Jackson, inside the Briefing Room. Halle, i want to start with you because we dont know when that previousing is going to start and you will have to take your seat. We were not sure when we talked this morning that that was going to happen. Now we have sources saying the president is getting ready to recognize jess let me as the capital. Two sources are confirming exactly that. Custom is obviously signature knlt. Its going to be real implications in the original. It comes despite warnings from allies in the middle east and europe. This is frankly a big deal. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is likely going to be facing questions about that. If i had to predict, as somebody who sat in this Briefing Room and tried to get her on the record on actions the president will take what well hear is she doesnt want to get ahead of any announcement that is going to be coming. That said, we have authorities saying yes the president said this is happening he is moving forward with this. This was just to give you back story context, this was a promise the president made on the campaign trail repeatedly. So did a lot of the other candidates during the republican primary. Look back to what happened to former president george bush. He made this promise as well that he backed off of in the face of pressure from the International Community talking about the real repercussions from a violence in the region. It could have an impact on peace efforts. It comes as Jared Kushner, the president s saurnl the tachk person tasked with the peace efforts spoke over the weekend about moving forward with these discussions. But this move to potentially stop that in its tracks. Obviously something we are watching chosely here. It is interesting because the hints that Jared Kushner seemed to be dropping is that there is Forward Momentum in the middle east peace process. Right. But nobody thinks this at this juncture moves this forward. I want to bring ron allen into this. Ron, the president has either talken to today or received warnings from saudi arabia, jordan, egypt, the palestinian authority, all of whom have said no one has said this is a nonstarter entirely. They are all saying this would be a very delicate time the do it and could unleash violence. Oh, no, no, they are saying this is a nonstarter entirely, period, declaring jerusalem the capital of israel only. Remember, this is happening because there is this law that requires the president to sign off on whether or not the embassy here thats in tel aviv along with every other Foreign Embassy whether that should be moved to jerusalem. And every american president before him since 1995 delayed that decision because of security concerns. We understand that President Trump may also delay that decision, but say that he wants to progress to move forward in the planning and development of all of that. And at the same time, say that jerusalem is the capital of israel only, something that theis reels are demanding, something the israelis long wanted because they truly believe jerusalem is their undivided capital. This is the most sensitive issue in this region. Orthopedic, the palestinians, arabs, muslims believe at that at the least East Jerusalem should be the capital of their future statement as for the peace process, they said there is not much going on on the ground that we hear from this side and from the israeli side. There are back channel things going on but no imminent announce men of a breakthrough. And from this side we are hearing that all this talk about jerusalem, whether you move the embassy or not, they are not splitting the details. They are saying that this could virtually destroy the peace process, period, because it removes the United States as a neutral broker to all of this. It says the United States is taking the side of israel. Again, reversing decades of u. S. Policies and defying international law. The International Community does not recognize israels claim to jerusalem. The world says that this should be didnted, discussed, nerted between the parties to the conflict. Now on the ground here we understand that the Israeli Security forces are preparing like never before perhaps for possible unrest. We understand that the u. S. Diplomatic posts in this part of the world have been told to be on alert for possible unrest. Weve also seen a statement recently from the u. S. Consulate here warning american citizens it says in part, u. S. Government employees and their family members are not permitted until further notice to conduct further travel in jerusalems old city including the west bank and bethlehem and jericho. And the west bank is permitted only to conduct essential travel and with additional security measures. Thats basically saying that the situation is so dangerous that american citizens should not go into the center of jerusalem. Its interesting they would mention bethlehem because a few nights ago there was the July ChristmasTree Lighting here in manger square. Hundreds and hundreds of people gathered in bethlehem which of course christians believe is the place where christ was born. Its interesting, i find it fascinating that that place, bethlehem is thor . Of a international conflict. Thats the bottom line here. A lot of warnings to President Trump not to do this. We are going to keep on top of this story. We appreciate you are in jerusalem for us. Halle, stay there. As i mentioned we have got new movement in the mueller investigation. The special counsel is looking into the easy weres finances im janed by den delaney and Halle Jackson stay with us. Ken, walk us through this. This is important because its about deutch. About. The context, and because of President Trumps multiple bankruptcies and sort of inabilities to pay back some loans most banks in the world have given up on donald trump. But boich bank hadnt. And its one of the few western bank that also didnt give up on russia. We dont know that the dots connect but there are dots between Deutsche Bank arc german bank, and russia and donald trump. Thats right. There were only a few banks in a would len to donald trump in the 90s. But there is dispute and litigation. They alleged he stiffed them on a huge loan yet they continued to do business with him after settling the suit. There is questions why. The yoerch arching question with mutualer and the special investigators is about Deutsche Bank having leverage over donald trump somehow. What this shows that mueller is looking into donald trump and his familys personal finances. Who knows where that could go, money laundering, bank fraud, tax fraud. Prosecutors are not going to look away at actions other than russia. The president can control that, obviously, special counsel robert mutualer is going to do what the special counsel wants to do. You are referring to an interview the president did during the summer with the New York Times where he was asked specifically with this, if Robert Mueller gets into your finances does that cross a red line . The president said yes that would be breach of the purview. