Check on the president. I didnt want to. Plus, all the president s mess. Thats obviously what the proposition is. What we learned today about paul manafort, Michael Flynn, and Michael Cohen. And what happened when googles ceo went to washington. Right now, if you google the word idiot under images, a picture of donald trump comes up. All in starts now. How would that happen . Good evening from new york. Im ali velshi in for chris hayes. Tonight, the sights and sounds from a wild day in washington as a newly empowered democratic opposition confronts a flailing president of the United States. The future looks increasingly ominous for donald trump, who is now, reportedly, privately fretting about impeachment, after prosecutors say he directed his former fixer to commit a pair of felonies, and with the investigations ongoing, axios reports that white house officials and key allies are increasingly aware of President Trumps rising legal and political vulnerability. No kidding . The stench of criminality might explain why trump cannot seem to find someone to take what is supposed to be coveted jobs in washington, the white house chief of staff, and as the walls start to close in on the president , the democrats find themselves ascendant, now on the cusp of their first real power in two years, after delivering a humiliating and historic defeat to trump and his party in the midterm elections. Now, its against that backdrop that the likely incoming house speaker, nancy pelosi, and the democratic leader in the senate, Chuck Schumer, went to the oval office today, to negotiate with trump, over a bill to fund the government and avert a shutdown on december 21st. Trump is insisting on 5 billion in funding for his mythical border wall, which democrats say is a nonstarter. Besides, isnt mexico going to pay for that wall . Anyway, ahead of that meeting today, trump got up early to tweet a series of lies. Including that democrats do not want Border Security, they want open borders. The lies only continued once the president started talking. Tremendous amounts of wall have already been built. And a lot of, a lot of wall, when you include the renovation of existing fences and walls. So weve done a lot of work on the wall, a lot of wall is built. A lot of people dont know that. Hes right. A lot of people dont know that. Because he made it up. Not an inch of what trump calls his wall has been built. Not one inch. The closest weve seen to a new wall has been the start of construction on what are called bollard barriers, which are not yet complete. The george w. Bush administration erected bollard barriers, too. So did the obama administration. They called them fencing. In reality, construction on a new section of border barrier has not yet begun and wont this year. Trump also read statistics off note cards to support his wall claims, which were devoid of context and effectively meaningless. After he finished his opening statement, he turned the floor over to nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who immediately pushed back on the president and called out his lies, as mike pence sat there with the mute button on. I could tell you what happened. I actually really want to. But im not going to. Because youve got to see it for yourself. Nancy, would you like to Say Something . Well, thank you, mr. President , for the opportunity to meet with you, so that we can Work Together in a bipartisan way, to meet the needs of the American People. I think the American People recognize that we must keep government open. That a shutdown is not worth anything. And that we should not have a trump shutdown. Youll have a what . Did you say trump you have a white house. You have the senate, you have the house of representatives. You have the votes, you should pass no, we dont have the votes, nancy, because in the senate, we need 60 votes. But in the house, you could bring it up right now. Yeah, but i cant excuse me. But i cant get it passed in the house if its not going to pass in the senate. I dont want to waste time. Well, the fact is, you can get it started that way. The house, we can get passed very easily and we do. Okay, then but the problem is the senate. We need ten democrats to vote. Thats not the point, mr. President. The point is is that there are equities to be weighed. And were here to have a conversation, so i dont think we should have a debate in front of the press on this. But the fact is, the senate the House Republicans could bring up this bill, if they had the votes immediately and set the tone for what you want. If we thought we were going to get it passed in the senate, nancy, we would do it immediately. We can get it passed very easily in the house. Thats nancy, i would have it passed in two seconds. It doesnt matter, though, because we cant get it passed in the senate, because we need ten democrat votes. Well, again, let us have our conversation and we can meet with the press again. But the fact is, is that legislating, which is what we do right. You begin to make your point, you state your case, thats what the House Republicans could do if they had the votes. But there are no votes in the house, the majority of votes for a wall. No matter where you stand. Thats exactly right, you dont have the votes. If i needed the votes for the wall in the house, i would have them in one session and it would be done. Then go do it. It doesnt help, because we neat ten democrats in the senate. Dont put it on the senate, put it on the negotiations okay, let me ask you. And were doing this in a very friendly manner. It doesnt help for me to take a vote in the house where i will win easily with the republicans you will not win. It doesnt help to take that vote, because im not going to get the vote in the senate. I need ten senators. Thats the problem. You have the white house, you have the senate i have the white house. The white house is done and the house would give me the vote if i wanted it. But i cant because i need nancy, i need ten votes from chuck. Let me Say Something. Let me just say one thing. The fact is, you do not have the votes in the house. Nancy, i do. And we need Border Security. Do the vote