Damn near everyone, em bitered about election losses, some of his longtime confidants saying he looks unwell and is gaining weight. Trump also furious after being blindsided by Melania Trumps extraordinary statement calling for the firing of Deputy National security adviser Mira Ricardel, the president s dysfunctional conversations with his wife now in the public eye for everyone to see. And tonight, more than 24 hours after Melania Trump called for ricardels firing, we are learning that ricardel is, quote, transitioning to a new role within the administration. The words used, not fired. These unsettling developments coming as friends of the president describe him as bitter over election losses and democrats tonight picking up another seat, this one in california. So far, democrats have picked up a net gain of 31 seats and are leading in 6 of the 9 remaining races being counted. The president , frankly, from cnn reporting, feels backed into a corner, sources say, and when he feels that way, he often, well, he makes things up. And today, he did an interview in the oval office with the daily caller in which he said, quote, the republicans dont win and thats because of potentially illegal votes. When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again. He continued to say, if you buy a box of cereal, you have a voter i. D. As part of his argument for more voter i. D. Now, just to be clear. You dont need i. D. To buy cereal in case anyone was not clear about that. Although the president has made this absurd claim before. You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card. You need i. D. No. It does not matter how many times he says it, it still is not true and he did really say that about the cereal. As for the reasons republicans lost being illegal voting because of people using disguises, if that has ever happened, if, because its a pretty absurd thing to say happened, it sure does not add up. To the 12 million more votes cast for democrats than republicans nationwide. 12 million votes. Just moments ago, heres how the president handled being called out for that. Mr. President , you just said that people use disguises to cast illegal votes. Do you have any evidence of voter fraud like that . Do you have any evidence . Thank you, everybody. Why make that false claim without evidence . There is no answer to that, because at this point, he doesnt have any evidence. Never mind, you know, 12 million examples of it. Why make a false claim without any evidence . By the way, i say 12 million in the senate because he is saying that republicans would have won if not for illegal voting. So even if not all of it was these hats and whatever disguises, it still would be more than 12 million cases of voter fraud. Okay, these kind of absurd claims are certainly nothing new. Just take, for example, what he said about russia. Could be russia, but it could also be china. Could also be lots of people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay . Kaitlan collins is outfront live at the white house and this is all pretty incredible. Lets start with your breaking news about Mira Ricardel. Reporter shes been forced out of her job but maybe not the administration tonight, erin. Sarah sanders after a whirlwind 24 hours about speculation about what mr. Speakira ricardel was do has issued a statement saying she is going to continue to support the president but as she departs the white house to transition with a new role in the administration. Now, erin, theres been no word on what exactly that new role is going to be, likely not the department of defense, because one reason she was under fire was because shes been privately making disparaging remarks about the defense secretary, james mattis, but tonight, the white house isnt saying where it is shes going, but they arent saying that shes fired either. Now, of course, erin, this comes as her boss, john bolton, the National Security adviser, is still 10,000 miles away in singapore with the Vice President , mike pence, and we were told by sources that initially, when all this went down, he tried to scramble to save her job while he was away but in the end, clearly, erin, we see that it is the first lady who exerted her influence over this and won the situation. That whole dysfunction thrust into the public eye be the president also, you on the reporting team here, with all these incredible details, furious, em bittered, incredibly angered. Reporter that quote, pissed at damn near everyone really sums it up, erin, because its not just john kelly and the department of Homeland Security secretary, kirstjen nielsen, who are fearing for their jobs and may not have much job security in this administration. There are several other staffers that the president is mad at as well, some for what he says is the bad pr coming out of that paris trip where he cancelled that visit to the cemetery and wasnt prepared for the negative coverage that he received for that. Some is that political aides who he is blaming for losing that winning narrative that he felt he had in the immediate aftermath of the midterm elections and some is at his legal team for what he believes are investigation troubles that are still following him in regards to the special counsels probe. So, there really isnt anyone in this administration who feels pretty confident in their jobs right now except for just a few people, and erin, thats raising questions about whats going to happen Going Forward but what we are seeing is that the president is in a very furious mood and he seems to be growing more isolated by the day. All right. Thank you very much, Caitlin Collins with that reporting. Lets go to gloria borger, frank, and eliana johnson. Frank, youre next to me. President trump, as we began the show, some of these words here from some of his closest confidants, bitter, furious, and unwell. Well, i mean, think about his last couple of weeks, erin. The last two weeks before the midterms, he was doing the thing he loves best, he was out at rallies looking at crowds who were looking at him with adoring faces but thats when hes in his element. Affirmation, affirmation, affirmation. Election night does not go as they want