Minnesota. While in alabama, Republican Senate candidate roy moore returning to the campaign trail tonight after an 11day disappearing act. And President Trump now saying the access Hollywood Tape he acknowledged during the campaign is a fake. Whos the boss . A tug of war over just whos in charge of the Consumer Watchdog Agency as the acting director sues to keep control but President Trumps budget director arrives early to take the reins of an agency he has vowed to eliminate. Do you believe you have legitimate authority over this bureau. Yes, yes, i do. And when harry met meghan, prince harry says he is over the moon announcing his engagement to american actress megan markle as the couple stepped out to show off the ring which includes stones from harrys mother princess di. Was it romantic . Very first time we met. And happy monday. Im Andrea Mitchell in washington as we kick off a wild week in politics. First on capitol hill, embattled democratic senator al franken and 27term democratic congressman john conyers both preparing to face a wave of reporters armed with questions about accusations of Sexual Harassment leveled against both. In alabama, republican roy moore in the stretch run expected to come out of hiding and hit the campaign trail tonight. They expect at least after weeks of denying alleged Sexual Misconduct when moore was in his 30s and some of his women accusers were in their teens. The Republican Senate nominee was virtually endorsed by President Trump slamming democratic candidate doug jones on twitter by falsely calling jones a former tough prosecutor soft on crime. All this controversy hovering over a jam packed congressional agenda for republican majorities hoping to avoid a government shutdown. Pass tax cuts and avoid a showdown over protecting the dreamers all in just two legislative weeks. A brewing court battle over who is in charge of the Consumer Watchdog Agency created by doddfrank. Joining me now White House CorrespondentKristen Welker and political analyst robert costa, National Political reporter of the Washington Post and moderator of Washington Week on pbs. Kristin, first to you. The president now first of all, telling people close to him that he had nothing to do with the access Hollywood Tape, that it was a fake after he initially said it was real and apologized for it. How does he expect to get away with that . Reporter well, i think its going to be a tough line to walk, andrea. Look, he came out and apologized for that tape. It was one of the pivotal moments of the campaign and never once did he deny that that was his voice while that tape was actually aired and during the campaign and at that moment that it really shook up his campaign and, of course, weve heard one of his former top advisers steve bannon talk about that moment publicly and essentially saying it was a critical moment within the Trump Campaign because it really drew the battle lines of who was standing with 24e7b candidate trump and who was against him. But i think, this all underscores just what a tough spot the president is in when it comes to responding to whats happening in alabama embattled alabamas Senate Candidate roy moore. I pressed him on whether or not he supported roy moore last week before he left for his thanksgiving holiday. And he all but offered an endorsement of moore saying that doug jones, the democratic candidate, will be bad for his agenda as effectively is his argument and also saying that you have to believe roy moore too when he denies the allegations against him. Of course, those include misconduct against teenagers. So andrea, i do think this is a tough needle for the president to thread. But it is one that i anticipate he will continue to try to as it gets closer to that all important special election december 12th. All eyes on that special election. It has implications not only for the Republican Party but obviously the republican agenda and tax reform, as well. And, of course, the republicans in the white house welcoming what happened with the democrats and while i clear my throat look at nancy pelosi on meet the press. Just because someone is accused and was it one accusation, is it two . There has to be john conyers is an icon in our country. Hes done a great deal to protect women. Do you believe the accusers . Excuse me . Do you believe the accusers. I dont know who they are. They have not come forward. And that gets you dont know if you believe the accusations . Thats for the Ethics Committee to review. It was a blowup after that. Robert costa, first of all to say she didnt know whether to believe them because they hadnt come forward. Some have not because confidentiality agreements and these very secret agreements that many people, men and women, are complaining about which protect members of congress including payoffs, payments made from taxpayer money. Robert . Leader at the pels statements reveal a broader challenge facing both parties on capitol hill, whether its paul ryan, former House Speaker john boehner or former speaker nancy pelosi. The process in which women come forward with Sexual Harassment allegations on capitol hill has long been secretive. Its been a culture