Crisis, a National Security crisis. No way around it. Im particularly distressed that he is resigning. This administration abandoned those core american beliefs. And the list continues. These are comments from democrats and republicans. This is a monumental night in our country. General mattis, one of the highest ranking members of the Trump Administration and one of the most important military leaders in the world had the courage to take a stand and tell the world how he felt about the president and his administration. He didnt do it as an anonymous oped in the new york times. He didnt pretend it was for personal reasons. He was direct. And in his Resignation Letter, mattis wrote, while the u. S. Remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interest or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances. He goes on to write, i believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose Strategic Interests are increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that china and russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model, gaining Veto Authority over other nations economic, diplomatic, and security decisions to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, america and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American Power to provide for the common defense. And finally, he writes, because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, i believe it is right for me to step down. Fareed zakaria joins me now. Every day there is something with this administration. Can you please help us explain to us how important, how critical this moment is right now. To put in context, general mattiss resignation, this is the first that i can think of Senior Administration official at the level of secretary of state, secretary of defense, resigning on a matter of principle since cyrus vance did that in the carter administration. That doesnt happen very often. Washington is a place where people love power, they wield power with great relish, and this is really the pinnacle, as you say. Running the pentagon, its the Largest Organization in the world. Its the most Lethal Organization in the world. Its the biggest budget in the world. What mattis is saying very simply is enough. He had tried to find ways to constrain trump, to influence him. And i think there are two things going on here. The first is clearly the chaos of the decisionmaking process. James mattis had had these conversations with donald trump about Troop Deployments in syria and Troop Deployments in afghanistan. He had gotten the president on board with a policy that was then articulated. We were going to stay there, we were going to increase some of the lethal power. Trump used to boast about that. And then awful a sudden seemingly totally mercurially idiosyncratically, impulsively, trump reverses himself, reverses these decisions, doesnt bother to inform most of the people involved. Certainly doesnt inform allies and that chaos of Decision Making is probably part of what has frustrated james mattis so much. But the bigger issue is the one you raised in quoting the letter. Clearly he feels that trump is simply not on board with the Foreign Policy that every president has followed since harry truman, a policy that says we are going to build a more peaceful, more stable world through a network of alliances and institutions. That means were going to respect those alliances and institutions. Were going to stand up against our adversaries. And trump doesnt really believe in any of this. He thinks the allies are the problem. He wants to disrespect the allies. He wants to cozy up to the adversaries. He wants to blow up the whole model. And facing this, both the substantive this deep substantive disagreement, and the chaos and disrespect that the decisionmaking process reflects both on him, on allies, i think james mattis just said enough. Is it perplexing to you that the president spun it as a retirement letter . Because if you read it, i would think so, it appears to be a clear repudiation of this presidency. As always with trump he doesnt you know, he doesnt seem to know enough. What does he mean retirement . Secretary of defense doesnt retire. Hes either fired or he resigns. Its not a military position. I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform. Nothing about the administration, nothing about the president. Well, if you remember there was that early Cabinet Meeting where trump forced his cabinet to go through a series of hosannas to his leadership. A kind of cringeworthy moment like the north korean dear leader every cabinet member and Reince Priebus and chief of staff and mike pence talked about a great man trump was. James mattis was the only person that didnt. He said im grateful for the opportunity to serve the people and to serve our troops. You see that again here. He is not thanking trump in some slavish personal way. Hes thanking the country for the opportunity to lead the armed forces. Why this point, then . It wasnt the muslim ban. It wasnt separation of children. So why is this the straw . I think as i say because probably he felt he had had these conversations with trump, they had agreed on a policy. That policy was then put in place, implemented. Alliances you know, allies were roped together into making that policy work. Adversaries were put on notice. And then all of a sudden he just upends the entire policy. You know, i think that with every cabinet official youre always choosing. You know, you dont win every battle. You make a recommendation, the president goes with it, sometimes doesnt. But in this case these are big decision thats mattis had had the president make just a year ago and theyre all reversed. I think this is one of the problems people privately tell me about working in this administrations that you dont know whether everything youve worked on will be overruled tomorrow because the president gets up and sees something on fox. So reportedly, that mattis had a pact with Rex Tillerson, and secretary Steve Mnuchin