NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Episode Date: February 7, 2024

Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Oxford High School shooter, guilty of involuntary manslaughter; Appeals court rules Trump not immune in election interference case; House appears close to impeachment vote on Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas; and more on tonight’s broadcast. 

Tonight, the unprecedented verdict the mother of a Michigan school shooter found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The jury convicting Jennifer Crumbly on all four counts for each of her son's victims. The first of its kind trial for the parent of a school mass shooter, how the victim's families are reacting. Also tonight, the U.S. Appeals Court ruling former President Trump is not immune from prosecution in his federal election interference case is the next stop the Supreme Court. Just breaking the drama on Capitol Hill, the vote by House Republicans to impeach Homeland

Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failing on the floor. More than 300 mudslides in Los Angeles, what that dangerous storm has brought and on the move tonight. Our NBC News exclusive with Iran's ambassador to the U.N. as the U.S. vows more retaliation against Iran-backed militants in the Middle East. Do you think the risk of war is growing? Yeah. And we ask, how would Iran react if there was a direct U.S. attack against it? Prince Harry returning to the U.K. after King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis.

New NTSB photo evidence in that Boeing mid-air emergency. Were four bolts missing from that door plug before it left the factory? This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. In a first-of-its-kind case, a parent of a convicted school shooter has been found criminally responsible for their child's deadly actions. A Michigan jury finding Jennifer Crumbly guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of four of her son's classmates in 2021. The case against her centered on her actions and inactions before her then 15-year-old son Ethan shot 10 students and a teacher at Oxford High School in southeastern Michigan. During the two-week trial, the prosecution leading the jury

through the numerous opportunities it says Jennifer Crumbly had to intervene and prevent the shooting, including warning signs about his mental condition and her failure to keep him away from firearms. Maggie Vespa has more on today's verdict and the emotional reaction. Tonight, an unprecedented verdict. We find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Jennifer Crumbly found guilty on four counts, one for each student her son killed, leaving the courtroom in handcuffs as the first parent in the U.S. ever convicted for their role in a mass school shooting committed by their child. The jury forewoman speaking out

to NBC News. It was very difficult. It wasn't an easy decision. The thing that really hammered it home is that she was the last adult with the gun. After the verdict, family members of those four students hugging prosecutors. The moment you heard the verdict, what went through your mind? Well, that I can breathe. Greg Schilling lost his 17-year-old son, Justin. He loved life and he deserved to live it. The historic verdict following seven days of emotional testimony, culminating with Crumbly taking the stand in her own defense.

I wish he would have killed us instead. Prosecutors suggested she was a negligent mom who ignored mounting red flags about her son's behavior. She did not give him the help that he wanted. The defense arguing Crumbly was an engaged parent. No one could have expected this, including Mrs. Crumbly. Legal experts say this case may have implications far beyond this courthouse. Does this open the door for parents to be held accountable for mass shootings, school shootings in the future?

It absolutely does. I believe this will be used as persuasive precedent. But for Steve St. Juliana, it's simply justice for his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah. Anything you want to say to the jury? Just thank you for using common sense. And Maggie, Jennifer Crumbly's trial may be over, but her husband's is still to come. Yeah, Lester, that's right. James Crumbly's trial is set for March 5th. He's also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

And when Jennifer Crumbly is sentenced in April, she faces up to 15 years per count. Lester. Maggie Bespa, thank you. In Washington, a federal appeals court ruled President Trump can stand trial after being accused of unlawfully trying to overturn the 2020 election. This after the court denied Mr. Trump's claim that he is immune from prosecution. Laura Jarrett has details. Former President Donald Trump today dubbed citizen Trump by a three-judge panel in Washington, ruling Mr. Trump is not immune from prosecution.

The court saying we cannot accept that the office of the presidency places its former occupmoaning the ruling, saying, a president of the United States must have full immunity in order to properly function and do what has to be done for the good of our country. Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Mr. Trump last summer for his efforts to reverse the 2020 election results and stop the peaceful transfer of power. We will never give up. We will never concede. Mr. Trump's legal team has been trying to get the charges tossed out for months, arguing he should be completely immune from prosecution for any acts he took as president. The court today, unpersuaded, saying we cannot accept

former President Trump's claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power, the recognition and implementation of election results. The Trump campaign capitalizing on the court's decision today with a fundraising plea as the Republican frontrunner frequently uses his legal setbacks as fuel for his latest White House bid. If you have a president that doesn't have immunity, he's never going to be free to do anything because the opposing party will always indict him as soon as he leaves the White House. With today's ruling, Mr. Trump's only hope at avoiding trial is for the Supreme Court to find he is immune, which would have major implications in the other legal cases he faces as well.

