And an adult film star is now suing donald trump. More on all of that ahead, but we begin with a major departure, another departure from this white house, gary kohn, a wall street heavyweight, who is the president s chief economic adviser, has resigned. Cohn, a new yorker like the president , former president of goldman sachs, he served for 14 months as head of the National Economic council. His decision to leave appears to have been triggered by Donald Trumps plan to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Tonight trump sent out this. Well be making a decision soon on the appointment of a new chief economic adviser. Many people wanting the job, will choose wisely. Gary cohns resignation first reported by the New York Times this afternoon, was perhaps foreshadowed by this image of his empty chair. At the president s News Conference with the Prime Minister of sweden. The news of cohns decision broke shortly after this remark. The white house has tremendous energy. It has tremendous spirit. It is a great place to be working. Many, many people want every single job. I read where, oh, gee, maybe people dont want to work for trump. Believe me, everybody wants to work in the white house. Yeah, there will be people, im not going to be specific, there will be people that change, they always change. Sometimes they want to go out and do something else. As is their custom, tonight the New York Times has added a new layer of intrigue recording mr. Cohns sudden departure. His plan to leave followed conversations mr. Cohn held with the president in recent weeks about the possibility of replacing john f. Kelly as white house chief of staff said people who were briefed on the matter. The president never formally offered mr. Cohn the job, those people insisted. Bit mr. Trump had discussions with him about whether he would be interested. Cohn had threatened to resign in the wake of the president s comments about charlottesville, but remained and went on to shepherd the tax cut legislation. His resignation comes almost one week after White House Communications director hope hicks resigned. Underlying tensions in the west wing. Week after hope hicks resigns. This is make no mistake an all time record in the modern era for turnover in the key positions around the president. Put another way, this is a picture of the swearingin at the white house back on january 22nd of 2017. And now so many of those in the picture are out of the picture in the trump west wing. Amid the high level departures, the president has maintained that all is calm at the white house, today he explained the turnover this way. Its tough. I like conflict, i like having two people with different points of view, and i certainly have that. And then i make a decision. But i like watching it, i like seeing it, and i think its the best way to go. And i have a choice of anybody. I could take any position in the white house, and ill have a choice of the 10 top people having to do with that position. Everybody wants to be there. On that note, let us bring in our leadoff panel on a tuesday night. Robert costa, National Political reporter for the Washington Post and moderator of Washington Week on pbs. Ashley parker for the Washington Post. Jonathan lemire, Washington Post reporter. All three are msnbc political analysts and its a good thing, because we need analysis tonight. Ashley, starting with you, its been written many times on social media since first word of this came out, charlottesville was not enough to propel gary cohn from the west wing, but tariffs on steel and aluminum were. Your comment on that, and also on what the president just said about applicants figuratively lining up for every job . Thats certainly true, thats a criticism were hearing about gary, that he you know, he was obviously according to what he said publicly and expressed privately to the president at the time, upset about charlottesville, it was not enough to make him leave. It was these tariffs. That were sort of the most immediate catalyst. I will say that sort of since charlottesville, he fell out of favor with the president , but had worked his way back, but there was a sense ever since then that gary could be on the way out. He both had some frustrations and on the other hand, he was ascendant in some ways. He was allegedly at one point maybe going to get fed chairmanship. We always heard rumblings of chief of staff. We heard other higher posts within the administration. So it as little sort of surprising that he is leaving on such bad terms amid such frustration with the president. But the idea that gary would be leaving right now is not entirely shocking. There was always a sense that he was not necessarily long for this world. Robert, i want to read a portion of mr. Wolfs book fire and fury. This was notable when the book came out, i suppose it remains notable today, it is said to be a quote from an email from gary cohn that circulated around the white house. And it says, its worse than you can imagine, an idiot surrounded my clowns. Trump wont read anything, not onepage memos, not the briefing policy papers, nothing. He gets up, halfway through meetings