and well find out. We need Border Security. Of course we do. People are pouring into our country, including terrorists. We have terrorists. We caught ten terrorists over the last very short period of time. Ten okay, i just need to jump in here for a second. You heard trump say we caught ten terrorists over the last very short period of time. Ten. To be clear, quote, there is no evidence that border authorities foiled ten terrorists recently. The fbi did not respond to comment or did not offer information about which ten terrorists were caught to back up trumps claim. Okay, now that ive sorted that out, lets go back to the oval office and the scene there, which somehow got even crazier. But we caught ten terrorists. These are people that were looking to do harm. We need the wall. We need more than anything, we need Border Security, of which the wall is just a piece. But its important. Chuck, did you want to Say Something . Heres what i want to say. We have a lot of disagreements here. The Washington Post today gave you a whole lot of pinocchios, because they say you constantly misstate how much the wall is how much of the wall is built and how much is there, but thats not the point here. We have a disagreement about the wall. The Washington Post whether its effective or not on Border Security, but on the wall. We do not want to shut down the government. You have called 20 times to shut down the government. You say, i want to shut down the government. We dont. We want to come to an agreement. If we cant come to an agreement, we have solutions that will pass the house and senate, right now, and will not shut down the government, and thats what were urging you to do. Not threaten to shut down the government, because you let me just finish because you cant get your way. The last time you shut it down let me Say Something, mr. President. You just say, my way or wiehl shut down the government. We have a proposal that democrats and republicans will support, to do a cr, that will not shut down the government. We urge you to take it. And if its not good Border Security its very good Border Security. Its very good Border Security. When you look at these numbers of the effectiveness of our Border Security and when you look at the job that were doing you just said it is effective. Can i tell you something . Yeah, you just said its effective. Without a wall, these are only areas where you have the wall. We want to do where you have walls, chuck, its effective. Where you dont have walls, it is not effective. Lets call a halt to this. Weve come in here as the first branch of government. Article i, the legislative branch. Were coming in in good faith to negotiate with you about how we can keep the government open. Were going to keep it open if we have Border Security. If we dont have Border Security, chuck, were not going to keep it open. Im with you. And its the same border youre bragging about what has been done. We want to do the same thing we did last year this year. Thats our proposal. If its good then, its good now. And it wont shut down the government. Chuck, we can build a much better section lets debate in private, okay . Lets debate in private. That is devoid, frankly, of fact, and we can we need Border Security. I think we all agree that we need Border Security. Yes, we do. See . We get along thank you, everybody. Mr. President , you say Border Security at the wall. Can you have Border Security without the wall . You need the wall. The wall is a part of Border Security. Can you define what means to have Border Security. We need Border Security. The wall is a part of Border Security. You cant have very good Border Security without the wall. That is just not true. That is a political promise. Border security is a way to effectively honor our responsibility and the experts say you can do Border Security without a wall, which is wasteful and doesnt solve the problem. It totally solves the problem. And its very this has spiraled downward, where we have come at a place to say, how do we meet the needs of American People who have needs. The economy has people are losing their jobs, the markets in a mood, our members are already well, we have the lowest unemployment that weve had in 50 years. 50 people of the Republican Party have lost are losing their offices now, because of the transition. People are not and weve gained in the senate. Nancy, weve gained in the senate. Excuse me, did we win the senate . We won the senate. When the president brags that he won north dakota and indiana, hes in real trouble. I did. We did win. Let me say this. This is the most unfortunate thing. We came in here in good faith and were entering into this kind of discussion in the public view. But its not bad, nancy. No. Its called transparency. No, its not transparency when were not stimulapulated t set of facts and when we want to have a debate with you about confronting you know what, we need Border Security. Thats what were going to be talking about. Border security. If we dont have Border Security, well shut down the government. This country needs Border Security. The wall is a part of Border Security. Lets have a talk. Were going to get the wall built and weve done a lot of wall already. Its a big part of it. Everything that you need . Its a big part of it. We need to have effective Border Security. We need a wall in certain parts. No, not in all parts, but in certain parts of a 2,000mile border, we need a wall. How much money . Uh, we are doing it much under budget. Were actually way under budget on the areas that weve renovated and areas that weve built. I would say if we got if we got 5 billion, we could do a tremendous chunk of wall. Well, were going to see, were going to see. We have to have the wall. This is a national emergency. Drugs are pouring into our country. People with tremendous medical difficulty and medical problems are pouring in and in many cases, its contagious. Theyre pouring into our country. We have to have Border Security. We have to have a wall as part of Border Security. And i dont think we really disagree so much. I also know that, you know, nancy is in a situation where its not easy for