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on september 30th in this room was asked specifically if she believed the president believed the special counsel should continue on in his role. The president was considering firing the special county sell. And she said no changes to the president s position at this time. That is now one of the questions, one of the questions moving forward if the president still holds that position, holds that opinion. He did not speak about this told. He had a couple of opportunities in which he was asked about not just the special counsel but his fired National Security adviser mike flynn as well, whether he would pardon him. The president chose to the to respond. He thou he did talk about the Alabama Senate race down there with roy moore and the endorsement from the president. Its not that boideutsche ba is just another bank. They have been fined for business dealings in russia. There are some who surmise that being in the good book of donald trump when you are dealing with the fact that you have done things that the United States thinks are wrong may also be advantageous. There are a lot of people wonder why a valid bank Deutsche Bank who does Global Business is involved with a guy like donald trump because irrespective of the fact he is president of the United States he has stiffed a lot of banks. And there was a case where he paid a civil sentlement allegedly for laundering 10 million from russia. Deutsche bank also loaned Jared Kushner money before election day. Halle, thanks for doing double duty, actually its going to be triple duty because we will see you on the other side of the White House Press briefing which we are expecting to start at any moment. First i want to look at where the special counsels investigation could be going. The latest information we have is Robert Mueller who was appointed in may is looking into the president and had his familys finances subpoenaing Deutsche Bank for records. For more on the investigation and another part of it im joined by nick ackerman. Hes a msnbc legal analyst and former assistant u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york. Currently a partner at dorsey and whitney. We have been talking the last few days since the flynn plea, and you have been looking through the agreement. And theres something unique in this agreement in that there is a reference to cooperation at the state and local level, which seems to be muellers protection against or mueller making this into a pardonproof plea . Thats exactly right. I have not in 40someodd years ever seen a Cooperation Agreement that includes anything but cooperating with the federal authorities. This is First Time Ever ive seen a Cooperation Agreement that incorporates cooperating with local and state officials. If you look at the papadopoulos agreement, that isnt in there. Right. Which says to me that flynn is going to be testifying against donald trump, Jared Kushner, ivanka, and donald jr. Any one or all of those people. Right. Because mutualer is trying to in mueller is trying to inoculate himself. In the state system donald trump has zero authority to pouredan ib. What you cant do is you cant have somebody kmarmd at the federal level with the crime and the state level for the same crime; is that correct . No, thats not true. There is no double jeopardy involved with being starnled with a state crime. There are stages where maybe it does consistent double jeopardy. I see. There are some crimes in new york state that better fit some of the allegations that might be here. For example, possessing stolen Computer Data is a felony in new york state. Simply possessing stolen Computer Data in the federal system, there is really no crime that covers that unless you can somehow tie it into a conspiracy or aiding and abetting with the Computer Fraud and abuse act, which is the federal computer crime statute. So there are some crimes there are some crimes that are perhaps better prosecuted a the state level . Thats right. You might even see them doing a joint announcement with an indictment in the state and an indictment with the feds. I mean, that happens in a lot of different cases. Lets talk about what ken and halle and i were just talking about, the Deutsche Bank issue. What do you make of it . I think its all obvious. Again you have got to look at it through the lens of flynn. Everything that seems to have been happening in the last few weeks as a result of what flynn last has employed to the special counsels office. For example, we know that in the last two weeks before the whole flynn matter was announced that Jared Kushner was called in brief will he to the special counsels office. I will bet you anything that the reason he was called in was because of information that was provided by flynn. And that the special counsel was taking advantage of the fact that his cooperation had not yet been announced. So i would think, with respect to Deutsche Bank, it would be the same thing. I mean the money is important here but we dont know exactly how it relates to precisely what mueller is looking at. We do know that Donald Trumps connection to russia runs long and it runs deep. Uhhuh. And we know that in 2008 donald jr. Was saying that they were just getting tons of money that was coming in from russia. And we know that russians bought lots of trump properties. So we dont know how all of that