Congressional investigation. On the ground in selma, 52 years since the bloody sunday march. A special report for the news you might have missed on Jeff SessionsJustice Department and how civil rights activists say they are taking him on. Plus, a panel of comedians on satire in the age of trump as snl finds its mark. I went to bed, i got 800 messages on phone alerts saying i was a sneaky little liar. I didnt know what to do. So my lawyer said, run, jeffrey, run and i started running and running. But we begin with the top story this whole weekend and there are two ways to report it. Here is one way. Trump made unfounded accusations that Obama Wiretapped him. And thats part of the story. But here is the larger context. The ongoing questions about trumps ties to russia continue to consume his presidency, even as he tries to change the subject from why his associates are under investigation to whether they were somehow wrongly wiretapped. Consider that on saturday trump made this explosive allegation about wiretapping but by today the white house walking it back to say an investigation is needed to even see if what trump said is true. This new white house statement, oddly, includes language saying theyll not talk about this topic any further. That silent treatment may be hard to pull off. Other republicans, like marco rubio, also dismiss it. I have no basis, ive never heard that allegation made before by anybody, ive never seen anything like that before. The president put that out there and now the white house will have to answer to exactly what he was referring to. If that were true, theres no doubt it would be a very newsworthy item with a lot of discussion about it. And if its not true, one would ask themselves why did you put that out there to begin with . Some democrats have laughed off trumps attempt to change the subject. Others stressing the obvious lack of proof. Quote, as a member of the committee on to which youve dumped this mess, i look forward to seeing your evidence, says a democratic member of the intel committee. Its possible there has been wiretapping though it wouldnt normally be ordered by a president. Former director of National Intelligence said there was no such wiretap on trump tower. For the part of the National Security apparatus that i oversaw as dni, there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president , president elect at the time or as a candidate or against his campaign. If the fbi, for instance, had it by court order for surveillance, would that be information you would know or not know . Yes. You would be told this . I would know that. At this point you cant confirm or deny whether that exists . I can deny it. There is no fifsa court order . Not to my knowledge. Of anything at trump tower . No. Breaking moments ago, the New York Times reporting fbi director james comey is asking the Justice Department this weekend to reject publicly trumps claim that president obama ordered the wiretap. That is a huge piece of news well dig into. The Justice Department obviously hasnt done that yet. Key issues here are broader than just trump tower, the building, as the attorney general recuses himself as President Trump says he discovered his own watergate how will the investigation get to the bottom of it all . Former fbi official sean henry, mad miller and jeremy bash, former cia official. Lets start with the fbi here and james comey basically saying, according to the New York Times, that he wanted to get to the bottom of this with regard to whether a president would order this kind of wiretap. You or a senior fbi official. How do you see this . I dont see that the president would make that order. If, in fact, the fbi was engaged in some investigation related to National Security, the fbi may have gone forward seeking a fifsa order with regard to that National Security threat. That wouldnt be ordered by the president. The statements made by president obamas former spokesperson for president obama, they clearly said that the president didnt order that. I dont know that anybody has clearly denied that it ever happened. Its unclear what happened here. Weve got right. Lets pause on that point here, especially for folks watching, trying to keep up with it. Just on what director comey is trying to do here. Let me read from the New York Times. Statement by the Justice Department or comey refuting trumps allegations would be, quote, a remarkable rebuke of a sitting president , putting the nations top Law Enforcement officials in the position of questioning the truthfulness of the governments top leader. What do you think of that piece of it, comey v. Trump . President trump making an allegation that he made over social media, without putting it in any context that, in and of itself, is outrageous, taking the attention away from serious National Security issues. There are a number of congressional committees that are talking about these hearings. Those hearings originally started to look at what russia did as it relates to our democratic process and what the obama administrations response was. How did the Intelligence Services going back to last year of 2016 before the election deal with those. Right. That now has started to take on, in the recent month or so now, a different color. You have allegations that there may be certain officials in the Current Administration who were engaged in somehow matt miller, the color is red. There are a lot of serious concerns not proven yet but serious concerns about these investigations. I want to read to you also regarding President Trumps top lawyer over the weekend. According to the times, senior white house official said mcgann, the president s chief