Sympathy for Brett Kavanaugh but not the woman. The president , calling it interesting, if, in his view, ford makes a credible showing and unfortunate if she doesnt show up at a hearing monday that may or may not happen. Well have more of those comments and the ones on the attorney general. Yes, we have heard this tune before, but not this loudly. The president claiming he doesnt have an attorney general anymore. Fact check, he does. Its Jeff Sessions, whether he likes it or not. And the president does not. The reason why hes so upset, not just the russian recusal and comparing his fight to the fbi with eradicating cancer. A lot to get to as the president is expected to, this hour, land in North Carolina. More reaction from his team then. Our team is on the ground from the white house over to capitol hill. Lets start by showing you what the president is saying about the man he hopes to sit on the Supreme Court soon, Brett Kavanaugh. Seems the fbi doesnt do that. They have investigated they have investigated about six times before and it seems they dont do that. Let the senators do what they are doing. They are doing a good job. They have given tremendous amounts of time. They have postponed a major hearing. Really, they are hurting somebodys life very badly. Its very unfair, i think, to, as you know, kavanaugh has been treated very, very tough. His family, its a very unfair thing what is going on. I do think this, they have given it a lot of time. They will continue to give it a lot of time. Really, its up to the senate and i really rely on them. I think they are going to do a good job. I really would want to see what she has to say, but, i want to give it all the time they need. They have already given it time. They have delayed a major hearing. Theres no more look, when i first decided to run, everybody said the single most important thing you do is the Supreme Court justice. We have all heard that many times about a president. I would say this, i think hes an extraordinary man. I think hes a man of great intellect, as i have been telling you and has an unblemished record. This is a tough thing for him and his family. We want to get it over with, at the same time, we want to give tremendous amounts of time. If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesnt show up, that would be unfortunate. Lets go to the white house and nbcs kelly odonnell. Theres a lot there the president said in 8. 5 minutes, right . We expect to hear more from his press secretary who is speaking with reporters on informers one. We will know more about that when he lands in North Carolina in a bit. Leaving open the possibility there is something dr. Ford could say about the allegations that could somehow change his mind, that struck me that he would say, we have to hear what she has to say and then evaluate it. That seemed to leave open a door there. Also saying there is time for this and, yet, clearly, we know republicans in the senate would like to move this more quickly. The president , still curious about the role of the fbi, clearly the fbi conducted background checks on Brett Kavanaugh for various roles in public life, including his nomination for the Supreme Court. They do, in fact, do that kind of investigating. It is unclear what the president means about the fbi not doing that. Does it mean they are not going back to revisit it . We dont have a clear answer on that. The president , notably, not criticizing her, leaving open the door to her posz possible public or private testimony. This is a president who has been accused by a number of women of a number of inappropriate advances where he lashed out at that woman and criticized their character, their integrity and so forth. So, the president , a little holding back here. Clearly, this is a huge issue for the white house because the president s Supreme Court nomination and his ability to shape the court is a big part of his presidency and potential legacy. When it comes to matters of a law and justice, the president is also making news about the way he is continuing to speak in a very disparaging way about his own attorney general. The president telling the hill, a publication in washington, that he has no attorney general. We know the relationship soured long ago. This seems like a particular low point when the president is talking about Jeff Sessions in a dismissive way. He addressed that this morning on the south lawn. Im disappointed in the attorney general for numerous reasons. But, we have an attorney general. Im disappointed in the attorney general for many reasons. You understand that. Reporter are you going to fire him . Are you going to fire Jeff Sessions . We are looking at different things. I have a great cabinet. We have the greatest economy in the history of our country. We are happy with the way things are running. Absence of the answer no from our colleague, kristen welker, will the president fire the attorney general and looking at thin things suggests he is formulating a list. Its not uncommon to have backup plans as a matter of course. In that case, when you see the history of sessions and President Trump, that certainly seems like the president is leaving open the door to, perhaps action after the midterm elections. That would not be an unusual time to do it. Given the ground work here, a very tainted relationship. Hallie . We are going to have a busy day. See you there in a bit. Thank you. Lets set the table on where we are at the moment as it relates ka Brett Kavanaugh. Republicans are taking a tougher tone saying the process should move forward, whether or not ford appears before the Senate Judiciary committee on monday