relates. Right. But somehow they are looking at this with respect to a conspiracy between the campaign and the russian government during the 2016 election. Deutsche bank being Deutsche Bank they are not in a position to destroy evidence or conceal evidence because they are chartered in many countries around the world. They are a major, major bank. At this point they are going to have to give mueller what hes looking for. Thats right. They have no choice. There is no fifth amendment privilege. They are dibs they dont have a horse in the race. They have to give over the material. In fact when you are a prosecutor, you really like to go to these third parties because you know that the proof and the evidence that you are going to get is unvarnished. Right. The danger of course for Deutsche Bank is because they are involved in other litigation they dont want to give up anything that exposes them in existing litigation. Thats right. Who knows if they are somehow involved in this. We have no idea yet. This is all speculation at this opponent. Right. But clearly we know there is a connection between Deutsche Bank and russian banks and that the trumps were dealing with lots of russian banks as well as Deutsche Bank. Right. I mean, who knows what exactly they are looking at. We cant say. Nick ackerman, msnbcs legal analyst and a former watergate prosecute. Reporter a fast burning wildfire in california is ripping through ventura county. The thomas fire is zero percent taped. Officials say its growing at a rate of a football field every second. More than 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes and the fires that spread close to 35,000 acres. We are keeping an eye on the white house Briefing Room. Up next, the gop comes to roy moores rescue, maybe. The rnc is resuming its support of the embattled Alabama Senate candidate as the president offers his endorse men of moore. Plus congressman john conyers facing multiple allegations of Sexual Misconduct announces he is retiring immediately. Ill tell you who he is endorsing to fill his seat after the break. D got more more savings on Car Insurance . They helped with homeowners, too ok plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance geicos got you covered like a blanket houston . You seeing this . Geico. Expect great savings and a whole lot more. I give you sarah Huckabee Sanders. Washington focus on the politics of the day the president has focused on forgotten men and women around our nation. These are the families who did he ever a tax cut for christmas is thats exactly with we are going deliver. Looking ahead the president will visit mississippi on saturday where they are celebrating the states by centennial 200 years of statehood. To mark the occasion the president will participate in the grand openings of the museum of mississippi history and the mississippi civil rights museum. Tomorrow, First Lady Melania Trump and second lady karen pence will travel to texas to continue their efforts in asissing those affected by this years devastating hurricane season. They will participate in a meet and greet in krorp us christie and travel to rockport. They will also visit a Elementary School to speak with faculty and students about the hurricane. Their last stop has been at a local food bank to meet with volunteers and help sort boxes. Finally, i know there have been a lot of questions surrounding the president s decision on jerusalem. Tomorrow the president will deliver remarks regarding this action. Ata 30 this evening Senior Administration first will hold a background meeting to explain the president s decision. With that ill take your questions. Major. Sarah, one issue that you may have seen this morning, is the white house or president at any level considering creating a global or regional spy network that would circumstance up ven the u. S. Intelligence apparatus and serve the president outside of the normal and legally defined intelligence gathering mechanisms . I am not aware of anything fitting that definition or anything similar at this time. The president opposed to that . I am not aware of any conversation or plans. Do you think the president has briefed on that or been discussed at any level of the administration. Reason is done a full survey of every member of the administration but i can tell you as of right now thats not something thats currently being planned and not something that i am aware is move forward in any capacity. Again im not going to answer every hypothetical for every single member, did some random member off the street come in and Say Something im sorry. Something the president might consider . I havent asked him its not something thats currently in the works. John. Leaders have spoken out about the possible move of the u. S. Embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. Ma hud abass says it would have great consequence force peace and stability in the region. King abdula said much the same thepg. Saudi arabia is saying pretty much the same thing though privately im told they are saying Something Different that that. President ma krone said he thought it was a bad idea. In the face of all of that would the president ignore that advice from World Leaders and go did and make the move at this time. Im not going to get ahead of the president s remarks he will make tomorrow. He did speak with a number of leaders this morning and hes going to continue to have conversations with relevant stakeholders. But ultimately he will make what he feels is the best decision for the United States is it safe to say other than israel which thinks that this move is 22 years overdue that all of the feedback that hes been getting from World Leaders is overwhelmingly negative about this idea. Again. He spoke with five leaders. Thats hardly indicative of everybody across the ebb. But certainly hes going to continue to have conversations with different leaders across the world we will keep you posted as those calls take place and let you know what the president has made a decision. Cecilia. Yesterday the president said he felt badly for general flynn. Would he consider pardoning him. Im not aware that thats come up or any process on that front. You reason is talked to him about it. I havent