Transcripts For MSNBCW The Last Word With Lawrence ODonnell 20190123

Tomorrow night we will also have senator Kamala Harris of california here for her first live tv interview since announcing her run for president. Good evening, lawrence. Good evening, rachel. What do you expect at this press Conference Tomorrow . Weve been translating everything ourselves, which is not ideal. And weve been trying to monitor Russian Media and it is hard to tell. It was definitely a surprise when she got arrested. It was a surprise when she turned up in court, when she was allowed to make those remarks to reporters, and it was a surprise when she was released today. So i think what im looking forward to hearing her speak in her own words about what shes been through. Obviously shes been in a very sort of scareally precarious place right in the middle of this gigantic International Scandal up against some very scary people, so ill be interested in hearing from her, and hope its not just lawyers talking about her. I hope its her. Are you exasperated with Rudy Giuliani . If you are, youre not alone. Politico reporting tonight President Trump agrees with you. In a headline trump exasperated by gaffeprone giuliani. Trump was apoplectic after a pair of weekend interviews by his personal lawyer in which giuliani said the president had been involved in discussions to build a trump tower moskow through the end of the 2016 campaign, a statement that enraged trump because it contradicted his own public position according to two sources close to the president. The New York Times is reporting several people close to mr. Trump had grown exasperated with mr. Giulianis public experienappearances. They also expressed concern he is increasing prosecutors anger with the president and possibly creating a misimpression of the trump tower project of moskow. A misimpression. That is the New York Times at its most polite. Rudy giuliani has made several statements about just how long donald trump and his son and daughter and Michael Cohen worked on a deal to build a trump tower in moskow during the president ial campaign. Since buzzfeed reported last week that those negotiations went on longer than previously reported and involved more meetings than previously reported, Rudy Giuliani made the rounds of sunday morning shows last weekend whereas usual he left his audience mostly confused about what he was trying to say. But later on sunday he gave a very clear interview to the New York Times. Just could not have been more clear. It was so clear that he actually quoted President Trump, telling him that the moskow deal was the subject of ongoing discussions, quote, from the day i announced to the day i won. Rudy giuliani quoted those words from the president s mouth, saying that. The trump tower deal in moskow was being pushed by donald trump and his family and Michael Cohen every single day of the president ial campaign. That was much worse than what Michael Cohen has publicly admitted to, which is that the discussions continued up until at least june of the election year. And now the new yorker has released an interview with Rudy Giuliani conducted yesterday in which Rudy Giuliani changes his story again and sometimes changes his story from one sentence to the next sentence within that same interview. When asked by the new yorker isaac shutner, Rudy Giuliani said, i did not say that. He was asked if the New York Times just made up that quote, and Rudy Giuliani said i dont know if they made it up. The New York Times has not released a recording of their interview with Rudy Giuliani. But the times stands by its reporting. Giuliani told the new yorker as soon as he read the buzzfeed story last week which also claimed that Michael Cohen will testify President Trump told him to lie under oath to congress, that Rudy Giuliani knew that that was false. Because asked the new yorker, because i have been through all the tapes, i have been through all the emails and i knew none existed. And basically when the special counsel said that just in case there are any others i might not know about, they probably went through others and found the same thing. Wait, what tapes have you gone through asked the new yorker. I shouldnt have said tapes. In this same interview Rudy Giuliani brags about his skills as a lawyer, especially as a criminal defense lawyer which is the role he now sees himself playing for the president. And ive got to say one thing i have never heard a great or even good, even okay criminal defense lawyer say is i shouldnt have said tapes. In fact, with good lawyers you never hear them say i shouldnt have said anything. Rudy giuliani finished his answer to the question about what tapes he has listened to by saying, buzzfeed alleged there were texts and emails that corroborated that cohen was saying the president told him to lie. There were no texts, there were no emails, and the president never told him to lie. In the new Yorker Interview Rudy Giuliani said the New York Times wants to crucify the president and the president had no conversations. I shouldnt say he had no conversations. These are his words. Okay, this is what he actually said. And then Rudy Giuliani said once again that the president did have conversations during the president ial campaign about building a trump tower in moskow. At the close of that interview isaac turned to Rudy Giulianis legacy. Saying things for trump not always being truthful about it, do you ever worry this will be your legacy . Does that ever worry you in any way . Absolutely. I am afraid it will be on my gravestone, Rudy Giuliani, he lied for trump. Somehow, i dont think that will be it. But if it is, so what do i care . Ill be dead. I figure i can explain it to saint peter. He willby on my side because so far i dont think as a lawyer i have ever said anything thats untruthful. We have no comment yet from saint peter. Michael cohen will testify in public to a House Committee on february 7th, and it will definitely be the hearing of the year so far. But that might last only a day because the very next day the chairman of the house Judiciary Committee, jerry nadler, is bringing in acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker to testify to the Judiciary Committee about his conversations with President Trump. Chairman nadler sent a letter to nadler today telling him exactly what the most important questions will be, and every question is a heavily loaded question. For example, on january 18th the special counsel issued a rare statement describing some aspects of the buzzfeed story as inaccurate. Did you have any communication with the white house about the buzzfeed report or the decision of the special counsels office to issue its subsequent statement . If so, with whom . What was discussed . Leading off our discussion now tim obrien, and mimi rocah, both msnbc contributors. Mimi i want to start at the end there with these amazing questions jerry nadler has already put in writing publicly to Matthew Whitaker the acting attorney general. What he seem tuesday be getting at there with the buzzfeed question is its pretty unusual for the special Prosecutors Office to put out any statement at all. Did you, Matthew Whitaker, order them to do that . Did donald trump order you to order them to do that . Right, and look, that is an important, important question to be asked. And we need truthful answers to that. And im glad that theres somebody now in washington that has the power to ask those questions and get those answers. And in fact this does tie back to Rudy Giuliani, because in one of his many interviews over the weekend he said that he had reached out to mueller about the buzzfeed story. Now, that is different from whitaker reaching out, but was there any coordination . First of all, did rudy reach out, it seems he wrote a letter but you never know with rudy that what hes saying to be true. I think all of the questions listed in that letter to whitaker are about the conflict that weve all been so worried about with whitaker. And theyre really well drafted questions because theyre really trying to get at the heart, was whitaker compromised . Was he compromised before he became the attorney general in some way the acting attorney general . Did he make any promises to trump about trayiying to curtai the mueller investigation, and specifically saying were you in any way made to promise that you would try to interfere with the Southern District of new york, that you would reassign people of the Southern District of new york . These are extreme questions that in any other world would have been shocking to hear asked, but they make a lot of sense in this presidency. And jerry nadler made it clear to the acting attorney general he was putting these questions in writing ahead of time because he expects him to possibly invoke executive privilege. Jerry nadler doesnt think executive privilege applies. But he said that i found so interesting in the letters is what i dont want you to do is come into this hearing room and say that might be a matter of executive privilege so im going to consult with the white house to see if i can exert executive privilege ahead of this. Nadler wants to know ahead of time. And if they do, nadler is prepared to get into that battle. Right. Again, i think this is smart tactic. He sort of got away the positive and negative of giving the questions in advance so he can prepare his answers and also being able to see, you know, what executive privilege arguments theyre going to make. Because there will be some legitimate executive privilege claims, but not all. Theres no way that they can get around really answering the substance of these questions, at least most of them. And so i think theyre right to want to go in and fight back if thats going to be the answer. Tim obrien, what Rudy Giuliani did do today in his interview with the new yorker is he did write one line that was immediately typed into his onfile obituaries, which the New York Times already has for many of us. Theyre ready for this. Its definitely going to say its going to quote Rudy Giuliani saying, Rudy Giuliani, he lied for trump. Thats going to be in any summation of Rudy Giulianis life. Its really jaw dropping. This is Rudy Giuliani who built his initial reputation in the public sphere as being a, you know, prosecutor with the u. S. Attorneys office in manhattan, following the rule of law, not lying, and up holding the justice system. And now hes openly admitting that hes wearing the mantle of throwing around smoke screens for the president and lying on behalf of the president. The other thing about rudy i think is fascinating in this context is Trump Supporters in the white house routinely call the media or trump critics or people who are suffering from trump derangement syndrome. But theres no one acting in a deranged fashion as much as rudy has in the last six months. Hes unfamiliar with the basic facts and core events prosecutors are looking at so why would trump be bothered by this now . There was nothing different in the rudy