or not. You have lawyers asking for an fbi investigation first, after saying shes received Death Threats and ha hassmerassment. Anita hill in the hearings for Clarence Thomas backed up the democrats and the accuser. We are going to talk more about that piece and that interview from hill on camera in a bit. Lets go to garrett on capitol hill. Theres a lot here. I know you talked to senator kennedy. It is my impression republicans seem more unified than they were on this broadcast yesterday during that time. We dont know where senator collins and murkowski are here. Reporter theres a lot of moving parts and whether or not this happens is an open question. What we have seen over the last 18 hours or so, since dr. Fords attorney sent that letter is republicans starting to go around her and give her the opportunity to speak in an open or closed session. This does not have to be on National Television in front of the world. Republicans say they would be willing to talk to her privately behind closed doors, if that would be good enough. They are not willing to delay the process any further. You have Lindsey Graham tweeting this morning, the idea of an fbi further investigation here is a political move to delay this process and hurt the president and hurt Brett Kavanaughs chances. As for kavanaugh himself, hes digging in. I asked the senator about it a few minutes ago. I think the American People need to hear from both dr. Ford, who is obviously an intelligent lady, a ph. D. , professor at a mayor university, and you need to hear from judge Brett Kavanaugh. The allegations were made. You cant put the genie back in the bottle. The American People are entitled to hear from both of them. Reporter they said Brett Kavanaugh was resolute. You mentioned murkowski and collins, i think its bigger on this issue than a political issue. So many republicans have been unwilling to say whether they think the allegations are disqualifying for kavanaugh. I dont think they are the only two that would feel that way if she was believed. Thank you. Let me bring in barbara, former u. S. Attorney and politics reporter for the daily beast and National Political reporter for bloomberg politics. Lets start with the two of you. Betsy, to you first. We will get to the politics of it. The president made clear he feels badly for Brett Kavanaugh. We were in the press conference yesterday and heard it on the south line. Two peoples lives are forever changed because of what happened over the last three days. Christine ford, her family is now in hiding, she says. She received Death Threats and has concerns about coming forward monday. The d. O. J. Is pushing back on background against the argument we are hearing from fords lawyers the fbi needs to get involved in terms of reopening the questions involving the alleged attack decades ago. They are saying it is not the fbis responsibility over the process of doing the background checks with nominees to determine whether or not the facts that, as ford described them are correct. Can i ask you a question on this, barbara . We are hearing from an aide to senator Chuck Grassley who says nobody, including the democrats is asking for a criminal investigation. They want the fbi to interview them about the alleged incident. That is what the Senate Judiciary is trying to do now . Is there a difference with conducting the interview and having the fbi conduct an interview . Yeah, i think where the miscommunication is going on is not within the fbis jurisdiction to investigate cases of Sexual Assault for prosecutor. That is a state court matter. They can investigate matters relating to a candidates suitability to serve as judge. The white house would direct them to open the investigation and conduct the interviews. It is reasonable to ask them to interview dr. Ford, mark judge, who was present at the time, to ask who else might present to gather the information that the senators could use to inform their questions at the confirmation hearing. I think most of us are going to expect that dr. Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary committee if the allegations are taken seriously. Before that happens, to have that information before them thchlt. This is not just a charade of a hearing, but a true hearing based on facts. Here is what Lindsey Graham had to say about it. Well, he tweeted about it, too. He talked about the idea of if she does not want to come monday, to barbaras point, publicly or privately, we are going move on and vote wednesday. You have the president now, this morning, defending Brett Kavanaugh and that unblemished record. Not closing the door to saying, hey, if she says something and makes a credible showing, that would be interesting, which is an interesting comment. This is the position republicans are on. They cant move forward without hearing her. Jeff flake divided 11 republicans, ten democrats. Clear the republicans cannot move forward without hearing her out. They are going to allow her to speak. They are not going to ask Brett Kavanaugh comment and have a crossexamination. Everyone has to make up their mind then. This reveals how ill equipped society is to deal with this. They have no protocol with how to deal with Sexual Assault allegations. Society is bad at processing this without smearing the accuser as it would be the victim here. Theres no clear standard for what should be disqualifying, the statute of limitations, the behavior that should prevent someone. This is 30 years after the anita hill confirmation hearings, which reflects this. We are going to talk about anita hill who is out for the First Time Since this exploded under the scene, talking