Trump white house wont implement russia sanctions. And new concerns over a trumpconnected company hired to fix power in puerto rico. All in starts right now. Good evening from new york, im chris hayes, it was an extraordinary day in washington. Two sitting republican senators went before the American People to denounce the president of the United States. The head of their own party as an unstable and unfit leader who endangers the country and debases our democracy. After deciding to retire at the end of this term, senator bob corker and jeff flake gave a dramatic tribute not just to the president but to their own republican colleagues. The day started with corker, who has been vocal about his concerns since announcing his retirement last month talking to just about every tv camera he could find about the man in the oval office. For young people to be watching not only here in our country, but around the world someone of this mentality, or as president of the United States is something that is i think debasing to our country. The president has great difficulty with the truth. On many issues. Do you regret supporting him in the election . Lets just put it this way, i would not do that again. So you wouldnt go that way again . I would not. Those comments are the backdrop for a highly anticipated appearance by the president today at a Senate Republican lunch where he and corker would come face to face. Now by all accounts, that meeting went without fireworks the president focusing on what he commented on the list of accomplishments by his party. He talked about a vision and upcoming tax plan. So no one was expecting what happened moments later when news broke that jeff flake, like corker, decided not to run for reelection. And the senator took to the floor to condemn the president s on conduct and to condemn his party for their own complicity. There is a time where we must denounce our own careers, for the truth. Reckless and undignified behavior has become an excuse for telling it like it is, when it is just outrageous and undignified. We have fooled ourselves for long enough that a pivot to governing is right around the corner. A return to civility and stability right behind it. We know better than that. By now, we all know better than that. The notion that one should stay silent as the norm and values that keep america strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreement that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters. The notion that we should say or do nothing in the face of such mercurial behavior is misguided. I have children and grandchildren to answer to and so mr. President i will not be complicit. So we have given up for anger and resentment. The impulse to scapegoat has turned us into a backward looking people. In the case of the Republican Party it threatens to push us into a fearful, backward looking Republican Party. A number of republican senators were there, and they all stood and clapped with the exception of rand paul. And john mccain, and colleagues from arizona and fellow colleagues offered service to the country. As the Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, has been trying to stay on the president s good side since they argued over the summer. Its not clear he got flakes message. Im grateful that the senator from arizona will be here for another year and a half. We have big things to try to accomplish for the American People. But from my perspective, the senator from arizona has been a great team player. Senator Shelden Whitehouse is a senator from arizona, did you know it would happen . No, the announcement from senator flake came as a bolt from the blue, we knew that senator corker had been boiling with distaste for President Trump for a while, but i for one did not see the various statements made today coming. I think when you have senators of a president s party talking about the president debasing the nation and degrading the country that is unprecedented stuff. It felt that way to me watching. And im curious if it felt to you like something shifted today. I think so. You have to understand how highly regarded both bob corker and jeff flake are on both sides of the aisle in the senate. These are known as principled thoughtful respectful people. And so particularly coming from them i think this has broad impact and it forces other republicans to confront the question will i now start to say more publicly what i have been thinking for a while or will i continue to be complicit in going along with this president. What did you make of i thought Mitch Mcconnells response was sort of fascinating because he said basically, youre a good man and a team player, right . Which seemed to be a checkin, which we still got a yes from you on tax stuff, right . Well, that is their next big immediate goal as they walk into another back box canyon and cant get their billionairefriendly tax reform done, then big donors are going to go ape and they will have a real problem on their hands altogether. The tax reform has little to do with tax reform, a lot to do with donor maintenance and even more to do with trying to put some kind of win on the board, however ugly it may be. And that is why today felt a little bit like it feels like a twig right before it snaps a little bit. There is a sort of tension in it. Yeah, go ahead i was going to say the door kind of cracked open. And now were going to see how far it swings. You know the famous song, freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. When you have bob corker and jeff flake who are not running again and others who may