Something to do with that statement donald trump jr. Made about the meeting with the russian lawyer. He certainly didnt dictate but, you know, he like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. Not exactly like any father would do. A former d. C. Detective suing fox news, alleging they misquoted him about the death of a dnc employee and drops a bombshell claim about the white house. The president has reviewed this story and wants it out there. And 30 minutes from now, the opening bell on wall street. The dow at record highs and poised to strike 22,000. Our stock market has reached an alltime high today. Alltime high. Think of it, nobody ever talks about it. Mr. President , we talk about it every day and were going to begin with the administrations 180degree turn on whether or not the president had a role in drafting his sons russia statement. His lawyer said no now his press secretary says yes. Or at least, well, maybe. And still they say it is no big deal. Youre in luck, though, weve got the best team in the business here to break it all down starting with Nbcs Kristen Welker live at the white house. Kristen, please, what in the world is going on here . Because at the very least, President Trumps lawyer has been thrown under the bus. Reporter what you have is a case of shifting narratives, steph, theres no doubt about that. And its adding to what some republicans and democrats are concerned could be a real credibility problem here at the white house. So first in terms of the shifting story that we got, jay sekulow, the president s outside counsel, initially said that the president had absolutely no role in drafting that statement from his eldest son, donald trump jr. , about that controversial meeting that he had with the russian attorney. And then yesterday during the Daily Press Briefing Sarah Huckabee sanders acknowledged that, yes, in fact he did play a role. Lets take a listen to these shifting stories over time. I do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. The president weighed in as any father would, based on the limited information that he had. The New York Times says that he was involved in it, that several people in the plane were involved as well. So youre disputing thats incorrect. That account from the New York Times. Yes. He certainly didnt dictate, but like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. Reporter and the challenge for the white house, steph, is that this is just one of a whole host of issues where there has been a shifting narrative from this administration. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was pressed yesterday by our own Hallie Jackson about whether this credibility problem could be undercutting and undermining the president s attempts to get his policy agenda through. She denied that was the situation. She blamed democrats. But again, there are very real concerns as well as buzz behind the scenes on capitol hill that this is becoming a significant problem, that its standing in the way of things Like Health Care reform, tax reform. The president getting his message out on what you were just talking about, steph, which is of course the markets. So undoubtedly Sarah Sanders will get another round of questions about this today. Were still waiting to get details on when shes going to brief. Steph. A quick message to Sarah Huckabee sanders, my father, frank ruhle, would not do that. I want to bring in my panel because its an awesome one today. Phil rucker is the Washington Post White House Bureau chief. Steve schmidt not in utah today, he is in the building, a republican strategist, and joel bennenson, a Senior Advisor to the Hillary Clinton campaign. All three lucky enough msnbc political analysts. Steve, weve got to start with you. President trump didnt weigh in, he did weigh in, and even if he did, no biggie. It reminds me of the ward cleaver episode of the beaver, when the beaver met with the russian intelligence operatives and got caught in a scandal with a special prosecutor and like any dad, ward listen, once again whos Eddie Haskell in this . Right . Once again we have we have a lie that unravels on National Television from the white house. So we have all these discussions about general kelly and his ability to impose order on the staff and the white house. Certainly they could use a healthy dose of fear, discipline from a retired fourstar general, but the main issue that hes got to get a handle on is the nonstop lying, which is abnormal in the extreme in a democratic society, and it doesnt come from the staff, though they lie all the time. The lies are generated from the top. I think its so important to understand how abnormal this is. So lipstick on a pig. Lets just talk about this brilliant tweet that bill kristol put out, i loved it yesterday, where he wrote the groaning sound you hear is jay sekulow from under the bus. Jay sekulow knows President Trump. Hes known him for years. What do you make of this . Well, i think it was abe lincoln who once said late great abe lincoln. Who apparently lived in a house better than the one donald trump lives in. For sure. I think he once said any man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer and a jackass for a client. Well, when you lie to your lawyer, either the lawyer out there was lying for his client or he lied to the lawyer. Now, given what steve just said, i think people know that if a lawyer is dealing with his hands tied behind his back because the clients arent being truthful to him, hes going to embarrass himself, hes going to undermine his client, hes going to undermine his arguments. And thats whats happened here. What weve had as steve