publicly about her response and what democrats and republicans should do. Before that, we want to understand the fbi piece of this. The president says, and he said this morning, this is not what the fbi does or wants to do. What is the truth behind that . I believe the white house could direct the fbi to reopen the Background Investigation and investigate any aspect of the candidates past that it believes to be pertinent to serve as Supreme Court justice. They can go out and investigate by talking to dr. Ford and other witnesses who might have been present. They are not going to make an opinion or decide whether he is or is not suitable, but provide the information to the president and the senate for their consideration as they ask questions, so that they are not operating in a vacuum or in the absence of information. They have information they can use to inform their questions. The Senate Confirmation process is not particularly well suited to acquest for the truth. They have ten minute limitation on their time, go back and forth by party. It ends up being a political grand stand as opposed to probing questions. If a professional interviewer has gone through and interviewed someone, you are going to have a lot of information that can be followed up upon at the hearings. I think laying the groundwork doesnt have to take a lot of time. Its a finite cast of characters that could be done. Put it off for a week, then bring her in. We are not talking a lengthy delay, a short delay for a lifetime appointment. Lets shift gears. His comments on Jeff Sessions. We are lucky to have betsy here because you cover the d. O. J. He is upset with Jeff Sessions. We knew that. He is upset because of the russian recusal. We knew that. He is saying he does not have an attorney general. You are the person who is the attorney general and your boss says you dont exist, how do you respond . The last time he went after sessions, the d. O. J. Went after a response. He has two simultaneous and deep seated loyalties. He is a trump loyalist. He was the first senator to endorse trump and by his side. At the same time, he is committed to the integrity of the d. O. J. And protecting it from undue political influence to the extent he can. The result, he has two competing loyalties. Over his course of time, hes taken a host of steps and advanced the president s goals. Stop there for a second. Immigration has been something that Jeff Sessions has actually done. When we look at the beginning days of the administration, chaotic cabinet members, Jeff Sessions and the e. P. A. Were the two cabinet agencies that were doing what the president wanted them to do. Now, the president is saying Jeff Sessions is not doing good enough on border security. Its striking people as notable. Theres little factual basis to argue sessions hasnt done enough on immigration. Its a weird argument to make. While he is of one mind on the hot dutton issues, he cares about the integrity of the d. O. J. On institutions. When the president goes after him, they are going to butt heads. Let me play something the president said about Jeff Sessions in that fox interview fairly recently. Watch. Will you fire him . Will you fire sessions . Well, ill tell you what, as i said, i wanted to stay uninvolved. When everybody sees what is going on in the justice department, its a very, very sad day. Very quickly to you, barbara, where does this go now. The president , if he fires Jeff Sessions, he is going to have a tough time getting him confirmed. You have the president going after the fbi saying eradicating the issues he has with the fbi is Like Fighting cancer, making that comparison. Yeah, everything he says that undermines the ability of the department of justice and the fbi to do their jobs harms the Public Safety of america. You know, the people who are working on the fbi have thick skins and the department of justice have thick skins but he is undermining their ability to keep us safe around the country. When an fbi agent knocks on the door of Rural America to get information about a kidnapping or bank robbing, the door is going to get slammed on their face because they said the fbi and d. O. J. Is a disgrace. Thank you for joining this conversation. The debate over Brett Kavanaugh keeps heating up. We are hearing from anita hill, a woman in a similar situation. There are key differences. Up next, a closer look at what she said today, how things have changed and how they havent and how it could lead to a moment for female candidates and midterm voters. M a fighter. Always have been. When i found out i had agerelated macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. My doctor and i came up with a plan. It includes preservision. Only Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the National Eye Institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. Thats why i fight. Because its my vision. Preservision. Also, in a greattasting chewable. So lets promote our falle a homecomingtravel dealame, on choicehotels. Com like this. Touchdown. Earn a free night when you stay just twice this fall. Or, badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com so shark invented duo clean. While deep cleaning carpets, the added soft brush roll picks up large particles, gives floors a polished look, and fearlessly devours piles. Duo clean technology, only from shark. It is an honor and a privilege to be nominated and to serve. It is not an entitlement. We need to be able to believe in the integrity of our courts. That means believing in the integrity of the individual who are on it. Thats professor anita hill reflecting on Brett Kavanaughs nomination