Transcripts For MSNBCW For The Record With Greta 20170321

The Gop Health Care bill or else. Two days before this thursdays vote in the house and Gop Health Care bill, the president meeting behind closed doors with House Republicans to do arm twisting. Nbc news reporting that the president saying the gop majority is at risk for 2018 if the republicans vote no on thursday. Washington post quoting President Trump saying im gonna come after you. Afterwards President Trump talking to reporters. We had a great meeting and i think well get a winner vote. Well have a real winner. It was a great meeting. Terrific people. They want a tremendous Health Care Plan and thats what we have. And there will be adjustments made. But i think well get the vote on thursday. Senator Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell saying, quote, i would hate to be a republican whose vote prevented us from keeping the commitment we have made to the American People for almost ten years now. So what is the vote tally . Well, as of right this minute, 26 House Republicans are leaning no. And that is plenty to kill the bill. House Freedom Caucus chairman mark meadows telling nbc that hes not afraid of voting no. I serve at the pleasure of the people of Western North carolina. And when you serve at their pleasure, its only those 750,000 people that can send you home. And its a temporary job and ive niknown that from day one. This after the House Rules Committee made changes to the gop bill in an effort to get more republicans on board. And democrats also bringing out the big guns. Tomorrow joe biden will be on capitol hill with nancy pelosi fighting to save obamacare. With me senator john cornyn, republican of texas. Good evening, sir. Good to be with you. So what are your thoughts on the numbers . Youve seen all the number counting in the house. It looks like they cant afford to lose many. They have 26 who are not a sure thing. So how does it look in the senate . Its a work in progress. First we want to see what the house does. Of course there is likely to be some about changes in the house bill. As you mentioned, it goes before the rules committee and then will be voted on on thursday. But im optimistic that they will hit the 216. I understand that is the number because there are five vacancies instead of the normal 218. And then well take it none the senate. It will be open for amendment and the senate will work its will. It looks like the senate has some nos, though. Senator rand paul is no, senator mike lee is no. Senator tom cotton is no. So how do you get one of those three on board . Well, we will have to talk to them and try to keep working with them to address their concerns. You know, there is no such thing as a perfect bill as you know. There is as good as we can do bill. And this is just one step of the process in keeping that commitment that senator mcconnell talked about that weve been mauking for t inmaki three elections. So questi we need to keep work until we can bring down rates and get people more choices. I assume if it passes the house and makes to the senate there is a lot of pressure on those three senators because if they vote no, then its over and that is of course the warning that President Trump laid on the republicans in the house today. How do you do your arm twisting behind closed doors . Do you point that out to them . Well, you know, senators are mard la hard to arm twist. But if they see that they are the only thing between success and failure in keeping our promise, i think that will be very influential on all of them. And having the president being committed to this is really important. And to have him continue to make the case with my colleagues is going to be critical to the outcome here. But this is not going to be easy, but i think its absolutely essential we keep our commitment. If there are amendments made to this bill in the senate, even amendments that are appealing to the republicans in the senate, enough to pass the bill to get it passed the finish line, it wont be scored by the cbo in advance of the vote, am i right . About. Thats correct. So in some bout. Thats correct. So in some wayout. Thats correct. O in some wayut. Thats coect. So in some wayt. Thats correct. So in some way. Thats correct. So in some way thats correct. So in some ways, they dont want more debt, so they are kind of 234r50ig bliflying blind if there are amendments of significant portion. Youre right, you cant add to spending from the house bill. But what i understand what the house is trying to do is give the senate some space that is offset spending that would not raise the overall level of spending in the bill and raise a point of order and potentially kill the bill. So were work very closely with the house to try to figure ways to accommodate the concerns of people not only in the house but here in the senate. And then try to reconcile those differences perhaps even in aco. Senate judiciary committee, judge gosh on such oig, this is 2017. If this were 1980, this would probably be easy. Hed get i think scalia got almost unanimous and hes replacing scalia on the court. How different is the environment today than like 10 or 15 years ago on this . Well, i got here in 2002 and at that time there was a movement by some of our democratic colleagues to try to raise the threshold for passage ever the Supreme Court nominee and any federal judge to 60. Akd there w and ultimately