Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin 20180614

Also, partdon fever. Jared kushners new reported strategy for pardons to help his reputation. As nbc news spoke exclusively to Alice Johnson whose sentence was commuted by the president. And Kim Kardashian west who helped convince the president to do it. At this hour, the highly anticipated report into how the fbi handled its investigation into Hillary Clinton is being passed around washington, d. C. President trump is being briefed by deputy ag Rod Rosenstein right now at the white house. In a Conference Room at the capitol reviewing that report. Theyve been at it for roughly 30 minutes. There was a hope this internal report would be able to help answer several outstanding questions. Among them, was the agency as President Trump has alleged repeatedly on team hillary . How did its former director james comey, how did he handle things . Perhaps the most significant question, did any of it matter . Did it have a measurable effect on the outcome of the president ial election . Bloomberg news is reporting that the investigation found that comey did, in fact, break from bureau procedures in handling the probe, but there was no indication that comey acted out of some kind of political bias. The Washington Post reports that a key investigator on both the clinton email case and the Trump Campaign russia probe assured an fbi lawyer that, quote, well stop trump from making it to the white house. We have a team of fastreading reporters, producers and analysts that are poring every every page of this thing. We know some questions have already been answered to a certain extent. Lets start with nbc news ken dilani dilanian, hes with us. Former fbi special agent manny gomez is here. Mika oyang, Vice President for the National Security program third ray. And the former staffer for the house intelligence committee. Also former Hillary Clinton campaign official, adrian elrod is with me as well. Ken, let me start with you, i know youve gotten your hands on this thing. Hasnt been made public just yet. So far what are the top lines . What are the headlines here . We have not yet obtain add c copy of the report. The bottom line seems to be theres going to be a lot of fodder here for President Trump to feel vindicated in his criticism of james comey and of the fbi. This is a deeply unflattering report to the fbi. However, it does not support President Trumps monthslong charge that there was a deep state conspiracy in the fbi of bias against him. To the contrary, it says despite some of the things you just said, despite the inflammatory text, this report finds no evidence of bias and finds the Hillary Clinton investigation, however inappropriately handled at james comey at different points along the way was not affected by bias, was not improperly handled in terms of political bias. It does say though that comey deviated from Justice Department standards when he had that Detailed Press conference, essentially accusing Hillary Clinton of wrongdoing while saying he didnt have enough evidence to charge her. And then later, right before the election, where he had another News Conference and announced he was reopening the investigation based on those emails found on Anthony Weiners laptop. One thing we dont know the answer to yet but im looking forward to when we see the report is why was there a 28day gap between the time the fib learned about those emails and the time james comey announced them to the world right before the election. Another open question is whether the new york fbi leaked any information to the Trump Campaign or to Rudy Giuliani who was talking at the time as if he had inside information. So these are some of the things that remain unanswered and well see the report in about an hour. Are we optimistic those two questions you just outlined are going to be answered . We believe they will be answered. And many other things. This is a many hundred page report. Were going to see a lot of details in it. Stand by for me. Let me bring you in here. A lot of the folks are already talking about this nugget, again, thats been put out here. The Washington Post reporting that perhaps the most damaging new revelation, according to multiple people, is this little snippet here. Ill read it for our viewers and listeners at home. A previously unreported text message in which peter strzok, a key investigator on both the clinton email case and the investigation of russia and the Trump Campaign, assured this fbi lawyer in august of 2016 that well stop trump from making it to the white house. Trumps not ever going to become president , right, right . The lawyer, lisa page, wrote to strzok, no, he wont, well stop it. Strzok responded, how damaging could that message be to the bureau and the dojs credibility . Look it, theres no question, it looks terrible. The fbi agents ive spoken to over the past couple of months who, you know, in general knew that some bad things were coming out, theyre angry at these two fbi employees for making them look bad. Because most fbi agents, and this is whats important, are able to keep their political views se r s separate from thei as are most doj employees. But, you know, the important thing i think to keep in mind here is that text looks bad. They were careless, reckless, for texting it on government phones. You know, theyre allowed to have their own views. But theres no indication that ive heard so far, and this, as ken points out, will be an important, you know, point to still see in the report. Obviously that wasnt successful and more importantly that mueller took action to take strzok off that investigation when it was revealed he had been expressing some kind of bias. I think keeping the two investigations separate and any critiques that come out about the first investigation, the clinton investigation, separate from the Mueller Probe is very important for people to keep in mind. Manny, as you know, this is a president that