Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With David Gura 20200111

President s plans to deal with iran Going Forward. We are less than a month away from the first big test of 2020, the iowa caucuses, very busy weekend on the campaign trail, and some brand new polling from the Hawkeye State to go through. Plus, my one on one interview with former secretary and former candidate Julian Castro on the eve of a big swing hes going to take through iowa for senator Elizabeth Warren. The iranian government took the blame for the crash of the ukrainian airline, joining me is ali rue sooe live from tehran. Let me start by getting the back story, what led to all of this, what precipitated it, what the government sate about that plane just yesterday . Reporter hi, david, well, obviously when that plane got shot down, the story in iran from that day until this morning was that it was an accident, that the plane suffered engine failure. It tried to make a hard turn back to the airport and it crashed on the way down. Now we know that those were not the facts. This morning the iranian authorities admitted that they shot down the plane they say accidentally because it was at a heightened moment of tension as iran was launching attacks on u. S. Assets in iraq. They say here that there was one man who was guarding the antiaircraft guns. He had ten seconds to make a split decision and shot down the airliner because he thought it might have been something suspicious that was heading towards a revolutionary guard base. We now all know that that was not the case, and it was shot down by a missile, and there was no engine fire or anything. So when the government here came out this morning and started plea apologizing and taking the heat for doing that, people got very upset. There was a sense that over those three days there was a coverup and the only reason they admitted it this morning was in the face of irrefutable evidence that was coming out from the west, a revolutionary guard commander made a very contrite apology for all of this, but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears seeing whats going on in the country right now. Ali arouzi, thank you very much for that update, i appreciate it. My colleague cal perry is also in the region for us today, let me ask you a bit more about the protests that are happening across iran, ali armentioning those. What are we hearing from protesters gathering in the streets . Its getting serious on the ground in tehran. As we monitor social media, were picking up chants from the crowd including death to soleimani and down with the regime. It seems as though one of the larger protests is centered around Tehran University. Keep in mind, we saw those incredible pictures of that funeral for Qassem Soleimani in what was a moment really i think where the country had rallied together. This was, of course, before the downing of that ukrainian jet. It seems as though now those crowds are turning on the regime and make no mistake about it, this is as serious as it gets for the regime in tehran. We saw protests in december that had grown quite large in size. Those protests at times were put down violently. Weve seen video on social media tonight of the protests outside Tehran University being sort of subdued by tear gas, so it hasnt reached the level of what we saw in december, but certainly an unfolding situation in iran. I think the government there had felt like it had a handle on the situation. I think it felt like it was given really an assist by the americans and the American Military when they assassinated general soleimani. Certainly now it seems as though things have gone the other way and people are protesting the government there on the ground. I want to get your perspective on the announcement we were discussing. The iranian government bearing some responsibility for what happened. They did say this was due in some part to u. S. Adventurism as the foreign minister of iran put in his statement on twitter. How is that reverberating through the region, iran doing this and perhaps taking many people by surprise in doing so . I think people were surprised by the transparency. Certainly theyre deflecting culpability, blaming the americans for ratcheting up tensions saying that their Missile Defense system was on the highest state of alert saying they had less than ten seconds to make the decisions and saying at times they thought it koucould have been a cruise missile. This region remains on edge, certainly the small gulf countries. Thank you very much for the time, i appreciate it. A Senate Republican has now joined the call to freeze funding for any military action against iran without approval for congress. Senator mike lee of utah has agreed to cosponsor senator Bernie Sanderss no war against iran act. This comes as scrutiny grows over the intelligence that led to the killing of iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The administration said the i n irani leader posed an imminent threat. Did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. There were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qassem Soleimani. We dont know precisely when, and we dont know precisely where. We will tell you that probably it was going to be the embassy in baghdad. I can reveal that i believe it would have been four embassies. Some lawmakers say there was no information about a threat to any u. S. Embassy included in their classified briefings. Nbcs hans nichols joins us from the white house. Lets start with this word imminence. It seems the administration defines that word a little differently than you or i. Reporter when imminent first came out, it was from the Defense Department and then the state department. Under International Law that gives you justification for the kind of strike what theyre claiming was defensive because the threat was imminent. Now, all along the president has offered different justifications for killing soleimani initially from dod it was the imminence idea. Then the president went back and said this was almost retribution for all the damage that iran through the quds forces caused during the iraq insurgency, and then at a certain point he also seemed to suggest this was about denuclearization and making sure that iran didnt get a nuclear weapon. So changing justifications from the white house, ultimately if they continue to brief congress, we could get a resolution or we could not. We could just have a standoff where both sides are basically accusing the other of not telling the truth. You do have this resolution that mike lee has joined ontd, hes joined two, one by tim kaine on the war powers resolution. Mike lee a very conservative senator from utah. Hes also joining with Bernie Sanders for preventing additional funding for a potential conflict in iran. Mike lee is back in his home state. Hes speaking at something called the eagle forum, and he is praising now President Donald Trump for the restraint he has shown. He says he doesnt want to escalate this any further in iran. Hes still clearly upset about the quality of the briefing but as of now hes praising the president for his restraint and said that actually shows true executive power. President trump spoke to Laura Ingraham on fox news, seems theyre back on good terms. It was something unexpected to see him in the capitol basement making the comments he did after that briefing. Hans nichols at the white house, thank you very much. We could be days away from the impeachment trial of President Trump. Speaker of the house nancy pelosi has told senators she will move next week to send them, the articles of impeachment over to the senate paving the way for the senate to hold the third impeachment trial in american history, but we are not much closer to knowing how that trial will play out. Nbcs leanne cobble joins us from washington, d. C. The House Speaker writing to members of the Democratic Caucus explaining whats going to happen next. Help us interpret that letter. What is she saying is going to happen. Reporter so david, what happens next is what needs to happen next for this impeachment trial to actually start, so she needs to name the impeachment managers, really the members of the house of representatives who are going to prosecute this case in the senate, and so she has told her chairman, jerry nadler of the Judiciary Committee to prepare that for next week. Those managers will be named, and then the house of representatives actually has to vote on that impeachment managers package. Once they do that, which we expect to be perhaps tuesday or wednesday, nancy pelosi has not laid out a time line just yet, but we expect it to be early in the week, and then after that she will transfer those managers and the actual articles of impeachment to the senate, and thats when the senate gets ready to go and starts their trial, david. How much power does she have to play with this a little bit more yet . There was an oped, i believe, in the Washington Post by George Conway and neal katyal, the former acting solicitor general suggesting she could send over one of these articles to the senate, hold onto the other one, awaiting new evidence, perhaps send both articles over and pen something to it if the trial werent conducted satisfactorily, the house could reengage with this process. Any idea how shes weighing the gangsmanship around this in light of the fact the constitution doesnt spell that out clearly what happens next. Those are really interesting ideas, and we heard some murmurin murmurings, rumblings about those ideas this past week. Our colleague asked the speaker yesterday if she plans to send both articles or just one of them, and pelosi said she plans to send what the house has passed, both articles of impeachment. The second idea of amending or threatening the cincinnati if they don senate if they dont hold a trial with new witnesses and documents, then theyll take it up. Thats been a contention among the two. Its unlikely thats going to happen. We could see, nancy pelosi has a lot of tricks in her pockets, and she could pull that one out. Seeing what happens, Leanne Caldwell who covers congress for us here at nbc. Thank you. We turn to the chand dat days away from the iowa caucuses. For the first time senator Bernie Sanders leads the pack of democratic hopefuls in the latest iowa polls, a fact illustrated colorfully