Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20181002

Frid friday. One thing for sure, the senate will vote on judge kavanaugh here on this floor this week. And flying solo, the first lady taking her solo trip to the africa and trying to present a better face to a continent famously slurred by her husband. And good day, everyone. Im Andrea Mitchell in washingt washington. Fbi agents are moving to next phase of the Background Investigation into federal judge Brett Kavanaugh. After political pressure got the president to expand the probe. Now, questioning is being completed on the four people on the original witness list and three people that the dr. Christine blasey ford says that were at party where she was sexu sexually sas saulted. And Debra Ramirez is the second woman to accuse him of Sexual Misconduct. And kavanaugh has repeatedly denied any misconduct. And the instructions to the fbi from the president have not changed the message to supporters in tennessee last night about his Supreme Court nominee. He is a good man. Great student, great intellect, and never had a problem and all of the sudden, oh, lets go back to high school, and we will see how it all works out, but i will tell you that they are trying to destroy a very fine person, and we cant let it happen. We cant let it happen. And the Republican Leaders still insisting that whether the judge lied about the high school and the drinking in college should even be relevant to the confirmation. And now, joining me is National Correspondent Peter Alexander and msnbc security analyst brett fashionl faglisi, and mimi rocha, an attorney from the Southern District of new york, and Ashley Parker from the washington post. And so, peter, kick it off and tell us where the president is right now, and we have heard from Mitch Mcconnell as well, because while expanding the fbi investigation, it is not as far a the democrats are incesting it should go. No, that is right, andrea. We hope to see the president shortly and he is traveling out of town tonight, and going to pennsylvania in a short while from now and that mean wes will have an opportunity to ask him question questions on the south lawn, and he is going to be prezed with the new detail wes are learning about Brett Kavanaugh. And right now, new details they have finish withed with the attorney representing mark judge. Mark judge is the friend of Brett Kavanaugh in high school who Christine Blasey ford says was in the room during the Sexual Assault in the 1980s, and the fbi interview which begun yesterday has been completed. She would not discuss any further details about the content of the conversation. As for dr. Ford, spoke to a member of her legal team within the last few minutes, and dr. Fords team is telling me that she has not been contacted or interviewed by the fbi, and when i pressed the president yesterday in the south lawn, and perhaps the rose garden, and i have forgotten, but whether or not the three individuals, the three accusers should be interviewed. He did not say he was as certain about julie swetnick, the woman represented by michael avenatti, but he said that the two other women should be, and it is not clear at this point if dr. Ford has been interviewed which is importa important, because beyond what the senators have asked about and the prosecutor rachel mi mitchell asked about, there are other details that she could share about other details that could help in terms of the process. And lets talk also about what jeff blake is saying. He is saying at a conference right now at the atlantic media, and he is seeming to be expanding the whole question as to whether lying about drinking should be relevant. Lets watch. The interaction with the members was sharp and partisan and that concerns me. I tell myself, you give a little leeway because of what he has been through. But on the other hand, we cant have this on the court. We simply cant. So that is to judicial character and the sharp interactions were about high school and college drinking, and the questions asked. And mimi rocha what does the fbi do now and should the character beyond the Sexual Assault questions if they cannot be corroborated and the witnesses cannot validate what dr. Ford said, should these other issues which came up in the hearings, and most importantly, the responses to the senators the way he reacted, and the belligerence in the responses to the questioning on last thursday and should that be part of what the senators decide in the voting . Andrea, 100 . His demeanor and the temperament and the reaction no the questioniquestion i reaction to the questioning, needs to be take into consideration, and puts a side the allegations of the truth or not truth or what is proven or not, and how he conducted himself. The political nature of his statement, and the political rage fran u cli is just completely unbecoming of someone who is going to be sitting on the Supreme Court. And Supreme Court justices of course they can have political views, and of course, political backgrounds, and that is going to happen, but they have to be capable, capable of being objective and fair and letting people feel and parties who are appearing before the court feel that they are going to be judged in an objective manner, and that is almost the very definition of justice. I really believe and i think that many other legal analysts, and frank people that you dont have to be a legal analyst to have seen this, that Brett Kavanaugh