last year that they apparently agreed to leave the administration if one was forced out. Do you think that other officials will follow general mattis . I think so far the only person who really has consistently shown backbone and dignity is jim mattis. The rest of them frankly have never showed it at any point. Well see whether that proves to be true. My prediction is nobody will leave, mattis will leave alone. The adult has left the room. The adult has left. And whats distressing about it is you know, you already have a National Security council that is apparently a third of the seats unfilled. National Economic Council similarly. There are key positions and the white house is rarely difficult to staff. These are the most powerful jobs in washington. Youre working directly for the president. Everybody wants them. Yeah, everybody wants them. And you know, nobody seems to want to work for this president. But now you see credit. You have the stature of jim mattis. You have convinced the president of policy. And one day its all upended. Pleasure, fareed. Thank you. I appreciate it. Dont miss Fareed Zakaria gps sunday at 10 00 a. M. And 1 00 p. M. Eastern. Well be right back. Sometimes the best time is time you make for yourself. Aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion improves skin hydration in just 1 day. And for twice the moisture, try the body wash, too. Aveeno® naturally beautiful results® about the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 5085 and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. The three what . The three ps . What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54 and i was a smoker but quit. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65, retired, and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80 and im on a fixed income. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you, too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. Thats less than 35 cents a day. You cannot be turned down because of your health. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed, and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. And with this plan, you can pick your payment date, so you can time your premium due date to work with your budget. Options start at 9. 95 a month, plus, you get a 30day money back guarantee. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner, and its yours just for calling. So call now. And i found out that ima from the big toe lian. Of that sexy italian boot so this Holiday Season its ancestrydna per tutti order your kit now at ancestry. Com you find money everywhere. Enot, and when you save on everything. It really adds up. Its kind of a big deal. Retailmenot. Yours for the saving. Got it . Got it. Its slippery. Nooooo. Noooo. Nooooo. Yeeeesss. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. Hey look, i got it. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Right now there is not a permanent attorney general, defense secretary or chief of staff. The country is heading into a possible Government Shutdown because the president wants money for his border wall. Stocks are having the worst december since the great depression. And Robert Mueller has indicted multiple members of trumps inner circle. Is this administration melting down, joining me now is Nicholas Kristof and frank bruni. Frank, why are you shaking your head . Good evening, by the way. That phrase has been in my head all day, that meltdown phrase. This feels you said its a monumental night just a few minutes ago, don. There is no hyperbole in that. I sit here, i feel so anxious and fearful and sad about the country because the way this president is behaving and all the things you just mentioned, it does feel like were on the precipice of something very bad if not there already. Jim mattis was the best of this administration. This is not an administration that is overloaded with talent. He is the pinnacle of the administration. Someone who clearly was trying to stay in that job as long as possible, as long as he felt that he could make a positive impact on President Trump. And hes seeming to say now this president sun educable, uninfluenceable by reason, by expert xwreez, by respect for tradition. And when you hear that, it is impossible not to feel great fear about the direction of this country. Nick, what do you think . When President Trump took office, there were competing theories. One was he would learn more about the world, he would be restrained by advisers, he would grow into position. And the other was that he would gradually shake off the constraints and go his own way. I think clearly the second course has taken effect. At the end of the day, i think that domestically hes constrained by institutions, by congress, by laws. And the area where he has the president has the greatest autonomy of course is international affairs. I think thats why as frank says the resignation of secretary mattis is deeply alarming. But you know, i would also say that if you look back at the course of the last two years i think that while theres plenty of reason to be alarmed at the way President Trump is going we should also remember that american institutions have been gravely tested, and i think those institutions have actually stood up remarkably well. You look at the courts. You look at law. You look at the intelligence community, the professional civil service. You look at the military. You look at journalism. All these institutions have their flaws. Weve all made mistakes. But the institutions have to a reasonably reassuring degree managed to uphold some pretty crucial american values. Dont you think after this theres going to be some rejiggering in all of those places to prevent the possibility of teetering off the precipice again . So i think because theyve held up. They have. So far. They have. And i think that its going to be that republicans are already clearly divided. I think that it may be easier for these institutions to withstand a rogue president when he is constrained by bob