Country is going off the rails yesterday and today. Barr trying to turn attention to his comments on the lawful surveillance of some trump aides today. That was his rhetorical or strategic priority and it has gotten some attention. I would draw your attention to the top of our broadcast to one of the more important substantive revelations. It kams under crossexamination by senator van hollen pressing barr on his own choice to release his own view on findings of obstruction of justice when mueller pointedly had not exonerated trump. I am going to explain my decision and to the extent that requires any assessment of the Mueller Report. Did your decision did your decision require you to look into the intent of the president of the United States with respect to obstruction of justice . Im not going to discuss my decision. I will lay it out after the report is out. Mr. Attorney general, the thing is, you put this out there. The president went out and tweeted next day that he was exonerate. That was not based on anything in the Mueller Report with regard to obstruction of justice. That was based on your assessment. That was on march 24th. Now you wont elaborate at all as to how you reached that conclusion. I will discuss that decision after the report did bob mueller support your conclusion . I dont know whether bob mueller supported my conclusion. I dont know whether bob mueller supported my conclusion is another way of saying he didnt support my conclusion to my knowledge. If he did, thats the kind of thing barr would want to put out there. You saw that exchange. It was senator van hollen putting the pressure on barr. I begin with my guests. Good evening to both of you. Thank you for having us. Thank you. What did we learn from bill barrs testimony . Well, we did not learn a ton. He is evasive. I would say what were learning is that he doesnt exactly want to share anything until the report is out which is a very different strategy when he had wrote a letter on sunday where he was very eager to share his version. I think what we have to look back at is whether barr has learned something already. Whether he rushed to get a letter out on the sunday after the report was drop. He rushed to get a letter out with his spin on it. Did not share the executive summaries. Since then, muellers team has fired a shot across the bow. Theyve come out to the washington post, the new york times, and said they wrote executive summaries and summaries of various sections and they are calling out barr. We will see. And then barr wrote a second letter on the friday after which showed he was walking things back. Well learn in a week whether he has learned if this shot across the bow that he has to worry about mueller calling him out again. Learning implying that he might have some process whereby he wants to change the outcome. The other possibility is that he is very stuck on his goal, which is the, creating the appearance of the exoneration. And then he is sort of doing a classic aaliyah. If at first you dont succeed, dust yourself off and try again, try again, try again. My concern here is that you look at barrs testimony and you continually think to yourself, how is this the person who decides what the American Public sees and whether the president gets to tweet that hes been exonerated. The fact that this decision was ultimately punted for whatever reason by mueller, and then left to this political appointee, really gives americans little faith that the process is unfolding, as we had hoped it would. And i think frankly as the country really needs it to unfold in order to really address whatever needs to be addressed and move on as one country. Is not it barrs narrative to say that it was up to him . The rules which our viewers have heard. They dont at all require a multihundred page report. If the long run, he has put a tremendous amount of pressure within the rules. That outside. Within the rules for something sooner or later to come out. Thats right. The other way they come out is by subpoena or obligation. Barr has sent signals that he would redact a significant amount. This whole color coding thing that sounded very odd. That he has these Different Reasons for redacting certain parts. Nondisparagement of people who are not indicted and protecting grand jury information. He could go to a grand jury and request to release it. Have you ever seen a multicolored legal document redaction . No. I have not. The thing about the beat, sometimes when were trying to be funny, were not. And thats on me. But other times were trying to deal with serious news, it gets a little funny. It is not a joke. This is the attorney general of the United States who says were going to have different colors for different types of redactions which has never been done before. As a journalist, part of our job is to get Public Information to the public. That requires freedom of information requests, youre trying to get information out of government that you believe the public has a right to see and to know barr is acting like this is normal. He seems to be making the rules up as he goes along. And the strategic reason for colors is that not all redactions are equal. If he can prove the majority of the redactions are grand jury, that allows him to argue, even if it is overinclusive and overdone, look, these are serious ones. I cant imagine that you would come one this