senator reid using the socalled Nuclear Option changed the rules for Lower Court Judges but not the Supreme Court. I think there is a lot of pressure on our democratic colleagues because if neal gosh such oig isnt good enough for you, there probably never will be anyone good enough for my democratic colleagues to allow an up or down vote. So this is a real test for them. And i know theyre having a lot of internal conflict. But my hope is that ultimately they will decide to at least give us an up or down vote on this dge. You really cant do any better than neil gorsuch. I suppose theyre better off politically, although it shouldnt be a political statement, but voting yes for the democrats, yes for judge gorsuch because its conservative for conservative. The next vacancy might be a liberal when they really want to have all their ammunition because they dont want to change how the court is perceived on so many issues. Do you agree that they would be smarter to save their fight for the next round . Well, i really do. Because its hard to find anything to criticize judge gore such oig about in terms of his record, his demeanor, his temperament and his qualifications. So it may be smarter for them, but i know theyre not taking advice from me, to wait and play that hand with the next nomination when as you point out it really will change the balance of the court. This one really just maintains the status quo in filling the scalia vacancy. Snorks weenator, well be w. Youll have your vote probably next week if it passes the house this week . Yes, maam, thats right. All right. Well be watching. Thank you, sir. White House Press Secretary sean spicer saying the president was right to suggest House Republicans who do not support the Health Care Bill could find themselves in political hot water. I think there will be a price to be paid, but it will be with their own voters. And they will have to go back and explain to them why are they made a commitment to them. And then didnt follow through. Joining me, republican congressman Thomas Massey from the great state of kentucky. He was in todays behind closed door meeting with President Trump. After the meeting, congressman massey took to the president s favorite platform, twitter. The congressman tweeted President Trump visited this a. M. He is way more charming and intel against than media want you to believe. Im still no. Against than mediau to believe. M still no. Ce toe s see you. What do you mean hes way more smart and more charming . Did you think he wasnt before . Ive been in a room with him before and he does come across as more intelligent than hes portrayed in the media or maybe enhis own twitter account. And he was very charming. There was some lighthearted jabs at his opponents in the room, but it was all in good fun. Are you still i said 2tha you were a no. Are you still a no . Im a heck no on this and i think they have problems with the vote. Ive personally spoken to 29 of my conservative colleagues who are no on this as of today. And were not even counting the moderate republicans who are a no. So i think they have a lot of arm twisting to do between now and thursday if they are going to pass it in the house. 48 hours until the expected vote. Is it possible to arm twist enough with you say you talked to 29. Our count is 26. It keeps changing every few minutes. But would it be possible to arm fwis to make enough people happy to get down . Ic 216 is ti think 216 is the n. I dont know if items possible. I dont want to say never on capitol hill, but it could be possible. But they have a steep climb. I dont know why are theyre playing the game of chicken for thursday. A lot of people will end up in difficulting situations. To your point about being in electoral trouble over this vote, before i came over here to speak with you, i counted, i have 275 constituents who asked me for oppose this bill and only four who asked me to support it. This is an unpopular bill whether youre liberal or conservative. We got word that andy harris is a no, so we have 27 con firmd nos. So even more arm twisting. So if they whip it on thursday and find out that it wont pass or even if they have the vote and it didnt pass, what happens friday morning . I think you pick until pieces and move on. Negotiations start when one party says no. And until one side says no, its not a negotiation. So weve been told we have a binary choice. We think the choice is stop this bad bill, go back to the drawing board and offer us a third choice. And this time the leadership shouldnt mislead trump into thinking that this is a home run in the house when in fact this bill was pbably dead on arrival. So what do you think President Trump thinks . If you say that hes been misled, what is he thinking . Did i hint today that he feels misled or did he act like hes 100 behind this . Well, you know, the whip team is still telling him this is a slam dunk and its not. So hes still being misled in my opinion as far as i can tell. On thursday, reality is going to come crashing down. And then well i cant predict how the president will feel at that point, but hes been to kentucky once and Vice President pence has been to kentucky once. And its still not changing senator rand pauls mind or my mind. So im not sure what else they can do to get the votes they need. If this vote were right now, and im just a few feet from the chamber, this bill would fail by at least 20 votes. What