with World Leaders because he is bored. Trump is less a person than a collection of horrible traits, no one will survive the first year but his family. I am in a constant state of shock and horror. Robert, what kind of west wing does mr. Cohn leave behind . I cant speak to the attribution of those words, but i can tell you that based on my reporting, people who came in from the new York Business world, dina powell from goldman sachs, gary cohn from goldman sachs, friend of Jared Kushner and ivanka trump, thought President Trump would be someone who maybe publicly had this nationalist streak, would be incendiary, but privately he was a traditional country club republican. But over the course of the past year they learned through their experience, direct dealings with him, that the president actually has a lot of hardline positions and hes not really willing to listen. Though he did listen on the tax cut and a few other issues. He wants to stay with his plan for tariffs, something hes been talking about for 40 years. He wasnt able to be convinced and that just led to frustration after frustration, tweet after tweet that led to more frustration. Jonathan, bob is right, he has been talking about it for 40 years. It doesnt make it any less horrifying to a lot of folks in washington. And xhimsss economists, about what it may do exactly to the trump base that put him in office. Trump sees this as the ultimate act of populism. Thats right. Hes received there arent many issues republicans on the hill have fought back against this president , where hes received a lot of public pushback. This is one. Paul ryan, remarkable moment yesterday, his office put out an email blast to reporters attributing a drop in the dow to this proposal. Think of the issues paul ryan has taken a pass on. Hes kept his mouth shut on a number of things. This is an issue, in terms of gary cohn, that as ashley mentioned, hes had a pretty remarkable up and down arc through the Trump White House. He was ascendant, then down after charlottesville, rehabilitated himself after the tax cut passed. Indeed, when john kelly was seemingly on the outs a few weeks ago after the rob porter matter, cohn was on the shortlist of people President Trump was sort of floating to advisers, hey, this could be someone i bring in as chief of staff. Donald trump it also points to the turmoil in this white house, donald trump wants oversaw a reality show, where a key cast member left every week. Thats happening again in the west wing it appears. Where it seems like its a never ending stream of departures. From our reporting at the ap, morale in there has never been lower. It is seen as, as you said, another adult in the room leaving. And a sense that a west wing in disarray and always under the shadow of the mueller probe. Ashley, you and i both know people directly and anecdotally, who do not want to serve in this white house, who have taken a pass on this white house, and yet there was the president today saying that Everyone Wants a piece of the oval office. How do you reconcile those two . Well, i think you can sort of look at that if you want to try to reconcile them, in theory and in practice. In theory, everyone does want a piece of the oval office. Its normally a great line on your resume to work in the white house, its an honor to serve your country. It did speak directly to the russia vest grainvestigation th were watching playing out. Looking back on the last 24 hours, what just happened, do you think . I just wrote a story for the post. Its a painful moment. On a personal level for sam nunberg. Who ive covered and known much of the last decade. When he was left out of the Trump Campaign right when it was catching fire in 2015, recriminations ever since then, working with roger stone and others. Feeling outside of the bubble. The bubble that eventually took over the white house. Its nagged at nunberg. He was part of that conception period of the Trump Campaign in 201415. Now hes just part of this washington trumpland spectacle when it comes to the russia investigation, defiant about the special counsel, now saying hes going to work with them and cooperate. At the heart of the story as we tried hard to point out yesterday. A mans life and livelihood. Something you didnt hear a lot of in the obama years, a porn star suing the president. Let me correct that, in the history of the republic, we have not heard of a porn star suing the president. And we now also learn the president has an alias, apparently, in the court documents. David dennison. Aka donald trump, according to those court documents. Stormy also seems to have a pen name, i believe peggy something. Its a remarkable plot twist for season two of the Trump White House to have this porn star here. Its a scandal that would bring any other administration down. I mean, it would be all consuming all the time. And it seems like this is a story thats been percolating every so often, every couple days theres a development, it always seems to run second and third fiddle because theres so much else going on. Particularly russia. This is becoming more and more serious. Was Campaign Money used