showed himself as someone who really seemed incapable of showing that kind of objectivity, and that is very disappointing and sad if we are going to politicize the Supreme Court in this way now. And there is another issue now which is his honesty, and this not a case of whether you could prove perjury in the testimony, but i want to show you an exchange which is becoming very controversial in the last 24 hours of his responses to orrin hatch about when he first learned about Debra Ramirez allegations in the new yorker article. When did you first hear of ms. Ramirez allegations about you . In the last period since then that the new yorker story. So, Ashley Parker, nbc news and heidi presbyla said that there were Text Messages to his college mates, and asking questions about this the before the new yorker published the allegations, and does that impugn his sbeg ri the or credibility for truthfulness . Well, it is frankly going to depend which member or senator that you are asking on the whole. Good point. And the democrats think absolutely, and the republicans on the whole think that not necessarily, but there is only three senators who matter in the three republicans senators, and that is something that leader mcconnell recognizes, and it is basically senator collins, senator flake, senator murkowski, and what the others think is not to say unimportant, but frankly unimportant, and this is one of the reasons early on talking to the white house that they have always said that time is of the essence, and even when they are trying to be sort of more conciliatory and more deferential no the concerns of the democrats have or the concerns of the handful of the republicans who hold his fate in the balance and you have is heard the president say publicly that we need to get it over quickly, and that is the sense, and the right sense that the longer it drags out, the more that may come out that is damaging to judge kavanaugh, and as you said, it is not necessarily the original accusations of the is Sexual Assault and misbehavior, but other details here or there that lead to him being too partisan or immupugning the credible, an that is what they were trying to avoid in the process. And frank paglisi, you have conduct conducted the background checks in the past, and this is not to be made public, and are people going to be satisfied the go to the white house and to the Senate Majority or the minority. It is a time that calls for absolute transparency, and no, i dont think that people are going to be satisfied, and the concerns valid. Look, andrea,ly strongly caution everyone not to think that this socalled expanded scope somehow has given the fbi free rein. This is why the transparency is needed. Even from the white house today to say that this is what we have told the fbi that they can do and cant. There is every indication, andrea, that it is still very limit limited to existing allegations of Sexual Assault and at the expanded scope has moved simply to allow logical interview leads flowing from the accusers, and thats about it. My sources, and my information is that we are not going to see drinking, abusive alcohol, perjury before congress, attempts to find the house in bethese da, a bethesda and t attempts the go back to college. And the clues to key in on with s senator murkowski is that the fbi has been told to do what is a standard background within the parameters that we have given them, and that is a clue that it is not a fullcourt press by the fbi. And so you said that yesterday before the president and the white house indicated that they were giving them expanded authority, and you said that the fbi is basically handcuffed, and that is still the case as far as you are concerned to the original allegations. The handcuffs have fp been loosened, but still on and the white house has the keys to the handcuffs handcuffs. And pete alexander, the white house is certainly not yield ing to the the pressure to go become into high school and to go back into whatever they are, the drinking issues are, and we have the yale College Teammate and friend talking about a bar episode, and police were involved. How relevant should that be . Well, it is a good question to raise, andrea. What is striking me is to pull back the curtain on the experience here at the white house, and i know that ashley spends a lot of time talking to the same individuals. In the conversations with Brett Kavanaughs allies in the recent days, i am struck by the tone. They are asking me routinely, what have you got . Any other detail and what are you working snon there is a sense that there could be more, other details and whether it is other allegations of the Sexual Misconduct or what it means. Yesterday for the first time overnight from the New York Times we learned about details of a bar brawl that took place when he was in college, and one of his friends is accused of hitting someone with a glass, and kavanaugh is accused of throwing ice which some of the allies say that he was throwing ice at a bar fight in college. And it is fitting the broader idea of a pattern and make you sort of reconsideri the way tha you view the nomination. And so the white house says that they want it done quickly and they like that he does not have the hand on the Steering Wheel here in many ways ash and in the mercy of not the Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell, but the limited number of senators including collins and jeff flake, who he is not