asked the president whether or not he would do that. You have not. I think before we start discussing pardons for individuals we should see what happens in specific cases, too. So is it fair to say its on the table . I just said i havent had the conversation with him because i dont feel its necessary until we get further down the the road and determine whether or not thats eve something needed. Steve. Back on the embassy, is the decision still in flux a bit. The president i would say is pretty solid in thinks thinking at this point. Sarah. April. Sarah a couple questions. One, there are comments from people from the naacp, from black ministers, who are planning on protesting and boycotting this weekend the president s visit to the civil rights museum. What say you . I think that would be honestly very sad. I think this is something that should bring the country together to celebrate the opening of this museum and highlighting Civil Rights Movement and the progress that weve made. And i would hope that those individuals would join in that celebration instead of protesting it however they have every right to protest it. Charlottesville, the back and fort worth, the president couldnt get his statements straight on charlottesville. I think he got his statement clear when he condemned all forms of racism, bigotry and violence. There is no gray area there, and i think he made his position clear. Jordan. Thanks sarah. Did the president know that Michael Flynn lied to the fbi at the fired him in february. The president knew that he lied to the vice president. That was the reason for his firing. Matthew. I have a follow up. So your predecessor said on june 6th the president of the United States what are considered official statements by the president of the United States in regards to his dweets, does that standard still apply to the president s tweets. It does and i know that you are probably referencing the tweet that was written by the president s attorney, and he since clarified that and i would refer you back to the attorneys clarification on that. Matthew. Thanks, sarah. The white house originally said that if the accusations against roy moore were true than moore should step aside. Im wondering how the president reached the conclusion that all of moores accusers, including those who put forward evidence, are lying. Didnt say they were lying. The president s position hasnt changed. Still finds those concerning. But as weve also said, the president feels that he would rather have person that supports has agenda versus somebody who opposes his agenda every step of the way. And until the rest of that process plays out you have a choice between two individuals, and the president has chosen to support moore. Even if that person who would support that agenda has done what the accusers said he has done. The allegations are concerning if true he should step aside. We dont have a ato validate that. This is something the people of alabama have to decide. Weve said that and maintain that. Ultimately it will be up to the people of bam wham to decide that. Do you have somewhat of a back story on the Jerusalem Decision he will give tomorrow. I can tell you it was a thoughtful interagency process n. Terms of specifics that is something that will be addressed in greater detail later this evening at the act ground briefing and further by the president in his remarks tomorrow. A quick followup. An evangelicals role in this, how important is that in the faith advisy counsel. The president wants to make the decision that was for the best of the United States. I dont want to get ahead of the events that are scheduled for tonight and tomorrow. John. I have a question for you about the special counsels office. Does the president believe that special counsel Robert Mueller or anybody on his staff is biased in any way against the president . I think weve seen some reports that certainly cause a great deal of concern. And we hope that those are fully looked at and investigated. Blake . A followup for you, if i may, sarah. I think it was about five or six weeks ago that you indicated from that podium on a few indications that you believed the white house believes that mr. Muellers investigation will be wrapping up shortly. Since that time, weve seen that a very high level aide to the president former aide to the president , former National Security adviser has entered a plea deal with the special counsels office. Do you still believe that this investigation is. Wrag up soon . We do. And i would refer to you the comments that were made by thai cobb where he indicated as such over the last few days. Blake. Sarah, thank you. Let me ask you two questions on socalled red lines. If Robert Mueller ends up looking into the president s finances or if he has already looked into the president s finances, does the president does this white house believe that is a red line . If so, why . Look, i think its important to note, and hopefully you guys have seen the statement that jay sucku low a member of the president s legal team put out within the last hour that they confirmed that the news reports that the special counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the president are completely false. No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the fwank and other source. I think bank and other source. I think this is another example of the media going too far too fast and we dont see it going in that direct. Let me ask you, the second red line. The white house said there was two red lines on tax relief, the president over the weekend suggested he would amenable for a corporate rate up to 22 . Why would he be willing to step over his own red line on that issue. The president said a couple hours ago that we were firm and feel strongly about the 20 . And we are very excited about the progress weve made on that front and think that we will get there on both sides in the house and the senate. Mike. Two quick things. Does the president believe as the lawyer from the [ inaudible ] said in the court today that a baker could put a sign in his window saying we dont bake kpaks for gay weddings and that that would be legal. Could you say the first part of that question again . My cough drowned