But democrats say its the secretary of state whos the bully here. They say he is trying to intimidate officials to keep them from cooperating with the impeachment inquiry. House democrats are trying to schedule depositions with five current and former state Department Officials. Thus far, just two of them have agreed. The first deposition is set for tomorrow. Meanwhile, we could learn more about ukraine later today when the state departments Inspector General meets with staff from multiple house and senate committees. It has been described as an urgent request by the ig and is apparently related to state department documents regarding ukraine. I want to start there, because ive got Kristen Welker at the white house and Geoff Bennett on capitol hill. I hope both of you had a good nights sleep, a large cup of coffee, and you are stretched out, because youre going to have a long run today. Geoff, tell me more about the briefing. What do we know . Reporter hey, steph, good morning. Were learning more about this briefing in realtime. So, we know that the state department Inspector General reached out to senior congressional staffers late yesterday, requesting an urgent briefing. We know that this request was made after the secretary of state initially pushed back on House Democrats demands to depose those five current and former state Department Officials as part of House Democrats ongoing impeachment inquiry investigation. So, we dont yet know the specific substance of this urgent matter, and i dont even think right now that the congressional committees know, because at least one aide has told us that this letter is cryptically worded. Thats aside. We do know that the Inspector General says the reason for this briefing is due to documents that they obtained from the Legal Adviser at the state department. So thats important and suggests that theres something of a paper trail that could be material to the House Democrats ongoing impeachment inquiry. The timing here is important, too, because this briefing will happen before these relevant committees hear from kurt volker tomorrow. He is the former special envoy to ukraine who, according to the whistleblower complaint communicated with Rudy Giuliani about giulianis influence campaign he was trying to run in eastern europe. And it also comes before, as you mentioned, these committees are expected to hear from marie yanukovych, the former a. M. Bass door who according to the complaint would have had a frontrow seat as giuliani was there trying to stir up speculation and dig up discredited dirt on President Trumps political rival. Steph. All right, kristen, this gets confusing, because even though we have not heard from the white house, we did hear from secretary of state pompeo, who now confirmed he was on that july 25th phone call after he initially dodged that very question. Watch this. What do you know about those conversations . So, you just gave me a report about a whistleblower complaint, none of which ive seen. Mr. Secretary, do you have any comment on reports youre on the july 25th call with president zelensky . As for was i on the phone call . Was i on the phone call . The phone call was in the context of, now i guess ive been secretary of state for coming on a year and a half. Okay, kristen, when we cover these things, sometimes i feel like im talking to my kids, because the answers change over and over, so im going to throw my mom jeans on for a second and say, why not just tell the truth earlier . Reporter thats the big question, and its not entirely clear, steph. What is clear is that all of that that you just played underscores that theres not a clear messaging strategy here at the white house, or more broadly, for the Trump Administration to deal with this. Think back to how they dealt with the first piece of this controversy. They initially werent going to release that whistleblower complaint to congress and then flipflopped and decided to do so, once the administration felt it was backed into a corner. It is likely pompeo felt as though he needed to ultimately acknowledge that he was on that call, given that the reports came out yesterday, steph. Now, this comes as pompeo is intensifying a standoff with House Democrats. Hes accusing them of bullying, trying to bring in those current and former state Department Officials to testify. Democrats, though, are firing back and saying that the secretary of state runs the risk of obstructing justice if he does not cooperate. And this is something that weve heard from the house intelligence chairman, adam schiff, over and over again. He has made it very clear that they will perceive any attempt to stonewall as obstruction, steph. Okay. Unfortunately, im still confused, but luckily, i have the perfect guest to discuss all of this. Jeremy peters, reporter with the New York Times. Ben wittis, editor and chief of law fair and senior fellow at the brookings institution, and nicholas rasmussen, former director of the National Counterterrorism center. Nick, what do you make of the state departments ig calling for an urgent meeting . Does that sound like a big deal to you . Because an urgent meeting might just mean hes going to say, this is all overblown, theres a lot of confusion here. Well, of course, we dont know yet the content of what the state department ig wants to brief to the hill later today, but the timing is important here, because obviously, that individual, the Inspector General, wants that information in the hands of the congress before the congress, before the house embarks on this series of depositions and interviews with Key State Department actors in the ukraine story. So, obviously, that Inspector General feels like theres important context, whether its context about internal state department activity, or again, some documentary record. It obviously is urgent, and you can put your mind to all kinds of different theories about why its urgent, but the timing theory is what tells me that it has to get done today. All right, ben, i want to play a little of what secretary of state pompeo said this morning, specifically about these depositions. What we objected to was the demands that were put that deeply violate fundamental