council, was working to what mcgann believed to be an order issued by the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. The white house, people potentially in the white house, certainly people from the campaign are what the fbi is looking at, trying to figure out whether people from Trumps Campaign were colluding with the russians to swing the election for now President Trump. For them to pressure the fbi, Justice Department to turn over that if it exists, even to go and ask whether it exists is completely inappropriate and i would hope that people at the department of justice let me put it this way. The career people i worked with when i was at the department of justice would strongly push back on that type of behavior. I think the political people i worked with at the department of justice felt very strongly about the independence of doj and the separation between doj and the white house and would have pushed back and i hope the people running the Justice Department now, Jeff Sessions and the other people that came in with President Trump, will feel the same way. Of course, sessions would be recused in this instance and, presumably, would have nothing to do with deciding whether to turn that information over to the white house or not. Jeremy and or howard . A federal judge would have to order a wiretap of anybody suspected of being a Foreign Agent inside the united states. Lets get one thing straight which is one of the aspects of President Trumps tweet over the weekend was demonstrably false. It would have to be done with the sayso and approval of a federal judge who would find there sufficient evidence, probable cause that there was either criminality or Foreign Espionage activity emanating out of trumps inner circle. Howard . You mentioned the big picture at the top, ari. Let me give you the big picture on this from the viewpoint of Donald Trumps inner circle. They think that theyre in a battle with what they refer to as the deep state in washington and particularly in the intelligence communities and investigative arms to deny their legitimacy. That is, of the Trump Administration, the trump white house. And donald trump is a control freak. And hes in a situation where there may be investigations of russias influence that bear on donald trump, that obviously bear on his campaign, bear on the people around him. But he cant get at them. He cant control them because we have a tradition in this country of Police Investigations and intelligence investigations, at least nominalily separating politics. This is infuriating donald trump. What led him to tweeting the way he did yesterday morning. This is a tweet shot, if you will, by donald trump across the bow of the intelligence and investigative communities saying im coming after you. Do you think he believes it . I have no idea. I have no clue. But the practical effect of it, politically and administratively, is donald trump declaring almost, you know, beating his chest or roaring like a wounded lion, saying im coming after you and were going to get you people, because youre trying to get me. That is the mentality that he has. That is the danger of this situation. And james comey, with the action that he just took, is basically saying, you know, i dare you. Dont come after us because were going to fight back. And this is an almost unprecedented i think its an unprecedented situation. At the beginning of the administration. We saw this if you read the history books, you know this is how the Nixon Administration ended, open war between the investigative arms of government and the presidency. Donald trump is beginning his presidency that way. And a lot of his people, lot of his supporters, they view it as a conspiracy against him. Hes going to play right into that. And james comey can try to be the voice of reason all he wants. Trump, this is open war now between comey and trump. Thats how i view this statement. He puts it very well and speaks to the way that donald trump, whether its clever on purpose or just a lot of noise that works, he is basically leading his supporters to look at this and say if there is a wiretap, thats dodgy. If something was under investigation, thats problematic. Which is not true. If youre a normal citizen and find out a judge in any context, foreign or domestic, has approved a tap. Thats usually a bad sign for you. You dont usually get to flip that around and say im going to call out the judge or the fbi. Former attorney general and former federal judge knows of what he speaks. He said today he thinks there might be some kind of wiretap even if president obama wasnt the one who ordered it. Take a listen. If a wiretap did exist it would have had to have been approved by a fifsa court based on real evidence. So if there was a wiretap, does that mean there were suspicious things going on between the Trump Administration and the russians . It means there was some basis to believe that somebody in trump tower may have been acting as an agent of the russians for some purpose. Not necessarily the election but for some purpose. He was careful but also said he thinks there may have been a tap. I think thats absolutely right. You think there was a wiretap . I dont know whether there was or not but when theres a discussion about a wiretap, and were talking about a broad issue here with the russian government influencing the democratic election by breaching the dnc and leaking strategically certain documentation to change or influence people and then weve got concerns about certain people in the administration talking to russian officials, that creates a specter of some type of collusion. It certainly does not eliminate the concern that there