you out. The lawyer from the Solicitor Generals Office said today in Supreme Court that would it be legal for a baker to put a sign in his window saying quote we dont bake cakes for gay weddings. Does the president thinks okay. Het president support religious liberty. Thats something he talked about in the campaign and upheld since taking office. And that would be that would be upheld. One question on russia, what does the president think of the decision to ban russian athletes from the olympics in 2018. I havent had an opportunity to talk to him about that decision since it was made earlier today but i will be happy to talk to him and get back to you on that. Does the white house think that a shutdown is a possibility . You know, its always a possibility. But its certainly not what we hope for. And we have both nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer coming later this week. And the president hopes to be able to have conversations with them to make sure that doesnt happen. Halle. And the president doesnt think its politically advantageous. Look, i said we dont thats not what we would like to see map and we are going to have meetings and try to make sure that it doesnt. Halle. Two quick ones for you. A statement of fact. When did the president know that mike flynn lied to the fbi . As i said earlier, i refer you back to john dowds clarification. Im asking for a day . Was it when the announcement was made friday or prior at that that. I dont have specifics. I would refer you to john dowd on that specific question. Since it is a legal matter im not allowed to weigh . You have weighed in on other special counsel matters before, a statement of fact, what day the president discovered this lie issue. Im telling you a as statement of fact you should contact john dowd. Doesnt seem that hard. You said a moment ago that the president would want somebody in the senate who supports hess agenda. Is it the white houses position that it is worse to have a democrat in that senate seat than somebody accused of sexually abusing a teen girl . As i said we foopd the allegations to be troubling. Why did the president endorse . Look, i think those are Different Things in terms of we arent going to be the ones to determine that process. Thats for the people of alabama to determine. What those things come down on. He does want people that support his agenda. Hes not going to obviously support a democrat. I think if thats our standard then we need a look at a number of members of congress that have had allegations brought against them that are still in office. Steven. Thanks sarah. I want to nail something down with respect to john dowd and what he has been telling us the last couple of days. He argued that the president cannot be charged with obstruction of justice because he is the chief Law Enforcement officer in the country. Thats his opinion. Does the white house share that opinion . Has the White House Counsel Office looked into this opinion does it share that perspective . Im not going to get into a back and forth on legal theories but i can tell you what the president said, there is no collusion, there is no obstruction and we are confident that the facts show that when this is what happened up. At love people have been talking about the obstruction of justice. What do you think about it. Im not an attorney. And as far as i know only john decker in the room is. If you want to ask him legal questions you certainly can. I dont know if he will answer them. But thats as far as im going to go on that. Jim. Im not an attorney either. I know. Thats why i didnt call you out. Thank you. Appreciate that. This decision on jerusalem, is the president concerned there would be violence as a result of recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel . Has that been looked at by this white house. A be in of thing have been looked at that weighed into the president s decision. As i said a few minutes ago im not going to get ahead of his remarks and well be happy to address those at later time. Following up on roy moore. Everyone else got a couple of questions. Isnt there a moral decision that you are making here . Im sure you have heard this talked about in the news the last couple of days, that the president decided to endorse roy moore. This is somebody who has been accused of child abuse, of molesting children. How wican that vote in the sena be that important that you would take a gamble on somebody who has been accused of molesting kids, harming those underage. As i said thats something for the people of alabama to decide. Has the president wrestled with that question in any way. As i said we find the allegations very troubling and again this is up to the people of alabama to make that decision. Im not a voter in alabama and cant make that decision. Brian. Thank you sarah. The president said the tax plan will hurt him individually. Will the president release his taxes to do that. Im not aware of any plan to do that. If it changes ill certainly let you know. He can release it, even if its under audit, he can release his tax returns. As he said as long as its under audit hes not informing do that. I am not aware of any plans to change that decision at this time. Did the president have any conversations with chairman mcdaniel of the rnc after he made his position about roy moore known or did he talk to state chairman latham in alabama, or any of the players involved in the Republican National committee before they decided to get back in the race and support roy moore . There have been conversations between Administration Officials in tand the rnc and supported that of mo. But i cant say much further ha beyond that. You cant say who the officials are. I would have to check and let you know. I do know the administration supported the rncs decision. However, i cant go further than that at this time. Hunter. Thank you sarah. Give the president s endorsement, does he agree with roy moore that muslims should not be allowed to serve in congress. I havent asked him about a past statement from roy moore. You are saying their agendas. Im saying he supports the presss agenda, the president doesnt necessarily support the agenda of roy moore. Deutsche bank is going to