it to, and as the days go on, the returns get worse and worse. Then he goes abroad, horrible reviews for that trip. Hes come down from this enormous sugar high, and hes facing an entirely new reality, democrats control congress, hes waiting to see what theyre going to do in terms of investigations, whether theyre going to launch a kind of subpoenapalooza and his whole world has shifted since the days before the midterm and i think were seeing that reflected in his mood and in the white house. Gloria, you were part of the reporting team on this as well and the words here also included these. Frayed and fraught relationships laid bare for all to see. Melania trump just one of those, right . John kelly. I mean, to make the point, its the personal one and its obvious lo obviously some of the most important political staffers that he has as well. You have been reporting, we have heard about chaos and frustration from this president before, but this seemed to be deeper, more significant than what weve heard before. I think it may be. I mean, i think of the white house now as kind of a hyperventilation chamber where everybody is worried about their job, about the president , about what will occur next given the fact that the democrats control the congress. You know, and as frank was just saying, the president has just finished a month of complete adulation, being out there on the campaign trail, which is where he gets his energy. He comes back, things didnt go as he wished, and this is a president who never blames himself for anything. So, hes upset. He wants to change his white house chief of staff. Hes clearly going to change some other cabinet positions, kirstjen nielsen, for example, at the department of Homeland Security. Hes already fired his attorney general. And you know, i was told by somebody who speaks with him regularly that on the one hand, hes looking forward to fighting the democrats because he feels that gives him an enemy and he believes that hes a very good counterpuncher and he wants that, but on the other hand, hes also quite unsettled about the fact that the Mueller Investigation is kind of going to wind down. Hes been spending a lot of time with his attorneys, going over his written answers to questions, and so, hes not quite sure whats going to happen on that end. He sees that Michael Cohen is testifying before the special counsel. So, you know, there is a lot of churning going on, and at this white house, nothing is behind closed doors. No, i mean, look, to that front, some things that should be behind closed doors include conversations between the first lady and the president. It took more than 24 hours for the president and the white house to, quote, transition Mira Ricardel to a new job, the National Security adviser, right . The first lady had been campaigning, directly asking for this for quite some time. He refused to do this, she put this unprecedented letter out, which really put the dysfunction between the president and first lady, embarrassingly in public and he is dealing with that embarrassment as well. This was an unprecedented statement by the first ladys office, intervening in a Personnel Matter on the National Security council, but it isnt the first time weve seen these disagreements between the president and the first lady come into public view. I think the last time was when the first lady made a visit to the border during the controversy over child separation, making clear her disagreement with the administrations policy, but i have to agree with what frank and gloria said, which is that campaigning for the president , which is much more enjoyable than the difficult work of governing, and after the midterms, hes turned back again, staring down the barrel of the mueller probe. He has very dim prospects of passing legislation. I think thats why you saw him endorse criminal Justice Reform today. Thats one of the things republicans and democrats have a chance to agree on. And limited prospects of achieving Something Big on Foreign Policy with north korea talks seemingly having ground to a halt. And of all his frustration with cabinet members, he cant fire anything and i think thats really the final frustration for him. And frank, you have him talking about on election night, hes sitting around with his billionaire friends eating tiny hot dogs, which i would call pigs in a blanket, im assuming, unless theres some middle thing, like a hot dog equivalent of a slider. But all excited, things turn south, john kellys huddled in the corner, leaves, the president is talking to someone who might even replace john kelly, you see that playing here and now we see his friends describing him as unwell and gaining weight, which is also a whole new level of sort of, i dont know, selling him out personally on some level by those close to him. Its really catty because we know how vain he is about his appearance. These are supposed to be his friends. All you have to do is look at that work of labor that is his hair to know how vain he is about his appearance and i think people are trying to get under his skin. Hes going to hear that. Hes not going to like it. Hes going to feel even more under siege. This Melania Trump thing, this first lady thing, unprecedented is the word for it. We have had first ladies in the past, nancy reagan, memorably, hillary clinton, who behaved as a copresident , who got involved in staffing, travelgate was all about that. But when have we seen a first lady, when things werent happening staffingwise the way she wanted to, go around the president to the public and essentially sort of pressure him and mortify him that way. That has got to be freaking donald trump out. And gloria, the reporting right backing him into a corner, and he is livid about that. Look, far be it from me to understand the relationship between donald trump and Melania Trump, but i would have to say that ive never seen a first lady behave this way, and as frank says, go around her husband and issue a public firing, shaming of this Deputy National security adviser, and lets not forget here, this isnt just some functionary job. This is a very serious and important National Security job while the National