Unredacted Mueller Report and all the underlying documents and information that is part of that. Add to that, subpoenas for documents for five former white house officials relevant to the mueller investigation. The committees chairman nadler was talking just moments ago. Lets play it. The Mueller Report probably isnt the total exoneration the president claims it to be. Any event the committee has a job to do. I want to go right now to nbcknbc kasie hunt. We expect this vote to go down in the next few minutes, we think, the republicans are working to slow up this process. There have been a couple delay tactics used by republicans that seem to be related to the spat from yesterday in the committee. Kind of politics as usual back and forth between the two sides. This has at times gotten a little bit fiery. Essentially republicans trying to make this all about jerry nadler. Theyre bringing up how he voted on releasing the star report during the clinton years. Hes insisting hes been consistent across the board. Republicans are arguing why not simply wait and see what the attorney general does put out. He says hes going to put out a redacted version of this report some time in the next week or so. So, we do know that. But heres what nadler had to say in response. Take a look. I will give him time to change his mind, but if we cannot reach an accommodation, we will have no choice but to issue subpoenas for these materials. Of course, talking there about the attorney general william barr. Now, of course, this vote is simply to authorize these subpoenas. So, the timing of when they would go out is entirely up to jerry nadler. Thats what hes referring to there. We are going to take this step and make sure we can do this and ill watch what happens and if i need to, ill go ahead and do that. Keep in mind, hallie, some risk here. Certainly is something of a threat. Its tempting to, you know, push, use what leverage they do have and if they actually do have to go this route, it is not necessarily a sure win. It will be a prolonged court battle and congress has a mixed record in winning fights like these in the court. So, just remember that there are some risks for democrats in going down this path. Its not necessarily a guarantee just because they send subpoenas doesnt mean that they or we the public is going to get to see this information. Hallie. Thats right. Still sort of symbolically and they are calling essentially bill barr to the carpet saying show us the goods and show us the receipts or well make this a battle. Thats absolutely right. Its important to point out that these would be the first subpoenas issued by this committee. They authorize subpoenas in the case of matt whittaker, the former acting attorney general when they wanted him to come before the committee. They never actually issued them. We talked quite a bit in the run up to the 2018 election about how democrats were going to go after this administration right away. Theyve actually been pretty careful in how they approached these issues, particularly on this house Judiciary Committee. Talk of impeachment has quieted in the wake of that barr summary. Remember, this would be the committee that would handle any proceedings along those lines. They have been staffing up and preparing for any possibility over the course of the next couple of years. So, significant that they are choosing to do this this way, hallie. Kasie hunt, please stay close to a camera because we are expecting this vote in the next couple minutes. Lets listen in now. Talking about this report. To help the Clinton Campaign and top officials bring down a sitting president. And for us to continue this outrageous assault on the office of president , even after the truth has come out that there was no conspiracy by the Trump Campaign or President Trump or anybody in his family with russia and to continue to push. Were still going to make a big deal out of this. We cant stand the fact that the facts show it was the democrats that colluded with foreign agents to try to change the outco outcome. Enough is enough. Lets please move on. Congressman asking to move on essentially. Echoing what President Trump had to say. They have not actually seen Robert Muellers report simply attorney general bill barrs summary of what he says mueller found. Let me bring in msnbc analyst and reporter for Washington Post as well as nbc legal analyst and Senior Vice President for social justice. Bob, let me start with you. How do you see this playing out politically as we wait for the vote from the Judiciary Committee and the authorization of these subpoenas setting up, it seems, a major battle between the house dems and the department of justice . Politically the lines are already drawn. Republicans on capitol hill defending the attorney general, should he choose to leave some of robert mullerellemuellers m the sideline. It is still a battle that has yet to be determined. This could go to the federal courts. The federal courts could decide how much should the attorney general actually release to congress, if congress does not feel theyre getting sufficient information from the ag. Maya, congressman adam schiff was talking about what happens if congress only sees a heavily redacted report from the attorney general and, again, the threat of subpoenas is hanging over all of this. Heres what he said. What steps do you take . Well, you know, then we have to go through with the subpoenas and the court fight to make sure that we get that information. Are you going to call bob mueller to testify . I think its inevitable bob mueller will have to testify before congress. Is that where this is all headed, maya, inevitably perhaps. Seeing Robert Mueller