Striking through the hours of after hour election morning grogginess to put his own man as attorney general, where he can crush the his torbic probe that threatens trumps family, his presidency. And the new a. G. Has declared his personal hostility to the mueller investigation. And that closer to trumps heart the new a. G. Has declared the notorious june 2016 meeting at trump tower in which donald trump, jr. Met with russian agents offering dirt on Hillary Clinton was normal political business and no basis for a prosecution. Pushing out Jeff Sessions and bringing in the obliging mat mi whittaker. It gives him an a. G. Whose views of president ial power comports with those of the new smoupreme Court Justice brett kavanaugh. And trump now moves to utilize his broad notion of executive power to crush mueller before mueller streaks at trumps family, a step he has reason to fear is imminent. The president delivered the news today by tweet saying, matthew whittaker, chief of staff to attorney general Jeff Sessions at the department of justice will become our new acting attorney general. Trump added that a permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date. Well, the moval came minutes after the president refused to comment on sessions fate in his postelection press conference. And can you give us clarity, sir, on your thinking on your attorney general and your Deputy Attorney general, do they have longterm job security . Id rather answer that a little bit different time. A few hours later. The president has long blamed his attorney general for the appointment of special counsel mueller of course. And last august trump even called on sessions to stop this rigged witch hunt right now and hes repeatedly attacked sessions in public for recusing himself from the investigation. Jeff sessions recused himself, which he shouldnt have done or he should have told me. I am disappointed in the attorney general. He should not have recused himself. For him to have taken the job for him to have immediately recused himself is a disgrace. Yet through humiliation after humiliation sef sessions has resisted the president s efforts to force him out. And now were learning hes not leaving voluntarily. In his undated Resignation Letter sessions addressed the president saying at your request, i am submitting my resignation. The president s decision to replace sessions with his former chief of staff gives trump a chance to stop mueller in his tracks. In fact, the new acting attorney general mat whittaker predicted last year anyone replacing sessions may in fact halt the special counsels investigation. I can see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment and that attorney general doesnt fire bob mueller but he just reduces the budget so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt. Joining me right now is Michael Schmidt from the new york times, Hakeem Jeffries from new york, mimi roca a former federal prosecutor. I want to all get your thoughts and a huge day we thought would be a morning after. Its a dramatic step. How far is this strategic hes going to find a way to stop mueller and much of this is instinctive revenge . Well, this is something trump has wanted to do since the second month he was in office, march of 2017. Me believes that sessions decision to recuse was the original sin that allowed mueller to be appointed. You have to understand the president sees the position of attorney general as someone who should be most loyal to hill. That is more important than the law and following the facts. That is what he sees. He sees it as a personal attorney to him. Hes expressed this in private. He has said publicly he never would have made sessions his attorney general if he knew he was going to recuse himself. He saw the recusal a disloyal thing. Finally today he did something hed wanted to do for a very long time. The first Biggest National republican politician to embrace ha his campaign. And now trump gets to do what hes wanted to do for a very long time. What is he is his goal now to get rid of sessions, bring in whittaker, his guy, probably his toady, hes another nunez from what i can tell, brings this guy in and finds some way when the report comes from mueller, if mueller is around long enough to write this report, just bury it. This is worthless, i want to put this aside. How far is this gambit . Weve talked about this in the past. He certainly thinks about impulse and revenge, weve talked about this too in the past, is one of the things that motivates him the most. Hes always said if someone screws you over, you screw them over 15 times more. Hes waited to the lowest moment possible to get rid of sessions. He doesnt just want a protector, he wants a tom hagen from the godfather, hew wants his own roy cohn. Whether its squeezing the funding out of the mueller investigation, outright firing him, coming up with other distractions, i dont think trump has thought that far down the line. But he knows if he has his guy there, all this is possible, and we still dont know when there will be a report, if therell be a report, how much longer mueller has to go. Hes just getting his person in there. So if he ever wants to pull the trigger he has someone who can do that for him. By appointing mat whittaker as his acting attorney general, trump appears to have installed a trump loyalist at the top. Whittaker has publicly defended don juniors decision to take that meeting to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. To suggest there was a conspiracy here, you would always take that meeting you would always take that meeting so if you have somebody you trust saying you need to meet with this individual because they have information about your