Actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide the tweet raised a red flag for experts who say trump knew flynn lied to the fbi and then pressured james comey to stop investigating. He could be guilty of obstruction of justice. Reporter the president from his twitter account said he fired mike flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the fbi, raising real questions about a potential obstruction case. Every time the president tweets, injects himself into this investigation, he contradicts himself and will get caught in a big ball of what i call a mess. He then, what, distracts and says, what about hillary . Sean spicer when White House Press secretary used to say the president s tweets are the president s tweets and they are his voice. Theres an incredible case of obstruction of justice against donald trump. He knew Michael Flynn was lying to the fbi when he fired him, which means that he knew Michael Flynn had committed a felony when he asked comey to stop the investigation of him. Not so fast. This man has stepped in, john dowd, tells nbc he prompted the tweet, not mr. Trump. And according to a report later confirmed by nbc news, the lawyer believes the president cannot obstruct justice because hes the chief Law Enforcement officer under the constitution. Ken delay knee, Nbc National Security reporter and phil rutger, White House Bureau chief and msnbc political analyst are joining me from washington. Peter alexander is here as well. This is a confusing round of events. Who wrote the tweet . What kind of jeopardy is the president in . Have we had clarity from the white house this morning . Reporter we have not had much clarity on this topic. You played the clips of the president earlier as he defended himself and Michael Flynn and the way hes been treated has been unfair. Broadly speaking, we have also heard over the course of this day significant from john dowd, basically laying out the new Defense Strategy as noted there, dowd telling nbc news that the president cannot obstruct justice, which is raising questions about many individuals on whether hes suggesting the white house and its allies are suggesting that the president is above the law right now. But the question that is remained unanswered still not clear at this time, exactly when and from whom the president learned that Michael Flynn had lied to the Vice President and to the fbi. Its a question that we yelled to him on the lawn today and didnt get an answer to. Phil rutger, let me ask you about this. One of the things that came up, the president continues to bring up Hillary Clinton, and he said, Hillary Clinton lied to the fbi. James comey in his testimony before congress was asked that specific question and said, to his knowledge, that Hillary Clinton has not lied to the fbi. Yeah, you know, i actually asked the white house this morning for some way to substantiate the president s tweet about Hillary Clinton lying to the fbi. For some examples, they were not responsive to that request. And Hillary Clinton has not been charged by the fbi or formally accused of lying to the fbi. So a different case than with Michael Flynn. Lets quickly play it if we have it. The testimony from james comey of july 2016. Sorry, with edont have that. Well get back to that later. Ken n november ken, in november of last year, Sarah Huckabee sanders said when youre attacking fbi agents, because youre under criminal investigation, youre losing. The fbi is in tatters of a complete rebuild. Its probably always a bad idea for a criminal defendant to attack the fbi, but in this case, we have the president of the United States doing it in addition to being a Law Enforcement agency, its a counter intuitive agency. There are thousands of men and women risking their lives every day, and President Trump is their president. None have come close to denouncing the agency the way donald trump did today and i think it will have repercussions. The president tweeted out, tainted, no, very dishonest. Fbi agents roll and Clinton Probe under review. Clinton money going to wife of another fbi agent in charge. Theres another tweet where he says, after years of comey with the phony and dishonest clinton investigation and more running the fbi, its reputation is in tatters. Worst in history. But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness. Peter, thats had reaction from representatives of fbi agents and former heads of the fbi and Justice Department officials to say, the fbis reputation isnt in tatters, its actually a pretty strong organization. Thats exactly right. A lot of pushback, fierce pushback from Law Enforcement members, active and former. Among them, james comey who has taken to social media, most notably yesterday, posting the exact words he testified just a matter of months ago, saying the fbi is strong and most importantly that its honest and most importantly i think he noted that the fbi is independent. So fierce pushback from former and current members of the fbi, the Intelligence Community and others who suggest this is the commander in chief, not just the commander of our military forces, but the man who ultimately runs the whole show, right . The Justice Department, the fbi included in that, and the fact that he would be attacking what is now his team, a lot of people had significant problems with. But phil, it would make sense, right, if an investigation is getting closer and closer to the president than tainting the investigators or at least that group of people thats been involved in investigations into this in the past. It might be a useful strategy. Thats exactly right. And its almost very similar to the way that the president tries to taint the news media when there are stories that he doesnt like or that he doesnt think are sufficiently favorable to him. He calls it fake news. Thats the way to discredit the media. Hes trying to do basically the same thing with the fbi. And lets not forget that the president has