that close with who are undecided and carry the key to his confirmation. And ashley, parker, is it credible for jeff flake after everything that they have been through, and the fbi has said it is okay, and not press hard for some of the other character issues to to be examined. Again, that is a question for senator flake. One thing that is interesting and why everyone is watching him is because he has on a number of issues often will make a lot of noise, sort of act in this kind of the mavericky way and then ultimately vote the party line. So i think that people are waiting to see here what he is going to do, but it is interest interesting the comments of him saying that he wanted the allegations of the Sexual Misconduct looked into, but lying, itself, it would be disqualifying, and that is going to add another problematic layer of of misconduct for judge kavanaugh. And not only that, but still bothered by the stolen emails back in the 2000s and what they think is fundamental to the character of this man from the democratic perspective, and it is not going to go away, but from what we heard from Mitch Mcconnell today, they are barreling ahead no the vote to friday. Thank you all. And in the mud, the republican leader coming out swinging gaiagainst the democra and we will have the reaction of a top dem grocrat account on th judicial committee. Im Andrea Mitchell, and stay with us here on msnbc. 10. 9. Guidance is internal. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Discover. O. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Democrats mishandling of dr. Fords letter opened up the floodgates for this deluge of uncorroborated unbelievable mud. And the mudslide was cheered on and capitalized on at every turn by the far left that has been so eager to stop this nomination. Just politics, i dont think so. And Republican Senate leader Mitch Mcconnell today escalating the attacks against the d democrats as he is pushing ahead for the floor vote this week, and that means by friday on Brett Kavanaugh and even as the key are republican senators who are considered swing votes remain on the fence they say. Joining me now is Democratic Sen hi and the former chairman of the judiciary and now a key member of the judiciary, and senator, good to see you and thank you for joining us. Good to be here. I wanted your reaction to Mitch Mcconnell, because the investigation is only in the second or the third or the fourth day at most, and they have yet to interview some key players including dr. Ford. So why is he now saying that there is going to be a vote this week, friday, you nknow no mattr what else, they are going on with the votes. This is one of the moes inkrcredible selfserving commes they have heard in the senate and i have been here a long time. This is a man who held up marek garland for a year. Marek garland who was somebody who would have been confirmed with an overwhelming vote by republicans and democrats and held up for a year, and suddenly, we haswrwe have to mo forward in a week. Here is blaming democrats . And judge kavanaugh is the one who is accused of a sexual attack. Judge kavanaugh is the one who is accused of being not truthful to the committee, and judge kavanaugh is the one who is accused of letting his drinking get out of control, and then not, and then in doing things that he shouldnt. Those are not democrats, but that is senator mcconnells nominee nominee. I wanted to drill down on something, because with were just talking to frank, who is a former member of the fbi, and he says that the sources in the bureau are saying that they are pretty much handcuffed, and yes, more witnesses, and followup witnesses can be interviewed, but the issues are the initial galgations of dr. Ford of the sexual attack and not lying or drinking and not whether he was rude or showed belligerence to senators is such a adds yourss and that the parameter of this, and all that is going to be considered before you go to the vote . It is a big mistake to put handcuffs on the fbi. If you will excuse the analogy to say they cant really investigate this. They have the ability to the investigate the whole thing. It is not the matter of if he drank as a youngster, but it is a question of whether he was truthful to the committee. He was under oath. Hes seeking confirmation to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, and one of nine people there, and one whose appointment could affect the credibility, the actual credibility and standing of the u. S. Supreme court for years. Lets take the time to get it right. I was in vermont this past weekend, and everybody i talked with whether republicans or the democrats said why the hurry . What are they trying to hide . I was a prosecutor and when i was a pros ecutor, i wanted to get all of the fact, and if it took a extra few days, then get them, and take the extra few days. This trying to rush through and trying to limit the investigation, and you have to ask what are they trying to hide . I am trying to figure out with what the appropriate threshold should be, because when we talk about him either misstating the facts or claiming ignorance or lying to the committee, not to level of perjury, and we are not talking about a Legal Standard of proof here, but character, and honesty, and being an officer of the court at the highest level. I wanted to show you an exchange as well as the demeanor and the exchange with you last thursday. Senator, lett me take a step back and