on the front page of the Des Moines Register. Bernie sanders is their first choice for president. Senator Elizabeth Warren is close behind with 17 . Pete buttigieg is third with 16 pre and joe biden rounding out the top four with 16 . Today several of the candidates are on the road visiting early voting states. Joining me from des moines, iowa, is nbc News Campaign mara barrett. Let me start with this poll, the Gold Standard poll run by january selt sher. How significant is this . Sure, david, how are you . Like you said this is a very, very accurate poll. In the past years its been eerily accurate, but when you look at the past couple of polls weve seen from seltzer and company, theres been a lot of differences from the november and september polls that weve been looking at coming out of iowa, back in September Warren led way ahead and in November Pete buttigieg let almost nine points ahead, and now hes fallen back, so sanders coming out in front in this one, its just a picture and a snapshot of how uncertain iowans really are right now, david. What does this mean for those who didnt move that much in the polls, senator cory booker as ive heard him campaigning has said im not paying attention to the polls. There are the pea kuehl arculia caucusing in iowa, for those who didnt move in this latest poll, what do they read from this . Sure, so cory booker, andrew yang, they didnt register much out of these polls or this iowa poll because they actually put this poll out earlier than we were expecting. Usually the iowa poll drops on a saturday. It dropped on a friday yesterday, which yesterday was the deadline for the next iowa debate, and so its becoming very clear if there arent any polls that come out today before midnight, that cory booker, andrew yang, michael bennet, some of the other lower polling candidates wont make the debate stage. Tom steyer made the debate stage earlier this week. He doesnt even register in this iowa poll we saw yesterday, so its kind of interesting to look at this snapshot of what the top four front runners that are kind of neck in neck here in iowa and how its a little different across the country. In iowa here biden is in fourth place. In nevada and South Carolina hes in first place and tom steyer is in second and third in some of those same polls. Its kind of interesting to see the differential of what were looking at in iowa versus the rest of the country, which could be a preview of what comes out of iowa following that first in the nation caucus state. Maura barrett in des moines, appreciate it as always. Iran and impeachment, how President Trump is using both to energize his base. Plus, Mike Bloomberg kicks off his texas bus tour today while the other president ial hopefuls are campaigns in key early primary states. Were going to hear from him, and hes got a special guest with him as he travels through the Lone Star State. Ill wipe up the floor with you worse than anybody else whos ever tackled you. Shh, listen to me, im older, smarter, if you live to be 120, youre not going to be as smart as i am in one finger. Do you have concerns about mild memory loss related to aging . Prevagen is the number one pharmacistrecommended memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Some things are too important to do yourself. Get customized security with 24 7 monitoring from xfinity home. Awarded the best professionally installed system by cnet. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Call, click or visit a store today. Welcome back, we are following some breaking news this afternoon, two u. S. Soldiers, another two injured today in afghanistan after their vehicle struck an ied in the kandahar province of that country. The names of the Service Members killed are being withheld for 24 hours after the notification of next of kin is complete. President trump made the killing of Qassem Soleimani a rallying cry this week at a Campaign Event in toledo, ohio, he boasted about it and got in a jab or two at House Speaker nancy pelosi as well. We got a call, we heard where he was. We knew the way he was getting there, and we had to make a decision. We didnt have time to call up nancy, who is not operating with a full deck. Peter baker has made his way back from the glass city of toledo, ohio, to washington, d. C. Hes the chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times and an msnbc political analyst. How did that, the killing of Qassem Soleimani manifest itself in the comments the president gave there, what is that rally, i believe his 15th as president in ohio tell ewe about what things are going to look like, what the content of these rallies is going to be like as we press ahead to iowa, new hampshire, and what hes most interested in, the general election. It went over well in that crowd. He was cheered by an audience that was energized by the tough approach to iran that he was projecting, but of course, the real conundrum for President Trump is reconciling that sort of, you know, manly defense oriented Security Policies as he presents them with the same president who promised to get out of the middle east and the endless wars, right . And a lot of people in that room, i think, are just as eager to find a way to get american troops home to to get out of the constant conflicts that weve been in in the last 20 years in that region as the president himself has made clear he wants to be. The question is how does he go forward with that appeal . How has much does he emphasize the more traditional republican hawkish kind of approach, which is where hes been at the last week or so versus the, you know, the trumpian excoriation of president bushs iraq war in the first place. You put your finger on something important from that dispatch in toledo, that is what the landscape of ohio looks like th to this president and his reelection campaign. He knows as we all do the importance of that state in the general election. You look at the economic terrain in ohio right now, and how big of a challenge is that for this president . Its an interesting situation. Of course he won ohio by eight points. No republican president has not won ohio going back to 19th century, so its key to any Republican Electoral College coalition to win, and yet ohio like a lot of the parts of the middle west that the president appealed to continue to struggle economically compared to the rest of the country, doing better than it had done, but the Unemployment Rate there is in the top ten among states around the country, they lost about 4,000 jobs last year, manufacturing is still suffering there, and so what the democrats were saying is heres a president who hasnt fulfilled the promises he made to restore manufacturing, to restore these midwest sta midwest states. That doesnt mean hes going to lose ohio. He was pretty neck in neck with a lot of these democrats, slightly behind in the last ones in the fall, but he knows ohio is important to him. Thats why he has been there 15 times so far in mhis presidency. I think youll see him again and again. Hes got other rallies coming up in milwaukee, then hes going to go to new jersey for a rally of a different sort with jeff van drew. Thats a democratic congressman who voted against impeachment, and then switched parties. President trumps going there to reward him for that. Last question here on impeachment, ill put in a plug for your book, impeachment in american history. Let me ask you how that came up in this rally and the degree to which the president is engaging with it, at rallies in toledo and the interviews hes given as well. He sat down with Laura Ingraham on fox news last night. This is a way of energizing by saying its illegitimate, a hoax. There is a fatigue factor. He connects it to the Robert Mueller probe on russia, and hes making the point to this crowd here that hes under attack because he is on their side. That the attacks on him, impeachment and so forth, is an attack on them as well. Its the elites guarding their own hen house in effect against the outsider. Now, thats, of course, you know, a selective approach, a selective presentation on his side, but hes he uses it as a motivating tool for his base because thats the you know, the strongest card he has to play. Hes not going to obviously get into the details of what hes accused of and why he is or is not guilty of it. Instead its one more rallying cry to a base that feels aggrieved by washington and the swamp that he says is there and trying to get him out of office. Peter baker, always good to talk to you. Thank you very much for taking the time. We could see a dramatic expansion of President Trumps controversial travel ban. The Associated Press is reporting on a document circulating around the white house, two people who spoke on a condition of anonymity says seven countries, a majority of them muslim would be added. However, the names of the countries to be added to that list are blacked out. They are redacted. The release is timed to coincide with the third anniversary of the president s 2017 executive order that prompted protests and legal challenges, current iteration of the ban upheld by the Supreme Court includes restrictions on five majority muslim nations. President ial candidates are once again spending the weekend in early voting states. Billionaire, former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg has a different strategy. He is in the super tuesday state of texas. Bloomberg is spending this weekend on a bus traveling up and down and around the Lone Star State. Thats where we find our road warri warri warrior. She joins us with fresh perspective on the former mayors strategy. We have read so much about this, this National Campaign he is trying to wage. You were there traveling with him if not on the bus, near the bus and having some interface with the candidate himself. What does it look like on the ground . What does Mike Bloombergs campaign in texas look like, and why is he there . Reporter david, we just actually got off the bus that is right here next to me talking with Michael Bloomberg, and youre right, hes making this swing through texas, and its different than what were typically doing on the campaign trail at this time. Yesterday i was in new hampshire, tomorrow ill be in iowa, but being here in texas today sort of speaks to the overall bloomberg strategy, which is skip those first four states