inside of congress of keeping information kind of quiet, settlements quiet. Now all of that is coming under the spotlight, under real scrutiny. And take a look at another clip from meet the press. This was anita hill. Its been 26 years since that we thought definitive moment in american politics, the thomas hearings. I was covering it at the time. Anita hill interviewed by chuck today saying shes not sure that thing have really changed. Well, we have made progress, but unfortunately, 26 years ago, washington wasnt ready to lead on this issue. And im afraid even today, washington cannot lead the country on this issue. There seems to be too many conflicted feelings and understanding about what is what needs to happen when Sexual Misconduct occurs. And at the same time, were hearing now that the president will not be according to a. P. , will not be campaigning for roy moore. Hes going to i guess endorse him in his comments to you and on twitter. Kristin . Reporter well, i think thats right. And all indications are that President Trump wont be xabing with roy moore. Were working to confirm the a. P. s reporting. Basesed on my conversations with sources inside and close to the white house, all signs have been pointing in that direction and it goes back to this point trying to sort of thread the needle on this very difficult topic. But i think, too, anita hills point she was making, what we are seeing now is just how difficult and how dug in people are on both sides of the political aisle. Were seeing political tribalism to some extent take root which is standing in the way of people standing out speaking out i should say firmly against allegations and accusations of Sexual Misconduct. Not the same thing in hollywood where people who are facing these accusations have either come out and apologized, gone into some type of Treatment Program and there has been sort of this broad denunciation of that type of activity. So i think anita hill underscoring the fact when it comes to politics, that have still muddies the waters to some extent. Weve seen in journalism and in hollywood, careers end abruptly. Theyre over. Right. Movies are canceled, shows are yanked. In politics, their lives seem to go on forever and ever. Theres after life. Speaking of lives that go on forever and ever and morph and change, Jared Kushner. Robert, theres the report from the New York Times that his role has been diminished or i guess that was the Washington Post ashley parkers reporting more to the point about kushners role being diminished because in part of the new chief of staff kelli having more authority than Reince Priebus had over him but also that he was taking on so much, it was an improbable task to start with. Middle east peace, reinvent government, to do lobbying for taxes and everything else. So how diminished is his role . What is the reality . His role has been diminished in the sense his portfolio has been scaled back. He remains a point person for the middle east peace process. At the same time, this is a person in Jared Kushner who has been dogged by controversies inside of the white house about his own familys financial dealings. Hes had to bring on a legal team. Its been a difficult year for him. He remains a confidante of President Trump but when it comes to him being the core operator in this white house, thats faded. Its more about general kelly and the president and the cabinet at this point than Jared Kushner. Robert costa, Kristen Welker, thanks for launching us today. On sunday, senator franken chose three minnesotabased news out lets to hold his first interviews on one allegation of Sexual Harassment and three separate complaints about his behavior at public Photo Opportunities including the minneapolis startribune. If you had asked me two weeks ago would any woman say that i had treated her with disrespect, i would have said no. So this has just caught me by surprise. Minneapolis startribune washington correspondent Jennifer Brooks joins me now. Thank you so much, jennifer. How shocking was this when it first broke to you who cover him most closely . It was it was it flabbergasted everyone. Al franken was the guy out front cheering on the me too movement. He was saying how wonderful it was that all these women were stepping forward to share their stories. Up until that thursday when is someone stepped forward to share a story about al franken. Now, he had a best selling book. He was even talked about as a 2020 possible hopeful. But in his past as a comedian and a writer, he had a lot of controversial things when he was first running for the senate. And every single one of them came back to haunt him during his First Senate Campaign in 2008. We remember that campaign. And that campaign i believe went for several months of recount. He wasnt brought into the senate for a couple of months. It was that close. Yes, and he was forced to cop out and issue a series of apologies for things had he written offcolor, raunchy jokes he had pitched including a rape joke. Thats probably accounted for why they had to go through months of recounts. But since then, hes been an incredibly you know, visible democratic force. Hes a huge fundraiser. He