Security adviser is 10,000 miles away in singapore. And so, it was kind of stunning and shocking and the president , honestly, i think, the reporting is that they were blindsided by it, but he seemed to just kind of shrug and say, all right, sure. Thats it. Although it took 24 hours to do that. Cant understand it. I dont know if he was thinking of a way out of it. Its unbelievable. Thank you all so very much. Outfront next, we have the breaking news. The Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has blocked a bipartisan bill, and it was bipartisan. Republican senator john kelly who wants mueller to finish his job is outfront. First lady Melania Trump clearly charting her own course, making the President Trump fume, saying it makes him look like a bossed around husband. Those are the words of how he feels tonight. Plus, breaking news, Michael Avenatti just arrested for Domestic Violence. Shocking headline and we are now learning details about claims of assault. Thats coming up. Whenshe was pregnant,ter failed, inlaws were coming, a little bit of water, it really it rocked our world. I had no idea the amount of damage that water could do. We called usaa. And they greeted me as they always do. Sergeant baker, how are you . They were on it. It was unbelievable. Having insurance is something everyone needs, but having usaa now thats a privilege. Were the bakers and were usaa members for life. Usaa. Get your insurance quote today. Booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. opportunlike here. Rywhere. And here. See . Opportunity. Everywhere. About to be parents. Meeting the parents. And this driver, logging out to watch his kid hit one out of the. bat hits ball opportunity is everywhere. All you have to do to find it is get out. Here. Havi is not always easy. Plaque psoriasis its a longdistance journey, and you have the determination to keep going. Humira has a proven track record of being prescribed for over 10 years. Humira works inside the body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to symptoms. Most adults taking humira were clear or almost clear and many saw 75 and even 90 clearance in just 4 months. And the kind of clearance that can last. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal, infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms, or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Join over 250,000 patients who have chosen humira. Ask about the 1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists. Humira. And go. Breaking news, the Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell tonight blocking a bipartisan push to protect the special counsel, robert mueller. This comes just one week after trump fired Jeff Sessions as attorney general. And as republican senator jeff flake warns that bob mueller may be next. With the firing of the attorney general and in my view the improper installation of an acting attorney general who has not been subject to confirmation by this body, the president now has this investigation in his sights and we all know it. Outfront now, republican senator john kennedy of louisiana who is on the Judiciary Committee and senator kennedy, good to have you back on the show. Youve said bob mueller shouldnt be fired before he finishes his investigation. There was a bipartisan bill to protect him today. Senator mcconnell is blocking it. Did he make a mistake . No. In my opinion, anyway, erin, for two reasons. Number one, i dont believe the bill is constitutional. I dont think the congress can tell the executive branch who it can hire and fire any more than the executive branch can tell congress. If the president thinks im doing a lousy job on the appropriations committee, constitutionally, he cant call the senate and say, fire kennedy. So you think mueller should be allowed to finish, you just dont think you can do anything about it. Well, the second reason i think that the im going to oppose the bill, if it does come to the floor, is i dont think its necessary. I just listened to senator flakes comments. I love jeff. Hes one of my favorite people. But you know, ive been hearing for 16 months that the president s going to fire mr. Mueller. He hasnt fired mr. Mueller. I dont see any indication that he will fire mr. Mueller. I dont think mr. Mueller ought to be fired. I do think he ought to hurry up and finish his investigation. But i dont think you ought to pass a bill just based on someones opinion of what someone might do. And i just dont i know the president is fussed about mr. Mueller, and hes not happy with the investigation. I guess i wouldnt be if i were in his shoes either, but ive seen no indication that hes going to fire mueller. All right. I want to ask you about Matt Whitaker because obviously, you know, the point that jeff flake was making was Jeff Sessions was fired, then you were going to see mueller. Obviously, the acting replacement for sessions is Matt Whitaker. Adam schiff is the democrat expected to lead the house intelligence committee. He was on the show last night and he told me about why hes worried about whitaker. Its entirely possible that whitaker takes action to interfere with mueller, to hobble the investigation, but also whitaker could serve as a back channel to trump and his lawyers in a way that no matter who fills that job later, you cant undo the damage that is done by compromising the investigation. So, whitaker could serve as acting attorney general, senator, for seven months. Right. We understand from sources muellers already started to write his report. So, its possible, right, that whitaker oversees the rest of the Mueller Investigation. I mean, in that sense, that, you know, any short period of time that hes there could be incredibly significant and incredibly powerful when it comes to the russia investigation. Right. And what i just heard adam say in your clip there is that whitaker might, and it may be that whitaker will do something. Look, heres what i know about whitaker. He served as a u. S. Attorney. He is a lawyer, of course. He has an mba. Hes made some comments about the judiciary in marlboro versus madison that i dont agree with. Hes also made a lot of comments about the russia