inappropriately . What exactly did Michael Cohen set up to try to keep her quiet . What did the president know . These are issues that as a story is coming forward, as it moves forward in court, we will perhaps get to the bottom of some of these questions. Ashley parker, while the ink was still drying on gary cohn announcement this afternoon, i heard a trump surrogate live on cable news say that if he wants to take his rattle and leave the white house like a baby, he is free to, but that is wrong. These guys dont fool around, do they . No, they sure dont. Gary cohn is someone who made a lot of enemies, he had a lot of admirers who thought he was a good manager and leader. One thing about this white house, the president sets the tone from the top and demands absolute loyalty, on some levels its like hotel california, you never quite leave. If the president or his aides or surrogates believe you to be disloyal, they are more than happy to cast you out. Even some of his admirers i spoke to were frustrated with him and said, look, if he believes that tariffs are wrong or anything, really, he disagrees with the president , he should stay and fight. The minute you leave this white house, the minute youre not in these meetings and in front of the president , your beliefs do not have an advocate, they didnt say take his rattle and go, but they said, his beliefs and policies are going to be forgotten in a week or two. Jared kushner im reminded goes to mexico tomorrow. Where does all of this leave jared and ivanka . Cohn was part of that new york triad and aligned with them, at least for a time in the west wing. Well have to see if he can make any progress on u. S. mexico relations. President pineto remains unhappy with President Trump. About these demands, the border wall, the action on trade. You look at dina powell leaving, gary cohn leaving, some of these names are known, some lesser known. The kushner and ivanka trump circle inside of this west wing is evaporating before our eyes. The moderates inside of the white house. Leaving whos there, peter navarro, stephen miller, hanging around, guiding this president. It has real political consequence and it has consequence for kushner and his wife, two senior advisers. Where do they fit now in this west wing run by a nonideological chief of staff. Still has a lot of nationalist, conservative hardliners dominating policy discussions. We should probably add in addition the name kudlow, in addition to navarro has surfaced tonight as a potential replacement for mr. Cohn. People come and go so quickly around here. Our thanks to our leadoff panel, you guys really came to play tonight, we appreciate it. Robert costa, ashley parker, jonathan lemire. Coming up for us, new trump comments on russian meddling and developments in the mueller investigation. And later, if its tuesday, it must be election day somewhere. It is, in texas. We have a late live report tonight from steve kornacki, when the 11th hour rolls along on a tuesday evening. But im not standing still. And with godaddy, ive made my ideas real. I made my own way, now its time to make yours. Everything is working, just like it should you know whats not awesome . Gigspeed internet. When only certain people can get it. Lets fix that. Lets give this guy gig really . And these kids, and these guys, him, ah. Oh hello. That lady, these houses yes, yes and yes. And dont forget about them. Uh huh, sure. Still yes xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. Now you can get it, too. Welcome to the party. The russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever. Certainly there was meddling, and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals. I think you have to be really watching very closely. You dont want your system of votes to be compromised in any way. And we wont allow that to happen. Were doing a very, very deep study and coming out with, i think, some very strong suggestions on the 18 election. Word of a deep study under way came from President Trump today during the joint press conference with the Prime Minister of sweden. Acknowledging russian meddling in our elections with the usual caveats, as long as it didnt affect any of the vote. The president went on to say, the u. S. Would counteract any russian interference in the midterm elections. Beyond making the case for paper ballots, he offered very few specifics. One of the things were learning is, its always good its old fashioned, but its always good to have a paper backup system of voting. Its called paper, not highly complex computers, paper. A lot of states are doing that. Are you worried about russians trying to meddle in the midterms . No, because well counteract whatever they do, well counteract it very strongly. And we are having strong backup systems. We have been working actually we havent been given credit to this but weve been working very hard on the 18 election and the 20 election coming up. Todays remarks from the president come just days after a New York Times report that says the state department has yet to spend any of the 120 million its been allocated to counter election meddling. The times reports