explain, ugh, high school. I was number one in the class and freshman and i thought that only the senate no, no, i want to talk about this and how about and i want to talk about my High School Record and if you r are going to sit here and mock me. I think that we were all very fair to dr. Ford, and shouldnt we be just adds fair to mr. Kavanaugh. I busted my butt in academic s. Does this reflect what you are, this yearbook . Your focus of academics and the e respect of women, and it is easy yes or no and you dont have to filibuster the answer, does it reflect your focus. I said that the yearbook in my Opening Statement is obviously wait a minute. He has asked the question, and i will give you time to answer it. And it went on and on like that. And now, jeff flake was just at an atlanta conference and he said that the interaction with t the members was sharp and partisan and that concern mes and i tell myself that you give a little leeway because of what he has been through, but on the other hand, we cant have this on the court, we simply cant. I watched it the next day, and the saturday night live skit with matt damon unfortunately was too the accurate. What he was like. And it does not reflect a judicial temperament. And i may disa agree with them philosophically, but i thought they had the temperament of being a jumg. He wanted to talk about lifting weightses in high school, but we wanted to know if he got the stolen emails, and he said he did not, and then the emails come out, and he did. And what he did with the judge prior, and as more and more information is coming out, it shows that he had misled the committee. And is he misleading the committee here, and that is why you need a fair, full, complete fbi investigation. Not one where the white house puts s s parameters or the sena majority leader says, we dont care whether we are finished with the fbi or not w are going to plow through and have a vote. I would say if you want to vote without all of the information and the information is going to be coming out whether it is a year from now or two years from now, and how do you explain your vote . Senator, just to nail this down, they are not going beyond these new allegations, and they are not going back to the miranda issue and some of the other issues that came up in the original hearing. Well, they should, but they also asked have there been any complaints made about judge kavanaugh while he was a judge in the Circuit Court of appeals and at least ask the question. I dont know the answer, but i think it is an easy question to ask. Senator leahy, thank you. As always, thank you for being with uses today. And coming up, race against time, and desperate search for survivors in indonesia after a deadly earthquake and tsunami that have already claimed more than 1,200 lives. You are watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Ll im ken jacobus, im the owner of good start packaging. We distribute environmentallyfriendly packaging for restaurants. And weve grown substantially. So i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. I earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy. And last year, i earned 36,000 in cash back. Thats right, 36,000. Which i used to offer Health Insurance to my employees. My unlimited 2 cash back is more than just a perk, its our healthcare. 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In indonesia the death toll has climbed more than 1,200 people now confirmed dead five day s days after the dove stating earth kwauk and tsunami struck the island nation. R rescue workers are desperately searching for survivors and contending with broken power li lines and submerged cars and lack of supply due to the damaged airport. We have jan nis mackey frayier there with the latest. People need help, andrea, they need everything, food, health, health care and into margs and even as the death toll is surging, nobody is saying how many people are still miss iing and this is the big worry is that as rescue workers are able to the push into these areas that they believe are worst hit that the death toll is going to spike. They dont have any information, and the power lines are down, and the roads have been blocked by landslides. Military planes are now beginning to land at the airport. We saw them taking relief supplies out and reloading them with people. There have been thousands of people waiting at the the airport for the chance to evacuate. They want to get anywhere that feels safer than this. For us, it took the days to get here, and we had Flights Canceled and things backed up on the runway and only part of the airport is operation aal, but as we were driving through the town, we sthau the destraw that destruction and devastation is everywhere. And increasingly, we have been seeing that people are hanging banners outside of their homes saying please, help us. Andrea. In palu, indonesia, thank you. And powerful goals, and two members of the team usa gold medal winning hockey team the lamer rowe twins are taking on gender equality, and what they r are doing at home. Stay with us. Lets take a look at some numbers 4 out of 5 people who have a stroke, their first symptom. Is a stroke. 80 percent of all strokes and Heart Disease . Preventable. And 149 dollars is all it takes to get screened and help take control of your health. 