has long pushed this Conspiracy Theory about their being a deep state. Hes talked about this theory that the fbi has an agenda. The New York Times reporting, quote, the theory that a secret cabal of her supporters conspired to clear her of wrong doing. The same group, mr. Trump argues, cooked up a phony investigation into his campaigns ties to russia as a way to undermine his presidency. Youre an fbi veteran, manny, does that sound like the bureau that you know . That is absolutely not the bureau that i know and that i work with and for for many years. The fbis the foremost Law Enforcement Investigative Agency in the country. And part of that mystique is that it is a plpolitical. So this report coming out, that it is really just a few executive agents in this bureau are being politically motivated is very frustrating to me and to many agents that i know that are still in the bureau in high positions. And also, i totally agree with mimi, in that this is something that is sullying the bureaus reputation and name but should be taken in context of a handful of agents that, yes, theyre entitled to their opinions but certainly they should not be texting or giving their opinions in government phones. That, first and foremost, that was hubrus on their part. Being on these very sensitive investigations, they shouldnt post their very varied opinions in public. So its hurting the bureau. The bureau will bounce back. This is just a handful of agents that voiced their opinions while they were investigating very sensitive matters. But the bureau will endure, as it has from the beginning. Adrian, fact remains that Hillary Clinton lost. Shes placed a fair amount of the blame on that loss squarely at the feet of james comey. What do we surmise the clinton camp will have to say or have they already started saying anything about the report or the highlights of the report as weve understood them so far . Well, you know, i think a lot of us who worked really hard on that campaign are going to have a lot to say about this when the full report comes out. Look, i also dont think we necessarily needed, craig, an ig report to see, you know, the way that james comey conducted this investigation from the very beginning. He showed, you know, he certainly showed his own opinions in this. The reporter saying hes not showing political bias. He certainly had no problem injecting his own opinion into this. Ill never forget the july press conference where he spent 15 minutes basically turning himself into a political pundit, injecting his own opinions into the way Hillary Clinton handled her email server and then said, oh, by the way, were not going to press criminal charges. Again, theres no question he handled this investigation unfairly. I dont think we needed the ig report to vary few that but it is nice to see that the ig does agree with this analysis. Ken, there were some outlets, i imagine its still the case, there were some outlets that were reporting that the ig did, in fact, conclude that comeys decision not to prosecute was the right decision. Do we have that . We dont have that reporting, no, we dont. Okay. Mika, the president , theres a tweet for everything, as you know, this was one of President Trumps tweets back in february. Why is ag Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive fisa abuse . Will take forever. Already late with reports on comey, et cetera. Isnt the ig an obama guy . Why not use Justice Department lawyers . Disgraceful, all caps, exclamation point. Given the tweets, the comments, mika, how politicalized has the process become . I think youve seen the president politicizing the process. Youve seen over and over again the president wants to prejudge that evidence, right, in moving to fire andy mccabe in the days before he was eligible for retirement before the investigations were complete moving on comey before this investigation was complete. He claims that this Inspector Generals an obama guy but he served administrations both republican and democrat alike and considered a very objective thoughtful prosecutor by all kinds of people. I think the president is trying to politicize what should be an apolitical process of trying to get to the truth here. Think we need to take a long look at what this Inspector General is saying and understand it carefully before we rush to judgment. Go ahead. Part of the report indicates that the problem that comey did with coming out and announcing in july, right before the election. The problem i have, most of my peers have, is thats not the fbis way. The fbi does the investigation, gives it over to the attorney general, the attorney general decides whether or not to prosecute. You dont think comey should have ever had that News Conference . I dont think he should have ever had that News Conference. Thats not the way the fbi works. Thats not the way the system is supposed to work. If then attorney general lynch de facto recused herself from the case, that should have been handed down to a Deputy Attorney general to make that announcement if they wanted to make that announcement at all. The fact that comey did that, according to the report, kind of one sided without the Attorney Generals Office approving it or even perhaps knowing about it shows bad judgment and it started the process in weakening the bureaus reputation. Again, as were having this conversation for folks who might just be joining us, right now, were told that the white house is being briefed by Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein on the findings inside this ig report from the Justice Department. That is happening right now. Live look there at the white house. Simultaneously at the capitol, lawmakers and their staffers are being briefed on the findings of this report. Were told that the report itself is somewhere around the 500page mark. So the briefing may take some time. Were also told those who are conducting the briefings are taking quite the way to, whatever the