principles of separation of powers. They contacted state Department Employees directly, told them not to contact Legal Counsel at the state department. Thats been reported to us. They said that the state department wouldnt be able to be present. There are important constitutional prerogatives that the executive branch has to be present so that we can protect important information. Dont contact Legal Counsel . What do you make of that pushback . Well, look, it is totally normal for the secretary of state to want Agency Counsel to be involved in the possible depositions of state Department Employees. It is not totally normal for the secretary of state to want to, for example, influence the testimony of state Department Employees on a matter that the secretary of state, we now learn, is on the call between the president and the president of ukraine. And so, you know, theres, on the one hand, theres kind of a healthy tension here between congress that wants to get information from an agency and an agency that has legitimate prerogatives and equities in protecting its employees from sort of, you know, committees that may be very aggressive, as well as protecting its own information. Thats the normal situation. Were not dealing with the normal situation now. Were dealing with a situation in which people may want to cooperate with these committees and the state Department Processes and bureaucracy and legal apparatus may be being deployed to prevent them from doing so. This is complicated. Jeremy, politicos playbook this morning, which is especially juicy, says republicans worried about the administrations response to all of this, and they write this, that they think they need credible, respected republican voices. But heres what they got last night. I had a couple of talks with civil rights lawyers and constitutional lawyer today, and heres what theyre recommending, that we should bring a lawsuit on behalf of the president and several of the people in the administration, maybe even myself as a lawyer, against the members of congress individually for violating constitutional rights, violating civil rights. Theyre doing extraordinary things. Credible, respected republican voices. Is that what they got . Was that part of the strategy . Well, i think the problem, stephanie, is that there really is no strategy, and thats the complaint that ive been hearing from republicans close to the white house. As one person described it to me, its halfhearted, disjointed, and disorganized. So when you look at what the president is saying, for example, he has this kind of una unambiguous, i did nothing wrong, almost i am the state line of defense, that of course i can do these things as president. I am the president. And furthermore, this is just another witch hunt by these democrats who are intent on undoing the results of the election. Then what i heard from pompeo was much different from that. What you heard from pompeo is actually probably the most coherent thought outline of response from a republican yet, which is that, yes, there is a constitutional process that needs to be respected here, but we are going to play by the rules. Thats not something youre hearing, not even close, from the president or Rudy Giuliani or even some of President Trumps allies on capitol hill, many of whom seem just uninterested in the facts of this case, uninterested and not even aware, as you saw with representative Kevin Mccarthy in his interview with 60 minutes. He didnt even know what was in the transcript of that call that the whistleblower brought to light. All right, nick, lets move back here. While this is happening, there are huge developments happening around the world. Youve got violent demonstrations in hong kong, north korea firing a projectile toward japan. Those are just two. Two. Can the state department deal with those kind of challenges around the globe and the impeachment inquiry at the same time . Certainly, the state department has a stable of professional diplomats who can engage their counterparts on these issues, but clearly, at the leadership level, and youre talking secretary pompeo, when youre talking President Trump if they are preoccupied with matters such as this impeachment inquiry and the role they have to play in responding to that impeachment inquiry, it obviously is distracting. And again, this is such a huge contrast to the clinton impeachment process, where it had nothing to do with Foreign Policy, it had nothing to do with the conduct of National Security decisionmaking. And so, it was somewhat easy for the Clinton Administration to compartmentalize and just park to one side what was going on with the president s personal conduct. Here, the impeachment inquiry is intimately tied up with the conduct of Foreign Policy and National Security, and its got to serve as a hangover to almost every engagement that the president or the secretary of state has right now. Ben, you said recently that the way that the president and his allies are defending his behavior toward ukraine remember, he called that call perfect you said the way theyre describing all of that might actually be more damaging than the behavior itself. What do you mean . Look, if i rob your house and steal all your stuff and keep that secret, that presents an enforcement problem, right . The police then have to enforce the law against breaking and entering and theft. But if i rob your house and steal your stuff and then publicly declare that that behavior is normal and fine or even perfect or beautiful or totally appropriate, then that challenges the idea that you have a right to a home that is not invadable by me and that you have a right to property. And thats what the president is doing here. Its not merely that hes done these things. Its that hes publicly articulated that president s should behave this way. And if Congress Accepts that, and leaving aside the impeachment question, if Congress Accepts that this is defensible, what its actually saying is that the norms and expectations that weve always had of president ial behavior are actually subject to very rapid change and that they are not governed by the sort of norms of morality and decency and appropriate behavior that