opponent, you would take that meeting. Whittaker also wrote in an oped in usa today he would indict Hillary Clinton if he had her case. That was his shorthand for youre not going to protect this guy from anybody. And chief of staff john kelly, this is so cute, privately described whittaker as quote, the west wings eyes and ears of the department of justice. So hes been the mole over there for the president and now hes the top man. Congressman, everybody says, well, trumps going to get stopped. Somebodys going to stop him. Nobodys stopping him. Well, the American People are beginning to stop him, and i think thats one of the things that happened last night in giving us control of the house of representatives. And if his ultimate objective is to try to prevent muellers investigative report from becoming public, he obviously fails to understand that on january 3rd when we take control of the house of representatives we will have oversight and subpoena power and will not allow him to bury any report and or hide the facts from the American People. So suppose, we dont know what muellers going to do. Do you know . Is he going to go to indictments, to a grand jury, to a report . What do you think hes going to do with mueller if hes not stopped by trump . Its not clear hes concluded in terms of indicts moving forward. There was definitely a pause in the window of the election and outside of that window i think that investigation will likely continue and well see some people held accountable. The law does provide he has to issue a report only to the department of justice, not to the American People because an independent counsel has expired. Thats why it was so important for us to take back the house of representatives on the oversight responsibility because we can prevent them from burying that report. Mimi, i have a hunch that trump has very few people hes not willing to dump, throw them under the bus. Look what he did to the republicans that didnt endorse him or embrace him as he put it in the election. He laughed at them. He loved saying youre fired. Thats his giggle. His kids are different. Its clear he cares about ivanka and her husband jared. My instinct has been at some point mueller is going to prosecute them. Trump cant hold out his kids to be indicted because people told him he cant pardon them. Doesnt he have to stop mueller in his tracks right now . I think this is as bad as him having fired mueller and maybe even worse and let me tell you why. First of all, hes done it in this stealth way. I dont know ive thought of trump as a very smart calculating guy, but he is here now. He is president. He got there somehow. Well, and we can debate that another time. When i walked past trump tower here on fifth avenue i dont know about how but im impressed. He does own that building. This is calculated move. He gut this guy in who can control not only the mueller investigations but the Southern District of new york, he has got more control now over lots of different arms going into trumps family. And that is really dangerous, and hes got cover now. We only got one lawmaker here. Ive watched the pattern of this thing. Why kavanaugh . Theres a lot of guys around like kavanaugh. He picked a guy who said the president of the United States has strong executive authority and you really cant limit that authority. And then he pick whittaker. I think the good men and women of the department of justice and the fbi wont allow the type of shenanigans he may try to undertake Going Forward without it being opposed. But this is their boss. But they also know we have a constitutional responsibility to be a check and balance on an out of control house of representatives. And the control is no longer in the majority. You mean nunez and company. Nunez and company. The reporting on this, wheres it going tonight and tomorrow, how far trump is heading in this direction of strategic defense . Well, thats really the question. And how long would whittaker be there . Is whittaker the person trump wants to be the attorney general in the rung run . Is he testing him out here or putting him there to keep him there even if Congress Wont confirm the person that he wants . Theres a lot we dont know here and what the president s true intentions are. What about Lindsey Graham . Does he want lindsey there sph. Lindsey graham, chris christie, would those folks come in . And is trump going straight for mueller . Does he want to have mueller fired . I think that would create a massive reaction that would be negative for the president. Its not clear i mean, the president often likes to do things to distract, and he probably knows deep down inside yesterdays election was not as great as he made it out to be. I see that number of senators as critical to his new confidence in this area. He doesnt need to two women for another confirmation, that theres a choice issue there in terms of womens right to choose. Hes got enough republican males, to put it bluntly to get a confirmation. You know, chris, we call this the mueller investigation, but really its an fbi investigation. It was started by the fbi after comey was fired. The special counsel was appointed to oversee it and run it. If you get rid of mueller that doesnt necessarily end the investigation. You would have to get the fbi to shut it down, to fire all those prosecutors, and that brings the fbi director and lots of other officials into the picture. And the question is would they go along with it . So i think to truly get away with smothering this, even strangling it budgeitarily, you know, speaking would take a lot of people it go along with that. And if they dont, you could have something that looks 100 times worse than nixons saturday night