findings are, to launch fresh political attacks behind Robert Muellers russia probe, which the president has repeatedly referred to as a witch hunt. Will any of this, mimi, have any sort of impact on the special counsel and his investigation . Well, it certainly shouldnt. I mean, i think the people it will have an impact on are the people who, you know, trumps surrogates and trumps followers. They will use the report to, in their mind, discredit the mueller investigation. But it absolutely should not have any impact on it. That is a separate investigation. A separate team of prosecutors and agents. You know, the only overlap is agent strzok, which mueller, you know, immediately moved him off, as soon as he found out that there was an issue. And the fact is that nothing that comes out in this report, nothing that trump says, can unring the bell, can undo what mueller has already found. And i think, you know, its just the tip of the iceberg what we know muellers already found. In other words, manaforts contacts with, you know, former russian intelligence. Michael cohens receipt of money from russian oligarchs, and thats in the Southern District of new york, and those are just two examples. Theres so many thats come out already. Despite how many times they say no collusion, no collusion, you know, were i think its already there for us to see in plain sight but were going to wait and see the full story and what is actually chargeable. But nothing that comes out in this ig report should or will affect that. All right, panel, stand by for me, if you can, for a moment. Also new today, new yorks attorney general filed a 2. 8 million lawsuit against the Trump Foundation. The suit alleges mr. Trump used the Trump Foundations charitable assets to pay off his legal obligations. To promote trump hotels and other businesses. And to purchase personal items. In addition, the Trump Foundation illegally provided extensive support to his 2016 president ial campaign by using the Trump Foundations name and funds it raised from the public to promote his campaign for presidency. I want to bring in w nbc chief Investigative Reporter jonathan dints. This is part of the statement. This is politics at its worst. The foundation has donated over 19 million to worthy charitable causes. The president himself or through his companies has contributed more than 8 million. Jonathan what do we know about the investigation so far . We know the new York State Attorney general is pull nothing punches, accusing the Trump Foundation of breaking state and federal laws. The language in this lawsuit scathing according to a pattern of illegal conduct, that the nation was nothing more than, quote an empty shell. It was used as a checkbook for the hotels, they allege, pay off private lawsuits and coordinate directly with the Trump Campaign. Remember the iowa caucuses. Donald trump jumped out of the debate and held this fundraiser for veterans. The lawsuit alleges it was Trump Campaign staffers that were making the decisions on how the Charity Money that was raised was doled out to various groups and individuals. A big no no. The attorney general says thats clear crossing of the line. Breaking of the law. The civil lawsuit points out that they are now making referrals to the irs and the federal Election Commission for possible criminal investigation. Again, the state attorney general only filing this as a civil lawsuit. Seeking millions in restitution and damages. The state attorney general wants to shut down this charity and bar donald trump and three of his children from ever sitting on or for a time sitting on any not for profits because of their alleged improper activities. Trump calling this lawsuit ridiculo ridiculous. Pointing out it paid out more money than it even brought in. It doesnt address specifics about the alleged Campaign Connections and the way the money was handled. Again, hes saying that this is the work of sleazy new york democrats. Says he wont settle. Wont settle the case. Thats right. We should remind folks the president also said that about the Trump University case and he did, in fact, ultimately end up settling that case. What happens next . Well, this lawsuit moves forward. Theres a possible review by the is p irs which will take a long time. This just adds to all the other legal woes the president is dealing with from the russia investigation to Michael Cohen here in new york. Its just yet another legal battle. Mimi, could criminal charges stem from this lawsuit . Whats the likelihood of that or no . Absolutely. Not stem from the lawsuit per se. Although as jonathan pointed out, there seems to be referrals by the new york ag to the irs and the fec. But the facts performed the basis of this lawsuit could very well form the basis of criminal charges. Both state and federal. And so, you know, when i hear these the wording, the allegations about how he allegedly used the trump, you know, foundation, you know, as a former federal prosecutor, i think fraud, fraud, fraud and tax violations. So, you know, i wouldnt be surprised if this isnt also part of the somewhere in the Southern District whether it be part of the cohen investigation, because we dont know right now is cohen involved in any of this in some way. Or is a separate investigation. And i think one important point to make here is that this this really is a protection against the things that some people are worried about trump doing. Whether it be pardoning Michael Cohen, following rosenstein, firing mueller or pardoning himself as well. Exactly. Because now you have not just criminal but civil, you know, cases coming at him. And you have the evidence, the facts. Whatever forms the underlying basis of this lawsuit in multiple jurisdictions, in multiple offices. It just makes it really hard for him to impede all of those. You know, one of them, let alone all of them. Lots to digest. Thank you for helping us on this thursday. Were going to have a rare look inside the