investigation, that he thinks its a joke. Thats true. That i dont agree with. But president s are entitled to surround themselves with advisers of their choice. It doesnt matter if it would be my choice or your choice or anybodys choice. What matters is what the president thinks. Now, i know what mr. Whitaker has said, but i also know that in washington, d. C. , people talk a lot. Ive noticed that. They like to talk. Up to wat you have to watch t wha they do. You have faith that he wont follow through on that, he wont be a back channel to the Mueller Investigation, the president wont end it even though hes gotten rid of sessions. You just have faith. I have seen no indication whatsoever. I have only seen speculation that mr. Whitaker might do something. I havent seen any allegations that hes done something, and given the fact that he is the choice of the duly elected president of the United States, i think we ought to give the guy a chance and let him find the mens room before we start bashing him. Its not like the president appointed, i dont know, Michael Avenatti or justin bieber. I mean, the but by your logic, it is the same because he has the right to put whomever he wants to be, by the argument you just made, its his choice. Well, you have to be a lawyer to be attorney general. So, Michael Avenatti, i mean, obviously, who knows what hes going to happen but Michael Avenatti would fit. You have to be a sane lawyer. Okay. Let me just ask you one other thing thats important because its happening tonight, and that is the developments. Mira ricardel, as you know, being transitioned, senator, is the word being used, out of the white house after the first ladys unprecedented comments that she made, that she had to go and obviously the president had not heeded her requests and then she put that letter out publicly. He was blindsided by that, apparently. What do you make of that . Should the first lady have made such a statement, weighing in on a west wing personnel issue via the media . I think that mrs. Trump just chose to do publicly what many first ladies have done privately. Every first lady that i can remember has made her opinions or in one case, well, has made her opinions known to her husband. And she is entitled to. Absolutely. What do you make, though, of the fact that she did and he did nothing and then she put this letter out . Does that dysfunction, which i guess is the word for it, is that problematic for you or not . No. I know mrs. Trump, not well. Shes extraordinarily intelligent. Shes observant. She has opinions. And she made her opinion known based on her experience with the staff member to the president. She has every right to do that. I think the only difference between what shes done and other first ladies have done is that shes decided to be transparent about it and say, hey, let me tell you what i just did and what i think. Or she wouldnt take no for an answer. And from that perspective, you know, i kind of congratulate her. I dont think the president i was listening to what you said earlier. I dont know i mean, if the president shouldnt feel like hes bossed around. Thats the reporting of how he feels, yeah. Well, i mean, you know, if he does feel that way, you know, dont worry about it, mr. President. I feel bossed around sometimes and i love my wife to death, but in my marriage, i can be right or i can be happy. I cant be both. Doesnt bother me. Im happy to have my spouse weigh in when she sees me doing something wrong, and i suspect the president feels the same way about mrs. Trump. But all she did, in my opinion, she just did publicly what other first ladies have done privately. All right. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time, senator. Thank you. And next, more on the first lady, not shy about saying people in the white house need to go. Has he had people that you didnt trust working for him . Yes. Did you let him know . I let him know. His National Security aide, Mira Ricardel, just the tip of the iceberg. Plus republican rick scott showing up in washington even before the Florida Senate race has been called. An attorney for the Florida Democratic party responds. With fidelity Wealth Management you get straightforward advice, tailored recommendations, taxefficient investing strategies, and a dedicated advisor to help you grow and protect your wealth. Fidelity Wealth Management. To help you grow and protect your wealth. Instead, hes the tallest guy in his office. L basketball player. Yeah, erics had to compromise a lot in life. Ah yes, you need travel insurance when you travel. So, should i set some. Hello . But not when it comes to cutting the cord. Fubo gives him all the sports he needs as well as all the shows his family loves. Dont compromise. Get over 100 channels plus showtime and cloud dvr included. Call 844tryfubo. [narrator] meet sharks newest robot vacuum. It powerfully cleans from floors to carpets, even pet hair, with ease, and now for cleaning surfaces above the floor, it comes with a built in shark handheld. One dock, two sharks. The shark ion robot cleaning system. [ neighing ] [ neighing ] [ sigh ] its bring your own phone, not pony. So i couldve taken the bus . Yeah. Bring your phone. Switch your carrier. Save hundreds a year with xfinity mobile. Call, click or visit a store today. Tonight, sources telling cnn the president was angry, thought he looked like a bossed around husband, these are the words, after the first ladys Office Issued the call to fire the Deputy National security adviser, Mira Ricardel. Now, moments ago, which is just to be clear, more than 24 hours after the unprecedented letter from the first lady, finally, moments ago we learned the white house is reassigning ricardel to a new role in the administration. Is this a sign Melania Trumps influence is growing or far from it . Tom foreman is outfront. Reporter sources tell cnn Melania Trump was furious with senior National Security adviser Mira Ricardel for accusing the first ladys staff of inappropriate behavior during a recent trip to africa, asking for an investigation, and even changing seat assignments on the plane. In short, a source says, trump thought ricardel a bully. For all