system and then lime green for peripheral reputation interests, and then have it be a big green folder. That woik maim him look worse. He has to anticipate that it is going, regardless of what color he chooses. Coaches will get a chance to look at this. Over the oval office recordings, there would be a process to check whether there was executive privilege or other rationales are valid. But there are several ways. Litigation, mueller being called upon to testify himself, and other witnesses. They will be in front of congress to be unredacted and give their version of the events. I want to bring in the prosecutor, glen, take a listen. We saw him trying to invokes muellers credibility without committing to what muellers team decides. Take a look on redactions. You wont overrule this councils judgment with respect to any of the categories, are you . I havent. Can you tell us you will not . If an issue comes up, i dont want to prejudge it but thats not my intention. My intention is to allow the team to make the redactions. Glen . Yeah, ari, it really seems like what barr is trying to do by selectively answering questions, he is creating this fog of exoneration. He is answering questions that seem to potentially be helpful to the president , declining to anxious questions that may hurt the president like, well, has anyone in the white house reviewed this report . And i found really problematic that one clip that you played earlier. Where theyre asking barr, well, does bob mueller agree with you, exonerating the president on obstruction of justice, and barr says, i dont know. And then he follows up with, well, i didnt even bother to ask him. Ari, bob mueller was not only the director of the fbi. He was the acting u. S. Attorney in massachusetts and the u. S. American to san francisco. He was the chief of the entire homicide practice at the d. C. U. S. Attorneys office. The man knows how to make a prosecutorial decision and left to his own devices, he always will. You have to wonder what kind of a shell game barr is playing. Now well get color redactions, as you were just referencing and it will go from a fog of exoneration to what . A rainbow of obfuscation . What youre gesturing toward is the type of colored smoke you see at some rock shows, punk shows. They have colored smoke machines. Yes. And designs to not have you Pay Attention to the fact the rock act is really over the hill and not all that entertaining anymore. Wow dont be ageists. Some of the my favorite acts have been touring a long time but i take your point. Final thought. This a game of delay . Where barr will force this into a court, fight tooth and nail over every redaction and maybe push this closer and closer to 2020 . I think thats the question hanging over all of this. Anyone giving barr the benefit of the doubt with seeing the way he testified today, he wanted people to see it. He wanted people to believe the only thing he could say was the really good news that he cherry picked for his boss, the president , and nothing else could possibly be said in a lawful oversight hearing with the congress. How long that will last will be the fight. It will depend on whether this goes to court. My special thanks. Coming up, ill speak to the lawmaker you just saw on your screen. Senator van hollen is here on the beat. And i have a report on the most powerful congressman in congress. If there are things youre concerned that, you have to be concerned about who is enabling they will, Mitch Mcconnell. And here wants to be number two, rosenstein, in the Justice Department. Today refusing to say under oath whether or not he thinks the ruling that ended segregation in american schools was correct. An important story. We have that in the show as well. Youre watching the beat on msnbc. Youre watching the beat msnbc. For what comes next. At fidelity, we make sure you have a clear plan to cover the essentials in retirement, as well as all the things you want to do. And on the way, youll get timely investment help to keep you on the right track, without the unnecessary fees you might expect from so many financial firms. 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Now to my special report for you tonight. President trump has seen some setbacks in several fights with congress. Majorities overrooming him on the war in yemen and trying to declir National Emergency at the border. And the most power to potentially constrain President Trump, Mitch Mcconnell. There is even a narrative that he is standing up on issues. Like many d. C. Narratives, be a little wary of the premise here. The Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell to praise kirstjen nielsen. The president renewed his threat to close the southern border today. That was met with a sharp response from Mitch Mcconnell. He urged the president to go slow. This rattled a lot of republicans with the president raising health care again. Ill tell hue sent a very clear message to the white house, Mitch Mcconnell who is smarter than the average bear on this matter. This will go nowhere. The emerging claim is that mcconnell may be a check on trumps impulses. Pushing back pouting herman cain on the federal reserve. Those are exceptions to what he is doing, working as rae lentless enabler and enforcer. A choice that he didnt have to make. He leads a coequal branch of government. He has far more experience with the