testify in front of these members of congress . Certainly what were hearing from congressman schiff, thats a possibility. I think its very clear that what the Congressional Committee is doing, particularly the democrats, is ensuring that they have set the stage for legal process, if they need it. And it is significant. Just from a legal standpoint, politically may be different. But legally speaking to issue a subpoena is an act that creates the first stage of the potential for litigation. If you dont issue the subpoena, you dont have a court case. So, really, i think what jerry nadler is saying and the democrats is, look, we want to resolve this. We are not seeing the kind of behavior and reaction that gives us a sense of the normal, negotiating process where both sides come to an agreement. Which is what often happens. There is a fight, and then theres an agreement on what will be released and how. That they dont have confidence that will happen and they want to make sure theyve laid the Legal Foundation for going to court. Now, what is true is these Court Actions take years. I mean, you know, the democrats in the house took the Bush Administration to court over firing nine u. S. Attorneys. That actually resulted in a ruling that made very clear that congress had the standing to bring that lawsuit. And at a minimum, the white house had to send its senior officials in to the committee to assert executive privilege and then you had the republicans doing it, of course, with barack obama and fast and furious. That took five years to litigate. But theres Court Precedent that does give the House Democrats reasons to believe that they have some opportunity in court. Chairman nadler is also pointing to another president and 1998 and what was going on with president clinton and the star report and drawing a line between tlohose two things. I want to play for you what he said in the last couple minutes. The president presented me with the high honor of not one, but three separate mentions on twitter. 1998 the debate was not about congress to see the evidence. The congress had already received the full, 445page report and 17 boxes of additional documents, including grand jury material. We are owed that same opportunity today. Do you believe that is an effective argument from the chairman . Well, look, if people are paying attention to what the primary issue is, it should be an effective argument. Meaning the issue here is transparency. So that the congress can do what its Constitutional Authority says it must do, which is oversight. And that the issue is transparency here and its ability to establish something that it cant establish right now. I mean, some of the clips of what were hearing in talking points are inaccurate. What we know is very little from barrs summary of the Mueller Report. And it actually raises many more questions than it answers. And if you have eight and ten americans sort of saying, well, for different reasons, we want to know what is in the report. And you have an attorney general that said, my interests and i believe the Public Interest isnt transparency then why arent we seeing an attorney general saying im going to get the permission from the court to release the material to you if i need that and this is my point of what kind of behavior suggests that transparency is on its way. Bob, as we look at congressman jim jordan now. He is, obviously, speaking as we get closer and closer to this vote. We expect to happen within the next 20 minute. Talk to me about President Trumps tone. Deuz does it seem to you a shift to i have nothing to hide to going after democrats, it will never be enough, just move on. What is your sense of that . So far the white house has not shown any sign that they are going to exert executive privilege on part of this Mueller Report. They have left it in the hands of attorney general bill barr. And theyre trying to stay out of the process, but theyre also hovering over the process, theyre not rallying behind releasing this immediately to the public and agreeing to the democratic demands. Its a negotiation period where the white house doesnt want to be seen as meddling in this discussion, but they certainly have their own perspective and they want to make sure the president s agenda, his reputation, thats protected. Whether they ask the attorney general or not to cite executive privilege, that is still a decision to be made. Bob costa and maya wiley, thank you for being with us. Well keep an eye on what is happening on the left side of your screen. The house Judiciary Committee meeting happening. Kelly odonnell joins us from the white house lawn. I imagine the white house is also watching this. I was talking to sources there saying this is a lot, in their view, bluster from democrats. The president , as we look at congressman matt gates there has a lot of allies in this room who are really fighting his case for him. Yes. Its democrats who are also sort of test driving the powers that came with their majority in the area of running these committees, using their gabble power for subpoenas and the political debate that follows. This is the kind of hearing where it takes a very long time for everyone to say whats on their minds and then the vote. There is certainly a difference between this era and the ken starr era because the individual statute that Everything Associated with ken starr was very different in that it requir required the publication of the full report. The special Council Statute is different in that the limitations are much greater for the report to only go to the attorney general. To apples ande and learn more. That is part of what is playing out here, as well. The rules are simply