her to talk right now. And i understand that. And i fully understand that. Were going to have a good discussion and were going to see what happens. Mr. President but we have to have Border Security. Mr. President , please dont characterize the strength that i bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory. Elections have consequences, mr. President. Let me just say thats right. And thats why the countrys doing so well. That the president is representing over there is not factual. We have to have an evidencebased conversation about what does work, what money has been spent, and how effective it is. This is this is about the security of our country to take an oath to protect and defend. And we dont want to have that mischaracterized by anyone. I agree with her. Let us have a conversation where we dont have to contradict in public the statistics that you put forth, but instead can have a conversation about what will really work. And what the American People deserve from us, at this uncertain time in their lives. One thing i think we can agree on is we shouldnt shut down the government over a dispute. And you want to shut it down. You keep talking about it. No, no, no, the last time, chuck, you shut it down and then you 20 times. I dont want to do what you did. Chuck. 20 times you have called for, i will shut down the government if i dont get my wall. You want to know something . Okay, you want to put that you said it ill take it. Okay, good. You know what ill say . Yes. If we dont get what we want, one way or the other, whether its through you, through our military, through anything you want to call, i will shut down the government. Absolutely. Fair enough. We disagree. We disagree. And i am proud to shut down the government for Border Security, chuck. Because the people of this country dont want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. So, i will take the mantle, i will shut it down. Im not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down, it didnt work. And im going to shut it down for Border Security. But we believe you shouldnt shut it down. Thank you very much, everybody press, lets go make your way out. Now, i have a whole rest of a show planned, but if you want me to just play that again, tweet me and well discuss that. And if you do watch it again, pay close attention to Vice President pence. He sat there through the whole thing like a rock. No responses. Joining me to digest what we have just watched, david jolly of florida, who has left the gop. And democratic strategist, karen finney, who was a Senior Adviser to Hillary Clintons president ial campaign. Welcome to both of you. Thank you, ali. You never know what youre going to get these days. At one moment in that discussion, ive watched it a few times now, nancy pelosi interrupts President Trump and says, dont characterize the strength that i bring to this meeting. David jolly, there are a lot of people in this country who dont like nancy pelosi for lots of reasons. But she can do math and she can count votes. Something that paul ryan had difficulty with, john boehner has difficulty with, that is one thing nancy pelosi does very well. She does bring strength to that meeting. She does. And look, what nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer showed today in the oval office is that they are smarter, they are more capable, they are more able politicians than donald trump. And as somebody who had questioned in the past whether or not nancy pelosi should again be the speaker of the house, she owned it today. Welcome to the speakership, madam pelosi. She is going to be the next speaker of the house, without question. But also what we saw today, i think the country saw on display in the oval office is a first branch. The article i branch that nancy pelosi referred to waking up. We have not seen that in two years. And what we saw today, honestly, for everybody who fought heart and soul to try to get a change in congress to bring accountability and actually just ask for divided government, for more responsibility, we saw that on display today. So to nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer, look, they stood up to this president. But for every voter who worked very hard going into november 6th, congratulations. This was the day where you get to see the results of your hard work. Karen, nancy pelosi is not going to be a thorn in Donald Trumps side or a splinter under his fingernail. Shes going to be his worst nightmare, if this is day one, if this is the first meeting. Well, thats because the truth is a nightmare for trump. I mean, the two things that i think were so important about what we saw today is number one, its true, i agree with the former congressman that they were, they sort of outmaneuvered, if you will, President Trump. But thats because they went in there with the agenda of the American People. They went in there very focused and they had been paying attention to what the election was all about. What was the majority of what americans told us, just a short time ago . It was about health care, it was about jobs, its about this economy. And so they went in there very focused to have that conversation and it was clear that trump was focused on this political stunt. He was being and nancy also was pelosi, as well as schumer, have also made it clear, theyre not going to sit there and just let him lie. And republicans have done that. They have, you know, you saw i mean, one way is to do what pence did, and just sit there and say nothing. Weve seen other republican members of Congress Just stand there when he lies. And pelosi and schumer made it very clear that with them at the helm, theyre not were not going to get away with lying and youre not going to get away with not listening to the American People. I mean, lets remember that 1. 