A moment. We start with that breaking news, secretary of state mike pompeo speaking just moments ago on the u. S. Investigation into the death of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He says that the United States will be giving the saudis a few more days to complete its investigation, a little more time to investigate meaning that they will be pushing the deadline past secretary of state excuse me, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchins still scheduled visit tomorrow. Heres secretary pompeo a few moments ago. We made clear to them that we take this matter with respect to mr. Khashoggi very seriously. They made clear to me they too understand the serious nature of the disappearance of mr. Khashoggi. They also assured me that they will conduct a complete, thorough investigation of all of the facts surrounding mr. Khashoggi and they will do so in a timely fashion, and that this report itself will be transparent for everyone to see. Lets go to the white house now, hans nichols is there. It was interesting to hear the secretary of state describe this as an incident. It was also interesting to hear him spend a fair amount of time talking about the relationship that the United States has with saudi arabia and how long that relationship has existed. Going back to the 30s as secretary of state mike pompeo just said talking about the importance of the saudis role in Counter Terrorism operations as well as the strategic importance of having an ally like that in the middle east. The two holy sites of islam there. Its an indication that mike pompeo might be willing to give the saudis the benefit of the doubt. At the same time, he was very clear that theyre expecting transparency, that they take this very seriously and as he said, they want to give them a couple of more days. They want to give the saudis a little bit more time to complete this investigation. Now, when i tried to press him on whether or not that was a firm and fast deadline for the saudis, he didnt answer. He was also pressed on whether or not he had heard those tapes, those intercepts, whether or not they exist and whether or not he had heard the final moments of Jamal Khashoggi, and also whether or not hes dead or alive. He didnt answer those questions. So hes briefed the president , mike pompeo is going to be heading off to another trip. Hes going to hit the road again. The latest from the white house is the president s been briefed, ask theyre going to give the saudis a couple more days, and theyre expecting a transparent investigation. Lets talk about Something Else thats making a fair amount of news this morning, 19 days until these midterms. Now we have the number two man at the department of justice deciding to take questions on the mueller investigation, not from House Republicans who have been demanding this sort of interview for weeks now but from the wall street journal. Curious timing. What did he say in that interview sm. Reporter he understands he serves the pleasure of the president. Its an indication he feels somewhat secure in his job after that air force one ride with President Trump. But he also said that the investigation of bob mueller has revealed a multifaceted Widespread Campaign of influence and interference by the russians, and i think its really crucial that you heard you hear that from the number two man at the Justice Department that what the russians did in the 2016 2016 election was widespread. Thats not something that weve heard from the president. He always seems to be dismissing it suggesting it was perhaps the chinese, and only under the pain of a president ial press conference where he can see that, yes, maybe the russians had some influence, some interference in the election. I think its important that Rod Rosenstein is staking that out, and its an indication that when this investigation wraps up, when mueller completes his work, that the Justice Department wants to be seen as impartial. They want whatever they send to the wherever they send the report, they want it to have some heft and authority. Hans nichols at the white house. Matt miller joins me now, hes an msnbc justice and security analyst, and White House Correspondent for the pbs news hour. A big thanks to both of you. Matt, ill start with you. House republicans not happy with this interviewme. This is what devin nunes told the washington examiner. Rosenstein is trying to run out the clock hoping that democrats win control of the house and knowing hell never be called to account for anything if they do. Is that it . Is rosenstein, is he reading the midterm tea leaves here . I dont think thats what hes doing in the interview. I think, you know, devin nunes is probably right that he is trying to avoid coming in for an int interview now and waiting until january and he wouldnt have to reply to a subpoena. I actually think the most interesting question about this interview is the one you asked hans, and thats the timing. A lot of the words Rod Rosenstein said are things weve heard before about the importance of this investigation and how its being conducted appropriately. The timing is very curious. The way i read it, unfortunately, is i think he knows that after the election