I am happy of everything hes doing for the economy at least. And what about the white house demand for its release . New information coming up. And a new report is looking at the Washington Post despite the doj warning House Republicans that this would be doing something reckless without an official review. Members of the house and chair devin nunez may have relied on questionable sources to request the fisa warrant early in the investigation. The Senior Administration tells the Washington Post that trump is inclined to have the memo released. Apparently all the rumors are that it will shed light and help investigators come to a conclusion. White house chief of staff john kelly conveyed to an attorney general during two conversations on wednesday. Msnbc has not end dindependentl confirmed this report. And last night Jeff Sessions tweeted that the republicans are only interested in obstruction. It is unclear how much of this fight well see on tuesday when the president delivers his first state of the Union Address. Heres Kristen Welker with a preview. Reporter poised to address a deeply divided nation at his first state of the Union Address tuesday, President Trump will aim to strike a tone of unity echoing the optimism from his joint address to Congress Last year. A new chapter of american greatness is now beginning. Reporter in a preview, one Senior Administration official says the theme this year, building a safe, strong and proud america. The president preparing to highlight 14 points, jobs and the economy with a focus on his tax victory. Its the largest tax cut in the history of our country. Reporter the president expected to press congress to pass a trillion dollar frux p k infrastructure package along with border wall funding. And another key focus, National Security. Making his case for a stronger military. More secure borders and a tough approach to north korea. We will defend our common security. Reporter the president will deliver the adepress the shadow of the escalating russia probe. Cnn reporting that mr. Trump privately was venting about rod rosenstein, his Deputy Attorney general. The president s counsel on russia, ty cobb, pulling that of the onslaught of false stories. All setting up for the historic moment with high stakes. You give someone a chance to make achievements particularly on tax reform, lay out a road map for the year ahead without having to talk about russia. Nbcs Kristen Welker, thank you. Lets bring in julia manchester, reporter for the hill. And the chief washington correspondent for bloomberg tv. Great to have you here on a monday morning. Great to be here. Julia, well start with you. Once again, mr. Trump told reporters theres no collusion. Do you think he would discredit the Russian Election come tuesday . I doubt it. The president tends to stay to the script. And he stayed to the script last friday when he was speaking at davos when he talked about economic improvement under his administration. So i think the president will probably be more likely to highlight the improvement in the economy as well as concerns about north korea, then focus on russia. And kevin, President Trumps advisers sent the letter telling him the russia investigation would soon be wrapping up. How big of a deal is it for him to deliver the first state of the Union Address while essential lip under investigation . Big deal. Two things, first and foremost, the president according to sources working on the state of the Union Address as we heard is essentially going to lay this out in five key areas. Two being National Security and the second being infrastructure. I think youre going to see the president really try to kick start more of his economic agenda, most monotably infrastructure beyond tax reform. On the second side of that, in the leadup to the state of the union and on the flip side of the state of the union, well be hearing a lot about the russia investigation because its hanging over this administration. It is nearing the completion. And the president himself telling reporters he wants to testify to bob muellers team. And his own legal team saying, no, dont do that. But the tension in and of itself is going to be on full display over the next couple of weeks. And adding to that, julia, well go back to the Washington Post report that talks about bringing the investigation to an end. How do you understand the lengths President Trump went to make it public . Reporter yeah, i think the president is at odds with his own Justice Department. We have seen that he obviously expresses this desire but is expressing growing frustration with rod rosenstein. Its not the first time hes at odds with the Justice Department. And it shows how the president is basically siding with House Republicans, devin nunez, to get the memo released. We have heard reports theres a Twitter Campaign to release the memo over the past week on rightleaning users on twitter. So the president is definitely buying into that and really appealing to that part of his supporters base. But this also comes, we have to remember, in light of reports that the president asked white House Counsel don mcgann to fire mueller back in june. So this is interesting timing. And it plays into that part that the president makes it down with Robert Mueller pretty soon. And kevin, what do you know about the gop memo . Especially the refusal to show it to the Justice Department and