and just really build out a Campaign Infrastructure in the states that all vote on super tuesday because most of the rest of the 2020 democratic field, theyre requestigoing to finishe first four states and run right into a massive bloomberg operation. I reported earlier this week that over 30 states, they have 500 staffers. Thats in addition to a few hundred that they have in their new york headquarters. So clearly hes built a behemoth here in just about six or seven weeks since he became a candidate. I asked him about the broader contours of how he sees this race. Listen to what he told me just a few minutes ago. Who is the bloomberg voter, and to you in this election, whats the fundamental issue . The fundamental issue is two, one, donald trump is not the right guy for 1,600 pennsylvania avenue. He should be replaced. Some of his policies are i just disagree with, and he is somebody that i said back in 2016 at the Democratic Convention that haes not the right guy for the job, and the other thing is to unite this country. Its been pulled apart. You go to the Senate Office building, they dont even sit at the same table. We have to get the democrats and republicans to talk to each other and pull everybody together, and share ideas and come up with legislation that will help the country and move us forward. So who is that voter then, someone who disagrees with trump and wants to see more compromise . Well, i think its people in the middle of the road basically, the real extremists want revolutionary change rather than evolutionary change. The vast bulk of the public doesnt want that. I would describe myself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, but i think that i can reach out to those across the aisle, and thats why i can beat donald trump. And david, you hear the way that he talks about who he thinks his voters are. We often talk about where these candidates fit in lanes. When Michael Bloomberg jumped in this race, the big question for so many of us was how dhoes thi impact joe biden. I remember when Michael Bloomberg was thinking about running, a lot of his advisers at the time said that was because of joe biden. We had this conversation when bloomberg first got in the race, what would this mean for biden. Clearly you hear him saying his rotor is the more moderate type. Hes campaigning with judge judy. I asked her the same question. Bloombergs for tweaks to the system, and thats really the pitch we hear him making objein campaign trail. I want to hear from judge judy in the next hour, and well get more from ali in the next hour from austin, texas. Thank you very much for the update. I appreciate it. Coming up, big drama in the first week of the Harvey Weinstein trial. It is all about the judge in that case. Plus, can u. S. Troops stay in iraq if they are asked to leave that country by its government. The answer from the president s team appears to be an emphatic yes. Im your 70lb st. Bernard puppy, and my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. Ahh no, come on. I saw you eating poop earlier. Hey my focus is on the road, and thats saving me cash with drivewise. Whos the dummy now . Whoof whoof so get allstate where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. Sorry hes a baby 12. 99 all you can eat now with boneless wings. Only at applebees. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. 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On tuesday Justice James burke threatened to throw weinstein in jail for using his cell phone while he waited for the case to be called. The next day weinsteins lawyer filed a motion asking the judge to step down from the case due to bias. That motion was denied, and then on friday a flash mob convened in front of the courthouse in new york in the middle of jury selection. Harvey weinstein faces five sex crime charges and if convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Hes pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies all allegations of nonconsensual sex. Joining us now is katie fang, ive got to ask you first of all, how many times have you pulled this stunt, defending somebody and saying the judge motions for recusal, they are not that often. They are not taken very kindly to by judges, and even if they were granted, trust me, david, the judges talk amongst themselves. But Harvey Weinstein definitely had a crazy kind of bang up week one, and david, we dont even have a jury selected. 240 prospective jurors were called, and we dont have 12 jurors and six alternates yet, and so that process will continue next week with Opening Statements planned for january 22nd, but the walker ploy, if it was a ploy, was one for potential sympathy. We know Harvey Weinstein and you know, david, there are things going on in the world other than impeachment and i guess iran, so Harvey Weinstein, it was a very big kind of media thing a long time ago, and now its reared its ugly head again, it is a day of reckoning not only for Harvey Weinstein to prove his innocence, but also to allow the victims of Harvey Weinstein to have their official day in court. Weinstein with the walker, a continuation of what we saw a few weeks ago in page 6. He invited reporters from the New York Post to his hospital room to talk about the duress he has been under. Let me ask you what we have learned from that and also from what we learned from what we saw in the courtroom here about the legal strategy his defense team is employing. What we want to, i guess, you know, try to explain in terms of what Harvey Weinsteins going for in terms of defense is what weve heard from his lead defense counsel herself. She went on the media last week and basically said the following, that Harvey Weinstein, her client, is a sinner but not a rapist, and of course we see that lead counsel for Harvey Weinstein is a woman. All of these are very astute criminal Defense Strategies that are often deployed to be able to garner sympathy, empathy, and the suggestion that a woman defending an alleged rapist clearly wouldnt do so if he was really a rapist. What we have is the idea that these consensual relationships with the two alleged victims in the new york case were exactly that, consensual relationships and so they did not rise to the level of being crimes for which Harvey Weinstein should spend the rest of his life in prison. There is this case bubbling up in los angeles, the fact that that was timed to the start of this trial in new york, do you buy that, and how does it complicate things for Harvey Weinstein having that on the back burner in california . I would very quickly mention there are two victims in the new york case for which Harvey Weinstein is currently on trial, but theres also going to be four other alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein that are allowed to testify during that trial. They are called prior bad act witnesses. Normally youre limited to the allegations from those direct victims. The judge has allowed, similar to the bill cosby trial four other victims regarding how Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted them. The l. A. Charges are very serious, and they add a cloud of suspicion and perhaps guilt for Harvey Weinstein. Ill enter a motion to dismiss, katie thank you very much. Appreciate your time on this saturday, great to speak with you as always. Turning back to the middle east where the Trump Administration is refusing to heed under the call from iraqs leadership to begin 5,200 men and women stationed in iraq. Secretary of state mike pompeo says theyre not going anywhere anytime soon. Joining me now is a Deputy Assistant secretary of state during the obama administration. Great to have you with me. This was being characterized as an offramp. Thats what was being offered by the iranian government and its something President Trump availed himself of at the white house earlier this week. My question to you is to where does that offramp go . What happens next in this duality between the United States and iran . Thats a great question. The way i see it the decision of President Trump to kill general soleimani was a rash, impulsive, unwise decision, which for the shortterm appears to be working out. Not only were they able to take somebody off the battlefield who clearly is responsible for the deaths of Many Americans as well as the deaths of many others throughout the region, but the initial response of iran, quite are frankly, was not nearly as robust as many had feared, and notwithstanding the resolution passed by the Iraqi Parliament, there has not been a demand for an imminent, immediate withdrawal of American Forces that has the force of law under iraqi law. And as you mentioned earlier, there is at best a delay in ongoing talks for what the ultimate disposition of American Forces in iraq will be. Were going to spend some time talking about how lawmakers have reacted to the lead up to this and the administrations response to it afterward and the incredulity a lot of people feel about the rationale for it. Bring to bear your experience in the Foreign Policy sphere, though. What does it mean that there has been such a fuzzy story here about how many embassies might or might not have been targeted . What does it mean to Foreign Policy practitioners . Sure, well, i think probably the most significant thing that it means is that President Trump is absolutely established himself as an unpredictable actor in international affairs. Broadly speaking, countries like to have a certain level of predictability with their allies and their adversaries, but not only with the strike against general soleimani that i think clearly the iranians, perhaps even general soleimani himself never thought would happen given how openly he traveled about the region, it is clear on the one hand this president is prepared to take actions that had previously been seen to be completely beyond the bounds. What we do not know is that every action, kind of pulling the physics of Foreign Policy as it were, an opposite and potentially equal reaction, and i think its entirely plausible to expect that both the iranians directly and their proxies not only in the middle east but further around the world may very well take quite deadly actions against american interests and american personnel both civilian and military. What we dont know, again, further, is the extent to which this decision