government than trump and it shows that mcconnell is a key driver on how trumpism has taken control of the entire republican party. We know many Top Republicans dont support everything trump does. In 2016 so many were fighting to stop trump and they argued he was the antithesis of their vs. But he gets his back to try to obtain Donald Trumps tax returns. He took trumps call to confirm the counsel at the irs to support trump. Thats an unusual post for any president to be personally interested in. Or take reason and rare rebuke of trump by some republicans on the war on yemen. It was bipartisan but only despite mcconnells effort to stop the vote against trump or take the tax cuts which could balloon the deficit. Mcconnell was all about them. Or take had longest Government Shutdown in history when mcconnell obstruct the votes that could have passed it. Saying that he would be boxed in a canyon meaning he also thought it was a bad idea. Then you have mcconnells aggressive use of powers to expand the impact on courts in a generation. When obama was president , mcconnell fought against changing the senate rules, only to ram through obamas judicial nominees. No majority leader wants written on his tombstone that he presided over the end of the senate. Well, if this majority leader caves to the fringes and lets this happen, im afraid thats exactly what theyll write. Because in his own words, on the senate. The majority leaders own words. Breaking the rules to change the rules is unamerican. Unamerican. That was then. Now mcconnell leading the change to the rules this month to ram through more trump judges. In fact, hes gotten 66 of trump judges confirmed. 2018 alone which has drawn much concern from some senate democrats. This is a very sad day for the senate. Its crucial. Those rules not be twisted or abused for partisan advantage. The majority by taking yet another step to erode that legacy, risks turns this body into a coliseum of zero sum infighting. Democrats also pointed to the Supreme Court power grab. He wouldnt even hold a hearing. The news of Justice Scalias death was just sinking in. They rushed to announce they would not even consider the president s asyet unnamed nominee. We are here witnessing this news, seismic and unexpected event in the Supreme Court. Justice Antonin Scalia on the court for 30 years passing away. Tonight the Top RepublicanMitch Mcconnell said this Court Vacancy should not be filled until a new president is elected. There is nothing about having a year left in office that precludes president obama from replacing Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court. Plenty thought that was a reach. They were bracing for trump to lose but he did win the electoral could go and it was trumps attack that effectively doubled the number of high Court Vacancies that this president has gotten to fill. It goes well beyond tactics. This is important. He is personally blocked bills that might hold him accountable. He stood by trump during attacks on the Foreign Countries like haiti and their citizens. When President Trump said to his great shame that there were good people in that crowd, senator mcconnell couldnt stand up and say them by name. Possible there were no good neonazis. So contrast this quailing inability to he compare donald trump to an older throwback mcconnell who even once touted his old boss and mennor senator john cooper for backing a civil rights bill despite opposition in the south. Take a look. The correspondence into the office was overwhelmingly against the civil rights bill. I remember asking the senator, why are you over on the floor leading the charge . And he gave me an answer which was essentially, you dont simply wet your finger and figure out which 28 wind is blowing deciding what to do. They sent you here to lead. Ultimately if they dont like you, theyll defeat youful . Could seem high minded now considering that when they wanted to authorize the civil rights act, mcconnell announced it was unnecessary and said the Voting Rights act was intact. My, how things shift. You may have heard this. It is something that Many Republican whos used to voice opposition to trump talk about. It is an indication of americas institutions in general which might be a check on donald trump in the white house. I think in a day when people are voting for change, they didnt decide to change the republican senate. Which im proud of. Everybody looks at last years election and says it was a changed election. He touted the victory and then he talked about institutions that protect americas balance of powers. He seems to forget or maybe just blatantly deny he leads one of the most critical institutions to guard against those kinds of problems. We know he has virtually over sided with donald trump over the institution he leads. Of course, it is a team sport. Whats new . Thats true for a lot of people and politicians. But on the big things, its not always this way. When you look at civil rights or charlottesville, you dont have to go that far back. It was in mcconnells time, standing up for civil rights against party. It was in his lifetime that the politicians stood up to an incumbent democratic president in their own party on a matter of principal. It was lyndon b. Johnsons fellow democrats like Eugene Mccarthy who took him on over doing the right thing in vietnam. We must undertake at all times, so far