walmart turned detention facility. Thats where 1,500 kids who crossed our border are being detained right now. Many of them forced from their parents. Also, the mural of President Trump that greets them. Plus, now hiring. How do you fill all the spots of all the people who are living their jobs at the white house and the positions that were never filled . How about a job fair . The flyer reportedly sent out seeking conservatives who are, quote, interested in a career at the white house. Ffee. Ffee. Its singleorigin kenyan coffee from the nyeri highlands, 6,000 feet above sea level. But how do you really know that the beans journeyed to the port of mombasa and across the pacific . That you can trust theyre 100 authentic . Ibm blockchain. A smart way to track every step, ensuring this coffee did indeed come from 6,000 feet above sea level. And not a foot lower. Its just a burst pipe, i could fix laugh no. With claim rateguard your rates wont go up just beacuase of a claim. I totally couldve. wife nope switching to allstate is worth it. a voby daft punk is heard bettethroughout. sound of typing sound of exhaling sound of drilling jimmy shouting james brand vo the Worlds Largest workforce works for themselves. We work for them. Quickbooks. Backing you. With the right steps, hasnt left my side. 80 of recurrent ischemic strokes could be prevented. A bayer aspirin regimen is one step to help prevent another stroke. So, im doing all i can to stay in his life. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Right now, with an 11,000 Migrant Children being held in federal custody, under the trump administrations zero tolerance policy, those numbers are growing. They are, in fact, imMigrant Children, not Migrant Children. From democrats on the hill, outrage. To the barbaric policy of ripping children from the arms of their parents at the border, barbar barbaric, thats not american. Separating children from parent, denying relief to victims of brutal domestic violence, thats not going to make our country better. House Speaker Paul Ryan was also asked about it today. Speakspeaker, are you comfor with the current zero tolerance policy leading to parents and children being separated at the boarder . No, im not. We believe it should be addressed in legislation. All of this comes as were getting our first look inside americas largest Detention Center for Migrant Children. A facility now being pushed beyond its legal capacity. Msnbc was one of the first invited inside, along with a staff writer for the l. A. Times. Jacob, we should note here, you were not allowed to take your cameras inside. This is video of the facility thats been provided by hhs. They released this video. How do the videos that they provided, how do those videos line up with what you saw . For the most part, craig, i mean, that is what it looked like in there. It is relatively nice given the circumstances. But i know weve been showing footage of kids playing. We were in there together. Theyre only allowed outside for two hours a day. So people are getting this look of, you know, these young migrant kids playing outside. But theyre only allowed out for one hour a day structured time, one hour a day unstructured time. Effectively what ive been saying is, you know, theyre incarcerated. There are no cells, there are no cages, but these kids are living inside a 250 square foot former Walmart Super center under the strict supervision of the department of health and human services. Increasing number of those kids have been separated from their parents under the zero tolerance policy. Its a crisis thats been manufactured by the trump administration. It hasnt always been this way. Thats i think important to underline. Are we talking armed guards . I mean, how are they keeping them how are they keeping them under control for lack of a better phrase . As far as i saw, i didnt see any arms guards. What we should note is there are security guards. They cant leave without permission. And there were some incidents and happened with some instances of runaways. They didnt seem to say. The goal of the nonprofit that runs is to get these kids reunited with their families or a sponsor which theyll join us with sooas soon as possible. Particularly now because its more crowded in there than ever before. Molly, this is part of your latest piece for the lal. A. Time times. You talked to a former youth care worker who worked in a similar facility in california. A piece of what he told you about his experience there. Physically, their needs were taken care of. They were provided food by the National School lunch program. They ate the same food as american schoolchildren. When it came to issues of emotional and social and other necessities beyond just the basic human needs, thats where things began to kind of break apart. Molly, what did he mean by that, break apart . The tour we saw at this facility was orchestrated and we were led through and shown by staff what was going on. Like jacob said there were staff there supervising the kids. The youth knew they were being observed. But what he is talking about, the worker i talked to from the tucson facility, run by the same nonprofit, hes talking about what happens when the media isnt there, when staff are interacting with youth. He said things had started to break apart after the zero tolerance policy because staff were becoming overwhelmeded by kids, in particular, young what they called tender age kids, under age 13, who had been separated from their parents, did not know where their parents were and in many cases were not notified or put in touch with their parents for several weeks. Jacob, for folks who havent with been following the story as chloe closely, whats the end game for these kids . 