0 assets have been seized, she undid a pink untitled to $100 a year. >> that was it? >> that was it. >> does she worry still? perhaps. but he has declined all interview requests, including ours. >> i know that when i tried to contact her, she did not want to speak because she was still frightened. >> as for the delhi, it went to his brother, but last we checked, they had yet to perfect the recipe for the creamiest chocolate cake around, that cake to die for, that killer cake. >> that is all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. thank you for watching this sunday, leaving the party. arizona senator kyrsten sinema says she is leaving the democratic party and registering as an independent >> i am willing to work with anyone to get things done. >> her decision complicates democrats' plans for the future and their hopes of holding control in 2024. >> my stand today is about joining the many americans who don't believe that any political party fits them perfectly. te >> i'll talk to democratic senator jon tester of montana who understands the challenges of being a democrat in a red state. plus, freed from russia. ei >> welcome home, brittney. >> basketball star brittney griner is free from russia in a prisoner exchange for a convicted arms dealer known as b the merchant of death.nt >> it was a dangerous concession of vladimir putin and will set a dangerous precedent going forward. rw >> is the u.s. putting more lives at risk with this deal? i'll talk to former u.s. attorney preet bharara who put the russian arms dealer viktor bout behind bars. and liability. after his hand-picked candidate lost the georgia run-off donaldp trump is increasingly becoming a liability for his party and himself. >> he's, if you will, the kiss of death for somebody who wants to win a general election. >> reporter: trump's company was found guilty of criminal tax fraud.un more classified documents were discovered. and now the special counsel is moving quickly in its investigation. could a criminal referral from the january 6th committee be the next shoe? joining me for insight and analysis are nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker, nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent reus garrett haake, and republican strategist sara fagen. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history. this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. a good sunday morning. well, the democratic party's celebration of raphael warnock's georgia victory lasted less than three days. on friday, arizona senator kyrsten sinema poured cold water on the celebration. she announced she is leaving the party to become an independent. it is a move that still leaves republicans short of any sort of working majority or even a 50/50 designation.jo this does complicate the senate and presidential math in 2024. sinema's move in some ways an exclamation point on a midterm cycle that was less of -- was more of a repudiation of the republican party. in arizona democrats trail republicans and independents in overall party registration. th t nationally voters are starting to opt out of either of the two major parties. according to gallup more americans call themselves independents than republicans or democrats. that's been true now for over a decade. in fact, in 19 of the 31 states that track registration by party, one of the two major parties is in third place behind either an independent or unaffiliated designation. in the senate sinema has rhetorically leaned into an independent streak but on governing she has voted with democrats 93% of the time. now, she did block attempts to change senate rules on the filibuster to pass voting rights, legislation, or to codify abortion protection. she voted against raising the minimum wage with a visible thumbs down on the senate floor. for those actions, sinema was censured by the arizona democratic party earlier this year. her democratic colleagues and leadership in washington were quite quiet when progressives unloaded on her earlier this year. >> two democrats voted against us. that was a terrible, terrible vote. and i think what the arizona democratic party did was exactly right. >> i don't believe she has really given a compelling case as to why she should be renominated as the democratic nominee for the united states senate in arizona. she has proven herself an obstacle to the right to vote in the united states. she is not an ally on civil rights. she is not doing what voters in arizona sent her to do. >> so from her perspective it was probably an open question whether progressive democrats even wanted her in the party. already in arizona sinema's h potential 2024 democratic opponents are lining up to pile on the criticism. congressman rueben gallego said sinema is once again putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for arizonans and s congressman greg stanton tweeted her party switch is about on political preservation and he signaled his own interest in running. what are national democrats going to do? the white house helped clear the -- will the white house help clear the field and help sinema? the white house press secretary called sinema a key partner following her decision. she provided a lot of the bipartisan victories that biden touts. but the president himself has at times singled out sinema negatively.r fopr >> it sounds like you're putting the blame squarely on two u.s. senators for your inability to close that deal, senator sinema and senator manchin. >> look, i need 50 votes in the senate. i have 48. two more democratic senators in the united states senate. i promise you -- [ cheering ] -- i promise you we're going to codify roe. >> all right. so how are other swing and red states responding? joining me now is senator jon tester the only democrat elected to statewide office in montana. in 2020 donald trump carried oor montana by more than 16 points. in 2012 the last election when tester was on the ballot with the presidential campaign tester was able to run ahead of barack obama by seven percentage points. senator jon tester welcome back to "meet the press." >> good to be with you, chuck. thank you. o a >> all right. so i guess on a scale of 1 to 10 the complete shock, or this is just another day at the office? where do you put the sinema changing her party affiliation to independent? >> look, i was surprised she made the change but functionally i don't think it is a