Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Kendis Gibson 20190921

Plus, massive demonstrations around the world this weekend as protesters demand action on climate change. We begin with the president firing back against the whist whistleblower complaint against him as critics use this latest scandal to bolster calls for impeachment. Nbc news has not independently confirmed ukraines involvement in the whistleblower complaint however in the wake of multiple reports the president spoke with ukraine to pursue an investigation into his 2020 challenger. The president claiming the media is ignoring allegations against biden taking to twit brer hitting the lanks at his virginia golf course. Trump goes on to insist he did nothing wrong in a routine conversation with his ukrainian counterpart. This all happening as stonewalling congress refusing to comply with the subpoena for the whistleblower complaint. Team coverage how the administration and the 2020 democrats are reacting to these new developments, but first head out to nbcs hans nichols at the white house. Tell us about the new calls for impeachment and how the White Reporter the new calls center on what some writers of these opeds are saying is a material distinction between what trump did in 2016 as a private citizen and alleged to have done, as president of the United States. Read a little from it for you here. The current whistleblowing allegations are even worse. Worse than the russian allegations. Unlike conspiracy with russia before the 2016 election these concerns trumps actions as president not as a private citizen and his exercise of president ial power over Foreign Policy in ukraine. One of the signatory to that oped, george connelly, of course, husband of Kellyanne Conway who works here at the white house and at the state dinner last night. The Trump Administration, the president himself, talking how its all fake news. You read the tweets. This is a Standard Defense from the president insisting the press should be looking into joe biden and allegations that there is some pressure put on by the Obama Administration not to investigation a business dealing that hunter biden, joe bidens son, had in ukraine back in 2016. Rudy giuliani is making a similar claim and really gives the purist distillation of what the white house is thinking on this. Bidens defense is, no, i didnt do it, but no Media Outlets gave credibility to the story. Of course they dont. Swap media covers up for the biden family trading on joes offense offices for years. Alison, at this point, at the stage of the story both sides accusing each other of something. Difficult to figure out the truth. One way to clear it up, the president release transports of what he told his ukrainian counterpart back in july. Alison . Hans nichols at the white house. Thank you. Former Vice President joe biden is set to speak shortly in iowa at an Important Campaign econvenient. Biden is defending his son hunter against accusation by President Trump calling them not credible. Nbc political reporter is in des moines, iowa with the latest. Josh, biden spoke to reporters in the last hour and what did he have to say . Reporter right. Biden has been talking about this here in iowa and trying to keep the focus on trump and whether its appropriate for the president to conduct himself this way. Face it. This is also a political problem for Vice President joe biden. Hes going to have to deal now with pressure questions, fresh scrutiny from the media, from republicans certainly and potential lly his rivals about s sons dealings, business dealings with ukraine and whether there was conflicts. When asked about this steak and fry here in iowa, who sha happen now . He said trump should be investigated, less listen. Heres what i know. I know trump deserves to be investigated. He is violating every basic norm of a president. You should be asking him the question, why is he on the phone with a foreign leader, trying to intimidate a foreign leader if thats what happened . Thats appears to be what happened. You should be looking at trump. Because he knows i will beat him like a drum and this is abuse of power by a president in trying to do something to smear me. Everybody looked at this and said theres nothing there. Ask the right question. Reporter just in the last few hours, joe biden trying to find a Silver Lining here. His campaign sending out a fundraising blast to his supporters talking about this issue. The president and whats been reported to be many times that he asked the Foreign Government to try to look into his son to help him for political reasons. All right. Nbcs josh lettermans in iowa. Thank you so much. Well, biden isnt the only candidate making headlines on the campaign trail today. Head of cory bookers Campaign Says the new jersey senator will drop out of the president ial race if he cant raise a lot more money quickly. Nbc news obtained a memo to staff and supporters warning they dont see a path forward unless they raise nearly 2 million in the next ten days. Nbc news political reporter Alex Seitz Wald wrote the story. Did the president address this at all today . An unusual move by a campaign to basically say were in trouble and need your help. Help us now if you can. And the senator did, our own Vaughn Hilliard asked him in iowa and take a look what he had to say. This is it. We have built a campaign here that is clearly winning. In iowa, more endorsements than any other campaign. State legislators, activists. Weve done more with less than the top four really much better financed campaigns but the Fourth Quarter is when you got to grow. Grow or get out and we are not in this for an ego exercise, this is not a vanity play. Im in this to win the nomination, and beat donald trump. If you believe in my campaign, if you believe in my voice being on the stage, this is a dermanating moment for us. Either reach a 1. 7 million to stay in this race or have to make really tough decisions end of this. Reporter hard to hear with supporters chanting. Key phrase, grow or get out. Yeah. Reporter booker saying hes at this phase, a few months away from the Iowa Caucuses and the primaries starting up and they need to xpland their campaign and dont have the money to do that. Hes not staying in for the sake of getting in. The quarter ends, end of this month. They dont get the money they think they need hes strongly suggesting he wont be there for the long haul. Surprising. Cory booker is a very wellknown guy. Considered one of the best orators. Hes not their number one but on their list. This is his hail mary, disparate move saying if you like me, want me to stay in the race donate now. He said this isnt a vanity thing. His campaign saying theyll be transparent. Let people know how theyre doing. Some people watching, fundraising ploy. Appealing to get the money you need. Is it . And if it is, will it work . Reporter sure. Obviously theyre trying to raise money but a desperate move. This is not a typical way that you try to make things work. A strong, confident, wellfinanced campaign would not threaten to drop out of the race in ten days. Kind of opening the doors. Theyre hoping that this play for transparency will gender some sympathy, gender some good feelings for people who might not want to vote for cory booker but want him to stick around a little while. Right. As you said, theyre giving daily even multiple times a day updates how theyre getting to that fundraiser goal almost like a telethon and also kind of pitching this as, he said four candidates there. Thats joe biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg. Cory booker wont say it, but all white candidates. Booker is one of several candidates of color who have not been able to break into the top tier. Theyre kind of pitching this as, if you just want options, more people in this race, come to the Iowa Caucuses next year, give to these people now. Decisions are being made right now whether most people know it or not. Might not poll that well, a lot of people think hes an important voice to keep in the race for now. Alex seitz wald, thank you so much. And joining reverend al sharpton in a few hourses from now, joined by cory booker. Thats at 5 00 p. M. President trumps latest National Security whistleblower firestorm causing fresh concern among Foreign Policy experts. We speak to a former ambassador to russia who says this could point to criminal behavior. A new generation of the Kennedy Family trying to win a seat in the u. S. Senate. Why congressman joe kennedy says his run is a generational fight. Well get to that. Later this hour, the fight to keep the planet clean. Demonstrations happening around the world started on streets yesterday and now moving to the beaches today. Beaches today. Pping. You get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, ill take that. Wait honey, no. When you want it. You get a delivery experience you can always count on. You get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. You get fast and Free Shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. Thats what you get when youve got wayfair. So shop now red lobsters endless shrimp is back for just 15. 99. Get all the shrimp you want, any way you want em. Like new srirachahoney shrimp, savory grilled teriyaki shrimp, classic shrimp scampi and more red lobsters endless shrimp is 15. 99. Hurry in. They give us excellent customer otservice, every time. E. Our 18 year old was in an accident. Usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. All i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. If i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates, and better service. Were the gomez family. Were the rivera family. Were the kirby family, and we are usaa members for life. Get your Auto Insurance quote today. So, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. The United States Postal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. Ecommerce deliveries to homes time really is money. So, dont wait to get the internet your business really needs. Switch to comcast Business Today for a special offer on the services you need to make your business boom. Like speed to power all your devices, more complete internet reliability. And an advanced voice solution. Its time to make the switch to comcast business and take your business beyond fast. Dont miss out on this limited time offer. Call 18005016000 today. Lets get this out of the room right away. Im here to announce im going to be a candidate for the United States senate. Another kennedy running for senate. Massachusetts congressman joe kennedy saying today he will attempt to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and two great uncles primarying for a seat in the Upper Chamber recently receiving endorsement of his fellow massachusetts senator and president sal candidate Elizabeth Warren. And the mysterious whistleblower claim against the president. Saying trump urged ukraines president to run dirt on joe biden. Nbc news is working to independently confirm these bombshell reports but its causing concern among National Security experts. Joining me to discuss, reporter at the hill and former u. S. Ambassador to russia and the Obama Administration and msnbc News International affairs analyst. Thank you for joining us. Julia, first your take on what trump told my colleague Kristen Welker yesterday when she asked about the whistleblower complaint. Listen to this. Its a