president laying down talking points on the trump tower meeting he must have known weren't true. it's all focussing attention on a single question, does it add up to obstruction of justice or merely a president exercising his legitimate authorities as chief executive? joining us now is richard blumenthal. we now know it wasn't just don mcgahn pressuring jeff sessions not to recuse himself. two other high-ranking white house officials. do you see this as obstruction of justice? >> this excellent reporting certainly indicates a key element of an obstruction of justice case, which is corrupt intent. what is building here, it may not have reached the threshold of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to try to shut down the investigation to interfere with it by telling jeff sessions he had main control over it and stymie it if possible. the standard here has to be a high one for any kind of obstruction case, but clearly when you're dealing with senior white house officials and the president of the united states, the bar is especially high. here is one point for sure, jeff sessions ought to explain this