has harmed american lives around the region as well. We in addition to whatever the Iraqi Parliament itself has decided, we also know that individual actors will have decisions to make of their own, and i think that is the danger that we need to watch for. All right, newtonian physics, meeting politics, thank you very much for the time. I appreciate it. Up next, a dangerous Severe Weather outbreak as tornados and flooding are a big threat across several states. And my one on one interview with Julian Castro, why he decided to endorse Elizabeth Warren after he suspended his campaign. Bhap tremfya® helps adults with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. In fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. Welcome become, this weekends Severe Weather outbreak has become deadly. Four people are confirmed dead as a result of the severe storms. In louisiana, strong winds sent a tree crashing into a home killing one person. As the storms push east, a continue threat of flash floods and tornados. Nbc news meteorologist janessa webb is standing by with the latest forecast. Where are these storms headed . I know its been centered here in the deep south. Deep south and southeast right now, and unfortunately, david, the National Weather service of birmingham has just confirmed three more fatalities across alabama, so unfortunate situation and the expansion of this storm system really continues. As the tornado watch continues to make its way from montgomery now for atlanta as well, and thats going to last for at least the next four hours. Also, were starting to see this banding for chicago. I want to show you this video. In the last hour, weve had lake shore Communities Just submerged with an abundance of water. Weve seen over three to five inches in this area, and a storm surge up to 25 feet, so things are starting to recede right now, but the back side of this Severe Weather is producing a good heavy amount of snow for that area. So slick conditions a major hub out of chicago, going to see cancellations and delays for at least the next 24 hours. Do want to show you the Severe Weather risk for today, the rest of this afternoon. Seven states, 20 Million People going to be impacted from montgomery all the way to the atlanta area. Now, i do not want to leave out of the mix memphis as well into the charlotte area. This very dangerous squall line will start to diminish as it shifts to the east. Once again, as we go into the next 24 hours for tonight, this potential for nocturnal tornados and that big time Severe Weather threat. Incredibly scary, 20 Million People you said. Janessa webb with that update. A 5. 9 magnitude aftershock in puerto rico just days after major earthquake on that island. The aftershock is the strongest of several that shook the island overnight leaving thousands of people there without power. Many residents have been sleeping in outdoor shelters since tuesday. The 6. 4 magnitude quake killed one person and caused the collapse of hundreds of people. While President Trump has approved new federal emergency funding for puerto rico, the Washington Post reports the island is still waiting for the release of more than 18 billion in hurricane aid, two years after that disaster. Just days after dropping out of the race for the democratic nomination, former hud secretary Julian Castro decided to make an endorsement. How are you . Good to see you. Good, good. Thats why im proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren for president. Today secretary castro is stumping for senator warren in nevada. I caught up with him just a few minutes ago, and i asked him what role hes going to play in her campaign. I have tremendous respect for senator warren. I worked with her when i was housing secretary. I saw firsthand what kind of fighter she is for everyday American Families that just want a shot at opportunity, and i also saw her as a competitor on the campaign trail, and what i saw was that people are responding to her. Shes resonating with people across the country. I also saw ask you know, maybe this is one of the most important things since were only three weeks away from iowa she has the best organization in these early states including in iowa, and so im going to pitch in and do anything that i can to help her win on february 3rd in the iowa caucus and Going Forward. You made your return to cambridge where you went to law school, sat down with her, had some tea and talked about some of these borrowedroader themes, are the issues that you really championed when you were a candidate that you hope shell consider more closely or carefully in these coming months . You know, it wasnt a hard decision for me to support senator warren when i decided to suspend my campaign because the vision that i laid out, the vision that my supporters and i put forward was one where everyone counts in this country, and we spoke up for people who just want to have the same kind of opportunity that i feel very blessed to have had in life growing up in a single parent household, going to public schools, having the chance to get a good education and to reach my dreams, and i see that same kind of vision in senator warren. And so when we talk about, for instance, universal prek so that children have a better education, investing in child care so that every family can have child care thats affordable, making sure that we have a Better Health care system so people dont go broke just because they get sick, and also something thats near and dear to my heart, ensuring that everybody in this country has good housing opportunity. Thats especially important in places not only like las vegas that im in today, but also those small cities in iowa that i visited where the rents are going up and more people are having problem affording the rent. There was a piece in the New York Times by liz mayor whos a republican strategist and she said you were the deftist communicator in the field and a rhetorical hit man right out of the gate. I wonder how you respond to that and how you bring that to bear Going Forward here. Senator warren has tried to stay above the fray a lot of the time. Do you bring a different tact to this . Im very proud of the campaign senator warren has run. Shes focused very positively on putting out a strong vision for the future of the country. She sees herself, like i saw myself as a kacandidate as a president for everyone. The problem with this president is that he seems to only care about 37 of the country that he considers his base. Its time that we get back to a president for all americans, and im confident that she would be that. You know, im going to go out there and making case for her, and you know, that starts with people knowing the kind of senator that shes been and the vision that she has for our country, and i think all of that is positive. Youre looking forward, hand in hand with her as the Campaign Continues here. I wonder how much attention youre paying to what happened. There was a piece in politico in which some of your former aides and advisers said that you were a victim of the system and you havent been shy about criticizing the way the system is set up here leading to the general election. How much are you going to be focused on that sort of the way one qualified for a debate, the way the polling system works, and how that needs to be changed Going Forward . Well, i believe that it does, and look, i know that we have a process in place for 2020 and one of the things i said during my campaign was, yeah, i dont think that we should change the rules in the middle of the game, but i know that were going to have an opportunity after the 2020 process for the dnc to take a look at these debate thresholds, at other issues so that we can ensure that we live up to our values as democrats in terms of more people being able to vote, candidates being able to get a good hearing by voters, and i spoke with dnc chair tom pettis after i decided to suspend my campaign. We had a good conversation about what happens after 2020. Former secretary Julian Castro, thank you very much for the time. I appreciate it. Great to be with you. Julian castro whos on his way to iowa to campaign with senator warren. First it was brexit, now it is mexit with the queen ensconced, the royal family is having some hard conversations about the future of the monarchy. Do you recall, not long ago we would walk on the sidewalk all around the wind blows we would only hold on to let go blow a kiss into the sun we need someone to lean on blow a kiss into the sun we needed somebody to lean on all we need is someone to lean on welcome back, im david guer guerra. It may well be dividing Great Britain more than brexit. Prince harry and Meghan Markles bomb shell decision to quit their senior royal duties has the palace scrambling for a solution. The queen has ordered her aides to find a quick accommodation with the couple that could come in a matter of days. New polls out of the uk show 50 of britain supports the pairs decision to leave. 