it this way. As a result not one of the 23 analysts working in the departments Global Engagement center, which has been tasked with countering moscows disinformation campaign, speaks russian. And a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the russian efforts. With us tonight, former fbi assistant director for counter intelligence, including service under robert mueller, hes also an Msnbc National Security analyst. Bill kristol is back with us. A veteran of the reagan and bush administrations and editor at large of the weekly standard. Gentlemen, welcome to you both. Bill, are you familiar with orders in the kremlin to go meddle in the u. S. Elections, but not to the extent that it might affect the vote . Yeah, i know, trump has to insist on that as a matter of personal pride. Its just silly and minimizes what might have happened, of course. They spent a lot of they put a lot of effort into interfering into our election. So this came as a result of a question from a visiting swedish journalist, asking the president of our country if our coming midterm elections were defended to his liking. Yeah, the president never really condemns russia, incidentally. He mentioned that russia seems to have meddled, maybe other countries and other individuals too. Whats that about . Is there an actual condemnation of russia for doing this . Have they been punished . Thats a simple question. Obama put some sanctions on them as i recall before he left office. Congress insists on a few sanctions. Which trump has chosen not to impose on russia. Has putin paid any price for what he did to us in 2016 . The answer is not much. Therefore hes emboldened to keep trying in other countries, to do a lot of they meddled in italy, it sounds like. They continue to do stuff online, twitter and other places. And they seem to have paid no price. Frank, after a life spent in Law Enforcement and in your case counterintelligence, how did you view the president s comments today, and frankly, go ahead and scare people. How concerned should the folks watching tonight be about the day coming up when we go cast our midterm ballots . Look, were seeing an almost total lack of resolve, and lack of will from the president to actually do something meaningful to counteract what the russians are doing, even as we speak. So we are on notice that they have been successful in breaching certain states of voter registration, now we hear from the president that the only great idea hes come up with is to go to paper ballots. The Intelligence Community has planned for this, the Intelligence Community has actions that can be taken. And when i hear, unfortunately today, that were looking at a deep study to look at the issue, i fear that were going to be too late, a day late, a dollar short, when were talking about the november midterms. There are actions that can be taken, one of the simplest things that President Trump can do is come out publicly and very symbolically and demand extradition of those 13 russian officials that have been indicted. He can instruct the fbi to start naming names and making it painful for hackers to continue to do what theyre doing, but we see none of that happening. Or maybe even comment after the indictment of 13 russians. Bill crystal, we were talking during the break, there are so many unbelievable parts of this story. One of the unbelievable things you hear is people, without trying to be patronizing, counting their blessings that there are adults in the west wing around this president. Those have included gary cohn, they include general h. R. Mcmaster. Your view on the departure of another of the adults today. I always said, i thought the replacement of Michael Flynn by h. R. Mcmaster one month into the presidency, if the Trump Presidency ends up nondisastrously, historians will look back and say that was really important. Can you imagine where wed be if Michael Flynn was still in the general security council. General kelly took over, steve bannon, mcmaster took over. Gary kohns been there throughout. Kept the protectionism and the trade wars in check. Kept other things i think, bad things from happening. Now cohn is out, mcmaster is very strongly rumored to be on his way out. I gather the president met with john bolton, wildly thought to be a possible successor in the oval office today. Kelly is on a somewhat difficult ground. Partly as a result of his own mistakes, but still. Hes being sniped at by the likes of scaramucci, who seems still to be in touch with trump or people close to trump. Its been pretty bad for the last year, but honestly, without mcmaster and cohn i talked to allies, i mean, really serious allies who wish us well, say look, its tricky working with trump, mcmaster on foreign policy, cohn on economic policy, we can work with them. If they were both to go, i do think there would be a it would cause it may cause trouble here, but i think it will cause real shock waves abroad. Thats chilling. Frank, there was a story today that entered our consciousness and brought in the united arab emirates, this has to do with a meeting in the seychilles. Heres the headline in the times. Advisor to