performances this week than there always have been. This has come up before. When rudy said that the cohen tapes werent going to be a problem for the president , or when hes done various reveals on television of facts we didnt know before, supposedly trump was furious about this. But i think the reality is to a certain extent rudy runs some of the most damaging information thats coming out. I dont think he does long debriefs with the president about any of this. And most of them are thinking about immediate strategy. Unfortunately, most of the time not a legal strategy and it really serves all of them poorly in the end. Mimi, to go back to the hearings were going to have backtoback and that is Michael Cohen followed the next day by acting attorney general whitaker in different meetings, but this is going to be an extraordinary two day event. If Matthew Whitaker look, theres a whole set of questions in which he just says no, no, no, in which case his testimony has gone kroebl. One of the Big Questions in there is have you been briefed on Robert Muellers investigation . If he answers basically all of these questions with nos, that becomes kind of a nonevent. But any one of those questions could create a bigger explosion possibly than even Michael Cohens testimony. Exactly. And, you know, this actually does again tie back to giuliani in the sense that, look, giuliani is clearly in my view willing to go out there and lie for trump. And i agree that im not really buying that trump is, you know, so upset about this. I think that is a more calculated strategy. Were talking about giuliani, not about trump. The lies are to front some of the information in ways that desensitize us to it. Is Matthew Whitaker willing to lie for trump . You know, i think a lot of people would sort of reflexively say yes, but thats a big deal. And again, we dont know all the facts. We have to get them. But my sense is there is no way he can answer all of those questions truthfully and not implicate trump in some at least unethical behavior because i dont think this is president that thought about that or cared about that. And so they probably did overstep the line. I will wait and see, you know, the facts. And also whitaker hopefully understands now what other members of the trump, you know, circle are seeing. That when you go and you testify in congress under oath just because they may not have a piece of evidence right there and then to refute what youre saying if youre lying, its going to come out later. And, you know, youre under oath. So whitaker should take that seriously. And jerry nadler asks him about his own recusal and refusal to recuse super visivisf had mueller investigation, and i dont see any privilege that will get him out of answering those questions. The office of the department of justice, he should have to answer for that. Because he went he sidestepped the normal process and we should know what the process was that he made up. Thank you for starting us off tonight. And when we come back, Mitch Mcconnell is finally admitting that, yes, the senate can help solve the Government Shutdown after a month of Mitch Mcconnell doing nothing and the senate doing nothing. Senator mcconnell is now going to bring two bills to a vote in the senate. One is supported by donald trump, the other is supported by nancy pelosi. And the producer of the apprentice reportedly has connections to a banker with close ties to vladimir putin. Is putin somehow connected to everything donald trump has ever done . Is that possible . Done is that possible not long ago, ronda started here. And then, more jobs began to appear. These techs in a lab. This builder in a hardhat. The welders and electricians who do all of that. The diner staffed up cause they all needed lunch. Teachers. Doctors. Jobs grew a bunch. What started with one job spread all around. Because each job in energy creates many more in this town. Energy lives here. Im not really a, i thought wall street guy. Ns. Whats the hesitation . Eh, it just feels too complicated, you know . Well sure, at first, but jj can help you with that. Jj, will you break it down for this gentleman . Hey, ian. You know, at Td Ameritrade, we can walk you through your options trades step by step until youre comfortable. I could be up for that. Thats taking options trading from wall st. To main st. Hey guys, wanna play some pool . Eh, im not really a pool guy. Whats the hesitation . Its just complicated. Stepbystep options trading support from Td Ameritrade and the army taught me a lot about commitment. Which i apply to my life and my work. At comcast were commited to delivering the best experience possible, by being on time everytime. And if we are ever late, well give you a automatic twenty dollar credit. My name is antonio and im a technician at comcast. Were working to make things simple, easy and awesome. Today the Fbi Agents Association issued a report saying the partial shutdown of the federal government which includes a shutdown of the fbi is hampering the fbis ability to investigate terrorism, drug trafficking, child sex predators, and Donald Trumps favorite target, the gang ms13. President trump has told the country that we need to build a wall to defend against all of those things especially the invasion of ms13 gang members across the southern border, and in order to get that wall now President Trump has shutdown the government and some of the operations of the fbi, and that has now made life easier on that very same gang, according to the fbi. One fbi