52 days on average, and many of these kids are here declaring asylum. This area of the Border Patrol sees more people caught by the Border Patrol than anywhere else on the southwest border. The chief told me half of those people are seeking asylum. Theyre fleeing some sort of violence and trying to get legal status here in the United States based on that claim. Now what happens to Asylum Seekers is more up in the air than its ever been for these young kids because theyre being taken away from their parents. Now the attorney general is saying things like dom met aft t Domestic Abuse is no longer grounds for asylum. So many turned back, based on these new decrees basically from the attorney general. Molly, i want to remind our viewers of something President Trump said back in april. Were going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security. Were going to be guarding our border with the military. Thats a big step. All right, so National Guard soldiers have been deployed since then to help carry out the president s orders, molly. In reality, theyre apparently as far away from the border as possible. Politico reporting today theyre doing everything but watching the border. Everything from shoveling manure to changing tires. How surprised should we be, molly . Well, i had talked to some Border Patrol agents last month until today who had that same complaint. They said they didnt understand why the National Guard wasnt being allowed to do as much. In particular, because the National Guard was allowed to deploy closer to on the border, on the rio grande river, under the obama administration. So when they were deployed by the state of texas. So they didnt understand what the difference was. I asked the National Guard. That was never really clarified except theyre there in the support role for Border Patrol. Theyre supposedly freeing up Border Patrol by doing things like air surveillance, detecting migrant groups or smuggling and alerting Border Patrol. Theyre running surveillance equipment. Even in those cases, the Border Patrol agents i talked to said because the National Guard wasnt from here and werent familiar were the landmarks around here, they had to be paired up with Border Patrol in those monitoring facilities. It wasnt really freeing them up that much. Molly, thank you, jacob, thank you in brownsville, texas. Lets get back to our breaking news. Three big reporter takeaways so far from the ig report that congress and the white house are being briefed on. Former fbi director james comey broke bureau protocol in the clinton email investigation. But he did not do so out of political bias. A previously unreported text message in which a key investigator on both the clinton email case and the investigation of russia and the Trump Campaign assured an fbi attorney back in august of 2016, quote, well stop trump, from making it to the white house. The report by the Inspector General does not challenge the decision not to prosecute mrs. Clinton. Im joined by susan page, White House Bureau chief for usa today. Ashley parker also with me, White House Reporter for the Washington Post, shes also an msnbc political analyst. Susan, your take on what we have learned so far from the igs report . You might think the headline would be theres no political bias in the decisions he made, even though there were questions raised about james comeys decisions. I think the headlines are more likely to fix on this new email thats just been disclosed that has clearly one fbi agent saying to another that they will stop trump from becoming president. That is something im quite sure the white house is going to seize on in a big way. To make their case. To reinforce their case. That there was something wrong. There was something inappropriate going on with this early fbi investigation. Ashley parker, biggest top line so far, as you understand it from the igs report . I agree with susan. There was a lot of anticipation. This was a president who even before todays news had done a very successful job of branding sort of all of this a witch hunt. Thats not a surprise. This is just another data point that helps him make his case. There was some sort of chatter and speculation that, you know, this may be something that helps him if he ever makes a decision to make an actual challenge at the Justice Department that he could use, but it would certainly at the very least be just another piece of ammunition for this president to discredit everything he doesnt like right now. Ladies, its not often we report on job fairs here on msnbc. Its not often theres a job fair that includes a bunch of opening, at the white house. This was part of an email that was sent to many republicans on capitol hill late yesterday. Promoting an executive Branch Job Fair friday. Being hosted by the conservative partnership institute. Promises to include representatives from across the trump administration. The administration, as you know, has plenty of opening, right now, considering the turnover rate of senior level officials is 51 . Thats according to the brookings institution. Thats also more than ten points higher than any of President Trumps four predecessors through their first two years in office. Susan page, some of that 51 turnover rate. What toll does that take on the administration employees who remain at the white house . Well, it makes it a tough place to work. We know that the Trump White House in particular is a place where youre going to take a lot of knocks and you know one of the things i think were seeing is some uncertainty on the part of some republicans about whether they want to work in the Trump White House. Whether it is going to be the kind of career sweetener that White House Services has been in the past. Its really i mean i think its fine to go to a job fair and try to get the best applicants you have, you can possibly attract, but the fact is previous white houses have been inundated with people trying to get jobs in their white house, in their administration and perhaps that is not happening this time around. Ashley, despite the high turnover rate, epa administrators scott pruitt, he has still managed to hold on to his job. The subject of