said is lying from the top. This is clearly now directed by donald trump. We know that he instructed no, any father, as you hinted at, wouldnt tell his son to lie. Hed tell his son to get the truth out there. Thats what you want to do in a case like that. And not any father, hes the president of the United States. Its a meeting involving russian intelligence officers. The three top people of the campaign go to, clear low believing theyre going to get some really good stuff on the democratic nominee. Its an incredible statement. Phil, take us inside the white house here. Whats extraordinary are these stories out today. Aides were shocked that President Trump wanted to dictate or change the narrative. Jared and ivanka wanted transparency. It doesnt matter. All of them stood by the president and let this be the story. It doesnt matter if they wanted something different. And whos to believe that noise . Yeah, so, steph, our reporting shows that a number of trumps advisers, frankly all of them as well as his lawyers advocated a more transparent approach. But who cares . Thats not what happened. And that the lawyers actually after the fact became quite angry and frustrated that the president did this, that the president was allowed to do this because it creates potential legal jeopardy for him as well as people around him. Theres a lot of concern in the circle about that right now. Then who quit over it . Well, there have been actually some changes in the legal team. I cant say that its specifically over this, but mark carollo, the spokesman for the president s legal team, resigned. Hes gone after the fact. Joel, President Trump in this wall street journal interview that we now have the transcript of was pretty swishy whether or not bob mueller would stay in that position. Does President Trump realize the path hes walking down here . I dont think he does, because if you look at the pattern here, firing fbi director comey, trashing Jeff Sessions, his own attorney general, publicly and now doing this, hes acting more and more like a guilty man every day. He might as well just admit it at some point. If you act like a guilty man, people are just going to draw the conclusion that you are guilty of colluding with russia. I think its hard to overstate the magnitude of the importance of the issue should he decide to fire mueller. Look, it would precipitate a constitutional crisis. But what does that mean . That sounds so important. We are a one of the criticisms i think thats legitimate of the Bush Administration is that what enables a democracy around the world, and it is not an election, its fidelity to the rule of law. Firing mueller would be an assault in a nation of laws on the rule of law by the president of the United States. And our system and its resiliency has to snap back. It has to be contested. You cant have a president function like hes the head of a Banana Republic in the United States. Except you can say all day long that were offended, this is rocking our democracy, and its happening every day. Robert mueller hired his 16th lawyer yesterday, a guy who specializes in International Fraud cases. And the wheels are going to come off when i talk to people inside the white house, they say even when you get trump on the right path, as soon as it touches russia or his taxes, all bets are off. Whos to say hes going to do the right thing . Well, if he doesnt do the right thing and it hasnt happened yet, but should he fire mueller, when i say it would instigate a constitutional crisis, republicans in the Majority Party politically, there are there is one way in our system to deal with the president who is in violation of his oath and it is through an impeachment and a removal from office process. That process commences with the firing of mueller. It will be enormously chaotic moment in the history of our country. It will not be good for the country. But a president who is affronting the rule of law, this is the mechanism by which we deal with him and thats what i mean by he would precipitate a constitutional crisis. Phil, i want to go back inside the white house because it has been six days since congress sent the russia sanctions bill to the white house. Reuters is saying today that the kremlin is saying theyre hearing conflicting statements about whether the president will sign it. Take us inside. What is going on . We know hes got a pen. He has a pen. You know, the white house has indicated publicly that he will sign it, but they say they havent seen the final len legislation and arent quite ready to do that yet. Ill believe it when i see it. Look, hes uncomfortable with this move, but hes basically locked into having to sign it. Theres a vetoproof majority on capitol hill so even if he would veto this bill, that would have overridden anyways. Then why could the president be stalling here . Just take as much time as you can until you have to act. Maybe wait until a weekend day where there will be less focus on it. There will be lots of reasons that you might do that. I kind of agree with phil, i think hes caught between a rock and a hard place here. He knows hell get overridden if he vetoes it and hes reluctant to sign it because of what i think are obvious reasons. Then in truth, how does john kelly, theres so much positive from both sides saying this guy is going to clean it up. Axios reporting meetings are shorter, more concise, more focused. Can john kelly actually make a difference when youve got inside this Banana Republic as you put it the president who is continuing to undermine how things should operate . The staff is bananas. Its a zoo environment. He will impose discipline down. But the