may have been this ongoing coordination. I think what donald trump has done, though, has hijacked the narrative. He has put this out. Hes looking to change the way people are thinking. Were talking about the senate, house, congress authorizing an investigation to determine what happened and people are focusing their attention on this other issue. As you said quite well, if there was a tap, that means they had suspicion of someone doing something wrong. Should that give people pause or cause for concern about whether the authorities are getting close to something that donald trump doesnt want people to know . Whatever a president says should be based on evidence. He has access to the entirety of the government. He shouldnt spread a falsehood. I do think its important, ari, to note on meet the press this morning, former director of National Intelligence jim clapper said two things that changed the vector of the conversation here. He said to his knowledge, and he would know, there was no fisa order against trump tower or that circle of people. That doesnt exclude every possibility of surveillance against trump associates. But thats pretty sweeping. Is it sweeping . A lot of people could be linked to donald trump who arent in the building. For certain and it could have been overseas collection targeted against russians overseas that swept up people. I think clappers statement was a little broader. We can go back and look at the tape. Here is the thing. I think the administration and Justice Department didnt focus until very late in 2016 on this issue of potential collusion. The intelligence communitys assessment only came out in early january. I think this is just really being looked at now, which is why the Congressional Oversight Committee investigations are so very important. Thank you very much for all of you being here. Matt, well see you in a moment. We are just Getting Started here. On the point ahead, what Jeff Sessions is doing now that may have some concern. Selma, alabama, marks the anniversary of bloody sunday and what the attorney generals work means for civil rights. People just cant get enough of me and my discounts. So this year, theyre getting a whole lot more. Box 365, the calendar. Everyone knows my paperless, safe driver, and multicar discounts, but theyre about to see a whole new side of me. Heck, i can get you over 600 in savings. Chop, chop. Do i look like ive been hurt before . Because ive been hurt before. Um, actually your session is up. Hang on. I call this next one junior year abroad. Um, actually your session is up. Youthats why you drink ensure. Sidelined. With 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. For the strength and energy to get back to doing. What you love. Ensure. Always be you. Its beautiful. Was it a hard place to get to . laughs it wasnt too bad. With the chase mobile app, jimmy chin can master depositing his hard earned checks in a snap. Easy to use Chase Technology for whatever youre trying to master. Attorney general Jeff Sessions is in the news this week from stepping aside from those investigations in the trump campaign. What about what he is doing with his new power at doj daytoday . Many civil rights activists are focusing on that, as they celebrate the anniversary of bloody sunday, the march against the bridge in selma, alabama. This, in the wake of trump saying black voters have nothing to lose. Look how much africanamerican communities have suffered under democratic control. To those, i say the following what do you have to lose by trying something new, like trump . Well, it turns out one thing they may have to lose is their vote. That is according to some civil rights experts. Much political attention on russia this week. Meanwhile, attorney general sessions backed out of a key part of the challenge to voter i. D. Laws, which judges had held discriminate against black vetters that have some concerned that sessions may not apply some laws on the books like the Voting Rights act, which is part of the job of the acting attorney general. Lehigh Professor James peterson, university of baltimore professor michael higgenbothom, author of the ghosts of gym crow, and back with us again matt miller. What does this mean on the votivot Voting Rights act . Jeff sessions as attorney general has directed the Justice Department to take a different position that it did under eric holder. Theres a texas case thats going on now, being litigated. And the federal court has said theres discriminatory effect and intent in this texas voter i. D. Law. And what attorney general sessions did was to instruct the Justice Department to take a different argument. Prior to this, the Justice Department was arguing that there was discriminatory effect and intent. Now theyve taken the position that theres no discriminatory intent and that a new texas law would n. Llify any discriminatory intent that existed in the previous law. That is really inconsistent with what attorney general sessions said the last day of black History Month a few days ago, when he talked about how important the Justice Department has been in guaranteeing the cornerstone of american democracy, the right to vote. He talked about that history. Hes really talking out of two sides of his mouth in the sense of saying the Justice Department is important in protecting Voting Rights and then instructing the Justice Department to take a different position on this texas voter inc i. D. Law. Thats behind the scenes in court, to some extent. Jeff sessions was in the senate before he went to the ags office. In the senate, he was part of those people like ryan and mcconnell who, for 1349 days today refused to fix the Voting Rights