Yasmin vossoughian, alongside ayman mohyeldin. We begin with new reporting overnight considering the president and ukraine. Three Senior Administration officials telling the Washington Post that the president ordered held back nearly 400 million in military aid to that country days before the call in which trump reportedly pressured ukraines president to investigate joe biden. That reporting has since been matched by the New York Times and the wall street journal. Now, according to the post, Administration Officials were instructed to tell lawmakers that the delays were part of an interagency process. But to give them no additional information, a pattern that continued for nearly two months until the white house released the funds on the night of september 11th. Congress is now investigating if the president froze the military aid as a way to pressure ukraine to digging up dirt on a political rival. While the president denies a direct connection, he did connect the funding to corruption and corruption to joe biden. Did you tell the ukrainian leader that they would have the aid only if they investigated joe biden and his family . No, i didnt. No, i didnt. I did not ask for, i did not make a statement that you have to do this or im not going to give you, a, i wouldnt do that. I wouldnt do that. Were supporting a country, we want to make sure that country is honest. Its very important to talk about corruption. If you dont talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt . There was no pressure put on them whatsoever. I put no pressure on them whatsoever. I could have. I think it would probably possibly have been okay if i did. But i didnt. I didnt put any pressure on them whatsoever. You know why . Because they want to dot right thing. And they know about corruption. And they probably know that joe biden and his son are corrupt. Now, when you see the call, if you see it, i hope you see, it frankly. You can authorize the release i can do it very easily but i would rather not do it from the standpoint of all of the other conversations i have. I may do it, because it was a very innocent call. I hope you get to see it. And i hope you get to see it soon. On the whistleblower you say you want the transcript of the call released. I didnt say that at all. I didnt say that at all. It may get released. I didnt say that at all. I dont think it is a great precedent to be releasing calls with foreign country, heads of foreign countries. Amid the fallout over the whistleblower complaint with President Trump, Congressional Republicans are trying to throw cold water on the matter. As with most matters before the committee, i believe it is extremely important that their work be handled in a secure setting with adequate protections in a bipartisan fashion. And based on facts, rather than leaks to the press. It is regrettable that House Intelligence Committee chairman schiff and senator schumer have chosen to politicize the issue. Circumventing the established procedures and protocols that exist so the committees can pursue sensitive matters in the appropriate, deliberate, bipartisan manner. Although we dont know the substance of the allegations, there is speculation that it relates to our relationship with ukraine. For my part, mr. President as i stated earlier this month, i was very glad to see the white house release Security Assistance funds for ukraine. A couple of things. The first is the president admitted to raising the issue with the bidens and i dont believe he should have done that but we need to learn a lot more about this. Im not prepared to go as far or anywhere near some of the people around here are going. We dont have all of the facts yet. The president has admitted that he asked president zelensky to investigate corruption, included but not limited to the circumstances surrounding mr. Hunter biden. That doesnt surprise me. The president calls for a lot of investigations. Its just the way he rolls. I think right now, its just another issue that the democrats have latched on to. It is amazing to me the different stand the democrats are now using. Any time something comes up that they dont like with the president , theyre saying, well, you need to prove you that didnt do anything wrong. When did that become the standard . Phone calls between the president and foreign leaders should be a fairly privileged circumstance, because if it is not, i dont know how you can become president of the United States and be effective in your job. But having said this, this whole dustup about a whistleblower, i would just urge the president , you know, hes talking openly about the conversation, to release as much as possible, and heres what i think, i think youre going to find more about that phone call in the coming day, youre going to be surprised about the level of transparency, regarding that phone call, and in turn, that should put pressure on the system to find more about what joe biden was talking about. Okay, joining us here on the set, danny cevallos, also with us from Washington White House reporter for politico, gabby, i dont think anybody has pol e politically surprised gabby to the reactions to the latest whistleblower development. Talk to me about what youre hearing. I would put the Republican Party in three different camps in the way they have responded to the scandal. Out of the Trump Administration. You have Republican Leaders like senator mcconnell who have urged caution in terms of approaching this. They have called for a deliberate investigation by the Senate Intelligence committee. Theyre really saying lets not rush to judgment before we have all of the details and the facts of the case laid out. And then you have this other camp of republicans, people inside the freedom caucus, fiery republicans, who