had tension with the attorney general Jeff Sessions and others at the Justice Department, including at the fbi, for many months now. Its a really sore relationship at the moment and seems to be worsening. Ken, what do we know, since Michael Flynns plea of guilty on friday, what do we know about the investigation . What is supposed to happen next . Well, Michael Flynn before he made this deal, he would have offered a proffer explaining to Robert Mueller everything he was prepared to testify to. And obviously we dont know what that is, but we believe it is significant for him to have gotten that deal. So there are questions about what he has to offer about the people more senior than him, that would be Jared Kushner and donald trump. Some people, phil, are very interested in the business about who wrote the president s tweet. Because the president s tweets have gotten him in trouble in court in the past with respect to the travel ban, with the transgender military ban. And then sean spicer had said, i dont know if you or peter were in the White House Briefing room when sean spicer actually said, take the president s tweets as policy. So at this point, phil, what do you make of this business of john dowd saying, i wrote that tweet . At some point, how are the rest of us supposed to think about the president s tweets . Well, it certainly is in the president s voice that tweet, whether john dowd drafted it or not, it might have been a little of both and sort of a review process as we understand it. But i think theres an effort here by john dowd and the white house staff to distance the president from those words. There are a couple complicated factors, however, if john dowd wrote the tweet and drafted it, does he then become a witness in the Mueller Investigation . And if that happens, does he have to recuse himself from somehow representing the president and his personal attorney . I dont know. I can tell you within trumps orbit theres a lot of c consternation about the whey the white house have handled the tweet issue over the last 48 hours. A real sense that the legal team doesnt quite have the its act together. Guys, thank you very much. Peter alexander at the white house, ken delanian and phil rutger. Joining me is the earthi iics lawyer that served under george w. Bush. Others are saying the president cannot obstruct justice because of his responsibilities as the chief lawmaker under the constitution. Your thoughts . We have heard before from Richard Nixon that the president is above the law. That didnt work for nixon and its not going to work for trump. And this is just an extension of the Trump Administrations attitude. He said a number of months ago the president cant have a conflict of interest. Thats wrong, too. The president is not above the law. We live in a democracy. We have a constitution. And if he doesnt want to comply with the constitution, he needs to get out of there. And the constitution does not say that as the chief Law Enforcement officer or as the president who appoints the chief Law Enforcement officer, the attorney general, he can obstruct justice. He cannot. No more than he can take a bribe when he signs or vetoes a bill. And he has got to learn to obey the law. And i think it is an embarrassment when you have people like Alan Dershowitz encouraging the president to pull out the law and pull out the constitution of the United States. Thats a dangerous road to go down, right . Because you might be defending a particular instance but in the end, when we have decided in a country like america that was founded with coequal branches of government, meant to keep a check on one another. Once youve decided that the executive this is not a concept most americans will have come to terms with, that the president is above the law, it is commonly thought if not legally understood that is not the case. It is extremely dangerous. And we are talking about the president who has threatened the press and is currently having the Justice Department retaliate against cnn in an antitrust lawsuit, threatening to go after the Washington Post owners. This is a president who has threatened, not to admit people to the United States because of their religion and first violation of the son city tug constitution. And what is embarrassing is that congress is doing absolutely nothing. And the constitution makes it very clear that congress has a responsibility, they have the power to impeach this president. We shouldnt have to be waiting around for an obstruction of justice case to be put together by Robert Mueller. At this stage in the nixon investigation, there were hearings in the senate and judiciary committees. We have more than enough evidence to proceed with such hearings. And if congress doesnt want to do their job, theyll have to get booted out of there. We dont have impeachment hearings underway but we do have house and Senate Hearings underway about the russian involvement in the election. Do you have any faith those are heading in a direction that will give us some resolution to this issue . Well, they are focusing on one aspect of this problem, which is the collusion of the russians by the Trump Campaign and others. But thats only part of the problem. Once again, we have a president who has obstructed justice. And his lawyer said hes above the law. A president who threatened the freedom of the press under the first amendment. And we have congress doing absolutely nothing about that. Ive been a republican for 30 years, but im not going to stand by and watch my party or anyone else throw away the constitution. I dont want to live in a totalitarian country. The congress has to get its act together and do what the constitution says they need to do. As you often point out, it should have no bearing on whether one is a democrat or republican because the issues were looking at are well beyond partisan politics. Richard, thank you for joining me, as always. Richard painter is a chief, former chief white house ethics lawyer under george w. Bush. We are keeping an eye on this picture of what is going on in Salt Lake City where the president is going to speak soon, announcing his plan to shrink two National Monuments in utah. Well bring that to you live and discuss implications of that. But first, the gop is going to be trying to merge the senate and house versions of the tax reform bill. There are many hurdles to overcome if they want to get this done by christmas. Im going to keep you posted on that. Take a look at the stock market right now, a strong day, not nearly as strong as it was. It was up way over a percent this morning. Now we are up. 66 . This is the first trading day since the Senate Tax Bill was passed. Well keep an eye on all of it. A little more than 90 minutes until the closing bell. Stay with us, youre watching nbc. Msnbc. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Im glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. For some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. And improves function. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those whove had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can do more with my family. Talk to your doctor today. See if lyrica can help. It is all about the money on capitol hill this week. Congress has until friday to approve a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. Some democrats want this legislation to include protections for socalled dreamers, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell addressed it on abcs this week. Look, theres not going to be a government shutdown. Its not going to happen. I dont think the democrats would be smart to say they want to shut down the government over a nonemergency that we can address any time between now and march. Thats an untenable position. Another big item on the agenda is taxes. House and Senate Republicans are going to start the process of merging their tax reform bills. And there are several differences between the two pieces of legislation. I want to give you there are many, im going to touch on a few of them. The house version keeps the obama individual mandate. Doesnt speak to health care at all. The Senate Version repeals the individual mandate. This is a big deal, a moneysaving matter for the government, some say, but in fact, this is going to affect a lot of people. You may pay less in taxes in the next couple of years, but if you are on to baa maycare it will affect you. The house care bill lowers it to four brackets. The senate bill is seven brackets. The house bill mortgage interest caps at a 500,000. The senate bill has no change to mortgage interest deduction. Garrett haake is live on capitol hill. What is your take on this . Republicans i have talked to generally said there are no deal breakers in this in terms of getting it passed . Reporter theyre probably right. The hardest part of this for republicans is probably past, getting it through the senate was a challenge, but the Republican Leadership found ways to include various pieces of deals and various concessions to lawmakers who have a number of different issues with the bill to find a way to make those puzzle pieces all fit together and get it through the senate. The biggest problem coming up with a consensus bill just to make sure that they can get this thing under budget. Remember, to pass it back through the senate, again, after a conference committee, it still has to cost less than 1. 5 trillion. Some of the is more popular divisions in the house bill make it more expensetive. Some of the things like the senate did, cutting the Corporate Tax bill to 20 , are things not popular in the house, but Republican Leadership in both houses can smell victory here. And it seems less likely than any one member in the senate to be the one to throw a wrench in the works when they are this close to passing something they want so badly. Im keeping an eye on the bottom right of the screen. Donald trump is coming up. Lets go to that now. The president of the United States in Salt Lake City talking about National Monuments. We are expecting him to shrink a bunch of them. Lets listen in. Thank you to orrin hatch for that nice introduction. That was a truly nice introduction and i appreciate it. You are a true fighter, orrin. You meet fighters and you meet people you thought were fighters but they are not so good at fighting. Hes a fighter. We hope you all continue to serve your state and country in the senate for a long time to come. I want to especially thank you for the tremendous work in ushering massive tax can you wants and reform through the senate. It just happened and we have final step to go. And i predict well be very successful. Talking about massive tax cuts. It is tax cuts and reform. I always mention tax cuts first because thats what people like to hear. We are now one huge step closer to delivering to the American People the historic tax relief as a giant present for christmas. Remember, we are bringing christmas back. Krips ma christmas is back bigger and better than before. Were bringing christmas back. And we say it now with pride. Let me just say to those here today and all across the country, Merry Christmas to everybody. [ cheers and applause ] and also happy holidays and a great new year. Well have a great, great year. Joining us at this ceremony are many tremendous leaders from utah, including your great senator, mike lee. Where is mike . Mike, come here, mike. Come here, mike. Get up here, mike. He worked along with orrin and the rest of them. We got it done. Mike, thank you very much. Appreciate it. It is not every day the president of the United States asks you to take the microphone from him, but i want to say, mr. President , thank you for your leadership. Thank you for being here. Thank you for standing with the people of utah. We appreciate it deeply. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, mike. I also want to recognize the fantastic representative who is are with us, rob bishop, john krernis, Chris Stewart and mia love. Thank you, all. You are here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And i have to talk about a special guy that i made secretary of the interior. Does he know the interior . He knows it, he loves it. He loves seeing it and writing on it. Ryan zinke who truly believes in protecting america, he is protecting america. And nobody loves it more. Ryan, thank you. Just as he protected the office of the Legendary Team s. E. A. L. 6, hes a tough cookie. Governor gary herbert. Where is gary . Get over there, gary. Your wife, the first lady, is fantastic. Thank you very much. First lady. Thank you, first lady. Attorney general sean reyes. Sean, thank you. Thank you. And original supporter of mine. You always remember those original supporters. Greg use, thank you. He was an original. Thank you, greg. He had a feeling. Finally, i want to recognize the members of the local utah navajo. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. We are profoundly honored by your presence today and ill thrilled to be here with so many wonderful friends. So many wonderful people that saw something a little special. And they said, were with him and im really working hard to put it back. And thats what were doing today. This magnificent capital in your incredible state, it is special people and a special state. Thank you very much for being here. Ive just come from touring welfare square with senator hatch. And some amazing people from the leadership of the church of jesus christ of the latterday saints. Special special. I spent a lot of time with him. In fact, i went around the store and wanted a nice can of tuna fish. And they had plenty. They really help people. Incredible. After our visit, i can truly say firsthand that utahs awesome Natural Beauty is exceeded only by the warmth and grace and hospitality of its citizens. This state has many natural treasures. But its greatest treasure by far is its people. Chauz [ cheers and applause ] we will insure the right of the people to live according to the faith in their hearts. Which is why we will always protect your religious liberty. [ applause ] and we have been doing that. I know all of you feel blessed to be living among some of the most glorious natural wonders anywhere in the world. You cherish utahs gleaming rivers and sweeping valleys. You take inspiration from its majestic peaks. And when you look upon the many winding canyons and glowing vistas, you marvel at the beauty of gods great creation. [ applause ] and that is why im here today. Because some people think that the Natural Resources of utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in washington. And guess what . Theyre wrong. [ cheers and applause ] the families and communities of utah know and love this land the best. And you know the best, how to take care of your land. You know how to protect it. And you know best how to conserve this land for many, many generations to come. Your timeless bond with the outdoors should not be replaced with the womehims of regulators. They dont know your land and they truly dont care for your land like you do. But from now on, that wont matter. Ive come to utah to take a very historic action. To reverse federal overreach and restore the rights of this land to your citizens. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Thank you. But before i begin, im a real estate developer. When they Start Talking about millions of acres, they say, say it again. Thats a lot. So before i begin, i met with senator orrin hatch who loves utah and loves the people of utah. I called senator mike lee who loves utah and loves the people of utah. I called your governor, i called my original, where is he . There he is. I called all of top friends that i have in utah. I said, what do you think . I said, will this be good for our country . And will it be good for your state . They said this would be incredible for our country, it will be incredible for utah. Finally, you would be giving people back their access to the land they know, to the land they understand, and most importantly, to the land that they love. I also said will it be at all controversial. They all told me no. How did that happen . I dont think it is controversial, actually. I think it is so sensible. Therefore today, on the recommendation of secretaond th secretary and senator hatch and the many others, i will sign two president ial proclamations. These actions will modify the National Monuments designations of both bears ears and Grand Staircase escalante. [ applause ] as many of you know, past administrations have severely abused the purpose, spirit and intent of a century old law known as the Antiquities Act. This law requires that only a small necessary protection protects monuments. Unfortunately, some have ignored the standard and used the law to lock up hundreds of millions of acres of land and water under strict government control. These abuses of the Antiquities Act give enormous power to far away bureaucrats at the expense of the people who actually live here, work here and make this place their home. This is where they raise their children. This is the place they love. For example, the Previous Administration diseasing nae ieg for example, the Previous Administration diseasing nae is than a half a billion acres of land and water including bears ears. It did so over the loud objections of the people of this state and their elected representatives. Governor, right . The results have been very sad and very predictable. Here and in other affected states, we have seen harmful or unnecessary restrictions on r ranching and responsible economic development. We have seen grazing restrictions prevent ranching families from passing their businesses and beloved heritage onto the children, the children that they love. We have seen many rural families stopped from enjoying their Outdoor Activities