different now and there is a battle for what defines transparency in this era and how much protection of individuals who may have been involved or named in the investigation, but not charged. All of those things we have been talking about. But this is for the white house. The painful reality of not having control of the house of representatives at a time when there are lots of issues that members of congress legitimately want to investigate and have oversight on. Were seeing these powers play out in realtime and each one of these instances will cause major headaches for the white house and we dont really know where its going. But these are the powers that the democrats are able to use and they are using them. Hallie . Kelly odonnell live for us there at the white house. See you later on today. Were watching what is going down on capitol hill and also keeping an eye on what is happening in new york. You have a bunch of 2020ers there right now for the National Action network conference. Beto orourke is on stage. Were watching that live. And also on swamp watch. This time is 350 grand the price to pay . Our exclusive investigation on who exactly the president picked and what you need to know about their backgrounds. With safelite, you can see exactly when well be there. Saving you time for what you love most. 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Prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections, which could need hospitalization, skin problems, and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. Are you ready . Ask your doctor how prolia® can help strengthen your bones. The latest inisnt just a store. Ty its a save more with a new kind of Wireless Network store. Its a look what your wifi can do now store. A get your questions answered by awesome experts store. Its a now theres one store that connects your life like never before store. The xfinity store is here. And its simple, easy, awesome. We are taking a live look right now at the left side of your screen out of new york city where right now a number of 2020 president ial candidates including beto orourke are going to be on stage at the countrys biggest civil rights conference. The National Action network connection. Were going to listen just for a second. Judicial positions of power in our countrys most diverse city. So as i learned that Paul Quinn College on the opening day of their Summer Bridge program with president michael we can meet disappointment with a power and joy of people. This campaign has the ability to bring people together, not just to secure the nomination, not just to defeat President Trump as important as that is, but to bring this country every single one of us together in a movement to ensure that we change the structure of this country and bring out the very best from every single one of us. That is why im so honored to be able to run and serve you as president and so grateful for the invitation from chairman richardson and reverend sharpton to address you today. Thank you for having us out. Im very grateful. Appreciate it. Well watch all the president ial candidates speaking at that conference today. Keeping an eye on any new reaction to what they have to say, as well as any reaction to the latest issue that practically every candidate is being asked about, joe biden. With the Presumptive Republican candidate talking about this overnight. Listen. I said, general, give me a ki kiss. I felt like joe biden. Welcome to the world, joe. You having a good time, joe . Are you having a good time . Now, two more women have come forward to accuse the former vp of inappropriate, but not sexual touching. First sharing their stories with New York Times overnight. Nbc news has not verified the account of one of the accusers but she said she met him back in 2012 at a fundraiser for amy klobuchar. It was one of those things where im going, oh, okay. This is making me feel uncomfortable. When asked for comment on the new accusations, bidens Office Referred nbc news to his previous statement where he was affectiont but never intended to act inappropriately. Christine reynolds and abbie livi livingston joins me, as well. None of this changed the Vice President s calculations. None of it was going to be a deal breaker in his decisions. Do or should what we are hearing now change anything . I think were an important part of the conversation around these issues in this country. Nancy pelosi said it really well when she said times have changed and we need to take a look at how we make people feel and acknowledge that there is a difference there. Id love to see the Vice President do that. Hes talked about listening. I think theres a lot of things that all these candidates are going to deal with. Is it a game changer or deal breaker . He has to run first. New questions about the political overtones to this. You have the Bernie Sanders campaign pushing back on reports that they are behind this in any way. I want to read that statement and plead for you what lucy flores, the first woman who came out and talked about feeling invaded in her personal space. I specifically asked her about that earlier in the week and i want to play what she said. Did you talk about your story prior to talking about it publicly with any campaign before that happened . This is not politically motivated in any way. I have to say it because, no, absolutely not. The Sanders Campaign said neither the Sanders Campaign nor anyone involved in it planned, persuaded. I am an opposition researcher and this feels like women coming out and telling their stories and the idea that we have to assume that it comes from another candidate to take it seriously or to not take it seriously seems a