Coverage of national and international news, including breaking stories. And Senior Reporter for the Washington Post,er rinne blake and anna palmer. Carol, let me go to you. You are writing now about how the president sees this interview with Robert Mueller, how his legal team sees the interview. Heres the thing, Rudy Giuliani is talking and talking and talking about this. You know whos not . Roberts mueller. Thats absolutely true, hallie. Robert mueller has been silent and the president s lawyers have been la quashs. But one thing has not changed and thats the essence of donald tru trump, which is he believes hes his best lawyer and own best pr guy and own best thinker and diplomat and in this instance, he does believe and has as we were reported back in the spring, has always believed that if he could just sit down with these people, he could straighten this all out and explain no collusion, this is a hoax. Now, his lawyers also have changed slightly in the sense that some put their foot down at the beginning and said you are
what Rudy Giuliani has said and others. April 30th, mueller having dozens of inquires for the president on the quest for the russia obstruction question. On may 7th, the president s lawyer said in the next ten days they would decide whether the president would testify. That deadline came and went with giuliani saying simply that mueller narrowed the scope of questions bringing us to august 1st when this apparent offer to limit the questions just this week, seth. Limiting questions, is that a good idea if youre Robert Mueller . He may agree to limit the questions just to get trump in the room. If he wants a couple of were going to ask you about obstruction and talk about lester holt, hes not giving away much. If that gets trump in the room which he wants more than anything else, hell put some written questions on the paper. I think this is a lot of just kind of watching the weighins before the big fight. I dont think this is really going to happen. Written questions, is that really something mueller wants or he hooks them with the written stuff then its a little bit of a bait and switch . I think thats exactly right. I think the written questions are pretty much filled out by the lawyers. Theyll run them past trump then he says already did you say
when you said to lester holt this Firing Of Comey was about the russia thing, true or false . Then they have 40 oral questions that follow up on that. You both cover this president , this administration. Will the president is there a chance, listen this is a guy as i know from covering him and does what he wants to do. If he turns around and said tog talking to robert mule every, whos going to stop him . He not only does what he wants to do but does the opposite of what everyone tells him to do, almost just to spite them. Right. Its interesting the approach carol noted initially was youre not doing this, no way. Now they are like, okay, you can do it if you want but here are the reasons you shouldnt, including a perjury trap that they are putting forward and talking about very publicly now. The fact that they are waging this very Public Campaign to basically on tv get him to back off of the stance, i think is maybe one of the most Significant Developments here. And i think whats also really interesting, trump and the Administration Keep saying over and over again, we want to
we achieve long sought conservative goals, stripping federal funds from planned parenthood. I take exception because if you watch the show, former official, we cover those things in our swamp watch and under the radar segments. But theres an idea even though the president is clearly spending time talking and tweeting about exactly this. There are other cogs in the wheel continuing to do the work on the policy side. I dont even think its necessarily that media isnt focusing on these things. I think its that the American People arent interested in them related to the russia stuff. I think the president recognizes that. Now whether this is a strategy to like say look over here while they are doing this whole dismanting of the federal government over here. Thats it sounds like the administration is saying that but also liberals are saying that. They are saying look whats going on over here. Lets not get distracted by this. When you have a president like this constantly making news and stoking controversy, it makes it that much harder to Everything Else to break through. We have a ton more to get to. I want to explore the look on
your face. Pleasure to have you, appreciate it. You bet. Three months out from the midterms and it is crunch time for democrats, trying to bring out the star power with former president Obama Rolling Out endorsements and set to hit the Campaign Trail. Could this provide some direction to a divided base . The man with the cash behind some of the key races is joining me live after the break. The fact is, there are over ninetysix hundred roads named park in the u. S. Its americas most popular street name. But Allstate Agents know thats where the similarity stops. If youre on park street in reno, nevada, the high winds of the Washoe Zephyr could damage your siding. And thats very different than living on park ave in sheboygan, wisconsin, where ice dams could cause water damage. But no matter what park you live on, one of 10,000 local Allstate Agents knows yours. Now that you know the truth, are you in good hands . Its a hightech sleep revolution. The sleep number 360 smart bed intelligently senses your movement and automatically adjusts. So you wake up ready to run the world. The new sleep number 360 smart bed, from 999. If yor crohns symptoms are holding you back, and your Current Treatment hasnt worked well enough, it may be time for a change. Ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohns. Entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both Symptom Relief and remission. Infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. Entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. Pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal
brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. This condition has not been reported with entyvio. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flulike symptoms or sores. Liver problems can occur with entyvio. If your uc or crohns treatment isnt working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. Entyvio. Relief and remission within reach. Are you ready to take your then you need xfinity xfi. . A more powerful way to stay connected. It gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most Wifi Coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. Its the ultimate wifi experience. Xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. We take the impeachment of this president very seriously. Democrats for reasons that i dont fully understand in d. C. Want to bury this. When people tell us to stand down, we will not stand down. In the battle for the base, that is billionaire investor tom steyer taking aim at the president and own party in a town hall in new orleans last night, a founder of need to impeach and next gen political groups is putting his money where his mouth is putting money into key midterm races. Democratic leaders stayed away from the impeachment bush, arpu more in line with the establishment, youve got president obama also trying to motivate the base, wading into the midterms for the first time endorsing these 81 candidates. We had trouble doing getting that obama coalition, that turned out for him in 2008 and 2012 to be portable to other democrats. Were trying to activate that
base again to get into Knethese Races at the local level. Tom steyer joins me thanks for coming back to the show. Great to hear your voice. Slight delay here. Do you see yourself as working in concert with more establishment democrats or frankly in opposition, in contrast to them . Well, i think whats important this election season is that voters get as much information as possible and be as engaged as possible and show up at the polls. So i view that everything that people are doing including very specifically what president obama is doing with his endorsements as increasing the amount of information for voters to listen to and to be engaged with and therefore to be motivated to go out and make their vote be counted. To take one example of somebody who has become a Lightning Rod as it relates to the Democratic Party is for example, alexandra ocasio
cortez, guess who is seizing on it, fox news, the wanter this morning, this is how they opened just today, which seems to illustrate the contrast here. She is somebody you support and back her. Do you think theres a problem when democrats arent able to come together around candidates . No, i dont. I think that the Democratic Party is listening to a lot of different people explain how we should go forward, including ala alexandria cortez and it is vital and important and lively and it is going to go on up until election day and after election. I think that thats the kind of conversation we should be having about how to best representing Working Families in the United States of america. You call it a conversation, tom. Could you also call it a civil war . Excuse me, could you say that word again, i apologize. You call it a conversation. Could you also describe it as a civil war inside your own party . I dont think of it that way. I think that everybody within the party is doing their best to understand how to go forward and people are putting forward different ideas. Sometimes conflicting ideas and think that is absolutely healthy and important. And the question is coming out of this election, will we take a big step forward in november and have to work to go forward to craft a message that responds and reacts to the American People . I think this is absolutely the way it should be going. Based on our reporting though, tom, there are republicans who are licking their chops at the idea that there will be this kind of what you describe as healthy disagreement inside the party. We talked about last time youre on the show, talked about the impeachment move as an example. Something you talked about last night in new orleans. The argument has been that democrats more of them will vote based on this issue, that this will be a mobilizing issue, even
