to their authority to hold the president accountable. it's the kind of thing they ought to move immediately to investigate and not wait for the end of mueller's investigation. >> couldn't they be interfering with mueller's investigation? he still has witnesses open, he still has that grand jury open. >> they can do a bit of deac de-confliction with him. they can try to make sure they don't interfere with the investigation. but congress has its own responsibility here. this lie, if this was a lie, was to congress. the justice department has made clear they are not the final adjudicators of presidential behavi behavior. they've made clear they can't indict the president. pleading guilty to a crime is not on the table for the president. so it's up to congress. there is no reason to wait and investigate. >> peter baker, what about the mood inside the white house, from what you're hearing, the "new york times" report about