bit off there. And to her credit, shes also been asked aboutthe fa the fact she has been a bernie supporter and she was asked, is this political to some degree and she said, yeah. This is a campaign. This guy is going to be potentially running for president. These are the times we need to have these discussions. This is part of the process. People get vetted. We learn new things about people and put them in the context of what society thinks about at that time and certainly these questions are going to be asked, but the idea that this is coming up now is not all that surprising. One of the Amazing Things about this, this is one of the first real squirmishes between potential candidate and candidate and i feel like about eight years ago, the first one was in february. Sort of a delayed willingness to engage with campaigns and i think that is reflective of just how desperate the party is to beat donald trump. We want to talk about other 2020 candidates and to authorize the subpoenas for the russia report. We want to listen for a second here because i think this will go fairly quickly. Mr. Gomer votes no. Mr. Jordan. Mr. Jordan votes no. Mr. Buck. Mr. Buck votes no. Mr. Radcliffe. Ms. Roby. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates votes no. Mr. Johnson of louisiana. Mr. Johnson of louisiana votes no. Mr. Biggs. Mr. Biggs votes no. Mr. Mcclintock. I think if i understand correctly youre outside the room where this is happening. Theyre voting now in the door behind you here and then what is the expectation of where this goes . Well, hallie, like weve been discussing. We are expecting this to go through the committee with no problems. The democratic majority here. But this is what i would basically call a shot across the bow. This is a warning to attorney general william barr who is right now working on those redactions to the Mueller Report that we expect to see in a week or so. Now, democrats have, obviously said that that is not acceptable. They want to see an unredacted report and all the evidence underlying it. The committee would have authorized subpoenas, not just for the report, but for documents related to a series of highprofile white house officials, as well. But, the main focus on the Mueller Report at this point. Jerry nadler the chairman will have the discussion to when the subpoenas will actually be issued. So, the sense here on capitol hill is that is not likely to happen until after we see what barr is actually willing to give publicly. But, you know, obviously, it will be up to his discretion. We do potentially expect to hear from him in a couple minutes after this hearing wraps up. So, well keep an eye on that, as well, hallie. It did just pass. 24 yes votes and 17 no votes according to our team in the room. I can see folks are getting ready to come out and i know youll chase them down in the hallways. Important point that youre making here, too. We look at, for example, congressman jim jordan who is still in the room. Feisty interaction and well show you in a second here related to some of the crux of what democrats and republicans are aurrguing about. What did Robert Mueller find and how come they dont know more about it other than bill barrs summary. This distinction between the subpoenas that have now been authorized versus the issuance of them. The subpoenas actually getting served, which may not happen for a period of time that we just dont know. It may not happen for a period of time and it may not happen at all, depending on what happens with william barr. The democrats are Still Holding out whatever possibility here. And, you know, i do think that timing matters in so much that barr is consulting, you know, with the special counsel. Theyre making these decisions in realtime and watching this unfold. If they have been very conscious and our colleague and, of course, pete williams, they have reported extensively on this. They are very aware of the political context in which theyre operating and what the public is demanding. Our polling shows the public does, in fact, really want to see this report. So, this is unfolding as theyre fin finalizing those decisions on what to show the public. There is still a real question about whether it is going to feel as though we actually have been able to read that report when barr puts out the redacted version or if it just feels like a few sentences of nonsense and a whole lot of black ink covering up all the things that we actually feel like we want to know after this year plus of drama in washington. So, just keep in mind that those two things are going on kind of simultaneously. Democrats could decide to go down this road if what they see from barr is very obviously not acceptable. Now, its possible that decision has already been made. We dont know. Were working on reporting out the thinking among leadership here. But right now, they reserve that right. And, you know, why woouldnt thy want to subpoena them. It sparks a court battle that they could potentially lose. They are betting off if they get more things from bill barr up front than they are necessarily if they have to go to courts. That is not to say they couldnt win in the courts, they might. But it is a pretty big risk, hallie. Well ask you to keep your camera up for us because were going to be dipping in. Youre looking for folks walking out of that Committee Room and well come in and out of that as we get these members of congress with kasie. I want to talk about that interaction between congressman jim jordan as you see the Committee Room clear out after that 2417 yes vote and a democrat, heres some of that exchange. You made reference to the Mueller Report. Have you seen it . We havent. I have seen