issues in the white house are not staff issues, theyre president issues. A complete lack of impulse control, of self control. Every day assaults on important institutions in the country leaking them. The courts, the free media, on and on and on and on. And the lying. So is general kelly going to be able to impact that culture . White house spokespeople, the president , first instinct every story, lie, lie, lie. Can he impose order on that . Im skeptical. Hes a good man. Hes an american patriot. He is called to serve. Hes serving the president of the United States. Hes serving his country. But i think his ability to impose his values on people who hold antithetical values which it comes to candor and integrity, wish him luck. But so far none of the issues that are driving this white house into the ground, right, hes been able to correct. The president is still tweeting. White house is still lying. All right, quick, before we go, phil, yes or no. Can general kelly make an impact here . Can he turn it around . I would say halfway yes. I think steve is exactly right, hes going to make an impact on the staff and the structure, but i dont think hes ultimately over the long run going to make an impact on President Trumps impulses. This is a 71yearold man, hes just not going to change at this stage. Id like to say that all of my guests fail at yes or no questions. Yes or no, is he making an impact . I dont think so. All right, were taking a break. Up next, senators delaying their recess. Theyre attempting to revive a health care compromise, actual bipartisanship around the white house. Could republicans on the hill go around trump to get something done, for who . The american people. First, you knew late night shows were not going to give up on the mooch. Anthony scaramucci. Not after one night, its too good. According to nbc, ivanka and First Lady Melania Trump were disgusted by scaramuccis crude comments to the new yorker. They say they absolutely will not tolerate that kind of language from someone whose will they are not in. But when family members forget, trust angies list to help. [ barks ] visit angieslist. Com today. So find a venus smooth that contours to curves, the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. Flexes for comfort, and has a disposable made for you. Skin smoothing venus razors. Welcome back to msnbc. Im city of nStephanie Ruhle. A tantalizing new twist in the battle over Health Reform. A Senate Health committee unveils its plan to hold bipartisan hearings, you know, the kid of things that would help people across the country, on specifically how to stabilize one of the key pieces of obamacare necessary to keep the system up and running, maybe even make it better. I want to go live to capitol hill where msnbcs Garrett Haake is standing by. Garrett, what can you tell us . Reporter stephanie, an outbreak of bipartisanship on the hill the last couple of days. Theres two separate efforts going on, one in the senate and one in the house. The senate one is much more narrow and more likely to succeed. This has Lamar Alexander and patty murray, who run the health committee, theyre trying to come up with a way to fund those costsharing reduction payments for the next year. That gives insurers some sense of stability in the individual markets. Its basically money that helps lower income people pay things like deductibles and copays. The ball is in President Trumps court to pay them the next month. Theyre asking the president to pay them to august and try to make this a congressional priority going forward. That has a lot of senators happy that theyre seeing this bipartisan talk. On the house side youve got a problem solvers caucus. More than 40 republicans and democrats combined working together for a much broader rewrite of the health care bill. They want to change the employer mandate, set up pools of money to help states innovate. They have got a much broader plan, but so far that one seems less likely to succeed in part because its starting in the house. The speaker, paul ryan, has made it very clear he feels like the house has done its part on obamacare repeal. They want to move forward. Until the senate acts, the house is unlikely to touch any Additional Health care plans. All right. I need my panel to weigh in. Joel, is this an actual real glimmer of hope of bipartisanship . Do you think something could get done here . I dont know if something can get done. It is a real glimmer of hope of bipartisanship. I think republicans, and several have acknowledged publicly, what they did didnt work. You cant do it this way. You cant jam something through in three or four months and some of them even donald trump and his wall street journal interview was criticizing president obama because it took 14 months to pass what was a massive piece of legislation. Thats how big pieces of legislation get done. Kind of like tax reform. Exactly. Steve, what do you think about republicans who are open to working with democrats . Could they face real backlash from their own party, Lamar Alexander, charlie dent. At the end of the day, Lamar Alexander has a long storied career. Hes a great leader. Hes a very effective governor of tennessee. I mean heres the deal. Everybody is going to need to go see the doctor. 