massacre. So you dont think hell fire mueller . Im not sure right away. You get rid of mueller, it doesnt mean the investigation goes away unless youre ordering to shut it down. And thats why nixon lost his presidency by ordering to shutdown everybody else here knows him and trump sees the presidency as a family acquisition. Sees the federal government as a family business. And the way he looks at it perhaps like an organized criminal at times. And i think he looks at it this way, he wants somebody like that in the Justice Department for him. Hes not going to take a licking. Hes not going to let his kids go to prison. He will not let that happen. And im just watching how many steps will he take to prevent that from happening, because he will take those steps. Thank you, Michael Schmidt, and mimi roca and david corn. President trump is taking the fight to them as we have said. What a press conference. It was street fighting. Not much dignity there, not much dignity at all. This is hardball where the action is. engine roaring horn honking okay, okay, okay. clatter feeling unsure . Oh. nervous yelp what if you had some help . Introducing the new 2019 ford edge with the confidence of ford copilot360 tm technology. The most available Driver Assist technology in its class. the new 2019 ford edge. shaquem get in here. Take your razor, yup. Alright, up and down, never side to side, shaquem. You got it . Come on, get back. Quem, you a second behind your brother, stay focused. Cant nobody beat you, cant nobody beat you. Hard work baby, it gonna pay off. You got this. With the one hundred and fortyfirst pick, the Seattle Seahawks select. Alright, you got it, shaquem. Alright, let me see. The new Capital One Savor card. Earn 4 cash back on dining and 4 on entertainment. Now when you go out, you cash in. Whats in your wallet . Now when you go out, you cash in. [ready forngs ] christmas . No, its way too early to be annoyed by christmas. You just need some holiday spirit thats it this feud just went mobile. With xfinity xfi you get the best wifi experience at home. And with xfinity mobile, you get the best wireless coverage for your phone. Youre about to find out you dont even know where i live. Hello see the grinch in theaters by saying get grinch tickets into your xfinity x1 voice remote. A guy just dropped this off. Hehehehe. Welcome back to hardball. With the news hes decided to fire his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, President Trump has ensured a big political battle with a new democratic majority in the house come comes in january 3rd. Even before this sessions new trump signaled a combative posture today towards the democrats. He warned if they used their new powers running the house, the power subpoena, he wont hesitate to use the Senate Republicans to go after them. Its already a street fight. They can play that game, but we can play it better because weave a thing called the United States senate, and a lot of very questionable things were done between leaks of classified information and many other elements that should not have taken place. In fact trump even went so far as to say he would benefit if that happened. He wants a fight. It would probably be very good for me politically. I could see it being extremely good politically because i think im better that that game than they are. Charlie sykes, of course, is contributing editor. Thank you, both. It looks to me like we all watched that press Conference Today, he was in a fighting mode. The press was to some extent, too. But he wanted a fight, he wanted a little blood to show on peoples noses, it looked like a fight. Ive never heard in my life the president saying im going to use the subpoena power of one branch of the u. S. Congress to prevent the other one of doing their job of oversight. Heidi . Oh, well it would be a test, chris, for congressional leaders. Because clearly the house has showed theyre willing to play ball and its led to a deterioration of bipartisanship there. In the and senate we have not seen that. This would be a test for leaders. The president will also make good on leaning on Senate Leadership and Senate Committee chairs. But just like he doesnt control the house, he doesnt control the Justice Department. He shouldnt control the just department, and he doesnt control the senate. Het me ask you, you had some news. Thats right, chris. I was just communicating with senator blumenthal, and since may senator bloomen thaul has been working on a break the glass option to try and protect muellers work. As crow know Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has refused to move legislation to protect mueller that was moved out on a bipartisan basis from the judiciary committee. This is a break the glass option that would simply require that muellers work be protected in the event that he is stifled or fired. And senator bloomenthal has been talking with republicans about this for a couple of months. He thinks there is some support for it because it is simply at this point about transparency. To make sure no matter what happens if mueller were squeezed that his work could be provided. Thats a great question. Because the House Judiciary Committee talked about that committees attempt to somehow subpoena the records of robert mueller. And even if he cant publicly pronounce them, they could get the records and pronounce the results for their own impeachment purposes themselves. Charlie . Okay, charlie, can you hear me now . Let me get back to heidi. Weve had this problem. Heidi, can you hear me . Yes, i can hear you. So what about the steps that can be taken by either houses. You raised the question about bloomenthal talking about it, but hes got to get it