the findings from the attorney general. Thats kind of the crux of this whole thing, erin and abby. The republicans are saying, yeah, but bill barr summed up exactly what Robert Mueller said in their view. I keep thinking and wondering if bill barr in that initial letter hadnt come to that conclusion of obstruction of justice if we would be seeing the same fight were seeing right now. I think that we were always going to find out what we were going to find out is in that report. The idea that he was summarizing certain parts of it and that was going to forever change the debate was a little bit suspect. But this is something that, you know, democrats need to figure out how far they want to go with this. This is not an easy call for them because they are kind of preempting what barr is ultimately going to release. This is about applying pressure. If you look at what barr has written in those letters. He hass iacknowledges the criticism of his summary. He is listening to this and i think democrats probably saw that and said were just going to keep applying pressure and see what we can extract before this report issic atual iactual released. Previous to the show differences and besides the legal differences how pervasive the star report was in 1998. Everybody read it and basically shut down the internet when that was still possible. This includes intelligent sources and methods. Its a very different conversation and also i think 1998 is on the minds of democrats because theyre afraid of overreaching and they want to be cautious in how they handle themselves. This is an interesting, cautious process. There is also a moment when one of the members of congress defended essentially the integrity, the political integrity of the house Judiciary Committee even the accusation that that committee and others have been politicized beyond repair. I want to play a little bit of that. We sit here as a body that has to proceed with its constitutional duties to provide oversight. I frankly believe that we are being both fair and balanced in our maya wiley is back with ned price and former special assistant to president obama. May maya, you heard Sheila Jackson lee defending and i ask you, the republicans argue something very different. This is politicized beyond repair. I think the reality of most americans wanting to see the report is fundamental here. And the reason its fundamental is because the constitution makes congress a coequal to the executive branch. To the im so sorry to interrupt you. We want to go to kasie hunt because shes in the hall with doug collins. Thank you so much. Mr. Collins, thank you so much for talking to us. In your view, what did we just see unfold today . A political theater. I tell you the rush to get something out so they can have highlights going into the spring break. That is what i call today. Here is what is happening. Youre subpoenaing action that is released next week. The five names talked about today have all been sent letters and all been cooperating in some form or another and yet were now threatening them with subpoenas without any follow up. What happened today is a concern that we did get what we wanted last week and we want to find something this week. Do you think Congress Deserves to see the report . I think we deserve to see what the regulations say. What we voted for on the floor. That was another thing that is disturbing today. We talked about the floor vote. Youd be fine if you never saw the whole thing. I think there are other ways we can go, but the report brought forward will have to follow the regulations and bill barr said that from day one. This is how he will have to operate. If they really want to go down an impeachment, they are advancing around Everything Else for political purposes. Have you gotten an indication from the chairman that he plans to actually issue the subpoenas or is that still up in the air from your perspective . You bring up another great question. Sort of gave him this discretion. The other thing, normally in subpoenas you say, what are they looking for . Asking for birth certificate records for all we know. This is how rush to judgment this was to decide on sunday night well have this hearing today because our time frames are too constraining. Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate it. Hallie, you heard there just a little discussion over view of how republicans see this. Of course, political theater, they say. I thought it was interesting that he didnt seem to have an issue with the redactions in this report. I mean, that, obviously, a political calculation. I have to say most of the time members of congress are pretty protective of their own prerogatives which is why these conversations or standoffs can actually break different ways than you might expect. Sometimes theyre not along partisan lines. I think the fact that republicans so eager to kind of allow the executive branch to do whatever they want here says a lot about the deeply partisan nature of this particular fight, which, of course, we all know. Hallie. Kasie hunt, thank you. I rudely interrupted you to get into the interview live in the halls of congress with kasie. Your reaction from the Ranking Member . I think it was an important discussion because i do think there are legitimate pieces of information that the Justice Department could seek to withhold. I dont think there is any question about that. If there is National Security material in there, they could redact that. Certainly there are privacy concerns for some witnesses. Obviously, birth certificate records, if that was requested and outside the scope of what they needed to understand. There are certainly legitimate concerns but i think