and the fact that they have done it all their lives made no difference to the bureaucrats in washington. We have seen needed improvements like infrastructure upgrades and road maintenance impeded and foreclosed. We have seen how this tragic federal overreach prevents many native americans from having their rightful voice over the sacred land where they practice their most important ancestral and religious traditions. [ cheers and applause ] these abuses of the Antiquities Act have not just threatened your local economies, they have threatened your very way of life. They have threatened your hearts. Our precious National Treasures must be protected and they from now on will be protected. Under my administration, we will advance that protection through a truly representative process. One that listens to the local communities that knows the land the best and that cherishes the land the most. With the action im taking today, we will not only get back your voice over the use of this land, we will also restore your access and your enjoyment. Public lands will once again be for public use. [ cheers and applause ] because we know that people who are free to use their land and enjoy their land are the people most determined to conserve their land. One values the splendor of utah more than, ill tell you what, theres nobody out there. I just came in and im looking around with orrin and with mike and with the governor and with everybody, and im just saying, what a beautiful picture it is. But no one values the splendor of utah more than you do. And no one knows better how to use it. With your help in treating our natural bounty with respect, gratitude and love, we will put our nations treasures to great and wonderful use. Families will hike and hunt on land they have known for generations. And they will preserve it for generations to come. Cattle will graze along the open range. Sweeps landscapes will inspire Young Americans to dream beyond the horizon. And the world will stand in awe of the artistry god has worked right here in your great state. Together we will usher in a bright new future of wonder and wealth, liberty and law, and patriotism and pride all across this great land. Thank you to the wonderful people of utah. May god bless you, and may god bless america. Thank you very much. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. President trump finishing his remarks in Salt Lake City about three minutes before he was actually scheduled to start them. He started speaking early. And an interesting speech in which, hang on, lets listen in. And now with your representatives, i will sign this very important proclamation. Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you. Rescinding the status as protected lands of the Grand Staircase escalante and lets listen in to anything the president is saying here. Modifying the Grand StaircaseEscalante National monument by the president of the United States and representatives. Thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you. Modifying the bears ears National Monument. And were going to do the following [ applause ] okay, if you havent been following this topic and what its about, the president signed proclamations to dramatically scale back the size of two National Monuments in utah. We refer to them as monuments but they are large pieces of land. The administration has plans now to reduce bears ears National Monument by nearly 85 . And the Grand Staircase escalante in half. Opponents have vowed to fight the white house in court about this. I believe jeff bennett is available to us now. Geoff bennett is in Salt Lake City covering this. Geoff, it was very unclear listening to the president s rationalization because he rationalized the elimination of the protections as actual protection. He said it will now allow the lands to be used and protected by the public. So in removing the protections of the land, hes making an unusual argument. Reporter he was trying to make the point that the people here know best how to protect tlan the lands, i think he said better than the bureaucrats back in washington. Heres important context, ali, the federal government owns twothirds of the ground here in utah. So what the president did here really caps a decadeslong effort by the folks here in this room who are specially invited guests. Thats why his applause lines were received so well by the republican members of utahs congressional delegation to really do more, really, to return these lands back to utah. Utahans have more of a say what happens in their backyard. You have environmental groups and tribes like the navajo, the hopi, some tribes say these grounds are sacred. Im told by one of the tribe leaders that they fully intend to file suit. So we will see this end up in the courts. In a few minutes ill speak to the chairman of the ute tribe. There are some tribal leaders on stage. Do we know why . Reporter we dont know wipe. Up intend to go over and speak to them. You cant paint any of these groups with one brush. The local navajo may be here and have a stated interest in access to the land where other members of a different tribe may not. Geoff bennett with the president in utah. As promised, i want to bring in sean chopas, chairman of the Business Committee. Sean, thank you for being with us. Outline the concerns of the yute and other tribal grounds like bears ears. Im not the chairman of the yute Business Committee. Im a Business Committee member. The chairman was unable to attend. Thank you for the correction. First of all, the significance of the whole discussion, and i sat and listened to the president s speech, and what is interesting is nowhere in that discussion do we as native americans even take any recognition as far as protecting our rights. People forget, we were the first residents of the state of utah long before it was a state. And the areas in question have historical artifacts, they have graveyards, they have all kinds of things