though there are others on the Establishment Side who disagree. Theres also parallels to the abolish, i. C. E. Movement, the head of i. C. E. Coming out and using this as a political example why democrats should not be elected. Are you concerned that that, for example, is going to back fire . I think that the major point for the Democratic Party is going to be to reflect and lead the American People. So i dont think we should be spending our time worrying about what republicans are going to do or how Republican Voters view what we say. What we should be trying to do is tell the truth about the most important issues in america. Because i believe that is what will motivate democratic voters and american citizens in general to reengage in politics and show up at the polls. So from my standpoint, i dont want to hear what the republicans want us to say. What i want us to do is try to tell the most important truth and represent the American People. Tom, is there any way that that may be an overly optimistic or perhaps idealistic way of looking at it that overlooks the political realities on the ground, the gop does want to use this to their advantage in direct contrast to what you want to do . In my opinion, every time someone gets very cute and overly smart about political tactics and forgets the basic values of our country, they make a big mistake. I think its one of those questions where we should keep it simple and stick to the truth and try to do whats right. I think thats the Winning Strategy as well as the correct strategy and moral strategy. Two more quick questions, you talked about leadership moving forward after november. One of the things that is part of a big discussion happening now inside the party is this issue of al franken and whether he should run again and role that Kirstin Gillibrand played
in that. Do you think al franken should run again . Is she being unfairly maligned calling for his resignation . Oh, my gosh, i did not to be fair, hallie, i didnt know that was an issue. Youve just brought it up for the first time. It is. Kirstin gillibrand did an interview where she clapped back at george zoros who came out and said if hes so concerned im para phrasing about women and how they are being treated, thats his problem, not mine. Shes standing by calling for resignation of franken. As you know she was one of the first senators to do so. Shefls the first female senator, others followed within a matter of minutes. Now with al franken suggesting that perhaps he would want to get back into the political realm, it seems theres a real clash here between supporters of gillibrand and those who still back al franken. Do you think franken should run . As far as im concerned, the most important question in any one of these should run or shouldnt run questions is what
do the voters think . I think if he does run, this will be a question where his behavior and his past is fully vetted and they put it up to the citizens of minnesota. To a very large extent, i think we should be asking the American People what they think instead of what a small number of people inside the party think. To me the question that the Democratic Party has to answer, how are we best going to represent the American People and let their voice be heard. So yes or no, tom, are you going to run . Do you want to . 2020, you havent ruled it out. Hallie, what i have said repeatedly is that im going to work fulltime as hard as i can through the election day to try to flip the house and take the biggest step forward for the Democratic Party as possible. Im going to be watching to see if people are telling the truth to the American People and thats going to be a big defining point about what the right thing to do is after this
election. Tom steyer come back and talk to us about it, okay . I will hallie, thank you very much. Thank you, appreciate it from new orleans. The tennis court and 15,000 os strich jacket, how prosecutors wants to talk about a bigger issue, how he paid for it all and might be part af bigger crackdown. Is it possible Paul Manafort might actually help drain the swamp . You may have overactive bladder, or oab. Ohhhh. Enough already we need to see a doctor. Ask your doctor about myrbetriq® mirabegron . It treats oab symptoms of urgency, frequency, and leakage. Its the first and only Oab Treatment in its class. Myrbetriq may increase blood pressure. Tell your doctor right away if you have trouble emptying your bladder or have a weak urine stream. Myrbetriq may cause serious allergic reactions. Like swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, or trouble breathing. If experienced, stop taking and tell your doctor right away. Myrbetriq may interact with other medicines. Tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney problems. Common side effects include increased blood pressure, common cold or flu symptoms,. Sinus irritation, dry mouth, urinary tract infection, bladder inflammation,. Back or joint pain, constipation, dizziness, and headache. Need some help managing your oab symptoms along the way . Ask your doctor if myrbetriq is right for you, and visit myrbetriq. Com to learn more. Your hair is so soft did you use head and shoulders two in one . I did mom. Wanna try it . Yes. It intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you flake free. Manolo . Look at my soft hair. I should be in the shot now too. Try head and shoulders two in one. Phone Ringing a Phones Offers big button,ecialized phones. And volumeenhanced phones. , get details on this State Program. Call or visit and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. Phone Ringing get details on this State Program call or visit back now with a look at your mornings headlines and we start at the vatican where a few minutes ago, not too long ago, pope francis changed the teaching of the Roman Catholic church about the Death Penalty before the churchs substance was to to allow Capital Punishment and the pope is rejecting that, calling the Death Penalty an inadmissible attack on human dignity. In honolulu, a solemn Reoperate Yags ceremony for the remains of 55 servicemen killed in the korean war. Vice president pence thanking north Korean Leader kim jongun for fulfilling the promise to return the remains, what are believed to be those american troops. Nearly 8,000 u. S. Service m