we expected. And trump is in his defense of this activity, as distinct from the activity itself. He is arguing for a change in substantive expectations of president ial behavior, and i think that is as deep a challenge to the expectations we do and should have of the presidency as is the underlying behavior itself. Jeremy, you and i both speak to people inside the white house. And last night alone, i would say that talking to people in this administration now feels different than when we were in the throes of the mueller report. It feels a lot crazier, a lot more serious. The president is now calling this a coup, and we are hearing other republicans pick this line up. Is there any concern inside the white house that this kind of anger and rhetoric could fuel the American People . I think what theyre looking at, stephanie, is the polling. And the polling does not look good for the president right now. Youve had about a tenpoint jump now in three polls, and thats been consistent across all three polls, in americans who support the process that congress is going through right now that could lead to the impeachment of the president of the United States. Thats huge. That is at about the level that we saw right after nixon fired the special prosecutor in the saturday night massacre during watergate. So, they have every reason in the world now to be worried, and indeed, they are. Thank you all. This is a very complicated story, and you definitely helped us understand it a bit more. Were going to leave it there, because we have breaking news now out of moscow, where our own keir sim smons has been moderatg a panel that includes russian president Vladimir Putin. Keir, what is this all about . Reporter hey, steph. Well, i think we made some news on multiple fronts. I just stepped off that stage where we were for 90 minutes, so i havent seen the transcripts. Just making sense of what we heard. But certainly, President Trump weighed in on that ukraine call and appeared to weigh in on the side of president putin, im sorry, weighed in on that call and appeared to weigh in on the side of President Trump. So, he said that trump opponents are using any pretext to attack President Trump, referring to that ukraine call and comparing it to the allegations of russian interference in 2016. I asked him specifically, steph, whether or not he would be prepared to see rough transcripts of his conversations with President Trump published, and he seemed to say that he would be relaxed about that. In fact, a senior russian official speaking to me before the panel suggested that if those kinds of conversations were published, it would make president putin look good. On another subject, back to that 2016 russian meddling, i asked him about Robert Muellers testimony that not only did russia attempt to intervene in the 2016 elections, but that russia was attempting to intervene in 2020, and he did a classic piece of president putin trolling. Take a listen. Is russia as Robert Mueller alleged, attempting to influence the 2020 elections in the United States . Translator ill tell you in a secret. Yes, well definitely intervene its a secret so that everybody can laugh and so well go big, but dont tell anyone, please. Please, dont tell anyone. Reporter and stephanie, you know, aside from just kind of like hes clearly kind of joking, trying to play around there, but i did give him a number of opportunities just to clearly say that russia wasnt attempting to influence the 2020 elections, and he never once simply said, no, we are not. Steph . So keir, right there, theyre saying, well, if the transcripts came out, it would make Vladimir Putin look even better and that he takes a situation as serious as it is and makes a joke to you. How did the audience take that . Reporter yeah. Look, you know, i just missed the end of your question there, steph. But clearly, this is the kind of thing that president putin does. He tries to deflect with humor like that, you know. Its classic trolling. In a sense, i suppose it doesnt give us any more insight into what really happened or what russia really did, but i did have a private conversation with president putin after that panel, and we talked again about the mueller investigation. And he even in that private conversation tried to say to me, which clearly isnt the case, that mueller had given russia a clean bill of health, that there was no collusion, therefore sanctions would be lifted. So, either hes very good at pretending to believe in something, or he truly, truly believes that to be the case, but thats not the widely viewed interpretation of what Robert Mueller concluded. Keir simmons, great job. Thank you so much. More than just an interpretation. Lets remind our audience, it was in the first 14 words there were systematic and sweeping interference by a foreign government. Im looking at you, russia. Next, a key member of the House Foreign Affairs committee and former assistant secretary of state joins us with his unique insight into ukraine as the impeachment inquiry against President Trump is picking up steam. Well be speaking to congressman tom mostlinowski. G to congressmn tom mostlinowski ase around down dirt, dust and hair . So now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. For hardtoreach places, duster makes it easy to clean. It captures dust in one swipe. Ha gotcha and sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away twice as much dirt and dust. It gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. Yknow what . My place. Is a lot cleaner now. Stop cleaning. Start swiffering. 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. There is nothing diplomatic about the growing battle between congress and the state department. In about one hour, two of the democrats spearheading this impeachment investigation will hold a briefing as other members of congress return to the capitol for a urgent briefing from the state departments Inspector General. All of this comes as for the first time this morning one of the key players in this impeachment battle, secretary of state mike pompeo, confirms that he was, in fact, on the president s call with ukraine. Joining me now, democratic congressman from my home state of new jersey, Tom Malinowski. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs committee. He was also assistant secretary of state during the obama administration. Congressman, good morning. Welcome. Good morning. The state department Inspector General will be holding an urgent briefing with multiple members of congress. A, do you know anything about the briefing . And just because its urgent doesnt necessarily mean its damning. I have no idea what this is about, but its certainly interesting. Its not normal. There is very little about this whole situation that is normal. But what we do know is this, that there are patriotic folks at the state department who have been trying to do their job. They work for the United States. They dont work for the president. They dont work for pompeo. They work for us. And a number of them want to speak to the congress. We have two interviews already set up with kurt volker, ambassador volckeel volker, in the ukraine policy at the state department. Our former ambassador to ukraine will be coming in. And apparently, the Inspector General also has something to say, and well see what that is. Last night, the president tweeted that this is not an impeachment inquiry, its a coup. What is your response to that . President trump is a messaging mastermind. Is this time different . How do you counter it . It actually sounds very desperate to me. It sounds like panic when i hear that kind of language. First of all, its obviously not a coup. The constitution provides for impeachment. It is a constitutional process. And if the president were actually removed by impeachment, guess who would be president , mike pence. The policies would continue to be republican policies. In fact, they would be probably truer and more consistent republican policies. So, its obviously not that. But the language itself is dangerous. The language it begins to now border on almost insurrectionist. And you know what, people who use that kind of language are more likely to be impeached. All right, well, lets stick with language. Mike pompeo says congress is trying to bully him and members of the state department. What do you take of what he says . And since this is the sentiment hes feeling, do you think theres any chance he or the state department is really going to work with you . Think about all of the investigations thus far. This administration blows their nose with subpoenas. Yeah, except there are already two state Department Officials well, one former, kurt volker, who are voluntarily coming forward. The secretary did not actually forbid state Department Employees from coming forward. And again, what were seeing here is, in a way, their worst fear, which is that there are still so many patriotic people working for the u. S. Government who work for us, who took an oath to the constitution, who want to keep that oath against somebody who breaks his oath every single day. You would like to think that everyone working in the state department is patriotic. Republicans keep questioning why democrats wont look into Hunter Bidens dealings with ukraine. You were actually working at the state department when all of this played out in 2016. How does what you witnessed during that time match up with the narrative that President Trump and Rudy Giuliani, who does not have access to any classified information, are what theyre putting out . What happened is absolutely clear and precisely the opposite of what they say. We not joe biden we, the obama administration, the state department, our embassy in kiev, the treasury department, our allies in europe, the International Monetary fund, the whole International Community was saying to the government of ukraine, youve got a crooked prosecutor who is not bringing a single anticorruption prosecution, including, by the way, against this company that hunter biden was involved with, and youve got to get somebody who will actually fight corruption. Joe biden was one of many messengers who delivered that message, and it was our message, the United States message. It was right. How can you show your constituents, the American People, that democrats can work on a legislative agenda and at the same time work on an impeachment inquiry . The president wants to say, we cant get anything done because all democrats want to do is focus on this. Yet, over the weekend, he had 40 tweets, none of which were about a legislative agenda. The house has already passed a measure on gun control, and the senate, i. E. , Mitch Mcconnell, is sitting on it, and the president s done nothing. Well, there you go. We have actually been doing nothing but working on a legislative agenda for the last eight or nine months, whether its gun violence prevention or health care or prescription drugs or infrastructure. Remember for five minutes President Trump wanted to work with us on infrastructure. Were still ready. He met with nancy pelosi, chuck schumer. They shook hands. They said, lets get something done. And lets get something done. Congressman, thank you so much for joining me. Congressman Tom Malinowski from new jersey. Well, in two minutes less than two minutes from now the markets are set to open after suffering their worst day in over five weeks. Markets took a very big hit. Why . New numbers showed the president s trade war is taking its toll on the manufacturing sector. We are seeing exports dropping, overall sentiment declining, and manufacturing is now officially in a slump. Remember, the president was bringing back manufacturing. The latest index rating from the institute for supply management is the lowest in more than ten years, in part because of the president s trade war with china. This marks the second consecutive month of contraction. That means shrinking, getting smaller. The numbers paint a drastically different picture than what peter navarro, the white house director of trade and Manufacturing Policy said on cnbc just one day before. Please watch this. I dont even know why youre going down this path. This trump economy is strong as a rock. Manufacturing is strong as a rock. This fall, book two, separate qualifying stays at choicehotels. Com. And earn a free night. Because when your business is rewarding yourself, our business is you. Book direct at choicehotels. Com walkabout wednesdays are back get a sirloin or chicken on the barbie, fries, and a draft beer or cocacola all for just 10. 