cooperate with documents from Law Enforcement . As i said, a member of the president s legal team put out. The Financial Institutions themselves, if they get a request should they comply with that . Im not going to get into hypothetical situations. We know it hasnt happened to this point and that the reports out were totally false. Again, the media got ahead of their skis on push and driving that story that wasnt true. Brian. Just a followup on roy moore. Are you saying you are saying let the people decide. But this administration has endorsed roy moore. Why endorse him if you want the people to decide . You are influencing the decision by endorsing him. And secondly, are you saying that no matter who runs as a member of the gop its okay as long as you are in lock step with the president . Once again im not going to get into every person that could or couldnt run for office. This person. Hold on im going to finish answering the question if you will allow me to. But im not going to address you asked, the end of your question was every person that runs for office, one im not going to weigh in because i dont know who may run for office. What i can say, the president made that decision and he decided that it was bee to have somebody who supports hess agenda than a democrat who doesnt. Begun its still up to the people of alabama to decide. They are the only ones who can vote in that election we will see what happens. Last question, dave. Thanks sarah. The administration reported today that illegal border crossings have dropped to a 45year low. Does that lessen the urgency as we are getting down to spending decisions here whether to go forward with building the wall in this budget . I think it shows probably the effectiveness of the trump presidency, and another Success Story as we wrap up the year. And certainly something that could be looked at. But i think the need for the border wall and border security, as well as responsible Immigration Reform still stands and we still need to look at all the ways that we can protect our National Security and we still feel strongly that thats one of them. Thanks guy. And sarah Huckabee Sanders wrapping the press briefing after a little bit of a while. She had a bit of a cough. She was struggling with that. A lot of topic came up, including the idea of the president possibly having discussion about discussing creating a private spy network to work outside the cia. The president s decision to recognize jerusalem as theis rooel rally capital. The question of tweets as official statements as it related to Michael Flynn, subpoenas as they reality to Deutsche Bank. Halle jackson dot a couple of good questions in there as it related to Michael Flynn and those tweets. I think halle is back with us now. Yeah. Halle, you were trying to get to something very, very specific. And that is the president , or someone tweeting as the president or someone composed a tweet for the president that said that Michael Halle . Im i have you ali im just reacting to your question because i wasnt even asking about the tweet. And thats not it is a all related to the tweet that you are talking about. But the point of it is, its statement of fact. Its the day. When did he fine out . Was it on the day that everybody else found out on friday morning . Was it before that . How long before . That was it in january . In may . Was it in july . And you heard sarah Huckabee Sanders the press secretary refer to the president s outside down sneel right. I will tell you nbc news has been asking this question of john dowd for days and he has been unresponsive to that question. You said that you said i think we have the video. Lets play it. Okay. Statement of fact, when did the president know that mike flynn lied to the fbi . As i said earlier, i referred you back to john dowds clarification. Im asking for a day. When did he find out. Was it when the announcement was made friday or was it prior to that . Im not aware of those specifics but i would refer you to john dowd for that specific question. [ inaudible ] i would refer you to john dowd on that specific question since it is a legal question. Point to you, you have weighed in on other serve counsel meats before, a statement of fact, what day the president discovered this lie issue. Im telling you as a statement of fact you should contact john dowd. Didnt seem that hard. Halle, you have learned that Big Questions dont get answered, you went down to the most specific of questions you could possibly ask, again they dont get answered. Thats a little bit of a pickle, you could call it. It is a a pickle. This is an important point to make. And thats not others have tried to get at this point as well. And i think that there is a question of who is going to answer that question here. Maybe john dowd will. We are reaching out again for yet another day to see if we can get some sort of response to this. Again, the white house, sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary and want to refer to the outside counsel its their prerogative to do so. From the podium the press secretary and others do occasionally talk about special counsel matters for example, that subpoena that was reportedly issued to Deutsche Bank by the special counsel. Yep. A report that turn out torg to jay sekulow to be incorrect. Also today that is a special counsel matter that the white house commented on. I think thats one of the headlines coming out of the briefing today. But its notable there were a lot of political topics that came up. Including importantly jerusalem and also including importantly the endorsement of roy moore in alabama. It is an importantert ma. People say why do you cover these briefings because its important for people to see that piece of sausage being made. We are trying to get simple answers and we cant get them. To people who want big answers to overarching topics thats not going to be in these briefings. Another big topic during the briefing was the special election in alabama one week from now. We heard the white houses defense and today democratic candidate doug jones pulled no punches. Despite what you hear in his tv ads, folks, roy moore has never, ever served our state with honor. Make no mistake. He was already