partisan whistle blow and shouldnt have information. Ive had korvess with many and its always appropriate. I just tell you, it is everybody read it, they laugh at it. A couple issues. Not only claiming the whistleblower is partisan though he as mitted we dont know the official the identity and saying everybodys read the complaint. Thats not true. Is this part of a political strategy from the white house and how are Administration Officials dealing with this . Absolutely. This is what the white house does every time they are involved in some sort of a controversy. It happened during the Mueller Report and with the drama surrounding his tax returns. They say, this is the partisan Mainstream Media pushing the story or a member of the deep state thats leaking this information. So this is definitely more of the same coming out of the white house, and i think they know that ahead of a president ial election, this is something, red meat to their base and something that trumps base will understand. They will easily be able to say, oh, that makes sense. Its the partisan media or someone within the deep state left over from the Obama Administration. The issue is that for democrats, i would say in the house is, youre having more and more democrats calling for impeachment saying this is yet another sign of a constitutional crisis. That creates an issue for nancy pelosi because shes been trying to back away from this issue of impeachment saying wait until we can potentially vote him out of office in 2020. However, this makes her job that much harder. Youre going to be hearing a lot of calls, continuing calls, to get that call released to the public and to congress. Ambassador mcfaul, ask you this. Nbc news says phone calls from the president , is that enough to trigger a whistleblower or did the president actually need to give a direct order in the situation . Obviously, we dont know whats in the whistleblowers complaint and are speculating. Right . Seems to me it would have to be something extraordinary. I take real issue when the president says, this is a partisan thing. I worked in the government for five years with lots of people in the National Security establishment, in the intelligence community. Those people are patriots. They are hardcore patriots. Why you sign up to work for the cia or state department. For him to assign partisan, you know, proclivities and preferences when we dont know the facts i think is really wrong, and number two, this could be careerending for this whistleblower given the way its been treated. You dont take that extraordinary measure and unless something truly extraordinary has happened. Julia, the question now is, what is Congress Going to do . I mean, acting dna ma keir ngui handing over the conversations. Congress trying to get that information. Very difficult to move forward when you cant even see exactly what happened here. Do you expect the transcripts from this call will be released or congress will get more information . Hard to say. When you look at other information whether related to the Mueller Report or President Trumps tax returns congress has been repeatedly stonewalled in getting ahold of those documents. I would say im pessimistic not pessimistic, i doubt it will be handed over to congress, but you know the House Intelligence Committee as well as other democratic committees in the house will continue Holding Hearings on this and they will push for this release, but it could be a deadlock between both ends on pennsylvania avenue on this issue. Ambassador, we dont know what occurred on the phone call or the exact context of this whistleblower complaint. You said yesterday this could point to criminal behavior. What else might the whistleblower complaint contain that we dont even know about . First, be clear. Were all focused on this one phone call with president zelenske, but letsing clear what we dont know. Maybe other details, other pieces to this story that we havent yet been exposed to. Right . I just want to underscore, were maybe just seeing one piece right now and there may be a longer story here. For me, again, i want to underscore. Im speculating based on limited information. You would not, know, if you worked in the government, go through the whistleblower process, an extraordinary, difficult process, threatening to your career, unless it was something very serious. To me, theres just two categories. One, possible criminal behavior. Or, two, some exposure of intelligence or an asset that was done inappropriately by the president or somebody around him. It sounds like it probably is not the latter given the tidbits of information weve heard. We need to know the quid pro quo and was it somehow criminal behavior . Only the whistleblower, she or he, can tell us. I dont think enough, by the way, just to get the transcript of that call and im very skeptical the congress will get that. I think theyll have to be other pieces of information brought to this before we know the full story. People are curious about what happened here, and julia, people are curious who this whistleblower is. What do we know . We have limited information, but what do you know about this person . We dont know much about this person right now. The information we have, like you said, its very limited, but to the ambassadors point i would say this is a person that must have seen something so concerning that they were willing to put their reputation or their career on the line. So i think that really gives you enough information as to how serious this potentially could be. Ambassador, we know that President Trump is planning to meet with the ukrainian president next week at the u. N. General assembly. Certainly the most hotly antied meeting. A lot of people paying attention to it. What can we expect from that . Well, i hope theyre just clean this you. Youre asking now the bigger National Security issue. The tragedy of this all is right at the moment when theres been a newly elected president , president zelenske, newly elected parliament, proreform, prowest, prodemocratic, promarket leaning towards us, we are pulling them into the muck and the swamp of washington. Precisely what weve been asking them to stop doing for the last two decades. So i hope the president and his new National Security adviser will realize the importance of the National Security implications here and in particular this weakens ukraine and strengthens putin, who loves all of this stuff . Vladimir putin. Time to send a signal were not going to put shortterm personal interests above National Security interests. Thank you both so much for joining us this afternoon. Thank you. Sure. Impeachments talks raised again with President Trump as this whistleblower information ramps up. In formation ramps up. Big dreams start with small steps. But dedication can get you there. Easily set, track and control your goals right from the chase mobile® app. Chase. Make more of whats yours®. Work so hard give it everything you got strength of a lioness tough as a knot rocking the stage and we never gonna stop all strength, no sweat. Just in case you forgot all strength. No sweat secret. All strength. No sweat. Doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacistrecommendeding . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Like very high triglycerides, can be tough. You diet. Exercise. But if youre also taking fish oil supplements, you should know, they are not fdaapproved, they may have saturated fat and may even raise bad cholesterol. To treat very high triglycerides, discover the science of prescription vascepa. Proven in multiple clinical trials, vascepa, along with diet, is the only prescription epa treatment, approved by the fda to lower very high triglycerides by 33 , without raising bad cholesterol. Look. Its clear. Theres only one prescription epa vascepa. Vascepa is not right for everyone. Do not take vascepa if you are allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. Tell your doctor if you are allergic to fish or shellfish, have liver problems or other medical conditions and about any medications you take, especially those that may affect blood clotting. 2. 3 of patients reported joint pain. Ask your doctor about vascepa. Prescription power. Proven to work. In the human brain, billions of nefor people with parkinsons, some neurons change their tune, causing uncontrollable tremors. Now, abbott technology can target those exact neurons. Restoring control and harmony, once thought to belost forever. The most personal technology is technology with the power to change your life. Its a partisan whistleblower. Shouldnt even have information. Ive had conversations with many leaders that are always appropriate. You read the no, i havent. I just tell you, it is everybodys read it. They laugh at it. That was President Trump blasting the whistleblower who filed a complaint about the president s communication with a foreign leader. The wall street journal reporting that President Trump repeatedly pressed the newly elected president of ukraine to investigate the son of former Vice President joe biden according to people familiar with the matter. Nbc news has not independently confirmed this reporting. A source tells the journal it doesnt appear President Trump offered anything in return for this investigation, however, look at the timeline. Phone call made july 25th. Whistleblower files the complaint august 12th. Then in late august, President Trump blocks millions of dollars in military aid from the ukraine. That aid released just last week amid intense bipartisan pressure. Today President Trump attempting to downplay these allegations hurling his own accusations at joe biden. The president claiming in a tweet that joe biden demanded the Ukrainian Government fire a prosecutor investigating his son or they wouldnt get a very large amount of u. S. Aid. President Trumps Campaign also circulating a political ad featuring a snippet of bidens comments on the ukrainian prosecutors ousting and 2018 council on Foreign Relations panel. The picture is coming under intense criticism. Here to put the story in con dex, author of ehouse of trump, house of putin the untold storys donald trump and the russian mafia. Joe bidens comments, play that, and here it is. I went over i guess the 12th, 13th time to kiev and i was supposed to announce that theres another billion dollar loan guarantee, and i had got an commitment from por poroshenko yushchenko take action and they didnt. I said, nah, were not going to give you the billion dollars. They said youre not the president. I said, call him. Im telling you, youre not getting the billion. Im leaving here in, what is it . Six hourss if the prosecutors not fired youre not getting the money. Craig, can you explain why that prosecutors ousting was so important to antiadvocates in the ukraine . Reminds me of more than anything is what hillary went through in 2016, and you see this is essentially mafia justice. This is mafiarun Foreign Policy. Donald trump has, as i show in my book, started laundering money for russian mobsters back in 1984, and he is doing exactly what putin wants him to do, and he was doing it in 2016. If you recall, before the, during the republican convention, suddenly the republicans went soft on changing the ukraine plank to accommodate putin. Here again you see trump acting, again hes trying to do toed by biden what he did to hillary. You wrote about President Trumps ties to russian