mueller, when more republicans are speaking against him when theres two years to go. Did you want to add anything about that, frank, before i ask you another question . Well, i wanted to say the following, which is i think nick is mostly right about the last couple years in terms of institutions standing up and they shouldnt have to do battle with the president the way they do. But the last, you know, month since the midterms concerns me in particular. The midterms were no two ways to look at it, they were a repudiation of donald trump. And i think even in all of his narcissism he had to see that. But what did he do after that repudiation . Did he take a look at his shortcomings and some of his worst traits and try to mitt gate them . No, he seems to be doubling and tripling down on all of the things about him that earned him that repudiation. Theres something so deliberately rash and defiant about this decision with syria, about what he may be poised to do in terms of afghanistan. And im just very alarmed by a leader its generous to use that term for him who seems never to selfexamine and say hey, how coy be better but seems to just act like a defiant child and say you dont like these things about me, im going to show you more of them. Thats the reason i said to nick, i said theyve stood up is so far, we shall see. But how petty is it of the president to nuance on twitter that mattis is retiring knowing that mattis was resigning in protest . Its incredibly petty. Its of a piece with tweeteding that Rex Tillerson is dumb as a rock or stone. Its tweeting omarosa is a dog. This is the way our president amazingly behaves. This one, though, is so silly because within hours we knew that tweet was meaningless. We had this letter that mattis wrote which was so soulful and heartfelt and which has a very subdued tone, which is one of the things that gives it such impact and authority. But if you read that letter, its very clear hes resigning in protest. Hes very clearly rebuking the president. And so trumps tweet in retrospect just looks like the silly Wishful Thinking of a child thinking he could make his spin win the day. General mattis was asked if there was a situation in which hed resign over bad orders. He said had i ever been asked to do something unethical immoral or felony stupid of course youd owe it to yourself. Youd owe it to your troops. Then he argued for the innate wisdom of chain of command. I always expected to be heard as i rose in rank. But under our system of government if you really believe in it, if you trust in it, if you have faith in thank you dont expect to be obeyed as a general. Words like you serve at the pleasure of the president , you cant say those words only count when i agree and the president agrees with me. Loyalty really counts when there is a hundred reasons not to be loyal. Pretty significant tonight, right . It is. And i think mattis has been quite conflicted. Hes talked to people around him about this. About his desire to protect american interests and american policies. At the same time that he you know, is also concerned about his own honor. His own history. And i think that what pushed him over the edge was not just syria and it was not just afghanistan but it was also this larger issue of american alliances, of the he architecture that has kept the world safe for the last 75 years and the u. S. Has a strong interest in preserving, that he feels President Trump is now undermining. And at some point he does not want to be a part of that. Frank, i remember that you wrote a column about secretary mattis just last month after he compared Troop Deployment at the border to president Woodrow Wilsons 1916 deployment to counter Mexican Revolutionary general patcho villa. Remember that column you wrote . And you said defense secretary jim mattis who recently evoked that specter was supposed to be was supposed to speak to better language. He was known to be a saner sort, not just the proverbial adult in the room but the conscience amid the corruption and the barricade against disaster. I like to think that millions of American Parents instructed their children to expand their bedtime prafr bedtime prayers, watch over mommy, protect daddy, and dont let anything bad happen to general mattis. What does it mean to our country now that the conscience against corruption and the barricade against disaster is now gone . It means that were left with even less talent in this administration. It means that the number of people around donald trump who have respect for traditions, who as nick was just talking about have respect for alliances, who have a much more grounded responsible approach to the world, the number of people who fit that description, fewer and fewer in this administration. This administration cant find a new chief of staff. It just cant attract top tamtd. And thats because you mentioned pettiness before. Its because of the way donald trump behaves and treats people. He has joked that he only gets the best. He has no access to the best because the best doesnt want to have anything to do with a culture this chaotic and this ungrounded. Yeah. Nick, i want to get your reaction but i just wonder if you think that trump sending troops to the border, remember . Yeah. If that played into his decision. He sent troops to the border yet hes withdrawing troops from syria. If he said wait, one is a zuntd and one is real. I wonder if that played into his decision. I think that was all profoundly embarrassing for the professional military. But you know, but so much of this has been, and i think at some point let me give an example of the difference that mattis makes. A year ago i think if we had i think mattis may well have helped avoid some kind of conflict in the korean peninsula. There was tremendous pressure from the white house on the pentagon to consider strikes on north korea, to consider very provocative actions sending bombers close to north korea, this kind of thing. And natis strongly resisted that. You look at mike pompeo. I think that if it were pompeo being insulted on these issues, i dont think he would push back in the same way. I think hes much more very smart, knows the world but hes much more of a yes man. And thats a case i think where because mattis was they profoundly protected koreans, americans, the entire world. Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate it. Up next, reaction to secretary mattiss poufrl resignation from the incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs committee. Uil severe with Vicks Vapocool. Whoa and vaporize it with an intense rush of vicks vapors. Ahhhhhhh new dayquil severe with Vicks Vapocool. The daytime coughing, stuffy head, vaporize your cold, medicine. Here at snowfest. For your worst sore throat pain try new Vicks Vapocool drops. Its not candy, its powerful relief. Ahhhhhh vaporize sore throat pain with new Vicks Vapocool drops. New listerine® ready tabs™ arent gum, mints, or marbles. Seriously, what is this . If you guessed theyre tabs that turn into liquid as you chew, so you can swish and clean your whole mouth instantly, then you were correct. And that was a really good guess. Nice job. Defense secretary mattis in his Resignation Letter making a bold statement to the nation and the world about President Trumps military policies, especially his controversial decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria. Now i want to bring in new york congressman elliot engle, the incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs committee. Congressman, good evening. Thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure. Yeah. This especially busy evening. What first went your mind when you heard about this resignation . Because the reactions from your colleagues and other officials, theyve been pretty stunning. My first reaction was oh, my god, the only grownup in the room has now just left. And thats really what happened. Its really a pity. And you can see by his Resignation Letter that hes been agonizing for quite some time now. But the pullout of syria is the straw that broke the camels back. You can see that he put some effort and energy and thought into writing that Resignation Letter. Congressman, sources are telling cnn that mattis tried and failed to change the president s mind over withdrawing troops from syria. How would you characterize the president s understanding of the region and whats at stake there . Well, i dont know houfrp he can understand it if he keeps switching his game plan. Its sort of like whoever speaks with him last or what i call fly by the seat of your pants diplomacy. This is just a horrific thing, not because we want to keep american troops there in perpetuity. Thats not what we want. But we know that american lives and lives of our allies are being saved. The policy so far has worked. Now we leave and isis has not been defeated. They will surely have a resurgence again. We let turkey, erdogan, push us into leaving because he said hes going to go after the kurds and were in the way. The kurds have been our loyal and faithful allies through these many years and this is the thanks they get. And it really increases the worry for countries like israel, which could see iran and the syrian leadership get together with russia beyond the border of isra israel. And thats something we have to worry about asll. I just dont know what it is between President Trump and putin, why the moves that he makes seem to benefit countries like russia. But its very disconcerting. And again, its not that we want to have a presence there forever. But you dont pull out unless its wise to do so. And clearly every bit of analytical thinking says its going to cause a worse blood bath and if you have to get back in it will be even more impossible for us then. Let me talk about something else. Several defense officials are telling cnn the president also wants to draw down troops in afghanistan. What do you think of that . Well, i think it would be the same mistake. Its ironic. They criticized president obama when he drew down troops in afghanistan. And you remember we had to go back in and it was much more difficult. That will be the same thing i predict unfortunately in syria now. You think he would have learned but apparently nothing was learned. Can we just talk about where we are right now . I just want to get your opinion because if you look at what happened just now, just this week, the dow is down almost 500 points today. The government is about to sh o. Theres a new attorney general hes asking for, a new chief of staff hes seeking as well. A new interior secretary that hes seeking. And mattis is out. What in the world is going on . Is this a rude awakening for many of the Trump Supporters and republicans in this country . Well, i dont know. Its not a rude awakening for me unfortunately. And for most of the people in my district who didnt vote for trump. But its just scary because whether you like someone or not you want to feel that theres sort of a firmness at the helm. And with President Trump going back and forth and changing his mind you almost feel like no ones driving, were sitting back with those cars that have no driver and you dont know if youre going to crash or not. Its very, very frightening. And as you mentioned, were seeing it in the stock market now and were going to see a lot more. And a lot of good people are not going to want to come to the administration because if youre not being listened to, if youre being disregarded, why should you want to come . Congressman engel, thank you for your time. Thank you. My pleasure. There could be some major consequences of mattiss resignation. Were going to talk about possible security risks we all should be worried about. Right after this. Others wont believe it. And some just wont have the words. Join tmobile and get the Samsung Galaxy s9 free. Right . But hurry offer ends soon. Only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. Tylenol® in baltimore, a community sees new life rise from ruin. In southern california, a small Family Business