agent who oversees fbi s. W. A. T. Teams says they have no means of purchasing critical equipment, gear or ammo for either training or operations. Tsa is now pleading for back up agents as the number of tsa agents who did not show up for work hit a record high at 10 . With polls showing the blame for the shutdown rests decisively with donald trump and congressional republicans. Mitch mcconnell has decided to do what he could have done weeks or ago but always claimed he would not do. He is going to bring one of the bills nancy pelosi passed to the senate. That bill would reopen the government until february 8th. If that bill passes the senate it would be immediately sent to the white house for the president s signature. And because the president is donald trump, we have no idea whether the president will or wouldnt sign that bill. The vote of the Pelosi Mcconnell bill would come after mcconnell gives donald trump the pleasure of watching the president s latest proposal come to a vote in the senate. That bill would include the president s current request of 5. 7 billion for border wall funding. The reason Mitch Mcconnell has a second bill ready to come to a vote after the trump bill is that senator mcconnell knows the trump bill will be defeated in the senate. The votes are currently scheduled for thursday. Joining us now ron klain, former Senior Advisor to Vice President joe biden and president obama. Also National Political reporter for the washington post. Matt, i want to start with you because you had reporting especially from michigan from areas you visited areas where donald trump has had pretty good support. And even in those places at crucial Electoral College areas for donald trump, according to your reporting theyre blaming the shutdown on donald trump. Thats right. I spent a couple of days in michigan and suburban detroit. This is an area when we think of blue collar voters who swung the 2016 election to donald trump, these are the voters were talking about. And many that i spoke to the concerns about President Trump. Republicans or democrats who swung and voted for President Trump are concerned about him, and the shutdown is adding to that. Theyre worried about things it might do to an economy they so far felt pretty good about. And i think that is causing more anxiety, and theyre saying it would take something miraculous for them to support President Trump again. So it sill straights a little bit of the challenges he faces right now as he deals with the shutdown and gets a lot of the blame for it. Speaking of something miraculous, ron klain, Mitch Mcconnell has risen from a version of the dead in the senate. And here he is now doing what he said he wouldnt do, and hes actually trying to move some bills on the senate floor. Only in the u. S. Senate of Mitch Mcconnell could putting up proposals that will lose be considered actual ledgislation. Theyre going to put this trump proposal, which is no compromise at all, a threat to take the dreamers hostage and put that up for a vote and lose. And then well see the second bill is a vote that passed unanimously in d. Ecember. After two years now they expect a Democratic House to fund the wall instead of having either republicans fund it or mexico fund it as the president promised. I dont think anything productive is going to happen thursday but at least theyre going to cast some votes. Again, matt, ron points out something when it comes to pelosi vote. And Mitch Mcconnell wouldnt be talking about voting on a second bill if he wasnt 100 confident the first one, the trump bill will fail. But the fact this United States senate in effect voted unanimously for this bill already puts an interesting kind of pressure on republicans in the senate. And then theres also the question of what their constituents are telling them and what their constituents want not so much tonight but by thursday when their voting on these things. Because in the United States Senate Everything that a senator thinks hes going to do on a vote like this can change when the moment actually comes. It does. And of all the democrats supporting, they need 13 democrats to join in to pass this legislation. Given this is the grip that President Trump seems to have on his party and on Senate Republicans, it seems like a tall order. But as you point out theyve been on record supporting this kind of thing in the past. So i think you will see a lot of pressure on Senate Republicans to try and join probably a unanimous Democratic Senate to pass the bill. And ron klain, i just want to have to say for the audience in the United States senate you and i worked in, this kind of situation would not even be suspenseful because the entire senate would be working against a president who said he was proud to shutdown the government. You would get easily two thirds agreement to move something over president ial veto to open the government in a situation like this. Well, absolutely, lawrence. And i think, look, trump appear tuesday be willing to go down with the ship to save his wall. And the question is are republican senators willing to take their own careers down for the cause of trumps wall . I mean a match reporting polls that are coming up show that even republican leaning independence, even some trump voters say whats happening now is wrong. Working class people with losing their jobs. Were seeing working class people who work for the government lining up in food kitchens to get food supplies. Fbi agents have turned a field office into a food bank. This