mafia extensively. You wrote and oped how Donald Trumps businesses are full of dirty russian money. Alluded to it here. Explain that and how it benefits putin . Putin wants ukraine more than anything. A huge piece on the geopolitical test board. Russia is not an empire without ukraine. It needs it. It was a key part of the soviet empire and soviet union ended effectively when ukraine left it. Its been trying to get into nato. It cant get into nato as long as its borders are contested and putin has troops on its borders. So he want to take it over either by force or more likely internally as done in the past install i installing the president and as done by manaforts Campaign Manager for trump and did it again putting trump in the white house. Weve seen this going back and forth again and again and everything trump is doing is to putins benefit. The ukrainian president , hearing his name a lot. A relatively new president. Tell us about him. A lot of questions about him and some people think of him as a real genuine reformer. Others think hes in the pockets of various ololigarch. We know hes a sitcom star. A comedian, yeah. We actually have a reality tv guy in our country going up against a guy who had a sitcom called serve unt to to the peo and he won with over 70 of the vote. Two of the most powerful and machiavellian people in the world looking over him. Donald trump and vladimir putin. In this case acquitted himself well by standing up to trump. And talk a moment about the whistleblower attempt. In spite of the outrage about the complaint, listen to hour House Speaker nancy pelosi to npr about potential impeachment proceedings. Many People Potential impeachment and many hear that, if congress does not pursue impeachment does it forever change the standard of what is acceptable behavior by any president . I dont know about lawbreaking. As i said we dont have the information. I dont want to suggest that i said that because we dont have the information, and while others may speculate, i have to go on the basis of the law and the facts, and thats where decisions will be made. Let me ask you this. What do you think is behind Nancy Pelosis response . A lot of people i know have been putting pressure on her and wanted her to push impeachment proceedings much earlier. She was waiting, playing the long game. Its still appearing thats what shes doing. Why do you think that is . There is a legitimate issue that moderates in the Democratic Party and swing districts have, but i think shes saying polling doesnt back impeachment now. I think that in fact shes complaining about the verdict before the trial starts. This is an opportunity for the democrats to put on a show, to tell the whole story. I remember watergate. It was a riveting psycho drama, political thriller the entire nation was geared to. Remember, that Richard Nixon won 49 states in 1972. He had a huge overwhelming landslide, but after watergate, his poll numbers were down in the low 20s. So this is a time for the democrats to change the playing field, and i think theyve got to have walltowall hearings. They have to do oversight, and theyve been dropping the ball on that again and again. You think the time is now . Absolutely. All right. Craig unger, thank you for coming in. Nice to have you in the studio. Thank you for having me, how does the whistleblower report fit in the larger picture . The ukraine allegations are over the top. That piece written by george conway, and former acting solicitor general and an msnbc contributor. The authors accuse lawmakers of emboldening the president with congressional procrastination. Joining me, charlie savage, msnbc contributor and washington correspondent for the New York Times and glen kirchner, nbc news analyst and former federal prosecutors. Are these an example of high crimes and misdemeanors, the ultimate Impeachable Offense . Absolutely. High crimes and misdemeanors means, well, whatever congress defines it to mean, but it means an abuse of the power of the presidency. It mean as violation of the public trust by the president. It really is hard to envision. You know, the president keeps ratcheting up his misconduct. Its hard to envision something more egregious than this. Maybe hell figure that out tomorrow how to top himself, but when youre going to a foreign power and saying, you know what . I am going to leverage some of what i could give to you if you investigate my political opponent or his son, and obviously, that could work to President Trumps political advantage in a reelection, and alison, heres the thing that really troubles me. You know, if you look at u. S. Law enforcement. I was a former prosecutor. Were bound by rules, laws and the constitution when conducting investigations. If trump goes to a foreign power, says i want you to investigate joe biden and his son. Guess what . Those foreign powers are not even going to be constrained by u. S. Laws or by the constitution, and tell you, it conjures up potentially very dangerous scenarios. Charlie, in this article it is high time for congress to do its duty in the manner the framers intended but republicans havent shown any sign of budging. What will that take and how much more pressure does it put on House Speaker nancy pelosi . Republicans wont of remove trump. Just a matter of political reality. In polarized times. And the nancy pelosi and delay and Election Strategy and put more pressure on from the left flank. One thing missing from decision back to your previous segment with craig unger. The takeaway is that the prosecutor who biden was pressuring the Ukrainian Government to fire, viktor shokin, was a problem. He was a bum, because he was not prosecuting anybody. Anticorruption advocates and ukrainian helpers in the west including the entire u. S. Government saw him as an obstacle to reform because he was not bringing charges against any corrupt officials in the current and former Ukrainian Government and thats why the u. S. Government policy was to get him out of there. Putting this out as if biden personally was going over there to try to stop something that went to his son is 180 degrees reversal of the more complicated reality that the Obama Administration and the west as a whole was trying to get out preventing anticorruption efforts from going forward. A puzzling legal question i think some people may have. Joseph maguire refusing to turn over information, how is he not breaking the law doing that . I assert he is breaking the law by doing it, because once the Inspector General Michael Atkinson made the decision that the whistleblowers complaint was an urgent matter and was credible, he gives it to acting dni maguire. Maguire has no discretion at that point. He shall give it over to the house and senate Intelligence Committees. It doesnt say, he shall, unless he talks to one of the president s lawyers, i. E. , bill barr, and bill barr wants to stomp down on it, cover it up and not let it hurt President Trump. Thats not written into the law. So he cannot hide behind an unsupportable legal decision that bill barr offers to try to give the president cover and give the dni wiggle room. Thats not lawful. So then, what option legally does congress have . Weve heard head of the Intelligence Committee adam schiff considers suing. What else can congress do to get this information . Asking me . I think thats ultimately where this is going. Just one more of those pile of lawsuits that runs out the clock before the next election probably, unless the courts speed up significantly how fast theyre willing to deal with this. One other puzzle, loophole, worth noting. The law gives the whistleblower the right to go to congress directly if his or her complaint is even though said credible and system maintain Legal Protections against retaliation. The trick is, the whistleblower has to obey directions how he o she approaches congress to protect classified information. We understand here the Trump Administration exploiting another loophole is simply refusing to give those instructions to the whistleblower, one way or the other. So theres no way for them to obey the instructions and follow the law and maintain their protections from retaliations if just to go to congress directly, because they have yet to receive the instructions and apparently never will. And President Trumps campaign is capitalizing on this controversy. Id like you to listen to a video released by his campaign. Here it is. Wait a second. Not one single credible outlet has given any credibility to his assertion, not one single one. Invest into joe biden and his son hunter. Business dealings while his father was Vice President. You have a big story tonight and on the New York Times website. Tomorrow page 1 of the print edition. Earlier accused me of ignoring the biden investigation and seemingly is contradicting himself. Can we expect more of the same witchhunt framework we saw really during the special counsel investigation as well . Yes. Why would we not see moff of it jp it worked for him in 2017 and you know, nobody has chosen to actually wrestle it to the ground. Democrats in the house dont seem to, even want to use one of the lawful arrows in their quiver, the inherent power to foerz these issues to a head. Of course well see more of it just as we are seeing more attempted interference of elections pie trump by reaching out to the ukraine. Thank you both for being here. Quickly back to the campaign trail. You can see there, president ial candidate beto orourke speaking at the polk county democrat steak fry in iowa today. Well monitor the speeching and bring you more as we get it. Fighting for the generation. Kids and young adults around the world demanding action on climate change. What theyre doing this weekend. dramatic orchestra performance comes in lots of flavors. Theres the ampedup, overtuned, feedingfrenzyof sheetmetalkind. And then theres performance that just leaves you feeling better as a result. Thats the kind lincolns about. I didnt have to call 911. Help. And i didnt have to come get you. Because you didnt have another heart attack. Not today. You took our conversation about your chronic coronary Artery Disease to heart. Even with a stent procedure, your condition can get worse over time, and keep you at risk of blood clots. So you added xarelto®, to help keep you protected. Xarelto®, when taken with lowdose aspirin, is proven to further reduce the risk of blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death in people with chronic cad. Thats because while aspirin can help, it may not be enough to manage your risk of blood clots. In a clinical trial, almost 96 of people taking xarelto® did not have a cardiovascular event. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death. While taking, a spinal injection increases the risk of blood clots which may cause paralysis the inability to move. You may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Enjoy every momentand help protect yourself from an unexpected one, like a cardiovascular event. Are you doing enough . Ask your doctor if its time for xarelto®. To learn more about cost and how janssen can help, visit xarelto. Com. The flooding rains from what was Tropical Storm imelda claimed five lives. The first named storm to hit the region since Hurricane Harvey in 2017 drenched areas in over 40 inches of rain. Look at that. No relief in sight yet. The latest threat storm jerry weakening and heading north of the caribbean set to be followed by several tropic the distu disturban disturbances. The Weather Service is tracking others in the Atlantic Basin that could form into tropical depression in a matter of days. Youre watching a live picture now of santa monica, california. Looks pretty good. A mass Coastal Cleanup that just wrapped up. That comes on the heels of yesterdays global protests where millions of people including a lot of school kids from all corners of the world took to the streets calling for Government Action on climate change. Our reporters were there on the ground following it all. Take a listen. Reporter here in new york city, 1. 