act. Thats like a 1349day filibuster, 1349 Strom Thurman filibuster act. He is an adversary to voter rights, makes the Justice Department adversarial to Voting Rights rather than an advocate for Voting Rights. He is not standing up. We have a letter we sent to him over 4,000 faith leaders and activists, said stand up, call for the full restoration of the Voting Rights act. That is what the Justice Department is supposed to be about. We had 22 states that have passed many since the shelby position in North Carolina, strict photo incht d. Was unconstitutional, trying to roll back same day registration, early vote was unconstitutional. Lastly in those states that passed Voter Suppression, 54 of africanamericans live in those states and almost 250 electoral votes. This is dangerous to our democracy when we are going backwards across the bridge rather than forward. Professor peterson, you look at this and in the trump tape, what do black voters have to lose, whats the answer to that . Amongst many things, clearly Voting Rights is one thing that africanamericans have to lose. We tiek a lock at texas, strict voter i. D. Laws, license or gun license. You cant use student i. D. Voters who normally vote democratic, it affects some 600,000 texans, about 4 of the electorate. Given how elections have gone, 4 is a tremendous advantage for those trying to suppress votes. Listen, democracy is pretty simple, ari. Either were expanding our democracy and allowing more citizens to vote, encouraging more of our citizens to vote or were not. Until we restore preclearance, that clause that was already mentioned by reverend barber by this Supreme Court, were moving in the wrong direction in terms of democracy. You talk about preclearance or matt miller, you talk about the federal role here, these are things that are basically different for the attorney sw n general than any other member of the cabinet. He has to enforce the laws on the books. Matt and then reverend barber on that piece of it, what do you want to see from Jeff Sessions on what his obligation is, even if as a senator he may have disagreed with some of these things . You would love to see him enforce the lawson the books, not just Voting Rights but across the board on civil rights. The Civil Rights Division is closed for business. Its not just what Jeff Sessions has done in the texas case. Its the guidance he has withdrawn saying vulnerable kids across the country ought to be able to use the bathrooms of their choice. He went out and gave his first public remarks as attorney general, the government is going to pull back from overseeing Police Departments that abuse civil rights, the communities he serve. Its hostile to the civil rights law. He always has been. And now he is as attorney general. There are some things that people, private plaintiffs can do, lawsuits they can bring. But there is no substitute for the role of the federal government in enforcing civil rights laws. Im afraid were not going to see that over the next four years, as long as hes attorney general. Reverend barber, final word . We won in North Carolina over Voter Suppression. With preclearance they would have never been able to pass it on the books. Congress is the culprit here. Since shelby 2013, theyve had the power to fix the Voting Rights act. Thats where we have to put our focus. We talked about this today well have to take selma to washington, d. C. And sit in the offs of ryan and mcconnell and get inside congress and demand they fix the Voting Rights act. Well have to challenge sessions and continue to fight in the courts, even though it may take us a long time. What we cannot do is give up on Voting Rights because too much blood has been shed. One of the narratives we have to say in america is that long before the russians hacked our system, our political system was hacked by racism and Voter Suppression and many people have been elected through unconstitutional means. They are not winning. They are cheating. And thats the narrative that has to go forward. Voter suppression is alive and well. Voter fraud is alive and we have to fight just as they fought 52 years ago. A lot of important context there. Reverend barber, professor peterson, matt miller, thank you for joining us. We dig into more of trumps attacks into president obama. May be nothing more than angry tweets but this time did he put himself in legal trouble . Did he legally defame president obama . Well dive into that, in our segment normal or not next. More doing chores for dad per roll more earning something you love per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper this i gotta try ldcats til we die. Bendy. Spendy weekenders. Whatever kind of weekender you are, theres a hilton for you. Book your weekend break direct at hilton. Com and join the weekenders. Pabut with odor free blueemu continuous pain relief spray, i can box out any muscle or joint pain immediately. Blueemu continuous pain relief spray, it works fast and you wont stink. Mim evenarts win the kitchen. I need my blood sugar to stay in control. So i asked about tresiba®. Tresiba® ready tresiba® is a oncedaily, longacting insulin that lasts even longer than 24 hours. I need to shave my a1c. Tresiba® ready tresiba® works like my bodys insulin. Releases slow and steady. Providing powerful a1c reduction. Im always on call. An insulin that fits my schedule is key. Tresiba® ready i can take tresiba® any time of day. So if i miss or delay a dose, i take it when i remember, as long as theres at least 8 hours between doses. Once in use, it lasts 8 weeks with or without refrigeration, twice as long as the lantus® pen. announcer tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. Dont