Point where you get to fire the number two person at the National Security council, i think that rises to a level i just i didnt know to expect that. Okay. We wont put a number on it, but its new. Weve reached a new spot. Thanks. Thank you, rachel. Matthew whitaker, Matthew Whitaker, were watching you. That is the message that Matthew Whitaker woke up to this morning in the center of the Washington Post oped page in an article written by our first guest tonight, congressman adam schiff, the topranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. Adam schiff will become the chairman of that committee in january. The democrats will suddenly then have subpoena power in the house of representatives and the trump official who knows hes going to be number one on the democrats subpoena list is Matthew Whitaker, especially if Matthew Whitaker does not soon recuse himself from supervising Robert Muellers investigation of the president , now that the president has installed Matthew Whitaker as his socalled acting attorney general. Heres what adam schiff told Matthew Whitaker in writing today in the Washington Post. The new democratic majority will protect the special counsel and the integrity of the Justice Department should whitaker fail to recuse himself, all indications are that he plans not to and seek to obstruct the investigation, serve as a back channel to the president or his legal team or interfere in the investigations in any way, he will be called to answer. His actions will be exposed. If he does not recuse himself, whitaker could seek access to the special counsels plans and evidence including grand jury testimony and would be in a position, not just to funnel information to trump and his Legal Defense team, but also to abuse his authority to cripple or end the investigation. Whitaker could attempt to prevent evidence from reaching congress and the public or stop the special counsel from subpoenaing important testimony, including from trump himself. So, that is what is at stake. The wall street journal reported last night that, quote, the Justice Department is expected to publish a legal opinion in support of Matthew Whitakers installation as acting attorney general as early as tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said following questions about whether he can legally serve in the role. The Departments Office of Legal Counsel is expected to say that President Trump had the ability to appoint mr. Whitaker, the person said. But that did not happen today. The office of Legal Counsel did not issue that opinion today. The head of the office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department is assistant attorney general steven engel, who is a veteran of the george w. Bush Justice Department. Steven engel may be asking himself tonight, what could happen to his future Senate Confirmation possibilities if he puts his name on a patently absurd legal opinion justifying the installation of the only acting attorney general in history who was not serving in a Senate Confirmed position in the department . Democratic senators have shown they have long memories about this sort of thing. Robert bork served in Richard NixonsJustice Department during the watergate investigation of the president and was the key actor in what became known as the saturday night massacre when Richard Nixon demanded the firing of the special prosecutor archibald cox. They refused the president s order to fire the special prosecutor and resigned. The Deputy Attorney general then did exactly the same thing. And next in line that night was robert bork, who then carried out the president s order and fired the special prosecutor. 14 years later, Ronald Reagan nominated robert bork for a seat on the Supreme Court. The democrats worked hard to block the bank of new york nomination. Not just because of, but certainly energized by robert borks dark role on that dark night during the Nixon Administration 14 years earlier. When bank of new yorks nomination came to a vote, 58 senators voted no, including six republicans. Who in the trump Justice Department wants to be the next robert bork . In his article today, adam schiff issued this warning. Trump and those who would abet him in undermining the independence of the Justice Department should understand this, the truth will come out. Republican senator jeff flake said today that he will introduce a bill tomorrow with democratic senator chris coons to protect the office of the special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, from interference by Matthew Whitaker or anyone else in the Justice Department. This is a difficult thing to object to. You know, prior the leader has always said theres no need for this because nobody has been fired. Special counsel is fine. I dont think anybody can say that after Jeff Sessions forced removal. So its not that easy to object to this. But if somebody does, we can bring it back again and again. So, i think we plan to do so. Joining us now, congressman adam schiff, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee. Thank you very much for joining us tonight, congressman schiff. Really appreciate it. Good to be with you. What made you decide that today was the day to put Matt Whitaker on notice in writing in the Washington Post . Well, its very important, i think, to get that message out before he does any damage to the Mueller Investigation or tries to. But also if he doesnt recuse himself and he were to think that any conversations he had with the president , any promises he made to the president in order to get the position about whether he would follow or ignore the advice of the ethics lawyers at the Justice Department, he has to know that this is going to come out. Theres going to be no hiding this. And he