Socalled rigged russia probe. But Sarah Sanders offers a different story. Any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with mr. Brennan are outweighed by his erratic behavior. And respect. Aretha franklin dies at the age of 76 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. The queen of soul a cultural icon around the globe, the undisputed greatest popular singer of her time. Respect is what it means to me you make me feel like a natural woman and good day, im Andrea Mitchell in washington. Well have a lot more on Aretha Franklin, her life, her music, throughout this program. But first, the president is holding a Cabinet Meeting at this hour after a stunning admission to the wall street journal that he revoked John Brennans security clearance and threatened other former officials because of their involvement in the russia probe, telling the journal, i call it a rigged witch hunt, it is a sham, mr. Trump said, and these people led it, i think its something that had to be done. Brennan, now an Nbc News National Security analyst, is fighting back, criticizing mr. President trump in a New York Times opinion piece today. And in his only Public Comments so far to msnbcs nicolle wallace. I do believe that mr. Trump decided to take this action, as hes done with others, to try to intimidate and suppress any criticism of him or his administration. Revoking my security clearances is his way of trying to get back at me. This is not going to deter me at all. Im going to continue to speak out. Joining me now is Nbcs Kelly Odonnell at the white house. Nbc political analyst robert costa, National Political reporter at the washington post. And nbc legal analyst mimi ro h rocah, former assistant District Attorney in the Southern District of new york. And Global Affairs analyst John Mclaughlin. John, let me go to you first because you have lived this life. You come from the agency. You know what it means. And you know why former cia directors have security clearances. Its really to help their successors do their jobs. Its to help successors do their jobs, and we periodically get called in for advice, not just by the president or the white house, but by people at other levels on specific issues where we have expertise. Thats the reason why people keep these clearances. And they are not revoked at whim. There is a process as to when they are to be revoked. There are 13 reasons why you can revoke a clearance and the president has cited none of them in his action on john brennan. Is one of them erratic behavior or political criticism . No. And so this becomes what seems like a preemptory decision. He has the legal right, he has the authority. But he is bypassing the due process that is done by the agency, in this case the cia, that confers the security clearance. Hes bypassing due process. We dont know where this is going to go because its so unprecedented. Normally there is a hearing, a process of appeal if someone wants to invoke it. Mimi will be the expert on this but my understanding is this is often considered in what are called administrative courts because this is not a legislative matter, it is an administrative matter and determined by executive order. And so theres a process here that could unfold. We dont know whether thats going to happen. I suspect the white house has not thought that through. John brennan, who is, as we pointed out, an nbc news analyst, as are you, posted on the New York Times this opinion piece. He wrote, mr. Trumps claims of no collusion are, in a word, hogwash. The only questions that remain are whether the collusion that took place constituted criminally liable conspiracy, whether obstruction of justice occurred to cover up any collusion or conspiracy. He, mimi, is referring in particular to this piece to President Trump after the convention, after the Democratic Convention and the wikileaks dump, the call of, you know, russia, if youre listening, where are those emails, im paraphrasing, that that was prima facie evidence of some act in collusion with our russian adversary, already under investigation, we didnt know it at this time, by the fbi. Thats right, andrea. And i thought that quote this morning from director brennan, from the New York Times, was chilling, because he really so succinctly put it. You know, we have collusion here. We now know, based on facts just in the public record, that the campaign and mr. Trump interacted and tried to interact with the russians in ways to influence the election. The question is does it meet the elements of a criminal conspiracy that can be charged or written up as a charge either in a court of law or for impeachment proceedings, not that thats the only standard for impeachment, of course. Im thinking more and more that those elements are going to be met. But obviously mueller will be the one to decide those. As for obstruction, i just want to say, usually the hardest part of an obstruction charge is not the act but showing someones intent, that theyre trying to influence the outcome of an investigation. And trump wears that intent on his sleeve. I mean, this statement about taking away director brennans security clearance because of his involvement in the russia investigation seems to me to be very clear intent. If i had a drug