and another woman could occupy the same seat she sat in 27 years ago. The public testimony of the woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh. Today, anita hill had this message for members of the judiciary committee. My advice is to push the pause button on this hearing, get the information together, bring in the experts and put together a hearing that is fair, that is impartial, that is not bias by politics and bring this information to the american public. So, joining us now is tim felts, who broke the news for anita hill in 1991. Hes the author of capitol games. Here on set, think contributor. Tim, im dpougoing to start wit you. You broke the news anita hill was talking to the fbi. If hills story had been handled properly earlier in the process and given time to prepare to testify, thomas, today, would not be the senior associate justice on the Supreme Court. Can you explain that from a reporters perspective why you feel that way . Anita hill was given two days to prepare. She was in oklahoma and had to arrange a team of lawyers and figure out what she was prepared to say. That was obscene. Are you surprised there is a call to have the hearing on monday, despite the fact ford ee ee fords lawyer is asking for time . Does dr. Ford have enough time to prepare her testimony . I think she does and should go ahead. The other question is, is there enough time for the committee to figure out what actually happened and look for evidence. Certainly, there is not enough time to do that. To touch on that, you are writing about this. You are writing about the kavanaugh nomination and has you taking fire. Talk about this here. Even though the accusation here is serious, i do not think that this issue, alone, should disqualify judge kavanaugh from a seat on the Supreme Court. Why shouldnt an allegation of Sexual Assault be disqualified. Its an allegation, one. If it happened is the second part. People need to read the article to get the full context. Here is the thing i have trouble with. This is 36 years old. It doesnt lessen the fact that if he did the things she said, that would be disgusting and horrible, in my opinion, disqualifying. The challenges, as a lawyer, 36 years, she doesnt remember where the party was or the house, right . How do you go back to 36 years ago when Brett Kavanaugh says he wasnt there, mr. Judge, is that the name, mark judge, the friend that was in the room says it didnt happen, hes never seen him do that. I think we are at a classic he said she said. I know people dont like that. I dont know what else you call it or how to fix it. Thats the problem i have with this. Can you explain more . If you were going to hire somebody, if somebody accused them of trying to rape them, regardless of how old they are, would that not give you pause . It would give me pause but hes been vetted six times by the fbi. Here is what we know about sexual predators, we have seen it with cbs and other heads, harvey weinstein. Theres a pattern. They do it more than one time. Its rare that it is isolated and they never do it again. Thats not what we know about Brett Kavanaugh. Thats the facts. You believe the accusations. I do. I dont think women make this stuff up. My problem is, hes not given himself an ability to say i was there and blacked out. Hes not saying it. He said it aint me, i wasnt there. I think she went through something. Women dont make this up. Here is another piece. Tim, i would like you to talk about this part of it. She has come out, publicly now. She initially did not want to. She asked finestein to keep it to herself. It is coming out. Detriment to her life, given the death threat. Her family is in hiding. Her email has been hacked. Is the climate different than 1991 . We talk about the Metoo Movement and moment, have things changed . Some things have changed. The issue of Sexual Harassment and assault is on the agenda. Alan simpson, we have heard that Sexual Harassment crap, forgive my terminology. You are awe loullowed to say. What hasnt changed is the Supreme Court nomination and dr. Ford is facing every bit as much harassment as anita hill did. I think its worse because of social media. Well, thats the big picture piece of it. Sofia, you are talking about how to prove these allegations or not prove the allegations. The character witnesses here, right . Theres questions about that. You mention mark judge, who wrote a book about being drunk in high school and wasted and tales of boys who do bad, weird things when they drink. Im talking something bigger. Im talking, we, as a country, have to make a decision about ha is the bar. What are we going to judge you to run for president , to be a senator, a Supreme Court justice, whatever. How far is far enough . Should that bar not be the highest bar . I dont want to be judged by stuff i did at 16, i just dont. Im not that same women. Not criminal conduct. You didnt attempt to rape somebody. I did not. We dont know that Brett Kavanaugh did, either. If he did, it has to be a disqualification. If he did, yes. Thats why we need the fbi to get involved here and see if theres any shred of evidence. We dont know who else was at that party. Did they see judge kavanaugh walk up the stairs. That is co she remembers stairs and a house. Lets take a minute here. We are in a moment, the last three days that feels extraordinary, given that this is a Supreme Court justice, a lifetime appointment to a court that is the highest court in the land. It was smooth sailing. You know this from covering it. It seemed as though they was going to sail through confirmation. Two weeks ago, that was the analysis. This is a moment, a potentially