41 are slamming the move to announce their departure without consulting queen. Katie, i look at the daily mail, a reputablish source on matters related to the royal family. Prince harry is prepared to take his time as he attempts to negotiate a favorable exit deal. Where do things stand at this point . Well, that same newspaper, david, today reporting that prince harrys popularity is already taking a hit because of his decision to step back, and inversely kate and williams popularity seems to be on the rise. Everything is a bit tumultuous as these crisis talks continue. The royal family behind closed doors trying to sort out exactly what this new role would look like for meghan and harry. Will they keep their titles . Will they keep their home in windsor . Will they keep their royal detail . These are all questions that taxpayers want answers to, and the royal family would like these answers as well to sort of stop the bleeding as they say. This is considered a firm, and they want it to be firmly intact, so they are trying to come up with those answers now. They are trying to come up with a swift solution at the behest of the queen. She does realize this is a thoughtful and complex discussion that needs to be had, but she also would like there to be days, not weeks before those decisions arrive. So hopefully well know something more in the next few days about how this all shakes up. Catie beck joining us from london with that update. Coming up, the Trump Administrations evolving account of the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani. And were going to go to Kangaroo Island, australia, a third of that island has been scorched as australias brush fire catastrophe continues to rage on. Astrophe continues to rage on. To be honest a little dust it never bothered me. Until i found out what it actually was. Dust mite droppings eeeeeww dead skin cells gross so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavyduty dusters. Duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweepers on it. The textured cloths grab and hold dirt and hair no matter where dust bunnies hide. No more heebie jeebies. Phew. Glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. When we see you enter through our doors. We dont see who youre against, or for. Whether tomorrow will be light or dark. All we see in you, is a spark. We see your kindness and humanity. The strength of each community. The more we look the more we find the sparks that make america shine. Welcome back, im david guerra live at msnbc headquarters in new york. In this hour with breaking news following protests erupting in tehran after the iranian government took the blame for the crash of a Ukrainian Airlines plane resulting in the deaths of 176 people. Joining me now from qatar is nbcs cal perry. Thanks very much for joining us and helping us understand the importance of this. It was significant at first that the government would do this. Now we see these protests. What does it tell you about the state of affairs in the country of iran at this point . Reporter well, certainly i think what were seeing here as these protests grow and we know at least four different protests in tehran spreading now across the country as we monitor social media, some of these slogans have to be quite frightening, frankly for the iranian government. Were seeing things like they lie and say the enemy is america. Our enemy is right here in iran. Down with the regime, soleimani was a murderer. These are things that will not only come of great concern to the iranian government but that have the danger of spreading. Weve seen video, again, on social media of people chanting outside Tehran University, crowds there being dispersed by tear gas. We saw large scale protests in december last month that were put down quite violently with live ammunition, people being shot in the streets. This of course follows the downing of that ukrainian airliner. There were 82 iranians on board that plane. I think that is really important because a lot of the chants that were seeing really are about the government not protecting iranians, about the government seemingly having put iranians not only at risk but having killed a number of iranians on that airplane. So this is certainly a moment that the iranian government is going to be tested in, and its a moment, frankly where they are quite vulnerable. There are a number of westerners now on the ground for starters there were four canadians arrived today at 4 00 p. M. To help sort of go through what happened to that airliner. They will be followed by other teams of canadians, ukrainians working on unpacking sort of what happened, so the iranian government, the regime seemingly under more and more pressure. Its worth mentioning, of course, we saw those huge crowds at the funeral for Qassem Soleimani, seemingly rallying around the iranian flag. This is exactly the opposite of that. Its possible that a number of those people who didnt go on the streets to celebrate Qassem Soleimani are now on the streets protesting the regime. Its led to the death of dozens of iranians. Let me ask you about the pressure this government is under. Theres international pressure. Youve got the canadian government wondering about canadians who were on that plane, and the president of ukraine demanding more than just an admission of guilt here, wanting an apology for it. How much guilt or how much have we heard from the government itself about what happened here . What investigations going to take place domestically in iran that might make some steps towards satisfying those two other governments . Reporter 12 hours ago we heard from the revolutionary guard, quite a transparent press conference where they said, look, we shot down the airliner, but we did so thinking it was an american cruise missile. We were in a defensive position, they said. Their surface to air missiles were at the highest level of alert. There was less than ten seconds to decide when they made that fateful decision. But really they passed culpability off on the u. S. We heard from the Iranian Foreign minister who said it was really the americans who had created this skrierenvironment which they then were sort of forced to defend themselves. Without the americans killing general soleimani this never would have happened. Theyre taking sort of responsibility for it, but then at the same time framing this as an act of war, framing this as partly at the fault of the americans. Its clear that theyre worried. Theyre worried about these protests. Theyre worried that theyre going to have to forcefully put them down. Most obviously concerning from the iranian government is that theyll have to put them down in front of the world, david. Cal perry for us there this evening. One of the Big Questions surrounding the killing of iranian general Qassem Soleimani is what did the white house know before it ordered that strike. The administration has always said the iranian leader posed an imminent threat to the u. S. , but there seems to be some differing opinions on what that imminent threat actually was in the lead up to this. The president mentioned four u. S. Embassies but not everyone in his administration repeated that detail. N nbcs hans nichols joins us from the white house to shed some more light on that. Its about getting the story straight, is it not . You saw the frustration from lawmakers this week, now subsequent to that attack, youve seen members of this administration, the treasury secretary, the secretary of state, and the president all telling variations of a story here, hans. Reporter its variations, but its also gradations, when you look at the way the white house has couched this, this has always been at least an initial imminent threat, and then they got more specific about a singular embassy, and then the president on thursday night talked about multiple embassies, and then you heard from secretary of state mike pompeo talking about there not being any inconsistency there, that there were multiple threats, and then last night in that Laura Ingraham interview you had the president of the United States say there was about four embassies and military installations. Heres the issue, david, and heres where this story could unfold. Senators especially on the Intel Committee are going to keep on demanding what sort of intelligence the u. S. Administration had, what they had at the Defense Department, what they had at the cia. They will continue to man this. And right now theyre on opposite sides, right . Senators are saying imminent evidence wasnt presented for an imminent attack, and the white house and Administration Officials are saying clearly there is. Both those statements cant be true, and either theyre going to be staring across each other for the next year of this first term of the Trump Presidency or theyre going to come to some sort of agreement on what the intelligence suggested because, remember, members of congress are presumed to have top secret intelligence clearance, and if youre on the Intel Committee or youre one of the gang of iegt, you have even a higher level of classification. You mentioned that interview the president did with Laura Ingraham. I want to play a bit of sound with that. It was a wide ranging interview, part of it centered on this, what happened in iraq, but also about the impeachment trial, when it begins and should ambassador john bolton dbe calld to testify. Take a listen to that exchange between the president and Laura Ingraham. Why not call bolton . Why not allow him to testify, this thing is bogus i dont have a problem, other than one thing. You cant be in the white house as president future, im talking about future, many future president s, and have a security adviser anybody having to do with security and legal and other things youre going to invoke executive privilege . Well, i think you have to for the sake of the office. I would love everybody to testify. I like mick to testify. I like mike pompeo to testify. I like rick perry to testify. I want everybody, but there are things that you cant do from the standpoint of executive privilege. You have to maintain that. Theres the president saying what he would like, and yet, these all men who have not made their way to capitol hill to testify either before the committees or in any other capacity. They havent talked about what happened when they were in the administration. Reporter john bolton of course has indicated most recently that he is willing if subpoenaed by the senate, i think that gets overlooked, look, the president is wrapping himself up in an argument that previous president s have made, and that is you need to preserve the power of the executive to make decisions for the sovereign, to make decisions and to not have all these questions and the advice be second guessed. Barack obama did that, george w. Bush did that. These have been long standing arguments. The question really is and the courts havent quite ruled on this where is the line, david. Hans nichols for us at the white house. Thank you very much, hans. Appreciate it. Were going oto move up pennsylvania avenue. Were going to hear from one of the moderate rm senators, gop Susan Collins telling her local paper, shes working with a small group of republicans to ensure witnesses can be called in the senate trial. Senator collins later telling nbc news its important that both sides be treated fairly. Joining us from washington d. C, andrew let me ask you about the significance of that, how closely youre watching these moderate republicans, be that Susan Collins or lisa murkowski, others who have given some indication that they would like to see something in some shape or form different from what the