is the single thing that would make a yes for you . Well, there are a lot of issues in it. Weve replaced penalties and mandates and sub city gis with penalties, mandates and sub citities. But the problem i have the most is the refundable monthly tax credits. Its a euphemism for new entitlement program. Were just changing the way the subsidies work under obamacare and trying to do it differently. If they would change those to Tax Deductions from tax credit, then i think it would be palatable to a lot of conservatives including rand paul and the others. Has the lead let on that they are worried about this . To us its very public. The president says its going forward. The leadership suggests it will go forward. Behind the scenes do they look like theyre sweating this one . They have been calm until a few hours ago. And on the floor the arm twisting was starting and you can see theyre moving a little more quickly from person to person. But i think theyre have you been offered anything . How is your arm . Some of my colleagues were flown on air force one back to kentucky yesterday. I didnt even get an offer to ride on amtrak one. So, no, i havent been offered anything. What else is being offered . What is up for grabs . Well, i dont know. They have tried to change how the bill works for new york for instance. To try i think to get some of the moderates on. They changed the way the medicaid system works in new york under the obamacarelite is what im calling it. I really dont think there is enough they could change right now at this point. I think they have to go back to the drawing board to get 216 votes in the house. And the fact that there is five vacancies doesnt help the leadership. Those were republicans. Those are five votes they dont have. Well be watching to see what republican congressmen are headed out there to get a ride on air force one between now and 48 hours from now. I just want to get on amtrak one. That would be big enough for me. You can buy a ticket for that one. I do that all the time. Nice to see you. Throughout the hour, well beeeping a eye on the confirmation hearing for President Trumps Supreme Court nominee judge neal gore such oig. Beans ta east be hes been hitting a rachk topics on whether gore such oig would hold President Trump accountable, what he thinks of the president s travel ban and what he thinks about roe vs. Wade. More on the story later in the hour. But first, more on President Trump warning conservatives who are voting no. Will he follow through. Also President Trump avoiding questions on the fbi investigation. When will he break his silence. And why is secretary of state Rex Tillerson preparing for a visit to russia . The only journalist who traveled with with him in asia joins me live. Hi my name is tom. Im raph. My name is anne. Im one of the real live attorneys you can talk to through legalzoom. Dont let unanswered legal questions hold you up, because were here, were here, and weve got your back. Legalzoom. Legal help is here. Legal help is here. Deartheres no other way to say this. Its over. Ive found a permanent escape from monotony. Together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. I know this is sudden, but they say if you love something. Set it free. See you around, giulia theretry phillips fiberway to ggood gummies. Theyre delicious. And a good source of fiber to help support regularity. Mmm. These are good. Nice work, phillips try phillips fiber good gummies President Trump on clapitol hill today talking health care, but one issue he skiched,ipped . Whether his campaign had ties to russia. Youre under fbi investigation. That wasnt part of the deal, mr. President trump. But someone who did talk about todays investigation, how speaker paul ryan. I dont think we learned anything new yesterday with comeys testimony. Have an investigation that has been going on in the Intelligence Community, there is one federally. Were going to get to the bottom of things all things russia, but it is ke very clear that we have seen no evidence and been presented with no evidence that donald trump or his staff were involved in this with the russians. We will certainly be hearing a lot more about this next tuesday, former cia director john brennan, former director of National Intelligence james clam ir and former acting attorney general sally yates will all testify. And were not the only ones who are watching those hearings very closely. So is the kremlin. The kremlin already responding to yesterdays hearing saying, quote, the hearing participants are confused about the situation. They are trying to find confirmation of their own conclusions but cant find either proof or confirmation and are going round in circles. With me, congressman jim himes and michael mcfall. Welcome, gentlemen. Ambassador, first to you. The kremlin obviously paying very close attention to this hearing. Well, they are. But theyre being very dismissive as your quote just suggested. They say like speaker ryan just said, there is no evidence whatsoever. Theyre going round and round trying to reignite a cold war and where he nige need to get o u. S. russian relations. Theyre signaling a lot of support for secretary tillersons announced trip however. That got more attention yesterday than the hearings. Why is the kremlin even responding to this hearing . I would tactically observe but i wouldnt be responding on a day to day. Items li its like the President Trump