that, the demand she be fired blasted into public like a bolt from the blue, or did it . Just last month, Melania Trump told abc news, when she talks, the president listens. Has he had people that you didnt trust working for him . Yes. Did you let him know . I let him know. And what did he do . Well, some people, they dont work there anymore. Reporter still, for a president s wife to so openly weigh in on staffing is extremely unusual, as are some of her recent pointed comments about life in the white house. Its harder to govern, you know, you always need to watch your back. Reporter still, Melania Trumps behavior has been a puzzle all along. He would be the best president. Reporter during the campaign, she would play cheerleader in chief for a while, only to vanish, giving the supporting role to her stepdaughter, ivanka, 11 years her junior. When she speaks, the first lady praises her husband without fail. Hes a great negotiator. Hes telling the truth. Hes a great leader. Reporter but she has also pushed his hand away in public. She made an infamous fashion choice on a trip to texas, bringing sharp criticism on the president , and when she chose to highlight childhood bullying as a problem she wants to replace with kindness, mindfulness, integrity, and leadership, which can only be taught by example. Reporter critics howled. What about your husband, they said. What a stupid question that is. What a stupid question. Reporter simply put, at times, the first lady seems to be charting her own course and that doesnt exactly mesh with white house messaging. Indeed, one source says the president was reportedly very upset about this, saying indeed he does feel like a pushed around, bossed around husband and not the leader of the free world. Erin . All right. Thank you very much, tom. Such a generationally dated way of phrasing things, but i suppose thats the generation hes in. Outfront now, scott jennings, nina turner. Let me start with you. Okay. So, we know that shed asked him to do this, he didnt do it, so finally, you know, ricardel is next to the president at this ceremony and then the letter drops saying she should be fired. More than 24 hours later, shes out. But its a transition to another role in the administration. What does that tell you . I mean, certainly, the first lady has influence. I mean, happy wife, happy life . We can distill it down to that. But in terms of the first lady making this move and doing it so publicly, i just think that it was foolhardy to do it this way. This white house is already riddled with a lot of uncertainty and dysfunction and the first lady making this known, this publicly, just adds to that. Scott, what do you make of that . It certainly does, on a day when a lot of the other dysfunction is being bared more publicly, john kelly and others, certainly, at least on a personally a personal level of embarrassment, doesnt help to have this rift with the first lady out there either. Yeah, i mean, all first ladies have personnel influence, certainly, that was true in the white house that i worked in. Whats unusual about this, of course, about this situation, of course, is the public nature of it. But i think if weve learned anything today, its that the Eternal Truth of, if mama aint happy, nobodys happy applies in a lot of houses, including the white house. And it sounds like, based on the cnn reporting, there was good reason for mrs. Trump to not be happy. I worked in a white house, as you mentioned, and its a high stress, high anxiety environment. One way you get through it all is to build camaraderie with your colleagues and you do that by treating other people with respect and you do it by being nice, and it sounds like, from some of the reporting, that this staffer was having trouble with those things. So, i think mrs. Trump felt like she had to get a message out because this staffer was creating quite a lot of discord in the white house. I can understand why the president would not like all this dirty laundry to be out in public there. Youre glossing over the point, which is that she did talk to him privately and he didnt do it. So then she drops this public thing to get him to kind of force her husbands hand. I mean, that thats not normal. And my point is and my point is, what must this person have done to cause the first lady of the United States of america to put out a press release calling attention to their behavior. I think theres a lot more to this story here that we dont know. Then, in which case in which case, are you saying that the president had bad judgment in not listening to her . Youre saying its so bad this woman had to go, but the president ignored her request for him to do so for quite some time, which would mean youre saying his judgment is bad. Theres one other issue, erin. Its not just the president. Theres somebody between the president and this staffer and thats the National Security adviser, mr. Bolton and hes overseas right now. I wonder where he is in this situation because if youre the president , youre like, why is this being aired out publicly when theres somebody that should be managing this person if theres such a serious issue. So, it doesnt look great, but at the end of the day, if you end up removing someone from the white house whos causing a lot of people a lot of problems, then maybe its for the better. Nina, the president s feelings, bossed around husband. Thats the reporting. Thats how he feels. I mean, you know, join the husbands of america, im sure there are points at times when a lot of husbands feel bossed around. The president is going to take this extremely personally, i guess he should, since it is his wife that brought this out, and you know, given what he has gone through over the last two weeks in terms of the midterm elections, you know, if you dont have your wife, who do you have, he might be feeling that way. But the point of this is, this is not just any position here. This is not something that you just play games with and so, i do believe that the first lady could have handled this differently and it does reflect poorly on this white house, per usual, that this kind of dysfunction would rise to this level. We dont know what