will be called to answer. That, i think, i hope will be an incentive to get an ethics opinion and to follow it. But as you point out, there are even broader problems with this appointment than this one investigation as serious as that is, and that is that the appointment itself looks like it violates the constitutions requirement that the senate have a role in confirming anyone as a principal officer, including the attorney general, temporary or not, as a principal officer. We have seen a series of oped pieces, scholarly legal opinions indicating that this is a completely illegal and unconstitutional opinion installation, i should say, of a possible acting attorney general. And its interesting that the Justice Department, which was expected today, reported today to be on the verge of issuing a written opinion saying that it was legitimate, did not do that and they didnt do it on the very same day that the state of maryland went to court and filed a legal challenge against Matthew Whitaker occupying the office of acting attorney general. It seems that maybe the Justice Department has to figure out what its response is in court now. Well, i think the Justice Department may be looking again at the opinion its about to issue. If they issue an opinion and find that this appointment was unconstitutional, they know the heat they are going to get from the president. Hes going to try to write this off as revenge of the deep state again. Quite the contrary. It would be a sign that our system of checks and balances, that the Justice Department truly is independent. That would be a healthy sign for our democracy. But the Justice Department, i think, is still likely to opine tomorrow that because he is appointed on a temporary basis, that that somehow makes him an inferior officer. It doesnt. It simply makes him a temporary principal officer. Otherwise, you could avoid the constitutional requirement. And you cant pass a statute like the vacancy reform act that somehow supersedes the constitution. It doesnt. And what i think the Justice Department really needs to consider is there is language post dating their earlier opinion on this subject in the Supreme Court by Justice Thomas and maybe others that clearly indicate that the reasoning they used back in 2003 when they approved a much lesser appointment, is likely to be flawed and not withstand Supreme Court scrutiny. Well, it seems we are definitely going to see this argument made in court, possibly both sides of the argument made in court, in federal court. But this is just the first case, the maryland case. There could be cases in every Federal District in the country making the same argument. There could be federal judges all around the country being asked to rule on this. But in the meantime, talk about whitakers actual qualifications. If he had been Senate Confirmed in a Senate Confirmed position in the Justice Department and if he had met the legal requirements to be elevated to acting attorney general, there would still be problems with naming him. Well, there certainly would be. But one problem would be obviated and that is you would have the opportunity, under oath, before he assumed this incredible responsibility of being put on the record. Did you discuss this case with the president . Did you make promises to the president . Will you seek an ethics opinion . Will you recuse yourself . All those questions would have been answered. Now, i think the president chose this course to appoint someone on an interim basis that had been auditioning for the part on tv, which is how you get a role in the trump administration, precisely because he could avoid having his choice subjected to scrutiny in the senate. But thats all the more reason to insist on the adherence to these constitutional principles. This is not some lowlevel official here. This is the chief Law Enforcement officer of the country. And as you point out, lawrence, any decision that he makes, really any decision of the department now, is under a cloud. And if down the road when this case gets to the Supreme Court, its adjudicated against the Justice Department, then it will be an entire mess for the Justice Department because it will mean every decision made in the interim will be subject to question. And thats not a road you want to travel down. The headline of your piece, were watching you, could not have been more clear, directly to Matthew Whitaker today. But surely you democrats in the house are not the only ones. Matthew whitaker spends his day surrounded by experienced fbi agents, experienced federal prosecutors who have every right to be as suspicious of his motivations as you are. Every one of those people, i imagine, when they leave the room with Matthew Whitaker are going back to their desks and recording as james comey did, every single word they just heard him say. Well, certainly if there is an indication that he is acting unethically, that would be their obligation. If they see signs that he is conveying information about a particular case to the president or his lawyers, not just any case but a case in which the president himself may be implicated or members of his family may be implicated, yes, they would have to consider whether he is violating the law, whether he is acting as a surrogate of the president in obstructing justice. There are already troubling reports out of the Justice Department. Public reports that even in his tenure as the chief of staff to Jeff Sessions, he was operating as a back channel to the white house, undercutting his boss, the attorney general, and reporting to people on the president s staff as a way of ingratiating himself. And of course you have the be bewildering conduct of the president saying he doesnt know whitaker. Toward the end of your