7, i believe, its billion dollars has already been allocated to the wall. And one of the things that President Trump lied about right there is one of the projects has already gone from a cost overrun of an estimated 445 million to over 780 million. So, in addition to some of the things that you pointed out, ali, that are untrue about the wall, its already facing cost overruns, and they havent even spent 6 of the money thats already been allocated, and host saying hes going to shut down the government over that. So, david jolly, the Washington Post introduced bottomless pinocchio as a description for donald trump when he keeps making the same lies over and over again. And i can correct them and other people can fact check and lots of people do. What does the president get out of that . Because the things hes saying about the border wall and Border Security are provably untrue. Yet he says them. So are there some outlets that just report that . Are there members of the people in the base who just, day dont care, theyre going to listen to what he said, despite the fact that its not true . Look, there are those who will believe him regardless of what he says, but there are also those who will respond and theyre among your lowintensity voters, if you will. They care more about their family and their church and their workplace than they do politics. When donald trump says badly wall, secure the border, that actually works. And we cant overlook that. There was a nuance today in the meeting between schumer and pelosi and trump that i think democrats would be wise to follow. And its this. When trump said, hey, weve had a successful last year, lets just continue that, and schumer said, okay, well give you that. And in budget parlance, its called a continuing resolution for one year. That means, well keep funding what you did for the last year, but were not going to give you the 5 billion. Thats a very safe place for democrats. Ali, ive been through 20 years of shutdowns. There are no winners in shutdowns, there are only losers. Democrats have lost in the past, republicans have lost in the past. The safe space for schumer and democrats is to say, lets keep doing what weve done the last year, donald trump. Well, actually, in this point, though, schumer and pelosi did give two offers to the president , both of which would have included continuing resolutions and he refused. Instead, he acted like a child and said, no, im going to shut it down. And so he the other thing politically that they did accomplish, whether they meant to or not. At one point, it seemed like pelosi and schumer were the ones trying to shut it down and save this man from himself and save the country from having to see this embarrassing scene. But they did make that offer, and he again said, you know, shut it down, shut it down. He made it very clear. They made it very clear that they were lets be honest about the numbers, when were talking about whats already been allocated for Border Security. And i think thats something that democrats agree we need to talk about and money has been allocated for Border Security. But if youre going to say youre going to shut down the government because you want more money, when youve only spent 6 of what youve already been given, and youre going to sit there and lie, youve now got people who are going to stand up to you and tell the truth to the American People. And youre not going to be able hes just not going to be able to get away, you know, lying just because he has it written down on a little flash kard doesnt make it true and people know that. I count eed five times, ther may have been more, where Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi offered to have this conversation in proo private or no do it in front of the cameras. The president demured. Thanks to both of you for helping me through this. So the question is, whats the opening gambit when the newly empowered democrats take power in 23 days . Incoming House Democratic caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries of new york joins me now. Congressman, good to see you. Welcome and congratulations on what is going to be your new job. Thanks so much and great to be with you. Whats what do the democrats have planned for when they take control of the house and the legislative power that comes with it . And the context of this is something that karen just said, that democrats won on the base of conversations about health care, about jobs, about the economy. But the first thing we see is a fight about a shutdown and the border. Well, the fight about the shutdown and the border falls squarely within the republican complete control of government right now. They control the house, the senate, and the presidency. Democrats dont want to shut down, they want to fund the government so we can get about doing the business of the American People. And what weve said in our conversations over the last couple of months, in conversation with the country, all across the nation, is that we have a for the people agenda. Were going to fight to Lower Health Care costs, strengthen the Affordable Care act, to protect people with preexisting conditions, to lower the high cost of prescription drugs, to increase pay for everyday americans, through a Real Infrastructure plan, where were going to invest 1 trillion, create 16 million goodpaying jobs, fix our nations crumbling bridges, roads, tunnels, airports, Mass Transportation system. And were going to work to clean up corruption in washington, d. C. , to bring our democracy life. Thats our for the people agenda. Those are the promises that weve made to the American People. We plan on delivering upon those promises when we assume the gavels on january 3rd. So let me ask you this. On friday night, we got all of that information about Michael Cohen and paul manafort. Tonight, perhaps, were going to get some information on Michael Flynn. At some point, the mantle of impeachment hangs over this president. In fact, cnn yesterday was saying that trump is concerned about being impeached and a source says he sees it as a real possibility. How do you confront that, representative . Well, the house of representatives is a separate and coequal branch of government. We have an article i constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch and we take those responsibilities seriously. At the same time, theres an ongoing criminal investigation thats taken place and we have to allow that to play itself out, to allow bob mueller to