emirates with ties to trump aides is cooperating with special counsel. Mueller has convinced him it would be best to work with the home team. What is the thumbnail sketch of whats alleged to have happened here . So weve got a brandnew cooperator, weve also learned that last week he testified before the grand jury. This is george nader, a known adviser to government officials, in the united arab emirates. But whats intriguing here is that we have a secret meeting back in january 2017 in the seychelles where a Russian Investment Fund leader who is very closely tied to Vladimir Putin is present, with nader, with eric prince, former head of the black water organization, and the crown prince of the uae. All in a meeting in the seychelles in the middle of the indian ocean. Why are they there . It appears that mueller is interested in the meeting because it looks like it may be a strong sense of a conduit for money flowing between the uae and or russia. And the Trump Campaign and or a back channel for communications between the russians and the trump transition team. Hes on to something, mueller is on to something, and whats very intriguing is that here we have a man, george nader whos decided to cooperate. What is it that mueller has on him, what laws has he broken, what criminal exposure does he already have thats convinced him to cooperate with mueller . We have almost run out of ways to say, you cant make this stuff up. Even though it was a depressing conversation, we thank both gentlemen for coming all this way to talk to us. Frank and bill, well have you both back, of course, thank you very much. Coming up for us, the president says he is to thank for north koreas seeming openness to new talks. That and more when we continue. Do you believe that north koreas recent willingness to talk is sincere, or is it an effort to buy time for their nuclear program, and to what do you owe this recent openness to talk . Me. No, i think that nobody got that. The sanctions have been very, very strong, and very biting. And we dont want that to happen. So i really believe they are sincere, i hope theyre sincere, were going to soon find out. President trump today casting aside his usual modesty while reacting to reports that north korea may be willing to negotiate with the united states. Word that north korean dictator kim jongun was open to talks came from a south korean delegation just returning from a visit to pyongyang. They reported back that the north might be willing to get rid of its Nuclear Weapons, as long as there werent any threats to the regime. The New York Times reporting it this way tonight. If the statement is corroborated by north korea, it would be the first time mr. Kim has indicated that his government is willing to discuss relinquishing Nuclear Weapons in return for security guarantees from the united states. Until now, north korea has said its Nuclear Weapons were not for bargaining away. President trumps tone today was in sharp contrast to what weve heard in the past. You sound more optimistic about this id like to be optimistic, but i think maybe this has gone further than anyones taken it before, nobodys been in the position. This should have been handled long ago. These are the cards we were dealt. Were handling it properly. Again, as i said, hopefully well go in the very, very abuseful, beautiful path were prepared to go, whichever path is necessary. I think were having very good dialogue. And youre going to certainly find out pretty soon whats happening. We are so happy to have sumi terry back with us, a senior fellow for the korea chair for the center for strategic and international studies. Importantly a former Senior Analyst at the cia, who was in charge of this region while on the white house National Security council. You have taught us to be highly suspicious and suspect when dealing with the north. What do you make of todays development . How seriously do you take this next chapter . I would take it more seriously if North Koreans reiterate what the south koreans have told us. So it is true that north koreas willing to sit down with the united states, to talk about denuclearization, it is a step forward, it is serious. You notice they said, we are willing to give up Nuclear Weapons, in return for Regime Security guarantee. What does that mean . That means theyre going to have a security guarantee only if u. S. Forces leave the korean peninsula, if theres a peace treaty. If they can decouple u. S. south korea alliance. So we still have a long way to go here. So i would caution against excessive optimism. Do they also mean get rid of these sanctions that are crippling our country and starving our people . Absolutely. I do think sanctions are beginning to bite, so what mr. Trump said is true. So they are looking for sanctions relief down the road. I think theyre also paying close attention to whats going on in washington, and theyve been unnerved by this whole bloody nose, limited strike talk coming out of washington. I think theres a number of reasons why North Koreans have now decided to turn to charm offensive, peace offensive, and take a pause under Nuclear Missile program. As