1 million kids go to school here. Thats 1. 1 Million Students having absences excused. The city is allowing that. A parent who brought her children, jennifer desmond. What did it mean to bring your first and third greater here today . Everything. Inspiring for them. I want them to see the type of power a young person it generate and the movement they can create. Arlow, do you know what your sign says . It says, if you wont start acting like joanupgrownups, we starts on the ground. People literally making the signs and we have kids, i say kids, youre a junior in high school, right . Yes. Why . Why are you here . Whats this all about. I want to save our planet. Because when i have kids i want my kids to be around and see how the worlds going to be. Reporter your sign says what . Help save the planet. Reporter why . Whats wrong with our planet . Global warming. Our planet is dieing and everybodys ignoring it. Reporter San Francisco is a famous place for protests. Here weve seen maybe two maybe 3,000 people shut down the main artery of the financial districts, market street. Its full of the kinds of things you would tend to see in San Francisco. High School Students from all across the area, university students, researchers. Reporter wendy, why was it important to bring aboby here. Like Many Americans in despair worried about the future, worried about my daughters future and woke up and said not doing anything is not enough. We all have to do something. And be sure to watch later tonight for a special all in with chris hayes tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Shrimp yeah red lobsters endless shrimp is back for just 15. 99. Get all the shrimp you want, any way you want em. Like new srirachahoney shrimp, savory grilled teriyaki shrimp, classic shrimp scampi and more red lobsters endless shrimp is 15. 99. Hurry in. Plants capture co2. What if other kinds of plants captured it too . If these industrial plants had technology that captured carbon like trees we could help lower emissions. Carbon capture is Important Technology and experts agree. Thats why were working on ways to improve it. So plants. Can be a little more. Like plants. If you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture now might not be the best time to ask yourself are my bones strong . Life is full of make or break moments. Thats why its so important to help reduce your risk of fracture with prolia®. Only prolia® is proven to help strengthen and protect bones from fracture with 1 shot every 6 months. Do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it or take xgeva® serious allergic reactions, like low Blood Pressure trouble breathing; throat tightness; face, lip, or tongue swelling rash; itching; or hives have happened. Tell your doctor about dental problems as severe jaw bone problems may happen or new or unusual pain in your hip groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. Speak to your doctor before stopping prolia® as spine and other bone fractures have occurred. 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 amount of Student Loan Debt i have im embarrassed to even say i felt like i was going to spend my whole adult life paying this off thanks to sofi, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel as of 12pm today, i am debt free not owing anyone anything is the best feeling in the world, i cannot stop smiling about it if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, every day can begin with flakes. Its a reminder of your struggles with psoriasis. But what if your psoriasis symptoms didnt follow you around . Thats why theres ilumya. With just 2 doses, a majority of people were clear or almost clear. And over time, even more people were clear or almost clear. All with dosing 4 times a year. After 2 initial doses. Plus, ilumya was shown to have similar risks of infections compared to placebo. Dont use if you are allergic to ilumya or any of its ingredients. Before starting treatment, your doctor should check for tuberculosis and infections. After checking there is no need for routine Lab Monitoring unless your doctor advises it. Ilumya may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms, or if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. This could be your chance to leave your psoriasis symptoms behind. Ask your doctor for ilumya today, for a clearer tomorrow. Millions said they would attend. Only dozens showed up. Last night at area 51 only a crowd of 75 gathered the site inspired by a viral Facebook Event titled storm area 51 they cant stop you. All of us this as the United States Navy Confirms this footage by a group founded by blink 182 did capture ufo sightings. National security correspondent Courtney Kube has the latest. Reporter alison, three videos posted online some time ago have gotten renewed attention this week after the u. S. Navy came out and said that they just cant tell you what these videos show. The first one was from 2004 and the other two from 2015. They seem to be video of some sort of a flying object coming near, in one case, a u. S. Military ship. The other two on to a u. S. Military installation. The navy has now call these unidentified aerial phenomena, which some take to mean, ufos. But, in fact, a spokesperson said they dont know what these are but are calling attention to what they say is a growing problem of unidentified things flying in the air and potentially coming near u. S. Military insulations. Most of the times theyre drone. Small drones that can be purchased online in a store, and that can actually cause a National Security concern by flying near bases, or in the case of at least one of these videos, flying near a u. S. Military aircraft. The videos, though, got a lot of attention with people speculating that, in fact, it was u. S. Military video showing ufos. Alison . All right. Nbcs Courtney Kube, thank you. Vice President Joe Biden pushing back as reports claim President Trump asked ukraine to investigate bidens son. Watching live as he takes the stage in iowa, next. In iowa, n. Voya helps them to and through retirement. Dealing with todays expenses. While helping plan, invest and protect for the future. So theyll be okay . I think theyll be fine. Voya. Helping you to and through retirement. So, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. The United States Postal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. You get more thaneries yourFree Shipping. Ir, you get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, ill take that. Wait honey, no. When you want it. You get a delivery experience you can always count on. You get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. You get fast and Free Shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. Thats what you get when youve got wayfair. So shop now billions of problems. Sore gums . Bleeding gums . Painful flossing . Theres a therabreath for you. Therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. So you can. Breathe easy, theres therabreath at walmart. Doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacistrecommendeding . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Your business is up and running, but is it going beyond fast . Comcast business gives you high speed internet. We also have Solutions Like powerful wifi that gives your entire business more coverage and automatic internet backup that can keep your business running. And it all starts with our gigspeed network. So give us 10 minutes. If we cant offer you faster speed or better savings than your current internet service, well give you 300 dollars for your time. Call now to get your comcast business 10 minute advantage. Comcast business. Beyond fast. Welcome back. Im Alison Morris in for kendis gibson. World headquarters in new york, a split screen weekend as two Major Political stories converge into one trump controversy. A growing call for impeachment stonewalling congressional investigators on the shocking whistleblower complaint and on the other, Kamala Harris hitting the campaign trail and others at an iconic iowa caucus event. All eyes on joe biden after multiple reports said the president pressured ukraine to pursue an investigation into his possibly 2020 challenger. Nbc news has not yet independently confirmed ukraines involvement in this whistleblower complaint, but the president is responding to the reports on twitter calling the complaint a ukraine witchhunt as he proclaims his innocence and tries to divert the negative attention to biden. Former Vice President joe biden is set to speak later this hour at the iowa state caucus and we have the latest. Biden spoke to reporters within the last hour. What did he have to say to the crowd . Reporter trying to show that this is all about trump and that the focus of the conversation here should be about the fact that the president seems to be encouraging foreign leaders to try to dig up dirt on a political opponent, but the fact of the matter is, this is bringing up fresh questions for the Vice President and its going to continue about his family. This is not the first time that his son hunter biden has been the subject of negative headlines, and biden is now being forced to confront it. He was asked, has he ever actually discussed with his son his business dealings in Foreign Countries . Said he had not. Actually we have fresh reporting just in to nbc news. The Vice President s campaign telling us they plan to put out a memo this afternoon pushing back on this story. Specifically the fact that they say that with the exception of the New York Times, every News Organization has basically looked into this and hasnt found a lot of credibility thats according to the Biden Campaign, and also they plan to make the case that this is essentially the media falling into the same trap they did according to the Biden Campaign in 2016 by repeating some of these unsubstantiated allegations by donald trump and the Biden Campaign in that memo this afternoon plans to say they will push back foreably on that. Josh, in addition to that memo, we hear joe biden is using t whistleblower firestorm as a fundraising opportunity . Reporter looking for a Silver Lining. Right. They want to make this less about biden and more about trump and find a way to have political advantage. So the Biden Campaign sending out a fundraising blast to supporters, noting its been reported that the president asked eight times for the ukrainian leader to look into the Vice President s son. We havent independently confirmed that but its been reported and the Biden Campaign trying to use that to bring in extra support. And at the white house, hans nichols. How does the president plan to quiet this controversy . A lot of growing calls for impeachment. Whats he going to do about that . Reporter the president is going on offense. In