is something no politician on either party should want a part of. And to get a wall they never paid for before, that mexico was not paying for, thats trumps decision. The question is will republican lash themselves to that horrible judgment . We know political polling measure a strength in a voter. We have recent polling that indicate 57 of voters say they definitely will not vote for donald trump. And that decision by a voter to definitely not vote for someone tends to be one that holds more strongly than other decisions voters make about who they might vote for not vote for. But when theyre saying definitely wont vote for is pretty intense. Is that the kind of intensity you were finding in michigan when you were talking to voters . It was. And again these are people who voted for donald trump in 2016. There are some i talked to already there definitely arent voting for him again. So that illustrates i think a lot of the challenge that he has. And the way we are now, people may forget about this Government Shutdown by then, but its causing some kind of lasting opinions of people, particularly in blue collar areas who see themselves in some of these government workers. You know, lets do a blue collar middle class Government Employees who are going without a paycheck, people in areas like detroit see themselves in those people and feel for them. So i think theyre identifying with them a little bit in the Government Shutdown in an unusual way. Campaign commercials are going to be filled with donald trump promising to shutdown the government and saying he would be proud to shutdown the government. Thats going to be running on a loop in the campaign. Thank you both for joining us tonight. And when we come back apprentice producer mark burnett has made a surprise entry in the investigation of Donald Trumps ties to russia. Y in the investigation of Donald Trumps ties to russia always a catch. Like somehow you wind up getting less. But now that i book at hilton. Com, and i get all these great perks. I got to select my room from the floor plan. Very nice. I know, im good at picking stuff. Free wifi. Laptop by the pool is a bold choice. And the price match guarantee. How do you know all of this . Are you like some magical hilton fairy . Its just here on the hilton app. Just available to the public, so. Book at hilton. Com and get the hilton price match guarantee. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25 off that stay. If you find a lower rate, we match it and give you yeah right. Iand the earth is flat. Ahhh treat your cough seriously with robitussin cf max. Nothing lasts longer and treats more symptoms for your cough, cold and flu. Robitussin. Because its never just a cough. Lookin better than a body has a right to and shakin me up so applebees all you can eat is back. Now with shrimp. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Right. But, uh, a talking gecko . Ill tell you why because people trust advertising icons. Some bloke tells you to go to geico. Com and youre like, really . And just who might you be . But a gecko he can be trusted. I ask you if you want to save hundreds on Car Insurance. And youre like, yes thank you, mind babysitting my kids . Im like, of course ill sit with the kids. Youre like a brother to me. Geico. Com. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Since the trump president ial Campaign Began all eyes in hollywood have been trained on mark burnett who was the producer and owner of the nbc show in which donald trump played the part of a successful businessman who pretended to fire people. Mark burnett is the owner and custodian of all of the video shot for that show including all of the video of donald trump that they did not use and could not use on the show. Sources involve would the show have suggested that trump said things on video that would be politically harmful to him if revealed but his friend mark burnett has successfully blocked access to that video. And now mark burnett has made a surprise entry into Donald Trumps ties to russia. Abc news is reporting tonight nine days after scores of reporters clamored for meetings with his Transition Team the hollywood producer of the apprentice reached out to see if he would sit down with a banker, a vicechairman who has claimed connections to putins inner circle who previously ran a 3 billion russian investment fund. Abc reports in midnovember 2016 he found his way onto the daily calendar of Thomas Barack who at the time was chairing what would become trumps 100 million inaugural fund. Foresman name appears. Baracks meeting withforesman was ultimately canceled and in january he secured a meeting with michael flynn, who according to two sources familiar with foresman contacts. Also this week the New York Times is reporting details on the Trump Administrations deal to lift sanctions on companies tied to Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The times reports a binding document signed by both sides suggests that the agreement may have been less punitive than advertised. The deal contains provisions that free him from hundreds of millions of dollars of debt while leaving his and his allies with majority ownership of his most important company. Joining us now a former cia operative and former independent president ial candidate. And back with us is tim obrien. And the Oleg Deripaska sanctions seems to have been not something with the Trump Administrations help he has to suffer much longer. Yeah, thats right. And the administration is making statements