the deputy what the Deputy National security adviser did, exactly. What was it about the trip in africa that set the first lady off to this extent . In some ways, i believe that it is her way or seems like its a way for her to get back at her husband in public. I mean, thats possible. I disagree with that, erin. We do know things. Cnns own reporting says general mattis had issues. She wasnt treating the military aides very well. She wasnt treating her subordinates very well. So its more than just this africa trip. Clearly there was a dysfunction going on here that was affecting multiple parts of the white house. Its hard to have a National Security apparatus when people are disrupting it with this kind of behavior. Again t president knew all that and didnt do anything about it. He didnt do anything about it until the first lady went public and thats the key thing. Youre saying the outcome may be the right outcome. Im saying how we got here is pretty bad. Thats right. Thats my point. If i were the president , i wouldnt be happy that dirty laundry was aired in public, thats absolutely true, and i would be having a conversation with my senior staffers about trying to keep this stuff under control before it reaches this level, because it doesnt reflect well, but again, im into outcomes and if the outcome here is a more functional white house process, then thats a good day. Hardly. This one incident is not going to make for a more functioning white house, rest assured of that. Thank you both very much. Next, breaking news, Michael Avenatti arrested on suspicion of Domestic Violence. Incredible development here. His exwife speaking to cnn and were going to tell you exactly what we are learning at this hour. Plus, breaking news, a federal judge says hell rule tomorrow on whether hell reinstate jim acostas press pass. That was a development today, and we will be able to tell you what the judge will be considering tonight. Whoops sorry so lionel, what does 24 5 mean to you . Rade well, it means i can trade after the market closes. Its true. So all. Evening long. Ooh, so close. Yes, but also all. Night through its entirety. Come on, all. The time from sunset to sunrise. Right. But you can trade. From, from. From darkness to light. Youre not gonna say it are you . engine roaring horn honking okay, okay, okay. clatter feeling unsure . Oh. nervous yelp what if you had some help . Introducing the new 2019 ford edge with the confidence of ford copilot360 tm technology. The most available Driver Assist technology in its class. the new 2019 ford edge. at dewars, all our whiskies are aged, blended and aged again. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. Breaking news, Michael Avenatti arrested. The lawyer for stormy daniels, the frequent critic of donald trump, the guy who went to iowa, currently being booked on charges of felony Domestic Violence in los angeles. This is a stunning development. I want to go straight to m. J. Lee. Literally breaking here moments ago. What do you know . Reporter what we know right now is that Michael Avenatti has been arrested for Domestic Violence. He is under arrest for felony Domestic Violence and is currently being booked, according to the lapd, the Domestic Violence report was taken yesterday in West Los Angeles and the arrest was made today. Now, just to clarify something, and this is important, tmz originally reported that this incident involved his estranged wife. He is currently in the process of getting divorced. Tmz then subsequently changed that story to say just a woman, not the wife, and we actually spoke with Michael Avenattis wife earlier this evening when this story was breaking. This is Lisa Avenatti and when i spoke with her on the phone, she said she actually hasnt seen Michael Avenatti in three months and she was not at his apartment and she also said that he is somebody who wouldnt ever hit anyone. Now, his wifes lawyer actually proceeded to put out a statement as well to clarify that this article pertaining to their client is not true, that she was not subject to any incident on tuesday night, and that she was never at Michael Avenattis apartment. Also, just a key sentence here from that statement. My client states that there has never been Domestic Violence in her relationship with michael and that she has never known michael to be physically violent toward anyone but again the news is that Michael Avenatti has been arrested for Domestic Violence. We dont know right now the identity of the person involved. This is obviously going to have big consequences for Michael Avenatti, particularly when it comes to any political aspirations that he might have. The vermont Democratic Party was supposed to have events with him on friday and saturday. Those have been cancelled. They say that they cancelled those events as soon as the news broke, so obviously, very serious allegations against Michael Avenatti. But we have not heard from him. Very serious allegations. Arrested and as you say, we dont know the identity of the woman involved with this, but obviously, in los angeles tonight. All right. Thank you very much, m. J. Lee. As we get more, obviously going to update you on that. Also tonight, the clock ticking on the florida recount. The legal battles raging at this hour as the republican governor, rick scott, already declares himself the winner, appearing on capitol hill today with the newly elected members to the senate. It was like a formal thing for those who were newly elected. Obviously he has not been certified as the winner but he was there. Outfront now, attorney for the Florida Democratic party who was also an attorney for al gore during the 2000 florida recount. Good to have you with us. Im glad to have you on to give the nelson side of things. Governor scott told the a judge this morning he recused himself from finalizing the election results. Democrats have been calling for this for a while. Is it enough for you . Well, its a good start. We have these nightmare experiences of jeb bush and Catherine Harris from 2000, and with the governor constantly accusing everyone of fraudulent activity, it would be inappropriate for him to be part of the certifying group. But its a very good start. But when you say a start, i mean, i just want people to understand, and gail made this point last night. 