as we can, not to do the wrong thing for the right reason. Here we are carrying out foreign policy. Theyre asking for support for a republican policy. We are a long ways from that. I certainly admit that. We dont even know if he does feel any opposition. We can read the polls. A rough comparison showing that nationally, crattic parties favored half the country. In his home state, he sits even lower. So despite all his experience and power and strategy, senator mcconnell is less popular than trump nationally and far less popular than him in kentucky and theyre both up for reelection in 2020. Which means, yes, senator mcconnells future may be much more on this president than other people, and others may not be as dependent as he is. He may have reversed on that and now focused on doing whatever it takes for him to avoid defeat. You dont simply wet your finger before deciding what to do. They send you here to lead and ultimately, if they dont like it, they can defeat you t yo your brain changes as you get older. But prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Joining me now, claire mccaskill. Youve gotten into it with Mitch Mcconnell at times. Lets take a look. I am stunned that that is what leader mcconnell would call regular order. I ask unanimous consent im going to object tonight but well discuss it tomorrow. The United States senate is no longer the worlds greatest deliberative body and Everybody Needs to quit saying it. Until we recover from this period of polarization, and the fear of the political consequences of tough votes. What have you learned about senator mcconnell . Mitch mcconnell cares about one thing. That is being the majority leader of the senate. He sought the power. Hes been in the senate for over three decades. What he always wanted to be was a senator and what he always wanted to be was the leader and he will do anything, including frankly, creed power to the executive branch, wreak havoc in the judicial branch. Whatever it takes to hold on to power which means every decision he makes is through a political prism for the republican members of his caucus. The only times hes really stood up to trump is when he thought it was hurting his members. When he thought it would hurt their reelection chances. It wasnt because he had some fundamental ideological difference with the president. It is all politics. I mean, ari, when i first came to the senate. The first year i was in the senate. And i was in the senate 12 years. I voted on 306 amendments on the floor of the senate. The last year i was in the senate, i voted on fewer than 40. Theres no longer an tunnel for senators to debate amendments and vote on amendments. Mitch mcconnell, the only bill that he can say he passed of note really is the tax bill. That was written in his office. The lobbyists knew. No one had input of that bill other than his tight krir. Go drop it on the floor and well ram it through. He didnt do it the oldfashioned way where you had Committee Hearings and debate and amendments. He ran through what he thought was important. Let me read something that you posted about this. There is this tradition of some sort of collegiality. But then the question, how many times do people want to get hit in the face politically. You post, you were sad that your dinner to say goodbye to senators that are leaving is not bipartisan. If we cant be together to even recognize those who are leaving, what hope is there for this place . Why didnt it happen . Two words. Mitch mcconnell. It is popular, as you know in washington, to talk about both sides, partisan breakdown. Why are you so convinced and what can you do to prove that this is explicitly mcconnell and not just back and forwards . The first year we not the have this dinner together was because Mitch Mcconnell didnt want to. He made the decision. Keep in mind the way the senate works, what mitch has to do is keep his guys together. He wants to control the information they get. He wants to make sure theyre getting his version so he can keep everybody in the corral. And you know, bob corker and i used to talk back and forth. Wouldnt it be interesting for each caucus to listen to the other caucus and what was being said . Like two constitutional founders. I think he didnt want any opportunity for their to be this bipartisan collegiality that might khalid to a crack in his caucus. He has to deal with people likeliest lik likeliesta murkowski. I mentioned in our reporting here, the history of vietnam. When democrats stood up to democrats. You look at the russian issues which have been so partisan. Here he is blocking with dealing with russia has an adversary. Separate from the mueller probe. Take a look. Mitch mcconnell want no part of having a bipartisan commitment that we would say essentially, russia is doing this. Stop. This was all about the political play. It took over three weeks to get that statement worked out. It was watered down. And it was watered up to at the insistence of Mitch Mcconnell . Yes. And no one else . Yes. When you look at that as a u. S. Senator, someone who represents all constituents, do you think that is to the shame of his his, toal legacy . I think hes going to have a lot of shame in his legacy. Ironically, he thinks what did he with the garland nomination, he did that, they elected a republican president. That argument can be made. That there were a lot of