basically trying to move attention on this story to the point that theyre disrupting Oleg Deripaskas finances. Theyre making him sacrifice some of his ownership. Theyre trying to limit his ability to exercise control over that aluminum companys operations, thereby making it more difficult as they say for him on behalf of the putin regime to use that companys operations to carry out illicit activities around the world. But in reality, though, theyre giving a gift to putin. Theyre giving a gift to this oligarch. Whats important is not just sanctioning these oligarchs, and that is important, but its also sanctioning the assets that the regime uses to enrich and control these oligarchs and to empower the regime. And so if you simply say, look, Oleg Deripaska as long as you remove your ownership and control from his company were not going to sanction the company, then the regime simply adjusts and it makes sure that Oleg Deripaska is still taken care of, but it still has this company that is operating on behalf of really the regime still generating profits, still generating value and still capable of serving putins interests in whichever way he wants. So it is important that we continue to have sanctions on this and other companies that putin uses as this kind of vehicle. And unfortunately, were not. And i think the Administration Knows that very well. Tim obrien, big surprise. Mark burnett connected to a banker whos close to vladimir putin. This becomes a little bit of an echo of reporting in the new yorker earlier this month that mark burnett turns out tried to do a Reality Tv Show involving vladimir putin, wanted to be in business with vladimir putin, in the tv business. Yeah, you know, this is moment when its worth remembering that prior to the apprentice donald trump was a punch line to the access and he still was during the apprentice except interest the people out there who voted for donald trump. Donald trump is a gureue u t aspiring entrepreneurs, and to some extent its come full circle because theres always been this question why wouldnt mark burnett release tapes that supposedly existed or look into why didnt he come out more vocally against the president during the election and after he won . And we now know that apparently he was acting as a broker for an investment banker with ties to russia to tom barrack and the rest of the Trump Administration during the inauguration. And the inauguration was a sort of almost bank heist of people trying to pour money into trumps inauguration to get access. We dont know what burnett was now doing, but he probably becomes a candidate for congressional inquiry. Trump tower moskow now seem tuesday be possibly a serious center of russian influence in terms of the president , the president s family, ivanka trump eagerly making plans about the spa she wanted to run in that building. Donald trump, jr. Actively involved in discussions with Michael Cohen and others about this possible building. In your experience in intelligence, what do you see in the trump tower moskow story . Well, i see a president or president ial candidate who was carrying a lot of the water for russia in its attack against the country. I mean, i say this over and over. I still dont think weve fully come to terms with it here in this country, but russia was the biggest asset, the biggest weapon in russias attack on the country. I mean he repeated their propaganda and their disinformation the whole way through. And you couldnt have avoided it if you lived in america during the campaign. And, you know, that was on everything from sanctions to russias invasion of ukraine to all kinds of issues, but especially sanctions and nato. And then the divisive rhetoric, trying to divide americans and turn us against each other. So all the while trump is carrying this water, and i think he knew it. I think he understood exactly what he was doing. And i think he then therefore saw an opportunity to advance his business interests in moskow, in russia. He saw that because i believe, because he was doing this essentially work for russia in the United States by carrying russias message, et cetera, by covering for their attacks on the United States, that he had an opportunity and he was trying to strike while the iron was hot in mew view in moskow, trying to benefit from what he was doing here in the United States to benefit russias attack on our country. And so thats why thats why he was doing it and thats why also he didnt want to admit it. Thats why he concealed it even after the campaign, continued to deny he had any business interests in russia. Thats because he understood the illicit nature of that transaction, whether it was explicit or implicit. Thank you both for joining us. And when we come back, why has Mitch Mcconnell redefined the Senate Majority leaders job of being essentially a servant of the president . Does that make him the worst majority leader in history . Thet majority leader inis htory i hear it in the background and shes watching too, saying [indistinct conversation] [friend] ive never seen that before. I have. Because they let me to customize my insurance, and as a fitness junkie, i customize everything. Like my bike and my calves. Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Yeah right. Iand the earth is flat. Ahhh treat your cough seriously with robitussin cf max. Nothing lasts longer and treats more symptoms for your cough, cold and flu. Robitussin. Because its never just a cough. After President Trumps unforgettable tantrum in the oval office with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer in which the president promised to shutdown the government and said he would be proud to shutdown the government if he didnt get funding for abird funding for a border wall that he used to promise mexico would pay for, the adult in not in that room promised us there would be no Government Shutdown. I think a Government Shutdown is not a good option. If the American People dont like it, weve been down this path before and i dont believe well go down this path again. Are you convinced he will not shutdown for a border wall . Yeah, i am. They tell you whats really going to happen and they tell you whats not going to happen. But Mitch Mcconnell is not a strong leader of the United States senate. He could not stop donald trump from shutting down the government because he would not stand up to the president of the United States as majority leaders have done many, many times in history including standing up against president s of their own party. And then once the shutdown started Mitch Mcconnell did nothing to solve the problem. When the democrats then took over the house of representatives 12 days into the shutdown nancy pelosi immediately went to work to reopen the government and passed a variety of funding bills that would reopen the government. And Mitch Mcconnell was afraid, just afraid to bring up those bills when they were sent to the senate. Because unlike any previous majority leader of the senate, he seems to live in fear of the president. And so the 800,000 federal workers who have missed their paychecks have missed them because of donald trump and very much because of Mitch Mcconnell. The former democratic leader of the Senate Harry Reid said this about Mitch Mcconnell to the New York Times. I believe that Mitch Mcconnell has ruined the senate, reid who retired in 2017 now says. I do not believe the senate for the next generation or two will be the senate i return to. Its gone. The old senate is gone. When we come back well be joined by somebody who remembers the old senate, and he will discuss where Mitch Mcconnell fits in the history of this job called Senate Majority leader, which is only about 100 years old. The senate went quite a while without ever having a majority leader, so theres not that many people to compare him to. But its hard to find anyone in that history who has been as weak in confronting a president of the United States than Mitch Mcconnell. Well be right back. N Mitch Mcconnell. Well be right back. avo life doesnt give you many Second Chances. But a subaru can. You guys ok . You alright . Wow. avo eyesight with precollision braking. Standard on the subaru ascent. Presenting the allnew threerow subaru ascent. Love is now bigger than ever. boy got it. Nooooooo. dad nooooooo. vo quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is two times more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. When you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Girl, pepto ultra coating will treat your stomach right. Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. Try pepto with ultra coating. Aso our tools and technologyw yodeliver results you can see. S. We can connect to your audiences wherever they are and however they watch whether on their tv, laptop or mobile device. And to make sure they dont miss your message, we give you access to advertise on over fifty networks, sharing it on the hottest shows, digital sites, and mobile destinations. Lets find your audience today. See what you can do at comcastspotlight. Com. When the New York Times asked Mitch Mcconnells wife who is Donald Trumps secretary of transportation, if President Trump and Mitch Mcconnell like each other, the times reports she was silent for a full four seconds before replooig youyin have to ask the president that and youll have to ask the leader that. Joining our discussion, norm ornstein, a congressional histori historian. Norm, youve known most of these Senate Majority leaders. I think theres general agreement that Mike Mansfield was probably the best and the longest serving. The majority leader who i watched up close, George Mitchell absolutely brilliant, fearless, brilliant strategist and had to many times explain to president clinton, i saw him do it, that what the president wanted to do couldnt be done and heres what were going to have to do instead, and heres why thats going to work. It seemed like that kind of moment has never happened with Mitch Mcconnell and donald trump. Oh, i think thats absolutely right, and if you look at the history of this office as you said it goes back to 1920, and you go through the whole series of leaders from Oscar Underwood on, the ones that you mentioned, people like robert bird, Republican Leaders like howard baker and hugh scott, even trent lot all the way up they believed in a certain level of integrity for the senate, and what weve seen from mcconnell in the last two years is exactly the opposite, protecting trump, kowtowing to trump, but of course before that we have to add that he destroyed the rules of the senate as harry reid said. He almost single handedly destroyed the norms of the institution and the way it had operate skpd theres a lot to answer for there. And norm, when i was working in the senate, bob dole was the republican leader and Mitch Mcconnell was one of the most reasonable members of the republican side of the senate at that time. He was the chairman of the ethics committee, and he at that time recommended the expulsion of