dealer that i was prosecuting and he said that he was going to retaliate against a witness because that witness was involved in an investigation against him, that would be really good evidence of obstruction. And thats exactly what mr. Trump is doing here. And it is reminiscent of an earlier admission back, you know, with i guess it was march of 2017, to lester holt. Lets play a little bit of that, which has been noted as an acknowledgement that russia was in his mind when he fired james comey. Play it. Regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story, its an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election, that they should have won. Robert costa, so you had the lester holt interview, the president of course has after the fact disputed that thats what he meant, as has rudy giuliani. But then he sits down with the wall street journal to talk about tariffs and defend his economic policy, and goes off message again, not citing the reasons that Sarah Sanders cited, as spurious as they may have been, because as John Mclaughlin pointed out, they are not onthebook reasons to revoke a security clearance, he goes off and says its because of the russia probe. Its off message but in a way its on message, because this is a white house in bunker mode right now. The president is fighting multiple battles, lashing out at his critics, whether its Omarosa Manigault newman or john brennan or members of media. On twitter, in these interviews with the journal and others, he says hes under fire, hes being defiant, hes trying to protect his Political Capital and protect his presidency. This is a white house thats weary about all of this, in this hot summer of 2018. Im not really sure how it will play out. Will mueller see obstruction in some of these comments . Robert, as you and kelly know, and kelly, youre at the white house there, right now theres Cabinet Meeting. The president is talking about the economy, bringing in larry kudlow for comments, trying to pivot back to what they would prefer to talk about, clearly. Our own Kristen Welker is representing all of the media as the pool correspondent for television in there. Well have reports when she comes out, when that tape is played back. But kelly, the bunker mode that has been described just now by robert, is pretty apparent. And all their efforts to try to get people to stop talking about omarosa, who will be on msnbc with craig melvin in the next hour, backfire when they come out with this brennan diversion, and then as the president did with the wall street journal, gets right back into the mueller probe. And they express frustration that some of the positive Economic News or other apologies dont get attention. Thats something we hear from lots of white houses, never feeling they get enough attention for the things they feel are going well. The president , by holding another Cabinet Meeting, this has been going on for a half hour, hes been going around the room from larry kudlow to zinc zinke, talking about priorities and policies of the administration, but youre right, it can be quickly overtaken by the president s unwillingness to back away from what seems to be a core belief that if he gets hit, he will hit back and often hit back repeatedly, not always in his own best interests. When it comes to Something Like going after the security clearances, it reignites all of the concerns that people have about the level of respect he has or does not have for the work of the Intelligence Community. And so much of that, again, veers into the lane of his lack of belief in the russia investigation and his efforts to undercut it at every turn, andrea. And to John Mclaughlin, what signal does it send to the men and women of cia, around the world, often putting their lives on the line for all the rest of us, that their former bosses are being targeted this way by the white house . Is there a message, explicit message, to not tell the white house what it doesnt want to hear . Well, i hope not. It certainly sends a chill through that population in terms of what they might say in their social media, what they might say publicly. In terms of what they say professionally to the president , that scenario cant happen. If that happens, we have slipped into full authoritarian mode. Ive seen that movie before. Thats what happens in countries where Intelligence Services become afraid to talk to their ruler with bad news. Thats not going to happen here. I do not think my colleagues, my former colleagues would allow that to happen. And the fact that they were not even informed before this was decided and announced. Well, thats surprising, because in fact whether the white house has thought this through or not, these clearances, mysterious as they are, are actually held, that is, possessed by these agencies. Its the agencies themselves that typically administratively have to remove them. So he may have put these agencies in a difficult spot, including their general counsels, who i think, if involved, will ask the logical questions, which is what are the reasons for removing them, because we have a list here that we are by law required to conform to. That hasnt unfolded yet. Thats a potential train wreck down the road here. And theres no evidence that john brennan ever divulged classified secrets. Well have to live it there for now. Coming up, the country mourning the loss of the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. Well talk to a friend who knew her well. Stay with us on msnbc. A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. Alicewhich is breast canceratic that has spread to other parts of her body. Shes also taking prescription ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptorpositive her2 Metastatic Breast Cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. Ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. Patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. Before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. Common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. Alice calls it her new normal because a lot has changed, but a lot hasnt. Ask your doctor about ibrance. The 1 prescribed fdaapproved oral Combination Treatment for hr her2 mbc. This wifi is fast. I know i know i know i know when did brian move back in . Brians back . He doesnt get my room. Hes only going to be here for like a week. Like a month, tops. Oh boy. Wifi fast enough for the whole family is simple, easy, awesome. In many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40s. She was a great pianist and of course the greatest singer of her time. Aretha franklin, known as the queen of soul, dead at the age of 76 from pancreatic cancer. She was a singer, songwriter, a piano prodigy. She was a civil rights activist who broke down barriers. Nbcs lester holt takes a look back at the life and legacy. Respect reporter there has never been a voice like hers. And there may never again be anyone like her. Aretha franklin, the queen of soul. An icon of american music. No other female singer was as celebrated or as honored as Aretha Franklin. 18 grammys, 20 number one billboard singles, 45 songs in the top 40. Our nation honors miss Aretha Franklin. [ applause ] reporter in 2005, she received a president ial medal of freedom, a deeply emotional moment for the singer who had been honored previously by president clinton with a National Medal of arts and by the kennedy center. Franklin was a diva, and she made no bones about it. But she was also a trailblazer for women and an africanamerican artist who achieved success against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. Ill fly away reporter her list of firsts goes on forever, like being the first woman to be inducted into the rock roll hall of fame. She used her voice to crash through barriers. My country tis of thee reporter Rolling Stone once ranked Aretha Franklin the number one greatest syrininger all time. She had an almost maternal attitude toward her own songs. Theyre like my children, i love them all. But there are some that i liked a little more than others. Respect, certainly. The freeway. Jump to it. Natural woman. Reporter millions of americans know her music by heart. All we need to hear is the first few notes. We know the rest. All because she showed the way and set the standard. Joining me now is nbcs ron mott at the New Bethel Baptist Church in detroit, which was Aretha Franklins church and where her father preached. You have the reverend jesse jackson, ron. Reporter hey there, andrea, good day to you. This is a sad day around the world and especially for folks in detroit. We have the reverend bob smith, who replaced c. L. Franklin, Aretha Franklins dad. The reverend jesse jackson. I wanted to feel the warmth of her hands one more time. New bethel, she should never have left. You most know her father, a renowned preacher. She sang never grow old, ave maria. Aretha never left her roots. Reporter reverend, you and i were talking about how she put out a couple of gospel albums early in her career and then moved into what people consider more secular music. All over the world shes an international star. But you say she never left. She never left the church. All of her songs are good songs about emotions, the hardships and the feelings of people. Everything was from the soul. Everybody wants respect. And i guess most women say i dont want nobody hanging around me and my man. The big march in detroit led by her father, the chairman of the human rights commission, the Labor Movement in detroit has roots in the civil right struggle. When dr. King was having a hard time in 66, 67, she helped him raise money, for free. She was singing the next night. She was a freedom fighter. She had the softness. Reporter she was a force, obviously. Andrea, well send it back to you. Thanks to much, ron mott, and thanks to the reverend. Joining me now, another reverend, al sharpton, a dear friend of Aretha Franklins. And roland martin, the host of tv one, also a dear friend of Aretha Franklins. The importance of her influence on music is unquestionable. Lets talk also about civil rights and the role she played there. I think that she was certainly one that brought the gospel flavor many stream. People all over the world would feel this kind of passion and grounding of gospel music that she got out of her Fathers Church. And it would move them. You never saw her do a concert that she didnt also do a gospel song and sometimes break out into what we call a holy dance or shout. But she was also committed