use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. Dont share needles or insulin pens. Dont reuse needles. The most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. Check your blood sugar. Low blood sugar can be serious and may be lifethreatening. Injection site reactions may occur. Tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. Taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. Your insulin dose shouldnt be changed without asking your prescriber. Get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, dizziness or confusion. Ask your Health Care Provider if youre tresiba® ready. Covered by most insurance and medicare plans. Tresiba® ready welcome back to the point and a series we call normal or not. Accusing obama of a watergate level conspiracy to wiretap trump tower. He may have done more than distract. President trump may have put himself in legal trouble. Theres nothing abnormal about politicians attacking each other, to be sure. And our laws give great protection to political speech, meaning you can say all kinds of things in america without legal consequences, but not everything. Today legal experts say because of the particular way trump leveled his accusations this weekend he may have libeled barack obama. It is hard for political figures to win libel cases. They choose to be public so people can talk about them. Thats the idea. But the Supreme Court has held some false attacks on a public figure are so terrible, they can be grounds for libel. The basic standard is that the statement must be false and the person making it either knew it was false or was reckless about whether it was false, which could be hard to prove. But theres evidence trump may have crossed that legal line. First, the notion that president obama personally ordered a wiretap to target opponents appears false. Trump afored no evidence and current and former government officials deny it. Seco, trump made the charge without even checking with h N Administration to see if it was true. He didnt consult with the people inside the government who might know before making his claims, sources tell nbc news. And today the white house says a congressional investigation is needed to resolve this. That means saturday, trump claims these charges and by sunday his staff says they need an inquiry to see whether if what he said was true. Believe me, thats not good. And it provides support about meeting that libel standard, about whether that statement was false. Benjamin zipursky, a Fordham University professor said it would be viewed as defamatory in its content. The question is, is there enough evidence of serious recklessness disregard to send that case to a jury . He wasnt speaking on a minor topic. It falls into the most serious category of defamation, as legal experts explain, some types of false statements are considered so damaging theyre deemed defamatory on their face, falsely accusing someone of a crime is an untrue statement presumed to be harmful to ones reputation. As we would say in the law, no duh. So even if a public figure has the grounds to sue for libel, it isnt, to be clear, something that most public figures choose to do. Right . But one of the things im going to do if i win, and i hope i do, and were certainly leading is im going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposefully negative and horrible and false articles we can sue them and win lots of money. Ill sue them if he doesnt pay the money. Absolutely. I have a great lawyer. He has started seven different lawsuits over claims that he was libeled or defamed, bill maher, miss pennsylvania even a journalist who wrote the biography trump nation. He lost six of those seven suits and might fair just as bad as a defendant now. Of course, to be clear, theres no indication that president obama would sue trump for libel, even if he has a case. The tradition runs in the opposite direction. Former president s give their successors room and dont usually take them to court. President s can claim immunity for official acts taken in office. Tradition has also taken a hit lately. To answer the question, when it comes to President Trumps potentially libelous attack on the previous president , we find its not normal. Theres your answer. Now up next, well dig into the story President Trump may have been trying to distract people away from. What is the status of the russian inquiry . Did his attorney general go far enough in recusal . What are the political implications in this divided congress . Our super panel ready to chop it up after the break. Eak through. Introducing Flonase Sensimist. More complete allergy relief in a gentle mist you may not even notice. Using unique mistpro technology, new Flonase Sensimist using delivers aentle mihnology, to help block six key inflammatory substances that cause your symptoms. Most allergy pills only block one. And six is greater than one. Break through your allergies. New Flonase Sensimist. Hey, ready foyeah. Big meeting . Uh, hello . A meeting . Its a big one. Too bad. We are double booked diarrhea and abdominal pain. Why dont you start without me . Oh. Yeah. If youre living with frequent, unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome with diarrhea, or ibsd. A condition that can be really frustrating. Talk to your doctor about viberzi, a different way to treat ibsd. Viberzi is a Prescription Medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both diarrhea and abdominal pain at the same time. So you stay ahead of your symptoms. Viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. Do not take viberzi if you have or may have had pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, longlasting