Pivotal Moment and galvanized people. No matter how you see it. Conversation displays it galvanized people in a way that was unexpected two weeks ago. There is a perfect storm here where ef a seat to shift the balance. Roe versus wade on the chopping block and allegations of a man. This is happening at the center of the Metoo Movement where you have a base and Record Number of women running for office and winning primaries. Remember 19911992, more women running for congress. Women on the hill, patty murray remembers this and that motivated her to run for office. We are going pause. You are looking live at North Carolina because air force one just landed. President trump is expected to get a briefing about Hurricane Florence, the deadly storm that killed 35 people, so far. Here is the thing. For a lot of people across the carolinas, the disaster is not over. The sunshine you are seeing does not mean safety. Thats because there are rivers swollen by rain that are getting toward record heights. Look at the images, forcing some to evacuate, shutting down roads, cutting off whole neighborhoods. Hundreds of people lined up for free food and water in wilmington that has been cut off from the rest of the state. They got two and a half feet of rain. I want to start with hans nichols who is traveling with the president in North Carolina, the home of the Marine Corps Air station cherry point. Hans, as we take a live look now at what i believe is a live shot. At any moment we expect to see the president walking off the plane. Talk about expectations and what we will see today. Reporter what hell get is a briefing from block long. He has a lot of Army Generals here. They are going fo give him a lay of the land. They are going to tell him, they are not out of danger zone, yet. One of the things we have been hearing is the worst is yet to come. We have been spending the last three days flying around North Carolina from the air, getting a sense of what the rivers are like. Hallie, in some places, you cant tell the difference where the river starts and flooding begins. Its that bad. I was talking to a general, he used the analogy of a snake eating a frog. You dont know how long it takes to get to the end of the snake. Air force one is coming in. One quick note on hurricane comparisons, when you look at the response on this one, compared to puerto rico. The National Guard has seven generators in this state. They had 1500 in puerto rico. There are a lot of comparisons but overall, the damage isnt as bad as they were expecting, in participant because they have so many military bases around this state. You have a lot of assets, 1300 National Guard, Army Active Duty are here trying to help out. The message we have been hearing is, if they need more assets or help, they will get them. They have to ask. The governor has to ask and filter up through fema. Im going to speak louder and toss back to you. I think thats air force one in the background behind me. Hallie . Thank you. Yes, we are looking at air force one. On board, by the way, with the president traveling in air force one, senators burr and till indianapolis, the senators from North Carolina. The senators from South Carolina. You have a number of Administration Officials with the president , including secretary kirstin kneelson. The president will step off the stairs and get a briefing on a day he is talking about a political storm back here in washington. We want to stick with this as we bring in gadi schwartz, in lumertlu lumberton, North Carolina. The sun is shine beg hind you. Dont be lulled into a false sense of security. Reporter yeah, exactly. Fortunately, here in lumberton, the water levels are starting to go down a little bit. One of the things that the people here in lumberton are hoping happens today, they are not sure if President Trump will be on the ground here, but hoping he at least flies over this area and hoping somebody on board is able to tell him about the history here in lumberton. This is a town that was devastated after a hurricane two years ago. Now, once again, the flood levels have come up in the exact same places. They are some of the same areas where they saw record flooding back in hurricane matthew. They want fixes. They want longterm fixes. They are talking draining swamps here and shoring up dams as well as shoring up levys. One broke, it failed during the storm. Thats one of the reasons why the water levels are so high here. You have devastation all around. This is one of the areas residents here are hoping President Trump sees and this area, in particular is one of the areas where there is a lot of support for President Trump. Hallie, back to you. Gadi schwartz there in North Carolina. You are taking a live look at cherry point where President Trump is expected to get off air force one momentarily. These are moments we look at this. When you look at the president s response to past, natural disasters, there have been some missteps and notably, i think puerto rico comes to mind with Hurricane Maria when the president went to the ground, at the paper towel throwing moment is something that trailed him for a while. At the same time, this is an opportunity for any president to show they have their peoples back. They are there. They are there to support. They are there to make sure people struggling have the resources they need. One of the things the president needs to do today, hes not done well in the past is show empathy to survivors of the storm. He needs to set expectations. You know, during harvey, respond quickly, recover quickly. Thats not right. He needs to set expectations. Its going to take a long