through the republican majority. Theyve got about 54 republican senators standing in the way protecting the president , not questioning the president or helping mueller but hurting mueller. Early indications are that weve seen a major shift from last summer, chris, when it seemed there was bipartisan agreement in the senate, that they would stand strong against any move on the special counsel. The early reactions were seeing in the senate is simply one of the strongest from frankly the guy whos leaving, senator flake, but were not seeing a strong response from anybody else. And democrats, they dont take control of the house until january. So folks that i talked to, sources that ive talked to say if anything happens, it could happen pretty quickly in terms of mueller potentially issuing indictments and a decision will need to be made in the Senate Whether theres going to be any kind of push back. And right now we just dont see that indication. Well, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell warned democrats. Lets watch him. The whole issue of president ial harassment is interesting. I remember when we tried it in the late 90s. We impeached president clinton, his numbers went up and ours went down and we underperformed in the next election. So the democrats will have to decide how much president ial harassment they think is good strategy. Im not so sure item work for them. I dont think the democrats should take advice from Mitch Mcconnell because hes not operating or speaking in the their best interest or the interest of the country, in that regard. Why would anybody think thats the right thing for americans, charlie . I dont think theyre going to take that advice. You know, it occurs to me, though, that President Trump insulted two institutions today. He insulted the u. S. Senate by implying they would become complicit in his obstruction of justice by going after the house. It would be interesting to hear from Mitch Mcconnell on that as well. He also insulted the department of justice by putting in the acting attorney generals position really a pliable lackey as opposed to a credible attorney general. And its going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. I understand the people who say that theyre seeing this strategic genius here. This almost smacks of desperation. When you think about the president waiting until the day after the midterm elections, this day when we know mueller may be, you know, ending this pause, to take an action this extreme, this dramatic. Well, how about this. Suppose he knows that mueller was waiting until the election was over, you know, like michael was waiting for the mother to die before he kills his brother, hes waiting for that. So he says wait a minute, any day now hes going to come out with something against me and my family. Im going to operate first. Im going to get rid of this a. G. , put in a guy thats pliable, i think thats fair and take steps to get rid of mueller. How do we know this isnt the last step . How do we know theres not another step he takes along the lines of im going to prevent mueller from grabbing my kids, because i really think thats what its about. Trump has got to protect his family against indictment. Chris, the problem here is transparency at this point because this is what was described to me and my colleagues when we were reporting on this issue as the socalled straitjacket approach that democrats on both the house and senate were concerned about is if there are those next steps taken we dont know. We dont know that the president would outright try to fire mueller but he would squeeze him and try to cut off his resources. Well find out. We wouldnt know at least at this point. Thats something the new acting attorney general whittaker has already said, he can start starving the guy. Suppose he says no more type writers, no more assistance, no more clerical help, youre finished, buddy. Just dont talk anymore because im not going to pay for your room rent anymore. Whats to stop this new attorney general from doing that to mueller . That almost strikes me as too clever, as if we wont find out about it. If he says no to the special prosecutor remember this has to be reported to congress. Hes also probably not going to be able to shutdown the Southern District investigates. Thats why i think maybe they think that this is the way theyre going to have a stealth saturday night massacre. But nothing like this is going to be there will be transparency at some point. And thats why what happened in congress has changed the reality. And im not sure that the president fully understands how much trouble he is in or what he has done by taking this particular step. Theres no question about it, it is a significant thug move by the president to take this action today, you know, when were hearing about the anxiety about don junior. I mean this is the day thats been circled on the calendar for a very, vaesh loery, long time. And it certainly indicates he was fearful mueller might drop something very, very soon. To take up arms against the sea of troubles and end them, and my question to trump is probably thinking very much like hamlet, thinking i better act. Up next, President Trump flips the script. Listen to this. Thats such a racist question. Thats such a racist question. Honestly, i mean i know you have it written down let me tell you, thats a racist question. Accused of asking a racist question joins us next on hardball. You know her, one of our great people here. Well be right back. music throughout the meeting of the executive finance committee is now in session. And. Adjourned. Business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. The powerful backing of american express. Dont do business without it. Hi, kids im carl and im a broker. Do you offer 4. 