not be running again, theyre now free to speak their minds. And the traditional political pressure that a majority leader or a president can bear to silence them and line them up simply dont work any longer. And i think again, both corker and flake are senators of real conscience. So good luck pushing them around. It didnt work when you could hold election strategies over their heads. It certainly is not going to work now. Flake is certainly only 54 now, in the older world of the United States senate that is just quite a young pup, and probably somebody with a bright future, and years of elected office ahead of him. Although he would have a hard time in that primary fight if he stuck it out. What do you make of this decision . I think this generally was a decision on principle. I think jeff is a very principled conservative who has a considerable distaste for the way the president is handling himself. I think he was sincere, on his children and grandchildren, and the president , and who knows in another 16 months we could be in a situation where the president has degraded himself and the country so badly that two to republicans jeff flake will look like a hero, instead of just something sinking ship. Also a young pup in this senate, thank you for making time tonight. Im joined now by former republican congressman, Mickey Edwards of oklahoma and senator Gordon Murphy of new hampshire. Now an independent. Ill start with you, senator murphy, what did you make of what we saw on capitol hill today . Thank you, chris. The name is humphrey. Sorry. I had chris murphy on the program so much, the name is tripping off my lips. It doesnt matter so much, but the story is not as much about donald trump as it is about jeff flake and bob corker. This is a vivid example of the bad driving out the good. And i think its high time a majority of republicans join with bob corker and jeff flake and denounce the president as a man who is reckless, so reckless and careless and cruel in the conduct of his office as to be vile and corrupting of the american system. And its high time that congress with the encouragement of former members of congress may i say, and former president s may i say especially invoke the 25th amendment to remove this man from office because he is simply unfit to discharge the powers and duties of that office. Those are the words of the constitution. The president doesnt have to be stark raving mad, if he is reckless and dangerous, that makes him unfit. And that is the description of donald trump. Mr. Edwards, is that where you are in your description of what we saw with both corker and flake and your judgment of where this president is at . Well, chris, it does. But im bothered by the correct term you used at the beginning of the show when you referred to this as extraordinary. So by my count, we have three members of the Republican Party and the u. S. Senate. Corker and john mccain and now jeff flake who have done this. You have three more, rand paul, lisa murckowski, and susan colins, who are now sometimes willing to vote against the president. Where are the other republican senators . It is a shame that it takes somebody leaving office who will do this. The other 46, running again or not running again have an obligation to do what humphrey just said, corker and flake just said, the president really needs to be the constitution says that it is the job of the congress to serve as a check on the executive. And the members of Congress Need to take that seriously. They take an oath. We all gordon took it, i took it. You take an oath to defend and protect the constitution, which means independent judiciary, it means free press, it means those kinds of principles that are at the heart of our government. And these republican members of Congress Need to stand up to the president and do their job. I want to play for you a moment because it pertains to what you both just said about the constitutional duties of the congress. Senator flake talked about article one, reclaiming the article one power, take a listen. Here today i stand to say that we would be better served, we would better serve the country by better fulfilling our obligations under the constitution by adhering to our article one, old normal. Mr. Madisons doctrine of separation of powers. Mr. Humphrey, short of the 25th amendment and invocation of that, what do you think can be done by corker, flake and others who feel this way . Look, we need to be rid the nation needs to be rid of this vile president whose vileness is so great as to personify evil. We need to be rid of this man and congress has the power to do it under the constitution by invoking article 4 of the amendment, which would strip the president of his powers and transfer them to the vice president. There is not a moment to lose, members of Congress Need to stand up and show some courage and some principle and put the country and its future and our hopes ahead of their selfish personal political ambitions. Mr. Edwards, can you imagine a scenario in which there were members of the Republican Party and the United States congress who were not retiring saying things like this given what the political incentives are . Well im hoping senator sorry, mr. Edwards first. Im hoping that part of this. Go ahead part of it is that we have a system through our primaries and the parties that give extra voice and extra strength to the more extreme elements in the party. So there are going to be people who are hesitant who care more about their reelection than the good of the country who are not going to do what they need to