senator Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell has proposed. Even people like mitt romney in that group who said he wants to see john bolton testify at some point. The question is going to be for Susan Collins is can she cobble together at least four republican senators inbou inclu herself to try to make this happen on the back end of the trial. Of course, after the opening arguments are finished, there will likely be a motion did to dismiss. We could not even face a portion of the trial where senators can actually have votes on which witnesses to call, which documents to subpoena, and things like that. Susan collins has made Mitch Mcconnells life difficult many, many times in the past, especially during the Trump Presidency. She voted against the obamacare repeal. She has voted against so many of the president s judicial nominees. Thats going to be the big question for Mitch Mcconnell Going Forward is can he keep most of his caucus in line, and Susan Collins is trying to make that much more different. Semantics matter, words matter in all of this. I want to pick up on something that hans nichols said a moment ago about how carefully worded that statement was from ambassador john bolton, the president s former National Security adviser. There was some speculation that that could be an entree for members of the house to try to subpoena ambassador john bolton. What are you hearing from your sources from lawmakers about the likelihood that were going to see him up on capitol hill testifying in some capacity . Well, i asked Intelligence Committee chairman house Intelligence Committee chairman adam schiff that several times this week, whether he would actually move to subpoena john bolton because really, whats the difference between a house subpoena and a senate subpoena. If you say youre willing to honor a senate subpoena, theoretically you would honor a house subpoena as well, and chairman schiff has declined to say either way whether he would actually move to subpoena john bolton. There are several democrats in the house in particular that would love to see the chairman end up subpoenaing him and put pressure on him and essentially try to call his bluff and see if hes serious about testifying. What chairman schiff has said all along is the senate should do its work. Its now on the senate to complete this process. The house did its investigation and he wants to see senator mcconnell, you know, move toward some sort of fairer process in his mind whereby you can call witnesses and procure documents. Andrew, always good to talk to you, thank you very much for taking the time. Andrew December Dara joining me from washington. Shifting to the race for the white house. We are just 23 days out from the first major contest of 2020. Senator Bernie Sanders appears to be surging at just the right time. Thats according to the Des Moines Register cnn media come poll conducted by jan selzer. For the First Time Ever senator sanders takes a narrow lead. His closest competitors are not far behind. Senator Elizabeth Warren takes second place with 17 , Pete Buttigieg is on her tail with 16 , and joe biden in the fourth spot at 15 . Nbc news road warrior Vaughn Hillyard is following the Sanders Campaign this week. He is live in newton, iowa, that is just east of des moines, i believe. Its the home of the iowa speedway. Vaughn, let me ask you, first of all, just about who the Sanders Campaign is counting on. You look at the tabs. You dig deep into this poll. He has a lot of support and enthusiasm from young people. Check me if im wrong here, but that is a difficult group to get to caucus sites on caucus night. Whats the campaign saying about its ability to do that in a couple weeks time . Reporter youve got to pull those young people out to caucus. The reality is that he will be hitting those College Campuses because they will be back in session. Right now its still winter break over at the likes in ames, over at iowa state and over at the university of iowa in iowa city, but they will be back, and its a matter of getting folks they can show up, even if theyre not registered here in iowa, if theyre not registered as democrats, they can show up on caucus days and ultimately come out. Theres a question mark, this poll is the Gold Standard. At the same time, its far and away clear from who exactly is going to show up on caucus day. You could see a surge of turnout not only for Bernie Sanders but Elizabeth Warren. Folks are trying to traebt those new voters to come out on caucus day. As you can see Bernie Sanders just 23 days out is here in newton at that event. My voice is a little loud, so were standing outside here where its a little colder. I dont want to compete with the senator from vermont. He can be loud as well, i must say. Let me ask you about peoples abilities to be persuaded this far out from the caucuses, something ive pulled out of the article in the register this morning, a quotation from selzer, 45 say they still could be persuaded to support somebody else. Another 13 have not picked a favorite candidate yet. At this point, three plus weeks to go, how much of that persuasion is happening on the campaign trail . How much attention needs to be paid on once youre in the room in the caucus . Reporter the fact that almost 60 of voters say theyre not firm in their decision, its telling. You look at another poll that came out last week in new hampshire. Folks had said they were backing joe biden who was leading that poll, said only 15 of them said that they were firmly behind joe bid biden. So this is something you are seeing across polling as folks unwilling to commit at this point, we should note in that Des Moines Register poll released last night, there is a question among voters, are you enthusiastic about your choice. And Bernie Sanders, about 50 of the folks that named Bernie Sanders as their top pick right now said they are enthusiastic about supporting him. Compare that to 26 for joe biden and Pete Buttigieg. So if youre Bernie Sanders here in iowa, you are looking to get people to come out and stick in your corner. That other point you said is about convincing people to come over to your corner. Here in iowa, theres that 15 threshold that you know about. If a candidate in a caucus site does not have is15 of support that room, maybe those individuals then get to pick their second choice. Its a matter of attracting them a as well. Pick up a copy of that Des Moines Register. That cover is so awesome, detailing the results of this poll. Vaughn hillyard with us today from iowa. I appreciate it. Hey, big spender, spend a little time in texas, former new york mayor Michael Bloomberg campaigning to the beat of his own drum today while hes dwarfing the democratic field in ad spending with 161 million to date. Mike bloomberg will not be in tuesdays debate, nor will he be stumping in the early contest states. Mike bloomberg is on a bus winding around the Lone Star State in a strategy he hopes will be a winning one. Our road warrior ali vitali spoke with the mayor. She joins us live from austin. What hes hearing from folks that come out, you asked him who the Mike Bloomberg voter is. Whats the interaction like between him, the former new york city mayor and these voters in texas, what do they make of the strategy hes trying to deploy across this country . Reporter well, look, david, i can tell you that even when i first started coming out on the campaign trail with him, i did his first stop in virginia, there werent many people in that diner. It was really a campaign that started overnight, so here on the ground in texas now, six or seven weeks after Michael Bloomberg has officially become a candidate, hes starting to get a little bit of buzz on the ground. I think part of that is because hes really ramped up the spending you highlighted over 140 million into putting himself on television. That translates. You look at where he came in in the polls. He came in at 5 or 6 in some of these polils. Thats something that other candidates had to work every single week of that period of time to even get to that place in the polls. Clearly Michael Bloomberg is doing it ththis differently. That includes the way hes funding it. Hes not taking donations. He wont be on the debate stage this week, thats why. Hes not ever going to hit that donor threshold in order to make the stage. I asked him about that strategy. Listen to what he told me. I know youre not taking donations but one benefit of doing so is that people feel like they have a stake in your campaign, giving a dollar, giving 5. Did you think about that . Thats one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is they have a stake in the government of the country and they can say the person at the top isnt beholden to anyone and he cares enough to spend his money to get rid of donald trump, and when people say to me youre spending too much money, i always say, wait a second, im trying to move donald trump out of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. You just told me thats your number one priority. Do you want me to spend more or less. Oh, well maybe you should spend more. For the candidates in the race who are taking money, especially those who do it sometimes behind closed doors with donors and bundlers, are they beholden to those people . Youve got to ask them, and thats your job as a reporter. Reporter and look, Michael Bloomberg putting us up to the challenge. We ask those questions all the time. You know i typically spend my time on the trail with senator Elizabeth Warren. Her and Michael Bloomberg do not have much in common. Usually theyre attacking each other. The one thing that struck me during that conversation was the way in which theyre sort of talking about the corrupting influence of money in politics. I thought that was pretty striking during our conversation. A few other points of news that stood out to me from our time on the bus, i asked him if he would get rid of the senate filibuster. He says he thinks thats something thats been overused. I asked him about the republican tax cuts. Thats something that many other democrats in this field say they would get rid of. Bloomberg said he would get rid of them. He made an exception when he started talking about Corporate Tax cuts, he said while republicans were more generous, he did think they need a tax cut to stay competitive. Another texans