1986, Ronald Reagan signed legislation that said indigent people, people who cant afford to pay for health care, have to receive health care. So heres the issue. We want everyone to have the best health care but we dont want it to bankrupt the country. That is the question for the United States congress. But is it an insolvable one . Its not an unsolvable question. It requires compromise and pragmatism. On one level im thrilled that there would be a bipartisan subcommittee meeting to try to figure out a problem that affects all of us, but on the other hand it just makes you pessimistic that were heralding, wow, theyre having a meeting and functioning in something that aapproximates regular order for the first time in years. Okay, great. Were grading on a curve, you know that. Right. So on the one hand its good but deeply pessimistic about the state of whats going on up there. When you think about the Republican Health care bill, i really try to Pay Attention to this stuff. I dont know what it is. What is it . I mean what does it cost . Who does it affect . Theres been absolutely no public communication. And i think when you watch the debate, you can hold a gun to these guys heads and i dont think they could explain it, not in 10 seconds, 20 seconds, not in 30 seconds. They have no idea what it does to actual people and theyre voting on it. Its the opposite of conservatism. Its radical. When you vote on something without having any idea how much it costs that affects a sixth of the economy and 100 of the people and youre just like, whatever, ive got to clear the plate for my political promise, its bad. I mean its really bad for the country, bad for the american people. If youre going to clear the plate, you cant exactly because unless you get Health Reform done, the math doesnt add up for tax reform. Next, were moments away from the opening bell after five Straight Days of record closing. Could the stock market soar over 22,000 as the president predicted, and who should we be thanking . I know eric trump thinks its his dad. Later, a lawsuit claims the white house played a role in fox news crafting a false narrative surrounding the death of a dnc staffer. But before we go, there is a new sheriff in town. The Senate Confirmed Christopher Wray as the new director of the fbi, a vote of 925. Well, that seems overwhelmingly bipartisan. Keep this in mind. In the history of fbi director confirmation votes, only one senator has ever voted against a nominee. Yesterday five did. Come on dad higher higher parents arent perfect, but then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese and everythings good again. Lets take a look at some numbers 4 out of 5 people who have a stroke, their first symptom. Is a stroke. 80 percent of all strokes and Heart Disease . Preventable. And 149 dollars is all it takes to get screened and help take control of your health. Were life line screening. And if youre over 50. Call this number, to schedule an appointment. For five painless screenings that go beyond regular checkups. We use Ultrasound Technology to literally look inside your arteries. For plaque which builds up as you age and increases your risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease. And by getting them through this package, youre saving over 50 . So call today and consider these numbers for just 149 youll receive five screenings that could reveal what your body isnt telling you. Im gonna tell you that was the best 150 i ever spent in my life. Life line screening. The power of prevention. Call now to learn more. Welcome back. Im Stephanie Ruhle and it is time for your morning primer, everything you need to know to start your day. Overnight, the u. S. Air force successfully test launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from california, the fourth test this year, as tensions are growing more and more strained with north korea. Later this morning, President Trump will unveil a new Immigration Reform bill with republican senators tom cotton and david purdue at the white house. The bill would reportedly cut Legal Immigration in half. The acting head of the dea is telling his agents to disregard, turn up the volume and listen to this, to disregard President Trumps suggestion last week to handle suspects more roughly. In an agencywide email, Chuck Rosenberg wrote, quote, the president condoned Police Misconduct regarding treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement. I write because we have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong. Just digest what i just told you. Senator cory booker from the state of new jersey has introduced a bill that would legalize marijuana at the federal level. He said current drug laws disproportionately target minority communities. He also believes legalizing marijuana could curb the growing opioid epidemic. I have a feeling Jeff Sessions would disagree. And it is amazon jobs day. The Company Plans to hire up to 50,000 workers on the spot today as it holds dozens of job fairs around the country. Its amazing to me, i would think that would be President Trumps first tweet of the day. Yet it is not. And we right here are doing what eric trump says we dont do, what the president says we dont, were keeping an eye on wall street where the opening bell about to ring less than a minute from now, kicking off the trading day. Youve got to keep in mind the market closed at a record high, nearly 22,000, and we could break that today. President trump going to. Youre not allowed to talk just yet. President trump touted the stock markets success on twitter yesterday and said, quote, the main trestream media seldoms the record highs. You just heard this man shouting next to me. My friend, my partner, ali velshi and dominic chu. Dom, im going to you first. What do you make of these market numbers . President trump says its me, its me, its all me, and eric trump says you better thank my dad. Well, i mean trump may be part of the story, but this economy was on pretty solid ground even before trump took office. A lot of the