or severe constipation, or a blockage of your bowel or gallbladder. If you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. The most common side effects of viberzi include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. Stay ahead of ibsd. With viberzi. Welcome back to the point. Mark twain once said if you dont like the weather in new england now, just wait a few minutes. Keep that in mind if President Trump does finally sign that revised immigration travel ban tomorrow. Trump said the ban was urgent because of many very bad and dangerous people pouring into our country. Then he repeatedly delayed introducing it. And all of this now coming after that criticism of attorney general Jeff Sessions for Misleading Congress about meeting with the russian ambassador, recusing himself from the investigation after all that criticism. And theres no policy reason that link the russian inquiry with the travel ban. There may be political reason, though, that news stomped on his good press from the tuesday night speech. Cameras did catch steve bannon in an animated exchange. This is friday footage from the oval. His tweet suggested he wanted to add some other topic besides russia even before we got to mondays travel ban rollout. Here is the thing about distraction. It doesnt work as well if you do it every day and everyone knows youre doing it. And it may backfire if the topics kick up as Much Negative press as the thing you were trying to distract from. Joined now, political reporter from the daily beast, William Cohan and professor christina greer. Hello, everyone. Erin, what do you think about the distraction here . What do i think about the distraction . Im of two minds. First of all, i think that the media is on to trump if he is this kind of mad political genius, who is kind of puppet mastering the way people are talking about him or gods must be crazy situation where were reading way more intelligence into what hes doing as to whats actually there. A coke bottle falls out of an airplane into a rural village. And the tweets are the coke bottle. For folks that havent seen the movie and the rural villa r villagers are giving too much credence to the meaning of the coke bottle. Right. Theres a lot of randomness and rage and just noneffort in terms of trump. I think its what comes naturally. The flip side of that, william, is a toddler may not be able to describe some strategy of game theory of working over their parents and yet a toddler can, through emotion of trial and error try to achieve outcomes. Is it possible that hes very emotional and getting new outcomes and has the fbi working overtime over the weekend trying to deal with this, which means, to some degree, theyre on the defensive. If there are wiretaps, the people who should be on the defensive are, according to a federal swrunlg, should be the people that needed the wiretaps. And he is very child like as you alluded to. One thing people have truly underestimated since the election, now its march, the stock market has been on a tear. I have a suspicion if the stock market were not closing in on 22,000, instead if it had gone the other direction, was now 13,000, the money class, the class that sort of hangs out, that is barely can deal with him but is hanging out in new york, new england, california and all those people who are basically against him have given him a free pass in the last 3 1 2 months because of the stock market, which has increased their wealth. So youre saying he has a wall street pass. Is that the opposite of a hood pass . He is getting if this market were going down instead of up, there would be outrage on the two coasts and the media would be filled with this. And i think his days would be even more numbered and tolerance for this childlike behavior with the tweets and distracting behavior would be a lot worse. You have a Political Science pass. Enlighten us. Well, i mean, to go beyond just trump as the toddler who sits in the chair and throws the cheerios on the ground to see how quickly his parents pick them up i think we need to make sure were not distracted. He doesnt fully understand the constitution or the role of the executive office in which he fills. He does not have a strong relationship with congress and doesnt really understand the role of the judiciary in relation to the president and congress. Sometimes we get distracted with all these stories that seem to come out every single day. As i said before, what happens in the morning is not what were discussing over lunch and certainly not what were discussing at dinner and clearly not what were discussing when we go to sleep. We have to make sure we move beyond the white house Correspondents Dinner and Arnold Schwarzenegger and focus on why is this man tweeting at 6 00 am about president barack obama when he has no founded facts and is reading breit dallas bart as opposed to real policy because he skips those meetings . We need to Push Congress to find answers and quickly in their various committees. This is a sinking ship and it would be funny if we werent all on the ship. This particular president , because he is so in over his head, because he spent eight years harassing president barack obama because he could not understand that a man could actually do this job and do it well, he thought it was an easy walk in the park. Hes realizing that hes completely he has never even been mayor of poughkeepsie. He is completely out of his depth and has so many stories that hes throwing out there. We need to make sure we dont get wrapped up in his twitter rants and hissy fits. If the travel ban is so important, why do you delay it and want to make it on monday . Well, maybe not. If these are real policy practices, this man has to be held accountable. Right now, were sort of at his whims and the congress, media and the American Public need to be on the offensive as opposed to the defensive with him. Here is leon panetta on the distraction factor. What i see here is that this president is making the same mistake past president s made when they face scandals. That hes trying to divert attention. Theyre trying to cover up, theyre trying to somehow raise other issues. And in the end, its going to be the truth that will determine whats involved here. And not tweets but the truth. Thats optimistic, right . Because this is a battle over the truth, erin. But the way that democrats are dealing with this, noticed Something Interesting this weekend. Basically everyone decided to skip the, quote, firestorm part and wait for the inevitable conclusion. Things are going according to that script, documenting a lot of members of congress not getting into the rebuttal tweet game. Two worlds are reacting to this, right . Political media world, which were a part. And this does seem like a speak for yourself. And then theres like real america. There are people from the middle of the country that swung the election. I think its been interesting. Reality is that were living in some sort of confirmation by asimulation, that everybody clings to the version of truth that they want to exist rather than the version of truth that is. People, if they believe the facts and it comes out that there was a deeper link with a foreign adversary to undermine our democracy, i do think plenty of people would care about that, whatever they feel about donald trump and Hillary Clinton personally. Absolutely. First, we were wondering, many years ago, in the early 70s, whats the significance of a breakin at the dnc headquarters. Right. Once you start pulling on this thread right. Who knows where its going to lead. 18 months to actually it didnt and had much it seemed like a thirdrate burglary, as we heard many, many times. This seems much more substantive than that. The other thing that i worry about sort of while hes busy deflecting, there are pieces of legislation winding their way through congress that are actually very dangerous, that need to get the attention theyre not getting. For instance, this business of being able to take a concealed weapon into new york city if you happen to be allowed to have that weapon, concealed weapon from your state where youre visiting. If its okay in new mexico to have a concealed weapon, you can come to new york city and its perfectly legal. That piece of legislation is windingity way through congress now. And through all this deflection, no one is talking about it. And trump is probably prepared to sign it. Thank you all for joining me today. Another weekend of protests around the country, surrounding the Trump Administration. Why are some Democratic Leaders nervous about that energy . Well, you could blame it on the words outrage fatigue, growing mantra that may undermine the resistance. But there is a strong rebuttal. Well explain after the break. This is not a screensaver. This is the destruction of a cancer cell by the bodys own immune system, thanks to medicine that didnt exist until now. And today can save your life. This is one gorgeous truck. Special edition. Oh, did i say theres only one special edition . Because, actually theres five. Ooohh aaaahh uh hooooly mackerel. Wow. Nice. Strength and style. Its truck month. Get 0 financing for 60 months plus find your tag and get 5500 on select Chevy Silverado pickups when you finance with gm financial. Find new roads at your local chevy dealer. Companies across the state are york sgrowing the economy,otion. With the help of the lowest taxes in decades, a talented workforce, and worldclass innovations. Like in plattsburgh, where the most advanced transportation is already en route. And in corning, where the future is materializing. Let us help grow your companys tomorrow today at esd. Ny. Gov turning to the trump resistance, democrats debating how much to focus on the governing priorities. The onion once noted, the epidemic of outrage fatigue hit liberals in 2004, one activist saying it is simply too daubting for the average left leaning citizen to maintain a sense of anger. That was a joke. Today outrage looks sturdy on the left. Millions at the womens march spontaneous protests at airports after the travel ban, and it may be working. The times reporting trump feels under siege from protests in historically low approval. Now in some Democratic Leaders worry this would mean theyre a party of no. The seattle mayor saying he doesnt want democratic outrage to become background noise. No way to know who is right about all of this. Political analysts get forecasts wrong all the time. Our next guest, though, argues history is instructive, pointing to the success of outraged democratic opposition in 1982, a Peace Movement that gathered a Million People in central park to protest Ronald Reagans foreign policy. Those protests werent just about policy proposals, about outrage and democrats went on it pick up 27 house seats. A focus on opposition over collaboration helped the gop, which blocked bill clintons entire domestic agenda when it could, including denying a single vote for his first budget. And what republicans did get for their early 90s outrage, well, they got control of congress for the first time in 40 years. So if history suggests outrage unity is potent, what should democrats do . Thats part of the argument of che komen doury, joined by the daily beast michael tomaski. Che, this is your idea here. How does the opposition