negotiations between israel and hamas and what we're hearing from the families of hostages about this potential deal. great to be with you. it's 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. breaking news in wilmington, delaware, this morning where for the first time the son of a sitting president is standing trial not far from his father's election headquarters. hunter biden's federal gun case beginning this morning with jury selection. he faces three counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics. he has pleaded not guilty. this trial coming just days after another historic first, donald trump's guilty verdict on all 34 counts in his new york hush money case. nbc news justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian is outside the courthouse. nbc news white house correspondent monica alba and criminal defense attorney, danny cevallos. court has been in session for about an hour and a half. what can you tell us, ken, about what's happening so far? >> reporter: good morning, ana. jury selection is under way. the judge brought in 250 prospective jurors, questioning 50 at a time per session in her courtroom. so far we've seen questions to three prospective jurors. the first person was disqualified after he said he couldn't be objective because he believes that owning a firearm is a good-gifrn right. a second juror was a donor and volunteer to the hillary clinton campaign in 2008. she's qualified, not yet seated, but qualified. they'll go through this process all day and perhaps into tomorrow as they try whittle down a jury. here in the state of delaware where joe biden has been a major political figure for 52 years. first elected to the senate in 1972. so hunter biden is in the courtroom. we saw dr. jill biden, the first lady walk in. we have a statement from the president where he says he's not going to comment on a federal case, but he supports his son as a loving father. >> i understand, again, jill biden is there, so he's surrounded by support. danny, all 250 potential jurors have been summoned, again, 50 at a time. they're going to be asked 47 different questions. here is a few examples. do your views regarding the 2024 election or of any of the candidates for president in any way prevent you from being a fair and i'm partial juror in this case? do you believe robert hunter biden is being prosecuted in this case because his father is the president of the united states and a candidate for president? do you disagree that the law should apply equally to all including the son of the president? are these the right questions, and how challenging could it be to pick a jury for a trial involving the president's son? >> about as challenging as it was a few weeks ago to pick a jury in new york for a former president. this will be anti as difficult as it was in the new york state criminal trial of donald trump. in new york state lawyers are much more involved in the jury selection process. when you're in federal court, it really is the judge's show. this is not a place where you're going to see a lot of attorney involvement and direct attorney interaction with the jurors. when you're in federal court, the judge handles the questioning, the judge handles the voir dire. the attorneys are present for everything, whether it be at sidebar talking to a potential juror. but this is going to be the judge's show. yes, the attorneys have had input up until now about the questions that are going to be asked, but expect this to move probably a lot faster than maybe we just saw with the last major trial which was last week of the former president, donald trump. >> you can't ignore the timing, right? right after the verdict in that trial. how do you ensure potential jurors who may be motivated by revenge don't get through? >> ensure, using that word, you can never ensure. you can never know where a juror is ultimately being truthful. the entire system is predicated on regular citizens coming in and telling the truth, that they're honest with not only themselves but themselves about their own biases. maybe that's aided by the fact that not everybody wants to serve on a jury, so they may have a motive to come up with reasons why they are not able to sit impartially. being very serious here, most jurors come in and have an honest discussion internally about whether or not they can be unbiased. you saw it in the trump trial where more han half raised their hands and said i can't be unbiased and left. that's what happens every time you try to seat a jury when you go through voir dire and answer these questions. during these questions, a lot of people err on the side of, hey, i'm raising my hand and i want to tell you about my background and the judge will decide whether that story means they can be fair and impartial. it really is a process by which judges try to really talk to the juror and find out, get to the bottom of their prior experience, whether it renders them fatally biased or they have biases that i can set aside and judge the case on the evidence and the facts. >> ken has already mentioned some of the jurors who came forward saying i can't be fair and impartial here. monica, president biden is there in wilmington not at the courthouse, the first lady is there. we know ashley biden, the president's daughter is also there to support her brother, her half brother. what do we know about the president's mindset as his son goes to trial? >> reporter: this has really take n an emotional toll on the family. that's since hunter biden was in the throes of addiction and now on the path to recovery, and now confronting these multiple legal challenges. this is something as the president protest wroet /* /* wrote in a statement this morning, not the president of the united states in the midst of a super heated re-election battle. of course, that is the backdrop to all of us. still the biden campaign, the white house, don't plan to have any kind of rapid response operation or any kind of formal reaction to what's going on in hunter biden's proceedings. but they are, of course, putting this statement front and center. the fact that the first lady is there really tells you everything you need to know about how