tweeting almost. Well, you know, after President Trumps election, there was a lot of high hopes in moscow about a reset in relations with russia. As a candidate he said some very positive things about russia, about Vladimir Putin himself. And what they think is going on here is the deep state as they call it is tearing him down and making it impossible to move forward. So in a way its an explanation for why u. S. russian relations are v. Not moved in the positive direction putin was predicting. Some have reported, and i didnt hear this or see this, so imm turning to you for corroboration, is President Trump himself under investigation or just the campaign . The language that fbi director comey used, which by the way directly contradicts what speaker ryan said, he said that the hack of the election is under investigation as are links tos Trump Campaign and possible coordination. Coordination was the word that he used. He didnt single out the president and in fact he was asked whether the president is under investigation and like every other detail about the investigation, he did not answer that. But it is pretty clear that this is a wide ranging investigation and speaker ryans comments aside, that was a revelation ento those of us on the Intelligence Committee who suspected that there might be something going on, but this of course is the first time that i in light of the fact that there is an investigation by the fbi, youre still going to have a hearing next week with bran non, clapper and yates. What do you hope to gather from them . Would you not rather sit back and let the Intelligence Community do this so you dont step on your toes . Remember these public hearings are not about advancing the investigation. Although of coursecomeys revelation. I expect that you will see a lot of very aggressive attacks on these three individuals, none of whom continue to work for the federal government, on the question of leaks. Because of course some of the leaks happened undert watch of the leadership that will be in front of the committee. The work of the committee is pretty unglamorous. We are wading through boxes of doumts, were talking about what individuals that we want to interview and frank lly the individuals who matter, whether roger stone or Paul Manafort or whoever it may be, those interviews will first of all be conducted in private and secondly, my guess is that some of those interviews will involve people needing to be subpoenaed in order to appear before the committee and not likely to occur in open session. Ambassador, Paul Manafort has adamantly denied doing anything wrong or improper, but there are reports that hes under investigation in ukraine. Is there anything that you can sort of guide me on that, whether that is politics as usual in the ukraine or what is that . Well, i know the member of parliament personally, ive known him for years, who leased that information yesterday. Hes one of the best investig e investigative journalists before he joinedrleased that information yesterday. Hes one of the best investigative journalists before he joinedreleased that informat yesterday. Hes one of the best investigative journalists before he joined the parliament in that country. He would now the it out if about and thk its an sy way to get to the truth. The it out if we notrue and i think its an easy way to get to the truth. Have a hearing under oath and let mr. Manafort come before whatever committee. I believe that we will net get to the truth until we have a Bipartisan Commission so it can be done on the record. Ot get to the truth until we have a Bipartisan Commission so it can be done on the record. What do you think, ambassador, is the sort of the mission of secretary tillerson when he goes to russia for his trip . Well, they have had no contact with senior government officials including Vladimir Putin in russia. And its time to get on with that. So i applaud the fact that hes going. And i expect him to meet with President Trump putin. I think hes making a tactical mistake in not showing up in brussels first at the minute te minute stairial. It sends a wrong optic. And i would add to that go to berlin, paris and london first. Go to moscow next. Congressman, you have bren are in an, yates and clapper next week. Is Paul Manafort on your expected witness list and is general flynn . He would certainly be both would certainly be on the list of people that i think are essential for us to interview. And again, i agree with the ambassador, it would be great if this were a Bipartisan Commission doing this investigation as opposed to people who are in the political fray as all of us are. But i wouldnt expect necessarily that those individuals are, a, going to agree to testify. They may need to be subpoenaed. And if they are, the question is whether they wille i invoke the fifth amendment right to remain silent. But given the nature of the investigation, as afternoons i agree with the ambassador, there will be an awful lot that needs to be discussed and discloiedno agree with the ambassador, there will be an awful lot that needs to be discussed and discloie hikd clo behind closed doors. Which of course lights me on fire, why conditions i know, why conditions somebody else know. So mu i understand the classified nature of some, but i think we overbehind closed doors 37. The 9 11 commission came out with a very solid report when all was said and done. A couple dozen