95 online equity trades . Great question. See, for a full Service Brokerage like ours, thats tough to do. Schwab does it. Next question. Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee . 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At his free wheeling and combative press Conference Today refusing to take any responsibility for the tone that he set in the campaign. How do you see your role as a moral leader . Mr. President , just how do you see your role as a moral leader . Theres so many people, im sorry. As a moral leader, though. I think im a great moral leader and i love our country. Why are you pitting americans against one another, sir . We won a lot of elections last night, we did very well last night, and i think its going to have a very positive impact. Michael cohen repecently sai you called black voters stuped, and the rapper little john said you called him uncle tom. I dont know who little john was. He was on the apprentice. He was . Oh, i see. Have you ever used racist remarks . I dont use racist remarks. The president also lashed out, accusing her of asking a quote, racist question. And heres that exchange. On the campaign trail you called yourself a nationalist. Some people saw that an emboldening white nationalists and nupeopow people are saying theres some people saying youre supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. What do you make of that . Why do i have among the highest poll numbers with the africanamericans . I mean, why do i have my highest poll numbers thats such a racist question. Honestly, i know you have it written down and youre going to tell me let me tell you,th s thats a racist question. Yamish, that was a pretty fraught moment there. Tell me your reaction to him. Reporter really the president was frustrated because reporters were doing what we do best which was ask questions and really demand answers. Sis president as youve said has talked about any birthright citizenship. Vus today a white nationalist, a man named Patrick Casey who heads up a group was tweeting about visiting the white house as someone whos a selfdescribed white nationalists. I think the president s anger was boiling over there, and i think my reaction was that of most reporters which was to press on. Next i asked about middle class tax cuts, because i cant allow the president to really go off and not really stastay on target and do my job. This president doesnt observe what you might call today identity politics. He has different knocks on different groups. White women are ugly, horse face, the comments he said about africanamerican are low iq or unqualified, a yale law graduate running for office down there in georgia was unqualified. Did you get a sense from all of that that led you into the question about the tenor he used . I think the president , his anger was boiling over because of a lot of things. At one point during the press conference he was literally pacing back and forth. I thought he might walk off. I think some people see this as the president attacking a woman of color. Of course im a black woman. He was also attacking april ryan, telling her to sit down. Jim acosta, and calling reporters hostile. Im not sure the president was singling out people because of their race. But the president was very obviously upset with the reporting we were trying to do there. And i talked to some white house aides who say the president feels particularly aggrieved when we ask about white nationalists because he feels its an unfair question. Lets talk about this campaign. You come from south carolina, and i was thinking about georgia and florida where you had incredible africanamericans candidates. Do you think trumps tenor and language from the caravan to all the ethnic comments hes made to the way he sort of talks, to put it lightly, do you think it had an influence on those defeats . Did he give permission to those voters . Absolutely i do. Absolutely i think it was racist to say that Stacey Abrams is not qualified to say Andrew Gillum is not equipped to be equipped. Equipped, right. Exactly where i was going. And thats just flat out racist. But i think his attack on yamiche, you know, she was there, i wasnt. So she felt anger coming out of the president. To me it looked deliberate, it looked staged. Because he is reinforcing this notion that hes encouraged that theres all this racism being directed against white people. And that sort of reinforced that. I thought his whole performance today, watching it on television, looked intentional to me. It looked like he came in there ready to pick a fight. He calls on jim acosta, you know, his great antagonist knowing whats going to happen. Then he goes to Peter Alexander with whom hes had, you know, back and forth. He yells at april ryan, knowing shes going to yell back. It looked to me like a guy who wanted to be seen having a fight with the media. Yamiche if he wants to make the press look like his enemy, he did a pretty good job. It does seem like he lost the argument, lost the house of representatives for the rest of his term here. He lost the big argument in the popular vote last night. Clearly the popular vote of this country went against him, but he wants to somehow start another way of judging the way things are. What do you think of you and everybody else today, going head to head with him in the press conference . I think two things. I think first the president does feel wounded by the fact republicans lost control of the house. This was a president who campaigned, even though hes saying that he focused on senate races, he called a lot of house candidates up on stage with him and was