to the movement. As was just stated, she did concerts that helped dr. King in the 60s make payroll. But she went to her dying day supporting causes. She would call me on my radio show, call me privately and talk about the issues of the day. I remember during the errol Garner Police case in new york, she came to my Birthday Party to make a statement that she was with the movement, and she comforted the family of eric garner. She broke barriers. I will never forget the funny story, andrea, she called me a couple of years ago and said, reverend al, whats your home address, she sent a check for the action network. I told her a couple of months later, i framed that check because you signed it. She said, boy, you better put that check in the bank. Havent you ever heard that you can copy a check . She was the tallest tree in the musical kind of forreest. But she never left her roots. Thats the legacy she would want people to know. And of course the huge influence of her father and his tragic death during a robbery. I mean, he was such a major force. She wrote, put ms. Franklin at the top of the Rolling Stone one of the greatest singers of all time. In tribute, mary j. Blige wrote, aretha is a gift from god. When it comes to expressing yourself through song, there is no one who can touch her. She is the women why women want to sing. Roland martin, that makes me think about natural woman, maybe my favorite song. Its interesting, we talk about her music, i was on the phone with a fellow journalist driving here, and she said the people reason is so sorrowful is because she reminded you of where you were when you were a child. When the music was played, it was a Family Reunion or when i was getting ready for school or your parents are dropping you off at school, this was happening. One of the things she said was that for her father, he had all of her albums. He came from the west indies and revered her music. When you think about the soundtrack of our lives, you think about where you were when you were 11, 13. I remember my niece was listening to Aretha Franklins music, she was like, oh, my god, i love her. I togethexted aretha and told hd she said, im so happy another generation loves my music. You could go to a concert and see three generations of people li listening to the same music. Very few artists can affect multiple generations. Thats how special she was. Speaking of that, to your exact point, john legend tweeting, salute to the queen, the greatest vocalist ive ever known. Paul mccartney tweeting, Aretha Franklin, the queen of our souls who inspired us all for many, many years. She will be missed. The memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever, love, paul. You have to realize, stars like them would revere her. They would walk in her presence and say, queen, how are you . People like that. Speaking of legends, on the phone right now, joining us, is congressman john lewis, of course an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, of politics, a friend of arethas. I think, congressman lewis, about Aretha Franklin singing at Martin Luther king jr. s funeral. Tell me your memories. I remember aretha just doing what she could do best, to tell the story through music, through song. She had the capacity, the ability to make you feel better, when sometimes you were feeling down. She was so wonderful, so gifted. I saw her on so many occasions in atlanta, in washington, in new york, in detroit, in other places around the country. And i will never forget on one occasion, i will never forget, it was august 1967, dr. King was having a convention in atlanta. And aretha would perform. She got happy and just kept singing, she wouldnt stop singing. Dr. King wanted a staff person to go and tell aretha, we have to end the program. And that was the last performance that dr. King witnessed of aretha. He loved aretha, he loved her father, reverend c. L. Franklin. They both were very supportive of him, and of the movement. I remember on occasion, coming out of jail in selma or other places in the south, and we would have quarter and we would get one of these machines that played songs of Aretha Franklin, like respect. She will be deeply missed. I love aretha. You know, congressman, roland martin, sitting here with me, was just saying, and weve been talking to al sharpton, how she crossed every generation and every musical genre, she just was a universal force of nature. Well, she had that ability. She started singing in her Fathers Church as a young girl, and then learning to sing not just rock and roll and blues, country. She did it all. And she made us all feel good. She lifted our hearts and lifted our souls. If it hadnt been for Aretha Franklin and her music, as ive said on many occasions, the Civil Rights Movement would have been like a bird without wings. Well, congressman john lewis, thank you, at this moment, to call in, we really appreciate it. We wish you well today at this time, because its also a time of joy to celebrate a great life, a life welllived. Reverend al, some final thoughts from you . I think that Aretha Franklin was the one that gave the soundtrack to the growth of america, from jim crow days in the south when she started, to singing on the steps of the capitol for the first black