99. Hurry in wednesdays are for outback. Outback steakhouse. Aussie rules. Wednesdays are for outback. A lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesnt get everything clean. I tell them, it may be your detergent. Thats why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum. Its speciallydesigned with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. Cascade platinums unique actionpacs dissolve quickly. To remove stuckon food. For sparklingclean dishes, the first time. Choose the detergent that lets your dishwasher do the dishes cascade platinum. The number one recommended brand in north america. Or trips to mars. 4. 95. Delivery drones or the latest phones. 4. 95. No matter what you trade, at fidelity its just 4. 95 per online u. S. Equity trade. No matter what you trade, at fidelity so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Rkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or lifethreatening allergic and skin reactions. Decrease alcohol use. Use caution driving or operating machinery. Tell your doctor if youve had Mental Health problems. The most common side effect is nausea. Talk to your doctor about chantix. [white rabbit by one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you smaller and the ones that mother gives you dont do anything at all remember what the dormouse said welcome aboard. Feed your head this morning we are getting a fresh look at thirdquarter fundraising totals from democratic president ial candidates. Right now, senator Bernie Sanders leads with a total of more than 25 million bucks. Pete buttigieg raised 19 million. And senator Kamala Harris ended the quarter with over 11 million. Senator cory bookers lastminute fundraising push got him a total of 6 million. These new fundraising totals come as ten candidates prepare to take the big stage in las vegas for an msnbc Gun Control Forum hosted by our very own craig melvin. Two years after the city was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. Nbc news road warrior ali vittalie is live in las vegas ahead of the forum. Joe biden out with a new plan to address gun violence this morning. What does it tell us . Reporter yeah, stephanie, i want to start with the outlines of joe bidens plan. Then ill put it in the context of the rest of the field. Last night on a phone call with reporters, a senior biden aide said in this plan they were looking for measures with broad consensus. So, whats that mean . Youll see the finer points on your screen, but basically, it means stricter regulations for assault rifles. The former Vice President wants owners of assaultstyle rifles to either register them with the federal government or participate in a voluntary gun buyback program. He also wants to strengthen universal background checks as well as close a lot of the gun purchasing loopholes that we talk about so often in these gun policy conversations. And a lot of the 2020 field is in tandem on these issues. Some of them go a little bit further. Someone like beto orourke saying he doesnt want a voluntary buyback one, he wants a mandatory one. Someone like cory booker saying he wants a National Registry for guns. But joe biden going to be pitching that plan here on stage with our own craig melvin. I imagine were going to be hearing a lot of the same things from the rest of the field. And i also imagine were going to hear a lot about President Trump and republicans in washington stonewalling gun control efforts, steph. All right, ali. Thank you so much. Joining me now to broaden this conversation, editor and chief of the bull work and msnbc contributor my friend Charlie Sykes and former democratic congressman and former chairman of the Congressional Campaign committee, steve israel, also director of the Cornell University institute of politics and global affairs. Steve, gun reform has been a major concern for democrats in the house and the senate. Is it the right idea for these candidates to continue pushing this further and further, even if republicans do nothing . Yes, because it draws the contrast between democrats and republicans. Look, the elements of joe bidens plan represent a consensus in america. 90 of the American People support strengthening background checks. 85 of the American People, including a majority of nra members, support things like no fly, no buy. If youre too dangerous to get on a plane, youre too dangerous to get a militarystyle assault weapon. So, these are consensus issues. And yet, nothing happens. Why . Because republicans are putting their political survival and their if i dfidelity to the nra of to their constituents. There was a meeting on friday with Wayne Lapierre, head of the nra and there might have been a conversation between President Trump and Wayne Lapierre about making sure the nra was going to support the president through an impeachment process and his election. I wish they were talking about the survival of the American People instead of the survival of a political career. Now, the nra denies that that conversation happened, but charlie, we know there was a meeting. We also know in the last few weeks, democrats like nancy pelosi and chuck schumer, have said if the president can do something on guns, well stand next to him in the rose garden. Weve heard other democrats say, well name our plan after you, President Trump. Yet, hes doing nothing. The president said, i dont know, a month ago, that he was interested in doing something on background checks. How can President Trump and Mitch Mcconnell point the finger at democrats, saying theyre doing nothing but being obstructionists, when gun control is right there in front of them . The house has passed it, and Mitch Mcconnell and the president arent doing anything but meeting with wayne. The president is. Yeah. Congressman israel is absolutely right that there is a National Consensus on gun violence and on gun safety, but the fact is that this president was never going to have any daylight between himself and the nra. He is never going to have any distance