barnstorming across the country making sure republicans held onto the house and senate. And he lost one of the big chambers. As far as going back and forth with reporters i think he was in some way looking for a bit of a fight. He didnt get a fight out of me. I wasnt fighting there. What i was doing was posing a question which is what reporters are going to do. There was a white nationalists today tweeting about being at the white house today. So my question was timely and it was fair and its what i do. What did you see in his eyes when hes looking at you . I mean i saw someone who i think was very, very frustrated and very, very angry at the fact i was bringing up the fact that some people think hes emboldening white nationalists. As eugene said, i think there was some performance there. But he was genuinely frustrated with reporters because hed just finished yelling at april ryan, and acosta and Peter Alexander. Its amazing to watch somebody i know like you fighting it out with the president on equal terms. Its something else. I guess thats good for democracy despite all this other hellish stuff were talking about. It was awful what he said in the campaign, and i do agree with you and your reporting about this nationalist thing here. Africanamericans have been in this country a lot longer, by centuries than most white people. The idea that youre not part of the nation is an absurdity and, you know, is just pure racism, by the way. That is racism. Up next after taking a victory lap or a perceived victory last night whos perception . Trump turns around and fires his a. G. He wanted to start another stink, which he has done. The front page tomorrow will be that picture and the fact hes dumped the guy who think e he thinks betrayed him. But whats he afraid of . How close is mueller to getting him and his family . Thats the big, well, as we used to say, 64,000 question. Youre watching hardball. Hey, no big deal. Youve got a good record and Liberty Mutual wont hold a grudge by raising your rates over one mistake. You hear that, karen . Liberty mutual doesnt hold grudges. How mature of them for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. 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But in the Senate Republicans expanded their majority picking up two additional seats with the florida and arizona seat races still to be decided i think they can get as far as 54. In a press Conference TodayPresident Trump took a victory lap and took credit for the republican gains. Lets watch. This vigorous campaigning stopped the blue wave that they talked about. I dont know if there ever was such a thing. But could have been. If we didnt do the campaigning, probably there could have been. What lesson did you learn most from looking at those results . Was there one thing as you reviewed them that youll change your strategy not just for congress but Going Forward . I think the results that ive learned may be confirmed. I think people like me. Youre a man who likes to win but last night was not an absolute victory for you. Ill be honest, i thought it was very close to a complete victory. A little over an hour later the president tweeted hes fired his attorney general. Lets bring in tonights hardball roundtable. Steve israel and former new york governor christine tod whitman, and gabe. Thank you all. Were covering all the bases or almost all the bases. Governor, first to you. What did you make of trumps timing . Firing the a. G. In the middle of this investigation, and everything of his life was on the table in terms of his family, presidency and his liberty, basically. He fires the man leading the prosecution . Thats because i think hes worried. Hes worried whats going to happen when the democrats are sworn in and in control of the congress. I wouldnt be surprised if he tries to get bob mueller and the investigation get bob mueller fired and get the investigation over before january. Im with you. Its very clear that a lot of people in the white house and around the president essentially and said to him for months and months, listen, we know you want to get rid of sessions but you cant do it because the midterms are going on. Your mom is dead and i can kill fraido. And he said this was another big victory for himself. I dont think this is the end. He has two months now, a free fire zone without a house of leadership there. He can do a lot of damage, it seems to me. Oh, no, i think were being setup for both a constitutional crisis and obstruction of justice. And hes going to run up the clock the next two months. Which of your former colleagues has the stones to go after this guy and say were going to impeach the guy . Whos going to do it . Name the person . Whos going to lead the party because i dont see it from republicans at all. First of all, i dont think the democrats should be unilaterally focused on investigations and impeachment. They need to focus on investigating the president where its warranted, but they also have to deliver to the American People on Medicare Drugs theyve got to do both things. I like that part too, and well get to that. But my question is if he fires mueller whos going to stop him. If he fires mueller before democrats take the congress . Right now. I dont think anyone can fire him before. He made this decision to announce the firing of the attorney general, step on the after glow of the Democratic Victory and number two, i think the governors right. He knows something bad is coming. And hes trying to address that when i hear from your part like Lamar Alexander and all these wimpy comments, and he goes i hope he doesnt go any further, and hes already done it. I know, and its very disappointing because just saying things like that isnt