president of the United States inauguration, the soundtrack of that journey was Aretha Franklin, bathed in the church, that never, ever stopped bringing heavenly thoughts and music to those of us on the ground. We thank you all, roland martin, reverend al, our thanks of course to ron mott and congressman lewis. And we want to bring you more of Aretha Franklin at the funeral of dr. Martin luther king jr. In april of 1968. And i know you reach out and take my, you take my hand all we need is you, jesus come away with me barnabas but i am a simple farmer. My life is here. [telephone ring] ahoyhoy. Alexander graham bell here. No, no, my number is one, you must want two two, i say like my father before. [telephone ring] like my father before. Ahoyhoy as long as people talk too loudly on the phone, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. 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. And in alexandria, virginia, jury deliberations have begun in the trial of President Trumps campaign manager, paul manafort, who is charged with 18 counts of bank fraud and tax evasion. In Closing Arguments, the prosecution told the jury that manafort lied to hide the full extent of his wealth from u. S. Tax authorities, while the defense argued the government failed to prove manaforts guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Joining me now, watching all of this, is nbcs intelligence and National Security reporter ken dilanian outside the courthouse right across the river there. So far, i assume no notes from the jury. How long have they been in . Theyve been in about two hours, andrea. Youre right, we havent seen any notes or any indication of movement as of yet. The jury did ask the judge to deliberate in a larger room than the small jury room they have been housed in during the trial, which may suggest to some that they plan to stay a while. Look, weve got 18 counts, a very complicated case here, it wouldnt surprise anyone for this to take many hours or even many days. And it really may come down to the question of whether the prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that manafort intended to commit these crimes. Its not enough that they showed he failed to pay his taxes, thats enough. They need to have proven to this jury that he knew the tax law and violated it anyway. Similarly with this issue of defrauding banks. They clearly showed he submitted false information to the banks to get loans. But did they convince the jury he had criminal intent . Rick gates, his former righthand man, testified that he schemed to commit these crimes. But he was thoroughly discredited and the prosecution did not come back to gates in their Closing Argument yesterday, they sort of walked away from him. This jury seemed to be quite attentive, some members took careful notes. They seemed to have a good rapport among one another. Now well wait to see where they come down, andrea. Very quickly, any way to estimate how many exhibits, how much paper theyve got to go through . They have hundreds of documents, some of which theyve never seen before, like the photos of that famous ostrich jacket and the python jacket. They heard testimony about it but now theyll be able to see pictures. Theyll also see emails and a vast amount of bank and tax records. Theyll be able to listen to a recording of the judges jury instructions which took an hour and a half. They dont, however, have a transcript of those instructions, they only have a recording. Thank you, ken. I know youll get back to us if there is any movement from the jury. Coming up next, new yorks governor comes up with his alternative to the president s make America Great again slogan and hes paying a political price. Until i held her. I found my tresiba® reason. Now im doing more to lower my a1c. I take tresiba® once a day. 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Paul ryan wasnt taking it seriously but now it is serious. A few weeks ago, the speaker tried to downplay the president s threat to withdraw security clearances. Now that hes followed through on that threat, will President Trump face any pushback from Republican Leaders . Joining me now, msnbc political analyst rick tyler, former spokesman for Newt Gingrich and ted cruz, and ron klain, former chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary committee . Yes. Well, councilselor, the agen are supposed to follow due process. The president has a right to do this, but the president has a right to do it for lawful reasons. A lawful reason might be that mr. Brennan abused his security clearance or was sloppy with information. Obviously theres zero evidence of that here. The president doesnt have a right to do it just to punish someone for exercising their free speech rights. I think if john brennan chooses to sue, he will beat the Trump Administration on the pulling of his security clearance. I dont know if hes going to do that or not. But what happened here was a pure authoritarian act from an intemperate president who wanted to push one of his critics, nothing more, nothing less. Rick tyler, most republicans in congress that i know are supportive or used to be supportive, i should say, of the Intelligence Community. Because this is a signal to Intelligence Officers and analysts