continue to conduct himself in a way that has been professional, that has been highly focused, that has been disciplined, can that is allowing the facts and the evidence to lead to whatever conclusions he eventually reaches. We have to simply let bob mueller be bob mueller. When he completes his investigation, then we can allow him to report that to the department of justice, to congress, to the American People. And we can decide what, if any appropriate actions need to be taken thereafter. You heard david jolly say, nobody wins in a shutdown. Donald trump continues to insist he wants 5 billion for this wall that is being built. Thats nowhere near where Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi want to go. Is there any circumstances you can see in which democrats give more money for this border wall . I dont envision any circumstance where we allocate 5 billion or anything even close to that, because it will be a waste of taxpayer dollars. And what we saw earlier today was a complete embarrassment. Donald trump is a performance artist. Nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer are serious legislators. He showed up clearly wanting to perform, to put on a reality show for the American People and nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer were there to get something done. And we continue to be here to get something done, to fund the government. Thats our responsibility. And republicans right now have complete control of government. They need to be the individuals to get it done. But we want to do it in a responsible fashion. And if they need our votes, in order to fund the government, then we have to have a meeting of the minds in terms of our values. And i think it was donald trump who promised that mexico was going to pay for this wall. So go negotiate with mexico. Dont waste billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to build something that will not make our border more secure. It will be wasteful. And we could be spending that money to improve the quality of life of working families, middle class folks, senior citizens, the poor, the sick, and the afflicted in our nation. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, good to see you. Thank you for joining me tonight. We have breaking news, as the president defends the felonious hush money payments that his former lawyer made at his direction, the latest on Michael Cohen and trump, next. [woman 1] this. [woman 2]. This. [man 1]. This is my body of proof. [man 2] proof of less joint pain. [woman 3]. And clearer skin. [man 3] proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis. [woman 4]. With humira. [woman 5] humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. [avo] humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. 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. [woman 6] ask your rheumatologist about humira. [woman 7] go to mypsaproof. Com to see proof in action. [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. Our because of smoking. Ital. But we still had to have a cigarette. Had to. But then, we were like. What are we doing . The nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Nicodermcq. You know why, we know how. This is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. Breaking news tonight. In an oval office interview, reuters asked President Trump about prosecutors assertions that many people in his inner circle had met or had business dealings with russians. Heres how hep respo responded. Quote, the stuff youre talking about is peanut stuff. He also tried to shift blame for the payments Michael Cohen made to two women at his direction on the campaign trail. Payments that federal prosecutors say were illegal, but the president told reuters, quote, number one, it wasnt a campaign contribution. If it were, its only civil, and even if its only civil, there was no violation based on what we did. Okay . But they made the payments and trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, will find out his sentence for making them. Hes being sentenced for a felony. This thing that the president says isnt a thing. Hes being sentenced for a felony, among other crimes, by the way, while the special counsel says that cohen has been helpful in their investigation, new york prosecutors, thats the attorney the u. S. Attorneys office for the Southern District of new york says that he should serve a substantial prison term for failing to fully cooperate with authorities. All right. Theres a lot here. Here to break it all down is ken dilanian, nbc news intelligence and National Security reporter. Ken, this is kind of weird that we have to keep on discussing this. And i apologize for having you do this all the time, because we did this on friday. We do it all the time. Trump says the payments were not illegal and even if they were made, they werent a campaign contribution. The United States government sees this differently. They do. And whats curious about President Trumps reaction today to this and his comments is that when he was first confronted and asked about these payments on air force one said he didnt know about them. Exactly. So thats what some prosecutors would call consciousness of guilt. When you lie about something or cover something up, its usually evidence that you knew it was wrong. I mean, if he had just said from the beginning, yeah, of course we made these payments and they had nothing to do with the election, i have nothing to hide, that would be one thing. Because that is a defense under the law, ali. And the only precedent for this, the only time the government ever brought a case like this was against former senator john edwards, who during his president ial campaign or before his president ial campaign, wealthy benefactors of his paid off a mistress. And the government charged him withfulne felonies, saying he h broken Campaign Finance laws on the same grounds, and he was acquitted. But the fact pattern there was much less compelling. The payments were made well before the election and the people who made the payments said, this had nothing to do with the election. In this case, Michael Cohen, the man who made