pages were classified at the end, but at the end they could say heres what we got. The difference was there was sort of a common enemy, meaning whoever attacked United States. Here its almost republicans ver are success democrats. So i think its a different posture which is why i want more of a spotlight on it. And greta, that is so absurd. The russians attacked us. They attacked the United States of america and i hope some day people will come to understand that this is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of national security. So thank you for saying that. I agree with you entirely. Ands if so discouraging to hear. I heard paul ryan the speaker of the house essentially run the same talking points that the kremlin ran today to defend this president who by the way lets be clear, this investigation is under way, there is this constant phrase of there is as of yet no evidence. Of course. First of all, most of the evidence is in very secured spaces and nobody should be prejudging where we wind up. 2000 have the sp congressman, i have to go to break. I have to pay for the lights in the studio, so i have to go. Thank you both for joining us. Thanks. The hearing for President Trumps Supreme Court pick still going strong. Ahead, what judge gorsuch said today about Holding President s accountable including the current president. And what President Trump told senators ted cruz about congress today. [ ominous music ] [ sniffs ] little girl daddy trapped by your unrelenting nasal allergies . [ meow ] [ sneezes ] try clarispray clarispray provides unsurpassed relief. Its 24 hour, nondrowsy and prescription strength. Free yourself with clarispray, from the makers of claritin. And sometimes i struggle to sleep at night,blind. And stay awake during the day. This is called non24. Learn more by calling 8448242424. Or visit your24info. Com. Were back with a warng fr preside trump. The president telling house repus thatf the bill sgn pass, the republicans could pay for it at the polls at the Midterm Election in 2018. Now, as of right now, nbc news reporting 26 House Republicans are leaning no for thursdays vote. And get this, shortly after meeting with House Republicans, President Trump joking he might actually be better off without congress. Heres what he said to senators rubio and krooicruz while signs bill represented to nasa. Its a pretty tough job. I dont know, ted, would you like to do it . I dont think i would. Marco, do you want to do it . You could send congress to space. That could be mike be allen is executive editor and annie link ski, reporter for the globe. The numbers are bad for the republicans. 27 leaning towards no. 21 would k 1 would kill it. 17 hard nos. In the end what im told, it will pass because it will be very hard for these specific guys in these districts to say no to trump. But is it worse having spent two years or six years or four years whatever it is saying im going to go out there and repeal obamacare and now vote for something which many people think is a fix obamacare, not real a repeal . That is the problem that some of these guys are facing. And i will say people that i talked to at the white house when they talk about this, they do remind you that, oh, hey, obamacare took a while to get through and it wasnt on the first try that they got it. So there is a little bit of lik pre prebutal from the white house. For example if the vote didnt happen on thursday, that nts would be the end of the world. But it is in that it throws off everything. We have a very carefully at the time take scheme here if youre going to get this through the senate, if youre going to gett time take scheme here if youre going to get this through the senate, if youre going to get fuss Supreme Court nomination by easter. And there is a recess. They do a lot of district work, but this isss Supreme Court nom easter. And there is a recess. They do a lot of district work, but this is trump it, i think, health care. Absolutely. I think youre right, while the white house might want for say it wouldnt be the end of the world if this went off track, i think it most certainly would be. It would be another disaster. And not just for congress. For trump. President trump especially after yesterday which was worse than republicans expected by far, he needs points on the board. This is his first chance. So the republicans who dont like the gop bill dont like it because of the money involved, right . Primarily money. Its expensive. So they will take a few amendments to it, those republicans, and without having it scored again so they will fly blind . Because this wont get a cbo score before they vote. Not at first. Come on, it is possible to do anything. And my grandmother used to say by hook or by crook. I think thats where are we might be at. I think they are better off without the cbo score. It was so great for them before with. Right. I think at this point they would rather the cbo went on their own district period and disappeared for a while. If it passes the house and gets to the senate, they have three confirmed nos, lee, cotton and rand paul. So they have to arm twist one of those into voting yes. Which one . Thats a lot of i think cotton could eventually vote yes. There would be dramatic changes and he would be able to say that he forced them abo. And if you were the one who has it fail and tell the American People youre the one who did that. Well, youd be a hero to