evangelicals who did not like donald trump and his personal habits. But he gave them a list of who he would appoint to the Supreme Court and they cared very much about that. So he really takes credit. And think of what hes taking credit for. Hes taking credit for totally destroying the constitution. The constitution doesnt say that we nominate someone, the president nominate someone to the Supreme Court when it is not an election year. They love to be obstructionists until they dont and then they ignore the constitution. So i think history will not be kind to Mitch Mcconnell. What hes done to the senate, to the judiciary and the power hes ceded to the executive branch. Thank you. It was such a great treat to have you as a guest. Thank you. Up ahead, donald trump has a nominee to replace Rod Rosenstein who just said brown v. Board may or may not be right. He wont commit. Thats a story well bring you later. Feel the clarity. Of nondrowsy claritin. And relief from symptoms caused by over. 200 outdoor and indoor allergens. Like those from pollen, pets and dust. Because new memories start with dusting off old ones. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. 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Own your look with the one and only botox® cosmetic. Own your look phone ringing a phones offers big button,ecialized phones. And volumeenhanced phones. , get details on this state program. Call or visit and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. phone ringing get details on this state program call or visit breaking news on civil rights and the trump Justice Department. Donald trumps pending nominee to be the number two Deputy Attorney general at doj would replace Rod Rosenstein was at a confirmation hearing today and refused to answer whether or not he agrees with the landmark Supreme Court rulings of roe v wade which establishes the right to choice, and one of the greatest rulings of all time, which ended racial segregation in american schools. Was brown versus board of education correctly decided . Senator, i dont think it would be a productive exercise for me to go through the most thousands of Supreme Court opinions and say which ones are right and which ones are wrong. These are Pretty Simple questions. Theyre answerable by yes or no. Most lawyers, i suspect, would agree based on knowledge of the law that these two cases, pillars of our jurisprudence, were correctly decided by the United StatesSupreme Court. I have views about lots of Supreme Court cases, but im not being nominated for this position to be the solicitor general, nor a judge and i think in this context, the point im trying to make is that whatever the law is, whether it is a decision i would favor or disfavor, i see it as the role of the department of justice to uphold the law such as it is, unless congress or the court change it. You are in charge of the argument thats are made to the Supreme Court. You would be in a position to suggest that the solicitor general argue that roe v. Wade would be overruled. Thats why im asking you this question. Same with brown versus education. Were entitled to know your personal views. An important moment at that hearing. I am joined by phone by a person who ran the Justice DepartmentCivil Rights Division under the obama administration. Im also joenld by glenn kirshner. It is totally unacceptable. Brown versus education is one of the most consequential decisions in our history. It is settled law and has been since 1954. There is simply no reason why any nominee to any position in our government should be unwilling to say that. In my mind, if you cant agree that brown versus board of education was correctly decided, you dont belong in the Justice Department. As a line attorney or a Deputy Attorney general. One of the primary roles is to protect civil rights. If any nominee is unwilling to settle that as settled law, they shouldnt have the job. When you look at the argument made that basically, this nominee doesnt want to be drawn out under oath on every case out there, what makes this case so obviously different . As you said, this is a cannonical case in our nations history. The question is, does rosen really believe the legality of Racial Discrimination is going to come up in his tenure as attorney general . This begs the question, what does it mean for the Justice Departments really crucial role in enforcing civil rights that he isnt big to commit unequivocally to the fact this case that ended legal apartheid in our country, was correctly decided . You even had justices, nominees, joich gorsuch that that brown versus board of education was a decision. Even bret kavanaugh. The single greatest moment in Supreme Court history. This is a guy who has been nominated to be the number two in the Justice Department overseeing civil Rights Enforcement and much more. And i just think it is unacceptable. Glenn, your view of this. If you have a question for bonita who has been so central at this intersection. How the attorney general deal with civil rights and the doj. Were used to judicial nominees dodging questions about cases that may come before them in the future. This is going to be potentially if confirmed, one of the top Law Enforcement officers in the country. The Deputy Attorney general. For him to sort of leave a little bit of daylight for the notion that plessi versus ferguson that said separate