which are sacred to not just my tribe but all the tribes in the state of utah. And outside the state of utah. And its interesting to hear his comment how they act as they have been restricted. Ive been restricted. They are upset because they almost think its like digging pots and robbing graves is a sport in utah. For me, i find that alarming. Because as a president , he represents all of us. And in the state of utah, which they point out, you have the utah delegation, congressman bishop, the senators, their advocacy to acquire lands within the state of utah are not owned just by the federal government but by the Indian Tribes has been known. And now we see the first example of it actually taking place. And that is alarming to me as a tribal leader. Not too long before the bears ears issue became a monument, we had to repeal that process. It was in that process that the congress along with the delegation made a push to take 100,000 acres of land and exchange in for land on my reservation because of the value of and there. So the idea is if you get it out of federal protection, it means that land could ultimately be exploited for oil and gas, sold, used for commercial purposes, things like that. Well, thats the whole thing. The monuments are designed to protect looking at cultural artifacts, which bears ears meets the criteria. They have said it pointblankly. We are marking up the resource by designating this monument. So i dont think that i need to assert, they have said it themselves. Right. You and other tribes are planning to sue the administration over this, is that true . Well, i didnt say that, but it is wellknown that the coalition tribe, the five tribes were prepared to defend the bears ears monument to the extent of the law. And i think all we have been waiting for was this actual moment to understand what it is he was going to attempt to do. So i think were all firm in our belief. We all understand we have a responsibility and obligation to protect these sacred sights. Sites. And we are ready to do it. Shaun chapoose is a member of the ute indian tribe Business Committee. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Congressman mike quigly is joining me sitting on the house intelligence committee. Ill get his thoughts on the flipping of Michael Flynn and if he thinks congress is closing in on possible evidence of obstruction of the president. Youre watching msnbc. Isnt it time to let the real you shine through . Maybe its time for Otezla Apremilast . Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,. With reduced redness,. Thickness, and scaliness of plaques. And the otezla prescribing information has. 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Days after former National Security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to guil fbi in regards to the russia investigation, we get a look inside special counsel Robert Muellers fairly secretive probe. Received private debriefs from two dozen current and former trump advisers, each made the trek. Once inside, seated in a windowless Conference Room where two and threeperson teams of fbi agents and prosecutors rotate in and out pressing for answers. Oftening listening in, the special counsel himself, a sphinxlike listener. What does the Michael Flynn guilty plea mean to you . Yeah, every investigation begins like what weve seen. It begins at the periphery, moves towards the center. Gains momentum as facts are learned and people are interviewed. You just described, obviously that mow meant improceeds exponentially when theres cooperation. Indeed, we hear of a key witness flipping. I think this is moving inexorably finding out exactly what took place. I ask the American Public to be patient and not to impede the house or senate investigations. There seem tos splits. More on the house than senate side. Republican members of your committee suggesting this is really an investigation about russia doing things to interfere in the election and that theyre slightly left interested in pursuing, vigorously pursuing whether or not the Trump Campaign had anything to do with russia. How would you characterize that . I think there are those on the house side that just want the investigation to go away. Theyve created a shiny object at every opportune moment to say, this is what you should be focusing your attention on. I think some of them might have gone to law school in, oh, yeah, what about you, class. This is the most important investigation in our nations history. I would say to democrats and republicans, lets remember, the russians hacked into state sport of election and the attempt to alter that process. How far did they get were not sure yet. Thats extraordinarily important and could understand the circumstances it would be easy sow belie to believe the russian wos try to hurt a democrat and help a republican. Reached a consensus, in this case attempting to help the Trump Campaign and hurt the clinton campaign. Do you feel in the minority on that house xbrenintelligence committee you can get done what you want done . You asked the American People to have patience. Do you feel you have the power on that committee to get the correct investigation under way . I think mr. Connolly on the republican side has done a good job working with mr. Schiff to keep the investigation going. It can only be described as rogue tangents clearly not bipartisan in nature. The progress weve seen on the Mueller Investigation works both ways. Provides an opportunity to educate the American Public that this is really serious. People are being charged with felonies, and in one case perhaps the most serious there has been a plea agreement already. So this is serious. Dont let it hinder this investigation. On the other hand i think weve seen the president become quite animated and bizarre tweets taking place and raises general concerns that the Trump Administration would do as much as they possibly cannot just to impair the investigation