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Olympic gold medalist, identical twins and expectant mothers monique and jocelyne lamoureax are leading the way that the women hockey players get adequate support in comparison to the mens in terms of the youth hockey. At the time, they were ranked number one in the world with three World Championships but barely paid and living wage. At that the time they struck a deal for the fairer treatment of women athletes everywhere. I spoke to monique and jocelyne who are speaking of corporate values on bea half of our Parent Company comcast and the preparation for their next fight for change. You are identical twins obviously and gold med aalists in three olympics, and now you are representing our Parent Company and all women, and men, on the values of women in sports. I should add that you are both pregnant at the same time which is pretty incredible. Yes. So, jocelyne, tell me about this experience and first of all why you wanted the do this. Well, it is really just has been amazing to have the opportunities that we have had after winning the gold medal, and we are just passionate about the gender equity and leveling the Playing Field whether it is in sports, business, education, and we believe that everyone deserves a fair chance no matter where they come from or what the gender is, and so we are excite ed to be working with comcast. And growing up together, and being role models and trail blazers, what kinds of experiences did you have as young girls, teen the agers and now women in sport . We were fortunate to grow up with four older brothers and our parents let us do whatever we wanted to do. If our brothers were doing something and we wanted to do it, then we could do it and we got the same opportunities as our brothers. When we went away to the boarding school, the girls and the boys teams received the same opportunitieses, but when we went to college and went to see the inequitieses of the women in sports have to deal with on a daytoday basis, and that opened up our eyes to the gender inequity that is going on and not just in sport, but in the professional and business setting as well. And the same thing in womens soccer and the most egregious example example. They have been great allies for t and what they did 20 years ago and we are hoping to make our changes sooner than they had to go through. And you are both going to become mothers, and that is incredible, and what do you want for your children, girls or boys, that was not possible for you, and what are you trying to achieve for them . One of our brothers had a baby girl two days ago and im having a boy and joss doesnt want to know what they are having, so when you are look at the boys and the girls and the children, and you cant look at them in good conscious and say that you dont deserve the same opportunity, because you are a girl or because you come from a different socioeconomic background and making sure and teaching our kids lessons that you deserve all of the same opportunities that anybody else gets, and it does not matter where you come from or the color of the skin is or what your gender is, and making sure they know that those lessons moving forward in life and help others that might be a little bit behind. Being a good person is as simple as that sounds is ultimately what we want to teach the our kids. What inspired you jocyln . Well, the parents instilled in us the two of us together whether it is individual sports or team sports, you cheer for the one behind. We took it to heart not just in sport, but in everything that we are doing, and whether it is someone being treated unfairly or standing up for what is right for creating a bert platform and environment for somebody coming in behind you is really what we are passionate about, and i think that the sports has taught us that, and being always play on the team and having each other has taught us that. And as working moms to be, are you also inspired monique, by ser Rena Williams and what s has been accomplished coming back after a year and playing at that level. Yes, and everything that she has been through and the hard birthing process that she had, and i mean, you look at her as one tof the greatest athletet o all time if not the greatest male or female, and then to see her less than a year later almost back at the top of her game, and clearly at the top of the womens tennis world is truly inspiring, but it is teaching any mother or soon soontobe mother that you dont have to pick between the family life and the sporting career that you dont have to pick. You can do both. And why did you decide to partner with comcast on this corporate innish tiff . They have tone a great job of giving back and we have had the opportunity to give back of the initiative to giving back and it is incredibly important to spread the opportunity to be online and throughout the communities of the country. Yes, and it is going to even the Playing Field for the kids who dontb have the tools tok a cess the internet, and that one program traveling around the country to create awareness and educating people on is eyeopening for us, and creating a passion that once we have been educated into equity, it is something that we have to keep sharing and keep creating awareness about. And they are lxamoureax. And will Brett Kavanaugh split the vote . We will have more on that on Andrea Mitchell right here on msnbc. Mitchell right here on msnbc. Term memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Hegimme one minute. Eligible for medicare. And ill tell you some important things to know about medicare. First, it doesnt pay for everything. Say this pizza is your part b medical expenses. This much about 80 medicare will pay for. Whats left is on you. Thats where an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company comes in. This type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. These are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement for meeting their high standards of quality and service. So call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company today and ask for your free decision guide. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. Whew call unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free decision guide. And it is five weeks until the election day, and with the drama surrounding Brett Kavanaugh and the nomination for the Supreme Court motivate people to go to the polls on either side or both . Lets get the inside scoop from our White House Bureau chief and msnbc political analyst, and sabrina siddiqui, editor for guardian and phil gardner, and phil, first to you, which way do you see this cutting . Motivating both sides or one disproportionately to the other or not an election issue . It is absolutely an ly aly a issue, and we focus the attention on the wave of the enthusiasm of the democratic side around the Metoo Movement, a and the women voters so moved by dr. Fords testimony last week, but the kavanaugh situation has been a galvanizing force for trumps base and the Republican Voters and the conservati conservatives who care about the courts, and we have a story in the post today about how it is a rallying cry for men in particular, and white men particular who are fearful of the Metoo Movement and feel like their sons and fathers and uncles and themselves could somehow be falsely accused of something and have their life or the career ruined and they see President Trump and the surrogates giving voice to the concern can, and it is a motivating factor for them as well. And sebrina, one of the issues here, of course s how much we should be looked at by the fbi, and we have been looking at the character issue, and whether he misled the committee, and so far the white house is keeping all of that, and the drinking or any other allegations from high school out of the picture. Well, kavanaughs defenders and his own team want to the frame questions around his drinking habits as irrelevant to the investigation around allegations of the Sexual Misconduct, but they are not unrelated, because if you are thinking of the testimony of dr. Christine blasey ford, she said that kavanaugh was inebriated in the alleged attacked, and also the second accuser as well. So perhaps he drank to where he does not remember what events transpired. He notably would not say in the testimony whether he had drank to the point where he blanked out. So it is this idea of whose account is credible and whose account may in fact contain some memory lapse. So they are not unrelated, and we will see if the fbi takes that behavior into account. And joe manchin today said that if he lied it should be taken into account. If he clearly lied, that is going to be taken into account and the same as jeff flake, and shaded things 30, 35 years ago, and one could have a different attitude. A lot depends on what we learned, and this is somewhat and very old fashioned, but factdependent, and if there are more things that cast doubt on the creditor veracity or the other way, it is going to affect people. If they had jammed many jammed through last week, it would have hurt republicans badly. I think a fair viewer would have said, well, whats going on . We dont know what the truth is. Why dont we just look at it for another week. Theres no deadline. The court doesnt have to be populated by nine people. So i think a lot will depend on how things feel at the end of this week in terms of the fbi investigation. Has it been thorough. Has it been shared with people . Are we going to let it be discussed . Is mcconnell going to take the investigation thats, you know, 11 00 a. M. Friday and have a vote at 3 00 p. M. On friday. I think that makes a big difference. I think people are ambivalent. But if it could help democrats if republicans seem to be jamming something through without genuine Mitch Mcconnell today on the floor had that were voting friday without knowing what this weve seen this before, i mean, its just weird. If you were running an investigation. Were deciding at friday no matter what we learn. If we learn certain things or if we want to go for a couple more days. This is a funny stance to take. Its a little hard to defend lonnelicall logically. Unless you assume its a smear. We have to go through the form of looking into it. We know the truth. I think a lot of people in the middle some people are focusing you know, you wrote today the counterargument from the perspective of white men, whether theyre being motivated. A lot of people focusing on our friend and colleague. Cecilia vega from abc and the way the president responded to her at the News Conference yesterday. When he called her and in the past questions on any subjects would be taken. This time, he wanted to talk about the new nafta, if you will, im not yet used to the new terminology they branded with. This is the way he treated this Senior Correspondent and anchor from abc. Okay, question, yes, go ahead. Sure. Shes shocked that i picked her. Shes like in a state of shock. Im not thinking, mr. President. Thats okay, i