you know, there are people in both parties who believe this president , a novice on the world stage, a rookie at this, is getting played. And i want to show you one of them. Former Florida Republican congressman david jolly in the studio today with Nicole Wallace saying just that. North korea, he doesnt realize hes being used in this moment, to legitimize the nation state of north korea by giving them legitimacy of talks. That is an imperfect equation in diplomacy and for a secretary of state. An experienced administration, they can handle it. This president cant. Your reaction to that . I do think just to sit down with the North Koreans to hear what they have to say is important. Because we just have a year of tensions last year. Sitting down with them, its not really giving them any kind of concession. Its not even negotiation. But the problem is we dont have anybody right now, we dont even have an envoy that can deal with North Koreans. We had ambassador joeun who just resigned last week. We dont have people in place. The first thing is that the Trump Administration should appoint an envoy that could deal with the North Koreans and negotiate with them. Start with an ambassador to south korea. Ambassador to south korea, envoy to north korea who can at least start the talks. Again, talks are not the same as negotiations. Im not saying we should lift sanctions or lift pressure, because pressure is what got the North Koreans to even talk about sitting down with the americans right now. It is always a pleasure to be able to ask you questions on this stunt. Thank you so very much for coming in and visiting us once again. Coming up, the polls are closed tonight on some critical races in the state of texas. Steve kornacki with the results at the big board after this break. The 2018 midterm season officially kicked off today, as voters in texas headed to the polls for the first primaries of the election cycle. Yes, were there. A lot of democrats especially have been looking to the Lone Star State of all places for signs of movement. Here to break it down, at the big board, steve kornacki, our National Political correspondent. Stay, steve. Here we go, march 2018 starts tonight, doesnt stop until november 2018. It will stop a little here and there. I wont stop, i promise you that. Lets take you through what we were looking for in these primaries tonight. Democrats nationally got to take 24 seats. They got to pick up 24 to get the house from republicans. Theyre looking at texas, seeing a number of opportunities here on the map. A number of republican seats like in the 23rd district, maybe the 21st, also this little one here, houston area, 7th district and the 32nd. North dallas suburbs. Those are four, republican held different reasons, democrats kind of eyeing them. What did we learn from these tonight . Were going to see a lot of runoffs, first of all. In texas, you have to get 50 to get the nomination. Theres one particular race that we want to focus on here, thats gotten some national attention, it could have national implications, that is, let me see if i can call it up here. Here you go. The 7th district primary, this is the houston suburbs, basically, the suburban part of houston, a little bit of the suburbs. This is a republicanheld district. Why this got attention, democrats nationally, the dccc came into this race and basically tried to destroy this candidate. Laura moser, running for the democratic nomination in this district. What she said a couple years ago, she got interviewed. She didnt want to live in paris, texas, she said, she would sooner have had her teeth pulled without anesthesia. She now says shes sorry for it. National democrats were scared of having her as their nominee. They came in and said, laura moser, unacceptable, this quote would make her totally unelectable in this district. It looks like there was a backlash, it looks like shes going to finish in the top two, and advance to a runoff and have a chance of winning this nomination. What she benefited from was just the idea of democrats saying, washington democrats, what are you doing trying to tell us what to do . It looks like she might survive, in this district, this is one of the most competitive in the country. Traditionally republican, suburban, romney carried it easily in 2012 by 21 points, flipped to hillary by a point in 2016, represented by a republican. Those are the stabs. The headline from that runoff, the candidate the dccc doesnt want in there is in the runoff, it looks like. So many people saying democrats have to play this right and tread lightly in some of these districts. For the record, you and i both love paris, texas. There you go. Id never say a bad word about it. Thank you very much, we now understand the great state of texas. Steve kornacki at the big board on this first primary night. Coming up, a quiet reversal of something that seemed important to this president. More on this story when we come right back. Im leaving the track behind, but im not standing still. And with godaddy, ive made my ideas real. I made my own way, now its time to make yours. Everything is working, working, just like it should successful people have onthey read more. On. How do they find the time . With audible. Audible has the Worlds Largest selection of audiobooks. Books like peak performance. And endurance. Books that energize and inspire for just 14. 