the republican chairman of the Senate Finance committee and the chairman of finance had to resign as a result of that. If you had told me in the early 1990s Mitch Mcconnell is going to be the republican leader of the senate in the 21st century, i would have said good. Thats one of the people who i think would have been reasonable. What happened to him . What has happened to the senator he used to be . You know, his mentor, the person he first worked for when he came to the senate was John Sherman Cooper of kentucky, somebody i knew who was a man of just sterling integrity and who venerated the senate, and i think if John Sherman Cooper were around today he would be horrified of what became of Mitch Mcconnell. It may have started when he chaired the senatorial committee, went out and raised a lot of money and his ambitions got greater. It may have gone to his growing antipathy towards any regulation of the Campaign Finance system and his belief that he would do anything necessary to deal with it, and that led to what he did to destroy the confirmation process for judges as well as justices of the supreme court, and then it goes to believing that the ends justify the means on just about everything. This has been a change and the mcconnell that i knew, even yorks you know, when we were trying to get foreign aid done when he was the chair of the appropriations subcommittee was a reasonable moderate conservative and hes turned into something entirely different. Its a sad thing for the country and a tragic thing when we look at what hes done and what hes now doing on the policy front and on protecting trump and lets not forget that he blocked from consideration a bill that would have protected Robert Mueller that would have gotten overwhelming bipartisan support. So this goes to a lot more than just being weak at this moment on a shutdown. So, norm, just quickly in our 100 years of Senate Majority leaders, where does Mitch Mcconnell rank . Dead last. Dead last. By acclimation. There it is. Norm ornstein, thank you for joining us. Really appreciate it. Tonights last word is next. Minimums and fees. They seem to be the very foundation of your typical bank. Capital one is anything but typical. Thats why we designed capital one cafes. You can get savings and checking accounts with no fees or minimums. And one of americas best savings rates. To top it off, you can open one from anywhere in 5 minutes. This isnt a typical bank. This is banking reimagined. Whats in your wallet . Smile dad. I take medication for high Blood Pressure and cholesterol. But they might not be enough to protect my heart. Adding bayer aspirin can further reduce the risk of another heart attack. Because my Second Chance matters. Be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. Were all under one roof now. Congratulations. Thank you. How many kids . My two. His three. Along with two dogs and jake, our new parrot. That is quite the family. Quite a lot of colleges to pay for though. A lot of colleges. You get any Financial Advice . Yeah, but im pretty sure its the same plan they sold me before. Well your situations totally changed now. Right, right. How bout a plan that works for 5 kids, 2 dogs and jake over here . That would be great. That would be great. That okay with you, jake . Get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change from Td Ameritrade investment management. Little things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not a cream. Its a pill that treats moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis differently. With otezla,75 clearer skin is achievable. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. Take your razor, yup. Up and down, never side to side, shaquem, you got it . Come on stay focused. Hard work baby, it gonna pay off. Not long ago, ronda started here. And then, more jobs began to appear. These techs in a lab. This builder in a hardhat. The welders and electricians who do all of that. The diner staffed up cause they all needed lunch. Teachers. Doctors. Jobs grew a bunch. What started with one job spread all around. Because each job in energy creates many more in this town. Energy lives here. Time for tonights last word. Politico reports that within 24 hours of announcing her campaign for president , california senator Kamala Harris raised 1. 5 million, which tied senator Bernie Sanders record breaking oneday total from his 2016 president ial campaign. Kamala harris got that support from 38,000 donors, which is 3,000 more than senator sanders got in one day. Now, take a look at this 2020 primary schedule. These are tentative dates at this point. February 3rd is when it all begins in iowa. A month later, one month after those first votes are cast in the Iowa Caucuses on february 3rd, if the candidates who hang on until march 3rd make it to that date. Look at the important states voting, california, texas, massachusetts, elizabeth warrens massachusetts, Kamala Harris is california, beto orourkes texas. Julian castros texas. That is the date that should clarify things, but it might not. It might be a split vote all over that map, but californias the biggest prize that day. It is going to be the superest of super tuesdays. Thats tonights last word, the 11th hour with Brian Williams starts now. Tonight just an hour away from day 33 of the shutdown. Theres talk of two planned votes, but no predictions of opening back up again. Also uncertain tonight, if and where there will be a state of the Union Address this year. Meanwhile, fbi agents