piece you say definitively, the truth will come out. Is it your ability to guarantee that the truth will come out . Is that simply the fact that the democrats won the house of representatives in this election and that you will be a chairman in the next congress and jerry nadler will be chairman of judiciary in the next congress and it is through the next powers of those chairmanships that the truth will come out . We are certainly going to move heaven and earth to make sure the truth comes out. And, you know, for your part in the media, the media has also done an excellent job of making sure that the truth comes out. The reality is he needs to know that he is not going to be able to conceal any conduct that interferes with this investigation. And if he acts in any way unethically, that it will be exposed. And exposure is powerful. So, this wont be easy. Undoubtedly any oversight we do will be fought tooth and nail by the trump administration. All the attacks we have seen over the last two years on bob mueller, we can expect the l president to start leveling against people in congress. But were going to do our job. We are going to defend the rule of law. We are going to do whatever is necessary to defend the independence of the Justice Department. We took an oath to the same constitution and we intend to live up to our oath. Congressman and future chairman adam schiff, thank you very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it. Thank you, lawrence. And when we come back, the l. A. Times calls it a cocoon of bitterness. It is the atmosphere around donald trump since he lost the electionment while the president was in his cocoon of bitterness, the first lady tried to publicly fire someone who works for the president. And a new Analysis Shows that the republican gerrymandering of Congressional Districts is no longer working the way the republicans designed it to work. And later Jill Winebanks will join us with the latest on Robert Muellers investigation with reports tonight that President Trump is right now answering questions in writing for the special prosecutor. During the president ial campaign, donald trump promised his wife Melania Trump would have a press conference where she would explain how she legally came to this country and what when she began to work this this country, she was legally authorized to work. He was lying. She never had that press conference. But theres nothing she could have said that would have made her eligible to be president of the United States because she is not and has never claimed to be a naturalborn citizen of the United States, but she acted as president today when she released a statement firing the deputy National Security advisor. Her husband is known to be very shy about firing people directly in the white house, and so Melania Trump tried to force the firing of deputy National Security advisor with this statement. It is the position of the office of the first lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house. Earlier today when the president didnt know that his wife was going to fire her, she was in the roosevelt room with the president. Neither one of them knowing she was going to be fired. But that was for one of the rare moments today in the roosevelt room when the president has even pretended to work since the republicans had a losing night in last weeks election that continues to get worse as democrats continue to pick up seats in the house of representatives as they are doing tonight, as the votes continue to be counted. The president of the United States has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and roo resentment, according to multiple sources who spoke with the l. A. Times. The times reports the president s mood apparently changed after republicans major election losses last week. Behind the scenes they say the president has lashed out at several aides from junior press assess tants to senior officials. Hes furious said one administration official. Most staffers are trying to avoid him. The official who spoke on the condition of anonymity painted a picture of a brooding president trying to decide who to blame for republicans election losses. The l. A. Times reports that President Trump has been recent. No kidding. He has canceled travel plans. Hes dispatched cabinet officials and aides to events in his place. The president is sending vicepresident mike pence to asia for the annual summit there in november that past president s have almost always attended. Jordans King Abdullah met today in washington with secretary of state mike pompeo, not President Trump. Defense secretary james mattis announced that he will be traveling to the Mexican Border to visit with troops, troops who the president deployed against Central AmericanAsylum Seekers who are walking slowly to our southern border. According to l. A. Times, trump had reportedly considered making that trip himself but decided against it. Nor has he spoken of the caravan since the Midterm Elections after making it a central issue in his last weeks of campaigning. The president did not make that short trip, tenminute trip from the white house to Arlington National cemetery on veterans day as president s have done for decades. In interviews with 14 Senior Administration officials, confidants of the president and foreign diplomats, the Washington Post details the president s downward spiral after last weeks election. The post reports that as President Trump was flying to paris last friday, he received a phone call from british Prime Minister theresa may that set off the president. Trump berated may for Great Britain not doing enough, in his assessment, to contain iran. He questioned her over brexit and complained about the trade deals he sees as unfair with european