ways the president and former Vice President strategy the same. Both accusing the other side. A situation of both saying the same thing and may help as josh alluded to, helping the trump campaign. Why you also see the Biden Campaign potentially putting out this memo talking how, look, no one else substantiated this with the exception of the New York Times. Strategies are slaimilar but crucially different. The president is taking a lot of incoming. George conway married to Kellyanne Conway writing in the Washington Post basically saying, its material different what trump is alleged of doing now as opposed to the 2016 campaign relating to russia. Here using the office of the presidency. Not a private citizen. A fundamental distinction hes trying to draw there. Trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani defending the president all week is basically saying its bias. Bidens defense is, no, i drnidt do it but no media outlet gives credible to the story. Of course they dont. Covering up fop for the biden family for years. Joe is part of a protected class. Why would they start now . I do think, alison, its important to note in all this that the president why defending that phone call and saying Nothing Happened they arent offering details or arent offering a readout or a specific defense. Just more of a general one. Alison . Nbcs hans nichols at the white house. Thank you. Turn it back over to the campaign trail and today all roads lead to iowa. You can see president ial candidate Kamala Harris speaking at the polk county democrat steak fry right now. We expect at least 17 candidates to speak there this weekend. Nbc road warrior Vaughn Hilliard joins us live from des moines. Vaughn, wuatching you on the ground. A lot of ladies trying to offer you steaks. Whats in the field on the ground besides feed, vaughn . Reporter theres a couple thousand people here. Alison, while these serious conversations are taking place in washington, d. C. , the candidates, flanked by several hundred of not only organizers, volunteers and marched in here, into the polk county steak fry. Organizers say theres more than 10,000 folks here on the ground. I was able to catch up with a few of the candidates, Pete Buttigieg, cory booker, as well as beto orourke. Orourke, came to the conversation around whistleblower and dnis office, not sending the whistleblower complaint over to congress, quite defiant saying if congress is not going to hold this administration at couple, what is its job . What is it . What is congress doing . Pete buttigieg, and cory booker, same lines saying this is a time in which its time for congress to step up. Kamala harris up on stage right now, when we talked with her yesterday i asked what would she urge the whistleblower to do now, defiant saying the its whistleblowers obligation to go to the congress and the house committees. A lot of fanfare. A festival, four months outside of the iowa caucus. Very much of a serious tenor not only from the candidates and up on stage. Congressman orourke just took the stage, Kamala Harris and hearing from joe biden momentarily, from him himself. We know biden is expected to take the stage in about an hour. You lo he looked fired up into the steak fry talking whats going on. What are we expecting to hear from him . Reporter exactly. I think this is the moment. It was back in 2011, the last time he was here at the steak fry. This event has been going on more than 40 years here. This is where Hillary Clinton announced, sort of reemerged heading into her president ial announcement back in 2014. This is a ground in which you see not only campaign shirts but biden signs, but this is where essentially joe biden will make the case iowa has a chance to launch him into New Hampshire and over into south carolina. There was a couple i talked to that had Pete Buttigieg shirts on and i said when did you decide to officially caucus for Pete Buttigieg . They said, actually, we like pete, but were just wearing his stuff today. Still considering. This is an opportunity. You saw that nbc news wall street journal poll from this week, alison in which 9 nationally. 9 of democratic voters are firmly behind a candidate. That means 90 are still up for grabs and having those conversations with folks on the ground, thats still very much the case heading into winter. A lot of people have to make up their minds. Vaughn hilliard, its actually a steak grill, not a steak fry. Who would have known . Thanks so much. Millions across the globe yesterday hit the streets and demanded Government Action against the climate vices ahead of mondays United Nations climate summit. The environmental efforts continue today with volunteers worldwide coming together for the annual international Coastal Cleanup. Nbcs Darsha Phillips is on the ground ina monica. What are they telling you . Reporter a huge success. About 1,500 volunteers and a lot saw a lot of plastic picked up from our beaches as well nas our waters. Divers went into the water and picked out plastic bags and straws, flask forks. A lot of those things that make a huge impact on marine life and human life. Really this was a day to get that stuff off of our beaches and out of our waters. This is part of a worldwide movement. We have millions of volunteers across several countries doing just this today to help clean our beaches, our waters, our creeks and our parks. Now, all of this trash isnt just thrown away at the end of the day. Its actually analyzed to create a larger snapshot of the problem. Now, we did speak with nick mallis from ocean conservconser we hope to create a global snapshop of the most common items populating our beaches. The top ten are made of plastics. Unfortunately, the same type of items we use in our every day lives. Cigarette tops, bottles, and Inspiring Change in peoples behaviors and use that information to drive policy change at the state, national and international level. Reporter here in santa monica, we actually saw so much trash picked up. You wouldnt think of it. One of the most beautiful places here in california. We were told in 100 yards of this beach nearly 1,000 pounds of trash were picked um this morning. Oh, my gosh. Wild to think about. Been to that beach. Absolutely beautiful and seems clean when there. You wouldnt imagine. We watched the protest yesterday and saw all the school kids, millions taking to the streets and making their voices heard. Do you think they influence more people to come out today and clean up . We were impressed. Sounds like you got a really good turnout there today . Reporter absolutely. We saw a ton of volunteers. Like i said, nearly 1,500 volunteers just here in santa monica. And so great to see, alison, there were a lot of young people. They field the movement yesterday and they were out here on their beaches picking up the trash. We saw a lot of young people, probably more so than in past years. Certainly inspires. Nbcs Dasha Phillips in santa monica. Tune in tonight for a special all in with chris hayes. Climate in crisis. Dont miss it tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. The Trump Administration dealing with fallout over those whistleblower reports. One former obama kbt member says a president seeking foreign help to target a political rival undermines or democracy. Well is ask about that comment next. And well continue to monitor deadly flooding in texas. The death toll there rising of a Tropical Storm imelda drops over 40 inches of rain in some parts of the houston area. Well be right back. You know, baker, i can help you with with that. Oh, no, its fine. Thanks, though. A man should cut his own lawn. [ lawnmower engine rattling ] [ engine starts ] dad [ lawnmooh, hey guys ttling ] mom on speakerphone hi son on speakerphone dad, i two goals today vo getting to a comfortable retirement doesnt have to be an uncomfortable thought. See how lincoln can help. Red lobsters endless shrimp is back for just 15. 99. Get all the shrimp you want, any way you want em. Like new srirachahoney shrimp, savory grilled teriyaki shrimp, classic shrimp scampi and more red lobsters endless shrimp is 15. 99. Hurry in. Time really is money. So, dont wait to get the internet your business really needs. Switch to comcast Business Today for a special offer on the services you need to make your business boom. Like speed to power all your devices, more complete internet reliability. And an advanced voice solution. Its time to make the switch to comcast business and take your business beyond fast. Dont miss out on this limited time offer. Call 18005016000 today. Juul record. Dont miss out on this limited time offer. They took 12. 8 billion from big tobacco. Juul marketed mango, mint, and menthol flavors, addicting kids to nicotine. Five million kids now using ecigarettes. The fda said juul ignored the law with Misleading Health claims. Now juul is pushing prop c, to overturn San Franciscos ecigarette protections. Say no to juul, no to big tobacco, no to prop c. And youre looking live at president ial candidate cory booker speaking at the steak fry in iowa. Monitoring the speeches and bring you more as we get it. Moving on to violent clashes erupting in congress kong after a series of duelling demonstrations in the chinese capital. Protesters seen throwing gasoline bombs at riot police struggling to control angry crowds. The mass rallies entering their 16th straight weekend. With just two weeks to go until the anniversary of the founding of the peoples republic of china even more unrest expected to come in the coming days. Back at home, more political maulout from the whistleblower complaint against President Trump. Former acting u. S. Solicitor general and msnbc contributor and jog conway penned a scathing oped making their case for trumps impeachment and write it appears the president might have used his official powers in particular perhaps the threat of withholding a quarter billion dollars in military aid to reserve latch a Foreign Government into helping him defeat a potential political opponent in the United States. If trump did that it would be the ultimate impeachable act. We should know nbc news has not independently confirmed ukraines involvement in the whistleblower complaint but if the reports are true, what would it take to move the needle on impeachment . Right now a total of 135 house lawmakers support impeachment. 