more than a dozen ethics reviews right now. Now, even his home state senator, senator james inhofe, he says it might be time for pruitt to go, quote, saying, ive seen these things, they upset me as much as they upset you, and i think something needs to happen to change that. One of those alternatives is for him to leave that job. We do not have time to go into all of the things that scott pruitt has been accused of. But its everything from more than 40,000 on this sound proof room. Hes been accused of spending a bunch of money on pens. He reportedly uses the white house as his own cafeteria. Yesterday, it was reported that he was using this conservative group to try to land his wife a job. At one point, last week, they were accused of trying to use their influence to secure a chickfila restaurant. And we put the list up there for our viewers at home to take a gander at. How does scott pruitt still have his job, Ashley Parker . Well, not just that, but i can assure you, theres more damaging allegations coming. The question you asked is a mystery and not just to those of us who report on it but to just about everyone in that white house except for the president. Very early on, it was very hard to find a defender of scott pruitt. And there were actually a number of people including white house chief of staff john kelly pressing the president to get rid of him. Its worth noting here that the president has jetsoned aides for far lesser sins. For whatever reason, the president is not willing to make that decision yet. When you ask people in the west wing, they dont have a good answer. Except to say scott pruitt on the whole is doing a good job at pressing President Trumps agenda at the epa. But theres no one in the white house who will sort of publicly or privately defend, you know, that litany that list you just put up. And no one has a good answer. We didnt even get to the mattress. The mattress. Theres still been no explanation regarding the mattress. Susan page, thank you. Ashley parker, thank you as well. Home from prison. In an exclusive interview, a grandmother telling nbc news what it was like to have Kim Kardashian west plead for her freedom to the president. And she also talked about the moment her lawyer told her she was getting out. When she said that, i went into fullfledged pentecostal holy dance, i started screaming and jumping. And pardons are becoming a big part of trumps soninlaw jarrett kushners agenda. A new report lays out how it fits into a larger strategy for kushner and the specific part of his work that drives attorney general Jeff Sessions bonkers. Her salon was booked for weeks, until her laptop crashed this morning. Having it problems . Ask a business advisor how to get on demand tech support for as little as 15 a month. This week get boise case paper for only 29. 99 at office depot office max. I saw my leg did not look right. I landed. I was just finishing a ride. I felt this awful pain in my chest. I had a pe blood clot in my lung. I was scared. I had a dvt blood clot. Having one really puts you in danger of having another. My doctor and i chose xarelto®. Xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Xarelto® is a latestgeneration blood thinner thats. Proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt or pe blood clots from happening again. In clinical studies, almost 98 of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your bodys natural bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of blood clots. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Learn all you can. To help protect yourself from another dvt or pe. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Now to an nbc news exclusive. This morning, todays hoda kotb was there to witness the first facetoface meeting between Kim Kardashian west and Alice Johnson, the woman that she helped free from prison last week. Johnsons life sentence was commuted after Kim Kardashian west managed to persuade President Trump to hear her case. Today, kim k. Recalled just how she got the president to listen to her and how she broke the news about johnsons release. So was the president there yet or were you waiting . Yes, he was at his desk. Did you try to break the ice with anything . Yeah, well, i first said that i am here because i really want to know why you kick eed khloe f the apprentice. He laughed and it broke the ice and then we got focused. We spoke about alice. And i explained to him where i found her. Why i believe in her. How people deserve second chances. And immediately, i mean, the president had compassion for her right away. I believe she said you can go home. That you can go home. You can go home . You can go home now. Are you ready to go home . When she said that, i went into fullfledged pentecostal holy dance. I started screaming and jumping. People were listening. Im telling you, i was dancing. Johnsons release last week gave President Trump quite a bit of positive media coverage, an outcome that he does not just owe to kim k. But also to his soninlaw, Jared Kushner. Kushner was the first to actually hear kardashian wests plea. My next guest reports that kushner now has apparently pardon fever. Vanity fairs gabriel sherman, we call him gabe around these parts, is with me. This seem to be not just an isolated case but the beginning of a larger strategy by Jared Kushner and he hopes his fatherinlaw to use the pardons to really change the narrative. What i find so striking is that this is at odds with the Campaign Promises that the president ran on, which was to be tough on crime and we should point out the president has talked about, you know, using the Death Penalty on drug dealers. So its, you know, these two things are sort of really at odds with each other, but clearly its sort of the jared more compassionate view seems to be getting some traction. Some have jokingly dubbed kushner the secretary of everything. These are just a few of the things that have been assigned to him so