There. You know, lets just watch and listen for a few seconds as the Prime Minister gets out of the limo and is received by the president. Nice short little arrival. The photo op taking place. Theyre going to go inside and spend a few minutes quietly and go into that News Conference right away. Jim accosta is still in the east room of the white house. Jim, you were making an important point that this comes at a very, very tumultu oous moment. Theres so much going on, and the president S National Security advisor, as you point out, Michael Flynn, he was just fired only three weeks into this administration. Go ahead. Thats right, wolf. President trump, according though this white house, fired hiS National Security advisor, Michael Flynn just a couple of nights ago as all these questions are now swirling about whether or not the president s aides or associates during the campaign had contacts with russian individuals who are known by the Intelligence Community, the operatives in the russian Intelligence Community, and that is going to be a dominant question here at this News Conference if the white house elects to give that question this is a two plus two News Conference, as you know, wolf, to questions for the American Press to questions for the israel press. If the white house allows somebody from the mainstream news media to ask a question, which has not happened in the last few News Conferences,ing that could get asked of the president. What did he know and when did he know it . That ageold question will likely be asked of this president. Getting back to the he issue of israeli Prime Minister netany u netanyahu, you and i both, though, wolf, this is a president that Benjamin Netanyahu wants to deal with. He had a very frosty and prickly relationship with president obama. They had massive disagreements over the middle east Peace Process. In particular the Iran Nuclear Deal and what you heard during the campaign from President Trump, then candidate trump, was a move in bing netanyahus direction. Also, talked about moving the embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. That was music to Benjamin Netanyahus ears. There was also this issue of settlements as well as the twostate solution and, wolf, we should mention just the last 24 hours white house officials have acknowledged that they are now perhaps backing away from any kind of insist ens that there be a twostate solution as part of a middle east peace deal. White house officials were telling reporters last night that thats not necessarily going to have to be the case. That theyre not going to insist on the israelis abiding by that, be and that is really a shift from a u. S. Foreign policy for republican and democratic administrations going back many years now. That is obviously a question thats going to be asked. Wolf, you know, the one thing that has not changed so far is that this administration has not abandoned the Iran Nuclear Deal. You know, so much talk about this during the campaign. The president went after the Iran Nuclear Deal just about every chance he got during the campaign, but it stands at this point. They did add additional sanctions on iran because of that recent Ballistic Missile test, but they have not given up on the Iran Nuclear Deal. One of the questions from the israeli news media, wolf, will be what does Benjamin Netanyahu, what does the Prime Minister think about that, the fact that the Trump Administration has not thrown that nuclear deal over board . Theres a lot of questions to be asked of this president and Prime Minister. If all of these questions werent swirling around the president and his contacts or his aides contacts with russia, there would be plenty to be asked just about this relationship between the u. S. And israel, wolf. Four questions. Two american reporters, two israeli reporters. Very often there are multipart questions. We saw ron dermer, the ambassador to the United States walk in, lay out a little folder on the lecturn where the Prime Minister will be speaking. Presumably some remarks, his opening remarks. Both of these leaders will have Opening Statements followed by the q and a with reporters. Barbara star is over at the pentagon. Barbara, theres a lot of discussion that will involve the u. S. Israeli relationship hovering over this much more significantly for the president. Is the turmoil involving hiS National Security team. Youre getting insight from your sources over at the pentagon and elsewhere. Update our viewers. Well, wolf, one of the key questions, though, even if mr. Trump doesnt get a question about it because he doesnt ask someone who might ask him that question, he is not going to be hide from this forever, if that is what the intention is because you are seeing growing calls in congress for some type of investigation into all of this. The latest information is that we now know that trump aides throughout the summer, while trump was the nominee, had constant and frequent contacts with russian officials, with russian persons. It was all monitored by the u. S. Intelligence community. The Intelligence Community growing so alarmed by the frequency of the contact and what might be being discussed that they briefed then president obama and briefed mr. Trump