the president is likely to change the leadership of the department. Sessions is obviously going to be gone, and i read this as rod thinking he might be gone, too, and hes now out trying to submit his legacy with the public. Its something we know he cares a lot about, and i think hes trying to send a message about the work that hes done there. I will say the one thing in the interview that concerns me is a little bit more deference to the president than i would like to see from Rod Rosenstein. Weve seen this before, when this report about the wire and the 25th amendment came out, he reportedly offered to resign in the wake of it, and you see this here in the interview where he talks about serving at the pleasure of the president. In normal times that would be what you would expect to hear from a senior official. Hes in charge of overseeing and protecting the most important investigation in the history of the Justice Department, and if the president is going to move to try to change leadership at doj, i dont think rod should go willingly. I think he should make the president fire him and suffer the political consequences for doing so. That would be the right thing for the department, but its not where you see the Deputy Attorney general headed now. In the interview, rosenstein declines to comment on a timetable for completion of this mueller probe. Meanwhile, bloomberg quoting two u. S. Officials who say that mueller is ready to deliver findings on questions of collusion as well as obstruction of justice after the midterms, nbc news has not reported the same, but the timing as matt indicated, the timing is curious. How much of this do you think is about possibly laying the groundwork, some sort of groundwork here with this intervi interview . Its really hard to figure out why Rod Rosenstein is doing this now. Its also hard to figure out whether mueller has a time line for when hes going to be finished. Theres been time line after time line thats been given to the president to say we think its going to be done in september. Now its going to be october. Definitely after the midterms. I think there are people who want to give President Trump some solace and provide some sort of time line, but mueller has given no indication to anyone really that he has a specific date that hes going to be done by, and the idea that Rod Rosenstein is saying theres widespread meddling in our elections by russia, shows that they have a lot of work to do. Maybe this will be done after the midterms, but maybe not. What i think is interesting is what Rod Rosenstein said about the idea hes prepared to do his job as long as he can. I think that tells me that he understands that whatever happens he really cant stop it, even if he tries to go down with a fight, theres really nothing he can do. If he gets fired, he gets fired. 17 months yesterday mueller was appointed, matt. How close do you think he is to turning over a report of some sort . You know, it is very hard to tell. If you look at the public signs, there are a number of signs he may be close to a conclusion. There are prosecutors that have gone back to their regular jobs at the Justice Department. Mike flynn is going to be sentenced in december. There are some signs hes getting close. At the same time if you look at other pieces of the investigation, if roger stone is indicted soon, as seems likely, that starts a clock until trial, probably six or nine months. Bob mueller wouldnt shut down before that trial takes place. You have to actually see the trial through, but for another you dont know up until the end whether roger stone is going to flip and cooperate against someone in the president s or the president hills as we saw Paul Manafort do before his second trial. While there are some indications he might be getting close, as long as theres a potential indictment coming, that would argue that he is going to be around at least in some capacity for a while longer. Yamiche, new white House Counsel is in now, don mcgahns out. What do we know about the replacement, and what do we know about some of the challenges that she faces . Well, the channels that that person faces really are whether or not President Trump can heed that persons advice. Don mcgahn was seen as someone who at least he told some friends according to the New York Times that he stopped the president from firing robert mueller. What you saw in don mcgahn was someone who was loyal to the president but also acting as a barrier when it came to him acting on his gut feelings and his feeling as though this whole thing was hoax and he needed to get personally involved in the mueller investigation. This new person is going to have to decide how strong they want to be with President Trump and if theyre going to start to insist that President Trump back down or if the president s going to be, as he said in a couple interviews, that hes going to start to try to get involved. He says ive been holding back from the mueller investigation, but maybe its time for me to get involved. Yamiche, matt miller, a big thanks to both of you on this thursday. Joe biden has a warning for democrats. The former vp telling his party to pump the brakes on something, at least for now. And the road to 2020 runs through South Carolina, the midterms more than two weeks away, but candidates looking ahead to 2020 making their debut in the palmetto state, who and why . And obamas message, the former president out with an online video targeting millennials. Hes telling them if you want to change this country, then get out and vote. I dont care about politics. Look, i dont care about poke n pokemon, but that doesnt mean it wont keep coming back. Esntn it wont keep coming back. At humana, we believe great things are ahead of you when you start with healthy. And part of staying healthy means choosing the right medicare plan. 