between himself and the hardcore base on this issue. And you know, again, what democrats need to do is they need to keep highlighting these commonsense consensus issues. What trump and the republicans will do is they will try to, you know, take proposals like beto orourke, whos talking about mandatory gun buyback, and convince their base, you know, the democrats are coming for your guns. Theyre going take your guns. They want to gut the second amendment. So, i think its important to constantly reiterate that there is a vital center on this issue and that its really within reach, except of the fact that the president is a wholly owned subsidiary of the nra. Wow. Congressman, lets move on and talk fundraising numbers. We just got moments ago andrew yangs thirdquarter numbers 10 million. I said it earlier, cory booker 6 million, Kamala Harris 11 million, Bernie Sanders 25 million, pete buttigieg, 19 million. We dont know the numbers out of joe biden or Elizabeth Warren yet. These are very big numbers, but they still dont add up to the 125 million that President Trump and the rnc raised during that same time. What does it tell you . Well, it tells you that trump and his supporters will spend as much money as it takes to reelect him. But ill tell you what, if you put the aggregate of all the numbers together, on the democratic side, its a healthy number. And so, if you kind of dissemble certain amounts going to yang and biden and warren and sanders, this is a fundraising race. By the way, i should tell you, dont you love the end of a quarter with the fundraising numbers, when your devices blow up when your best friends running for president asking for money . I will personally say, absolutely not. When i add up hundreds of millions of dollars going to political campaigns, i think about School Educations and imagine if that money actually went to educating kids around the country. Charlie, lets talk about mark zuckerberg. There is new audio from the cofounder of facebook addressing senator Elizabeth Warrens plan to break up big tech companies, and lets remind our audience, that plan is supported by people on both sides of the aisle. Lets listen. Like Elizabeth Warren who thinks that the right answer is to break up the company. If she gets elected president , then i would bet that we will have a legal challenge and i would bet that we will win the legal challenge. Does that still suck for us . Yeah. I mean, i dont have to have a major lawsuit against our own government. But look, at the end of the day, if someones going to try to threaten something that xi especially, you go to the mat and you fight. Okay, lets make something clear, mark zuckerberg, who testified before Congress Months ago and then wrote an op ed saying, please, regulate us, said behind closed doors in a private meeting that if Elizabeth Warren or the government came after them, hed be suing the government, but is he expressing what other executives are behind closed doors, that the threat of Elizabeth Warren could be damning to them and they dont want to see her in office . Well, thats true. And of course, you know, youd expect that facebook would fight any antitrust action. But you know, raising the issues of antitrust i think are completely legitimate when it comes to these big tech companies, including facebook, which has acquired Something Like 90 companies in recent years. You know, when you look at their acquisitions of Companies Like instagram or whatsapp, i think there are legitimate questions about whether or not this is a company thats engaged in monopolistic, antifree market practices. And so, i do think that this is a legitimate political issue, its a legitimate legal issue, and i think facebook has a lot to answer for. All right, gentlemen, thank you so much. Coming up, what the son of a Top Deutsche Bank executive could expose about the president s ties to the bank. Thats next in money, power, politics. Thats next in money politics. This fall, book two, separate qualifying stays at choicehotels. Com. And earn a free night. Because when your business is rewarding yourself, our business is you. Book direct at choicehotels. Com for adults with moderately to severely active crohns disease, stelara® works differently. Studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. Stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. Some serious infections require hospitalization. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or flulike symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths, or if anyone in your house needs or recently had a vaccine. Alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. These may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. Some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. Talk to your doctor today, and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. Remission can start with stelara®. An explosive story in the New York Times about a highprofile whistleblower and how he came to a very Unlikely Partnership with the fbi. His name is val brookschmidt, the son of a former Senior Executive with Deutsche Bank, bill brookschmidt. This is hard for me. I knew bill and he was a good guy. Val has in his possession key documents that investigators sought to make their case. Federal and state authorities were looking into the banks relationship with President Donald Trump and his family as well as a longer history of criminal misconduct, manipulating markets, evading taxes, bribing foreign officials, violating international sanctions, defrauding customers, laundering money for russian billionaires. Thats a long list. Joining me now, the reporter behind this story and a man with an upcoming book on Deutsche Bank, david enrich. David, first, tell us about val brookschmidt, because you actually compare him to other flawed messengers, like edward snowden, like chelsea manning. And given those comparisons, why can val be trusted . Well, val is sitting on an enormous trove of confidential Deutsche Bank materials. He how did he get it . So, his father died in january of 2014, and val, who had no experience in finance hes a musician who has hes a rock musician. He was living in london at the time. He looked at