certain constituents, but not your own. If you were that one senator that is the no vote, i think that would be a very difficult position to be in. Assuming the vote comes through on thursday night, this played all right for trump. Now he looks like the closer, right, like he looks like i pulled it off. Ag it all goes well. I mean, listening to your interviews earlier in the segment, these members of congress are playing a pretty tough game. And specifically head of the conservative conference, he told us hes pessimistic about it. He said that the white house is going to keep making changes and then they in the leadership eventually will dare conservatives to vote against it. His implication was that he would take the dare. And if he does, a lot of people go with him and thats where you get that 27. Or the big number nbc had. Breaking news, we just passed the nine hour mark in the Senate Hearing for judge neil gorsuch. The judge taking questions on hot button topics. Well be talking about it later in the show. And is President Trump dealing with a credibility issue . Hear what sean spicer said about that and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a warning for the president and this russia controversy. Thats next. Thats next. Sxwrooirnlgs supports two others in the community. Altogether, the industry supports over 9 million jobs nationwide. 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Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. We all understand the importance of this president ial race and i would just ask everybody this, can this country afford to have a president under investigation by the fbi . Well, that is senator marco rubio just before the election asking if the coury can afford to have the president under an investigation by the fbi. He was referring to sect Hillary Clinton, but today we know the fbi is investigating the Trump Campaign over a possible russia tie. Kasie hunt asked sean spicer. Is there concern about the president s credit and, thbilit . Lets be clear, he was answering questions. Its not like he was out therea . Lets be clear, he was answering questions. Its not like he was out thereb . Lets be clear, he was answering questions. Its not like he was out therei . Lets be clear, he was answering questions. Its not like he was out thereb . Lets be clear, he was answering questions. Its not like he was out there. But at some point there is a distinction between the investigation over 2016 and this continued narrative that falsely tries to link the president or the white house into any of it. And today Newt Gingrich had a stronging warning for President Trump. I think that the Trump Administration has to be much more xau issues and frankly has to have a much aggressive legal strategy because these things grow and grow and grow. Back with me, mike allen and annie lynn ski. And an gear ren is joining us. You have 00 heard senator marco rubio talking about secretary clinton, but nonetheless your thoughts about this. I think there are two huge issues here. One is the President Trumps credibility and ability to lead domestically and the other is his ability to lead on the world stage. And whether both allies and adversaries will either believe what he says or see him as compromised and unable to fully occupy the role of President Trump of the United States, leader of the free world, potential shooter down if missiles from north korea, whatever it is. The thing that other countries want the United States to be is all of a sudden called into some sort of weird question by how ch time ho as tspend doing this and whether or not there is a legal issue and all of the other things that it raises. Almost that he likes a good fight. Im not so sure well, this isnt a good fight though. No, i dont think any of these fights are necessarily good. But i dont see trump breaking a sweat yet. But you had the Prime Minister of iraq making fun of the president of the United States in the oval office. And you had the president making fun of Angela Merkel being tapped three days earlier when we tapped her cell phone. But just to add a i didnt mean good. You understand what i mean. I got what you meant. A third bucket. To anne, trump runs the executive branch. And as we talk to people there, this is now beyond distraction. Now theyre worried. And at the very end of his testimony yesterday, when the fbi director would not answer the question of whether specific individuals were under investigation, it therefore makes you wonder about everyone who is in there. And you talk to people from previous administrations, they say that is exactly the kind of situation where people have to lawyer up, where then later investigators can come in and ask for text messages, ask for emails. And as you know, you know plenty about federal investigations, they never wind up where they start, right . Indeed. I remember karl rove telling me years ago that when the Bush Administration was under a lot of investigations, it was awful. Anyway, it was distranktsing. Next topic, a long day of questioning at the judge gorsuch hearing. Democrats making it clear they have not forgotten about republicans barack obamaed the nominee merrick garland. Whenever i see his name attached to an opinion, its one i read with special care. Hes an outstanding judge. Do you think he was treated fairly by this committee, yes or no . Abo senators, explained to you before, i cant get involved