time. Thousands of people are out of their homes. They are wondering how am i going to get my kids to school or get to my job . Im sitting in a temporary shelter. How am i going to get home and rebuild. He, as the leader of the country needs to set the expectation this is going to take a long time. Judging by his twitter feed and those close to him, he has strong, emotional reactions to the times of crisis moments and tends to present himself more as a spectator than a leader on the issues. Its not an entry level position. You cant learn on the job how to manage the crisis. To rely on people is important. We are seeing fema dogged by investigations of the inspector general, allegations of misusing travel funds. They are coming together to present challenges for the president. You know this agency. They have been suspended without pay in connection to the investigation into brock long. As we take a look now at the president walking off the plane. Its a wider shot than we typically see. The president coming off, shaking the hands of folks there in North Carolina on the ground. Again, you are going to see Administration Officials walking behind him as well as the senators of north and South Carolina. Brock long is under fire for this internal investigation. He is saying he is totally focused on Hurricane Florence as the head of the agency dealing with the response. Do you think this investigation is going to have an effect on this here . The investigation should continue and go on. There are thousands of dedicated Civil Servants that will keep the agency going. Remember, this is not just a fema response. This is a whole government response. You have lots of different agencies coming in. You have the military. You have hhs. You have, you know, the Small Business administration giving loans to people. You have the red cross. You have the whole Community Coming together. Its not just one little part. I think there are thousands of dedicated, hard working federal employees at fema and the other agencies. I think you will see the response. If there is a succession of brock long, if the white house is discussing that, what does it mean for the agency as they deal with this and the beginning of Hurricane Season . We are not even in it, yet. Its hard. When theres a change of leadership in the middle of an event, its a hard thing to do. I think, again, i think fema, theres well trained people there. I think fema, as a mission, can keep going forward. When you look at what betsy was discussing before, i have had one or folks close to the president , one ally say, listen, the empathy issue is an issue. The president has difficulty. This is a supporter of President Trump saying he has trouble being emp that theic. It came to light with Hurricane Maria in puerto rico. Now, hes lashing out at desantis. He lashed out during his primary for floridas gubernatorial race. He says i dont question the death toll as the president did. Right. What do you make of that sfl. Hurricane maria was a perfect example of how the president should avoid behaving as far as his handling of this one. He is dismissive about the death toll. It did not sit well with allies in florida. Desantis was very, very close to him. Rick scott, the governor of florida, who is supportive of trump broke with the president on this issue. Look, i dont want to make it political, but we are within 50 days of a midterm election. North carolina has a number of house seats up for grabs as well. That is on peoples minds. Thats why the representatives are there. They want to be home and show they are paying attention. The president looms large over the races. His response is going to matter to when they get the relief and the help they need as well as how voters respond. Here is ha you are watching right now. President trump, department of homeland secretary, walking in to cherry point. They will receive a briefing on Hurricane Florence and the response and Recovery Efforts. We are going to bring that to you as soon as we get back from this break. Stick around. The new Capital One Savor card. Earn 4 cash back on dining and 4 on entertainment. Now when you go out, you cash in. Whats in your wallet . 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 . 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We are watching the president there. You can see him at cherry point with military members as well. Before he left, though, he made comments to reporters back at the white house on the south lawn saying, quote, we are looking at lots of different thin things when asked if he was going to fire his attorney general. He said, quote, i dont have an attorney general, its very sad. In the same interview, he talked about the declassified order saying exposing the investigation as a, quote, hoax, could be a crowning achievement of his presidency. The comments are breaking as nbc reports the documents inside the Intelligence Community is a stalling tactic. The fbi interviews could discuss sources in russia, the release which could be damaging according to former Senior Intelligence officials who served under republican and democratic administrations. We are going talk about that with ken. Lets go back to the president making remarks live, now. Lets listen. We have gone through very dangerous work and still dangerous. Some of the hard work is taking place right now, even though its nice and beautiful and sunny. I was talking to the governor and, governor, i want to thank you. Really fantastic job. In speaking to the governor, some of the flooding is epic, hard to believe. We have seen all the pictures where houses are literally covered beyond the roof, you dont