thing. i think we'll continue doing the same thing we were doing whether she is independent or part of the democratic caucus because she is going to continue to caucus with the democrats. so we'll still have the committee structures we've had before as far as having one more democrat. functionally, i don't think it changes a thing. and that's a good thing. so we look forward to working -- i look forward to working with her as i have in the past to try to get good things done for the country >> i want to talk about that relationship. arizona democrats do not -- are not happy with her at all.mo some of the critiques, the state party chair says she answers to corporations and billionaires not arizonans. the executive director of a local organization called it another unfortunate selfish act. you have progressive political consultant faced in phoenix saying, everything she has done has been in service of kyrsten sinema., is that your experience working with her? >> no. look, i had a good experience working with kyrsten on a number of different projects especially the bipartisan infrastructure package we put together with five democrats and five republicans of which i was one of the democrats and she was, too. we worked hard together. we argued and we fought and we came up with a pretty darned good bill. i think that is the process, chuck, you know that, your enemy one day is your friend tomorrow and vice versa and it is about keeping relationships in washington, d.c. if you're going to get things done. i think kyrsten sinema knows that and i think whether she is a democrat or a republican that really doesn't matter. the label doesn't matter. what matters is you got to have somebody in washington, d.c. that wants to get things done and move things forward. we certainly have enough obstructionists in washington, d.c. so, look. i think she has a pretty good track record of getting things done. has she been perfect on everything from my perspective? no. but i probably haven't been perfect from her perspective either. i think you just work together. you do things. and move the country forward. i think that's what we did last congress. >> let me ask you this. you and her basically share thes same position on the filibuster. yet she was vilified for it. you have not. why do you think that is? >> well, i mean, i was for going back to the days of mr. smith goes to washington filibuster where people talked and could hold the floor for weeks on end if they want but in the end it h was a simple majority vote after the people got done with a talking filibuster. i think she had a different view. >> okay. >> but i can't remember exactly what that was on that. >> right. but more similar -- you are nott for just getting rid of the filibuster completely the way many colleagues are. >> no. that is absolutely correct. the filibuster does serve an important purpose and is one of the things that makes the senate different than the house and thank god for that. >> but you -- do you think there are even 48 votes for your position in the senate? >> you know, it's hard to say. i think as with any piece of legislation or any policy or any rules or form, it is about explaining to folks, and by the way i think this has to be done in a bipartisan way and explained to folks about how this is going to make the senate work better. i have always believed that if you're going to obstruct you have to put some skin in the game. i don't think right now folks who obstruct put any skin in the an athe lwayo ob they can object and can walk away and can go home and some of them have. and i think it's more important that they work at their obstruction. and look, if i want to obstruct a bill i'm more than willing to do that. i'm willing to go down and hold the floor and get people with the same opinion to hold the floor with me. that puts leadership in a heck of a bind when it comes to the filibuster. >> right. >> and so i think it does still keep minority rights, which is what the filibuster is about. >> you actually vote less with joe biden than kyrsten sinema does. you're comfortable being a democrat in montana. why is that?i tom >> look, i'm also a farmer. i can tell you that we would not have the farm today if it wasn't for the democratic politics of fdr. my grandfather and grandmother talked to us about that.mo my folks talked to me about that.al i will tell you that i am forever grateful for that, because i'm blessed to be a farmer.m i love agriculture. i wouldn't be one without the democrats. >> well, i say that because, you know, i'm sure you're going to get a lot of questions in ic s montana. hey, why don't you leave the party? and you think that is going to be a good enough answer for that middle of the road voter that you need to win? >> i think what we need to focus on is what we've accomplished whether for veterans, infrastructure, bringing jobs back to this country. the list is long. i've been able to do a lot of good things working with other people in a bipartisan way in the united states senate. working for small businesses and working families and family farm agriculture. that's what i'm going to be talking about as a record of accomplishment if i choose to run. and if we're able to do that and get that message out effectively i will win as in the past. if we're not effective in that, then of course it is going to be a different outcome. if i decide to run in this en thing, and it'll be a discussion i have with my family over the holidays because it is a big ha undertaking, i feel good about my chances. people are going to come after me. they have in the past. nonetheless, that's politics. and we'll get through it. and hopefully be successful come november of 2024. >> before i move off this topic do you want to see senator sinema re-elected? >> look, that's a choice for the arizona voters, number one. number two, i certainly have no bones to pick with kyrsten sinema. i think she has served this country well. and, look, it will be a choice. elections are about choices. the arizona people are going to have a choice now whether a democrat, independent, or republican that represents them in the united states senate along with senator kelly. and they'll make that call based on the same kind of information they will in any state in the union. >> do you think democratic leadership ought to give her some deference the way they give angus king deference? >> i mean, sure. they