his dads personal computer and saw that his yahoo and gmail accounts were signed in and were filled, brimming, with hundreds, if not thousands, of work emails. But that right there, isnt that odd in and of itself . Why would he his Deutsche Bank email doesnt show up on gmail. Doesnt that seem strange . It does seem strange. Part of the explanation is that bill brookschmidt had recently retired from the bank and was still serving as a board member he ran risk for the whole place. He ran risk, but he had joined the Oversight Board of Deutsche Banks american business, which is probably the most troubled legal entity in the United States, i would argue. And so, he was receiving emails, some related to work, on his gmail and yahoo accounts, but he had also been forwarding stuff over the previous years from his Deutsche Bank account to his personal addresses, for reasons that remain a little unclear to me. Okay, but you write that hes been talking about these documents with journalists and authorities for five years. That precedes his fathers death. No, it actually is immediately so, i was the first journalist i think to talk to val. Ah, right after he died. It was nine days after his father died. And that began this kind of fiveyear, 5 1 2year odyssey thats still going on right now where val has been going through all of his fathers files, trying to make sense of them, trying to desire them and trying to find people to listen to him and to help him bring these materials to light. Thats why its taken so long . Hes trying to find well, adam schiff of the House Intelligence Committee has now subpoenaed him. Yep, thats right. He was subpoenaed over the summer and val started providing the documents to schiffs investigators, and hes also been working with the fbi, which is very keen to get its hands on these materials as well, and the fbi, as with schiffs office, is focusing on a wide range of misconduct at Deutsche Bank, including stuff that involves the president. Okay, heres what i dont get. I worked at Deutsche Bank for eight years of my life. Deutsche bank is claiming ignorance for the misdeeds, pinning this on individuals who are pretty low on the food chain. Bill brookschmidt ran risk for the entire organization globally. And then to your point, then sat on their board. How on earth can Deutsche Bank make the claim it was some guy sitting over there in Risk Management in jacksonville . Give me a break. Well, listen, this is a pattern at most big banks, most big corporations. Sure. In fact, Deutsche Bank is the poster child for wrongdoing in corporate america, in the corporate world. And i think this is a pattern. They try to dump stuff on the little guy. And brookschmidt bill brookschmidt, as you know personally, was i never met him, but from all accounts, was an ethical man and a moral man trying to do the right thing in an industry where that is not always rewarded. And so, he over the years had compiled a lot of information that showed him standing up for what was right, even when his superiors and his colleagues wanted to do what was wrong. Well, maybe Deutsche Bank should be reminded, when you take the series 25, license and advisory exams, you are signing documents that say when you are an adviser, the buck stops there. Amazing reporting. Amazing reporting. Up next, one key question looming on voters minds heading into 2020 are you better off than you were four years ago . Remember, the president s presi running on the economy, so lets talk about it. Weve got a fascinating look at how americans define success. Its not all about money. Ed 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 with moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis or crohns, your plans can change in minutes. Your head wants to do one thing, but your gut says, not today. If your Current Treatment isnt working, ask your doctor about entyvio. Entyvio acts specifically in the gi tract to prevent an excess of white blood cells from entering and causing damaging inflammation. Entyvio has helped many patients achieve longterm relief and remission. Infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. Entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. Pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flulike symptoms or sores. Liver problems can occur with entyvio. Ask your doctor about the only gifocused biologic just for Ulcerative Colitis and crohns. Entyvio. Relief and remission within reach. Relief and remission this fall, book two, separate qualifying stays at choicehotels. Com. And earn a free night. Because when your business is rewarding yourself, our business is you. Book direct at choicehotels. Com im not really a, i thought wall street guy. Ns. Whats the hesitation . Eh, it just feels too complicated, you know . Well sure, at first, but jj can help you with that. Jj, will you break it down for this gentleman . Hey, ian. You know, at Td Ameritrade, we can walk you through your options trades step by step until youre comfortable. I could be up for that. Thats taking options trading from wall st. To main st. Hey guys, wanna play some pool . Eh, im not really a pool guy. Whats the hesitation . Its just complicated. Stepbystep options trading support from Td Ameritrade to the wait did frowe just winners. Prouders everyone uses their phone differently. Thats why Xfinity Mobile lets you design your own data. Now you can share it between lines. Mix with unlimited, and switch it up at anytime so you only pay for what you need. Its a different kind of Wireless Network designed to save you money. Save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus get 250 back when you buy an eligible phone. Call, click, or visit a store today. Are you better off than you are four years ago . That is a question that defined the 1980 president ial election and it is a question that could ultimately decide the 2020 election. This morning, a brand new study from gallop and populus is shedding light on that very question. Its got me thinking looking at exactly how americans define success. One of the big takeaways, theres a stark difference between now people define their own success and what they believe Society Considers success. Here to