Sympathizers. Lunch date. The president makes the trip to capitol hill today, meeting with Senate Republicans to push his tax plan. I do look at these things as more of a photo op. Theyre not really about substance. And President Trumps personal lawyer meets with investigators on the hill after their initial meeting a month ago was abruptly canceled. But lets begin today with the emerging theory about what led to that deadly ambush in west africa. Three officials briefed on the matter tell nbc it appears the americanled patrol walked right into a trap set by militants who had been tipped off by local villagers costing four americans their lives. Got lots of questions for my panel this morning. I want to start with hans nichols. Officials told nbc they think this was likely a setup. Whats leading them to that conclusion . Facts on the ground. You know, a lot has changed in our understanding and what pentagon officials have told us. One thing that really hasnt changed is this idea that those villagers they were meeting in the early to midmorning delayed u. S. Forces, these green berets, and kept them there a little bit longer. Thats one thing that hasnt changed throughout all this. Theres been a lot of back and forth on just when air support came in, how long it took. Its been consistent, theres this idea of a delay coming out of the village. They could have been tipped off and sprung the ambush then. We did get some more clarity yesterday from general dunnford. I think the biggest thing i learned was the speed with which an aerial drone was up in the air after u. S. Support called for it. According to dunnford, that was within minutes. Now, he didnt say whether or not that drone was armed. He wouldnt say. He was specifically asked that. He did say there was a video feed so that likely means when this battle got really hot, and it went on for several hours, they have a good video feed of what was taking place in the daylight. We also learned the delay and how long it took between when they initially called for air support, the french arrived. It was about an hour after they call for it. Again, that was an hour into the battle. I think one of the things theyre going to be looking into is how long and what motivated the decision for the troops on the ground not to call in air support immediately. Did they think this was a fight they could handle . So were learning more. Were also learning more about when the evacuations happened, afternoon to late evening. Those were the casualties. We also know american dead werent evacuated until that evening, after night fall. That means this fight, this battle, might have taken place from 11 00 to around sundown. Thats a six to sevenhour fight. The intensity of this fight i think and the idea they had eyes overhead, chris, i think is an indication that youre going to get a pretty good readout of what happened. Although there may be some facts that youd never know. All right, thank you, hans nichols at the pentagon. My panel, retired army four star general Barry Mccaffrey an msnbc military analyst. Rick tyler a republican strategist. And evan bayh, a former democratic senator and governor from indiana. Hes also cochair of the Bipartisan Group no labels. Its good to see all of you. General, so many questions. We did learn some things from general dunnford yesterday. But based on what you heard and what you know, does it sound, this whole incident, sound like something u. S. Forces could have or should have been able to sniff out in advance . Well, you know, ive been in a lot of small unit combat actions. Theyre inherently confusing. These special 70 forces are all over the world. Theyre on classified missions. Theyre at the end of the line. Its inherently dangerous. So i think were going to find out more when they actually put together a time sequence. But this very brutal closed quarter engagement, and i think they did an admirable job. They were right on the verge obviously of being overrun. And had it not been for french air intervention, they probably would have lost all of them. So tough, tough day for these american troops. To say the least. And general dunnford said yesterday the patrol did not expect resistant when they planned the mission. And yet the mayor tongo tongo where the patrol attending a meeting said this, the attacker, the bandit, the terrorists, have never lacked accomplices among local populations. So i guess are you surprised at all that there would be any part of that region where u. S. Forces would go out without assuming at least the possibility of resistance and be prepared for it and be prepared for backup . Well, i think they were prepared for it. Theyre armed with automatic weapon, machine guns. They with were nigerian, niger forces. They were mounted. And they ran into an overwhelming force and had a rough day of it. You know, again, all these i spent a lot of time in combat as a lieutenant and captain. It frosts me enormously then and now when the enemy action takes place, theyre armed, theyre clever, theyre trying to do us in. It isnt necessarily a mistake, its a combat action. So i dont think theres any wrongdoing here. This is a bad day at black rock for a u. S. Small unit. Important for that perspective. Senator, there seems to be a sense of frustration, even anger seems to boil over among some lawmakers who say theyve been kept out of the loop on this. It was a sentiment echoed poignantly yesterday by the widow of la David Johnson by myisha johnson. Is that frustration warranted . Well, as the general pointed out, chris, some of these missionings are classified. We do have