an embarrassment to this state before before nine court and jurious wom courageous women cosmos to share their troubling experience with him from a time when he was a 37yearold assistant District Attorney and they were only teenagers. Moore has denied all the allegations, lets go to nbcs Vaughn Hillyard who has been in alabama the whole time. Vaughn, i want to go back to this whole idea of the rnc pulling its support initially. I think it had about 11 people on the kbround working for roy moore. Now they are going back in. This is not the senate committee. This is rnc. What does this mean in terms of actual help for roy moore . Ali, we are state awaiting word from the rnc exactly what they are planning to do. We are just seven days out. They had three weeks off here. They had 11 operatives on the ground who were collecting data, really trying to identify which voters they needed to target of the suddenly without three weeks of data it is a tough to come in at the last moment. In terms of Field Operation there has been no word about them i guess recommitting boots on the ground. As for tv ad buys, radio ad byes, bijate byes, i did just confirm with a protrump super pac they will be going on the air waves. They have a 1. 1 million ad buy here. They are not backing roy moore. We should point out they will be targeting doug jones particularly on his stance on abortion. What about the allegation that President Trump is making that doug jones is soft on crime. He has a strong prosecutor in alabama. Does anybody fall for that . Its not the topic on the ground. I will note its interesting to counter that doug jones at that event which you just played he counted roy moore is somebody who hurts little girls shun be going to the u. S. Senate should be going to prison. I want to play you sound bytes from people on the undergro. Everybody interestingly has an opinion it semts like in this state. Not that they are so certain what their opinion is but these are a couple republicans we talked to this morning. Doug jones or roy moore . Doug jones. Why this time not both vote for roy moore even though you voted for donald trump, who had similar allegation as years ago . That is a fantastic question. I would say i had more concrete evidence this time than i was fully aware of last time. Doug jones or roy moore . Im still contemplating. You would be willing to vote for doug jones potentially. I could. I could do that. But i could also vote for roy moore, only because at some point in time theres got to be some sanity that comes out of all of this. Guys are getting crucified for allegations. Ali there are two groups of republican voters, two pools, one of them is the ones defending romney through and through, defending his integrity and believing his denials of the allegations. The second pool are the two voters that you just heard, the voters that are not so sure what they are doigoing to do on elecn day. Doug jones has to pull off a significant number of those. There is a poll over the weekend that said 70 of republicans in alabama believe roy moores denials, whether that translates as enough is something we will have to see. Sometime in the next seven days we are going to have a town hall of the six people in alabama you will not have spoken to, given how long you have been there and how many people you have been speaking to. Thank you for your coverage, Vaughn Hillyard in alabama. Moments ago in a courtroom President Trumps lawyers made their case before a state judge to throw out a defamation suit by the former conest is apartment on the apprentice who says trump sexually harassed her. He grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again aggressively and placed his hand oi breast. I pushed his chest to put space between us and i said come on man, get real. He repeated my words back to me, get real, as he began thrusting his genitals. The president s denials of all allegations against him prompted deserve owes to file a lawsuit. She argues the president s denials quote branded her a liar and hurt her business. She did however offer him an out. I want mr. Trump to know that i will be willing to dismiss my case against him immediately for no monetary compensation if he would simply retract his false and defamiliarer to statements about me and act knowledge that i told the truth about him. All right. Our legal analyst lisa green joins me now, the author of on your case. In which you write a good amount about Sexual Harassment. Lisa its been nearly a year long battle now. And the president s teams top arguments is that he has immunity as president. In a manner of speaking. In fact these arguments may sound familiar to you if you remember bill clintons arguments against paula jones. The Supreme Court unanimously threw those arguments out. In this case there is a footnote that says state court might be different than federal court. President trumps lawyers are hanging on that. Incidentally they also say hes right shes not telling the truth. And 2 burden in this particular case is on her to prove something. This is a Sexual Harassment case under another category. A Defamation Case is are you lying . Hes saying shes lying when she says hes lying. What is the probable of the president being deposed in this case. There is a thicket to get through. If its ruled that the president doesnt have to stand trial. Stand trial th. Remember, the burden is on Summer Zervos to prove her case, then we get into a he said she said situation. What has she got approved . That the things she said happened to her happened to her or that the preside . The president says that her allegations are lies. In order to prove her story, while she says she did talk to family members about what happened. I think again we would see a familiar he said she said case. Whats your sense of where this goes from here . I think the decision on the motion to dismiss is a little bit too close to call. But one can imagine the president saying im interested in kicking this can down the road. The country has a lot going on, and that would just add more. The slightly bossy legal guide to every stage of a womans life. After the break, ill be joined by the only senator to get a bill approved on capitol hill. this time