67 counties in florida, each of them have state officers, they are elected locally to oversee elections. I mean, in other words, Governor Scott is not deciding whos overseeing the elections. He doesnt actually have a role in overseeing the elections. So what more could he do . Well, no, he well, amongst other things, he could stop accusing everyone of fraudulent activity in connection with the election, including the various supervisors of elections who are attempting right now, despite enormous pressures, constant lawsuits, to finish the job in order and if he won, in order to have him seated. But he is constantly suing people, constantly dragging them into court. His lawyers are subpoenaing people to come to court when at the same time theyre trying to do the recount work thats required by state law. So theres the issue here if he would stop doing that if he stopped doing that, maybe we could get the job done. Theres the issue of fraud. Theres also the issues of whether theres a chance for nelson to win. First, the secretary of state in florida has asked for a federal investigation into allegations that some voters were said were told, hey, you can mail your ballot in and you can slangs yas long as you do it by november 8, which is three days later than the actual deadline, so they were given three extra days. The allegations are these are voters that were going to vote democrat. Did the Florida Democratic party have anything to do with this . The Florida Democratic party has been accused of doing something about with this, and it takes the accusation seriously, and we just we have found out about it today as well. And were finding out if anyone had anything to do with it and well if that is the case, were going to take appropriate action, but it is not something that anyone was certainly at the higher levels was aware was going on. Okay. And now to the issue of nelson winning. Obviously, we want to make sure that this is the all is handled appropriately and thats important on principle and also important when a race is, indeed, so close that it could be changed by a recount. But in this case, bill nelson is behind by 12,500 votes. You know, you look at the history of florida, you know it better than anybody, 4,600 statewide general elections in 15 years, recount in less than 30 of them and only 3 recounts changed the end result. How can you make the case that nelson can win . Do you think, really, this could change by 12,500 votes . Yeah. Thats erin, thats the right question. And the answer to that is, it really is going to depend upon what happens after the machine recount. There was an optical scanning problem in the 2000 election in one county and after the optical scans went through, several thousand votes were picked up for al gore. The same problem might exist for bill nelson in broward county. There was a 26,000 undervote for the senate race, less people voting for the senate than the governors race, so that naturally indicates that the machines might not have picked up that vote. Were going to know a lot by the time the machine recount is done. All right. Thank you very much. An awful lot. Obviously, youre making the point you certainly theoretically, as you say, it could have more than 12,500 to shift. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time. There was yeah. More breaking news coming in this hour. A federal judge says he will rule tomorrow on whether or not the white house needs to immediately restore cnns chief White House Correspondent jim acostas press pass. Cnn lawyers arguing that time is of the essence because acostas First Amendment rights are being violated every day he does not have that pass. Brian stelter is outfront now. Brian, look, we expect the ruling tomorrow. I guess is that a normal time to expect . Is that we dont more quick than they thought it would go . I think there were some hopes that maybe the judge would rule right away, minutes later from the bench. Because in these kinds of situations where youre asking for an emergency hearing, judge knows that it is urgent. But i think what hes doing is hes sleeping on it. He wants to write this ruling down. He wants to have a draft document so that as this goes through the courts, so cnns lawyers tonight thanked the judge for listingsi so intently, asking so many guess. Frankly, he was skeptical of cnns stance, he was also skeptical of the governments stance. It sounds like this judge wants to get to the bottom of whats going on here. Were hearing from so many newsrooms, so many Media Companies supporting cnns position right now. Even fox news. Everyone from the a. P. To fox news standing with cnn in this case. Just now the news media alliance, represents newspapers across the country, come out and say we commend cnn for not giving in to white house intimidation. I think all these news outlines are lining up with cnn because they see the stakes of whats going on. The government lawyer in court today argued the white house has the ability, the right, the legal right, to kick out any reporter, any time, for any reason. That is the governments position. Thats a radical change from decades of precedent. And i think all news roovm news concerned about that. Certainly wouldnt indicate a free press. Whoevers if power to kick out someone, thats what that would lead to. I want to go to former federal prosecutor, laura coates now. What do you make of this . Thered been a hope perhaps there could be a decision at the hearing. The judge, as brian said, wants to sleep on it. A little more nuanced than your average 1st amendment case where the government cannot choose to restrict the free right or the free press a the any way, shape, or form. What youre seeing here, the argument made by cnn, this is clearly content, viewpoint diskrim facdis kr diskrim discrimination. Theyre asking questions the American People have a right to know and fryi itrying to silenc thats why there was a bizarre withdrawal from the hard pass. One argued by the white house to say, well, this is no different than me deciding who to