special forces, you know, in places around the world. If you remember the Intelligence Committee, theyre probably briefed and up to speed on this. The Armed Services committee perhaps. If youre not on one of those two committee, youre probably not going to be briefed and up to speed. But youre hearing from some senior member, they didnt know they had those kinds of forces in the world. Theres a whole lot going on. As a member of congress, you cant be up to speed on it. If its part of your particular assignment, you know whats going on but if youre just a general member of congress, perhaps not. There will be hearings on this now. Thats a good thing to understand why our troops were there. And it goes back to 9 11. That the taliban, al qaeda, other groups like that, they gather in ungoverned places and niger is perhaps one of those places that we have to prevent them from having a safe haven from which to plan future attacks. Rick, the president has said that he would like to see loosening of rules when it comes to engagement, when it comes to how and when the u. S. Can attack militants. The policy paves the way for broader and more frequent operations against al qaeda, the Islamic State and other jihadists. Also expanding such gray zone acts of sporadic warfare to elsewhere in africa, asia and the middle east where terrorists opera operate. Is this, do you think, fair to sort of tie this potentially to this change in policy . And is it opening a larger discussion about where we are putting our resources and how they can operate . I dont know how the policy led to this, other than i dont and of course i defer to general mccafferty. But there was why would this these troops go to a village that it seemed it was known that the village was sympathetic to isis. And if that were true, that would present a danger. And why was help so far away . And what was the hour delay . Why did it take an hour for them to call for help when they where under fire . But the reality is, chris, were in a long war. And as we are wrapping up isis in places like raqqah and the middle east and syria, theyre going to pop up everywhere. Im for having troops all over the world. But i do think we need congressional oversight. These things are inherently dangerous because the societies are fractured, chris. I remember reviewing some afghan troops in the city of khost near the border, in a pashtun area where the taliban are strong. I asked just out of curiosity, how many of these troops im reviewing here have been infiltrated by at that point, it would be al qaeda, it would be isis now. They said probably 5 . I said 5 of the people were training are sympathetic to the other side . They said yeah. So its unavoidable in these sort of fractured places. Youre going to get a rogue element that will turn on us. And thats why you got to bring your best practices each and every time because you get a tragedy like this when you dont exercise that abundance of caution. I want to play Something Else general dunnford had to say yesterday. Take a listen. One of the places that we know isis has aspirations to establish a larger presence is in africa. We know how important libya and the sinai have been to the Islamic State. We know how much they have tried to get into east africa. And of course the scenario were talking about here today in west africa. So right now, according to general dunnford, we have 6,000 troops in 53 african countries. General, if this is the next place where militants are trying to build a base, is that number of troops enough . Do we have the right strategy . I think these are the kinds of questions that a lot of americans are raising right now about a situation that, frankly, they didnt even know existed and apparently some members of congress werent even fully up to speed on it. By the way, i find that assertion that not only knew they were there utterly prepostero preposterous. Its been 20 years. President obama put a drone base in, 800 some live troops. Theres live twitter feeds coming out of that site. Its really surprising the amnesia thats suddenly taken over in washington. But back to your real question. A marine four star, very experienced general waldhouser up in stuttgart, germany, running africom, a joint command. Were trying to get information out of syria, iraq, libya. There are a lot of weapons floating around, particularly out of libya. Were doing it with a very light footprint of very highly trained people. Its very dangerous work. Again, i caution, you know, all of us. There was a navy s. E. A. L. Raid in i think yemen. One s. E. A. L. Got killed in action. We lost one aircraft. And suddenly it was characterized as a huge disaster. For god sakes, this is dangerous work. And were putting some very skilled brave people on the ground. Were going to take casualties. Thank god theyre willing to get out there and confront these people so they dont end up on our doorstep. We should be talking about what exactly all three of you are talking about, which is what is the appropriate role of the u. S. Military, the legitimate questions of whether or not we were fully prepared. You have this back and forth between President Trump and a gold star family. Khizr khan was on morning joe this morning. He said he has two words for the president , dignity and restraint. The president didnt respond to questions about this yesterday but clearly he disputed the account of this gold star widow. What do you make of all this . And is it dangerous that were having this diversion . Obviously its unseemly, but is it dangerous . Well, you know, i think the president made a