First responders. It certainly was unbelievable testimony from jon stewart yesterday. Good morning, everybody. Its wednesday june 12en. Im Yasmin Vossoughian along size nbc News White House correspondent geoff bennett. It will be more than seven months before the first votes are counted in the 2020 nominating contest. But President Trump is already focusing on opponent joe biden. While the former Vice President is also centering his attention on the president. Both were in iowa yesterday where biden delivered scathing remarks that stomped across the state as the president launched his own attack during an appearance in iowa. In 2020, we not only have reputed Donald Trumps policies and values, we have to clearly and fully reject for our own safety sake, his view of the presidency. Quote, i have complete power. No, you dont, donald trump. Quotes from donald trump, i have absolute power, no, you dont, donald trump. Or, only i can fix it. Fix yourself first, donald trump. Politicians let other countries push us around, treat us badly, treat our country with no respect. And you see that with biden. We would never be treated with respect. Because people dont respect him, even the people that hes running against. Theyre saying where is he . What happened . He makes his stance in iowa once every two weeks. And then he mentions my name 74 times in one speech. I dont know. That reminds me of crooked hillary. She did the same thing. When it came time to vote, they said, you know, she doesnt like trump very much. But what else does she stand for. Same thing is happening with sleepy joe. A new National Poll shows President Trump is lagging far behind biden and five other democrats. The Quinnipiac University poll taken between thursday and monday showed biden leading trump by 13 points. 53 to 40 . While Bernie Sanders bests trump by nine points, 51 to 42 . Kamala harris ahead by eight points, Elizabeth Warren by seven points. And Pete Buttigieg and cory booker each leading by five points with trump failing to break 42 against any of them. The general Election Results fit a pattern of people who view trump favorably in the poll as 42 approve of trumps job performance. 31 credit trump for a good economy. And only 41 approve of the president s policy towards mexico which he is touting as a big victory. And joining us from washington is Nbc News National Political reporter mike nimaly. Thank you for getting up with this this morning. Good morning. You were watching both of the rallies. What were your takeaways . I think there were two big takeaways from yesterday. The first is joe biden is much more comfortable running in a general election against President Trump than he is in a primary election against 23 other democrats. Last week we saw biden have the first stumbles since announcing in april. First, the Climate Policy details which were not attributed correctly. Secondly, getting tripped up by very difficult policy of abortion. His reversal. And the opportunity to be in the same state as President Trump in iowa, his campaign seized on that opportunity to make this is a split screen moment to focus the electorate and primary on what is real challenge of the general election. I think the second takeaway, despite what President Trump might be saying on the south lawn and the posture he has there in iowa. He is very much concerned about a general election matchup against joe biden. Hes concerned about that blue wall that trump was able to flip in michigan, pennsylvania. You heard him attack the Vice President as mentally weak. 1 zwro. What was interesting in that third one last night, the president deciding not to mention joe biden by name. Mike, its interesting joe biden seems like one of the few candidates really going after the president on the campaign trail. A lot of the other candidates kind of staying away from that, making it more about the issue. What is the strategy behind this . Is there going to be a point where biden is going to flip and go off against the two other candidates in the race . I think we saw in the Des Moines Register poll announced this weekend, where the candidates stand in iowa. One of the biggest takeaways from that poll was twothirds of caucusgoers are more interested in somebody who could beat donald trump than somebody who lines up with their values. Biden is as progressive as anybody in the field but you see them as often as they can trying to raise the stakes of the election making it more arguable who is the better candidate and they believe that is joe biden. Do they have any decision in the poll . No that bidens day might be his best day, the lead in the polls, naturally, as we heard the Vice President himself say yesterday, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Theyre not to worried about it. Nbcs mike memoli. Well talk to you in a bit. And House Speaker nancy pelosi is saying not even close to having enough support in the house. While speaking on the house floor, she said, quote, we need answers to the questions left unanswered by the mueller report. House judiciary chairman jerry nadler who has pushed for a formal impeachment inquiry, he was asked on msnbc about the House Speaker. Take a look. When people say chairman nadler is pushing pelosi on this, thats basically true or basically not true . Well, nancy pelosi has said all options are on the table. They are on the table. And when we get more information as this process continues, well have to make decisions down the road. All right. So democrats are stepping up the fight for congressional oversight of the Trump Administration. The house voted yesterday to authorize the Judiciary Committee to go to court in order to enforce subpoenas for attorney general bill barr and don mcgahn. The vote keeps them on a track favored by nancy pelosi and other House Speakers and away from impeachment inquiry that some 2020 president ial candidates have been seeking. At the birth of our democracy, amid war and revolution thomas payne said that times have found us. We are here today because the times have found us. While we do not place ourselves in the same category of greatness as our founders, we do recognize the urgency of the threat to our nation we face today. But a new clash broke out between democrats and the administration yesterday. The Justice Department revealed in a letter that attorney general bill barr will ask President Trump to invoke executive privilege, to add a Citizenship Question to the 2020 census, if democrats move forward with plans to hold barr in contempt. And House Speaker nancy pelosi is looking to brush off a series of insults leveled by President Trump while the two were in normandy, france, last week. He said youre nervous. He called you a disaster, he also called you a nasty, vindictive horrible person. Thats not me. The president said this. He later went on to tweet that youre a disgrace to yourself and your family. How do you react to the president of the United States calling you speaker of the house insulting you like that. What bothers me is that were talking about that and not the national debt. Im done with him. I dont even want to talk with him. How do you work with that leveled insult overseas. I guess i consider the source. What do you mean by that . My stock goes up every time he attacks me, so what can i say . Lets not spend too much time on that because thats his victory. Diverter of attention in