have aligned themselves with President Trump before, who have turned this on joe biden. Theyre trying to use this to capitalize on his campaign, and to attack him, and call for questions, call for investigations into possible corruption by him. When he was Vice President. And i dont think a lot of them are being taken seriously, only because theyre using that as a way to evade questions about what the president may or may not have said on this phone call. And then on top of, that and i think you just heard this in one of the sound bites you played, there are a number of republicans who say there is an issue here of whether or not President Trump should release transcripts of the phone call, because of the precedent that it would set for future elected leaders, should the president be able to have these conversations with foreign leaders, where he doesnt mind people on the phone, doesnt expect that his phone calls and conversations will be released to public scrutiny and thats a legitimate question that these republicans are asking. To that point, the president has said he is not linking military aid to ukraine for the joe biden issue, but then incredibly, the president then goes on to quote say things like why would we give money to a corrupt country and then tie corruption to joe biden so it seems one part of his comments tries to deflect and deny and as he keeps talking, he adds more fuel to the fire by confirming what the reporting is coming out and saying. Legally speaking, what would you tell the president to do here about this subject given the fact that he is creating more and more of a mess for himself. First, stop talking. I knew you why were going to say that. Stop talking. Criminal defense advice. Ive been thinking a lot about his defenses and you can show that with each of his statements, the president is cutting off his different avenues and options for defense. To the point that now, i only see a very narrow defense for this president. So i anticipate his point is going to be that, look, im the president , i was cutting off aid to what i perceived to be a corrupt country. The problem with that defense, is that that might be acceptable, even if it is a quid pro quo, it would be for a proper purpose, if for example he said, im not giving you money until you investigate corruption generally. Or even interference in u. S. Elections and let the chips fall where they may even if that harms my chances for reelection. Once you start mentioning biden you get into what we consider a correct purpose, an improper purpose, something that is indefensible in a sense. So it would be hard to explain well, why, as the president im particularly concerned about the biden corruption. About the man running against me in a couple of years. And in your head, if i presented that to a jury, would it fly. And answer is probably not. Each though having done it for any number of any other reason, look generally i think there are bad things going on and im not giving you this money until you fix the problem. He could have made reference to organized crime or oligarchs, all that stuff and that would have been different. Those would be proper purposes and purposes that he has authorized arguably to do as the president. So gabby, all of this allegedly about the 2020 election, obviously, what additional steps have been taken here to ensure Election Security heading in to 2020 . Well, its all that the administration hasnt done that is so concerning. Ahead of 2020, i mean the president and his white house have previously said in statements that they will not tolerate any type of election interference in 2020, and yet, their actions do not reflect those words. The president has downgraded staff at dhs who are supposed to be handling the interagency process of making sure our elections are secure. Those resources have joined over the course of his administration. Obviously his own actions, including this alleged phone call with the ukrainian Prime Minister, reflect a sort of nonchalant attitude about our Election Security. And there is really no Single Person or agency in charge right now, across the federal government, across the Trump Administration, who has been tasked with ensuring that our elections are safe, that our votes are protected, and that were not subject to foreign interference as we were in 2016. Danny, very quickly, how you would say that the allegations involving ukraine stack up against what bob mueller has uncovered in his russia probe . Rert Mueller Probe considered whether or not there was an election violation for asking for something of value in connection with an election from a foreign government. And the interesting thing about that law is that it requires a knowing and willful violation. It is one of those rare instances where you have to know youre violating the law. And in the light of that, now months later, how could it be said that this this president would know if he is violating that law. Asking for help from a foreign power, in an election. Considering there is a twoyear investigation involving probably that. He probably knows. Thank you, gabby orr, danny cevallos. The president has stated he has a packed schedule for the u. N. General Assembly Full of meetings but the potential for a sitdown with the iranian leadership there is a bit of a different opinion. Watch this. Are you willing to meet with mr. Rouhani, sir . We will see what happens. We have a long way to go. We will see what happens. Were doing just fine. Mr. President , is there a possibility you could meet president rouhani in new york . We have no meeting scheduled. Somebody said we would like to meet but we have nothing scheduled. You wouldnt rule it out . I would never rule anything out. Why would i do that . Are you meeting with