call on at a press e which interviews to actually give or grant. The nuance of it being a hard pass, erin, i think what the judge is hung up. The hard pass merely facilitates access to the white house grounds and arguing jim acosta can still actually cover the white house. He has 50plus other colleagues who can do the same. The judge is trying to think to himself, is this a matter of a true Chilling Effect on speech or is this an issue for a particular person who wants to have facilitated access . Thats where the hangup is. The case law is very clear about the 1st amendment protecting the free press and the right and you cannot decide to take somebodys rights away because you dont like the questions theyre asking. Laura, on a couple points you made, one of them you were saying theyre making the case of, you know, they could kick out anyone they want. But then they call on jim acosta all the time. They do. If they had an issue with him, they wouldnt call on him. They did. It would seem theres a problem right there to make that case, isnt there . There are several problems. They talk out of both sides of their mouths. They say the first reason they revoked it is because a physical assault on an intern. Theres an infowars doctored d vid video. It belies the nation theyre saying, hold afternoonon a secoe a problem with jim acosta. This is a matter that they revoked it not based on content and viewpoint, they can say we routinely called upon the person though hes never asked questions we deemed to be favorable. On the other hand, you set it up and the president s own statements before that clearly show an animus toward me as a member of the press. All right. Thank withdryou very much, laur coates. Big development coming on that tomorrow. One of importance to everyone. Next, President Trump loves a president ial portrait. And youre going to see where this one popped up. Genemy mo instead, hes the tallest guy in his office. L basketball player. Yeah, erics had to compromise a lot in life. Ah yes, you need travel insurance when you travel. So, should i set some. Hello . But not when it comes to cutting the cord. Fubo gives him all the sports he needs as well as all the shows his family loves. Dont compromise. Get over 100 channels plus showtime and cloud dvr included. Call 844tryfubo. Opportunlike here. Rywhere. And here. See . Opportunity. Everywhere. About to be parents. Meeting the parents. And this driver, logging out to watch his kid hit one out of the. bat hits ball opportunity is everywhere. All you have to do to find it is get out. Here. I can choose from all their Different Hotel brands. Like a doubletree for my cousins. A homewood suites for my uncle. A hampton for my sister and her kids. And the waldorf astoria Beverly Hills for me. Can i get a. . Thank you. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. I couldnt catch my breath. It was the last song of the night. It felt like my heart was skipping beats. They said i had afib. Whats afib . I knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. I needed answers. My doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your bodys natural bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. For afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Learn all you can to help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. President trump on can vas n color. Spotted. Look at that. Thats not here. Thats at the american ambassadors residence in switzerland. Heres jeanne. Reporter portrait of the president as he likes to see himself. These are few of President Trumps favorite paintings. Hes a challenge to paint. Reporter not for michael israel. He specializes in speed painting. God bless the usa reporter he can knock out an upsidedown President Trump in about seven minutes. It was one of israels paintings done at a Charity Auction that trump bought with a 20,000 check from his own charitable foundation. Took money from other people and bought a sixfoot portrait of donald. I mean, who does that . Reporter the guy who beat hillary making his portraits president ial. This one hangs in the u. S. Ambassadors residence in switzerland. The artist, steve penley, often shows up on fox news with his patriotic paintings. The cliches actually are what works, thats why theyre cliches. Reporter if President Trump likes, if you can bet his detractors are going to mock it. Critics suggested portraits like these replace the one at the ambassadors residence. At the other end of the artistic ideological spectrum, john mcnautons crossing the swamp. President Trump ReplacesGeorge Washington crossing the delaware. Today, trump endeavors to cross the swamp of washington, d. C. , as he carries the light of the truth, hope and prosperity. Reporter some of the passengers, like nikki haley and Jeff Sessions, have jumped ship or been pushed. A critic added a roll of paper towels. Let them eat paper towels. Reporter and then theres the Republican Club hanging in the white house. Lauded during a 60 minutes segment. All those republican president s looking so fit. Some have compared this to dogs playing poker, but artist andy thomas says President Trump called to say how much he liked it. I always try to make the president s look as nice as i can. Reporter but no matter how nice a president looks, the opposition still tears him to shreds. Jeanne moos, cnn, new york. Pretty amazing to think of president ial pe president ial picture in an ambassadors residence. Something you think would come from another type of country. Thanks for joining us. A. C. 360 starts now. Good evening, we begin tonight with breaking news. The senior National Security official who found herself at odds with the first lady has been fired and as striking as that lead sentence may sound, its no more so than the statement yesterday from first lady Melania Trumps spokesperson that catapulted this story into the public eye. It is the position of the office of the first lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house. She is Deputy National security adviser Mira Ricardel. Shes out. Her forced departure coming as the president said to be in a foul mood upset over the midterms, shut suulking about h