far in this white house. This is part of his portfolio. White house innovations director. Broker for mideast peace. Tapped to solve the opoid epidemic. Performing health care for vets. Apparently in charge of forming the Justice System as well. What do you make of Jared Kushners work now . I think that list is that he was assigned everything. Now in some sense learned those lessons. Hes focused on two primary things which are prison reform, the pardons, and the Israeli Palestinian peace issue. This is clearly a case where hes lowered his expectations. That was a trip that he would have gone on in an earlier role. I think hes enjoying the fact that his security clearance was reinstated. The crowd hanging over his future in the white house was somewhat lifted. There are reports that hes strutting around the white house like a peacock since his clearance was reinstated. Is that accurate . This was a case where kushner did not like being side lined by the chief of staff. Its clearly seen by jareds allies as a significant victory that his security clearance is reinstated, that his fatherinlaw has his back, and general kelly has been side lined. One white house source told me that Jared Kushner even got out of a meeting, stood up and walked out as general kelly was presenting. San francisco has just elected its first female black mayor. She is part of a growing wave of black candidates running for office in this country. Im going to talk to one of my favorite processors. Well talk about whats behind that rise, and hes got a new book out too. Ok here you go. Over. Under. Hey whoa, pop, pop. Your shoes untied. Ensure hes well taken care of, even as you build your own plans for retirement. See how lincoln can help protect your savings from the impact of longterm care expenses at lincolnfinancial. Com. Lets take a look at some numbers 4 out of 5 people who have a stroke, their first symptom. Is a stroke. 80 percent of all strokes and Heart Disease . Preventable. And 149 dollars is all it takes to get screened and help take control of your health. Were life line screening. And if youre over 50. Call this number, to schedule an appointment. For five painless screenings that go beyond regular checkups. We use Ultrasound Technology to literally look inside your arteries. For plaque which builds up as you age and increases your risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease. And by getting them through this package, youre saving over 50 . So call today and consider these numbers for just 149 youll receive five screenings that could reveal what your body isnt telling you. Im gonna tell you that was the best 150 i ever spent in my life. Life line screening. The power of prevention. Call now to learn more. Thats a good thing, but it doesnt cover everything. Only about 80 of your part b medical expenses. The rest is up to you. So consider an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company. Like any of these types of plans, they could save you in outofpocket medical costs. Call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company today to request a free. [decision guide. ] with these types of plans. Youll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. Join the millions who have already enrolled in the only Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans endorsed by aarp. And provided by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. Apply for a Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan any time you want. So dont wait. Call unitedhealthcare now to request your free [decision guide. ] until her laptop her sacrashed this morning. Eks, having it problems . Ask a business advisor how to get on demand tech support for as little as 15 a month. This week get boise case paper for only 29. 99 at office depot office max. Electing the first africanamerican woman as mayor. Her name is london breed, she emerged victorious by a razorthin margin after eight days of vote counting. She has the support of bigmoney Tech Companies in the bay area. Joined now by a professor the a Georgetown University and author of, what truth sounds like. Michael eric dyson. We should note, this just hit the New York Times best seller list. Congratulations with d congratulations, dr. Dyson. Always great to be here. Michael, as you know, breed part of this wave candidates of color now running for office. How do you explain the trend . I think it is a simple factor here. Africanamerican women have voted for the best future of this nation. Think about it. 54 of eligible white women voted for donald trump in the last president ial election. Better than 90 voted for Hillary Clinton. Doug jones, rose to office in alabama on the support of black women. Black women candidates, black women voters across this country have made a huge difference. So why not leverage that authority . Why not leverage that influence . Why not leverage that political power and muscle to the advantage of africanamerican women who seem to be more progressive, openminded, more liberal, more willing to try new things to make sure that the persistent crises of our nation are addressed. So i think it is a payoff for their extraordinary commitment to politics. Youve written more than 20 books. Youve borne witness to several administrations. Whats if like being an intellectual in the trump era . How are things different today for you . Yeah, it is extraordinary. In many ways donald trump is an outlier. Hes an aberration from the norm. In other senses he is a continuation of a trend that we dont often want to speak about. I think that donald trump represents the logic of a certain kind of view of politics thats racially based, thats full of bigotry and blindness, thats narcissistic, that doesnt concern itself with the other. Hes just the most explicit expression of it. The more fearsome expression of it. And in one sense, we have the opportunity here to see explicitly and clearly what were up against. On the other hand, he