becomes a beacon of hope. In seattle, people with disabilities create success and shatter barriers. Day in, day out, people prove that when we work as one, we have the power to create Better Futures for us all. Sources say defense secretary mattis could not see eye to eye with the president over his abrupt decision to pull u. S. Troops out of syria. But the difference is an opinion went beyond that. Here to discuss, Lieutenant GeneralMark Hertling and cnn National Security analyst sam vin ograd. Sam, were going to start with you. This is by far the boldest Resignation Letter weve heard from a Trump Administration official. Whats your reaction . My reaction is this is truly unprecedented. The letter obviously laid out a series of differences the secretary of defense had with the president on the issues that are most core to u. S. National security. The secretary of defense focused, for example, on the issue of alliances. I want to pose an operational question. If the secretary of defense is saying we cant currently rely on our allies, who are we going to call when the next isis is born and we need to call our Coalition Partners together to try to protect american National Security . No one is going to be there to work with us because we so destroyed these relationships. And don, i also want to point out that the secretary said that he had differences of opinion with the president on russia and china. As secretary of defense he is charged with protecting us from those actors in land, air, sea, space, and even cyber. So at this point it is unclear to me what he thinks the president is doing well from a National Security perspective. Interesting. General hertling, simply, are we less safe with mattis gone . We are, don. And i think it has to do with a couple things. First of all, having attended a lot of security forums both here in the United States and overseas since ive been retired, ive noticed that secretary mattis had been a calming influence. Hed been the individual who had come behind various president ial decisions and really put the calm on our allies. Well, the president said this, but what he really meant and here, let me say it a different way. And ill use the example of nato. Secretary mattis was phenomenal in terms of calming the nato general officers and ministers of defenses after the president had gone through on several occasions and really swept through and caused all sorts of terror. The elephants in the parade, if you will. So without him being that individual overseas its going to be much more difficult. I heard your last segment your guests were talking about how secretary mattis was also the calming influence in the pcs, the policy committees in the white house. He was the one that well never know until history is written contributed some significant advice and led up to the president and was the individual in the room who really made Different Things happen when the president was going off the rail. So when youre talking about the potential for a calming influence, both with our allies and partners and members of the president s staff, secretary mattis really shooeded healed and shoulders above the rest of the cabinet members. Sam, i want to put up something you tweeted earlier. It was about you being in the white house when mat sxis president obama disagreed on iran policy. Talk know about the difference. Its so interesting listening to general hertling point out that general mattis was a kaumg influence in these Principle Committee mightings because when i was in the white house general mattis was known its no secret as mad dog mattis because he was so forceful about the options he wanted the president to consider when it came to iran. And general mattis and president obama had strong disagreements about the tools that the u. S. Government should use to counter iranian influence in Central Command where general mattis was in charge with. The difference was, know, don that while they agreed on the tactics they disagreed on the tactics, excuse me, they agreed on the end game. And thats why general mattis didnt quit when president obama didnt agree with a recommendation he made. He followed his orders. He followed the president ion recommendation. But when you think about that Principal Committee meeting now and you think about the National SecurityCouncil Meeting think about what it means for our security. We have a lame duck candidate to begin with, the president doesnt actually listen to his National Security team. We literally have a placeholder secretary of defense p hes out the door at the end of february if the president lets him in at this point. We have a National Security adviser whos missing in action and let Stephen Miller give a policy wreefg to wolf blitzer our colleague earlier today. And who is left to actually represent policy interests and disagree with the president , have the discussion and then protect american National Security . Thats a good question. Who is left, general . Well, first, if i can, don, to comment on what sam just said its an interesting dynamic. I knew general mattis before as well. He was my senior trainer before i took a division in iraq. And i would say he was nothing short of a less than calming influence. He had the ability to chew ass with the best of them and was quite dynamic. Whats interesting is the requirements for strategic leadership is 20 address your superiors, the people who are your bosses, in different ways depending on their style. So whereas he may have been forceful with president obama who was somewhat calm and sometimes didnt make the quickest of decisions and he had to be forceful, with president are trump he was probably i didnt see him but i would suggest he was very calming in his attempt to influence and talk him off the rails. But to get to your question of whos left, you know, weve lost some key figures in National Security. Weve lost some key figures within the cabinet. Secretary mattiss resignation and his departure is much different. And i want to make this point