do. But impeachment or the 25th amendment, whatever we do here, really is not the only other option, because the members of the senate and the members of the u. S. House can say to the president when he says were going to do this, can say no, were not doing that. Were not, we will pass the laws and determine the policies and tell you what they are, if you veto them well override you. You know, were going to make you irrelevant as you deserve to be because nobody who lacks the intelligence, the competence and the decency that this president has ought to be able to call the shots. The members of congress ought to be able to stand up and say were the first branch of the government, its our constitutional obligation to determine what the laws of the country are and were going to do it. I kind of wonder if you took an Anonymous Survey of the members of the Republican Party and the house, how many would be with you . My instinct is that there could be quite a bit more. Gentlemen, thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Next, jeff flake says he cant win a republican primary without compromising his values and decency. What does it say about the currency of the gop and its future, next in two minutes. Is now a good time to refinance . Yes Mortgage Rates are historically low. The time to refinance your home is right now. Get started at lendingtree. Com. The only place you can compare up to five real offers, side by side, for free. Our average customer can significantly lower their monthly bills. Quick. Beat the feds next rate hike. Do not miss this window. Are you sure you have the best rate . It only takes 3 minutes to find out. Go to lendingtree. Com right now. Throughout history, the one meal when we come together, break bread, share our day and connect as a family. [ bloop, clicking ] and connect, as a family. Just, uh one second voice guy. [ bloop ] huh . Hey . I paused it. Bam, family time. So how is everyone . Find your awesome with xfinity xfi and change the way you wifi. Shortly after jeff Flakes Senate speech excoriating the president s behavior and other republicans, announced he would not run for office again. Jeff flake it seems agrees with bannons assertion. Did that cross your mind that youre basically if this is a civil war inside your party, that youre handing them a victory . Yeah, that was very difficult. But, the prospect of going through the next year and like i said, the path to victory in a republican primary these days is to agree with the president. Not just his policies, but the behavior as well. And not to speak out. And i cant do that. Flakes belief that he cant win a republican primary without supporting trump in what he calls outrageous, and indefensible behavior, while trump establishment members, who openly espouse beliefs that muslims should not be able to be in congress, those ideas are being embraced. And also from a little outfit calls the New York Times, and an msnbc political analyst. At one level, what he did today was remarkable. Also he is paving the way. The person that was going to primary him that he was going to have a very hard time defeating was kelly ward. By mcconnells own pack, and said today, that the conspiracy theorist kelly will not be a nominee in 2018. An msnbc political analyst. At one level, what he did today was remarkable. Also he is paving the way. The person that was going to primary him that he was going to have a very hard time defeating was kelly ward. By mcconnells own pack, and said today, that the conspiracy theorist kelly will not be a nominee in 2018. I guess it opens the way for somebody a little more palatable to run. I was talking to another trump republican the other day and i asked him as i ask every republican i talk to you know i guess it opens the way for somebody a little more palatable to run. I was talking to another trump republican the other day and i asked him as i ask every republican i talk to you know how do the members of the house that you know live with themselves . And he said one of the ways they justify it is saying they would just be replaced by someone worse. Right . Almost 100 likely. Right, it is likely, but also i would say that its no excuse. So i think that i feel like jeff flake is to some extent getting a bad rap, people were saying oh, he was going to loses primary anyway, the reason he was going to loses primary is because he was standing up to trump fairly consistently. I find amusing about bannon, he loves to claim credit for everything. He swooped into the race seven hours before election day, and it was like oh, steve bannon propelled ray moore. I wonder if the effect is felt on capitol hill. Bannon was responsible for picking out your nifty tie tonight. Claiming credit for that, too. He is outtrumping trump. Bannon is trumping trump. He is like the next derivative. You know, used to traffic in derivatives when he was at goldman sachs. He is putting the bannon brand on all of this stuff. Its brilliant, outtrumping trump. Of course its not necessarily true. I think congressman massey after Luther Strange went down, he said the craziest sob is going to win in these primaries. There is no going back. You cant get away in any of these primaries without saying the most extreme thing. Anything less than that people wont accept. Its like once you have had the hard stuff youre not going for the wine coolers. That is exactly right. I was struck today thinking about watching flake. Today is the day that the rnc and the Senate Committee signed a joint fundraising agreement with ray moore. Now roy moore, i have run out of the