who was in this race, beto orourke proposed at some point in the race, mandatory gun buybacks for assault weapons. He wouldnt do that, he does say we shouldnt sell assault weapons to anyone whos not military or police. I love that sign, Bloomberg Live in austin, ali vitali thank you very much for the reporting and the conversation with the form former mayor of new york. What the democrats gained by delaying the impeachment trial in the senate. Whats the latest with the raging wildfires in australia. Were on the ground with that report next. Ralia. Were on the ground with that report next. Ayfair, you spend less and get way more. So you can bring your vision to life and save in more ways than one. For small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. Shop everything home at wayfair. Com do that are degrading . Ideo tapes, film reels, or photos, legacybox professionally converts them to dvds, thumb drive, or the cloud. Legacybox is simple and safe, with over half a million satisfied customers. Visit legacybox. Com today, and get 40 off. I am totally blind. And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. Wean air force veteran made of doing whats right,. Not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa beyond the routine checkups. Beyond the notsoroutine cases. Comcast business is helping doctors provide care in whole new ways. All working with a new generation of technologies powered by our gigspeed network. Because beyond technology. There is human ingenuity. Every day, comcast business is helping businesses go beyond the expected. To do the extraordinary. Take your business beyond. Welcome back, im david guerra, House Speaker nancy pelosi has ended her standoff with Senate Republicans over impeachment articles against the president. In a letter to house democrats, Speaker Pelosi confirmed that articles will be brought to the floor next week clearing the way for the start of a trial in a matter of days. Were fortunate to have someone whos in democratic leadership with us, congressman Katherine Clark of massachusetts, shes the vice chair of the Democratic Caucus. Let me ask you first of all, just sort of where things stand if i could. That Dear Colleague letter sent by Speaker Pelosi indicating that shes going to be touch with the chairman of the house Judiciary Committee appointing managers in brings this forward. Where do things stand at this point . Well, david, its good to be with you, and that is exactly right. The speaker has announced that she has asked chairman jerry nadler to put together the managers to take a trial to the house, and what this delay in sending this to the senate has given a chance is for the American People to see that Mitch Mcconnell is complicit in the coverup with this president. He has pledged his allegiance not to the republic, but to donald trump, and what we are seeing is that we have republican senators who are working together starting to talk to demand a fair trial. Americans instinctively know that that is at the core of our justice system. We want a trial that is fair to the president but also fair to the facts and the evidence, and you dont get that without witnesses and documents. Let me ask you about whats happened in this vacuum all the while the House Speaker has held onto these articles, a number of reports have come out detailing emails that were exchanged. There was a statement are from ambassador john bolton indicating that he would testify if subpoenaed. You were since given all of that, of what doors have been opened as a result . Is it likely that we are going to see ambassador john bolton on capitol hill . Do you think that some of this new information is going to be brought to bear in that trial when it begins . I certainly hope, so and we are seeing that that is what American People are demanding from the senate. Lets have a fair trial. If john bolton has firsthand knowledge of what happened, how this president broke his oath of office, endangered our National Security, and tried to sell military aid for political gain for himself, those are what we need to hear. In the period of time from the end of when the house concluded their impeachment, we have learned that there are more emails. Learned that there are more documents, to support the incredibly strong case that has come out of the house. What we need now is for the senate to remember they are about to take an oath of impartiality on top of their oath of office to the constitution. And remember that they work for the American People, and it is their responsibility to uphold our constitution and ensure that this president and all future president s do not believe they are above the law. Last question here is just about separation of powers and that of course is whats central to all of this, the inquiry itself, what happened here, and also the conversation thats happening and parallel to this about the strike in iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani and what weve seen since then. How optimistic should one be that this is something thats going to be resolved . Things look pretty bad from a lot of parts of this country when you look at comedy and the way things are in washington, d. C. Today, you of course, well aware of what the senator from utah, mike lee had to say about the briefings he received. You see some republicans in the senate, fewer still in the house, expresses some dissatisfaction with how that separation of powers is being upheld or regarded in the legislative branch and by the executive branch. What grounds are there for optimism as you see it . Well, we have to be optimistic in the majority in the house that we can remember that we can set a course and show the American People that we have not forgotten that this is about their security. It is about the constitution. It is making sure that their voices are heard, not only at the ballot box but also when it comes to matters of war. Nobody wins if we let this slide into war, and we have to reassert congresss role and its obligations under the constitution to be the body that declares war. We took a powerful step this week by putting the war powers resolution out and passing it out of the house. We are going to be looking to the senate to remember who they worked for, where their allegiance should be, and that its not with any given president. It is with the people of this country, and it is their security. It is our constitution that we need to continue to defend. Always a pleasure to speak with you, thank you very much for taking the time. Thats congressman Katherine Clark joining us from massachusetts today. New evacuation orders in australia as the situation there continues to worsen. Plus, a trump pushed Justice Department investigation of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton appears to be ending with a whimper, not with a bang. I am totally blind. And non24 can make me show up too early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. Iand i dont add up the years. But what i do count on is boost high protein. And now, introducing new boost mobility with collagen for joint health. When taken daily, its key nutrients help support joints, muscles, and strong bones. New, boost mobility. Welcome back, im david guerra. New evacuation orders have been issued for a quarter million australians after the emergence of a mega fire along the New South Wales and victoria border. Growing blazes have killed at least 27 people and the size of the scorched land since they first started in september is now larger than the country of south korea. Experts believe 1 billion animal thes have been killed by the fires and fear the extinction of multiple species saying, quote, it could take decades for these ecosystems to regenerate if they do at all. Janice macky frayer is in los angeless Kangaroo Island with more details. Reporter cooler temperatures will hopefully help firefighters get an edge on these fires. Theyre laying containment lines and trying to keep the fires from spreading. The conditions yesterday, those hot temperatures are high winds created furnace like conditions in one area two large fires merged creating a mega fire that is now 1. 5 million acres in size. Here on Kangaroo Island, evacuees are getting help from the army. Soldiers also taking supplies to farmers who desperately need them. The scale and the nature of the fire season in australia is unprecedented. Scientists say that there is so ma little moisture in the landscape after years of drought that its creating these extreme conditions. The impact is being felt as far away as chile and new zealand where theyre seeing signs of soot and ash from these fires on glaciers there, and air quality across australia has been appalli appalling. The problem, of course, is that there is no clear end in sight. One official in victoria state today saying these fires could burn for weeks. Janis Mackey Frayer joining us from Kangaroo Island. She is the source of some of President Trumps favorite rallying cries. Crooked hillary, crooked hillary. Where are those emails, hillary . 