countries. May has endured his temper before, but aides were shaken by his especially foul mood according to u. S. And european reports. As the president stayed in paris, he, quote, brooded over the florida recount and sulked over Midterm Elections he claimed as a victory. He erupt the at his staff over Media Coverage for his decision to skip a ceremony honoring the military sacrifice of world war i. Joining our discussion, now, Jason Johnson root. Com, Jennifer Palmieri, former White House Communications director for president obama and former Communications Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign. And jennifer, i havent read Michelle Obamas book. Is there a passage where she fired a National Security advisor and the president finds out about it when he reads the paper . There is not a chapter on here is how you publicly fire west wing staff, not in Michelle Obamas book. What is your reaction, as someone who has worked there . Its hard to say. I mean, its been a chaotic place since day one. The madness centers around the mad man in the middle. It will never change. We saw some new stuff this week. Yes, and, you know, i worked in i worked in the white house between president clinton and president obama for nearly 12 years. What i can tell you is that however chaotic it appears from the outside, its actually worse on the inside. Which i know is a chilling statement to say given how chaotic this seems. But thats certainly my experience. And its so whats happened is so ludicrous, its actually a grave situation that the president of the United States seems to be, you know, weve seen him in difficult patches before, but this is a spiraling and im not sure where it ends. I mean, just to review whats happened in the last week, for a president of the United States to not go to Arlington National cemetery on veterans day is extraordinary. I know that when i worked for president clinton, i was a scheduler for president clinton. When i came back ten years later and worked for president obama, the exact same protocols were in place for what the president of the United States did every single veterans day from the breakfast he hosts at the west wing to how to the steps that were measured out to go to the tomb of the unknown soldier. This is a very hal owed holiday and its tradition is upheld by every president no matter what party. To not go is extraordinary. To not meet with King Abdullah is one of our most important allies in the mid east, is extraordinary as well. And to not go to apec, which is the asiapacific economic conference that he appears to be skipping, is also unprecedented. These are big moments in the president s calendar, and its leaving a vacuum on the world stage. He did that in paris this weekend. He did that hes apparently going to be doing that in asia. And there is a big power vacuum in the white house itself where the first lady is remarkably stepping up and firing the deputy National Security advisor via statement. Yeah, and, of course, this is the Trump White House so we dont actually know if the deputy National Security advisor is fired. It seems that way true. But there is be a stakeout to see what happens tomorrow. The world will be surprised to discover donald trump does not think it was his fault that he skipped the ceremony at the American Military cemetery in france. The Washington Post said he told aides he thought he looked terrible and blamed his chief of staffs office and Deputy White House chief of staff fuentez for skipping the cemetery visit would be a Public Relations nightmare. Jason johnson, no one told him. He apparently needs to be told to behave properly. What were watching here is not a presidency, were watching an extended temper tantrum. He is pouting. He is pouting because he lost, that he didnt get what he wanted during the Midterm Elections so hes not going to show up at the cemetery, hes not going to honor marines or any other World Leaders and hes going to pout until he finds something he wants under the Christmas Tree which might be indictments given what mueller is saying. This goes back to what president obama said two years ago when he said this man does not have the temperament for this job. The problem is when you look at the chaos in the white house, it always starts at the top. The president , who has an inability to control his mood and behavior, leads to staffer who are incapable of controlling their moods and behavior. I had to look back. The last time you had a first lady fire or try to push out a member of the staffer, it was like nancy reagan trying to get rid of don reagan in like the 80s. This doesnt happen in a normal white house. Melania takes no engagement in the white house and yet is stepping forward to say, i want a deputy security advisor removed from office. This is an indicator of a dysfunctional white house and what americans have to deal with the next two years. Plr plenty of instances from Eleanore Roosevelt and others where they advised a president to fire someone and to move on, but that was always done quietly and back stage, just the way any other member of the administration who is advising that someone be fired. They would do it quietly and back stage. And, jason, thats the big defense. There is no back stage at the Trump White House. No. Its all out on front street. It is literally the definition of drama. We play it out on stage. What was mentioned here is absolutely brilliant. Everything that looks crazy to us on the outside must be worse for people who are there. Its not uncommon for there to be a bit of a purge after the first Midterm Election. People just voluntarily want to leave, they want to move on to other jobs. This has been a chaotic white house. The nonsense we are hearing now indicates how