towards reagan apply today . Well, it is very instructive. If you look at the Nuclear Freeze movement, they put together what was the largest protest in american history. Actually coming up on the 35th anniversary of it. One Million People gathered in central park in the summer of 1982 to demand a freeze of nuclear armaments. Now, Democratic Leaders of the time were very ambivalent about this. Tip oneill embraced the Nuclear Freeze movement. Then Senate Majority leader, however, robert byrd, did not. It didnt matter, however. Democrats want 27 house seats in the fall of 1982. It was the largest such gain Opposition Party to a first term president had achieved since for 50 years since herbert hoover. Now, thinking about that, the Nuclear Freeze movement did successfully place in the minds of voters a skepticism about ronald reagan. Even if they did not fully agree with the ultimate motive ofs of the Nuclear Freeze movement, they agreed that president reagan was perhaps too hawkish. It is probably a good idea to send democrats to washington as a check on its power. And, michael, you look at this from all the history you worked on, there is an old enough tradition, democratic politics, that is worried that strong liberal opposition can curdle away from the party like 68 and today democrats are looking at the street protests and saying, gosh, where were the people during the general election . Yeah. They certainly are. Look, i mean, i think the democrats just need as much outrage from people as they can get. Thinking about the midterm elections. What they want to accomplish in the midterm elections if they possibly can is to try to win back the house of representatives, i dont think they can win back the senate, but the house, they need about 25 seats. We have seen those kind of flips, historically, not just 82 in 94, but also 2006. And you get that kind of flip by getting your people, your base voters who on the democratic side as we all know dont normally vote in large numbers in midterm elections to come out and vote. And like they do in president ial elections or even bigger than they did in this last president ial election. And then if you control the house of congress it is a whole different ball game. In your view, does that work even if it cuts against the kind of the cliche of well, you cant just be against something . Well, look, the dynamics of a president ial election is very different from midterms. Midterms are simply referendums on the existing president. And what matters in those referendums is for the Opposition Party to place skepticism in the minds of voters. And make voters think it is a good idea to send them to washington as a check on the existing power of the president. That has occurred repeatedly throughout history. And currently now, if you look at 2002, in that midterm, democrats did the opposite. They actually worked very heavily with george w. Bush. 12 voted for the bush tax cuts, something john mccain did not even do. Then it culminated in the vote for the iraq war. As a result, george w. Bush became the first president to actually pick up seats in his first term during a midterm. That is a precedent that democrats do not want to repeat. And so, michael, final thought, does that message get through to sort of the democratic establishment, you know some of those folks. They always seem more dubious about the base than sometimes republicans do. They have historically. I think thats changed a little bit this time around. Just look at chuck schumer, for example, the Senate Majority or minority lead erk ter, who i has a liberal voting record, but an establishment figure. What did he do . He endorsed Keith Ellison to be the democrati nional committee chair, keith as wl to chucks left, ellison didnt win obviously, but thats a signal of how the democrats in general, the establishment democrats are acting and theyre much quicker this cycle to embrace Party Activists more to left where as they would have kept them at arms length in the past. Michael and che, looking at our discussion of the dissent out there, thanks for your time. Stay with us as our number two of the point continues. We have more on President Trumps explosive allegations of wiretapping by president obama, even though hes offered it with no proof and breaking last hour, fbi director comey pushing back. Well explain. I also have on two former federal prosecutors to drill down on the law and how wiretapping warrants actually work and our special as promised on comedy evolving in the trump era. Stay with us. Tech at safelite, we know how busy your life can be. Mom oh no. Tech this mom didnt have time to worry about a cracked windshield. So she scheduled at safelite. Com and with safelites exclusive on my way text she knew exactly when id be there, so she didnt miss a single shot. I replaced her windshield giving her more time for what matters most. Tech howd ya do . Player we won tech nice thats another safelite advantage. Mom thank you so much team sing safelite repair, safelite replace. With not food, become food . Thankfully at panera, 100 of our food is 100 clean. No artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, or colors. Panera. Food as it should be. May not always be clear. But at t. Rowe price, we can help guide your retirement savings. So wherever your Retirement Journey takes you, we can help you reach your goals. Call us or your advisor t. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. Hello. Welcome back to the point, our special coverage for the first 100 days of the Trump Administration and point now, we know President Trump was dead serious about at least one thing when he spoke to congress. The time for