chief. President trump hits back at pelosi when asked about the comments before he left the white house for iowa yesterday afternoon. Look. Nancy is a mess. The Democratic Party is a mess. Theyre doing everything they can to win the election in 2020. They are guilty of many crimes. Many, many crimes. All right. So the first democratic president ial primary debate is set for later this month. Yes, the time is here. And the candidates now know which moderators theyre facing. Nbc announces anchors jose diaz be bellarz and lester holt and Rachel Maddow will moderate. Morning joe is live in miami the morning after each night of the debate. Still ahead, a former Stanford University sailing coach will be sentenced as part of the wideranging scandal. Well talk about what it could mean for other parents. Plus, a preview of what to expect when donald jump jtrump heads to the Judiciary Committee today. Those and more when we come back. I dont keep track of regrets. And i dont add up the years. But what i do count on. Is boost® delicious boost® high protein nutritional drink has 20 grams of protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals. Boost® high protein. Be up for life. To take care of yourself. But natures bounty has innovative ways to help you maintain balance and help keep you active and wellrested. Because hey, tomorrows coming up fast. Natures bounty. Because youre better off healthy. We like drip coffee, layovers natures bounty. And waiting on hold. What we dont like is relying on fancy technology for help. Snail mail we were invited to a y2k party. Uh, didnt that happen, like, 20 years ago . Oh, look, karolyn, weve got a mathematician on our hands check it out now you can schedule a callback or reschedule an appointment, even on nights and weekends. Todays xfinity service. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Id rather not. Welcome back. A former Stanford University sailing coach is expected to be the first person sentenced in the College Admission scandal today. John vandermor pled guilty for accepting 610,000 in bribe money for the University Sailing program in return for falsely qualifying three students for admission. He did not directly pocket the money himself. And his alleged role in the plan ultimately failed when the students did not attend stanford. Prosecutors are going to ask for 13 months behind bars at his sentencing hearing according to the boston globe. Joining us here on the set, msnbc legal analyst, danny cevallos. What do you make of the sentencing here 13 months . This is one of the lowest level defendants. In fact, the person who provided the most evidence against him was singer, the center piece of this main case, the main bad guy. Part two, as you alluded to, the defendant in this case did not personally profit from the money. He took the money and essentially gave it to stanford. Hes a firsttime offender. None of the students actually attended stanford. So theres a decent argument that the crime never went through. That doesnt matter. Under the definition that doesnt matter at all. Exactly. Hes part of the overall agreement, so he is going to be sentenced. And the real battle today is does he get a straight probation sentence or closer to the 13 months that the government is looking for in this case. What kind of sentence doing the other parents and coaches involved in this scheme, what kind of sentencing do they face . It all depends on their individual conduct. And this is a great example. This is a coach who is arguably higher up on the chain of this overall scheme. But yet, his individual liability seems less because, as we discussed, he didnt actually pocket the money. The students actually didnt go to stanford but he was involved in the criminality. Other coaches, for example, who may have pocketed a bunch of money, they are likely looking at a stiffer sentence. What about a Lori Loughlin situation . Lori loughlin is another textbook. They approach her early on. They offer her a deal to plead guilty. She says, no, im going to trial. Maybe a day later, they file superseding indictment and they charge her with more crimes. Theres a lesson to be learned here, even if youre a lowlevel defendant, if youre thinking of pleading guilty, now is the time. Dont waffle. What happened to Lori Loughlin is may what happen to you. You back up the dump track. Thats interesting news if youre going to plead guilty do not walk, run to your nearest prosecutor and plead guilty. We learned something today. Danny cevallos. Of other news on the show, its good news. Youre right. Thanks, dan. Lets get a check of the weather with meteorologist Michelle Grossman. Hi there, guys. Hopefully, news, we wont need in the near future. Were looking at day three of a heat wave in parts of california from the Pacific Northwest down to the Desert Southwest where were looking at heat advisories. 44 Million People impacted. And it gets dangerous once it goes on longer. Lets talk about record setting highs today once again, despite record breaking temperatures were expecting temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above. Portland, 26 above normal. Your record is 93. Lets head to the Desert Southwest, were looking at temperatures, 110 in palm springs. Its hard to believe, this time of year. Yuma, 114, 12 degrees above normal. Phoenix, you set a record at 112. As we go through the next several days this is a peek of that heat which is good news. Were going to start at cooling. Ill say cool in quotes. 104 in phoenix. Denver looking much better by sunday. Lets talk about the east. All of that hot air in the west. A jet stream dipping down keeping that hot air in the west, kind of like a road block. Back to the east, were looking at much cooler air. Were looking at cooler temperatures. No complaints in the east. Temperatures near or below normal for this time of year. Cool for most. East of the rockies chicago, 71, thats eight degrees below whats typical for this time of year. 71, charlotte, 16 degrees below average. Were going to talk more about wet weather returning to the east when we come back a bit. Thanks. Still ahead, transportation secretary elaine chao is now the latest trump official to be involved in a potential conflict of interest scandal. Well show you what her husband, the Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has to say about the allegation. Were back in a moment. Support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. Chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking, or lifethreatening allergic and skin reactions. Decrease alcohol use. Use caution driving or operating machinery. Tell your doctor if youve had Mental Health problems. 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Among them, details about a 2016 trump tower meeting with a russian lawyer offered to provide information that would incriminate hillary clinton. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell made light of serious questions surrounding his wife. Elaine chao who helped usher through 70 million in grant funds for his own state of kentucky. Leader mcconnell, did you receive any special consideration as your office applied for transportation grants because youre married to secretary cihao. 160 projects. President trump has responded to a report in the wall street journal which says kim jongun half brother kim jong nom was a cia source who has met with agency operat