good enough. Youve got to act. And they have the ability to put the brakes on this as he undermines the very basics of our democracy. Hes turned the Democratic Party into the Maxine Waters party and made it look like its a Hard Left Party so its made it hard to show their job and t dont seem to want to do that. On the other hand the American People dont agree with that, based on results from two nights ago. Last night. Sorry. Seemed like it. His game here obviously is to try and divide democrats and he has, in fact, said, listen, if democrats try to go after me ill continue to dry to divide them and make sure the focus is on how crazy those guys are. Democrats are going to investigate him why do voter reelect people who have been convicted or under investigation . Menendez if your state, this guy in california. Dont they have any sense that says, i dont care whether im a democrat or republican, im not voting for somebody with ethical problems, im not going to do it, they reelect them. Certain states and certain districts that have a partisan gravity. That guy may be a crook, but hes my crook. Unfortunately its the reality. Thank you, steve israel with the bad news. Thank you Christine Todd whitman. We miss your republican party, where is it . Im looking for it. Thank you. Gabe debenebetti, thank you. Were going to show you some scenes of the glory of stuff today. What a strange event. Look at it, its even physical, theyre coming at each other. Look at the assistant to the president pulling a mic out of the guys hand. It got physical. Youre watching hardball. [ slurping ] act your age. Get your own insurance. [ child babbling ] aah oh act your age. Get your own insurance. Act your age. Lets fly, lets fly away just say the words and well beat the birds down to acapulco bay its perfect for a flying honeymoon they say come fly with me lets fly, lets fly away come fly with me lets fly, lets fly away and i found out that ima from the big toe alian. Of that sexy italian boot so this Holiday Season its ancestrydna per tutti order your kit now at ancestry. Com always a catch. Like somehow you wind up getting less. But now that i book at hilton. Com, and i get all these great perks. I got to select my room from the floor plan. Very nice. 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East bay regional Regional Park district partners with pg e to annually thin or remove more than 1000 acres of hazardous vegetation. Pg e is accelerating its wildfire Risk Reduction program, pruning around overhead electrical lines, reducing the fuel loads underneath those electrical lines to help reduce the spread of wildfire. What were really doing is making the property thats adjacent to their homes safer. Pg e, east bay Regional Park district,and our communities, were all in this together to keep people safe. Welcome back to hardball. At his press conference President Trump took an aggressive stance towards the press, lets watch. Very hostile Media Coverage to put it mildly, the Media Coverage set a new record in a new standard. If i may ask one other question thats enough. Cnn should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldnt be working for cnn. Peter, go ahead. In his defense, hes a diligent reporter. Im not a big fan of yours either. I understand. Let me ask a question you arent the best. Just sit down, please. When you report fake news no. When you report fake news, which cnn does a lot, you are the enemy of the people. Well, late today the white house announced it was suspending the hard pass of that cnn reporter jim acosta. So theyre using the power against him, one of the press. Youre watching hardball. Lets be honest. Every Insurance Company tells you they can save you money. Save up to 10 when you bundle with esurance. Including me, esurance spokesperson dennis quaid. Hes a pretty good spokesperson. Ehhh. So when i say, drivers who switched from geico to esurance saved an average of 412, you probably wont believe me. Hey, actor lady whose scene was cut. Hi. But you can believe this esurance employee, nancy abraham. Seriously, send her an email and ask her yourself. No emails. No emails. When insurance is affordable, its surprisingly painless. 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Ask your broker if they offer awardwinning full service and low costs. How am i going to explain this . If you dont like their answer, ask again at schwab. Schwab, a modern approach to wealth management. Trump watch wednesday november 7th, 2018, did we expect the day after the midterm elections to be like this . No. But did we know this day would come . Yes. Donald trump brought this street fighting ways to the white house when he came there. When someone is coming at you, you strike before they strike you. Today trump struck. It wont be the last time. He forced out his ag and let in a man who will accept as normal Political Behavior that others might easily discern as advancing criminal conspiracy by russians. Whats trump up to . He wants to eliminate a threat to his family, his presidency and his liberty. And thats hardball for now. Hes fighting for his life. All in with chris hayes starts right now. Tonight on all in whoa. I didnt know what happened. Democrats reclaim power. I could fire everybody right now. A cornered president lashes out. If they do that, then its just all it is is a warlike posture. And fires his attorney general. Sessions should have never recused himself. Tonight why the sessions firing represents a direct threat to the investigation of donald trump. Beginning to look more and more to me nefarious. What we know about the trump loyalist now directing the mueller probe. I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced what dem