makes Richard Nixon look like he was playing tiddledywinks and he certainly renders others who aspire to dictatorial power as playing games. This is extraordinary that the Republican Party was initially against him, resisted him, that now seems to capitulate, thats normalized his outrageous behavior. And it is a wonder in this nation that we continue to tolerate this. And i think, mr. Melvin, that this president is going to be strongly positioned to get reelected in this country. Thats the depth to which we have sunk. And i think Progressive Forces have to gird up their loins and figure out a way to stop this politic political junta, this juggernaut thats the presidency. Your book. Talks about 1963. A group of Black Thought leaders. You wrote that the sparks that flew from their meeting lit a fire in bobby that quietly burned until his death five years later. Was it misleading as an impetus of sorts for Robert Kennedy in terms of his social consciousness as it related to the Civil Rights Movement . Absolutely, sir. Youve discerned my thesis and stated it better than i could. That particular meeting drove him to see very differently. He was very upset. Like many white liberals he wanted to be congratulated for his ability to help black people and he wanted them to be grateful to him. They told him, no, youve got to speak about race, not simply as a political issue but as a moral issue. He went on to do that. Even though at first he sicked the fbi on them. He got goss yeas for those who were attending that meeting. Eventually he said, if i were black, id feel the same way. Let me talk about race as a moral issue. For the rest of his life he did so. Many of the people who were there, the activists and intellectuals and those who are the thought leaders, i draw parallel today. I dont just leave it there in the 1960s. I talk about Harry Belafonte and Jesse Williams and jayz and beyonce and many people, kamala harris, and other people who are here in this present day doing the kind of this innings they were doing at that meeting as well. Dr. Michael eric dyson, the book is called, what truth sounds like. Thank you. Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein at the white house as we wait for the big report on the fbi investigation. Their own internal investigation to how it handled the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. Members of Congress Also being briefed right now on that report. Sarah sanders sure to be asked about it at the White House Press briefing thats set to start just 35 minutes or so from now. The line between work and life hasnt just blurred. Its gone. Thats why you need someone behind you. Not just a card. An entire support system. Whether visiting the airport lounge to catch up on whats really important. Or even using those hardearned points to squeeze in a Little Family time. No one has your back like american express. So no matter where youre going. Were right there with you. The powerful backing of american express. Dont do business without it. Dont live life without it. You always get the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed . M lets get someone to say it with a really low voice. Carl . Lowest price guaranteed. What about the worlds lowest limbo stick . How low can you go . Nice one, carl. Hey ive got an idea. Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Badda book. Badda boom. Nice. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com shouldnt drive us apart. But when you experience sudden, frequent, uncontrollable episodes of laughing or crying that are exaggerated or simply dont match how you feel, it can often lead to feeling misunderstood. This is called pseudobulbar affect, or pba. A condition that can occur from brain injury or certain neurologic conditions like stroke or dementia. Nuedexta can make a difference by significantly reducing pseudobulbar affect episodes. Tell you doctor about medicines you take. Some cant be taken with nuedexta. Nuedexta is not for people with certain heart conditions. Serious side effects may occur. Dont take with maois or if you are allergic to dextromethorphan or quinidine. Tell your doctor if you have bleeding or bruising. Stop if muscle twitching, confusion, fever, or shivering occurs with antidepressants. Side effects may include diarrhea, dizziness, cough, vomiting, weakness or ankle swelling. Ask your doctor about the only fda approved treatment proven to reduce pba episodes. Nuedexta. Treatment proven to reduce pba episodes. And i am a senior Public Safety my namspecialist for pg e. My job is to help educate our First Responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. Everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. I live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. Once i moved here i didnt want to live anywhere else. I love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other peoples lives. Together, were building a better california. Lets send you off with a smile here. Rodney smith jr. , man on a mission, founder of raising Men Lawn Care Service and gaining quite the following as he mows his way through 50 lawns in 50 states and hes doing it for free. He was inspired to help out the elderly, disabled, single moms, and veterans after seeing an older man struggling to cut his grass. In every state. Smith also encourages kids to get involved by accepting the 50yard challenge. Rodney smith, jr. , we salute you, good sir. That wraps up this hour of msnbc live. I love that you end with a happy story because it puts a big smile on my face and it is a good way to start the 2 00 p. M. Hour. We started it for you. I appreciate that. I like your tie today. Thank you very much. Its 11 00 a. M. Out west and 2 00 p. M. In washington, d. C. Where were following breaking news. This hour the department of justices Inspector General will release its highly anticipated report on the fbis handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The president and