about all of this. Now, to be clear, we do not know publically what was discussed in these conversations that were monitored by the Intelligence Community, but it is another contradiction, it is another underscoring that the trump camp did, in fact, have frequent constant communications with russian persons, with russian entities. You are seeing those calls in congress for a more open transparent look at all of this. Now, as far as the israeli meeting goes, one of the things were beginning to hear here at the pentagon is theres some anxiousness to get a new National Security advisor in place, get the nsc, the National Security council back up and fully running because as one official said to me a short time ago, if we call over there, we dont know who to talk to. We dont even know who is going to answer the phone. Theres a lot of frustration and a lot of urgency in the various departments, i think, around washington for the white house to get this sorted out and to get moving to get the nsc up and running fully. Wolf. The israeli delegation clearly is seated there. The u. S. Delegation, the american officials, have not yet walked in, although i assume theyll be walking in very, very shortly. John king is here. Our krbt. He is joining us. Alice is our Global Affairs correspondent and david, Global Affairs analyst, former advisor to numerous secretaries of state, Aaron David Miller with us. Orin lieberman is still in jerusalem. Well get to him shortly. You and i have covered the white house in a long time. I dont remember, if ever, a joint News Conference that a president has with a visiting foreign leader that begins their conversation, and then they sit down afterwards for a substantive dialogue. Almost always, i think always, the News Conference is at the end of the meetings, not at the beginning before the meetings. Everything about this president and everything about the first 27 days of his presidency is different from the scheduling. You are right. Normally they talk first. Now, what does it do . It allows them to say we havent talked about that yet if you press them on the twostate solution or how hard will President Trump push back on israeli Settlement Expansion, israeli settlement growth. Its at least the beginning of a process to start a Peace Process back in place. He can say im going to talk to the Prime Minister. You can deflect those questions. That arrival ceremony, as you noted, want an official state arrival ceremony, but i have never seen that done for a visiting head of Foreign Government to go out to the south. Weve seen the president on the north side, Prime Minister abe, here last week. Again, the president trying to send the signal this is an elevated u. S. Israeli relationship. These are two men that know each other from the new york days. This is very important. Interesting dynamics. As we talk about you are talking to barbara about general flynn being missing, that was Prime Minister netanyahus best voice inside the Trump Administration for a tougher posture with iran. He is now gone. The flexties of these conversations between these two leaders, just in the u. S. Israeli context, are fascinating, and then you have the much larger bubble, cloud, over this white house right now about the dealings with russia and the entire political standing of this president. Its a big day for the president. Quite unusual. Remarkable that they would come out and talk first before theyve had any conversations. Make a good point. Maybe theyll be able to say were going to discuss that. Well get back to you later. Sensitive issues. Alice, moving the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem during the campaign. Donald trump said, yes, that was going to happen. That was going to happen quickly. Now he is saying not so fast. As far as a twostate solution, the last night a Trump Administration official suggested, well, maybe thats not necessarily the u. S. Objective right now. It was a pretty sensitive pretty sensitive moment because for decades republican administrations and democratic administrations have always said in the end there should be a Peace Agreement between the israelis and palestinians. Israel along side a new state of palestine. I think a lot of this right now is for Prime Minister netanyahus benefit. I mean, this arrival ceremony, as you saw, this press conference before the actual meeting allows netanyahu to get this on the evening news, although maybe they could have done the meeting a little bit earlier. You see netanyahu has walked away from a lot of the things that he said in the campaign. He said that he wanted to negotiate the ultimate deal. He said that he was going to be very firm on supporting israel on settlements. He said he was going to move the embassy, and now he seems to be walking not necessarily walking away, but softening these positions. I think this is really a visit right now to boost netanyahus standing at home. He is facing multiple investigations and his own government. He needs that kind of boost that they are rekindling this relationship. I dont think anything is really going to be youre not going to see any deliverables out of this meeting. I think you want to see a reaffirmation of the commitment to the