And Laura, joining me here, what are the next steps? What's the timeline ahead? Well, Lester, the court today said Mr. Trump has just until Monday to appeal this to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, it's unclear if the justices there will even take up the case, but if they choose not to, this trial could happen as early as this summer, Lester. All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you. Also tonight, that deadly storm slamming the West Coast is on the move. The storm triggering more than 300 mudslides in Los Angeles, damaging homes and burying cars as the city received half a year's worth of rain in just three days. Twenty seven million remain under flood watches tonight. There is breaking news in Congress tonight. The effort in the House to

impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has failed. Ryan Nobles is at the Capitol. Ryan, what's the latest? Lester, this was a stunning development. The initial vote ended in a tie, forcing one Republican to switch their vote to give them the option to bring the measure up at a later date, as the House Speaker Mike Johnson is still hoping at some point they'll be able to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary. Tonight, drama on the House floor. Republicans narrowly failing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. A big defeat after the House Speaker laid out the case against the Biden Cabinet Secretary. I don't believe there's ever been a cabinet secretary who was so blatantly, openly, willfully, and without remorse, did exactly the opposite of what the federal law requires them to do. Accusing him of allowing

millions of migrants to cross into the U.S., though at least two Republicans joining Democrats opposing it. It lowers the grounds of impeachment to a point where we can expect it to be leveled against every conservative Supreme Court justice, every future Republican president and cabinet member, and then the Democrats take control. Conviction, which requires two-thirds of a Senate majority, would be unlikely. It comes at the same time we've learned congressional Republicans have effectively killed the $118 billion bipartisan security funding package that included new measures to beef up border security. GOP critics say that it's not tough enough to solve the migrant crisis. But President Biden placed the blame squarely on opposition from

former President Trump. Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his mega Republican friends. While Republicans argue it's Democrats who are playing politics. The objective of this bill was, number one, to do nothing, so to do zero to secure the border, but to let every Democrat running for office say, gosh, I wanted to secure the border, but to let every Democrat running for office say, gosh, I wanted to secure the border. But those mean Republicans wouldn't let us. Tonight, Senate Democrats telling us they'll still hold a vote on the bill tomorrow. Ryan Nobles, NBC News, Capitol Hill.

Overseas, more attacks today by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on ships in the red sea as we get a closer look at how american forces are defending that vital waterway courtney cuby is the only reporter embedded with the u.s navy in the red sea tonight iranian-backed houthi militia is showing no sign of backing down attacking two more ships in the Red Sea with six missiles causing minor damage, according to U.S. officials. After the U.S. and British military struck three dozen Houthi sites in Yemen in an effort to deter Houthi attacks on ships, the U.S. Navy tasked with defending against them. The weapon we're most concerned with is ballistic missiles. Like the one that hit this ship, the Marlin the Wanda, in January. How would you describe the environment out here right now?

I would say it's a pretty intense environment out here. As captain of the USS Mason, Commander Justin Smith has to make a split-second decision to shoot down an incoming missile. We're talking a matter of seconds here. But my decision space, as a commander's decision space, on whether I'm going to engage that inbound threat. I have about 10 to 15 seconds of decision time. The ship's spy radar first detects the missile launch hundreds of miles away. Sailors quickly put on their fire-resistant gear as they assess what was launched. And the U.S. fires its own missile to hit the incoming Houthi missile.

Here in the ship's control room, they practice shooting down missiles over and over. In a rare interview, we spoke with the captain who runs Operation Prosperity Guardian, which defends against Houthi attacks. I won't beat around the bush. This is a kinetic environment. The Houthis have caused a lot of mayhem out here. There have now been more than 40 attacks by the Houthi militia since November, and the group is vowing not to back down. Lester. Fascinating look. All right. Thank you, Courtney. And with growing tensions in the Middle East, I sat down with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.

In our exclusive interview, I asked him about the risk of war with the United States and about Iran's relationship with militia groups that have attacked Americans. Do you think the risk of war is growing? Yeah. I spoke to Ambassador Amir Saeed Irvani just days after three U.S. soldiers died in a drone attack and with ongoing strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The U.S. blaming Iranian-backed militias. Much of the conversation centers on the level of control or influence that you and the Iranian government has over these groups, the Houthis and other groups. If you pick up the phone, can you end the attacks? No. May I say that it is not the same case. The relation between Iran and the resistance group in this region may be compared with the NATO territory.