but equal. Government sanctioned racial segregation is okay. Maybe it is still in play. Because brown versus education which we all thought put a nail in the coffin of the horrific separate but evening balance doctrine, what kind of a signal does that send to have somebody like this be involved in weighty decisions concerning the sort of, the fairness, and the equality with which our laws are carried out. I appreciate you letting me ask her. When you were heading up the civil rights question. If you saw someone like this with this mindset, how do you think that would have impacted the morale of thele, many attorneys that you supervised who were working the civil rights case . Look, the morale is really low at the moment. Jeff sessions didnt do much to help morale and had done so much to already gut civil Rights Enforcement. But this kind of thing is bigger. It is really signaling to the country the degree to which these kinds of reactions and nonstatements are becoming acceptable in our government officials. We have charlottesville and all of us had to reckon with seeing a president unequivocally refuse to denounce them marching in his name. To now have increasingly judicial nominee after judicial nominee. Now in the executive branch, to have somebody who is tasked with overseeing the enforcement of civil rights laws, try to be smart and coy with one of the most foundational decisions to our democracy. It is deeply, it is just unacceptable and deeply demoralizing. Im sure the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division are asking themselves, what is the justice part of the Justice Department mean to have a nominee actually, you know, give that climbed of testimony. And remember he refused to say where birth right citizenship guaranteed in the constitution. This is where the rubber hits the road. We heard it in the hearing. The senator saying, look, this is the person who will oversee the decisions made. The president speaks in all sorts of ways but line by line, case by case, the human rights of american citizens, a lot of this is taken out in the trump administration. The votes still pending and youre so experienced on this. Thanks for hopping on the phone with us. Thank you for talking about it. Thank you. Glenn stays with me. I have breaking news in our hour as sometimes happens. I want to you speak to this. Im holding a brand new letter from the department of treasury. They are trying to buy time, punting on the request for Donald Trumps tax returns. An issue that has dogged trumps candidacy from the moment he announced for president. Secretary mnuchin says i write to in response to your april 3 letter. The Treasury Department will not be able to complete its review of your request by that date. And it goes on, glenn, to outline why this is allegedly an extraordinary request. I suppose to set up what might be a legal clash. Your view of this next step in this fight. You know, is there any evidence that theyre not big to suppress the statute couldnt be clearer. It says if the chairman of the house, ways, and Means Committee in writing, makes a request for the tax return of any person that would include the president. It must be given over. This seems to be nothing more than another delay tactic. You know, all the people are hook for, all the congress is looking for. Is information, truthful information, accurate information, what is in the president s tax returns . What is in the Mueller Report . What are the facts that will guide our decisions. We have attorney general barr saying trust me, dont worry about the facts. Let me exonerate the president on as many fronts as i can without sharing the evidence with the American People or the congress. And here we go again. And interestingly, this tax letter which is breaking. It is not a hard no, either. If they want more time, to guard it. On multiple stories tonight, thank you for joining me. Thank you. Attorney general barr was forced to answer a key question on obstruction. Senator van hollen was putting him on the stand and we get him and his view of what he learned, next. Im a fighter. Always have been. When i found out i had agerelated macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. My doctor and i came up with a plan. It includes preservision. 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Theyre the ones who see a city that can make those who live in it feel a little safer. Who see cars that can talk to each other and share their best shortcuts. Who see the efficient shape and design of the oceans wonders as the future of aerodynamics. Why . Because they can see the Infinite Possibilities of the power of data flowing through our world. At Dell Technologies we see it too. And we can help make your Digital Future real so you can move the world forward in beautiful, unimaginable ways. If youd like to transform your business, talk to us. And together well show the world what impossible looks like. When its made real. Attorney general bill barr on defense under fire from democrats on the hill, demanding all kinds of answers. Chris van hollen joins me. He pushed on the issues and got a news worthy answer today. You looked at the evidence and you made a decision and you said that the president is not guilty of criminal obstruction of justice. Im asking you in your review of the report did you agree with mueller that there were difficult