83 additional votes needed to get majority. Joining me now to discuss, former white house cabinet secretary in the Obama Administration. Now a senior fellow at the university of Virginia Miller center and Reuters White House reporter. Chris, your initial reaction to the oped . You know, it is easy to descend into hyperbole when talking about this president , but what hes accused of here is qualitatively different and worse than anything else accused of. In no way meant to diminish anything that came out in the mueller investigation. This is not the president taking action as a private citizen but using his official powers to interfere with diplomatic relations with an ally to hurt a rival. Just a fraction of what we know from reporting. I suspect theres going to be a lot more today or once we get our hands on, or koncongress gea copy in their hands, it deepens to the white house and helping Rudy Giuliani in his factfinding trip and one of the reasons the drum beat for impeachment will get much louder this week. Woo see moderate democrats sitting on the fence start to call for impeachment as well. Chris, forgive me for paraphrasing, saying a pretty big deal. Is the white house worried about growing calls for impeachment and expect to turn it into a successful 2020 talking point. Depends what happens in the coming days. The president is meeting with the president of ukraine on wednesday in new york. The sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly there. A meeting they could have called off. I was on a conference with white house officials announcing the president s agenda and sort of raised my yeoh brow eyebrows ths one of the meeting hess was ons i dont think theyre that worried about it. Proceeding with business as usual on that end and otherwise. Certainly based on what the president has said i think thats reflective what others in the white house are thinking. Hes turning it into another sort of, his sense of it, another partisan witchhunt in the making. Ask you about where democrats stand on impeachment. Has this moved the needle at all on the impeachment inquire you and what more do they expect from this whistleblower report . The question, whether its moved the needle for nancy pelosi. The speaker of the house reticent to go too far down the impeachment road and continued to say well keep investigating. Keep legislating. Were able to do both things at the same time. Others in her caucus are further along than she is. She has an eye towards 2020 and wants to keep control of the house and doesnt want an impeachment inquiry to backfire. That is a risk, and a risk republicans see as well and one they would, at least some likely welcome. The whistleblower complaint shows how democracy is being undermined. Why . The most important right we have, the right to vote. Elections should be decided by u. S. Citizens. Not by foreign interference and clearly there has been this in previous elections, but to have a president United States using official powers to dig up dirt on rivals is something i have never seen. To geoffs point, i think youll see moderate democrats start to call for impeachment. Remember, nancy pelosi is trying to provide political cover for these 30 or so democrats who are sitting in trump seats, and theyre going to even find this conduct thats accused tz here so untenable and finally going to realize that not taking action against donald trump is simply empowering him and enabling more bad behavior. Talked wab Congress Might do about it. What actually what do we know about what actually went on how trump might have pressured ukraine to investigate rivals . What information have you learned so far. The strongest reporting is coming from newspapers like the wall street journal and the New York Times, the Washington Post. The wall street journal reported that the president in a call encouraged or pressed his counterpart from ukraine some eight times to investigate this issue, and thats that number is significant, because it indicates he was pushing hard for it in this call. Lots of unanswered questions. There are indications that there might be more to what the whistleblower shared in addition to just this one particular call. So thats, no doubt, one of the Reasons Congress and others are asking for, a. , a transcript of that call released and, b. , more action to the report that the whistleblower made. All right. Thank you. Geoff, stick around a little if you dont mind. Another story coming up. The fight over trump the tax returns is heeding up again. The president s legal Team Throwing up a new legal road block to try to stop the release of eight years worth of returns. Returns. Something great from mr. Clean. Stop struggling to clean tough messes with sprays. Try clean freak it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact. And its great for bathrooms just keep pumping the power nozzle to release a continuous burst of mist and make quick work of big jobs. It even works on stainless steel. It cuts through 100 of dirt, grease and grime. Available with easytoswap refills. To get three times the cleaning power, try clean freak from mr. Clean. gasp singsong budget meeting sweet. If you compare last quarter to this quarter. Various mmm. Its no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with fresh milk and real cream. With the creamy taste of philly, Award Winning interface. Award winning design. Award winning engine. The volvo xc90. Our most awarded luxury suv. And this is a live look at president ial candidate Elizabeth Warren speaking to polk county steak and fry renewed called to impeach President Trump saying no president is above the law. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration is deploying more american troops to saudi arabia and other parts middle east, this as tensions rise between saudis and iran an last weeks drone attacks on the oil fields in saudi arabia. No number how many troops deployed focused on air and missile defenses and the u. S. Will speed up shipment of military heard ware to saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. The chief commander of the reser revolutionary guard said it is prepared for any involvements in the attacks. Our top story. Former Vice President joe biden blasting President Trump today for attacks aimed at him and his son hunter biden. As usual the abuse of power in every element of the presidency to try to do something to smear me. Everybody looked at this and everybodys looked at it said theres nothing there. Ask the right question. Those comments following reports from three national Media Outlets that President Trump pressed the ukrainian president to investigate joe bidens son. Nbc news is working to independently confirm this reporting, although a source tells the journal it doesnt appear the president offering anything in return for the investigation. Look at this timeline. The phone call made july 25th. The whistleblower files the complaint august 12th. s in late august, President Trump blocks millions of dollars in military aid to the ukraine. That aid was released just last week amid intense bipartisan pressure. Now to the latest developments in the battle over President Trumps tax returns. The president s legal team this week filed suit against new yorks District Attorney to block subpoenas issued to the president s Accounting Firm for eight years worth of tax returns. For more, bring in Reuters White House correspondent jeff mason. Thanks for hanging around and msnbc legal contributor. Start with the new york subpoena for trump taxes. They want their hands on eight years of returns. What else do they hope to get . They want to have a look at the tax returns because of allegations that the president had slept with two women which was made a lot, which could have impacted the president ial campaign in 2016, as critics allege, because he then gave them hush money payments. So thats what theyre looking into. Among many other things that could be found in the president s tax wurn returuns. Leader, and once was in charge of a large real estate business and said he would release the tax returns but declined to because saying they were under audit. Re continued to fight relessing them and many efforts to get them and its coming from new york. Katie, the administration cannot be subject to the criminal law while in office. Youre laughing as i say this. We know about the memo you cannot indict a u. S. President. Thats not the law. A memo providing guidance inner its of federal prosecution. This is a stays case, one two, no law, no Supreme Court precedent that can say you cannot investigate a criminallybased charge against a sitting president of the United States. This is also against, remember, the Trump Organization as well. Say you cant do it against trump only. What about his econocompany . You should be able to look at his tax returns at straining or. What can we expect . Same arguments raced wednesday but you want to hear from the manhattan d. A. s office, cyrus vance, they need to be able to advance this case and do not want to put on the brakes. Theres a prior lawsuit trump brought back in april of this year against Elijah Cummings for exactly the same thing. Eight years of tax returns and actually appealed up to the United States court of appeals, up in d. C. Because the District Court judge in the federal case said bring it on. You have to release tax returns. And this could go on quite some time . Could and defeats the purpose being able to look at somebody like trump and say you need to have accountability now. Not lets have accountability when you get out of office, because we dont know if hell be successful in term two. Jeff, turn to you a moment. This isnt the only battle the president is dealing with theyre demanding information from him and his administration. Is this a preview what we can expect to see in the other fights going on . I think so. The president has a history of suing when somebody is doing something he doesnt like. Hes happy to share he has nondisclosure agreements with most of his staffened threatens to sue them if in try to break that releasing information about him or his administration or past. The same sort of principle hes applying here to the tax returns and to many other things, as you say. Thank you both for joining us today. Appreciate it. All right. Now to the road to the white house. In the next president ial candidate who could call it quits. Head of senator cory bookers campaign confirming booker will drop out if he doesnt raise nearly 2 million, and has to do it in the next ten days. Nbc news political reporter is with us. Further reported on this and joins us. What is he saying today . Asking for help. Saying, im in trouble. Im not going to be able to continue on the pace i need to continue on to expand the campaign heading into next years primaries and caucuses unless you step up and donate. He just spoke to Iowa Democrats a few moments ago at the steak fry and look what he said. Im going to call to you right now. I need everyones help with my campaign. Because were not running an individual campaign. We will win this election, not by dividing democrats but have neem unite us and bring us together. We will win this election not by showing the worst of who we are but the best of who we are. Typically president s campaigns try to project strength, try to say were going to win. Try to be sunny, optimistic. Booker is taking a different tact here. He sents they out to staff and later posted online. Polling not as strong as we want it or donations and next ten day, before the end of the financial quarter which ends end of next month, that will decide whether they stay or not. In the last ten days, the past two financial quarters only raised 1 million and 1. 