traders and investors out there on wall street really say that the u. S. Economy, while its not going gang busters, its doing well enough and not recessionary and corporate profits are coming in decently. All of that is supporting a market that, again, like donald trump says, is at record highs. While yes, he may be part of the story, its fair to say that a lot of the economy was already in place before he came into office. And we crossed it just a moment ago and now were back down under 22,000, but youve got to look at the dollar for a moment. Many traders and investors would say theres so much noise in politics theyre not even paying attention. If you look at the dollar start to weaken, clearly on some level they are paying attention to politics. Thats not good news, mr. Trump. The dollar has a little more to do with whats going on internationally. The s p 500, which looks more like the things that many of our viewers will invest in, half the revenues from those Companies Come from overseas. So theres a lot of things at play here. If youre looking at something uniquely domestic, then you might look at this dow. But the bottom line is thats not really how the world works. The president has limited effect on the stock market, limited effect on oil markets an things like that, which donald trump often takes credit for. Heres the issue. As you point out very correctly and as dom said, the market was on an upswing anyway when donald trump got elected. And then we did this, because banks and infrastructure companies, those companies that build things, that thought theyd do well under the Trump Administration, surged ahead. And theyre not worried that even if donald trump doesnt get everything he wants in health care, in tax reform and things like that, they think theyre free to make more money because they were under constant threat of regulation under the Obama Administration. So thats what youre seeing here. But 22,000 is not a number thats of importance other than symbolic importance to indicate that this market keeps going up. Now that its at 22,000, people are going to start to ask the question how long does it last. Dom chu, why such little volatility . We know that Interest Rates are low, corporate profits are strong, earnings as i said are pretty good. But why no volatility . When you look at the strains, the geopolitical strains that we face right now, and north korea comes to mind, why dont we see that in the markets . Its the eternal question right now. Its been this way arguably for the better part of maybe a year and a half, this idea that we keep kind of making these increments little tiny record highs all along the way. Truth be told, many investors out there, especially Retail Investors like all of us in Middle America and elsewhere, this is the great thing to see, right . Your 401 k , your retirement accounts are doing better, worth more money, and theres little volatility. The issue is whether or not it stays that way. Remember, we dont have these unprecedented stretches of no volatility without something happening big at the end. We just hope its not a big down move. But the important thing to that, dom, when people think about the volatility that they hate about the market, it usually comes after an adjustment. These long periods of still growth, all of a sudden something outside of the environment happens to trigger it. Markets dont just decide to drop off a cliff for no particular reason. Things happen in the world. Sometimes after a while people say that the earnings the price of a stock is getting ahead of its earnings, which might be happening a little bit here. So dont look for signs of volatility to warn you that something is going to happen in the market. Something may happen in the market without a big indication that its going to. Dom chu, whether or not youre heavily invested in the market, what is the most important business story of the day . For me, the fact that its amazon jobs day, that its not just foxconn may or may not be building a plant to hire thousands of people, actually amazon is making a lot of hires. And thats going to be one of those big stories that well see in the future as well. In the business circles and you, stephanie and atli, have seen this a lot, the fact amazon is disrupting so many industries. Whether or not it becomes that swing job producer going forward, whether or not they affect Small Businesses or large one, if theyre the ones who end up creating most of the jobs out there, this could be a huge story from a secular trend point of view for the next five, ten, even 15 or 20 years. Thats why this jobs fair, this jobs hiring process from amazon is going to be huge. But also i would say, guys, watch apple stock. Its one of the reasons why were at 22,000. The Biggest Company in the world still has 261 billion in cash. 261 billion in cash . They keep selling millions and millions of phones and millions and millions of ipads. Everybody always says the end is coming. My house looks like an apple store. Its unbelievable, this Company Keeps on selling. Now, things are trending a little lower for them. They set expectations lower and then beat them, but the fact is apple is still still the company to watch, as dom says. Once apple has you in their ecosystem. Thats it. You cant get out. Dom chu, the domino, absolutely fantastic to see you. Ali velshi, it was so good to see you. Ill see you again in an hour and a half. Up next, a bombshell new lawsuit claims that fox news fabricated a story about a dead dnc staffer with approval from the white house in order to change the news cycle. Digest that. Think about that. In the world of fake news that