the point about teeing up the subpoenas is really about signals from the department of justice that it may not be as forthcoming. Normally what happens when the congress and the executive branch are having a fight is they work it out. They have discussions. Those discussions arent really happening. Ned price, ill go to you for Quick Reaction before we go to break here. Well, look, i think attorney general barrs letter of last week laying out these four categories of redactions gives us a lot of cause for concern. A couple of them are legitimate as maya alluded to. Terrible pattern of me interrupting my guests. Chairman nadler is speaking. Innovation by the democrats when we took over the committee. The last four years subpoenas issued by the republicans without bothering to have any kind of vote or meeting of the committee. We are giving the republicans the opportunity to debate and to vote on subpoenas which is different which is, they didnt give us. Second, i am gratified to hear from some of the republicans that they will join as plaintiffs in a lawsuit to force revelation to the committee of grand jury material, if necessary. Of course, we hope the attorney general will do that first. But it was gratified there is a sense and some others say that they agree and that they would participate. Mr. Chairman, what about the idea that this was the subpoenas and youre not going to send them yet. You still want to talk with the attorney general. What happens between now and the authorized vote today and what happens next . Well, were going to work with the attorney general and for a short period of time in the hope that he will, that he will reveal to us the entire Mueller Report and all the underlying materials and well go to court to get permission to have the material and if that doesnt work out in a very short order, we will issue the subpoenas. What does that mean . This week to serve the Justice Department. Ill say very short order. Are you willing to negotiate any middle ground in terms of redactions of the no. Youre not . No. The committee must see everything. As was done in every prior instance. Obviously, some material will have to be redacted before its released to the public to protect privacy, to protect the various rights. But the committee is entitled and must see all the material and make judgments as to what can be redacted for the public release by ourselves. We handle confidential material all the time. We have facilities to do that. We make those judgments and were not willing to let the attorney general, after all, its a politically appointee. The president made the attorney general figure out i think i said we are going to negotiate with him, yes. You do speak to somebody youre negotiating with. All the years later and model of transparency. Were not holding up ken starr as a model of transpa transparency. Were holding up the fact that his entire work product was given to the Judiciary Committee to the congress. As was the case in various other situations. The quality of the work is a different question altogether. And, again, the republicans kept making the same fundament al, repeating time after time. When we were opposing release of that material, it was released to the public we were opposing because that material, some of it was very salacious and very private and involved private individuals. It should not have been released to the public. It had already been released to the committee, which was proper. But what were asking for now is the release to the committee, that is not what was at issue 20 years ago. You going to go to court to get the grand jury information . Oh, absolutely. Thank you. Interesting things from chairman nadler there. Asked about this important distinction to authorize these subpoenas and when theyll be issued and get served over to the Justice Department. He said it would happen in very short order, but he did not get specific on the timeline there, which is interesting. He also said he would not accept any kind of middle ground when it comes to redactions. No middle ground on that. He would insist to see all of it essentially. And that he is sort of negotiating, as he said, speaking with the Justice Department on this. Aaron blake is with us here. What is in very short order mean to you . It means he doesnt know. It means this is posturing and it means he is trying to apply pressure and he maybe doesnt know what his next move is. It is really interesting he said there will be no middle ground here. Bill barr said exactly what he is going to redact. He will redact the four things laid out. If there is no negotiation here, why dont you subpoena right now . Bill barr has said what he is going to do and youve said that is not acceptable. What is the delay here . Ned price, let me go back to you. I think its important we listen to that and i want to know where you think this goes next. Will there be, in your view, in your analysis, subpoena actually serv served . I think his message is very clear. Hes not yet ready to pounce. He wants to give bill barr an opportunity to send over his report with the redactions he thinks is appropriate. But, look, i think the key point is that right now as we speak, presumably the attorney general representatives from the special counsels office and other prosecutors from the doj are going after this report line by line. Jerry nadler just sent them a very firm message. Dont even think about going above and beyond the redactions that are necessary and that probably includes a little more than classified information. So, i think that this was timed very deliberately on the part of the chairman. Sending a message because he knows they are in the thick of this