hamfisted insensitive phone call to a widow. These families and lots of my friends have been killed in action, my brotherinlaw was killed in action. Theyre very vulnerable. Theyre fragile. Trying to deal with this tragedy. So i think the president initiated it. Congresswoman exploited it. And then the president blew himself up with subsequent tweets and other president s and failures and what theyve done, then he threw john kelly under the bus. Kellys one of the finest people i ever met in my life. Then he got out there in public and i think he did very badly in that press conference. But its shameful the way this has turned into a political dialogue in almost every case. I dont want the president of the United States dealing with the families. Theres almost 7,000 killed in action in the war on terror. I dont want them going down to dover, let the sergeant of the army, the sergeant of the marine corps, bring these troops home. General Barry Mccaffrey, i just demoted you. No, you didnt, i got to be a general by listening to sergeants. We appreciate that. We appreciate you as well as our other guests. Rick and evan are going to stay with us. Were going to turn from Foreign Policy to one of the top domestic policy priorities. And thats tax reform. President trump having lunch on capitol hill today with Senate Republicans as he tries to rally support for his plan. But is he already undermining his own efforts by rekindling a feud with the key gop senator . Well go live to capitol hill. cheering a triangle solo . Surprising. Whats not surprising . How much money sam and yohanna saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. But on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. Like most people. Fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. 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Once again, trump attacking a highprofile member of his own party this morning on social media. Senator bob corker who has clashed with the president over his treatment of Rex Tillerson and other things, told the today show this morning he didnt expect much from meeting. I think its fine for him to come over. I do look at these things as more of a, you know, photo op. Theyre not really about substance. But, you know, more power to him. Trump responded on twitter this morning, writing, quote, bob corker who helped president o, obama, give us the bad iran deal and couldnt get elected dog catcher in tennessee, is now fighting tax cuts. Corker dropped out of the race in tennessee when i refused to endorse him and now is only negative on anything trump. Look at his record. Well, moments ago, corker responded. Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president. Alert the day care staff. Kacie hunt is on capitol hill. Here we go again. The president who arguably should be focused on winning votes is fighting with a member of congress, his own party, somebody he arguably would need to get tax reform through. What can you tell us about whats going on here . Somebody he does need, chris, and they know and they have known for quite some time that bob corker might be difficult to win over on this tax reform package and thats partly because as the president has been insisting in these private calls, the president wants a tax cut, not necessarily tax reform. And for bob corker who is a longtime fiscal conservative, that has been a difficult thing to swallow. Basically in this tax bill, the broad outlines of it, republicans are essentially assuming that cutting these taxes is going to cause the economy to grow by at least a 3 a year rate. Thats higher than what weve seen recently and it requires that assumption is required if, in fact, you are willing to believe that the bill will not add to the federal debt. And bob corker, this is something hes been very focused on and youve seen in the comments that hes made on the today show and to other nbc reporters over the course of the last 24 hours, he wants to let the senate and the house write this. He views this as something that republicans have been focused on and working on for quite some time. Hes not wrong about that. Republicans have taken a lot of heat for not having an Obamacare Repeal bill really ready to go for the time when they would govern. Tax reform is a little different. There is more meat on the bones there. There is more sort of thoughtful and kind of its just farther along. Its something they have actually been working on as a party during the years that they have been out of office. But, look, this is not something i dont think that helps the president get his agenda over the finish line. Engaging in this kind of a tweet war with bob corker. I mean, look, if thats what the president wants to do with his time, thats obviously his prerogative. But hes also out there saying look, the Republican Senate is not helping me pass my agenda. Part of the reason why the Republican Senate is skeptical of him is because of incidents like this. Now, i would also argue to you, chris, that while we obviously are paying a lot of attention to this very personal kind of back and forth and set of insults. Some of the policy stuff here is going to matter in the long run more for the outcome of what happens here. That 401k tweet from the president where he said under no circumstances will we cut what youre able to put in your 401k. That is potentially more damaging to this getting passed in so much as it points to a potential pattern as these details roll out around tax reform that the president will throw wrench after wrench after wrench into very delicate situations. I think that is the