the payment is saying, yes, this was actually designed to cover these alleged affairs up so that they wouldnt come out right before donald trump was to stand before the voters. And i know the rest of this, you can do in your sleep. And in fact, you may be sleeping as i ask you this, because youve done it so many times. Michael cohen is going to be sentenced tomorrow. Michael cohen there were two sentencing memos. One was from the special counsels office, Robert Muellers. It was seven pages long. Then there was another one that was 38 pages long from the u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york, which a lot of people may not make the distinction, but theyre two separate organizations. And the u. S. Attorney says, he wasnt all that cooperative and should serve a lot of jail time. Were talking years. Well, so the Probation Department has recommended a sentence of 3 1 2 years. And the Southern District is giving him a little credit for cooperating, so they may shave a little time off of that. And the special counsels office, as far as theyre concerned, theyre not asking for any additional jail time. This is a tail of two filings, two separate parts of the justice department. The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is appears to be rather pleased with the level of cooperation he got from Michael Cohen. Cohen revealed a lot about contacts with russians. We still dont know exactly what, but remember the dossier, that Christopher Steel dossier, says that chone was integrally involved in interacting with russians in that election interference effort and trying to cover it up. Thats not confirmed, but if hes talking to mueller about that, thats really interesting. The Southern District on the other hand, says that he would not come clean with them about past criminal history. And they require punitive defendants, cooperators, to confess to everything. Now, why wouldnt he do that . Why would he face 3 1 2 years in jail . Perhaps there are things in his past that could have earned him more than 3 1 2 years. That would be a logical and compelling reason that he wouldnt want to cooperate with investigators and come clean. But for whatever reason, they didnt, and theyre going to ask for significant jail time. A little bit of how the sausage is made here. You dont just sit in front of that camera so we can come to you anytime we have a question. There was a reason we wanted you on the show tonight, and that is because we were fairly certain we would have a sentencing memo about Michael Flynn. Right. And we dont. We do not have it yet. In the age of electronic filing, they have until midnight to file this document and it will go into pacer, the Electronic Court filing system and well see it, it will come across my email when its available. We done hat have it yet. And when we see it, we may not learn a lot from this, because flynns lawyers and the government essentially agree that flynn was cooperated sufficiently to earn a sentence of no jail time, no prison time. The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is happy with flynns cooperation. And most of the document that mueller filed, explaining to the judge why he was happy, unfortunately for us, was blacked out. So we dont know the details. So heres the interesting the government doesnt want a lot of jail time for him. Flynns lawyers get to respond with their sort of response, their take on it. Clearly, theyre going to ask for probably no jail time. And the upshot is that Michael Flynn probably wont do much jail time at all. Thats right. And it seems like a pretty sweet deal, given the scope of potential criminal liability he was facing, based on the reporting that we and other organizations have done, you know, related to a plot to extradite a turkish cleric or to kidnap, actually, related to his undisclosed lobbying for turkey and lying to the fbi. So, to do no prison time after all of that is a pretty good deal and we can assume that he, he talked and gave Robert Mueller quite a bit of interesting information. All right. And im just checking through my emails. There has been no movement on the Michael Flynn stuff. But if there is, dont go too far. Well find you, ken dilanian. Ken dilanian or National Security intelligence reporter. Still ahead, how nancy pelosi proved she has the chops to lead the democrats by taking on the president today. Thats coming up. But first, tonights thing one and thing two 3. Our dad was in the hospital. Because of smoking. But we still had to have a cigarette. Had to. But then, we were like. What are we doing . The nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Nicodermcq. You know why, we know how. honking when your craving strikes, you need your wing nut. no one can totally satisfy a craving, quite like your wing nut. Thing 1 tonight. You may have heard there was a hearing today in the capital with the ceo of google called by House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who have been looking into allegations of liberal bias online. Now, it started out as most hearings do. Googles Ceo Sundar Pichai entered a packed room, ready to face the assembled congressmen and women. But as soon as pichai took his seat, the monopoly man settled in right behind him. Over his left shoulder, look at that. Its actually an activist named ian madrigal who also appeared in a 2017 hearing on the equifax data breach. And at Mark ZuckerbergsSenate Hearing in april, that time dressed as a russian troll. The monopoly man put on quite a show over the course of the hearing, adding a monocle to the costume at one point, holding up a bag stuffed with fake money, and at one point he upgraded the mustache to a supersized mustache, and then the old four mustaches at the same time gag. But the monopoly man was actually not the most cartoonish character in todays hearing. That honor goes to most of the Congress People asking the questions. Thats thing 2 in 60 seconds. Im snow. And just like you, the further into winter we go, the heavier i get. And while your pants struggle to support the heavier you, your roof struggles to support the heavier me. Crash and your cutrate insurance might