33,000 emails deleted. We had Hillary Clinton give russia 20 of the uranium in our country. You know what uranium is, right . Its this thing called Nuclear Weapons and other things. Now the Washington Post is reporting the department of justice after years of investigating former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has found, quote, nothing of consequence. Though the assignment has not formally ended, no official notice has been sent to the doj and lawmakers, current and former officials told the Washington Post the investigation was largely over with and investigators found nothing worth pursuing. Former federal prosecutor glen ke kir issuener. Its been going on for two plus years now. I gather from reading these reports focused on the Clinton Foundation and other things as always seems to be the case when the clintons are concerned. Your reaction to this, the fact that it has ended and not formally. What does that mean . So david, you know, john huber, the u. S. Attorney out in utah had the unenviable task of looking into all things Hillary Clinton. The Clinton Foundation, uranium one, her emails. And this is an investigation, if i can call it that, that has been run by a Republican Department of justice starting under then attorney Jeff Sessions and continuing under attorney general bill barrs tenure, and after about three years of nfginvestigating, u. S. Attorney john huber apparently came up with exactly bub kis, no misconduct, no criminal referrals for Hillary Clinton or anybody else, and david, this certainly has the feel of a politically motivated investigation because we know that donald trump got a whole lot of mileage out of talking about Hillary Clintons alleged misdeeds when even his department of justice couldnt find any crimes. So now what has the president done . He has placed his hopes in yet another u. S. Attorney, john durham, who is out there globe trotting with bill barr trying to undermine the russia investigation and the findings of bob mueller, so i think we can fairly observe here we go again. The professor of law at George Washington university using that legal term of art bubkis. Let me pivot and ask you a bit about impeachment, where it stands now, and you and i have talked about how imperfect that analogy is, the impeachment trial to the regular trial. I just want to get your reaction to that as weve seen this kind of revolving door at the white house, jim jordan coming in, Pat Cipollone rumored to be the person leading the president s defense. Whats the white house weighing at this point as we learn very little about how the trials going to proceed but know that we are closer to it . Yeah, you know, its really hard i think for Speaker Pelosi to know who to tap as managers, and thats the term for prosecutors in the setting of a Senate Impeachment trial, unless she knows what the rules are. It seems like she has thrown up her hands and is ready to refer the articles of impeachment over to the senate for trial, but you know, Mitch Mcconnell has been saying over and over that, you know, this should probably be a trial without witnesses, which is kind of an oxymoron. You know, its funny, david, because in trials in every state in our jurisdiction every day, judges instruct juries that ladies and gentlemen, the arguments of counsel, Opening Statements, closing arguments, are not evidence. The evidence comes from the witness. As you say, its an imperfect analogy to try to compare a senate trial, impeachment trial to a criminal or civil trial, but the fact that, you know, people standing up and giving speeches, speechifying is not really evidence and i dont think is what the American People need or deserve to resolve these weighty issues. They need the witnesses with the relevant evidence. Bring the witnesses to participate in that trial. I appreciate it as always. Following general Qassem Soleimanis death and irans retaliato retaliatory strike, the big question now is iran finished or is more retaliation still to come . As we monitor those protests in tehran. We monitor those protes tehran d. Granted. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. I wanted more from my copd medicine thats why ive got the power of 1, 2, 3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved oncedaily 3in1 copd treatment. Trelegy the power of 1,2,3 trelegy 1,2,3 trelegy woman with trelegy and the power of 1, 2, 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works three ways to open airways, keep them open and reduce inflammation, for 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. 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In that time iran has responded with military strikes of their own. In the process accidentally downed a commercial airliner costing the lives of 176 innocent people. The question now is the iranian response over for now or for good. Joined by nbcs chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, hes in baghdad, iraq. And richard, let me start with you. I want to kind of split this in two parts. Im interested in the Foreign Policy side of this and then domestic policy within iran as well. Lets talk about Foreign Policy, and this was characterized as the u. S. And iran taking an offramp, and the question that still continues to plague me is where that offramp leads to, and i wonder what your reporting tells you about that now that weve had this tit for tat, what happens next . Reporter well, i think in iran there is no split between Foreign Policy and domestic policy. Iran has been using its Foreign Policy to make sure that it has patriotism at home, to justify its policies, iran has been por tryi traying itself as a victim, that it is subject to economic sanctions, which of course it is, and that is why it needs to carry out these draconian security measures that have been in place for so many years in iran. Just a few days ago in iran, there was a sense of unity in the country. People were rallying around the flag, so to speak, there was a sense of patriotism after the United States killed the top iranian general, the head of irans black ops, Qassem Soleimani here in baghdad. Then there was more military kind of patriotic fever after iran responded with a conventional military strike firing ballistic missiles. And iranians were united. The protests that had been plaguing the government on the streets of iran for several months stopped, and people were coming out in the mlillions, in fact, to show support for their government and for to mourn the lost general. Now, however, the protesters are back on the streets, students primarily, and they are angry with their government for having lied to them, angry with their government for appearing incompetent, angry with their government for having shot down a plane that had 176 people on board, mostly iranians, a lot of them young iranians who were heading abroad, primarily to canada to study. Richard engel describing that patriotic fever, and i wonder in your estimation if what we saw today was that patriotic fever breaking. What do these protests tell you about whats going to happen here in the coming days . I think generally the mood in iran is sour. The people have been suffering under sanctions. I think the soleimani funeral was an expression of defiance towards the United States. It showed that they were not happy with the escalation that the u. S. Was implementing against iran. The protests that were seeing now and also happen over a number of months in iran shows that the people are also not happy with their own government, and iranians are being pressed from all sides, and they feel like the countrys under siege, that they may go to war. They dont like that. They also dont like their government lying to them as well as the government also escalating with the United States. They want the resolution to the situation that theyre facing on a daily basis. Richard, youre in baghdad, and a few days ago there was this vote in parliament about having foreign troops in that country. Shia majority in that apartment electing a nonbinding resolution to expel them or get them out of that country. Where do things stand with that at this point . You had the president last night in an interview on fox news saying the Iraqi Government is saying one thing in prooivate. Theyre saying another thing publicly. Your sense of where this goes from here. In a definition if you look up occupation, having one forces in a country without that countrys permission, certainly constitutes that . Reporter so right now politics well, not even right now, far long time now politics in iraq have been incredibly divided. You have a shia population here that voted in parliament. It wasnt a full quorum in parliament, it was mostly just the shia members who voted to take a nonbinding resolution to kick out american troops. And the Prime Minister who is an acting Prime Minister came out because he because of the protests in this country, separate from the protests in iran, he had agreed to resign and step down, but he came out and supported that nonbinding resolution. So the problem is the United States say, well, they havent received any official notification of change. This is just domestic politics in iraq. This is one sector of Iraqi Society expressing its wishes, and there are other sectors here. There are the sunnis, there are the kurds, and there are people who arent necessarily represented in politics. So i think this has exposed a lot of political fractures in this country more than anything else. Lastly to you, quickly, i just wonder if you could characterize the position that iraq is in at this point, the place where Richard Engel is standing. This is a place where this initial attack was carried out. These two u. S. Bases were bombed in iraq as well. Suffice to say, use another adjective if youd like, uncomfortable position. Absolutely, not only is the government in an uncomfortable position, but i think iraqis dont want their country to become the fighting ground for the United States and iran. That would destroy stability in iraq altogether. I think its also up to the United States to be very careful as it manages iraq not to incense nationalism against the United States. I mean, the president threatening iraq with sanctions or basically the United States acting in iraq as if theres no government there and it can do whatever it wants is very dangerous, and it will be very counterproductive. In baghdad, iraq, Richard Engel joining us this evening, and nassar thanks very much for your time as well. Thank you l. Thank you. Last question. It strikes me that very little actual communication. I think more than anything weve seen that this president has exposed the fundamental flaw in the architect of checks and balances. The fact that he can stonewall congress, ignore their subpoenas, not produce documents and not produce firsthand witnesses. Thanks for watching this hour of msnbc live. Live. 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Every day, comcast business is helping businesses go beyond the expected. To do the extraordinary. Take your business beyond. Hello, everyone. Thanks for being with us. This hour for you, the world is reacting after a stunning admission from iran. Antigovernment protests break out as officials reveal the military mistakenly shot down a passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Now leaders in ukraine and canada are calling for answers. The impeachment showdown moves to the senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to send articles of impeachment next week. There are still questions, though, on what if any testimony will take place. And just three weeks to go until the iowa