin is back with us. So the gop is telling Trump Supporters that he plans to be in florida for this hearing. What, lisa, can we expect tomorrow . Tomorrow is really, chris, going to be a conversation about the schedule in this case. Judge cannon has long told the parties that on march 1st, she would revisit the May 20th Trial date. Many people have said and i believe correctly, that that may 20th date cant hold. Why . Because her pretrial schedule to date doesnt include all of the briefing that needs to happen on Classified Information. So even if we werent in a situation where the Supreme Court had agreed to hear immunity, it likely could not hold, but now theres a possibility that that trial could be put on hold completely. Why . Because in this trial, as in the federal Election Interference case, trump has moved to dismiss the indictment on the basis of president ial immunity. Possible that judge cannon says immunity is the right to be free from the burdens of trial. If the Supreme Court is going to decide that issue, we might as well put this all on pause until the Supreme Court acts. What are you looking for in this . What are you anticipating . So i agree with lisa. I think that judge cannon was always going to look to put this off. There were too many motions, too many issues regarding the Classified Information procedures act. There are too many things that need to happen between now and may 20th for that trial date to hold, but now that there is this motion on president ial immunity that was made by trumps team, and you have the Supreme Court saying they will take this up april 22nd, that allows her a really convenient out here to kind of put this on pause and to be able to, you know, point to that in saying i need more guidance from the Supreme Court before i can go forward. Expect jack smiths team to vigorously argue against that. And that they should continue, at least, there are many other motions to be dealt with other than president ial immunity and that they should keep Going Forward on those and expect trump to continue with his delay tactics. I want to pick up on a phrase thats used, which is a really convenient out. As you know, theres been a lot of scrutiny with judge aileen cannon, particularly from critics on the left, saying she clearly favors the man who put her on the bench, that man is former president donald trump. Some people are saying, well, tomorrow is going to tell us a lot, but does this, indeed, give her, whether its convenient or legit, a real out here . I think it does. I think it really does give her an out because, remember, judge chutkan also had other issues before her and other pending motions to dismiss, and even though she wanted to forge ahead, and essentially said as much in an order, she felt bound by precedent in her circuit. Thats the d. C. Circuit. That essentially holds that while immunity is on the table because immunity isnt just the right to be free from liability but the right to be free from the burdens of trial and everything that goes with it, theres a possibility that judge cannon says i cant go forward with any of this until i have guidance from the Supreme Court. Lest i interfere with what they find is his right to be immune from prosecution. So kristy, the only real set date is march 25th. Thats alvin braggs criminal hush money case. Its the least serious, the least consequential, weve known that alvin bragg is trying to get people to stop calling it hush money. He wants to turn this into an Election Interference case. If that is the only trial we see before election day, how strong is it . So i dont think hes trying to turn it into an Election Interference case. It is an Election Interference case. And the way that you know that is even before alvin bragg charged this, my old office, the Southern District of new york charged Michael Cohen with this federally. And it was deemed not only by the prosecutors to be serious Election Interference, thats what they said at his sentencing but by the federal judge in that case as well. This was considered an important case years ago, when Michael Cohen was prosecuted for it, and its no less serious now a few years later. I think the only reason that we think about it, maybe, as not as serious is relative to the federal crimes that hes charged with, both in d. C. And in florida. Yes, is it less serious than those, absolutely. Those involve, you know, retaining Classified Information and National Secrets and, you know, overthrowing our government and our electoral process. Is it less serious than those, yes. But is it nonserious . No. It is a serious crime, and i expect that as this trial proceeds we will see the evidence and it will remind people of just how flagrant it is that donald trump was in the oval office signing checks to cover up this Hush Money Scheme so that the American Public would not know about his affair before they were going to the ballot box. I think its serious. Its been judged serious before by a federal judge. And i think we will see the same in state court in a month. Kristy greenberg, lisa rubin, thank you both so much. Weve got Breaking News from capitol hill. The house did just pass that plan to temporarily avert a Government Shutdown that was slated to happen friday night. Of course this wont last long. It extends Government Funding deadlines to march 8th and march 22nd, so basically it buys lawmakers an extra week. The bill now heads to the senate and they are expected to vote sometime later today. And just moments ago, former President Trump landed in texas. It puts him in the same state at the same time as President Biden. So what will their message be to local voters about the border . Youre watching Chris Jansing reports only on msnbc. Rts onlc so this is pickleball . Its basically tennis for babies, but for adults. It should be called wiffle tennis. Pickle yeah, aw whoo these guys are intense. We got nothing to worry about. With e trade from morgan stanley, were ready for whatever gets served up.