President Trump . No. Iran has said that it actually would be open to new talks with trump if he reenters the u. S. Into the 2015 nuclear deal and got rid of the sanction campaign. Trump on the other hand has said that he would like a new deal because the old one was the worst in history. And in an exclusive interview with nbcs lester holt, british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson says trump is just the man for the job. I think there is one guy who could do a better deal, one guy who understands how to get a difficult partner like iran over the line. And that is the president of the United States. I think thats why he is a winner. Thats why he is a man thats going to be successful. In the u. K. And youre talking about boris, right . Talking about boris. Boris is number one he is a friend of mine and number two, he is very smart. So it all comes following the recent attack on Saudi Arabian oil. Yesterday in a joint statement, germany and the u. K. All echoed the american conclusion that quote it is clear that iran bears responsibility for the attack, adding this, there is no other plausible explanation. Iran though denies the allegations. Back here in the u. S. , u. S. Army soldier in federal custody, after allegedly discussing bomb making techniques to target a major news network. The 24yearold man stationed out of fort riley in kansas was charged over the weekend with one count of distribution of information related to explosives and weapons of mass destruction. Authorities say the soldier discussed plans with an undercover fbi agent on a messaging app to build a vehicle bomb and attack a major news outlet. They did not say which one was targeted. There is no attack plan and the soldier is not charged with possessing explosives. The man who previously considered joining a Para Military group before joining the u. S. Army talked about destroying towers. And talking about targeting a texas politician, it was suggested beto orourke. The suspect will appear in court on thursday and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Awaiting breaking news about brexit. The highest court in the u. K. Will make a decision this morning that deals with Boris Johnsons decision to suspend parliament. And investigating President Trumps tax returns, accusing him of inventing a privilege to try to block a subpoena. Those stories and a check on weather when we come back. But were also a company that controls hiv, fights cancer, repairs shattered bones, relieves depression, restores heart rhythms, helps you back from strokes, and keeps you healthy your whole life. From the day youre born we never stop taking care of you. [woman] with my shark, i deep clean messes like this, this, and even this. But i dont have to clean this, because the selfcleaning brush roll removes hair while i clean. [announcer] shark, the vacuum that deep cleans now cleans itself. The inlaws have moved in with us. And our Adult Children are here. So we save by using tide. Which means we use less. Three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. Anybody seen my pants . 1 stain and odor fighter, 1 trusted. Its got to be tide. Its just the way things are. When youre under pressure to get the job done, it seems you have to accept the fact that some equipment will sit idle, or underutilized. But it doesnt have to be that way. Thats why United Rentals is combining equipment, data, safety and expertise to help your worksite perform better. United rentals. A better worksite is here. Welcome back, everybody. Five weeks to go until the latest brexit date, the Supreme Court will rule at any moment, within the hour if Prime MinisterBoris Johnson acted lawfully when he suspended parliament or unlawfully meaning he misled the queen to an improper motive. Johnson promulgated parliament from september to october, which is widely viewed as a way to force his brexit plan through, by giving lawmakers drastically less time to debate even his brexit plan or a no deal plan. The Prime Minister has been a major proponent of leaving the eu on october 31, deal or no deal. Now, the talk originally given at Brown University yesterday that later appeared at the oped in the New York Times, the publisher ag salzburger pointed a finger at the u. S. Government blaming it for a spike on journalists in the past years because the administration has betrayed them. And it looks at egypt, who received help from a u. S. Official who feld the Trump Administration had no assistance. And declan walshs arrest is considered standard but that individual passed along the warning without the knowledge or permission of the Trump Administration. Salzburger said this, rather than trying to stop the Egyptian Government or assess the reporter, the official believes the administration sit on the information and let the arrest be carried out. The official being punished for evening alerting us to the danger. This incident forced the paper to rely on walshs native country of ireland to get him out of the country safely instead of the u. S. Government. Solzburger quote the Current Administration has refrained from the defend he of the free press and targeting journalists with a growing sense of impunity. A troubling story. Lets switch gears and bring in nbc news bill karins with a check of the weather. What do you have . Heading to the desert southwest. Heavy rain in the desert southwest, not necessarily a good recipe. The washes happen quickly. This vehicle, it looks like it was downstream or driving up the wash. Numerous vehicles stranded. And a school bus got caught between two washes and had to sit there and wait for it to clear out. No reports of injuries or anything like that. So that is exactly what we tell you not to do. So we still have flash flood watches up for