ways to describe on business. And this is ted cruz, you know. Judge ray moore for alabama, a life long Constitutional Rights advocate. The Republican Party is rallying behind ray moore. I think jeff flake is correct when he says there is no place for somebody like him whose views were you know, four years ago jeff flake was considered a very conservative republican. He was just a hard right caucus in the house, their version of tea partiers, was who jeff flake was. Right, so i think that every Single Person who is now you know reaping the benefits of trumpism has to realize the revolution is going to come for you. But for now, jeff flake is the one that has fallen afoul of the far right insurgents. That is correct, it feels like a reign of terror here, like you said, that the ideology is so thriving on conflict on the right and sort of establishing for an outsider that there is this kind of permanent revolution dynamic that starts to set in. Remember, i guess there actually is not any french money right now. But look, i think the real danger here for the republicans is we have this thing called the general election. And arizona went by 3. 7 for donald trump in 2016, with seven or 8 going for gary johnson and jill stein. That was a tight election. The state is moving in a blue direction. The question here is can the democrats get the candidate that they want to capitalize on this division . Weve seen independents melt away from donald trump, really, really quickly. Were starting to see republican women again in a lot of these polls, he is upside down with them. You know the name of trumps game is always bringing the negatives up, of his opponent, whether its the press, hillary clinton, well see if theyre as successful doing the same or if well see new coalitions. Its a good question, next, the unbelievable moment in which hud secretary struggled to answer very basic questions about what theyre doing at hud, you want to see it. Very remarkable after this quick break. With all the recent focus on taxes, an extraordinary change with congressman al green of texas and hud secretary ben carson now is getting much attention. The congressman simply wanted to know what exactly will be cut from huds budget. How much from public housing, mr. Carson . Probably in the neighborhood of if you combine all the programs, 2 to 3 billion. 2 to 3 billion. How much from housing vouchers, mr. Carson . Rather than go through a quiz on all the numbers its not a quiz, mr. Carson, i have the time to ask you questions about things you should have some knowledge of. If you have no knowledge of them you can simply say so. Why would the secretary of hud not give the number, the amount that youre cutting from vouchers, mr. Carson . Youre the secretary of hud. Because we already talked about the total amount of the cuts. Well, the total amount does not help me when it comes to the housing vouchers. I have people who use housing vouchers and i need to be able to explain to them, mr. Carson, how much the cut portends for them. How much, mr. Carson . Lets hear your number. Mr. Carson, youre the witness testifying today and if you want a moment to ask somebody behind you, i would gladly accord you that moment. I dont want to look at the book how much are you cutting from Community Block grants, mr. Carson. I want to talk about mr. Carson, you dont get to talk about what you want to today, you get to talk about what i want you to talk about. You get to answer the questions the way i pose them. You can answer them the way you want to, but if you show a lack of knowledge, you can do that. How much from block grants, mr. Secretary . Again, im not willing to sit there so you dont know how Much Community and when it comes to republican block cut tax plans, mr. Schumer believes that mr. Carsons knowledge is about the same. Its plausible. Thats next. Ahhhhhhhh you know whats easy . Building your website with godaddy. Get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. Build a better website in under an hour. When you clock out, ill clock in. Sensing and automatically adjusting to your every move. There. I can also help with this. Does your bed do that . Im the new sleep number 360 smart bed. Lets meet at a sleep number store. As everyone knows, president hour to come to the Senate Republican lunchtime meal to talk tax reform. If youre a republican rooting for this to succeed, the problem is his effort is starting to look like the failed attempts at repealing obamacare. You have dissention in the republican congress, and a president who doesnt have a whole lot to rail against. What the president says and what the republican plan does are polar opposites. So for instance, the president said this is not a plan for the rich. Blatantly untrue. Then he said at the heart of our plan is a tax cut for everyday working americans. Untruth number two. When they talk about getting rid of state and local deductability. When they talk about limiting 14ks. When they talk about limiting the mortgage deduction, those are all aimed at making the middle class pay more so the rich can get a bigger tax break. This plan is a disaster for america. Its no wonder our republican colleagues want to rush it through in the dark of night. Republican congressman from florida joining me. Congressman, here is my question, it doesnt seem there is yet the consensus within your caucus in the house and senate to actually have a plan, is that correct . Well, we have a blueprint, chris, and that blueprint will make a tax code that is much more simpler for the American People and will bring back more than