kind of underlying serious message that bob corker has been trying to convey over the past couple of days. I think most people would agree that whether corker is number one or number two or tax, you know, 401k or other details, number one or number two, neither one is getting him to where he says he wants to go. I want to bring in cnbcs john harwood, editor at large there. Just a couple minutes ago, you tweeted the president and basically said the odds of getting tax cuts passed just took a hit. Now, look, the last thing i heard from kevin brady, who was key to this in putting all of this together, he said were still on track for the end of the year. Are you seeing Something Different . Poor kevin brady is keeping up a brave face and hes doing his best to move this priority along. But ive got to tell you, it is stunning what the president is doing and its actually directly related i think, chris, to the previous discussion you were having about the condolence call. This is a president who has not shown the ability to sublimate his ego to larger goals. He set off that weeklong ridiculous story by getting a question at a press conference about why he hadnt said anything about niger. He made false claims. He then made a clumsy phone call. Then he sent john kelly out. The whole thing was a complete political disaster. The same thing is true here. Bob corker ciriticizes him on television. So at a moment when he has got 52 republican votes in the senate, needs to hold them together, he goes after bob corker, saying things that are obviously untrue. Bob corker dropped out because i wouldnt endorse him. Thats ridiculous. No one believes that. Part of the problem obviously is you see people hearing 401k, they start to freak out. But then you have the people who are watching the deficit and theyre saying, look, you cant just go with a trillion and a half dollars and not find some way to pay for it. So you have that sort of policy reality. But when you look, john, at the political reality of it, isnt there so much feeling on the republican side that what the republican says in this case is true you dont get this done, you better watch out for 2018, that could push it over the finish line . It is possible, but remember, the idea that we dont, we have to repeal and replace obamacare because well get slaughtered at the polls if we dont, that didnt prove Strong Enough to get their bill over the finish line. Will it in this case . Maybe theres more pressure on because of the failure on repeal and replace. I would argue there is. Yes, but its still very difficult to do. When you look at the details as you said. First of all, youve got a trillion and a half addition to the deficit. Theres already 10 trillion the governments on track to borrow between now and 2027. Weve got 45 Million People on Social Security now. By the end of ten year, its going to be 60 million. By 2033, its going to be 77 million. This government already needs more money and its in deficit now. Thats why bob corker is saying i wont vote for anything that adds a dollar to the deficit. So you have some deficit hawks like that in the congress. Youve got some people who are concerned about the disproportionate amount of benefits in the tax bill that go to people at the top of the income spectrum. The estate tax. The cut in the top rate. The president says, well, maybe ill add another rate, but they havent done it. This thing that they initially said, chris, was going to be done by the beginning of august, Mitch Mcconnell over the weekend said, well, were just beginning to craft this bill. Its way too early to know the details. That does not tell you that despite the best efforts of kevin brady that thing is on track. Thank you so much, john harwood, appreciate it. Kacie hunt on the hill, as always, thanks to you. Up next, bill oreilly doing what made him a cable star, picking a fight. This time, over that blockbuster New York Times report of a 32 million settlement for a Sexual Harassment claim. The latest target of the former fox news host blame game, he now says hes mad at god. avo when you have type 2 diabetes, you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Noninsulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. Victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. avo and for people with type 2 diabetes treating cardiovascular disease, victoza® is now approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. And while it isnt for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. avo victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take victoza® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. Stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing. Serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. So, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. Tell your doctor your medical history. Gallbladder problems have happened in some people. Tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. Taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Ask your doctor about victoza®. What is an answer and how can you measure the value of one . Today trusted answers from trusted sources are rare and precious commodities. Theyre out there but finding them on your own has never been harder. Its why at Thomson Reuters we provide you with the intelligence, technology, and Human Expertise you need to find trusted answers. The answer company. Thomson reuters. Welcome back. Im Chris Jansing in for stephanie ruhle. Time for your morning primer. Everything you need to know to start your day. We begin in tampa, florida, whether the fbi is helping