of year is all about family. And wed like you to be part of ours. So our chevy employee discount is now available to everyone. This holiday season, you pay what we pay. And not a cent more. Were so happy to share this with you. Hey, mom and dad deserve some toys too. Its our way of saying happy holidays. And welcome to the family. The chevy family. Get the chevy employee discount for everyone today. Ive got a nice long life ahead. Employee discount big plans. So when i found out medicare doesnt pay all my medical expenses, i got a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if youre eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. Call now and find out about an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, it could save you in outofpocket medical costs. Call now to request your free decision guide. Ive been with my doctor for 12 years. Now i know ill be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] youll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. Plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. See why millions of people have already enrolled in the only Medicare Supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. Dont wait. Call now. But on the inside, i feel like chronic, widespread pain. Fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Im glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. For some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. And improves function. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those whove had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can do more with my family. Talk to your doctor today. See if lyrica can help. We are the driven. The dedicated. The overachievers. We know our best investment is in ourselves. We dont take no for an answer. We fight for what we want. Even for the things that were once a given. Going to college. Buying a home. And not being in debt for it for the rest of our lives. But were only as strong as our community. Who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. Sofi. Get there sooner. As congressional leaders try to work out a bill protesters gathered on capitol hill to push back on efforts to overhaul the tax code. [ chanting ] we have a few minutes left in the show. Joining me now from capitol hill is democratic senator from oregon, jeff merkley, hes a member of the budget committee. I think youre the only democrat to have gotten an amendment in this bill and it was a pretty good one. I just want to put your tweet on from december 2, this was a tax your tweet is that when we shined a spotlight on the terrible devos tax earmark, a few in the gop were embarrassed enough to take it out which is exactly why the gop is rushing a handwritten bill through in the middle of the night. Senator merkley. This was ridiculous. A carveout for one particular private university, funded by betsy devoss family that eric prince her brother, whos trying to get a deal with the government to run the war privately in afghanistan was involved in. If were talking about a swamp, this would be the definition of it. Oh, absolutely. This is a case where the republicans want to put a tax on endowments of schools, but except for this one school that betsy devos funds, thats going to be the exception. The real example of the powerful and influential coming in and getting a special deal. And that bill, the 500page bill is full of majors like th smeas that need to be gotten rid of. Theres things like getting rid of an exemption for high medical experiences f. This is an endowment that most schools use to build up their funds. What are they thinking on a bill like this . What i said on the floor was this was a whorrific plan to begin with, this was taking away Financial Aid for students in need. The whole thing was ill conceived, the overlying bill was ill conceived and this loophole, this earmark for this school was ill conceived. We were just showing some protests at the house building. You also said on december 2, this is not over yet, the house will still need to act on the senate bill. Its up to every american who believes in the how do americans stop this bill . With health care e, we saw those arrests on capitol hill, what are people supposed to do now to this bill that has been misrepresented to the American People . The republican s are putting forward this story that this is a tax cut for the middle class. If they say it enough, they think that people will believe them. Theres nothing for the bottom third, the middle third, its mixed and 80 million will have their taxes go up. But the top third will go to the richest americans. Every republican needs to know that their big lie to the American Public is being called, that people will understand that theyre fighting for the powerful and not for the people and this whole bill has to be stopped. And real quick, senator, you also tweeted, i guess today you tweeteded, or yesterday you tweeted, the gop let chip experience 65 days ago putting 9 million childrens lives at risk. We need to refund this immediately. This is remarkably serious, if youre talking about taking money from the vulnerable, this is the most vulnerable. This is the Childrens Health insurance program, and already five states have lost funding, another 25 will run out in the next quarter. Here they are, the republicans doing this massive give away, these b these i would be fine with Corporate Tax cuts, i just dont know why were paying for Corporate Tax cuts with educati education, with health care. That brings this hour to a close for me, ill see you back here tomorrow at 11 00 a. M. Eastern, anding at 3 00 p. M. Eastern. Hi, everyone, its 4 00 in new york. Three republicans with close ties to the trump white house, all veterans from previous republican administrations tell me that its clear from their conversations and contacts with the president s inner circle that bob mueller is trying to build an obstruction of justice case. One of those saying that the white house is now flying blind and doesnt know who else might already be cooperating with muellers team. Here are those headlines from researchers. Deutsch bank get s subpoenas on mueller. Deutsch bank responded to those reports earlier with this statement