the president loves to complain about, this is an extraordinary one. The two men behind this incredible lawsuit join me next. . Youre gonna have dizziness, nausea, and sweaty eyelids. And in certain cases chronic flatulence. No sooooo gassy girl. So gassy. If youre boyz ii men, you make anything sound good. Its what you do. If you want to save 15 percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Next next so find a venus smooth that contours to curves, the smoother the skin, the more comfortable you are in it. Flexes for comfort, and has a disposable made for you. Skin smoothing venus razors. Todays Senior Living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. Will people know it means theyll get the lowest price guaranteed on our rooms by booking direct on choicehotels. Com . Hey badda book. Badda boom mr. Badda book. Badda boom book now at choicehotels. Com welcome back to msnbc, im Stephanie Ruhle. Fierce reaction from the white house to a lawsuit filed by a former investigator and fox news contributor, all surrounding a story he says is fake news. It all stems from the tragic death of dnc staffer seth rich, who police say was killed in a botched robbery last year. Investigator rod wheeler says he was hired by trump supporter ed butowsky to look into the killing on mbehalf of the famil. Wheeler claims a fox News Reporter fabricated quotes attributed to him suggesting it was the slain dnc staffer and not russia who leaked dnc documents to wikileaks during the president ial campaign. Wheeler also claims the madeup quotes were used to, quote, help put to bed speculation that President Trump colluded with russia in an attempt to influence the outcome of the president ial election. Whats more, wheeler says he was told specifically by ed butowsky that President Trump saw the article before it was published. Wheeler alleges he objected to the misquotes in the article after publication, but claims butowsky told him that was the way the president wanted the article. Fox news has since retracted a portion of the story and issues this statement. Quote, the accusation that fox news. Com published the story to help detract from coverage of the russia collusion issue is completely erroneous. The retraction of this story is still being investigated internally and we have no evidence that rod wheeler was misquoted. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders was asked about the lawsuit and insisted neither the president nor the white house had any involvement in the story. The president had no knowledge of the story and its completely untrue that he or the white house involvement in the story. Beyond that, this is ongoing litigation and id refer you to the actual parties involved, which arent the white house. Mr. Wheeler also claims he and butowsky met with then white house Spokesman Sean Spicer on april 20th, specifically about the story. Nbc news reached out to mr. Spicer for comment and he told us, quote, ed is a longtime supporter of the president s agenda who often appears in the media. He asked for a tenminute meeting with no specified topic to catch up and said he would be bringing along a contributor to fox news. As ed himself has noted, he has never met the president and the white house has nothing to do with the story. Were going to dig into this. It is extraordinary. Joining us now, the man who filed the lawsuit, rod wheeler, and his attorney. Rod, lets start with you. You claimed that the fox reporter, malia zimmerman, made up two quotes in this article atri attributing them to you. What do you say ifalse . Well, the quotes that she added to her story specifically references me as saying that i knew for a fact that the decedent in this case, seth rich, sent emails to wikileaks. And that just was totally fabricated. I never said that. Let me also go back real quickly, stephanie, and say this. My heart and prayers go out to the rich family. I hate, stephanie, that they have to endure all of this stuff thats in the media. I even reached out to the father of aaron rich the day after this story broke seth rich. Thats right, seth rich. The day after this story broke. I said, this is terrible for this story to be published, i told him that. I said im hoping that fox will retract that story because those quotes clearly did not come from me. You went on fox news, though, after the story was published. Right. Why didnt you make it clear then . Well, i did make it clear that i never said those things. I never made those quotes. I also made it clear that in my investigation, i believe that someone at the dnc was hindering the police investigation. So when you look at the totality of everything that i found in my investigation, it just made sense to me that more investigation was warranted in his death. Did you push back to fox when you saw the article, when you saw the quotes, did you call malia and say, these arent my words . I mean a reporter has to sign up. They have to call the person and say these are your quotes, im running with this. Absolutely. As a matter of fact, i pushed back right away. I received a telephone call from cnn the morning that this story went out on foxnews. Com. But before it did, did she call you and say here are your quotes . No, she never did. About two or three days before the story was published, she sent me a version of the story that did not contain any of the quotes. I was good with that. It was the story that was actually published that the quotes were added to and then thats what i immediately, by the way, let me underline that word, immediately pushed back on her. Even before this story went viral, i said, wait a minute, malia, whats the stuff