know theres a house there and, you know, one of those things. The water is starting to go down now, finally. Again, i want to thank governor cooper. I want to express my gratitude to your lieutenant governor, dan forest, very importantly, and all the state and local leaders who have been incredible partners throughout this response and recovery. Theres been a lot of talent, a lot of work and a lot of talent. Without the talent, it doesnt work, either. A combination of hard work and that great ability. We are joined, also, by secretary neilson, administrator mcmahon, director mulvaney and administrator long. Great job. Incredible job. The planning that went into this is beyond belief. I just want to thank the secretary. Really something special. I also want to thank some great friends of mine and very talented people that love this state, they love all our states we could say. Senator richard burr, where is richard . Richard . Thank you very much. You have great representatives. Senator tom tillis. Thank you. Thank you. Where is tom . Thank you, tom. Lindsey graham. Lindsey . Lindsey . Lindsey, you want to pull up a chair . What happened to you. You know, we could have richard, would you let him sit at the table . Come on, pull up a chair. Lindsey has been great. Tim scott, where is tim . Good. I dont know, i feel guilty. They have been fantastic, all four. Now, weve had a lot of help from congress in all fairness, and were ready, and theyre ready to do whatever we have to do to make this perfect, and that means unfortunately the money will be a lot, but its going to come as fast as you need it. Going to take care of everybody. Hurricane florence was one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the carolinas, one of the most powerful and devastating storms ever to hit our country. To the families who have lost loved ones, america grieves with you, and our hearts break for you. God bless you. We will never forget your loss. We will never leave your side. Were with you all the way, and to all those impacted by this terrible storm, our entire American Family is with you and ready to help, and you will recover. Most importantly, we give thanks to the incredible First Responders including sheriffs, police officers, firefighters, our great cajun navy. Theyre all over the place. I put them up online and everybody loved it. Everybody loved it, but they put themselves, all of them, in harms way, and what theyve done to say save precious lives of our citizens has been nothing short of incredible. Nearly 20,000 federal and military personnel are supporting the response efforts along with southeast coast, including brave men and women of North Carolina and the National Guard. Now, of course were going to South Carolina right after this, and they have been incredible, and i know youve worked and coordinated very well, also, governor, with South Carolina. Its been a really great partnership. Together local First Responders theyve assisted and rescued more than 3,000 people, so we want to thank you. I will say ive been watching the coast guard with all of the helicopters lifting people off rooftops, itand its been an incredible job youve done again. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. More than 1. 6 million meals have been delivered to North Carolina, and more than 400,000 are ready in South Carolina as soon as theyre requested, so were standing by with 400,000 meals in South Carolina. Crews have restored power to over 1. 2 million customers already in north and South Carolina, and the power is starting to go on as soon as the water goes down. Theyre meeting the demand incredibly well, so i want to thank the Power Companies and all of the federal workers, but we have to also thank some of the Power Companies because theyve been very responsive. As soon as that water goes down, for the most part, people have power. In moments of despair, we witness the true character of the American People. So true. Citizens all across our country rally together to rescue the stranded, to protect the innocent, and to restore hope to families who have experienced tremendous and unbearable loss. I want to thank all of the people here today, a very special group of people, very talented group of people, and we love working with you. Its an honor to work with you. Weve done a real job, and weve got to continue to do that real job because another phase is coming in right now, and were going to meet that phase just like weve met phase one. Governor, again, thank you very much. I appreciate it, and to everybody, thank you very much, and whatever we have to do at the federal level, we will be there and you know that 100 , and secretary nielsen please. I wanted to start by thanking you for your leadership. We all agree we appreciate so quickly to respond, to support our partners, and private sector. Weve got our congressional members, state and local officials. All of our departments. We are all working together as it should be under your leadership, and we greatly appreciate everyones partnership. If i could id like to ask the administrator to give us a brief update as to where we are. So, mr. President , as you know, a Disaster Response like this takes all of us working together, not just coordinatoricoordinatoing the federal government, but it takes all of us from neighbor to neighbor up to the federal government to help people overcome what theyve been through. Ive been on the ground yesterday. Ill be on the ground through tomorrow to make sure that i verify that were doing everything that we can right now. This events not over. The rivers are still cresting, so we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the