local police as they monitor bus stops and escort kids to school after three people were gunned down in 11 days. Investigators have not said what evidence ties the three crimes together. The long awaited sentencing of Army SergeantBowe Bergdahl is now delayed until wednesday. The defense filed a last minute motion saying bergdahl cant get a fair sentence after President Trumps comments against him. For the first time in his presidency, donald trump awarded the congressional medal of honor to a vietnam veteran. Retired captain gary rose, a medic who saved more than 50 lives at great risk to his own over the course of a fourday battle. Former fbi director james comey has kept a low profile since his firing back in may. But hes confirming now that hes behind this formerly anonymous twitter account, tweeting a photo of himself in iowa, writing, on the road home, got to get back to writing. Will try to tweet in useful ways. And tonight, game one of the world series. The Houston Astros facing off against the dodgers in los angeles. And players will battle record breaking heat. The forecast at first pitch, 99 degrees. Be glad to watch it in my air conditioned living room. Former fox news Host Bill Oreilly fighting mad over the firestorm created by that stunning New York Times report. Overnight on his podcast, the former fox news anchor strongly disputing the story about how he settled a Sexual Harassment claim for 32 million back in january. He also pointed his finger at a higher power. Admitting hes mad at god over allegations against him. After the story came out, oreilly spokesperson said in part, quote, once again, the New York Times has maliciously smeared bill oreilly, this time even failing to print a sworn affidavit from his former lawyer, lis wiehl, reputing any allegations against bill oreilly. The times relied on unsubstantiated sources and incomplete or leaked or stolen documents. Nbc has not been able to verify the New York Times account. I want to bring in legal analyst catty fang. So overnight, oreilly fires back on his podcast. I want to play a little bit of what he said. You know, am i mad at god, yeah, im mad at him. I wish i had more protection. I wish the stuff didnt happen. I cant explain it to you. Yeah, im mad at him. So as a line of defense, what do you make of this . I think that bill oreilly has now transcended the me think doth protest too much standard. If youre now blaming god for what has happened to you, i think maybe he needs to get a clue and maybe he needs to stop doing what hes doing. The fact hes saying he wish he had more protection. I think the women who are victims of Sexual Harassment at the hands of somebody like bill oreilly wish they had more protection in place. I think he probably needs to muz whal hes saying and needs to let it die down because 32 million is a lot of money and that amount is screaming that he has done something wrong. I guess that is a really key question. Megyn kelly pointed out yesterday that were talking about the kind of money that o. J. Simpson was awarded to pay in the deaths of two human beings. Can we extrapolate something from the 32 million . Because all were hearing from him is it never happened. If it never happened, 32 million does seem to, i think, even to the nonlegal eye, as a lot of money. From what we understand from the allegations that were asserted in the draft complaint, because as you know, chris, lis whiel is not speaking. The reason why shes not speaking, she doesnt want to violate the terms. The terms from the settlement was leaked anonymously. Thats why we know about the amount and some of the terms of the settlement. 32 million, its because its alleged to have been 15 years of harassment. 15 years of poor treatment and, frankly, almost criminal conduct at this point, committed by bill owe riley. So thats a reason why the number is as high as it is. Whats really shocking is that a month later, a month later, 21st century fox renews bill oreillys contract and gives him a 7 million raise, bumping it to 27 million on a fouryear contract extension. Thats like 70 million bucks flying around in the span of about 30 to 60 days. Megyn kelly also on her show yesterday rebutted his claim that nobody ever lodged a complaint against him because she says she did. Not only that, she produced email, the email backing it up. So he of course went after her last night. Take a listen. Today, megyn kelly says that she complained to fox after i went on the cbs morning news. So apparently she complained to someone. Thats not a formal complaint. It wasnt lodged with anybody. I didnt even know about it. Well, i mean, she complained to two of her bosses. Does it make a difference if she complains to her bosses or, i mean, take it out of the megyn kelly realm, put it in the realm if im sexually harassed in the workplace, is it only legal if they go to hr and file a formal complaint . How does this work so people know . So theres no legal requirement that there is a certain formality or things that need to be checked off. You need to let somebody know. That person needs to be in a position to assist you in your workplace. So recently it was just released that a nondisclosure in the Harvey Weinstein case from a former assistance has now been breached by her voluntarily. She knows shes look at legal ramifications, chris, but she says as a condition of her settlement, they were supposed to have a complaints procedure put into place at miramax to be able to cover things like Harvey Weinstein. There was supposed to be three complaint handlers. And frankly if he did it again and it resulted in