a trillion in cash housed overseas and lead to rising wages and more for the American People to prosper. Here is my question about that. The taxing of wages, the argument i get from the white house and others is we have to cut the corporate rate which is actually paid at the level of capital to get the level up. You guys could just cut taxes on wages if you wanted to cut taxes on wages. Well, were going to cut taxes on all americans, on individuals, but chris, one of the main things that throws a wet blanket over our economy is that we have one of the highest Corporate Tax rates in the world that drives jobs overseas and limits our ability. I get that, you just said you will cut taxes for all americans, here is what i cant solve. You have to raise taxes on someone somewhere unless youre going to raise the deficit. You can get reform, which means some taxes go up, some down or you can get a deficit finance tax cut which blows up the deficit, but you have to choose between those two and its not clear which two you are all pursuing. Well, we dont have to have more taxes or higher taxes, we need more taxpayers and will have more compliance with the system that is fair. By lowering rate we can increase it for the government because right now we have a lot of people who dont make any contribution and when nine out of ten americans can fill out their taxes on a post card we think well get more compliance system that is fair. By lowering rate we can increase it for the government because right now we have a lot of people who dont make any contribution and when nine out of ten americans can fill out their taxes on a post card we think well get more compliance and later well have more opportunities to lower the rates that is not an answer to the question. Well, sure it is, some rates will go up. There is some talk about getting rid of the deductions. A lot of special congressman, respectfully, loophole is in the eye of the beholder. Not at all, you should tell people there is a loophole. Pro sports leagues have a loophole. No, no, get rid of that. But but congressman, you and i both know i do believe well get rid of the loopholes that are enjoyed by professional sports leagues and by other means in the tax code because we have a 70,000 page tax code that doesnt benefit most americans. It benefits special interest. Right, like people saying pay the estate tax, whose taxes are going to be cut by what youre proposing while somebody that maybe lives in a city that has fairly high taxes will see their taxes go up as you get rid of the state and local reduction. You see the problem here. In high tax states and in high tax municipalities, yeah, things are worse. You know what, states that have really high taxes should cut them and that will even super charge in greater leverage. California is doing okay economically with fairly high taxes, explain why youre going to go out there, and im just telling you what democrats will say like chuck schumer, the plan is going to drop and theyre going to say out of the 487 out of 487 people that taxes, explain why youre going to go out there, and im just telling you what democrats will say like chuck schumer, the plan is going to drop and theyre going to say out of the 487 out of 487 people that die, one person will pay the estate tax, right about 4. 2 who has 5 million in assets, you will cut taxes for them and to make the deficit neutral for them, somebody will have their taxes go up, why would it be appropriate i would be perfectly okay raising taxes on sports leagues if it didnt mean we were doubly taxing people who they die, i think it is unfair to take money from people who already paid taxes and then tax them again at death. You cant tax a person who doesnt exist, and when they die, definitionally theyre not a person any more. Do you see the problem there . Well, the money somebody makes on a Family Business or family farm, often times they want to be able to pass on the next generation. That is kind of the elements of the American Dream to make sure the next generation is better off, than to do what the liberals think, to impair the next generation. You think the crucial dream, the people in the top. 2 to pass on the total amount of money they make to pass it on to their kids. You cast it so incorrectly. Family farms i know you guys well, that is a prime example. Look, the death tax has really killed family farms in this country. You want to know why weve gone away from family farms and more towards corporate farming that you and other liberals rail against, is because of the estate tax. Fundamentally, here is what i want to know on the record, when all is said and done, i know you guys have a blueprint that will come out. Will it be deficit neutral . Is that the idea . Whatever goes up on one side of the ledger comes down and vice versa, ala 86 . Well, that depends on how much spending we cut. The house of representatives passed a budget that cuts more spending than any budget that Newt Gingrich and welfare i want to make a prediction, so it does or doesnt come true so you can lord it over me. That wont happen. The deficit will go up. Im going to be fighting for it. You come back and well see who is right about this. Congressman, thank you for taking the time. Still to come, why did a twoperson company in white fish, montana get the contract to build puerto ricos power grid . The information on that, plus bill oreilly blames god in tonights episode. Next. Is your skin dry . Then moisturize with aveeno® skin relief. With oat oil and natural shea butter, it softens and smooths extra dry skin and lasts for 24 hours. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results®. From godaddy in fact, 68 of people who have built their. Website using gocentral, did it in under an hour, and you can too. Build a better website in under an hour. With gocentral from godaddy. After the New York Times reported over the weekend that former fox news Host Bill Oreilly personally agreed to pay 32 million to a colleague to settle new Sexual Harassment allegations, the Hollywood Reporter broke the news today that oreilly has been dropped by his talent agency, uca, saying they would no longer represent him. To oreilly this appears to be another example of being unfairly attacked by people who want to hurt him as evidenced by the most recent comments on his website. My enemies, who want to silence me have made my life extremely difficult. Hurt me in the marketplace. Whether that will be forever, i dont know. But they have damaged. And its me and my ace investigative team, really good. Good people, good investigators, against this incident. But then bill oreilly, a devout catholic says he feels personally victimized by a higher power. Am i mad at god . Yeah, im mad at him. I wish i had more protection. I wish this stuff didnt happen. I cant explain it to you. Yeah. Im mad at him. If i die tomorrow, and i get an opportunity ill say what did you guys work me over like that . Or maybe god is a woman and that conversation will go a different direction. Either way there is a great little video clip about personal responsibility that bill may am i mad at god . Yeah, im mad at him. I wish i had more protection. I wish this stuff didnt happen. I cant explain it to you. Yeah, im mad at him. That is the the New York Times reporter that said bill oreilly settled more harassment allegations by paying close to 30 million. Dont you think its time for a little personal responsibility . Were living in a time of denial. Our culture is included with excuses for bad behavior, not the individuals screwing up. All of us make mistakes, not a lot of us own up. Talk to teenagers today, you hear a lot of excuses for everything. And while those immature minds can be slightly excused, we talk to many who allow excuses for bad behavior. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan all of us make mistakes, not a lot of us own up. Talk to teenagers today, you hear a lot of excuses for everything. And while those immature minds can be slightly excused, we talk to many who allow excuses for bad behavior. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan have excuses for bad behavior, you know what will happen to her. Substance abuse, irresponsibility off the chart and what are we doing about it . What are we doing about it . Making excuses. And thats a memo. A bizarre scene at the capital today as President Trump and Mitch Mcconnell were walking into a lunch with the Senate Republicans. A Protester Holding russian flags accused him of treason trump is treason trump is treason trump is treason trump is treason trump is treason trump is treason why are you talking about tax cuts when you should be talking about treason . Why is Congress Talking about tax cuts when they should be talking about treason. The chance for the russian government to steal the election, we should be talking about treason. The president did not appear to notice the russian flags, providing a handy literal illustration of a figurative comment from lindsey graham. I think the Trump Administration is slow when it comes to russia. They have a blind spot on russia i still cant figure out. You might remember a big story from july when President Trump was forced seemingly against his will to sign a bill that had been passed overwhelmingly, vetoproof majorities in congress to place tough new sanctions on russia. The Trump Administration was supposed to implement the sanctions by october 1st, but they didnt do it. The daily beast reports lawmakers feel theyre being stonewalled and cant do march about it. Congress is essentially powerful in compelling the executive branch to follow through on the law. Though im sure they can think of some things. It certainly doesnt help when members of congress are instead chasing conspiracy theories. Today, devin nunes, the powerful chair of the house intelligence committee, amounts to a new proposal seemingly designed to expose the links between russia and president hillary clinton. You see, clinton is potentially implicated in the obama administrations 2010 decision to approve the sale of american Uranium Mines to a russianbacked company, at least according to President Trump. Who tweeted thursday, uranium deal to russia with obama and clinton. Help is the real story that the media doesnt want to follow. It has become an obsession of the conservative media as it seeks to distract from trump is russia. The white house couldnt be happier that nunes is once again carrying its water. I certainly think it is a move in the right direction and something that weve spoken about several times here that if there was any collusion whatsoever during the campaigns of any point, our or any collusion at any point with another country, that they should look at the clintons. So i think thats the right thing. House republicans announced a new probe into, i kid you not, the fbis handling of Hillary Clintons emails. Who knows, if republicans play their cards right, they might actually be able to impeach hillary clinton. I love you, couch. You give us comfort. And we give you bare feet, backsweat, and gordos. Everything. I love you, but sometimes you stink. Soft surfaces