relationship. Were seeing more people coming in this. Were still waiting for the arrival of others. Momentarily this News Conference will begin. Orin lieberman, the Prime Minister right now, he is facing enormous problems domestically in israel, including criminal investigations. He has been interviewed at least once, maybe twice by Israeli Police right now. Update our viewers on that. He has been interviewed three times for more than eight hours. More than ten hours, i believe, over the course of the last few weeks, and there are some reports that theres a fourth interview coming related to a couple of Different Cases here. As of right now, those cases are a criminal investigation. They dont move quickly. Wolf, you know that there are multiple Prime Ministers, including netanyahu himself that have been faced with or have faced criminal investigations, and the question is where do they go . Netanyahu himself has been investigated. Those led nowhere. There were no charges filed. There was no indictment. That is what he is predicting will happen again this time. He is trying to portrait a confidence, and yet, the investigations have shaken Public Confidence in him. Theres some politicians who said if he is indicted, he should step down. Others have said stay on until charges actually come and until youre convicted. Under israeli law, he is allowed to stay in power to remain the Prime Minister. Not only until he is convicted, but until those convictions are upheld through the entire appeals process. Again, though, its important here that as he faces these investigations, nothing here is happening quickly. The police are being very careful. The attorney general here is a netanyahu appointee. He, too, will be very careful. Alise is right that he is facing that, says and he also facing tremendous political pressure. His right wing coalition. Many in his own party have called on him to walk away from a twostate solution. His public commitments to a twostate solution and simply abandon that. Thats the political pressure he is facing ahead of this. We see the First Lady Melania Trump and mrs. Netanyahu. They sat down, and Jared Kushner and ivanka trump there. Steve bannon, the top Strategic AdvisorSteven Miller is there. Other u. S. Officials there. I think reince priebus, we saw as well. The president and Prime Minister with all of the aides, the israeli delegation, the u. S. Officials, now there Jared Kushner, he has been discussed by the president as a middle east envoy. A special negotiator sitting next to ivanka. That would be pretty extraordinary for the soninlaw to emerge now as the peace negotiator, if you will, between the israelis and the palestinians. I think the two leaders are going to walk in any second. Sean spicer put the president s remarks on the podium. It is unusual. There was the whole conversation about is this nepotism to bring your sobl into a key role in the white house. We saw the president s daughter play a key role at a Business Roundtable yesterday. All right. There they are. The Prime Minister and the president. The president will speak first. Thank you very much. Thank you. Today i have the honor of welcoming my friend, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu to the white house. With this visit the United States, again, reaffirms our unbreakable bond with our cherished ally, israel. The partnership between our two countries built on our shared values has advanced the cause of human freedom, dignity, and peace. These are the Building Blocks of democracy. The state of israel is a symbol to the world of resilience in the face of oppression. I think of no other state thats gone through what theyve gone, and of survival in the face of genocide. We will never forget what the jewish people have endured. Your perseverance in the face of hostility, your open democracy in the face of violence, and your success in the face of tall odds is truly inspirational. The security challenges faced by israel are enormous, including the threat of Irans Nuclear ambitions, which ive talked a lot about. One of the worst deals ive ever seen is the iran deal. My administration has already imposed new sanctions on iran, and i will do more to prevent iran from ever developing i mean ever a nuclear weapon. Security assistance to israel is currently at an alltime high, insuring that israel has the ability to defend itself from threats of which there are, unfortunately, many. Both of our countries will continue and grow. We have a long history of cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the fight against those who do not value human life. America and israel are two nations that cherish the value of all human life. This is one more reason why we reject unfair and one sided actions against israel at the united nations, which has treated he israel, in my opinion, very, very unfairly. Other International Forums, as well as boycotts that target israel. Our administration is committed to working with israel and our common allies in the region towards greater security and stability. That includes working toward a Peace Agreement between israel and the palestinians. The United States will encourage a peace and really a great peace deal. Weve been working on it very, very di