difficult it is for people to go in and do their jobs every day. They dont know what their jobs are. The president makes commands that they cant follow. They could be fired by people who are not in their direct line of command. That is not a functional government. And unfortunately, if he thinks this is something that puts him in a sour and dower mood, what happens when democrats take office and run these committees in january and they start investigating some of these agencies he has now. He will have no sleep and no ability to continue what is already a dysfunctional white house. Jason johnson, thank you for joining us tonight and Jennifer Palmieri stay with us for more discussion. When we come back, the democrats won back the house of representatives and tonight they are continuing to win back even more of the house of representatives. And well have the latest on the Mueller Investigation with Jill Winebanks later. Its been exactly one week since Election Night, and the democratic blue wave continues to grow. Last night kiersten sinema became the first democrat elected to the senate in 30 years. Tonight the Associated Press has called the race in californias 10th Congressional District for democrat josh harder, unseating fourterm incumbent representative jeff denim. Nbc news has not yet called that race. So far, by nbcs count, democrats have picked up a net gain of 31 seats and Analysts Expect that as all the votes are eventually counted, democrats will end up gaining as many as 38 seats, the largest democratic pickup in a Midterm Election since the first election after the watergate scandal in 1974. After the 2010 census, republicans did everything they possibly could to gerrymander the house congressional map to make it impossible for democrats to win control of the house again. And they did that, in part, by creating a series of socalled republican super districts that combined moderate republican suburbs with more sparsely populated rural conservative areas. But a new analysis from politico shows that President Trump has effectively torn down the republicans congressional gerrymandered wall. Their Analysis Finds that trump altered the two partys coalitions in ways that specifically undermined conventional wisdom about the house map, bringing more rural voters into the gop tent, while driving away collegeeducated voters. Joining our discussion now, norm orrin stein, leading congressional scholar, and Jennifer Paul mere a is with us. Norm, the democrats continuing to rack up house seats. Where do you see this going . Well, i expect theyre going to get close to 40 seats in the end. A lot of those seats in california when the late votes come are going to go that way. Dont you just love the analogy that it was the wall that trump tore down . Yes. The wall that republicans believed they built. And, norm, it did look impressive. And still, i have to say still does look impressive because without the republican gerrymandering and the creating of those socalled super districts for them, we will be talking about a lot more than 40 seats won by democrats. And, you know what . One of the things were seeing here is, of course, highly educated College Educated white women were a major force in this. In districts that had alma of those suburban areas. And if the republicans from trump on down dont begin to change some of the policies, the approaches that theyve used with child separation, some of the thuggery going on, republicans could lose that group for a generation or more to come. With the problems they already have with millennial, thats going to be a real challenge down the road. I would make one point here just of caution, lawrence. Were seeing at least a number of democrats i see led by seth moulton of massachusetts trying to find a way to unseat nancy pelosi. And if democrats take the momentum that theyve built with this wave, move ing into a new congress where theyre trying to show the public a contrast with the craziness in the Trump White House and the disarray in the republican coalition, that would be a big mistake, i believe. Jennifer palmieri, it seems the republicans have found the limits of gerrymandering, of what gerrymandering can accomplish for them. And while they masterfully gerrymandered, they forgot about policy. They forgot about what they were saying to american voters. And they sure forgot about what it meant to have donald trump at the top of their party. Yeah. I think all of these factors are related, you know, the Republican Party a couple of decades ago started out, have a strategy to get into state houses, control them, redo maps, and make voting harder to do, right . What does that tell you . That tells you that we dont think our ideas are good enough to sell to voters to get them to vote for us. What we have to do is make it harder for peoples voices to be heard. And they, started with gingrich and, lawrence, you were on the hill and i worked for president clinton during that time. And jennifer, remember when we thought that was as bad as it could possibly get . We thought that was as bad as it could be and we speak of that of the Gingrich Clinton days as the good old days now. They started a process that was about restricting access to voting, restricting peoples voices and they pursued an Economic Strategy that was about tax cuts of rich people. It didnt help the people that were actually voting for them. So donald trump comes in and high jacks their party. And then they, and then they have a vote in congress where they are losing 40 seats. And then that is i think what they are reaping what they have been sowing for about, you know, for a couple of decades now. Norm, what are you expecting from republicans in what could be a lame duck session now before they have to