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Well almost anything. Leave no room behind with xfi pods. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Click or visit a retail store today. This is the scene on the Upper West Side here in new york city right now. You can see two workers there removing the president s name from a building. Voters, condo owners in this particular building on the Upper West Side, they voted to strip the president s name from that building here in new york city. It is now going to simply be known by its address, 200 riverside boulevard. This is a 46story building, perhaps another sign that the President Trump brand is starting to lose a bit of its appeal. Again, after more than a quarter of a century, trump plaza only going to be known by its address, 200 riverside boulevard. You see the workers there removing the president s last name right now. Meanwhile, the breaking news this hour, secretary of state mike pompeo just briefed President Trump on the results of his meetings in saudi arabia and turkey on the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The secretary of state says that the u. S. Should give saudi arabia a few more days to complete its investigation. Today the Washington Post, which publishes khashoggis columns printed his final column. Lets bring in philip rucker, White House Bureau chief for the Washington Post. He is also an msnbc political analyst. Phil, lets just start with what we heard from secretary of state mike pompeo a few moments ago. Does it give the president a little cover and push this issue to the back burner for now . Craig, i dont think its going to push the issue to the back burner, but he is certainly trying to buy a little bit of time for the administration to arrive at a decision about how aggressively to confront the Saudi Arabian leadership if at all. Pompeo seems to be allowing for some time here for the saudis to complete an internal investigation, but that is in spite of mounting evidence from turkish authorities and evidence that u. S. Intelligence agencies have to suggest that not only were the saudis was the saudi regime involved in the disappearance and murder of Jamal Khashoggi, but the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was central in ordering it and behind the effort. And so i think the administration, i know the president has been looking for ways to delay any sort of decision on this. Hes very reluctant to confront the saudis because of the u. S. Partnership with saudi arabia. Hes been reaching for ways to defend saudi arabia, and i think that cycle is going to continue here for another day or two, at least. And your story in the post, you write about President Trumps response to khashoggis killing by saudi agents, and days of private phone calls and oval office huddles, trump has repeatedly reached for reasons to protect the u. S. saudi relationship according to Administration Officials and president ial advisers. Why such a soft stance from this administration . What are this administrations priorities as they relate to saudi arabia as we understand them . Well, craig, our sources tell us that there are a couple key things that President Trump privately has been pointing to. Hes very reluctant to disrupt multibillion dollars arms deal with saudi arabia to purchase u. S. Military equipment. He wants to protect that. Hes very reluctant to alienate saudi arabia because he sees them as a critical ally in the middle east with the United States as a counter to iran and extremism in the region. Hes also very concerned about oil prices. He knows that saudi arabia is an oilrich kingdom, and they could at a moments notice potentially cut off Petroleum Supply into the United States, which could result in oil prices potentially going up, which would be a political liability for trump here domestically. Hes very concerned about that, and craig, hes repeatedly pointed out publicly but also in private with his advisers that Jamal Khashoggi is not a u. S. Citizen. Hes a saudi citizen. Erin though he lived here in virginia, even though he wrote columns for the Washington Post, he is a citizen of saudi arabia, and the implication being that hes not trumps problem. Khashoggis column with its moving preface by his editor, tf it was about things that you and i hold near and dear, freedom of expression, freedom of the press. I want to read this excerpt that caught my eye. The post has taken the initiative to translate many of my pieces and publish them in arabic for that i am grateful. Arabs need to read in their own language so they can und