around the world that look what happens to your former leaders when they dare to criticize the president s policies. Like the military and the Intelligence Community is supposed to be nonpartisan and have the interests of the country at stake. John brennan never said anything like this while he was at the cia and now hes a retired citizen. It reflects trumps paranoia. He believes there is a deep state and this deep state has preexisted his administration and theyre feeding outsiders like brennan things he doesnt want brennan to know about. So it is typical of the way donald trump would act. I dont know if its punishment as much i mean, you want a smooth transition between administrations, which is what keeping the security clearance is supposed to be designed for. Many have said they have not accessed it anyway. Brennan has not. Like condoleeza rice, what is her Practical Application to accessing classified information . The point, according to mike hayden who set up this practice, this procedure, is to have the clearance so that if a crisis were to arise, and it would involve some terrorists that condi rice knew about or had dealt with, or john brennan, they could then be read in very quickly on the current intel and not have to go through the whole process of getting them precleared. On may 2nd, 2011, donald trump was busy hosting Celebrity Apprentice on nbc. John brennan was in the situation room overseeing the killing of Osama Bin Laden which he had helped plan and organize. To lose his access to his expertise, to lose access to the wisdom and experience he has, is just the government cutting off its nose to spite Donald Trumps face. And thats really whats going on here. Its an effort by trump to exclude the ability of his government to talk to brennan, to punish brennan to send a signal. Its the kind of thing that really does happen in banana republics. It shouldnt happen in the United States. I wanted to switch to a democratic incumbent governor, andrew cuomo, running for reelection, challenged by Cynthia Nixon in the primary coming up. This is what he had to say to a predominantly womens group. This is his comment, trying to say i think he was trying to say that things arent great for everyone. Lets play it. Were not going to make America Great again. It was never that great. We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every american is fully engaged. But rick, youve done commercials before. That sound bite of america was never that great is already being played. And it will be, it will be played by Cynthia Nixon over and over. It was a misstep. I take the governors point. The point he was actually trying to make, it was very clumsy, he got away from his own remarks and said it. And, you know, its one of those things you wish you could take back. And ron, in this race, hes so far ahead of Cynthia Nixon, but shes an interesting candidate, first time candidate, but shes been a political activist for a long time and of course an actor known for sex and the city. I think she is stirring the pot and putting Governor Cuomo through his paces in new york. Nonetheless i will say this. Governor cuomo has a great record of achievement in new york. He has delivered on a lot of things that progressives around the country have talked, hes actually delivered. I think thats why he will get renominated for another term as governor and become one of new yorks few threeterm governors. Hang here while we play some tape from the cabinet room, the president speaking about an hour ago. Saying a prayer. Thank you, mr. President. Im going to read a prayer, from long ago in my history, a cadet prayer. You see this beatup book, ever and secretary pompeo is reading a prayer and the president apparently opened with very lengthy comments about the economy, went around the table, this went on for quite a long time, almost an hour. Well resume, you know, carrying this for a few moments, but the fact is that the president and his team are clearly trying to get back on message after a disastrous couple of days. Lets listen. And knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy. Helpless to maintain the honor of the United States untarnished and unsullied and to show forth in our lives the ideals of america and doing our duty to thee and to our nation, all of which we ask in the name of our great friend and master, amen. Thank you. Thank you for doing a great job too. Thank you, sir. We want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person i knew well. She worked for me on numerous occasions. Aretha franklin on her passing. Shes brought joy to millions of lives and her extraordinary legacy will thrive and inspire many generations to come. She was given a great gift from god. Her voice. She used it well. I just want to send my best wishes and sinl patympathies to family. Kristen welker was the pool reporter. Kristen, i think youve come back out and are on the north lawn. Brief us, what the president did at this meeting and did he answer questions . He didnt answer any questions, andrea. Let me tick through a couple of the top lines here. The president wanted to focus on School Safety as we prepare to enter a new school year. He went around the table and talked to some of the key players about what specifically