about me and these quotes. She said, oh, well remove it, rod, sorry about that. She never removed it. When i confronted butowsky about it, he said the quotes were left in there because thats the way president wanted them. I said, wait a minute, why is the president even involved in a Murder Investigation from a guy that was killed in northwest d. C. . If ed butowsky never met the president and you and ed butowsky met with sean spicer, i dont understand, how exactly is the white house involved with this . Were going to actually take discovery on this very issue, were going to follow the paper trail. Weaver goi were going to issue subpoenas and take depositions. If you believe ed butowskys own words, he says the president wanted the article out immediately, that they had the full attention of the white house. And his own words are where, in a text message with you . Text messages and voice mail recordings. So if you believe what ed butowsky says he says now, he said that was a joke. But if you read the text message, it clearly wasnt humor. He was actually saying hold on, its a joke and were talking about a Murder Investigation of a young man . Thats what ed butowsky is saying right now. And why from the beginning when ed brought you in to investigate this and was paying you, what was ed butowskys relationship with the rich family . What motivated ed to do Something Like this . He said he did it out of the kindness of his heart, if you believe what he says. The kindness of his heart. A big donald trump supporter decides to spend his own money to investigate the murder of a dnc staffer . I dont understand that. Thats what he says. If you read the texts and listen to the voice mails and recordings, its very obvious that the real reason was to try to help the Trump Administration get away from the russian narrative, the russian hacking of the dnc and shift that to seth rich to avoid the cloud. This all really happened right after the james comey termination, so this is when everything really accelerated. And what happened at that april 20th meeting that you had with sean spicer and ed . Right. Sean spicer was a very nice guy. He and ed mainly did the talking. I explained to him where i was with my investigation. I was hoping that maybe the white house or the Justice Department could assist the d. C. Police department with technical support, things like that, resources. And sean said, well, rod, im not sure what we can do but ill definitely put you in touch with somebody at the Justice Department and maybe you can have them meet with the d. C. Police and maybe they can get some support and thats how we left it. And the statement that you read from sean spicer and what ed butowsky is now saying is they sort of had this meeting and they had no agenda. Its incredible that suddenly ed butowsky walks into the white house with no agenda . And in fact there are actual messages between ed and rod about briefing sean spicer about this investigation because sean spicer wanted to know about it. The last time i heard about a meeting with no agenda, it was between don junior and a russian lawyer. Seems to be a trend. All right. Gentlemen, thank you so, so much. Thank you, stephanie. This is an extraordinary story and a tragic death without a doubt. I appreciate your time. Next, President Trump calls the white house a, quote, real dump. Yes, im going to say that one more time. The president called the white house a dump. But before you go, youve got to see this. Cleveland outfielder Austin Jackson makes what i am going to declare catch of the year and it is only the beginning of august. Soaring up and over the center field wall at fenway park to rob a home run. Look at that height. Man, he might want to take up basketball. Even the east german judge has got to give this guy a 10. I loved it. Shes nationally recognized for her compassion and care. He spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. But to help others, they first had to protect themselves. I have afib. Even for a nurse, its complicated. And it puts me at higher risk of stroke. That would be devastating. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. Once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. Xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration blood thinner. Significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. It has similar effectiveness to warfarin. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your bodys natural bloodclotting function. For afib patients wellmanaged on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. And before starting xarelto®about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Its important to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know™. You knew i was going to talk about this one. Since taking office in january, President Trump has spent 58 out of 194 days just about 30 of his time on trump properties. 