know youre not thinking, mr. President , you never do. Im sorry . No, go ahead. Go ahead. It was very disparaging, phil, and it certainly got the attention of a lot of people, even though who may not know see se cecilia and her terrific reputation. Well, cecilias a tremendous journalist and has covered this white house beat from the very beginning. I was also struck because cecilia went on to ask him a very relevant question about the news of the day regarding judge kavanaugh and trump refused to answer that question. He said he was only going to take questions on trade. Later at the end of the News Conference he went back to her for her kavanaugh question. But to just shut her up like that because she asked a question of her choosing is not right. And these press conferences, journalists are the ones who get to choose what they ask about, not the subject, not the president. Well, were going to have to leave it there for now. This is a subject that is front and center, not only today but throughout this week, as we head towards this vote, that they say is going to be this week. Thank you, phil rucker. Thank you, bill krystal. At least two packages at a department of defense Mail Processing center are suspected of possibly containing ricin, a deadly material. The facility is not located inside the pentagon building. It is inside the intake facility where the packages were addressed to someone there. The fbi has taken the lead now on the investigation. We should expect a statement from them shortly and well be right back. D well be right back how your skin feels. So, when the world expects you to follow the rules, write your own. Because no one gets an opinion on how you live your life, why you shave, or how you show your skin. My skin. My way. Are you paying too much and getting too little with your current medicare plan . If you have medicare, you have an important choice to make. You can purchase a separate drug plan for an additional cost; or you can choose a humana allinone Medicare Advantage plan that includes your medical benefits and drug coverage in one. 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Humana has a Large Network of doctors and hospitals, so call to find out if your doctor is in our network. See if you can save on your prescriptions and get our free decision guide. Licensed humana sales agents are standing by. Pick up the phone and call humana today. First Lady Melania Trump in africa on her first solo trip abroad. Beginning a tour of four african countries today. Shes at a hospital in the capital of ghana. The first lady handing out teddy bears to young children. Ron, this is a big deal not only because its her first trip but because the president has been so disparaging and hostile in the past about an entire continent. So theres some resentment that she had to override. I gather theres been quite a welcome for her. Quite a welcome. No resentment directed at her. Exactly. The contrast is very striking. And people talk about it very openly here. I picked upped a newspaper here the other day. The columnist, the first thing he was talking about what President Trumps disparaging comments. She is receiving a queens welcome here. Shes also tying her be best program directly to usaid which as you know of course is another program that President Trump wants to cut. And to use as a reward for friends and a punishment for enemies. Something of course that is not what humanitarian usaid has been about traditionally. We havent heard from melania trump. We may not. But that old adage of how actions speak louder than words. The mere presence, getting off the plane at the top of those steps. The big United States plane that looks Like Air Force one but isnt because the president s on it. Just spoke volumes about whats on her mind and whats in her heart. And what shes trying to accomplish. And what she thinks is really important. I would imagine donald trump would never Say Something that would be disrespectful of her husband directly but what else can you infer from this . She could have gone anywhere in the world but shes here. A week long trip. She hopes to make a lot of news. And say america cares and americas ready to help. Andrea, back to you. Shes quite in this spirit of first ladies who have always been more popular or generally more popular than their husbands. Particular, this is a great opportunity for her. Thank you so much, ron. I wish we were all with you. What a great chance to cover the first lady in africa. That does it for a busy day, a busy edition of Andrea Mitchell reports. Remember, follow the show online on facebook and on twitter mitchellreports. Heres ali and stephanie. I so long for a day where we finish a show and say, that wasnt very busy. There wasnt that much to talk about. Yes, we love breaking news, come on. Andrea, good to see you, thank you. Good afternoon, im ali velshi. And im stephanie ruhle. It is tuesday, october 2nd. Lets get smarter. No, the fbi, they should take by the way, if we took ten years, theyd want more time. Lets see how it all works out. Theyre trying to destroy a very fine person and we cant let it happen. The white house has given the fbi the official green light to expand its Background Investigation into judge kavanaugh. We know four people have been interviewed. Two High School Friends of kavanaughs including mark judge. A friend of Christine Blasey ford. And the second woman who has accused him of misconduct, ramirez. Nbc news has