ought to try to treat everybody equally for sure. i don't know that angus king gets deference. >> well, they don't fund a democratic candidate out there. >> he does a really good job. he >> they don't fund an official democrat in maine. >> yeah, okay. i mean, that may be the case. i'm not aware of that. but the truth is that angus does a great job and deserves to be re-elected in maine. and one of my favorite people in the senate as a matter of fact. i really like this guy. he's done a great job and brings a great tool set to the senate. and i think that's what it's based on more than anything else.arutgs it's how you performed. are you a team player?ou are you working together? are you working to move the country forward? and they'll make that call. i can't say. that is really a call for the next chairman of the democratic senatorial campaign committee >> i want to talk to you about the midterms overall. i've had you on here to talk about democrats and rural voters. >> yes >> i got to show you this number. >> yes. >> when you were last up for re-election democrats didn't get clobbered in rural america. in 2018 they got 42% of the rksr vote. republicans got 56%. that is a competitive landscape and why you won re-election. in 2022 a year democrats are claiming was a pretty good year the split in rural america, senator, 63% to 34%. democrats got clobbered in rural america and lucked out that turnout in rural america wasn't that great. what has to change here? >> we got to focus our message more on the things we're doing for rural america. a prime example, i have a couple deals that deal with big packers and meat consolidation and how the market i believe is totally manipulated and if we can get those bills through it will allow folks who are cow calf fo operators to make a living. if we are able to do that this congress, democrats will have done that, and hopefully there will be republicans and i'm sure there will be as a matter of fact because we have chuck b grassley onboard and others to get some of these bills across the line. we need to talk about it. we don't talk about near enough. the infrastructure package is a prime example. it's going to help rural america big time when it comes to broadband and electrical distribution and roads and bridges. we didn't talk about it. we didn't talk about it from a rural perspective. it has to be a concentrated effort, and we are very bad at message, and we need to work at that and get that message out to rural america so rural america knows who is fighting for them. and i think it's across the board. and if we're able to do that and do that effectively, chuck, you'll see those numbers change >> i want to get to two issues. one that is pretty pressing in the lame duck. the issue of the debt ceiling. senate majority leader chuck schumer. >> yes. >> said he wants to raise it with a bipartisan majority. i get that desire. but if you guys punt the debt ceiling issue this lame duck and republicans use it to hold the economy hostage, hold biden hostage, isn't the blame on democrats right now for not dealing with this problem even though it may be a one-party vote? >> no. this is an insane situation we're in. we are simply paying the bills like you would your credit card bill or house payment you make to buy your house. for republicans or anybody to hold up the debt ceiling vote is political malpractice. it will raise interest rates across the board. we saw it happen the last time this was just talked about. you cannot expect to compete with a place like china looking to replace us as an economic power in the world if we're going to have these silly fights over debt ceiling. they're silly fights. if this is going to be the case we ought to just change it and vote for the bill, the debt ceiling vote goes right with it so the bill goes up or down. >> would you just eliminate it at this point? >> well, i think truthfully we can do just what i said or we could let the president do it. >> right. >> with an override of say a two-thirds margin from the congress. but the truth is, to have this fight and hold the country hostage over something that truly could be very damaging to the economy of this country, is nothing short of ridiculous. it is why people don't like democrats. they don't like republicans. they don't like congress. this is a silly fight to be having. >> speaking of perhaps not liking congress when they find out how many members of congresl iontheyon took crypto money, let me ask you this. you used some colorful language to describe crypto. you're not alone here. but should the government be regulating it or banning it? i >> look, one or the other. it has not been able to pass the smell test for me. i haven't been able to find anybody who can explain what's there other than synthetics which means nothing. >> air? >> and, yeah. exactly. and the problem, if we regulate it, and i pointed this out to some of the regulators a week or two ago, if we regulate it we may give it the ability that people will think it's real. truth be known my personal thought and i'm not a regulator and i'm not a financial person that does regulation but i see no reason why this stuff should exist. i really don't >> i get that. finally, on the prisoner exchange viktor bout for brittney griner. what is your level of concern that this was a successful tactic for putin? >> well, look. i think any time we can get an r american out of jail that's imprisoned improperly we all ought to celebrate that. people can always say we should have got more or shouldn't have done the deal at all. in the end i can tell you that for a fact the state department continues to negotiate for the release of other americans that are out there but i think in brittney griner's case we ought to say good for brittney griner. i am happy for her, happy for her family, happy for america. we need to continue to work to get the other folks out, too..py >> all right.oo senator jon tester, democrat from montana, always great to get your perspective on things. i'm curious.s. what do you think governor john dutton is doing these days?tt >> he's out causing problems i'm telling you. >> there you go. we'll find out more tonight. >> sounds good. >> all right. of course referring to yellowstone's fictional governor. senator jon tester, thank you. when we come back more on senator sinema's party switch. what is the real impact? the panel is next. wtothe panel.