life safety and life sustain mission. But were also simultaneously working on making sure that we stabilize all of the critical lifelines in regards to the infrastructure, so its all inner connected. Weve got to get the roads open to be able to get the power crews into the isolated areas and the flooded areas, and we also have to put a big focus on the Hazardous Materials and the medical kpap blcapabilities and them back up running fully in every community. One of the things thats most important is were already pushing forward our disaster survivor assistance teams into the fields, into the shelters. We need people to register with 1800621 fema or go to disaster assistan assistance. Gov. My job is made easier when a governor like governor cooper, mike sprayberry, eric cooks have truly done their part to be selfsufficient at the state level. They have been very strong and capable partners. So thank you. Turn it over to governors, you said so well yesterday sunshine doesnt mean safety. Thank you, mr. President for coming to North Carolina as our rescue and recovery continues. Our rivers are still cresting, and there is still danger for some people. Were hoping that they can get evacuated and that our First Responders continue to make sure that people are brought to safety. Our state took a gut punch, mr. President , and our people are still reeling. Weve lost 27 lives officially so far, and some more are under investigation, and we mourn their loss. We have farmers who have lost significantly their crops. You have been listening to North Carolinas governor speaking now about the after effects of Hurricane Florence with many people in both north and South Carolina still struggling to recover, major flooding still happening now. President trump speaking before that along with fema administrator brock long, and department of Homeland Security secretary kirstjen nielsen. The president announcing there hes heading to South Carolina as well, a stop that had not been on his public schedule. It seems to make sense given hes traveling with two South Carolina senators, sahil, senator tim scott, senator lindsey fwrlin Lindsey Graham as well. The president doing this multistimult multistate tour. We talked about what he needs to do in this situation, and show empathy. It has earned him criticism from his traditional allies, and his speech today was heavy on were doing everything we need to do. We understand what youre going through, we feel your pain. I think he was trying to hit those notes today, and it sounds like hes going to do the same thing in South Carolina. Theres clearly been a lot of preparation thats gone into this appearance that he made today and the way this trip is being planned. It seems like the white house is acutely aware of the fact that bungling hurricane responses, voters care about that. Thats something that they can, you know, have a significant political backlash, so they seem to be handling this in a way that reflects the seriousness about the gravity of the situation. We were talking prior to the president making remarks about something that we brought you on to talk about, ned price, which is the declassification of documents the president ordered earlier in the week, but let me stay in this moment for a second. Prior to boarding air force one to talk about hurricane response, he talked to reporters about a lot of things. Jeff sessions, as we mentioned in this show, Brett Kavanaugh as we mentioned in this show and something we havent mentioned yet, Paul Manafort. His former campaign chair, and the president making some comments about manafort saying i believe he will tell the truth 100 . I believe Paul Manafort will tell the special counsel the truth as manafort now has entered this cooperating plea agreement with the special counsel . Thats what the president has to say. Thats what the president has to say. As long as he says that, he is giving Paul Manafort he is expressing confidence in Paul Manafort. He was asked in this whether he would consider a pardon of Paul Manafort, and i thought he said something interesting. Were not even going to go there yet. I think thats the real question that really faces this president. How is he going to respond if Paul Manafort does tell the truth, and by all accounts, we expect that Paul Manafort has a lot to say. After all, he was the Campaign Chairman for months. He was the Campaign Chairman during the Republican National convention, and first and foremost, when it comes to bob mueller, he sat in that june 9th, 2016 meeting at trump tower with the russian lawyer who as we now understand it wanted to give the goods on Hillary Clinton that the Trump Campaign so eagerly sought out. Ned price, next time youre on, well give you more than 90 seconds. Betsy, sahil, thank you both. It has been a a very busy 60 minutes. Were going to keep an eye on the president at havelock, North Carolina. Ali velshi and stephanie ruhle. Its been a very busy two years. Hallie, well catch you later on during the day. Good morning, im ali velshi. And im stephanie ruhle, it is wednesday, september 19th. Lets get smarter. Lawmakers invited judge Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey ford to testify on capitol hill this monday. Now ford is demanding the fbi investigate her allegation first. Any talk of a hearing monday frankly is premature because she just came forward with these allegations 48 hours ago, and since that time she has been dealing with hate mail, harassment, Death Threats. Absolutely its the right move. The hearing questions need to have a frame, and
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