4 million. You have to exceed that. Set the goal because they cant continue at the current pace theyre at. Said they have to expand to get ready and theres only four campaigns that are really ready to do that. Theyre saying, unless people step up and start donating to these other campaigns we could have a major contraction in the democratic field soon. Cory booker, may be desperate. Doesnt sound hes lost energy there. I know you said it is possible, do you think this is, i dont want to call it a ploy, but a tactic that could work . People will look at this and say this is a voice we still want to keep in this race. He may not be in the top group but wed like to donate and see him stick around . Sure. Yeah. This is definitely a bid to debt publicity and help and get some money, but it is, yeah, a desperate move. Theres risks here. You could demoralize your supporteders. You could tell people youre on the verge of dropping out and its why campaigns dont typically do this. Theyre taking this unusual approach and hopefully will be rewarded, Opening Doors saying we need your help now if you want us on the stage and explicitly saying, not voting for cory booker, if you just like him. If hes on your list of three, four, five candidates you want to stick around, chip in a few bucks and keep him on the stage. Then make up your mind down the road. Basically theyre saying that they think that democratic voters will wake up in february with fewer options than they realize right now unless they start supporting these other campaigns. All right. Alex seitz wald, thank you. And look back in iowa where president ial candidate Bernie Sanders is speaking to the polk county steak fry now. A lot of candidates making a pitch to voters today. We will continue to monitor their speeches and update you soon as we have more. Some families getting 1,000 a month thanks to president ial candidate andrew yang in his freedom dividend contest. Next, we sit down with one of the families receiving those payments. Yments. Every curve, every innovation, every feeling. A product of mastery. Lease the 2019 es 350 for 379 a month for 36 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Full of flavor. Texture. Color. Full of energy. Full of. Woo its fresh and filling. This bowl is full of good. So you can be too. Try a new baja or mediterranean warm grain bowl today. Panera food as it should be. Warm grain bowl today. They give us excellent customer otservice, every time. E. Our 18 year old was in an accident. Usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. All i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. If i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates, and better service. Were the gomez family. Were the rivera family. Were the kirby family, and we are usaa members for life. Get your Auto Insurance quote today. Do your asthma symptoms ever hold you back . About 50 of people with severe asthma have too many cells called eosinophils in their lungs. Eosinophils are a key cause of severe asthma. Fasenra is designed to target and remove these cells. Fasenra is an addon injection for people 12 and up with asthma driven by eosinophils. Fasenra is not a rescue medicine or for other eosinophilic conditions. Fasenra is proven to help prevent severe asthma attacks, improve breathing, and can lower oral steroid use. Fasenra may cause allergic reactions. Get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue, or trouble breathing. Dont stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. Tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. Headache and sore throat may occur. Havent you missed enough . Ask an asthma specialist about fasenra. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. A Natural Disaster killed five people in the heart of texas. Look at todays front page of the Houston Chronicle calling a heartbreak in Tropical Storm imeldas wake. Communities cut off by floodwaters from the Tropical Storm with dozens of rescues carried out in huffman northwest of the center city. We have the latest. Reporter this morning a disaster deja vu for southeast texas. Tropical storm imelda turning homes into islands putting roads under water and leaving many like this woman stranded. Water up to here. Reporter two years after Hurricane Harvey flooded her home nearly right back where she started. Have to go through it again, you dont want to. You just want to tear your house down and not have to do it again. Reporter residents now beginning to as damages as thousands prepare for a massive cleanup. Every room had water in it. Every room. So weve lost just about everything. Reporter the rising waters kept rescue crews busy for days. In one county alone evacuated more than 1,700 people. Hoisting one person after another to safety. And a break away barge slammed into an interstate bridge. Today still stuck. The highway shut down. Extent of damage still unknown. In houston, the storm unleasheds so much rain, the wettest september day on record. One School Teachers turned benches into a bridge doing their best to keep students dry on the way to lunch. The total impact yet to be seen, but Authorities Say imelda is now responsible for at least five deaths. Everybody needs help. Yeah. Everybodys devastated. Reporter for those who did survive, the fate they face now is all to familiar. Having to do it all over gn, how do you go back and even stay Strong Enough . You know, to do that. No words for it. Nbcs morgan chesky, thank you. Following his freedom dividend contest announcement last unique, president ial candidate andrew young 1,000 a month giveaway is making waves with over 500,000 americans already entering the raffle. We sat down with one family already receiving those payments. Reporter andrew yang will soon pick ten families to receive 1,000 a month until next novembers election. Started last year with three families out of his own pocket. I met one family over dinner. For this family from New Hampshire freedom tastes like garlic and lemon baked scallops. Grocery bill a bit more manageable with an extra 1,000 every month. We dont have to eat baloney and ramen noodles and maybe out to dinner and have a movie once a more. Reporter yanged picked this family last year amp their daughter submitted their names. Chuck recently lost their jobs. Probably struggling today. Dependent on credit cards. Definitely a different environment. Reporter now most of the money goes to cover janelles tuition at a nearby college. What did you think when the first 1,000 check showed up . In shock. Im still every time i still cash a check im still, i have to pinch myself that i get to cash this check. Reporter yang dismisses criticism its a giveaway amounts to paying for votes. Anyone who receive as free dividend can do whatever theyd like. Some who receive it when not vote for me. Thats completely fine. Reporter the candidates lawyers are within the Campaign Finance law given away to money donated to yang in 2020 is a legitimate Campaign Expense pap theory luke unlikely to be test court. Seeing a permanent freedom dividend as the ultimate stimulus plan and safety net. Its make america feel safe again. You know . Its like, you know, having a livelihood is just as important as being protected from terrorists. Reporter i asked this family what they would do with the money if they could count on it year after year the rest of their lives. Chuck said he would quit his job and start his own business. Exactly the kind of Economic Development yang hopes the money would provide, if able to make it permanent. Indeed. Nbcs guarantee hake, thank you. Pop star taylor swift talking politics vowing what she can do to end the trump presidency. Thats next on pop versus politics. Plants capture co2. What if other kinds of plants captured it too . If these industrial plants had technology that captured carbon like trees we could help lower emissions. Carbon capture is Important Technology and experts agree. Thats why were working on ways to improve it. So plants. Can be a little more. Like plants. So, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. The United States Postal Service makes more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. Red lobsters endless shrimp is back for just 15. 99. Get all the shrimp you want, any way you want em. Like new srirachahoney shrimp, savory grilled teriyaki shrimp, classic shrimp scampi and more red lobsters endless shrimp is 15. 99. Hurry in. Man 1 vo proof of less joint pain woman 1 oc this is my body of proof. And clearer skin. Man 2 vo proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis. Woman 2 vo . With humira. Woman 3 vo humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the number one prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. Avo humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Man 3 vo ask your rheumatologist about humira. Woman 4 vo go to humira. Com to see proof in action. And this is everybodys favorite steak fry and speaking at the steak fry in iowa, thats andrew yang. Monitoring speeches and bring you more, of course, as we get it. Keep talking politics. The challenger coming from inside the house. Congressman joe kennedy iii formally announcing candidacy to the United States senate in boston, massachusetts. Primarying the sitting senate. And without question to meet this moment requires more than just defeating him. It requires taking on clearly a broken system that cass phied structured that allowed him to win in the first place. Daily acts of oppression and injustice that enabled 63 million americans to think that he was a better steward of their dreams and hopes and aspirations. Kennedy heads into the fight, however, without endorsement of his former professor Elizabeth Warren who endorsed markey back in august. Time for pop versus politics where we dissect the intersection of Popular Culture and the u. S. Government. Joining me this week democratic strategist and a republican stras gi strategist, thanks, my first pop versus politics. Exciting to be here. Taylor swift, this week said in a Rolling Stone interview she is obsessed with politics and vows to do all she can to end Donald Trumps presidency. And swift stayed defy it in 201. Is she influential enough to move the needle . She did in 2016. Developed into the candidate then and endorsed the u. S. Senate in her home stay of d. C. , democratic candidate specifically and cooper who won that election in her home state of tennessee. While its unclear whether or not, i think there is data she really didnt sway a lot of people, mixed data on it. Point is when you have a big celebrity endorsement you get other benefits to your campaign. You get earned media, like were doing right now. Yeah. Talking about it. And the candidate doesnt have to paper for it. In these media markets you can spend a lot of money trying to get media attention. You generate that, and helps with fundraising rally people supporting you to show momentums on your side and give more money. Any campaign ive worked on when he listed we got an endorsement it reminds nor supporters you are viable, doing better, progressing. Theyll usually give you more money in that circumstance. It does have benefits to have that happen and interesting fact about state of tennessee. Tennessee has had historically amongst the lowest voter turnout in the country. In 2018, youth voter turnout at record levels in the state of tennessee. Youth vetter tu voter turnou record levels across the United States. Im not sure thats because of taylor swift. Thats fair. Also, taylor swifts endorsement for the senate race didnt help him. He got crushed. At the same time taylor swift did to something good urging people to register to vote months before the election. A lot of young people did that. Shes interested in politics, and shes going to do everything she can, lets not forget the election in 2016 really was won by 77,744 votes, margin of difference in pennsylvania, wisconsin and michigan. If she can get 10,000, 15,000 people registered who didnt vote in 2016 combined with other efforts that will help. Celebrity endorsements aside dont really help. Look back to 2016. Hillary clinton is lebron james, beyonce, wasnt enough to win the election. Donald trump won oh. Donald trump himself is a celebrity. Right . And the nation selected a celebrity president. True. I think that bears repeating. I do think, though, campaigns are about resources, right . And priorities. Any extra resource you can get i would say is important in a campaign. Even if its taylor swift. To your point, the 10,000 to 15,000 in a close race could be the difference. Even if it doesnt necessarily make big moves, cant hurt . Doesnt hurt. Definitely doesnt hurt. Fair enough. Switch gears talk about a rock star of a different decade. Jon bon jovi endorses cory booker for president and hosted a fundraiser at his new hamptons home. And we know his Campaign Says theyre hurting for money . Yeah. Heard that reporting today. I think theyll probably meet their threshold, their goals theyve set. Because its not a huge goal in terms of 2 million. Exactly. Not big for a president ial campaign. Jon bon jovi heavily involved in new jersey politics for a long time. He supported Democratic Candidates for years. Built a homeless shelter in the city of new york. Kickoff concerts and when cory booker cut the ribbon on it. Known each other a long time, been a longtime supporter of senator booker as well as a lot of other Democratic Candidates. Flies und are the radar to an extent but a pretty involved person in politics and long standing and does help. He raises a lot of money. Brings the cash. Thats what cory booker needs. Jon bon jovi isnt going to help cory booker become president of the United States. Be honest. Trying to play a lot of people for suckers desperate for momentum and attention saying they need 1. 