95 a month. Less than youd pay for the hardcover. With audible, you get a creditamonth good for any audiobook. If you dont like it, exchange it any time. No questions asked. You can also roll your credits to the next month if you dont use them. Audible members use the free mobile app to listen anytime, anywhere. On the go. Or in the car. The audible app automatically keeps your place, no bookmarks required. So youll pick up right where you left off, even if you switch your phone. To your echo at home. Get more books in your life. Start a 30day trial and your first audiobook is free. Cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. Listening, is the new reading. Text listen 12 to five hundred five hundred to start listening today. Narrator Public Education has been valued for centuries. Man the direction in which education starts a person will determine their future in life. Woman the highest result of education is tolerance. Woman its the road to equality and citizenship. Man education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Narrator brought to you by the california teachers association. Woman because we know quality Public Schools make a better california for all of us. You may remember this, after a strong backlash late last year, the white house changed course and decided to keep an obamaera policy, which banned the import of elephants and lions killed for sport in parts of africa. At the time of this decision trump went on twitter calling the practice a horror show. The change of policy was seen as a win by humane organizations. And as a something of a surprise, given that the two trump sons are big game hunters. When asked by piers morgan just over a month ago, the president , in fact, stood strong on his administrations decision to enforce this original policy. I changed it, i didnt want elephants killed and stuffed and have the tusks brought back into this people can talk all they want about preservation, and all of the things that theyre saying, where money goes toward well, money was going in that case, going to a government, which was probably taking the money. Okay . I do not i turned that order around. That was an order, that was done by a highlevel government person, as soon as i heard about it, i turned it around, that same day. Not even a day went by. That was then. And now the strangest thing has happened. Just days ago, it was quietly announced by the u. S. Fish and Wildlife Service that americans will once again be allowed to hunt and bring home the threatened species on a casebycase basis. With us tonight, to talk about it, jeff corwin, wildlife biologist, conservationist, and Emmy Awardwinning tv host of ocean treks. Jeff, what do you think has happened here, and what do you think would constitute a case that you would be allowed to ship the parts of an elephant to jfk after your trip to africa . To be honest with you, this decision is sad, its deplorable. Its depressing, but its not surprising. This is an administration that does not always stand by its word, that waffles, so the fact that hes reversed course in this, its not surprising, but its very depressing. In africa today, there are only six remaining countries out of the 54 african nations that allow big game hunting. The two countries that have been highlighted in this debacle are zimbabwe and zambia. The population of elephants in zambia has been reduced from 200,000 animals, just about 40 years ago, to only 20,000 today. And in the country of zimbabwe, whose former dictator got pushed out in a coup on his 90th birthday, it was celebrated not with birthday cake but with a feast delicacy of roasted baby elephant. So where that evidence is that these countries have reached a state of stability and Good Environmental stewardship to open up big game trophy exports, i have no idea. In the benefit of the doubt department, cant we decide the government is a big sprawling place and lets say the president didnt know about the original policy flip, he changed it, take him at his word, the next day. Lets say that this is an inside play by somebody at the interior department and the Trump White House is just now learning of this. Is that possible . In this situation, reality seems like fantasy. This policy, which was put in place by the Obama Administration in 2014 was based on sound science and was based on the 20 billion a year black market wildlife trade. Now, as we all know, Donald Trumps son, donald trump jr. And his brother are big african game hunters. Theres the picture of there of donald trump jr. In his hemingwayesque uniform, highcaliber bullets, the 5 oclock shadow, the bowie knife, and the dispatched elephant tail in his hand. The president s son, donald trump jr. , personally vetted the position for the director of interior, which is secretary zinke and secretary zinke apparently has acquiesced to this interest. Its quite mind boggling. The u. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an excellent reputation, made up of incredible professionals dedicated to conservation. As of now, it does not have an executive director. Who knows with are the logic is behind this decision. But what we do know, brian, is that the population of african elephants in just under a century has decreased from 10 million animals to just under 400,000. Talking about african lions, that population, a century ago 400,000 animals, today 20,000, a decrease by 180 . The northern white rhino, one surviving adult male, is critically sick. Two surviving females. That species is literally on life support. Its very important that we separate the distinction between the american hunting model where a significant amount of revenue goes into conservation with great partners like ducks unlimited, Rocky Mountain elk foundation, and whats happening in africa. Jeff corwin, we love your passion, and the challenge has once again been laid at the president s feet. Well stay on this. Well have you back and talk about what happens with this case. Our great thanks for joining us tonight, jeff corwin. Coming up, one of the last big names remaining in the white house got a harsh reminder today about doing the business of the party, doing the business of the nation. Thats when the 11th hour continues. And a reminder. If you cant watch us in realtime, download our app and press play. Were also a podcast available every day. If youre on the move, were with you live right there on sirius xm satellite radio. Were back with all of it right after this. Jimmys gotten used to his whole room smelling like sweaty odors. Yup, hes gone noseblind. He thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this. Luckily for all your hardtowash fabrics. Theres febreze fabric refresher. Febreze doesnt just mask, it eliminates odors youve. Gone noseblind to. And try Febreze Unstopables for fabric. With up to twice the fresh scent power, youll want to try it. Again and again and maybe just one more time. Indulge in irresistible freshness. Febreze unstopables. Breathe happy. Last thing before we go here tonight has to do with that woman right there. Its a reminder that television has consequences. Earlier today you might have seen an alert that the special counsel has determined that Kellyanne Conway has violated federal law. While that is true, it wasnt that special counsel. Its not robert mueller. Its a man named henry kerner, he runs the ofc, the u. S. Office of special counsel, which investigates violations of something called the hatch act. If youve ever worked anywhere near the executive branch, you know the hatch act. You know it means you cant use your government position to influence elections. The government watchdogs found that conway violated the hatch act during two Campaign Appearances when they say she not only discussed the alabama special election late last year on television, they say she took a side for roy moore. And doug jones in alabama, folks, dont be fooled. Hell be a vote against tax cuts. Hes weak on crime, weak on borders, hes strong on raising your taxes, terrible for property owners, and hes a doctrinaire liberal which is why hes not saying anything and why the medias trying to boost him. So vote roy moore. We want the votes in the senate to get the tax bill through. The only endorsement that matters in this race is President Trumps. When he came out questioning the ideology and the vote of doug jones, hell an reliable vote for tax hikes, hell be a reliable vote against border security, hell an reliable vote against National Security, keeping isis in check, be a reliable vote against the second amendment, against life. Hes out of step for alabama voters according to the president. So you see how those two media appearances from the white house lawn can be viewed by some as de facto Campaign Appearances. Roy moore of course lost that election to doug jones, who is now senator doug jones. Well, the office of special counsel said Kellyanne Conway had training in the hatch act and knew better but did it anyway. All they can do is refer to the white house and recommend disciplinary action. As you might have guessed, the white house pushed back hard. The chance of disciplinary action unlikely. That is for us our broad was it for a tuesday night. Thank you so much for being here with us. Good night from nbc news headquarters in new york. Office, of the west wing. As the investigation closes in and staffers flee, the president says theres nothing to see here. So many people want to come in. I have a choice of anybody. Once again refuses to acknowledge the full extent of Russian Election interference. Certainly there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals. Then trumps longtime adviser spooked. I have been accused of being a dirty trickster. Theres one trick not in my bag, thats treason. And what does mueller have on roger stone. Plus jane maier on the spy who tried to warn us. And from side gigs with secret clients to flagrant violations of the law, the Trump Administrations corruption in plain sight
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