discuss, cofounder and president of the tink tank populus, dr. Todd rose and congressman israel back with me. Todd, three of the top factors for personal success are education, relationships and character. But those same people believe society defiance success by fame and status. How do you explain this contrast . Well, first of all, its wildly hopeful for me that the personal character of the American Public is something where we want to be good people and stronger in our relationships, whether its our family or community. But were living in a society where media keeps giving us the message that what we really want is to be better than other people and compare ourselves and it turns out not to be true. Lets vote. Congressman israel, as you look at how people define their own success, Financial Security is actually lower than education and character. Yet when people go to vote, we heard so many people in the last election say things like i dont like the president s character, i dont like what he does, i dont like how he behaves, but for my own personal finance and for my business, ive got to go with him. How do you marry the two . They forget morality when it comes to voting . I dont know that they forget morality. In fact, i would narrow this down. The Cook Political Report has a theory and i subscribe to it, that no matter how well the economy is going, no matter how comfortable people feel in their own lives, 35 of them are voting for donald trump if its not going well, theyre still voting for him. 45 are voting against him, no matter whats happening with the economy. This study is fascinating with the 20 who have not yet made a decision and in their specific communities. This election is going to be won or lost in seven battleground states in about 20 counties like erie, pennsylvania, saginaw, michigan, and thats where this study really counts. Are those people who are still undecided willing to vote for donald trump, notwithstanding whether the economy is good or bad or whether they feel personally fulfilled and comfortable in that economy. Charlie, take us to the state of wisconsin. Does that reflect what you see there . Does it match what motivates Wisconsin Voters . Yeah, i do think that it does match. We used to say it was the economy, and i think its much more complicated these days. I think there is a cultural transition where people are asking is this all there is. And i think that there is more of an emphasis on community, on purpose, on character, that i think does cut against sort of this trumpian logic. But the economy is always going to be important. What i think is lacking right now, though, is well, the problem that i think donald trump has is that even though my 401 k is much richer than it was four years ago, the fact is theres more uncertainty, theres more insecurity, theres more anxiety. And i do think that those are things that weigh on voters, not just in wisconsin, but all around the country. Take me to that Wisconsin Voter who might not have a great 401 k or an investment portfolio. They voted for the president because the economy had left them out. When you see manufacturing jobs shrink, when you see basically a similar economy to what we had during the obama administration, with maybe some negative aspects because the trade war, how are those people feeling . Well, its not just manufacturing jobs that are shrinking. Also, the Agricultural Sector is really suffering. We have had a Record Number of family farms that have closed their doors here in wisconsin. Thats an issue. And so far i dont think the president ial campaign has really addressed the question of Rural America and the stress of Rural America and particularly the stress caused by this trade war. So all of those things are going to be factors. Now, the question is whether or not the cultural and id logical issues, the tribalization of our politics overrides the specific economic issues. But theyre not necessarily cutting in trumps favor right now. Trablization takes us to ideology. What i thought was an interesting finding in the report, liberals report a lower feeling of personal success than conservatives do. Is that because conservatives are more Business People . No, i think what we saw was that there was just a lot of individuality in the way we think about success and some of that argue gates into some patterns related to our political beliefs. I think the bigger takeaway is two things, one that we value Different Things and thats okay, and two, we do have in common an almost complete rejection of the all status driven view of success. Anything that candidates should consider when looking at these study . The economy obviously is important. So this study says you should still tend to that. But that its not a silver bullet. Economic mobility is not the end all, be all. Theres a broader more substantive life that people want to live. People want Different Things. Try to go visit all different voters in different states. What an interesting hour. That wraps us up, congressman charlie, thank you all very much. Coming up right now, more news with my dear friend Hallie Jackson in washington dv. Plenty of it. As we come on the air, a confirmation from secretary of state mike pompeo about the controversial call between the president and ukrainian leader. I was on the phone call. That july call at the heart of the house impeachment investigation, with pompeo now in a standoff with democrats, accusing them of bullying state department staff, and President Trump throwing a grenade into the mix, tweeting impeachment proceedings are a koup. You know the House Speaker will have something to say about that. She is appearing live with the chairman who has tasked on running point on impeachment. The president is going to hold his own press conference this afternoon right around the time when we expect the Inspector General to brief staffers. Weve got our nbc news team here with another day of fast moving developments, along with analysis from former White House State Department and National Security officials. We also have a live report from moscow with Vladimir Putin apparently has the president s back. I want to start with Peter Alexander with the latest fr