right now in the coming days we all expect to see something that, in the words of the chairman, is nonnegotiable in terms of what is redacted. Well see how the department of justice takes that message. Ned price, we want to thank you for being with us. Maya wiley and our thanks to Christina Reynolds who joined us earlier in the show. Up next, today, two actresses will be heading to federal court because of their alleged role in that huge College Admissions cheating scandal. Could cheating to get their kids into college end up with them behind bars . Were live on the ground. Or w only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Youre smart,eat you already knew that. But its also great for finding the perfect used car. Youll see what a fair price is and you can connect with a truecar certified dealer. Now youre even smarter. This is truecar. Was a success for lastchoicehotels. Comign badda book. Badda boom. This year, were taking it up a notch. So in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Nobody glows. He gets it. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com today two of the highprofile defendants in that huge College Admission scandal are set to be in federal court. Were talking about in a matter of just a few hours to face charges against them. This is a preliminary hearing up in boston for actresses felicity huffman, Lori Loughlin and a dozen other parents charged in the scheme. Rig s. A. T. Scores and fake athletic credentials to get their kids into elite schools. A story that has the entire country talking about it. That includes our next guest reporter joining us here. So, morgan, talk us through timeline and expectations for what were going to see, when were going to see it and how this goes down. Hallie, good morning from a chilly boston. All eyes on this federal courthouse behind me where around 2 00 to 2 30 this afternoon we are expecting to see the dozen defendants face a judge for the first time and hear the formal charges told to them from a judge and also told how they are allowed to act from this point forward until a potential trial. The pretrial conditions will also be nailed down here today. As you mentioned, two of the most highprofile names are in boston right now. In fact, loughlin was seen at the airport yesterday signing autographs with fans ahead of todays proceedings. We do know when they face a judge, theyll likely be expected to hand over their passports and wont be allowed to travel internationally unless they can prove they will have a business reason to do so. That is really what is expected here today. The first of what is expected to be a many hearings in this case going forward. What is the scene like there, morgan. I know our colleague miguel said there is a ton of media and do you get the sense this is highly anticipated and highly watched . One of the most discussed stories in the nation right now. Certainly seems so. A gauntlet of cameras. About 30 yards behind me on one entrance to the courthouse. Keep in mind there are two. We dont know which entrance these defendants will come in to today. The shorter entrance behind me is going to be the mo of a lot of these defendants and while the actresses are the highest profile names here were looking at ceos of businesses here and one gentleman who is a lawyer and leading a massive law firm so, a lot of highprofile names expected to show up today. This will be more than a dozen. The other defendants in this case showed up last week and this should round out the defendants here in this case and what is being called an initial appearance before the judge here. Real quick, morgan, too. The possibility that some of these parents could face prison time is still on the table, right . Keep in mind, conspiracy to commit fraud is a serious charge and a felony. If convicted, up to 20 years in prison, 250,000 fine and assets could be seized. Well look for your reporting throughout the day here on msnbc. Lots to watch there. Coming up here, our wednesday edition. Is President Trump picking more of them than his predecessors did and the exclusive investigation into how qualified they really are. Ion the risk of another heart attack. Because my Second Chance matters. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Your daily dashboard from fidelity. A visual snapshot of your investments. Key portfolio events. All in one place. Because when its decision time. You need decision tech. Only from fidelity. So more than two years after becoming president , President Trumps picks to serve as ambassador are still vacant in about one out of five positions. As for the ones that arent vacant, the president s nominee to iceland, hes never visited the country until he became the ambassador. The nominee to melania trumps native slovenia, shes the founder of an evangelical charity that repeatedly retweeted false posts. And the nominee to the bahamas repeatedly falsely tweeted that bahamas was an independent nation. An nbc news exclusive investigation found at least 14 bigtime contributors to the Trump Inaugural Fund were later nominated to become ambassadors. They donated an average of just about 350,000 a piece. These socalled ambassadonors are now the subject of this conversation. With us, nick burns, abby and aaron are back with us, as well. Ambassador burns, let me start with you. And you spoke to our team here about this story reacting to some of it. Let me put up a comparison here. From former president eisenhower to obama, twothirds have been career diplomats compared to 33 that are political appointees. Every president puts some ambassadonoa ambassadonors am into place. Youre right, the democratic president s and republican president s have