this is affecting them from a family standpoint, from those dynamics, and the president even referenced in this statement that the, of course, challenge of coming through something like the addiction that hunter battled during the time period that this case is going to cover has been difficult, but that they are so proud of the man that he is today. they write that they really have boundless love for him. they're hoping his advisers tell me, that voters will get a sense of what many families struggle with when it comes to this kind of substance abuse. they're hoping that voters will see this as, again, parents who are really worried about their son who want to be there for him, who want to stand by him and not about these larger questions. but, of course, we know over the course of the last few weeks leading up to the verdict in former president trump's case and president biden's own words on friday, when it comes to the actual legal matters here, the president's message is expected to be the same, that no matter what this jury ends up deciding, it should be respected and that the rule of law is paramount. still we have to just appreciate the fact that the president in the last week has been, of course, marking the somber anniversary of the death of his other son beau biden. this is coming at a time when, of course, he's preparing for the first general election debate. all of these things are coming together at the same time, and that certainly weighs on the president, weighs on the first lady. they want their message today to be one of we will support our family no matter what and we hope that americans see that for what it is. >> ken, lay out the timeline for us of how this case is going to roll out and potential witnesses. >> reporter: right, ana, we expect jury selection to take one to two days, probably sometime into tomorrow. the judge says she expects a one to two-week trial. it's a pretty simple case, frankly. he filled out a form, he bought a gun. the government says he was addicted to drugs at the time. they have to show he was using drugs. a couple of the witnesses they're going to put on, it's going to be tough for the biden family. kathleen bul, hunter biden's ex-wife and hallie biden who was reman tickly involved after her husband beau biden died. she was actually the person who took the colt revolver from him. he possessed it only 11 days, and left it in a dumpster. she was concerned, according to evidence we've seen, that he was using drugs and was a danger to himself and others. she eerps going to be asked to testify about that. there will be electronic evidence, texts, photos, whatsapp messages, some of which was on the infamous hunter biden laptop that he left at a repair shop in delaware. the defense will have the opportunity to challenge the authenticity of any messages they believe are fake. the government will use that to show, they say, that he was using drugs at the time. >> danny, how straightforward is this case for prosecutors? if you're the defense, how do you counter? >> this is a gun possession case, also a false statement case. when you fill out the firearm document when you buy a firearm, you make certain statements. they're alleging he made false statements about whether or not he's a habitual user -- excuse me -- unlawful user or addicted to a controlled substance and that he possessed the firearm while he was a user or addict to a controlled substance. on the government's side, straightforward. they'll introduce evidence you don't normally have in these cases which are very rarely brought. >> it's like his own words in his memoir. >> exactly. most criminal defendants have not written a memoir that the government can mine for statements that are harmful to the defendant. you don't normally have this much evidence of addiction from the defendant himself. so that's why the government sees this as a case that is easier to get a conviction in. they're basically going to lay out the form, the 4473, the statements by hunter biden, any other evidence that shows he may have been an addict at the time he possessed the fire rm a and the tiement he made the statement he was not an addict or unlawful user. the defense's case a little tougher. they may argue, given a little forecast, for example, they might argue that hunter at the time he filled out the form had been in rehab for, i think it was about 11 days. that highlights the nebulous nature of this particular subsection of the statute. an unlawful user or addict. what is an addict? yes, it's defined by u.s. law, but what does it mean that hunter may have thought, i'm 11 days clean, i'm sober, i'm no longer an addict. that i expect to see as one of the themes of the defense here. >> danny cevallos and ken dilanian, monica alba, thank you very much. we'll check back and keeping our aye on the courthouse all morning long. a historic first in mexico. we are in mexico city as that country elects its first female leader. first, what donald trump is saying about, quote, a breaking point for the country if he goes to jail, as his words come back to haunt him. >> i felt, and i could have done it, but i felt it would have been a terrible thing, and then this happened to me. hillary clinton -- i didn't say lock her up. >> for what she's done, they should lock her up. >> lock her up is right. t. ri-zo. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. welcome back. in just six weeks donald trump will be sentenced for his historic felony conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. there's a broad spectrum of possible outcomes here. the former president claims he's prepared for the harshest of all, prison time. >> i'm okay with it. i saw one of my lawyers the other day on television saying, no, you don't want to do that to the president. you don't beg for anything. that's the way it is. i'm not sure the public would stand for it. >> -- house arrest -- >> i think it would be tough for the public to take. at a certain point there's a breaking point. >> before that phase of this unprecedented case arrives in july, trump and his gop allies are saying the appeals process should leapfrog to the supreme court. joining us nbc news correspondent dasha burns, new york trial and appellate lawyer mark souderror, and anna kaminsky. sentencing a few days before the rnc, what can we expect between now and then and what else are we hearing from donald trump in the wake of this verdict? >> you heard he did on truth social ask for the supreme court to step in. he is criticizing, once again, d.a. brag and judge merchan. the timeline between now and then, we're likely to see activity on the part of the prosecution, d.a. bragg neglected to say what they would pursue. he said the prosecution will speak through some court filings in the coming weeks. that's what we're going to be watching for. of course, the former president likely continuing to lash out between now and then. >> we heard a clip there where he suggests there could be a breaking point for the public, mark, if he's in prison. could that be interpreted as a threat? >> i think that's a dangerous statement, and it's been corrective perceived as that. the thought that the supreme court is going to step in here, it's really a hail mary for him. if it happens at all, his grandchildren will be grown by that time. this is going to work its way through the court system. the strongest card he has to play right now is delay. even if the sentencing actually takes place on the first scheduled day, july 11th, that's just the beginning of the clock running for when he has 30 days to appeal, several months before he has to perfect that, submit briefs in support of his appeal, answering briefs, the court would have an argument and a decision. that's going to be after the election. he has the benefit of time right now and that's working in his fave record. >> what do you see, ana, as the factors the judge might consider when it comes to sentencing? >> the judge is going to consider sort of two categories. the first is the offense, the nature of the offense, the facts that the judge himself witnessed during the trial, and then the second is who the defendant is, and that's a big, big, big bucket. so everything about trump, the court is going to be able to consider. that's things as simple as his prior criminal history, which we know there is none. but all sort of other things, his support, the fact that he was the president, the fact that he's running for president again. all those things the court is going to be able to consider. in addition to that, it's all of trump's conduct that is including this period of time now. >> mark, you have a lot of experience when it comes to this appeals court. you say there aren't the typical red flags for reversal in this particular case. as you look at it, explain what you see and why you feel trump doesn't have a strong case for appeal. >> sure. no one wants to be a criminal defendant. if you're going to be a defendant, new york is the place to be. it's probably the fairest jurisdiction in the country. he received a scrupulously fair trial from the moment of jury selection, as danny cevallos said, which allowed his lawyers to very thoroughly vet the people who were going to be serving on the jury, right through the trial which was conservatively conducted through the time of the verdict. the judge took a conservative course. he allowed every opportunity for the defense to make legitimate objections. he read straight and narrow the accepted jury charges, and he didn't stray from it, didn't engage in some of the activities that can put a conviction at jeopardy, such as trying to explain what a jury charge means, what something like causing means. he stuck to the straight and narrow. i think at least in the new york courts, which the appeal is going to work its way up, it's a long haul and a stretch to think this is going to get overturned. >> we're continuing to hear more and more reaction coming from the verdicts. stormy daniels now has given her first public comments since the verdict. let's listen. >> it's like when you have a child and sometimes you take the electronics away work. but if your trial is very artistic, they don't care, they'll go to color in their coloring book. you have to find the punishment that not just matches the crime and is fair and just, but impacts that particular person. >> so based on what we know about trump, dasha, what kind of penalty could make a difference here? what's he saying about the potential of a jail sentence or house arrest and so forth? >> here's the thing, ana. there's the legal piece of it which you're also articulate at going through, and there's the politics. the thing about trump and his team, they've gotten so good at spinning any sort of legal jeopardy into a benefit politically. you saw him have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in these other civil cases, and that turned into a rallying cry for his base. it's a very slim chance according to the lawyers i've been speaking with if something like jail or house arrest were to happen, you better bet that would rile up his base in potentially an unprecedented way. that's a tough line to walk with the former president, is even if it's legally and practically punitive and painful, politically it gives him that jolt with a lot of the voters that support him. >> what does he care more about? his personal comfort or the political boost he could get. >> right now it's the court of public opinion because we've got an election coming up. that's the focus for him. he's saying in this interview, hey, i'm okay with it, whatever they choose, jail or house arrest. you heard him say but the public won't stand for it and at a certain point there's a breaking point. we've heard him use that rhetoric before, to your point, that's why it can be so dangerous. >> is deterrence, anna, a factor here when we talk about the sentence for donald trump? would the judge be thinking about that, okay, if i fine him, he may be having to pay something that was along the lines of what he paid in the hush money, $130,000. is that really going to change behavior? >> i think the judge is supposed to be punishing for the crime that occurred and not -- although deterrence, yes, both specifically for the defendant and generally for the public is part of this, we're dealing with such a unique individual that