in politics. And there is judicial cannon nons that prevent me from doing that and it would be imprubt of judges to start commenting on political disputes between themselves or the various branches. And listen to this, senator Lindsey Graham asking judge gorsuch about impeachment. In case President Trump is watching, which he may very well be, one, you did a good job picking judge gorsuch. Number two, here is the bad part, if you start waterboarding people, you may get impeached. Is that a fair summary . Senator, the impeachment power belongs to this body. That is even better. Would he be subject to prosecution . Senator, im not going to speculate. But hes not above the law. No man is above the law. No man. Thank you. I think youre a man of the law. And i really want to congratulate the president to pick you. Quite frankly, i was worried about who he would pick. Maybe somebody on tv. And today senator Chuck Schumer calling for a delay in the vote because the fooikbis russia investigation. It is unseemly to be moving forward so fast on confirming a Supreme Court justice with a lifetime appoint onment while this big gray cloud of an fbi investigation hangs over the presidency. And we are back with our panel. Mike, youre looking at your iphone, but i know its because the news that judge gch said that they attacks on that President Trumps attacks on other judges was it was fascinating. Hes now sudden publicly what we knew that he said privately on the senate a. P. Just reporting that he said that President Trumps attacks on federal judges were are disheartening and demoralizing. And putting more distance there. He said before that President Trump couldnt tell him what to rule and so this is very smart. This is a play for the 60 votes that he wants to overcome. They dont want to have to blow this up and this is a play for those sort of democrats, moderate democrats who might come on board and who on would appreciate that. And i think beyond that, on gorsuchs part, it is putting his foot down for the Judicial Independence he hopes to have once hes on the court. I mean, he didnt once he becomes a socalled justice. Thats right. He didnt call Lindsey Graham on any one of those things. He let Lindsey Graham make every single one of those points that yes, the president could be in potential legal jeopardy, yes, this could come to the Supreme Court. Yes, no one is above impeachment. I thought there was fancy footwork, but he let all of those things go. And this is into the tis not breaker, but one senator asked is about cameras in the Supreme Court. And im a big advocate, the American People out to see what goes on in the Supreme Court. Any pay for the salaries and lights and all these decisions have an impact on them. And he said he hadnt thought about it. And i thought hadnt thought about have you been . Its been a fight at the Supreme Court for 20 years. Its a, impossible, and b, cspan just did a poll and over the time that that question has been asked, the public says cameras should comein. But how can you not think about it . I can say yes or no or i dont like it. I think he winked. I thought that was a konlg. Anyway, rex are tillerson might skip the upcoming nato meeting and plans are in the works for a trip to russia. Trip to russia. Wanna get away . Now you can with southwest fares as low as 59 dollars oneway. Yes to low fares with nothing to hide. Thats transfarency. Bounty is more absorbent,mom per roll so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper actually making your body feel better. Thats exactly what tommie copper does for people everywhere. They call it wearable wellness, and tommie copper has infused it into everything they do. Why not experience the difference tommie copper can make in your life . Go to tommiecopper. Com, enter your email to become part of the tommie copper community, and get 15 off your entire order, plus free shipping. Life hurts, feel better. Yet up 90 fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. Lets do more. Add one a day mens complete with key nutrients we may need. Plus hearthealth support with b vitamins. One a day mens in gummies and tablets. Big news today from secretary of state Rex Tillerson. The state department saying he will not be at a nato summit next month, instead he will meet with chinese officials at maralago. And also next month secretary tillerson will be traveling to russia. How much access will journ allege lists have . So far east 00 not given any oncamera interviews. Today Andrea Mitchell didnt get much response at a photoop. Giv oncamera interviews. Today Andrea Mitchell didnt get much response at a photoop. North korea is tletsenning preempti preemptive, a. Can you say whether that is a dangerous escalation . No comments. Any comment on the nato meetings . Secretary tillerson allowed only one journalist to travel with him in asia. He talked to that reporter about how he viewshe press. Im not a big media press access person. I personally dont need it. I understand its important to get the message of what were doing out, but i also think theres only a purpose in getting the message out when theres something to be done. Joining me, the reporter who traveled with secretary tillerson in asia. Air rerin mcpike. Nice to see you. Youve gotten a lot of heat because tillerson didnt allow all the press to go with him. That wasnt your decision, was it . No. He practice thmade that decision. Are you a