all appointed political appointees, Campaign Contributors to ambassador posts, but the average has been about 30 career since the kennedy administration. The Trump Administration was very slow off the mark in 2017, so that when Jamal Khashoggi was murdered brutally in the saudi consulate in istanbul last autumn, we did not have an American Ambassador in turkey or an American Ambassador in saudi arabia, and thats malpractice. So the Trump Administration needs to expedite the nomination of ambassadors. But ive got another fix. Why do we have political ambassadors when we dont have political generals . Campaign contributors dont become generals. Theyre serious positions in a places like turkey or saudi arabia. The greater percentage of trained u. S. Foreign service officers. They are out there. Theyre not getting the plum assignments in europe. Those have been going in both administrations, democrat and republican, to Campaign Contributors. But how do you change that, ambassador . Because as you rightly point out, and it is an interesting conversation to have. This is something done by both president s in both parties, dating back decades, essentially. Although there is this higher rate for President Trump here. How do you get appointees to shift that . How do you get more career diplomats . And not these donors to your campaign or to your inaugural . I think that you have to make an argument to all of our president s, diplomacy is really important. Its critical to have the right woman or the right man in moscow, in beijing, in berlin, in the bahamas, in every country in the world. The president has the authority to do this on his own. It doesnt take an act of congress. These are the president s appointments. We dont treat the military like this. Why do we treat the state department and diplomacy in such a cavalier fashion . You talk about having the right man or the right woman in place. Let me ask you about the man, the person who is serving now as ambassador to the united arab emirat emirates, john rakolta, the ceo of a construction company, hae has no diplomatic experience. Previous ambassadors to the uae have been career diplomats, right . Not political. What do you make of that . I think you need some i dont know the individual, so it would be unfair for me to say anything negative about him. But i think in a place like the united arab emirates, its such a key Security Partner of the united states, and its such a complicated country in many ways, you need a career person who speaks arabic, whos served in the middle east, who understands the politics of the gulf region. And that does make this argument for career people to be put forward. We have great men and women in the foreign service, theyre often the number twos in these embassies, because theyre not promoted to the ambassadorships. Abby . The unwritten rule, the reason this exists is that so some rich people for the rest of their lives can be called ambassador. Its an ego trip. And the unwritten rule on this is you send them to luxembourg. The problem is. And i remember senator mccain being furious with the president , president Obamas Administration for his hungarian ambassador. The world is increasingly unstable. Were talking about france, were talking about the middle east. What happens if theres an International Crisis . What happens if nato starts splitting apart . Thats my question. And thats ultimately where this issue actually gets on peoples radar. This is average people dont care about this yet, because it hasnt blown up into we care on swamp watch. We care on swamp watch, but now he has a political appointee headed to the united nations. What happens if she doesnt do terribly well there, because she doesnt have diplomatic experience. Thats when this guess on peoples radar. Because otherwise its gone on too long. And that doesnt mean to say that people with no diplomatic experience cant serve well. Ambassador nick burns, thank you so much. Abby and aaron, thank you so much for joining us on set. We want to share some new sound just into us from beto orourke talking about the latest accusations of inappropriate touching about former Vice President biden. He was speaking with reporters after that event in new york we told you about earlier. Watch. I think we need to listen to those who are raising their stories, who have the courage to come forward, to share their experience and also to be part of the conversation about either his candidacy or he fairs as a contender for the nomination, if he jumps in. I think, ultimately, thats going to be a decision for him to make. And while that does it for me this hour, my colleague, craig melvin will have much more on this and a whole bunch of other news coming up now live there in new york. Just fresh off of his exclusive interview with steph curry. Hey, pal. Good to see you, hallie. Good to see you, as well. Craig melvin here, msnbc headquarters in new york city, where we are watching several big stories play out live at this hour. Here in new york, right now, the 2020 Democratic Candidates for president courting a key and influential block of voters at the National Action network. We are also live on capitol hill. That is where the house Judiciary Committee is challenging President Trump. The Committee Just moments ago voting to force the department, the Justice Department, to hand over that full and unredacted Mueller Report. And also, a live look at chicago, celebrates going on after Lori Lightfoot made history there, winning the race for mayor. I will speak to the new mayor live in just a few moments about becoming the first black woman and the first openly gay person to hold that office in chicago. Well get to that in jus