but obstruct it beginning with just bizarre tweets this week about what the president claims to have known about what mr. Flynn was up to. Are you guys in a position to handle those types of issues . I guess its not clear to all americans what muellers team is doing versus what youre doing versus what the senate is doing. If we see progress on the Mueller Investigation, two guilty pleas so far, and two people charged, do we presume similar progress on the congressional investigation . One of the things were hoping that the flynn flee will do is provide access to the general, to the house and senate. What is required is additional cooperation. Im hoping that the Mueller Investigation will allow us access to general flynn so we all know more. Clearly, we have a fourprong investigation. The Mueller Investigation involves the criminal aspects. He has more influence and power, but they all have extreme importance. The mere fact that weve been out there for over a year now pushing this investigation, trying to learn more, has made it much more difficult for the Trump White House to halt the Mueller Investigation. Lets remember he fired mr. Comey for, in his own words, that russian thing. Good to talk to you, congressman. Mike quigley, member of the house intelligence committee. President trump thanked utah senator orrin hatch a short time ago for his work on the Senate Tax Reform bill approved very el saturday morning. I want to especially thank you for the tremendous work in ushering massive tax cuts and reform through the senate. Just happened, and we have a final step to go, and i predict were going to be very successful. Talking about massive, massive tax cuts. House and Senate Republicans goring to soon begin the process of merging separate bills into one. Lawmakers will need to sort through a number of differences between the two pieces of legislation. I want to invite brian readalong in, Senior Writer in economics at the Manhattan Institute and former economist for Ohio Republican senator rob portman. I want to put up a screen what republicans claims are about this tax bill, different versions of it, but that they focus on the middle class, wont benefit the wealthy or President Trump and his family and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Weve seen several studies by different groups, goldman, wharton, tax policy center. Tax foundation, conservative group, all of whom say the tax cuts are not going to pay for themselves. Theres going to be increase in debt. In fact, look here. Tax policy center, 1. 3 trillion. Moody, 1. 5. Tax foundation, 1 trillion. Dispense of that immediately. Why are republicans insisting these will pay for themselves . Well, i think its fair to suggest theres going to be some growth. I think a lot of economists think that a good tax cut can replenish about 30 of the growth through or revenues through economic growth. I dont really want to justify saying that tax cuts pay for themselves. The vast majority tax cuts do not pay for themselves, i think. You can get about onethird of the revenue back which is something, but certainly not going to pay for itself. Right. The studies ive looked at indicate Something Like that. That growth will account for some of it but theres still more. Tax cuts can be very expensive if they dont pay for themselves. The other thing i want to dispense with, the president in st. Louis on thursday said this is not good for me and my family. Weve run lots of studies. The president is the type of person who gains from this thing. Especially the repeal of the amt and the estate tax. Obviously wealthy people benefit from tax cuts including President Trump, in part because they pay most of the taxes. The middle class kirding to the policy center, the bottom 80 currently pays 33 of all taxes but guess 37 of the tax cut. The top 1 pays 27 of all combined federal taxes but get 18 of the tax cuts. Surprisingly, the tax code would become slightly more progressive under this policy. But obviously, that doesnt mean the top 1 and mr. Trump dont benefit. Everybody benefits. Of course, the president benefits. But weve seen studies that indicate after a couple years, ten years out, many people in the middle class, particularly those earning 75,000 or less will actually be at a disaadvantage over that period of time . If you assume the tax cuts expire. If you dont assume, the debt hole will be bigger . I think thats a strong argument. I would say youre looking at about 1. 5 trillion over the decade, even with growth effects. Because be honest, theyre not going to expire. Congress is going to extend them and that will raise the cost over the long term. Thats going to get some conservatives unhappy. Because there are, i think, maybe you know them. I cant seem to find them. There are actually deficit hawks around. Their concerns are legitimate. Put in context, the baseline is 10 trillion raising the deficit to 11. 5 trillion. Not the main driver. If youre a true deficit hawk on spending and taxes, this does dig the hole deeper. Appreciate you coming on. Its so nice to have a philosophical conversation about it as opposed to a Fact Checking conversation. A senior folellow at the manhatn institute for policy. A reset. Its 3 00. Here we go. Good afternoon. Im ali velshi. If youre just tuning in the president just triggered what could be yet another long legal battle. This time over land conservation. President trump is in utah this afternoon. Just announced an historic change to two National Monuments. Shrinking the bears ears and es ka lonte monuments a move he argues will actually improve efforts to conserve the land. The families and communities of utah know and love this land the best and you know the best how to take care of your land. You know how to protect it. And you know best how to conserve this land. Your timeless bond with the outdoors should not be replaced with the whims of regulators. Thousands and thousands of miles away. They dont k