Pool Reporter . No. Practice made that decision. Are you a Pool Reporter . No. Im not part of the state Department Press corps. So you might as well be like the writer for the new yorker traveling with the president. So you have a lot of heat because everyone was mad because they said you shouldnt should have said no. And alex who founded the site and i talked about thisshould have said no. And alex who founded the site and i talked about this and we both consulted a lot of people in the business and said should we have a landing page and make our own reports and have people get the an email alert every time i filed something. And we ultimately determined that would just be too much, it might not work out very well and i should just focus on the longer story. And the truth is, in this city that if you hadnt gone, wed be jumping you for not tagging little opportunity so the rest of us could damned if you do, being damned if you dont. Which happens all the time. So moving on. Why wont tillerson talk to the press . He didnt talk to the press much at all at exxon. He said to me hes not at exxon. Were paying his bill. We need to know what hes doing. He said when i have a message to get out, i know where to go find the press. But he does not seem toike washington at all. He doesnt like the games we play. He wants to i dont le that he wont talk to the press. I know a lot of reporters dont either. But he just are its just not in his bloodstream. Does the state department see that as a problem . Were not getting a lot of information out of the state department and very important things went on for instance north korea. Currently i dont think that they think this is a problem and i dont think that they have any plans to change course. And frankly, i have a feeling that donald trump probably is loving this. That he doesnt talk to the press. Right. Hes taking a trip to russia. Let me ask you how was that trip, how was south korea . How was south korea . Quite frankly,i in spent my tim in the noert kad and rest of the time i was in the hotel working and doing phone interviews. So i couldnt tell you about what tokyo was like, what beijing was like. I was out in the dmz obviously and that was quite interesting. I dont think people understand that when you travel in the bubble, i traveled often with president bush or secretary Hillary Clinton overseas and there were times when id call back to washington and they would ask me about somethinging and i would say i dont know what youre talking about. We get so contained necessaryin bubbles. Friday night when it was friday night in seoul, i was actually asleep. I went to sleep at 7 00 p. M. That night so that i could wake up three hours later and i had a phone interview with bob corker. It was n9 00 in the morning in the u. S. And i excellent through the whole flap over tillerson not having dinler with the south koreans. So the article is where . Coming out tonight on ijr. Com. Youll see the second part of my interview and the big steer about tillerson and what hes like. You got a lot of heat,steer t tillerson and what hes like. You got a lot of heat, but thick skin is part of washington. Nice to have you join us. Coming up, no excuses. We know about this. Ill tell you what i mean, that is next. E that . You mean after that . No, im talking before that. Do you have things you want to do before you retire . Oh yeah sure. Ok, like what . But i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement . Were absolutely doing that. But theres no law you cant make the most of today. What do you want to do . Id really like to run with the bulls. Wow. Yea. Hope youre fast. I am. Get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change. Investment Management Services from td ameritrade. Theres nothing more than my vacation. Me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. Booking. Com gets it. 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Because my eyes are everything. I have something to say for the record. Tonight i want to leave all of us thinking about something. But first history, rwanda, again side, 1994. And this is graphic content, but its important to see how horrific this was. More than 800,000 innocent viciously slaughtered. Many women and girls brutally raped and slaughtered. Madeleine albright says her bigs regret in her years of Public Service was the fame youre of the United States and International Community to act to save those victims from genocide. So fast forward to now. Pope francis is speaking about in a 1994 genocide and the pope apologizing for the churchs role in the horrifying genocide and asking for forgiveness. So i know what youre thinking as you look at those pictures. How could the world have let this happen . Well, fast forward to now. In south sudan, a United Nations report just issued saying south sudan is on the brink of again side. On the brink . That sugarcoats it. My contacts on the grounds say it is happening right now. Aga genocide right now. And i wonder if the world will once again look the other way and only express regret after its over. Thats too late. Thanks for watching. Ill see you back here tomorrow night. Hardball starts right now. Trump takes a fall. Lets play hardball. Good evening. Im Chris Matthews in washington. This is a city echoing from a bomb blast. We have a president s campaign under criminal investigation for dealing th a foreign adversary. Douglas brinkley says