richard burr in the senate . Well, i think what is interesting about the memo is the number of republicans up on capitol hill who are pushing for its release as well. People like House Freedom caucus mark med dose. So i think that there is a vocal constituency on the republican party. They are in lockstep with President Trump on this issue. We know for sure it has been quite controversial and others disagree with that. At tend of the day, all the intensity surrounding this, everybodys point would suggest we are nearing the completion of this investigation. And as a result of that, youre seeing republicans and democrats start to amplify their rhetoric around it in the name of transparency, but at the end of the day, its all about finally seeing a what bob mueller has concluded from this investigation. This comes on the heels of the bombshell report that President Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller. Let me hear what the cia director robert gates told chuck todd in an interview airing later this morning. I dont know how you how you have a congress that extends an umbrella of protection legally through legislation who what is the executive branch nomination. I would say this, is to try and figure out how to make it clear, the magnitude of the political cost that would be incurred should he be fired. Yulia, it sounds to me Like Congress has no resource. So whether it is through legislation or what the secretary suggests, which is to convey the ramifications of firing mueller here. What do they do . Reporter yeah, so, so we have seen the bipartisan pieces of legislation proposed to protect mueller, but i think it depends on houses. I think the senate has been much more supportive of mueller. We have heard praise of mueller as fbi director in the past from the senate. However, in the house we have seen a lot of ans noimosity tow mueller. So it dependses what chamber there because theres a big differentiation there. And President Trump tweeted last night, i offered daca and a 12year pathway to citizenship. For two reasons, because the republicans want to fix the longterm terrible program to show that detectives do not want to be stalled daca. Only viewed there. So what is going on here, kevin . This is a fascinating issue in the sense that 80 , think about this, 80 of the American People are on the side of d. R. E. A. M. Ers. If you look at any poll, this is overwhelming support for d. R. E. A. M. Ers. So look, we talk about republicans, we talk about the divide on them on the issue of the mueller probe, but well look at democrats for a second. I have interviewed several aids all week. Just remember there was a Government Shutdown a couple days ago and they were frustr e frustrated as Chuck Schumer negotiated a deal with republicans and didnt really, they feel, what was the deal . What did democrats get out of that . And i think that when you take a step back from this, if there isnt some comprehensive reform on daca come february 5th, well see who is going to be leading the democratic party. They will be thrust into the spotlight ahead of the 2020 election. That is looming large. Kevin cirilli, stay with us. We have much more to talk about this morning. And why President Trump is fighting to keep this a secret. Thats up next. Asked how they like their eggs, were pretty sure no ones ever said microwaved. You deserve a breakfast made with respect. Try the new bacon, egg, and cheese on brioche. Panera. Food as it should be. Not in this house. cause thats no average family. Thats your family. Which is why you didnt grab just any cheese. You picked up kraft mozzarella with a touch of philadelphia for lasanyeah kraft. Family greatly. New developments in the russia investigation as President Trump is calling for a highly classified memo to be released. The top secret document allegedly accuses the early reference made into the Mueller Investigation. Those who saw the memo had to say this about it. What i read today in that classified Briefing Room is that it is as bad as i thought it was. You are describing the very elements of a palace coup. And after jim and mark meadows and many of us reviewed the intelligence information today, it is abundantly clear that the entire Mueller Investigation is a lie built on a foundation of corruption. Strong words there. Joining me is federal prosecutor doug burns. Good to have you here this morning. Thank you. The Justice Department said leasing this memo to the public would be extraordinarily reckless. So do you see this as another attempt to disrupt the special counsels investigation . And could that lead down the road to obstruction . Yeah, dara, i call this down the middle. In other words, perfectly liable but they are able to throw smoke screens up and question the integrity of the officials and the fbi and the way the material was used to get the warrant. But at the same time, its legitimate in the other direction. Look, if it is a classified document, legally speaking, its got to be declassified or has to be what lawyers call redacted, take a number of the names out and so forth. So i mean, the committee claims they are going to vote this week on making it public, discriminating, well see. But i myself have not talked in the there. Please explain for us and the president why this is so . Well, it is interesting because i think, you know, various experts in my humble opinion have gotten