surrender power to the democrats . Well, there isnt much on the agenda for the republicans in the house, except that were going to have a vote in the first week of december on whether to continue to fund the government through the remainder of the fiscal year, into october. Trump has threatened, at least, to shut the government down unless he gets full funding for the wall. Now, they may want to avoid that because theyll still be in power, but you can imagine if things dont go well for trump over the next couple of weeks, including potentially some indictments of people very close to him, he may want a distraction and that may blow up everything else. In the senate, we know were going to have this attempt to bring up the bill to protect mueller. It will almost certainly not go anywhere because one person will object, at least, and what jeff flake said was, well, well just keep bringing it up, which is a pretty, i think, weak way to go. But we also know that Mitch Mcconnell is going to turn the senate into a judge factory yet again and try and jamb through as many as he can. So, it will be mostly mischief through the remainder of the Jennifer Palmieri, what would you advise the democrats in taking over the house how to balance the issue of handling legislation, actually advancing a legislative agenda, versus the enormous investigative responsibility that they are legitimately going to have . Yeah, they have a lot on their plate. I think that the easiest way to say it is they should do their job, which congress hasnt done. And that means holding that means doing oversight and accountability. Thats not just russia. Thats talking about Health Care Policy and whats happened to the management of this administration. Its about immigration as well. Thats about the Consumer Financial protection board. So there are a lot of issues that people care about that they could deal with through oversight, but i think they also have to pursue an aggressive legislative agenda and they may not have a lot of hope of getting that through the senate. But i think the American Public needs the house of to do its job as the constitution laid out what it needs to do. To see what that looks like, even when you face even when you face a standoff with the United States senate in an uncooperative president. And as the votes continue to be counted and democrats continue to pick up seats, i hope all of us election analysts will remember two years from now that Election Night does not end on Election Night. Theres more to come. There always is. Norm or enstein, Jennifer Palmieri, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it. And reports the president is doing the homework assignment that Robert Mueller game him, answering the special prosecutors questions in writing. That, apparently, is what the president is doing this week. Thats next. We have nuds tonight on the Mueller Investigation. Nbc news is reporting President Trumps legal team is close to completing written answers to questions from special counsel Robert Mueller and might submit them as early as this week. A source familiar with the matter told nbc news that, quote, the answers will pertain only to matters relating to russian interference in the 2016 election, not obstruction of justice. The president s legal team considers questions about obstruction to be related to the firing of fbi director james comey and, therefore, infringe on the president s power to hire and fire under article 2 of the constitution. According to the source, President Trump met with his legal team yesterday and was expected to do so again today to discuss Robert Muellers questions for the president. Today, former cia director john brennan said this. I do believe that mr. Trump recognizes its getting tighter around him and the Mueller Investigation is now coming to some type of conclusion. Whether it is in the coming weekends or coming months, but im sure he feels quite vulnerable whether its for himself or for his family or for his close associates. The president s consideration of answering Robert Muellers questions comes as President Trumps associates, including roger stone and jerome corsi have said they expect to be indicted by Robert Mueller. After a break, former watergate assistant special prosecutor Jill Winebanks and former prosecutor will join us with their views of what happens when and if the president does give Robert Mueller written answers to some of his questions. I am a family man. I am a techie dad. I believe the best technology should feel effortless. Like magic. At comcast, its my job to develop, apps and tools that simplify your experience. My name is mike, im in Product Development at comcast. Were working to make things simple, easy and awesome. The jerome corsi drama or is it dromedy continued today. Today was just one day after jerome corsi, an associate of roger stone, announced he expected to be indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller. Today what he decided to do was cancel at the very last minute an interview with nbc news anna schecter. She explained exactly what happened today to chris hayes tonight. He actually came to rockefeller center. I sent a car for him. He was out on 49th street. And his lawyer, at the exact same time that he arrived, got off the phone with special counsel and shut the entire thing down, said on advice of counsel, dr. Corsi is cancelling this interview. Do we know what happened in that phone call . We dont. But he jumped off, david gray jumped off the call with me to t investigators. Something is moving today. I dont know what it is. Joining our discussion now, glen kesh er inkeshner. Jillweingbanks. Its hard for me to imagine a lawyer allowing a client to get that far, to actually be in the nbc car on his way to