too, don, that military officers throughout their career discuss resignation in their different schools, in the war colleges and the staff college. Because theres always the requirement to serve your civilian masters. So in reading secretary mattiss letter today it was not your typical Resignation Letter. He had thought long and hard about this and im sure it pained him to deliver that message. But its one of these kind of things that it doesnt happen often in the military. In fact i was searching today. Theres only been a few instances of senior military officials, Defense Department officials, resigning because of differences with their boss over the decades. But secretary mattis doing this today is significant. And it better send a clear message to others in the cabinet to keep the president straight. Im not sure who the replacement is going to be for him but it should be someone with a strong backbone and not an ideologue like Stephen Miller. General hertling, sam vinograd, thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Thanks. Well be right back. Here. Or here. Kick your antacid habit with prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. Only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. Tylenol® clients voice remember that degree you got in taxation . danny of course you dont because you didnt your job isnt understanding tax code. Its understanding why that. Will get him a body like that. Move . That. Your job isnt doing hard work. Here. Its making her do hard work. And getting paid for it. vo snap and sort your expenses to save over 4,600 at tax time. danny jody. Its time to get yours vo quickbooks. Backing you. Know about cognitive performance . As youd probably guess, a lot. Thats why a new brain Health Supplement called forebrain from the harvardeducated experts at force factor is flying off the shelves at gnc. Forebrains key ingredients have been clinically shown to help enhance sharpness and clarity, improve memory, and promote learning ability. And now every man and woman in america can claim a complimentary bottle. Just use your smartphone to text the keyword on the screen to 202020. Scientific research on cognigrape, a sicilian red wine extract in forebrains memorysafe blend, suggests not only sharper recall, but also improved executive function and faster information processing. Your opportunity to get into harvard may be gone, but its not too late to experience a brain boost formulated by some of their brightest minds. Just text the keyword on the screen to 202020 with your smartphone to claim your complimentary bottle of forebrain. Do it now before you forget. Thats the keyword on the screen to 202020. Take care of the hands that take care of you. Thats me in back in 1987, when i gave isotoner gloves to all my teammates. Now i have a different set of teammates. My family. And they all want isotoner gloves for christmas because they keep getting better. Theres smartouch. For selfies whenever, wherever. Then theres four way stretch for flexibility. They even have smartdri. See . Stays dry. So get isotoner gloves for the whole family. Take care of the hands that take care of you. A lot will happen in your life. Wrinkles just wont. Neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repairs dermproven retinol works so fast, it takes only one week to reveal younger looking skin. Neutrogena® there are new questions tonight if the Justice Department may move to curb the russia investigation. Were learning that the acting attorney general, matthew whitaker, is rejecting the advice of Justice Department ethics officials that he recuse himself from the Mueller Investigation. A source tells cnn that whitaker never sought a formal recommendation, which is all the more unusual since back in november the d. O. J. Said acting a. G. Matt whitaker is fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures at the department of justice including consulting with senior ethics officials on his oversight responsibilities and matters that may warrant recusal. But ethics officials were concerned by comments whitaker made on tv about the Mueller Investigation. Comments like this one which he made on this show back in june of 2017. I think whats happening is were conflating sorts of the lawyers and the prosecutors and the fbi and what they do with politics. And that gets really dangerous. And so what we hear is jim comey believes the president asked him to stop the investigation of mike flynn. But that hasnt happened, it didnt happen, and it continues to go on as we sit here today. So whether or not what jim comey believed he heard but it also matters what the intent of the president was. And he had all the power in the constitution to actually tell him to stop and he didnt. Officials noted that his tv commentary would give the impression that whitaker could not be an impartial overseer of the investigation. Whitaker is not expected to be briefed on the Mueller Investigation. And remember hes the acting attorney general. President trump has nominated william barr to that post. Barrs opinion on the Mueller Investigation is now a little bit clearer. Thanks to the release of an un he wrote argoing an obstruction of justice investigation into the president was not legally justifiable. Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein downplayed the importance of the memo to reporters. Personal opinion within the department. Lots of people offer opinions to the department of justice but they dont influence our own decisionmaking. We have very experienced lawyers and obviously our decisions are informed by our knowledge of the actual facts of the case which mr. Barr didnt have. But according to the wall street journal barr also shared the memo with the lawyer representing the white house in the Mueller Investigation. Now you have to ask, was barr, who was last in Public Service when he served under president george h. W. Bushs attorney as his attorney general, was he pitching himself for the job with this memo . Matthew axelrod is here. Matthew, good evening. Good evening. Do you think hes pitching himself . I dont know if hes pitching himself. But i do think today was an extraordinary day at the department of justice. You see it outlined the two people handpicked by the president to oversee the department of jurks both the acting attorney general Matt Whitaker and then the nominee to be attorney general bill barr had serious ethics questions swirling around them today. And thats not normal. Do you think the president is trying to constrain the Mueller Investigation by putting its critics in charge of the Justice Department . Look, i think especially with Matt Whitaker its hard to come to a different conclusion. Right . What you have is for the first time in d. O. J. s history you have someone who came in to be acting attorney general who did not come from a Senate Confirmed post. The first time in history happening at the same time that the person in that position oversees an investigation into the president. Then you have as you noted a commitment by doj that that person would follow the normal process and consult with the doj ethics professionals. And today we learned he did consult with the doj eggics officials, he just ignored their recommendation and advice that he should recuse himself. So he remains in charge of the investigation of the president. And thats really troubling and disturbing. And it does i think raise the question of whether he was selected and put there in order to specifically oversee the Mueller Probe with a thumb on the scale. And that is completely contrary to how the department of justice is supposed to and has traditionally done business which is based on the facts and the law and free from politics. Are you worried that he will now try to interfere . So i am hopeful he will not. And a letter sent to congress this evening which sort of laid out the status of the recusal process and the ultimate result committed that he would not, that he would dhoingz the right way, with integrity. But look, the whole reason that these ethics rules exist is not just that things be done on the level in the right way but so that the public can have confidence that things rb being done on the level and that the right way. And the appearance matters. That was the basis on which the senior career folks at doj recommended he recuse himself, was on the appearance. Because hes ignored that advice, whether its done on the level or not done on the level unfortunately theres going to be a perception that something is off. And thats why its so destructive to the reputation and to the integrity of the process. Matthew axelrod, lets now turn to the memo written by barr about the Mueller Investigation. This is what senator mark warner told our manu raju. I think its more than a little bizarre that a private attorney, mr. Barr, would write this kind of memo and then nefrkt give it, my understanding, to officials in the white house almost as an attempts to solicit this position, to say hey, mr. Trump, dont worry, ill have your back on the Mueller Investigation. To me that makes this individual disqualified for the position. So how unusual is it to send a memo like the one bill barr sent. Its incredibly unusual. In my time at the department of justice i worked there for over 12 years and was in Senior Leadership positions for four. It didnt happen a single time. In other words, we never soefd an unsolicited detailed pending criminal investigation is it disqualifying . Look, that will be something that the senators will have to consider during his confirmation hearing. But its seshlg going to be a problem for him and something hes going to be and tsked a lo questions about. The process is the problem. As weve been discussing. The process of him sending this unsolicited memo and the white house counsels office. But also the substance of the memo is concerning. It takes quite an extreme view about the president s authority and the inability of the special counsel to investigate him for obstruction of justice for certain acts. Matthew axelrod, thank you for your time. Thank you. Thanks for watching. Our coverage continues. It was a nobrainer. I switched to geico and saved hundreds. Thats a win. But its not the only reason i switched. The geico app makes it easy to manage my policy. I can pay my bill, add a new driver, or even file a claim. Woo, hey now thats a winwin. Thank you switch to geico®. Its a winwin. Only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. Tylenol® its proven quality sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed, from 999. Intelligently senses your movement and automatically adjusts on each side to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. And the best gift of all . A silent night. How smart is that . Smarter sleep. To help you shed those sugar cookies, get a running start on the holidays, and take it all in with the patience of a saint. Queen sleep number 360 smart beds from 999. Plus, its the last chance for 48month financing. Ends monday. And im the founder of ugmonk. Before shipstation it was crazy. Its great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize ive got a hundred orders i have to ship out. Shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everythings pretty much done. Its so much easier so now, were ready, bring on t. Shipstation. The number one ch of online sellers. Go to shipstation. Com tv and get two months free. A book that youre ready to share with the world . Get published now, call for your free publisher kit today the president has taken a wrecking ball to every pillar of stability and security we erected over the past 60 years. Frustration boiling over after james mattis resigns as defense secretary. The breaking point . The president s decision to pull troops from syria. The government is on track to shutdown at midnight. The president vowing to follow through on the demand for a border wall. The acting attorney general defying ethics officials and will not recuse himself from the Mueller Probe. Its a busy morning