it a little wrong. In other words, they come out with a blanket rule saying the president of the United States is the head of the executive branch and can terminate anybody. Thats generally true, but its not necessarily true. And it gets a lot trickier for sure if whatever matter were discussing could doubleback to the president himself. Now, obviously, you have heard the analogy to the president nixon wanting to fire Archibald Cox who was special counsel back then. And you just heard on your show, people saying secretary gates, it would be a blunder, disaster, im not here for that. Legally speaking, its a tricky nuanced question. And big news this week, we are told President Trump ordered to be fired. But then he backed down when the special counsel threatened to quit over this. That is interesting because it highlights what you asked me and some new gloss. There are a lot of debates open on this. He may have ordered it and then don mcgahn said, here are a number of reasons why you shouldnt do this and the president backed down. As far as the reporting requirement, did they have to report it . Not clear. I know that is a little wishywashy. He obviously has no maternity clients and is with the president white house council. So that is one way of sort of answering that. It is our privilege under the Attorney Client privilege. I want to take you back to obstruction because of what President Trump had to say about the allegations earlier this month. Take a listen. Do you think Robert Mueller will be fair to you in the larger investigation . Were going to find out. Are you concerned about this . Heres what everybody will say. Theres no collusion. What about it . Well, what if he fights back. You fight back, oh, its obstruction. So heres the thing, i hope so. He is saying hes entitled to fight back, but others call it obstruction. What do you make of this analysis . Well, both sides have arguments to work with. Obstruction, again, some experts say it cant be obstruction of justice because it can ordered a particul particulardrop. But not to sound like a broken record, that company could double back under the president. As you heard many experts say, dara, you need corrupt intent. So it has to add an additional gloss, money change, if you can establish clear intent on the part of the president. This cant be obstruction, its down the middle. It could be, but certain elements of it will have to be established. And, at the same time, it may not be, it depends. Its a highly, factually driven situation. Well have to see what Robert Muellers investigation reveals. Doug burns, thank you for sharing your insight this morning. Next, what is next for the president s state of the union speech . Well tell you what channels may face him when he faces the nation. And you can roll your credits to the next month if you dont use them. Audible members get free no hassle exchanges. And use the mobile app to listen anytime, anywhere. Start a 30day trial and your first audiobook is free. Listening, is the new reading. Text audio22 to five hundred five hundred to start listening today. Democrats are looking to counter President Trumps message by putting congress on the National Stage to deliver the partys official response. What does this signal to you . This is very significant. I mean, if you want american royalty, youve got it with the kennedys. Joe kennedy really went viral and became very popular last year when he responded to the efforts to repeal and replace obamacare. We see the kennedys very beloved among the American People. Hes the great nephew of a former president and beloved senator. And hes the grandson of attorney general robert kennedy. So i think democrats are definitely banking on name recognition, a family very popular with the American People, but someone who can appeal to middle class and working class voters, which is a segment of the population that trump has also tried to appeal to. This is a big contrast because i think joe kennedy iii is a very big fresh face. And will definitely present a contrast to trump, but i dont want to forget the latina hispanic response after virginias first ever latina house of delegates member, elizabeth goesmaat will deliver that. And he said he wants to give the state of the Union Address to unify the country, set out his vision over the next year, in particular, trying to get another legislative accomplishment done, most notably on infrastructure. Hes got to seize on whatever Political Capital he has left in terms of the republican party. And yeah, try to bring about the pull of republicans versus democrats. Can he have a speech unifying of a very divided country . And we will all be watching. Really quickly, you two, what is the headline wednesday morning . Julia, you first. I think youll see a lot of reporters talk about the moment President Trump became president ial once again. It seems like with every serious address, we saw it with the first address to Congress Last year, its about how he acted. Kevin, what about you . Congressman kennedy, does he take in any water during his response, like marco rubio. Good luck, congressman kennedy. What about President Trump . I think President Trump, can he unify the country . Can he push forward through the cloud of the Mueller Investigation and get infrastructure done this year. There are a lot of private Investment Companies around the world. We heard this in