7 million in the next ten days isnt hard to do. The last ten days of the last quarter, they raised 1. 4 million. Want to put it out there he would drop out of the race, unless they thought he could do this. Then they can have an artificial claim to momentum. Its all a charade. A lot of people say, though, they would like to keep cory bookers voice on things he represents. Like to keep a candidate of color in this primary fight. Are we at the stage, though where we have to start getting rid of people because there are too many voices . There are definitely a lot of voices. No one can argue that. A lot of people like cory booker. To be president is a different issue. I think that he is an effective spokesperson, particularly around issues of criminal Justice Reform and hes continued to really push that issue in the way thats very necessary. So i think people want to hear his voice in the campaign. I dont think people want to see him drop out. The problem for cory is hes not breaking through at this point. So i think hes looking to get its hard when you have this many candidates to make your way into the media cycle. Were talking about him right now, so Mission Accomplished on that point breaking into the media cycle. Whether or not thats going to help you break through 3 is a different story. The last topic is the 43rd annual farm aid to raise money for family farmers in the United States. Willie nelson is headlining. Hes been vocal in his opposition to President Trump. Do you think after tonight some of these farmers will consider voting for a democrat . Evan, you believe so you had a lot to say about this issue. Lets be serious for a second here. The American Farmers are really hurting because of the trade war. Farm bankruptcies are at alltime highs. We are seeing farmers absolutely devastated by this trade war and other countries such as brazil and other agriculture countries are seeing business that was going to American Farmers going to them from, say, china. At the same time were seeing the administration pumping out 30 more billion dollars in bailouts to farmers paid for by the taxpayers that is over double what the Obama Administration gave to the auto industry. Lets be honest about the bailouts themselves. Theyre going to corporations that are foreign owned, foreigners that are under criminal investigation by the doj. Its outrageous. And the fact that the House Democrats havent cracked down on it im suspicious as to why theyre saying yes to adding more bailouts to farmers. We need to end the trade war and reform the way we give bailouts to farmers. Andrew yang is talking right now at the steak fry. I am the ideal candidate for that job because the opposite of donald trump is an asian man who likes math. [ cheers ] automate stand for make america think harder. Were going to let our fellow citizens know it is not immigrants that are causing these problems. It is automation and technology. Its a fourth industrial revolution. And there is one criteria you all have for your nominee, it is this, who is the best situated to beat donald trump in 2020 . Raise your hand if thats your main criteria for the nominee. Im a numbers guy. I am one of only two candidates in the field that 10 or more of donald trump voters say they will support. So if i am your nominee, we will win. [ cheers and applause ] we can bring in thousands of disaffected trump voters, independents, to join with us as democrats and progressives because it is not left, it is not right, it is forward and that is where were going to take the country in 2020. Thank you, iowa. I love you. I will see you soon. Thank you, iowa. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Were going to continue here on the campaign trail centered on iowa today. You just heard andrew yang speaking. Were going to go to oh, were hearing joe biden is expected to speak next at any moment. Hes not coming out quite yet. He is just one of 17 contenders speaking today at the iowa steak pry. Road warrior Vaughn Hillyard has been there live all day long. How are the candidates being received there today . Reporter you just saw andrew yang up on stage. Quite, frankly, its an impressive turnout here. You have 10,000 folks in poke county in des moines, the largest event for these democrats four months out. 17 of the president ial candidates including andrew yang. We are in a line for Elizabeth Warren. These have become disintegrate features as part of her campaign rallies. You have people from across iowa. We are making friends along the lines. Elizabeth warren is actively doing her selfie line right now. We pulled this guy out of the line. This is brady. You live in des moines now . Yep. Youre from where . Webster city in North Central iowa. How long have you supported Elizabeth Warren and why . Since 2012 when she ran against scott brown in massachusetts. I felt like shes somebody that closely aligns with my politics and has broad support and can really get those supporters of back home and maybe some of the people that voted for trump the last time. And i think shes somebody that has a clear vision and can really do a lot of good. Shes really the first progressive that can win since fdr. Youre from webster were going to cut you because as you can see on this video, former Vice President just took the stage in iowa right now. You guys in the front pew, no way out for you. Ladies and gentlemen, i know this is now the poke county steak fry, but i started off here when it was the tom hearken steak fry. But it was never this big. What a great, great crowd. You know, tom and i served together a long time. He helped me pass battles, pass the assault weapons ban, the violence against women act i and i played a small part in his crowning achievement, his american with disabilities act that he passed. [ cheers and applause ] tom was tough, principled, and honest. And i think he warrants being recognized here today. Folks, we meet here today at a threat posed by donald trump that seems to get worse every single solitary minute. We saw in el paso, we saw it, and we see it now in iran and god knows where hes going to go with that. The stakes are only getting higher. Above all else, we must defeat donald trump, period. [ cheers and applause ] and stop his abuse of power. We have a president who Traffic Accident in the ugliest forces, the ugliest forces in our nations history in both clear language and code. President trump has fanned the flames of White Supremacy in this nation. When charlottesville occurred and there are decent people standing there saying we will not go along with this hate, and he was asked when a young woman was killed, he was asked to characterize what happened, he believes, quote, there were fine people on both sides. No president more than a boo, its serious. No president has ever said anything like that save the possibility of before the civil war. Ladies and gentlemen, in doing so, he has signed a moral equivalence between those neonazis, the ku klux klan, preaching hate and White Supremacy and those opposing it. At that timics were in a battle for the soul of america, and we are in the battle for the soul of america. Thats whats at stake. [ cheers and applause ] this country can overcome four years of donald trump with great difficulty, but eight years, eight years of trump i believe will forever change the character and nature of the country we are. Americas unique in all history. Its an idea. An idea. American creed, all men and women are created equal. Weve never fully lived up to that, but weve never ever, ever walked away from it. Its genius. Every generation of americans, every generation has opened wider and wider access for more and more people. Thats why its never gathered dust in your history books. We need a president who once again values treating everyone with dignity and respect, giving everyone a fair shot, and understanding that theres something bigger than our individual selves. Folks [ cheers and applause ] we also have to rebuild the backbone of this country, the middle class, and this time bring everybody along, because wall street did not build america, you built america. You built america. [ cheers and applause ] and unions built the middle class. [ cheers and applause ] right now there are 50,000 auto workers and their families, men and women who sacrificed so much to keep General Motors alive. Gave up more than anyone to keep it going. And now theyre being left behind again, learning their Health Care Coverage is going to be suspended. These families deserve better. When we move from scranton, pennsylvania, when i was a kid, there were no work after coal died. My dad was a salesperson. There were no jobs. If you listen to barack, you would think i came out of the scranton with a lunch bucket out of a coal mine, but i didnt. My dad was a white collar salesman. But my dad when we moved to delaware to a town called clay mont, he used say, joey a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. Its about your dignity. Its about respect. Its about your place in the community. Its about being able to look your child in the eye and saying, honey, its going to be okay. Well, today a majority of the middle class cant look their children in the eye. They dont believe they can say our coverage continues of the steak fry with joe biden there. We will continue. My colleague richard lieu will pick it up from here. Im live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. Right now were keeping an eye on on a busy day in iowa. Two political events taking place in the 2020 race. The poke county steak fry where joe biden speaking, and just a few miles away, the iowa peoples president ial forum in des moines. Among the big stories there, cory booker talking about a message to supporters suggesting his campaign could be