43 days have been specifically on Trump Golf Properties and now maybe we know why. According to sports illustra d illustrated why trump was at his golf course he called the white house, a real dump. The white house denies this occurred. Chelsea clinton responded on twitter late last night writing, thank you to all the white house ushers, butlers, maids, chefs, florist, guaardeners and engineers and curators for all you do every day. If the white house doesnt have a shot, poor camp david. They must think of that as a trailer park. I have got to get one final thought on this from my panel steve and jim. I will go to steve first because he loves the true patriot, great american. What is your take on this . What an honor it is to walk into the white house. You know, i had an experience in my life being able to walk into the west wing of the white house reporting for work every morning. The history of the place. The majesty of it. And just the respect. And literally, until this administration, people that really disagree with politically and the most liberal democrats. People who served in the Obama Administration. But everyone i know in the Obama Administration and everyone i know who served in the Clinton Administration all of us from the most conservative republicans and most liberal democrat, were in awe of the place. It takes your breath away. Were in awe of the place and so honored to be there. Just the disrespect thats shown by their actions, by their comportment and their demeanor towards it. We dont have in our country a National Official religion. But we dahave shrines that are deeply significant to us as a, the cia shrine to the pollen officers with his political speech and on and on and on. Its the, its the dbrought upo institutions and our shrines that is so damaging and so sad and they seem so oblivious to it. One man for sure in that west wing that gets this gets what im talking about is general kelly. And i really hope he will impose order and demand the respect that these places deserve to be treated with. So, the white house, as i said earlier, said President Trump didnt say that. But another quote in this article that stood out to me. Trump addressed the members of the club by saying, this is my real group. You are the special people. I see all of you, i recognize like 100 of you just about. Then he issued an open invitation to drop in on his cabinet interviews the next day. Now, even if the white house wants to deny this, when i read it, it took me back to that first video clip that we saw after the president won when he sort of snuck out of trump tower and took his family to the 21 club for dinner and he was Walking Around the dining room and people were clapping and he said, you, you, i will cut your taxes. Is this who this president is . Its who he showed all the way through the campaign. The notion that white, working class voters somehow carried him over and they think hes going to do something for them. They are in for the let down of their lifetimes. He has never done anything for anybody but donald trump. He is a very selfinterested person. He never talks about being a public servant. Him degrading that building by saying it was a dump and theyre denying it. Taking a long time to deny it. But Sports Illustrated is a pretty credible magazine. It is awesome when you walk through that building. I had the privilege of doing that with president obama. I remember one time during the second term and i was on the phone with my wife and she said to me, does it ever wear off . I said, no. You get used to it and know your way around but when youre walking up and down that describeway, its an amazing feeling and to not understand the awesomeness or the privilege youve been given. He doesnt understand that and that is what is so astonishing. He has been handed a privilege and he trashes it every day. Every day. Every hour of every day. Well, then, well end on that high note with these two. Gentlemen, thank you so much for having joining me today. I love when these two are here. These are extraordinary times. Scary times, but, guess what, we wont be scared. Coming up, according to internal documents obtained by New York Times not the failing New York Times the one thats kicking it. The Justice Department plans to shift resources affirmative action lawsuits. Youre not going to understand what im saying. Affirmative action lawsuits that discriminate against applicants. The reporter who broke the story will be here. We need to help out those lacrosse players. What is going to happen to them . So thats the idea. What do you think . Hate to play devils advocate but. I kind of feel like its a game changer. I wouldnt go that far. Are you there . Hes probably on mute. Yeah. Gary wont like it. Why . Because hes gary. phone ringing what . Keep going yeah. laughs voice on phone its not millennial enough. There are a lot of ways to say no. Thank you so much. Thank you so were doing it. Yes start saying yes to your companys best ideas. Let us help with money and knowhow, so you can get business done. American express open. Going somewhere . So you can whoooo. Iness done. Heres some advice. Tripadvisor now searches more. Than 200 booking sites to find the hotel you want and save you up to 30 . Trust this birds words. Tripadvisor. Cohigher ad higher parents arent perfect, but then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese and everythings good again. That wraps us up this hour. Right now more news with Hallie Jackson. As always this morning were looking at whats happening in the white house, even as some lawmakers look right past it. Putting the president basically in the rear view mirror, even, get ready for this, joining up with democrats. Not only on health care, but on taxes and the debt ceiling. All of it the focus here at home with plenty happening overseas, too. The u. S. Is out with a show of force. Launching that icbm right there off the california coast. Five days after north koreas latest test. Rex tillerson open to talks with pyongyang on one condition. Were talking about that. Plus, that breaking news in the last hour. This new high on wall street. The dow crossing 22,000 for the first time ever. Were going to be hitting that in just a couple of minutes with our team here and ready to go on all of it on this very busy wednesday. Nbcs kasie hunt is on capitol hill
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