views of law and fact. I will give my comments after. But you put your view of the report out there on this issue of obstruction of justice. Nobody asked you to do that. I didnt put my view of the report. You made a conclusion on the question of obstruction of justice not contained in the Mueller Report. I will discuss that after. Did bob mueller support your conclusion . I dont know if he supported my conclusion. In your admission that it was strictly and not mueller on obstruction. If attorney general barr had any credibility left as an independent administrator of justice in the facts, he lost it today. He refused to testify as to how he reached his conclusion, which of course preempted what was already in the report from mueller, which was that there was evidence that the president obstructed justice, just not enough to find it beyond a reasonable doubt. Clearly as barr testified, he didnt consult with mueller on that question because its clear that mueller has not endorsed in any way barrs conclusions to try to exonerate the president. In your view, are you concerned barr may have reached that position effectively over or without the full report . What it tells me is that he harkened back to the memo he wrote last year where he essentially found that president s who were not guilty of the underlying crime in this case, criminal collusion could not therefore be guilty of obstruction of justice. Its just nonsense. There are lots of scenarios where a president could still be guilty of obstructing justice. He clearly went into this with preconceived notions and thats not doing the job of an independent fact finder. Senator, you had an exchange on redactions. Take a look. Can you assure us that the key factual evidence in the Mueller Report related to charges of obstruction of justice will be available in the public report. Believe it will. My understanding is you are allowing the mueller team to make the redactions in three of the four areas you mentioned. All except for intelligence. You are not going to overrule this special counsels judgment with respect to those categories. I havent. Can you tell us you will not . If an issue comes up, i dont want to prejudge it, but its not my intention. Is that new information that he is asserting that the redactions will come from the team and how will you prove or enforce it . He hinted at that in his house testimony. I wanted to confirm that today. He did confirm that the mueller team is essentially in charge of making the redactions in those three categories except for intelligence. I wanted assurance that he would not override them going forward. I was described that he refused to provide that assurance. The mueller people are perfectly capable of making redactions and no scenario i can imagine where the attorney general would overrule them. Its interesting to see the way you press and got the answers on the record as we wait for what is expected to be a report as soon as next week. Thank you for coming on the beat. Good to be with you. Thanks. I want to let you watching at home know tomorrow we have governor jay inslee who is a democratic president ial candidate. He wants Climate Change to lead the 2020 issues. We are looking forward to having him for that. I also want to tell you one other thing before you let you go. It is easy to forget that we are only a few months into this new congress that came to power in a blue 2018 wave that had the highest midterm turn out if 50 years and the most women running ever. As we like to point out, that goes beyond politics. Women and feminism are at in different parts of our culture. Beyonce has been sparking her own National Conversation including her coachella performance from a forth coming documentary Just Announced for netflix. What advice would you have to give this generation . Tell the truth. Looks pretty good. In the intersection of culture and politics is something we look at here on the beat which gets me to where i wanted to go. I sat down with one of beyonces most trusted producers. He produced lemonade, her personal album exploring challenges in their marriage and recounts working together on that album. Did she tell you about the spirit or the sentiment she wanted to power the album or did you get that . I got it from listening. In my studio going through the records, im like no. This cant be what this is about. You listen to the teams and they are going to turn the world upside down. Turn the world upside down with what was a permanent political, cultural album. Im sure you know beyonce is a big part of a lot of conversations. If you want to see that, the rest of it is brandnew. We are posting it on youtube. Just blaze and melber and you will find it. Or if you prefer, its up as audio on our beat pot kafdcast. You can always email us at ari msnbc. Com. That does it for me. Thank you as always for watching. Hardball with Chris Matthews is up next. Watching the russians. Lets play hardball. Good evening. Im Chris Matthews of washington. Nothing concentrates the mind, wrote samuel johnson, like the thought of imminent hanging. With the Mueller Report expected to portray his campaign as a dupe of russia, not to mention deliver alarming new evidence of obstruction is determined to now change the subject. He called the Mueller Investigation an attempted coup and encouraged the Justice Department to make war on it. This was a