trap odors. Febreze fabric refresher cleans them away for good. Because the things you love the most can stink. And plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up to 45 days. Breathe happy with febreze. Hi, im the internet you knoarmless bowling. Lt . Ahhhhhhhh you know whats easy . Building your website with godaddy. Get your domain today and get a free trial of gocentral. Build a better website in under an hour. The lack of power in puerto rico remains the single biggest obstacle to recovering from hurricane maria. Three out of four people there remain without electricity more than a month after the hurricane devastated the island. Tonight there are questions about how a 300 Million Contract to restore energy to puerto rico was awarded to a tiny Energy Company with just two employees. Yes, whitefish energy, based nowhere near puerto rico, its from the town of, maybe you guessed it, whyte mish, montana. More than 3,000 miles anear the canadian border. Which also have happens to be the hometown of ryan zinke. The Washington Post are reporting one of zinkes sons worked there as a flagger. Whitefishs biggest federal contract was a 1. 3 million job replacing and upgrading parts of a 4. 8 mile stretch of a transmission line in arizona. The company said its hired 280 workers in puerto rico. Subcontractors and continues to increase that number. For context, the day after hurricane irma, nearly 20,000 workers were already working to restore power there. One of the Washington Post reporters who broke this story. Jack, there is a lot that is head scratching about this. Lets start with this, how did whitefish get the contract . Chris, this is an interesting and curious case that you reference in terms of texas and florida. Normally in these cases some of these Power Companies use what are called Mutual Aid Agreements where they Work Together to restore power. Why puerto rico went directly to whitefish is the source of our reporting and the source of many questions. In fact, when we asked power officials in puerto rico about this, they declined to answer specifics on it. In fact, the governing going as far as saying this is really just rumors of people who just didnt get the contracts and missed out on better work. Okay. I want to be clear here. When you talk about this mutually aid model. In places like texas or florida, what youre saying is other utilities band together and send a lot of people. So youve got sufficient boots on the ground to restore power. Thats how it works . Thats effective it, yes. The utility in puerto rico is a basket case, its in debt, notoriously had a hard time. They sign a contract for 300 million with really high prices with this tiny little outfit in whitefish, montana, with two employees and no one knows how that contract came about . So when we spoke to the company about this, they were spinning up dozens of people if not a week or a month. You mentioned, they have almost 300 people there. The prices are particularly could be high, too, at least on paper. For 300 an hour for a supervisor, a few hundred dollars an hour for a lineman, the company also says in fairness, these arent exactly a guy in a bucket truck on the street in manhattan or in washington. These are very dangerous high power lines, accessible sometimes by helicopter and really a lot of work ahead. But it is, indeed, a very large contract. The last one you mentioned about 1. 3 million to restore some power lines in arizona. This is the biggest contract this company has gotten in its twoyear existence. By a factor of 200 basically. Its a much, much bigger contract. Youve also got, i mean, youve got a situation where it just seems to me that the capacity of these folks who are now the primary people trying to get this back up, this grid, and whats needed is just a total mismatch. So this company, it was small. I mean, they had two employees as of the latest federal contract that they have to write information about their company in which they said at the time they had 1 million in revenues. They had pulled in subcontractors. They say thats part of their business model, is to bring in people for temporary work when they need it, such as a case like this. I think the bigger question, chris, though, is why the company was chosen. Well, yes. Given the fact normally these utilities band together and there are questions about how much money fema, the federal Emergency Management agency, will reimburse in this process. Did zinke his its hometown. His son worked for them for a summer. Do we know any possible other connection there . We had asked the ceo of whitefish whether they knew each other. They said, yes, they knew each other. Was secretary zinke involved in this, we asked. Meanwhile, they have received help,000 the interior department. A local Nbc Department in montana, in fact, had asked the ceo a few weeks ago if, indeed, you know, they had reached out for help and they said, yes, they had contacted the office to get supplies to the island. All right. I feel like were going to learn more about this. There are a lot of unanswered questions. Great reporting. That is all in for this evening. Tonight Arizona Republican senator jeff flake anouns he wont run again and in doing so condemns the president and his party vowing silence can equal complicity. He says its time to stand up. And a Second Attack on the president by tennessees bob corker who again invoked a day care. The 11th hour on a busy tuesday night begins now. Lot to talk about. Our friends are all here. Good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters in new york