a settlement, it was going to be reported to Walt Disney Company or he was going to get fired. Thats 20 something years ago. Wow. That was in place at the Weinstein Company or frankly at miramax before it became Weinstein Company. At this point in time, if you have a procedure, if you have an avenue by which you can lodge a complaint it doesnt mean they have to knock on bill oreillys door and say, hey, listen this complaints been made. There just has to be something in place for the victim. Katie, thank you so much, katie phang. Capitol hill after the break. President trumps personal lawyer set to meet with the House Intelligence Committee today and the Senate Intel Committee tomorrow. What do we expect from both meetings . Well have it. Or one of us. I write them a poem instead. And one for each of you too. Thats actually yours. That one. Yeah. Regardless, were stuck with the bill. To many, words are the most valuable currency. Last i checked, stores dont take words. Some do. Not everyone can be that poetic voice of a generation. I know right . Such a burden. The bank of america mobile banking app. The fast, secure and simple way to send money. The sunll come out for people with Heart Failure, tomorrow is not a given. But entresto is a medicine that helps make more tomorrows possible. Tomorrow, tomorrow. I love ya, tomorrow in the largest Heart Failure study ever, entresto helped more people stay alive and out of the hospital than a leading Heart Failure medicine. Women who are pregnant must not take entresto. It can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Dont take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. If youve had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, dont take entresto. The most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure. Kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood. Tomorrow, tomorrow i love ya, tomorrow ask your heart doctor about entresto. And help make tomorrow possible. Youre only a day away. Any minute now, President Trumps personal lawyer will be back on the hill one month after his first visit was canceled. He will speak behind closed tours with investigators from the House Intelligence Committee expected about 10 00 today. Sources tell nbc cohen will appear before the senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow. Msnbc correspondent Garrett Haake is on capitol hill. He joins me along with my panel rick tyler and evan bayh. I know youre looking out of either side of your head, trying to see if you can grab somebody to talk to. Let me ask you about this meeting, behind closed doors obviously, but should we be looking for anything surrounding this meeting that might give us a clue as to where this investigation is going . Before it starts, i think were getting a little bit of a clue just by the scheduling around this meeting today. Were seeing the pace pick up a little bit here. For both of these committees. On the house side today, theres actually another witness coming in this afternoon. Thats the first time i can remember them having two folks here in the same day for interviews. And were also seeing the probe get a little bit closer to people who are personally closer to trump. Michael cohen has been trumps perm lawyer for a very long time. When i used to deal with him back in 2011 and 2012, he was sort of the only politically minded person around the president. Or then, you know, donald trump, real estate developer. So he goes back a very long way. I do think cohen, as he has made clear in the past, likes to talk. He put his statement out before he went to the Senate Intel Committee. I would not be at all surprised thats what tied it up the last time, right . Exactly right. The Senate Intel Committee had a deal with their witnesses, saying you dont talk about what happens in here and we wont either. They were very upset that cohen leaked his opening statement. The house Intel Committee seems to have taken that risk in stride, in inviting him back here today. Several of their witnesses have come out after the fact and spoken to reporters. I would not be the least bit surprised to see cohen do the same thing today. I want to play something that senator mark warner, whos the vice chair of the senate Intelligence Committee, said on morning joe today. We have not closed down any avenue of the investigation. Weve got a number of the principal figures that we still havent had in before the members themselves. For example, on the donald trump jr. Meeting, we wanted to make sure we saw everyone else that we could that was in that meeting first. Weve just about done that. Then well start bringing in more of the principals. Obviously as weve known for a long time, the story isnt going away. Rick, weve heard from the committees. What they want to do is have people stop talking about it. Were going to get done what we need to have done without the outside influences. Can this white house do that . How do they handle this . As more and more people go to the hill, do they just need to step back, not comment and lent the process run its course . Yeah, but thats not going to happen. Donald trumps going to be engaged in that. Senator bayh and i were talking earlier. He brought up the fact because cohen is his lawyer, there is a client Attorney Client privilege. I dont believe its freelancing, but cohen seemed to be involved in securing some kind of a hotel deal in moscow at the same time that the president ial campaign was going on. It seemed like a haphazard, not very well connected, Tom Hamburger had reported from the Washington Post that he sort of wrote