theyre doing to make sure they make schools safer heading into this new year, including betsy devos, jeff sessions, kirstjen nielsen. And then he also talked about trade. He wanted to focus on trade as well. When he opened it up to robert lighthighser, there was a little bit of news there. He talked about the fact that they are making progress in their talks with mexico. Perhaps on a trade deal. The president was very clear. He said, look, if you dont get a good deal, walk away from the table. A bad deal is better than no deal at all. Lighthouser said in this case, i think it might be a good thing to get a laughter in the room. Again, i thought it was striking to actually hear the trade rep say he does feel as if they are getting closer to a potential trade deal with mexico. The president also made it very clear, andrea, theyre not talking to canada right now at all. So those were some of the top lines. He turned to the secretary of state, mike pompeo, asked hill to brief every one on the progress with north korea. No big headline there except that he did say those talks are ongoing. There is progress thats being made. At the end of this Cabinet Meeting, i asked him about two of the big headlines that weve been covering throughout the week thats really been engulfing this administration. Including that one that broke yesterday. The fact that President Trump revoked the security clearance of john brennan. I asked him if its appropriate for him to punish his critics. I asked that question a number of times to make sure he could, in fact, hear me. He didnt take the bait. He didnt answer. I tried on another headline weve been following this week which is of course omarosa, some of the things she has been saying. The fact that she contends that there is tape of President Trump using the n word during his days on the apprentice. I asked him point blank if hes ever used that racial slur and he didnt answer that, andrea. There is reports we have reporting from including the incoming new president , inaugurated in december, that they are close to a deal, in fact, there are a couple of problems that are still in play but they may get that renegotiation of nafta. In terms of this event today, do you think this was part of an effort, an ongoing effort, to get us off of the omarosa story . Of course, the effort yesterday with the brennan security clearance kind of backfired when the president sat down with the wall street journal and brought up the russia probe and a lot of other things they may not have wanted to talk about. Is that what are they trying to get back on to the substance of their agenda . It is clear that that is exactly what they want to happen, andrea. I can tell you press secretary Sarah Sanders was in the room. Bill shine of course, the new communications director. So they were clearly engaged in this very deeply as well. They want to get back to the policies, the issues that they want to be focused on and not some of these other controversies. In addition, weve been covering the manafort trial throughout the week. The fact that the jury has that. The former Campaign Chair who could face the possibility of years behind bars. Those are not the topics they want to talk about. We know the president is infuriated by what hes seen from omarosa. Hes been told by some advisers, look, dont talk about that. But of course hes been tweeting about it throughout the week. And in some ways escalating what has already been a very difficult issue for this white house. Calling her a dog for example and that prompting a whole new controversy. Yesterday, when they rolled out the fact that the president was revoking the secure clearance of former cia director john brennan, the official statement was dated july 26th. That was three days after Sarah Sanders first said they were thinking about this. Of course, that prompted a lot of people to ask the question, was the White House Holding that paper statement until a day when they needed to turn the page. Andrea. Kristen welker, thank you so much. Thanks to ron clan. Thanks to rick tyler. Coming up, craig melvins interview with Omarosa Manigault newman. She will be releasing a new audiotape with craig melvin, so stay with us right here. Ive been making blades here at gillette for 20 years. Theres a lot of innovation that goes into making americas 1 shave. Precision machinery and highquality materials from around the world. Nobody else even comes close. Now starting at 7. 99. Gillette. The best a man can get. Thank you for being with us. Thank you, Aretha Franklin. Craig melvin, youve got a big guest. We do have a big guest. She is standing by. Good afternoon to you, craig melvin here from msnbc news headquarters in new york city. Were following two big stories right now. A new secret recording. Former white house aide Omarosa Manigault newman is in the studio. She has a new recording she wants us to hear. The first recording involving a member of the trump family. Also this afternoon, honoring a legend. The life and legacy of Aretha Franklin. As the world pauses to honor the queen of soul who died today at 76. We start with our nbc news exclusive. A new secretly recorded tape from inside the world of donald trump and an interview with a former white house aide whoad