So you're calling this like a defense pact? Yeah. Defense pact between the resistance group and Iran. they have their own decision. They have their own choices. It is not related to a phone call to the Houthis. Houthi attacks that we've seen on commercial shipping, sophisticated weapons. Is Iran supplying those weapons? Not at all. Would Iran prefer that the Houthi attacks against commercial shipping, threatening U.S. naval vessels, do you wish those would stop? Are they helpful?

Yeah, we encourage all of them should stop. You're encouraging them to stop. We encourage them to stop. We expect that the other side also should encourage the Israeli to stop. On Friday, the U.S. began what's expected to be a wave of attacks in response to the deaths of those American soldiers. If there is an American attack on Iran or Iranian interests, what do you foresee the reaction would be? Absolutely, Iran, we have their own reaction.

We said clearly that if they attack in Iran soil or Iran benefit or Iran individuals all around the world, we have their own reaction. We will defend absolutely. And I asked about news. Hamas has responded to an offer for a hostage deal. There's been a response from the opposition but yes I'm sorry from Hamas but it seems to be a little over the top we're not sure where it is. How do you view the fact that a deal may come about soon? I think that if the other side accepts the condition of the Hamas, the ceasefire is possible. A lasting one? Lasting one. Part of my conversation with Iran's ambassador

to the United Nations. Britain's prime minister said today that King Charles's cancer was caught early after the news that the king was suffering from an undisclosed type of cancer. Charles was seen today for the first time since his diagnosis became public as his younger son, Prince Harry, arrived from the United States to be with his father. In 60 seconds, a new revelation about that Boeing Max 9 door plug that blew off a plane in flight. Were bolts installed when they left the factory? What the photos say next. A major development of the investigation into that door plug that blew off an Alaska Airlines flight last month. The NTSB saying it has photographic evidence the plug was not properly bolted when it left the Boeing factory.

Here's Tom Costello. The NTSB says this photo shows the failed Alaska Airlines door plug still on the Boeing production line without at least three of the four bolts to hold it in place. That door plug blew out two months after Alaska received the plane. Today's preliminary NTSB report says workers at the Boeing plant removed the plug after it arrived from Spirit Aerosystems with damaged rivets. But once it was reinstalled, those bolts were missing. Last month, Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci showed us where the door plugs were supposed to be. These are the missing bolts, potential missing bolts.

Yeah, these are the ones that would be the highest critical bolts that would be missing. These ones right here. Make no mistake, this was a close call, too close. On Capitol Hill today, the FAA chief said Boeing quality control had clearly failed. If you don't have that safety culture, I think it's hard to make safe airplanes. And the FAA doesn't have enough inspectors inside Boeing to oversee production. It may now use a third party for inspections rather than Boeing's self-inspections. I think we're going to need more boots on the ground. We're going to need more inspectors. Boeing said today it's accountable for what happened. An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. Boeing is taking immediate action to strengthen quality.

The FAA chief was asked, would he fly on a MAX? He says, if it's certified, it's safe. Lester. All right, Tom Costello, thank you. Coming up, why tonight is one of the most confusing of the entire primary season. We'll explain next. It's primary night in Nevada, but don't get it mixed up with the Nevada GOP caucuses. That's Thursday.

Hallie Jackson on why the state is holding both and how voters are caught up in the confusion. For Nevada Republicans, two election days, two chances to vote, but only one actually counts. Sound confusing? You're not alone. Doesn't make much sense to me. I think our voting system, but only one actually counts. Sound confusing? You're not alone. Doesn't make much sense to me. I think our voting system, frankly, is a mess. Tonight, a primary, like in New Hampshire, with ballots that do not include Donald Trump. Do the caucus, not the primary. The primary is meaningless.

On Thursday, caucuses, like Iowa has. Only in this case, Nikki Haley is not an option. Talk to the people in Nevada. They will tell you the caucuses have been sealed up, bought and paid for for a long time. Candidates cannot compete in both contests, and only the caucuses count when it comes to awarding the state's 26 delegates who go toward determining the party's nominee. Bottom line, the GOP primary here is really only symbolic. Nevada's held caucuses for years, but in 2021, Democrats passed a state law to move to a primary system. Republicans chose to keep caucuses, too. Do you think this was done to be able to help Donald Trump in Nevada? Oh, I absolutely believe that's exactly why it was done. Former Clark County Republican Chair Chuck Muth worries the new process could turn off voters.

I've been warning how stupid this was and what a public relations disaster it was going to be. I hate to say that I told you so, but I don't hate saying I told you so because I didn't tell them that this was going to happen. Now, GOP county chairs reporting thousands of calls from Republicans, some mad, some mystified, set to vote and maybe vote again in a race with plenty of drama, but little suspense. Hallie Jackson, NBC News. That's nightly news for this Tuesday. Thank you for watching, everyone. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.