this email address that was sort of like, you know, info kremlin. Org. Its curious because all of trumps competitors had hotels in russia. Is that protected under Attorney Client privilege . Im not sure. Does the ploliticalization o this, senator, make it harder to get to truth or make it harder to come to a conclusion thats accepted . Of course any time somethings criticized, chris, that makes it harder. The parties tend to get divided, entrenched. At least on the senate side, chairman burr and Senate Warner have a good working relationship. At least speaking for the senate, i dont think partisan will get in the way and it certainly wont influence what mr. Mueller is doing. Evan bayh, thanks to you. Rick tyler, much appreciated. Garrett haake, thank you, my friend. Up next, the American Woman who was held hostage in afghanistan for five years breaks her silence. What she says really happened during her familys captivity and during their rescue. M and all that . Is that whole thing still dragging on . No, i took some pics with the app and. Filed a claim, but. You know how they send you money to cover repairs and. They took forever to pay you, right . No, i got paid right away, but. At the very end of it all, my agent. Wouldnt even call you back, right . No, she called to see if i was happy. But if i wasnt happy with my claim experience for any reason, theyd give me my money back, no questions asked. Can you believe that . No. The claim satisfaction guarantee, only from allstate. Switching to allstate is worth it. Only from allstate. I kept looking for ways to manage my symptoms. I thought i was doing okay. Then it hit me. Managing was all i was doing. When i told my doctor, i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of moderate to severe Crohns Disease even after trying other medications. In clinical studies, the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Just managing your symptoms . Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Your bbut as you get older,ing. It naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. Thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. The secret is an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. The name to remember. For the first time this morning, were hearing from the 31yearold American Woman held hostage with her family for five years in afghanistan by talibanlinked militants. She and her family were rescued nearly two weeks ago. She spoke with the toronto star yesterday to set the record straight on her familys captivity and on the day they were rescued. Nbcs joe fryer has more for us. Shes disputing the official account, right . The official account is they were rescued by Pakistani Forces while crossing from afghanistan into pakistan. But Kate Lynn Coleman is arguing that is not exactly what happened. Heres what she tells the toronto star. She says, quote, we were not crossing into pakistan that day. We had been in pakistan for more than a year at that point. She also says right now everybodys shunting blame and making claims. Pakistan says no, they were never in pakistan until the end. The u. S. Says no, they were always in pakistan, it was pakistans responsibility. But neither of those are true. She says that during their captivity, they actually moved on a few different occasions, spending time in both of those countries. Were looking at a picture of the family. And she had her children while being held hostage. But shes also saying she was forced to have an abortion . Yeah, thats right. Her husband said their infant child was killed during captivity. Shes adding more information. She calls it, quote, a force abortion. Heres what she describes happened, they were very angry, her captors, because joshua had been asked to join them, by them she means the network, and he said no. They killed her by dozing the food. They put massive doses of estrogen in the food. So thats how she says the child died. The network has disputed that saying that the infant died of natural causes. Did she say why she thinks thats the case . Why she thinks why they put massive doses of estrogen in her food . Reporter no. She didnt in the interview go into details on that. Or what is publish in the account, theres no detail. She said it was massive amounts of estrogen that can lead to a miscarriage, experts say. And i know her husband talked about this, but theres a lot of people who asked questions about the children born while they were being held. What did she have to say about that . Reporter definitely a lot of questions about that. They have two sons, ages 4 and 2, plus a daughter who is now 6 months old. Many wonder, why have children during that time in captivity . Her answer is, quote, it has always been important to me to have a large family. This took our life away from us, this captivity with no end in sight. And so i felt that it was our best choice at that time. We didnt know if we would have that opportunity when we came back. We didnt know how long it would be. Coleman now says all three of those children have been going, undergoing tests at the hospital in canada. And now they are trying to adjust to life outside of captivity. You can imagine since they have never been outside of captivity. Let me ask you quickly, when her husband gave the first interview, he said his wife needed time. How did she say shes doing now . Reporter you know, its obviously a bit of a struggle right now according to the interview. There were things she didnt want to talk about and said no comment. She didnt want to, for example, talk about her religion at this point. There were other things