not pay for this. So get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. Mayhem is everywhere. So get an allstate agent. Are you in good hands . Our because of smoking. Ital. But we still had to have a cigarette. Had to. But then, we were like. What are we doing . The nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Nicodermcq. You know why, we know how. If it wasnt already obvious from the fact that they called a hearing in the first place that the congresspeople on the house Judiciary Committee really dont know how the internet works, let alone how Search Engines work, it was made quite clear today by the questioning of the ceo of google. I googled American Health care act and virtually every article was an attack on our bill. Article after article alleging that our bill would result in millions and millions of people losing the great care that they were supposedly getting under obamacare. I have a 7yearold granddaughter who picked up her phone before the election and shes playing a little game, kind of game a kid would play. And up on there pops a picture of her grandfather. How does that show up on a 7yearolds iphone whos playing a kids game . Congressman, iphone is made by a different company. Right now, if you google the word idiot under images, a picture of donald trump comes up. I just did that. How would that happen . My chief of staff went on, she tells me, every night for two weeks and put proper, honest information in with proper annotations and wikipedias liberal editors around the world would knock it out every day, and instead put up a bunch of garbage. Let me just conclude here by stating the obvious. If you want positive search results, do positive things. If you dont want negative search results, dont do negative things. Dad was in the. Because of smoking. But we still had to have a cigarette. Had to. But then, we were like. What are we doing . The nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Nicodermcq. You know why, we know how. 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 . honking when your craving strikes, you need your wing nut. no one can totally satisfy a craving, quite like your wing nut. A new way to save on travel. Now when you book a flight you unlock discounts on select hotels that you can add on to your trip up until the day you leave. Add on advantage. Only when you book with expedia. You might or joints. Hing for your heart. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in Clinical Trials to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Now while the president was busy picking a fight with congressional leaders in the oval office today, a familiar figure was right there, behind the throng of reporters, white house chief of staff john kelly. And that tense smile on his face might have something to do with the fact that after trump announced that kelly would be leaving his post by the end of the year, the white house is apparently having a tough time finding a replacement. Whence mike pences chief of staff turned down the job, there was reportedly no plan b. And according to the Washington Post, theree members of trump cabinet each signaled on monday they were not interested in the position. Though youd never know it from the president , who tweeted today that many, over ten, are vying for and wanting the white house chief of staff position. A position that he reiterated on camera this morning. A lot of my friends of mine want it. A lot of people that chuck and nancy know very well want it. I think mood youyoud like. We have a lot of people who want the job chief of staff. Well be seeing what happens very soon. Were in no rush. Why no rush, mr. President . Because we have a wonderful chief of staff right now. We are in no rush. No rush, even though his current chief of staff is meant to leave his post at the end of the year, a date the president himself announced without anybody asking him. But as it becomes increasingly apparent that no one actually is lining up to replace john kelly, the white house is starting to get pretty vague on when exactly kellys leaving. He will stay on the job through january 2nd, at least, and i think there will be a very peaceful and pragmatic transition to the next chief of staff. Could he stay past the 2nd of january . Would that be something the president would want . Thats up to the president and thats up to the chief of staff, general john kelly, certainly. 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So i dont think we should have a debate in front of the press on this. We came in here in good faith, and we are entering into this kind of a discussion in the public view. But its not bad, nancy. Its called transparency. I know. But its not transparency when were not stipulating to a set of facts. Nancy pelosi really tried her best to stop donald trump from talking in front of cameras this morning, and afterwards she explained why. I hear some of the reporters saying well, fox reporters saying why did we not want transparency in this discussion. We dont want to contradict the president when he was putting forth figures that had no reality to them, no basis in fact. We had to if were going to proceed in all of this have evidencebased, factual, truthful information about what works and what doesnt. I didnt want to in front of those people say you dont know what youre talking about. A little more than three weeks, House Democrats will vote for their next speaker. And today nancy pelosi acquitted herself in a way that should put to rest any argument that she up to the task. On camera she made it clear the president cant just have his wall since the house controls the budget. Behind closed doors, she repeat idly made it clear what the wall really represents for trump. Quote, its like a manhood thing for him, as if manhood could ever be associated with him, this wall thing. Talk more about Nancy Pelosis leadership im joined by senator Barbara Boxer from democrat from california and christina greer. Thank you both for being here. You know nancy pelosi well. Yes. There are still people who doubt her moxie. Most people should have been over that in about 2003. Yeah. Ive known nancy