fund raises for other democrats across the country. Hes been up front on a lot of issues, challenging Trump Administration appointees. And all of a sudden, he has people taking the money he donated to their campaigns and their regifting it to battered womens shelters and things like that, which is a big change. When he first came in, i know he would never joke. He was so serious. He was almost like another celebrate Hillary Clinton when she was first elected to the senate doing only very sparingly local interviews no, National Interviews trying to keep his head down. Then he gradually emerged and again, another part of your interview. Lets play a little bit more of it. I dont remember these photographs. I dont. And this is of not something i would intentionally do. How do you not intentionally do something as described or i mean, hes taking thousands of pictures with campaign supporters. But do you think that if nothing else emerges that he can survive politically back in minnesota . Well, he has until 2020 to win back the voters trusts says he likes. He stopped short of saying that he has never put his hand on a womans butt. He says hes a woorm warm person who hugs. I dont know what kind of hug would involve the butt, but you know. Actually we do know what kind of hug. Now we know what kind of hug, bad hugs. Its a whole new game now in washington. Jennifer, thank you for sharing your interview. Congratulations on a big exclusive. Turning now to the joyous announcement from london this morning. Prince harry fifth in line to the throne, one of the most eligible bachelors is officially spoken for. The prince and his new fiance Meghan Markle posing outside Kensington Palace this morning showing off the royal engagement ring. Congratulations from all of us. How are you both feeling . Thrilled. Over the moon. Meghan, how are you feeling . Was it romanticing . Ing. When did you know she was the one . The very first time we met. The couple tried to keep their courtship private for more than a year making their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in toronto this past september. Joining me now is kami la tominy. Thank you for being with us. The excitement is palpable on this side of the atlantic. But i gather it is, as well in the uk. Thats right. On both sides of the pond, theres a lot of excitement around this couple. Prince harry a universally popular figure. When people look at him, theyre reminded of his late mother princess diana. Settling down at last with an american princess. Its the stuff of disney fairy tales, isnt it. It is indeed. Shes unusual in that we all know the last time an american divorcee wed a british royal. It didnt end well for the monarchy. He not being directly in line. Hes fifth in line. There is less at stake in terms of the succession to the crown. Yes, thankfully, weve moved on a bit from the days of the abdication in the 1930s. Actually, the old sense of royals have having to marry other royals and marriages being arranged has been swept away. We have a tori low modern capital, a transatlantic relationship. Meghan has been married before. Prince charles married before, too. And equally, of course, in terms of their modernity moving forward, were expecting them to have perhaps a little bit of a different Royal Wedding because prince harry is the socalled spare to the heir, he hasnt got the responsibility of say prince wilyax. And its also a very busy spring given the pregnancy the third child expected for his brother Prince William. And, of course, catherine. So how are they going to organize this . When are we expects this the wedding . Were expecting more details about the date and the venue tomorrow, andrea. I think it is quite tricky. The Royal Household has a big job planning for the third royal baby. Thats expected in april. Theyve said its a spring wedding. I would imagine theyll probably want to get married before the baby is due because we expect Prince George and Princess Charlotte to take a starring role. I would imagine just speaking as a mother that kate might want to do that pregnant as opposed to with a newborn in her arms. Well have to wait and see till tomorrow for the finer details to be announced. There is a lot of excitement. A quick question about the british tabs. Are they also on board here with the excitement . How is it being covered over there . Reporter its very much excitement because of prince harrys popularity and the sense that hes been this worlds most eligible bachelor for so long. I think everyones willing him to settle down and have the kind of family life and marriage weve witnessed with Prince William and kate and their children here. Theres always been a sense that prince harry will make a good dad once he finds the one. Clearly after the press conference today, it was love at first sight. Its a very happy ending. We love happy endings. We can use more of those. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. And coming up, cutting ties. Michael flynns legal team tells Donald Trumps lawyers they will not be talking anymore. What does this mean for the mueller investigation. 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