she laughed at. Obviously, its going to take some time. Shes sort of been, the information has been coming out sort soft slowly since their release. There was a statement emailed to nbc news just 24 hours before this where she talked more about home schooling and how that was sort of a help to her in trying to deal with all this. So slowly they are releasing information about this. Which is somewhat highly unusual for people who have gone through Something Like this. It is fairly quick considering everything they have been through. Joe, thank you for that. Any minute now, House Speaker paul ryan and the rest of the House Republican leadership will speak to reporters after holding a clo closeddoor meeting. Well bring it to you live. Plus, jimmy kimmel is weighing in on the surprising announcements that came out of the white house over the weekend. President trump is, i dont know if you know this, but is planning to release treasuretroves, thousands of classified documents connected to the assassination of john f. Kennedy. According to earlier reports from inside the trump white house, the real this is a bombshell. The real killer was not lee harvey oswald. It was a 16yearold hillary clinton. dad molly trash whoo mom hey, molly . Its time to go bell ringing class, lets turn to page 136, recessive traits skip generations. Who would like to read . molly i reprogrammed the robots to do the inspection. Its running much faster now. See . Its amazing, molly. Thank you. lets go to the hill. Bob corker is speaking to reporters. You would think he would be he would try to focus on things where there wasnt a witness, but the whole world is a witness. Senator, you have been kind of an at the beginning of the campaign, you supported the president. Do you regret that now . Well, let me think. Look, i think people look, i think there were many people, i was one of those, who hoped that he would rise to the occasion as president. And aspire to lead our nation instead of dividing it. And its obvious his political model and governing model is to divide. And he has not risen to the occasion. It is very evident to me, i have had personal meetings, personal dinners, personal phone calls when the staff asked me to call over and intercede on something that was not going to happen for our country. And i have done all those things. But yeah, at this point, i realize what we are dealing with. Like i think most americans. And now ive got a job as a senator to do the best that i can to check that, to check against that. And when hes right, of course, you know, i think some people think that, you know, we carry out our personal feelings on policy, but that is just not what most of us do. We do things based on what is good for the country. So its you know, its a sad place from my perspective for the nation. And i think that the worst of it is going to be just the basing of our nation. It will be the contribution that hurts our nation the most. Reporter do you think the president will face the nation . I dont think that is a question. Just in the way the conducts himself, he goes to a low level, i do. But look, the rest of us need to do what we can to act as statesmen and to try to move our nation ahead in a time where we have a leader such as we have now. And that is certainly what i am going to attempt. Reporter do more of your republican colleagues need to speak up . Look, i i was in a rough and tumble business operating around the country. And i have always been a very direct independent person. And we came up here as citizens in our state that i couldnt imagine serving more than two terms. And it gives you a sense of freedom and i have felt that the whole time ive been here. But i cant speak to what other people should do. And i would never want to do or Say Something that puts people that i serve with in an uncomfortable place. Reporter but you have spoken i better go. Reporter did you campaign for him . I didnt really campaign for him. You know, i went to raleigh during a period of time when he was talking with me about being vice president. And that afternoon before the event, i told him that it was not possible for me to do that. And so i got called out on the stage, an embarrassing moment, i think you saw that was the case, but i did, i did when he was right. I supported him on the Foreign Policy speeches and criticized him on other things that were inappropriate. But look, you know, we are where we are as a country. And again, i think what we need to do, report him when hes right, check him when hes wrong, which is plenty, and try to conduct ourselves in a manner that brings out the best in the American People when the president doesnt conduct himself that way. His governing model is to divide and to attempt to bully. And to use untruth. Well, pick your jaws up off the floor because that was republican senator bob corker. The chairman of the Foreign Relations committee telling reporters that this president of the United States debases the country. Its been a remarkable morning. We have been covering it all here on msnbc as the president and bob corker engage in what you could call a backandforth, but this seems to be largely onesided. Senator corker mincing no words, saying he regrets supporting donald trump for president , making no secret of this, just two hours before trump is set to head over to capitol hill for what was going to be a unity lunch. Not sure what it will be now. I want to bring in Amber Phillips and jonathan swan. Well talk about this along with Garrett Haake on capitol hill and Kristen Welker on the white house north lawn. Kristen, very y,