do an interview when he publicly says that he expects to be indicted. Yes. It does seem a little bit strange. Im not sure what he was thinking. Im not sure what he was thinking and doing his youtube announcement of his potential indictment because what was he going to gain from that other than he gets it out first before it happens for real . And so he can put his defense out there. His defense was, oh, i was just confused, they asked me so many questions that may brain froze up. Now that defense is out there, but that also limits his defense. He cant now say that it was actually accurate, that the prosecutor is wrong in saying that its perjury because it is accurate. So its a strange situation, but we have a strange cast of characters in this whole episode. Lets listen to that very strange moment yesterday that weve all seen before, but i want to see it one more time there jerome corsi because i then want to play what roger stone had to say today about jerome corsi. Lets start with jerome corsi and follow that immediately with roger stone talking about jerome corsi. I fully anticipate the next few days i will be indicted by mueller for some form or other of giving false information to the special counsel or to one of the other grand jury or however they want to do the indictment. It appears to me that hes been heavily pressured to bear false witness against me and perhaps other. I do know that he met with candidate trump and Michael Cohen during the campaign. I dont know what that was about. I dont know that this relates to me. I do know you could take emails and Text Messages out of context to try to create a false impression that would show that we had advanced notice of the content or source of either John Podestas emails, or the emails published by wikileaks that were allegedly hacked. So, glen, im going to let you take these dueling points of view from jerome corsi and roger stone. Roger stone saying that he believes that jerome corsi has been, as he put it, heavily pressured to bear false witness against me. Yeah, lawrence, and i dont know that we really want to buy into roger stones assessment of the credibility of others. Mr. Stone, himself, has been caught in lie after lie. Mr. Stone, himself, not unlike mr. Corsi said he expects to be indicted. And, you know, what has been going on here with mr. Corsi is that he has been meeting hour after hour with independent counsel and the fbi agents and they have been, im sure, grilling him after theyve pored through his computers and his cell phone and his Text Messages. Grilling him on what the truth is because it seems like both mr. Stone and mr. Corsi had a good bit of information about the timing and the substance of the wikileak drops. And when, you know, they just try to pawn this off as, i dont know, insightful speculation, when they say they know when the emails will drop, and they say they know they will be podestas emails and, in fact, roger stone goes so far as to say i had communications with julian assange, and then he tries to back away from that statement, i mean, they are playing games with the special counsel, and it looks like what those games have now earned them are at a minimum prosecutions for perjury or for false statements. They are playing a dangerous game, and just like we saw the special counsel go after rick gates, break rick gates and that was a vehicle to help get Paul Manafort charged, and ultimately in the stable as a cooperator, we see the same thing now playing out with mr. Corsi. He will break ultimately, i predict. That will lead to roger stone. He will likely break unless he wants to go to prison and then beyond that, were going to have to wait and see where the special counsel takes the investigation. And jill, the president might or might not be doing his homework assignment from Robert Mueller, and might or might not be answering written questions. Im sure the lawyers are working on it. Thats what the reporting is. But theres no answers until the day they officially decide to hand those answers over to Robert Mueller. Exactly. I love your image of the president doing his homework. Something that he has failed to do for most of his administration. And his life, i believe. Maybe true. But i think the truth is it is being very carefully crafted by his lawyers. So were still not getting his version of events and his excuse that it can only be related to the cooperation with russia and the russian interference in the election is really a poor excuse for not answering questions about obstruction. Jill weinbanks, glen kirchner, thank you for joining us tonight. Tonights last word is next. Time for tonights last word. There was a brief controversy about what to do about some of the votes because signatures didnt match exactly on the ballots in the votes, but a Court Resolves the issue this week. Trump still freaked out, tweeting, just out in arizona, signatures dont match. Electoral corruption. Call for a new election. Sure, how about 2016 . Stephen colbert gets tonights last word. The 1 1th hour with brian extraordinary call for a senior white house staffer to be fired saying she no longer deserves the honor of serving there. And tonight, reports of an even bigger shakeup sparked by a president described as furious and brooding in a cocoon of bitterness. On the russia investigation front, fevered speculation over what might be the next indictments. And will written answers to muellers questions from this white house even matter in the end . Plus the president dismissing reports that hes getting played by north korea. An update on those troops at our southern Border Guarding against that caravan. And trump on the defensive over his lonely weekend visit to france. As the 11th hour gets under way on a tuesday night