since the 880, can you imagine. We served together in the house. I was there for ten years before i went to the senate. She is such a pro. It occurs to me because ive been behind these closed door meetings for so long that she knew that if we were serious, if she and the president and Chuck Schumer was serious, they could get to the bottom of these problems. But he wanted to set a trap. And he was nasty to her. He was nasty to chuck. And at the end of the day, he walked into the trap himself and people saw he was not prepared. He was nasty and just, again, a failure. A complete failure. Christina, this is interesting, what senator boxer says. In fact, nancy pelosi is one of those few people in washington whom if you get in a room and you try and come to a deal, you can make a deal with because she knows what she can bring in terms of votes. While we havent seen her in this role in the last few years, this should surprise no one. You could get a deal with nancy pelosi. Oh, definitely. Everyone always says nancy pelosi knows how to count. I of course keep telling my students this is nancy del sandro from baltimore. Her brother and her father were both mayors of baltimore. She is the only girl with five brothers. She knows what she is doing. She has been in the job for a very long time. She respects the office. I think the best thing she said to the president today was, you know, chuck and i are the first branch of government. You can see he didnt really understand what she was saying because its so obvious that this president has yet to read the constitution. In article i of the constitution, the framers lay out the legislative branch. Its not until article 2 of the constitution where they talk about the executive. So shes essentially saying we are representing the American People. That who sent us forth, and you dont have the votes. You had two years of unified government. That means President Trump, you controlled the house, the senate and the presidency, and you didnt get this done. Now you dont have unified government, and im letting you know for a fact that you dont have the votes. So the president unfortunately time and time again just walked into theyre not even traps they were setting for them. These were just facts he walked into. We didnt talk about mexico paying for the wall. He said the wall is being built. Thats not the case. He said people are bringing over diseases. Thats remarkable. Thats good and oldfashioned, but its remarkable. Well, if it works, it works. Clearly his base really does believe it. She is walking him through all the untruths, but she is also walking the American Public through the facts. And so she is trying to be respectful of the office because she actually understands her role and his role. The problem is the president doesnt understand his role. Senator boxer, lets talk a little bit about nancy pelosi. Her popularity is something that is remarkable, but there always are challenges. Nobody fielded a challenge this time, but there are people who suggested she shouldnt be the speaker. Her unfavorable ratings tend to be quite high which is understandable given the role she has played in politics for a long time there are a lot of republicans who campaigned on the basis they think nancy pelosi should be the speaker because its good for republicans. After what happened today, people cant really be thinking that. No way. She, again, knows what she is doing. Its not only that she can count votes, she knows the facts, and she sat there and she kept trying to get the president in a very calm way to dismiss the press and get to work. Instead, he kept throwing up things which were not true. Oh, were building so much of the wall. And nancy just said we need to discuss the facts. So shes a great strategist. And by the way, she pointed out that in this lame duck session, he still controls all the votes. She kept saying prove it to us. You keep saying you can get it through the house. By the way, he cant. She knows that. Christina, to what doreen is this dangerous, though . This isnt why you end up as the speaker of the house. This isnt why you end up as one of the greatest vote counters and politicians of all time, to have it out in the oval office with donald trump. She needs to, in order to continue what she started this time around have a victory in two years. Can she fall into this trap of arguing with donald trump . Well, i dont think shell fall into that trap because nancy pelosi has been in washington, d. C. For far too long. She has probably never seen anything like this entity we have in the petty. However, nancy pelosi respects the job. Youve seen already how shes sort of welcomed in these new legislators where she is understanding she is going to pass the baton in various ways. Obviously the new diverse Democratic Party thats coming in. She understands that in two years, the Democratic Party not only needs to control and contain the president , but they really need to set forth an agenda. Rahm emanuel and barack obama got a lot of credit for obamacare, but we know the underbelly of how that got done is nancy del sandro pelosi. Thank you to the both of you for helping us analyze this tonight. Barbara boxer, christina greer, thank you both. That is all in for this evening. Im ali velshi. Thank you for hanging out with me the last few nights. Chris is going to be back here tomorrow night. The Rachel Maddow show starts right now. Its been great to are you at 8 00, ali. Thanks. Congratulations. And thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. What a weird day today was in the news. Look at mike pence here. The Vice President today sitting there perfectly still. For a lot of the time his eyes were at halfmast like maybe he was meditating or possibly dozing, but he just sat there without moving. He is in like Lincoln Memorial pose. This whole kinetic bizarre scene is unfolding around him that he took no part in whatsoever. The president and the democratic leader of the house nancy pelosi is about to be speaker of the house again. Democratic Senate LeaderChuck Schumer. The three of them, the two democrats and the president are having this big animated