Motherinlaw among the victims . She was not. Im sorry . Was he fired . We know he was released from the army. And wed have to refer to the air force on that. It was the air force. Where was the selfinflicted Gunshot Wound . Turkey, the head. Thank you. There have been unconfirmed reports that the suspect may have taken a hostage in the car. Its been floating around cnn and other outlets. Any truth to that . That is not confirmed. Mentioned. Apparently he thought the shooter might have attended the same church. Not true . Im not aware of the shooter attending this church. He had Family Members that attended. His spouse attended this church. Im sorry, commander, did you say that the grandmotherinlaw was not a victim . Oh, the grandmotherinlaw . Were not aware of that at this time. Earlier you told us the suspect had called his father. You expand on that conversation a little bit, tells us if the family has been cooperative, if youre interviewing them . They have been cooperative. And i really cant expand on that because of that cooperation and communications and out of respect for them. One of the victims was reported pregnant. Be that change the number of murder counts charged . That number was included. One of the victims was pregnant. Im sorry . Was this intended to be a Revenge Shooting . That attended the church regularly . I cant comment further on that. We know there was conflict between the families. And whether that was revenge or not, it would be speculation on my part. Did you say that the grandmother were not aware were unaware if she is one of the victims. But you cant say no for sure . I cant say no. Sir, could you speak to the messages that the shooter sent
to his motherinlaw . I cant. The phones are being explored at this time. And i dont have that information. Officer, officer, if the crime was not racial, not, you know, religious motivated, if we say right now that he came to kill the motherinlaw . There are many ways that he could have taken care of the motherinlaw without coming with 15 loaded magazines and an Assault Rifle to a church. I think he came here with a purpose and a mission. And thats my how many magazines. Im sorry . How many magazines . You said 15 earlier . There were 15 magazines collected here at the crime scene. And how many of those magazines were empty . All of them. Thank you for coming out, ladies and gentlemen. This will be the last question. Well we will have a briefing for you tomorrow. Continue to follow us on twitter, and also through email
as well. What time . Well announce that on email and twitter as well. What is the name of the gentleman speaking . Can i ask you a question . A joint federal and state Law Enforcement briefing in sutherland springs, texas on the shooting there. As we mentioned, well continue to bring live updates when warranted. We return now to an edition of hardball already in progress. Offer you something and get you to do a favor. What were seeing and what is so consistent about all the players here is that they were all eager to take the bait, so to speak. These dangles that were put out in front of them about information and access to russia. You notice that there are no Financial Connections here other than turkey, which we may understand flynn may have actually had turkeys connection
was through a russian. But this isnt like they have lots of South African financial contracts or brazilian. Theyre all consistently russian. The russians put a lot of emphasis on this election, and they clearly decided this was their super bowl. And they were going to go after as many people as possible. And every one of them may have bitten. And were going to find out from the Mueller Investigation if in fact some of these people are just unwitting assets or if some of these people might be actual agents working for russia in their employee, knowing what they were doing. Is that what you see . What i see is i see many people who just see russia as this financial pot. And that all of them may have had some stake in future Financial Holdings whether its Michael Cohens emails about the future trump towers, whether
it was just about getting hillary clinton. But all of them seem to understand that raising the sanctions and getting rid of the Magnitsky Act would make these oligarchs in russia very rich. And thats an inducement for them to be rewarded. And if thats the case, then it clearly spells out why everybody took on all of these meetings, from sessions to these low level guys. There was going to be something financial in their future for it. And it wasnt just for good relations with the United States and russia. But its all very, very suspicious, you know. Especially when you consider the amount of effort they did. Thats when i begin to think rico. A rico charge. Running a criminal operation, that theyre all doing it together. Despite being portrayed as a low level volunteer, nbc news is reporting now that George Papadopoulos, who has pleaded guilty in connection with the russian probe had a more public role on behalf of the campaign. Those activities include a panel
discussion at the Republican National convention, along with Foreign Senate Relations chair bob corker and others. He also spoke on behalf of the campaign to the Russian News Agency interfax in december. And met with israeli leaders as a Foreign Policy adviser. What do we make of that, Tom Hamburger . What do we make of this guy, this nobody being presented as a somebody throughout the campaign . Well, george, there is that seeming contradiction. The president and the campaign staff, the Trump Campaign staff tell us George Papadopoulos was a nobody, had no influence on the campaign. And that may in fact by the case. He wasnt paid. He was named by then candidate donald trump as one of his Foreign Policy advisers. But the fact is he was not paid by the campaign. He wasnt active in the campaign, and wasnt wellknown. At least in trump tower. But what we do know as you just suggested is he led some senators both at the time of the republican convention, led some
in europe and in israel, and would discuss when doing these seminars, would represent himself as an adviser to the Trump Campaign. Did the same when he met with some governor government leaders. And some of those meetings we think set off some alarms and may have led the fbi, the Justice Department to become interested in george. And i just wonder whether we shouldnt all be buffaloed by this nonsensical distinction between unpaid and paid. I dont think Henry Kissinger gets paid. Its all about influence and getting in close to somebody who may be president of the United States. Thats a tremendous asset for people in their business. Anyway, we have learned now, as we have learned now, the attempts to downplay papadopouloss role in trumps orbit fits the same pattern weve seen from trumps defenders in the case of Michael Flynn. Paul manafort. Lets take a look back sat some hoff those moments. It was such a minor part. I think the one person i dont
think ive ever spoken to him. Even general flynn was a volunteer of the campaign. And then obviously there has been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time. In the case of mr. Page, mr. Gordon, some others, that they really have very attenuated contacts to the campaign that i managed for the last three months. I know mr. Manafort. I havent spoken to him in a long time. But i know him. He was with the campaign for a very short period of time. I never heard of papadopoulos. He never showed up at trump tower, never had any interaction with any of the Campaign Leaders around me. Do you remember George Papadopoulos during that march meeting . I dont remember much about that meeting. It was a very unimportant meeting. It took place a long time ago. Dont remember much about it. Paul was not there for very long. What people dont mention, paul was not there for a very long period of tile. What was it that convince youd he had to be let go . I think we found out he may be involved with certain nations. And i dont know exactly what it was in particular. Anyway, he headed up the campaign the entire summer. Let me go back to julia. What do you make of this i dont know nothing approach to all these people . Of course it makes since that the Trump Administration would want to be distancing themselves from this. But it also makes sense that the russians would want to go after people who might be at a low level, who might be able to exert who might block to exert their influence like a George Papadopoulos, knowing that they could pinpoint these people. It is a way for them to sort of cozy up to the boss. Yeah, make their bones. Its pattern, right. And of course thats a pattern that mueller wants to show. Even people who may not have been directed by the boss, if it was understood within this campaign or this administration that this is how you please your boss, that shows something there. And so i think it makes sense that both the russians would start with lower level and the Mueller Investigation would start with lower level. But when we get to someone like Michael Flynn who was appointed
to be the National Security adviser, i think its a hard argument to make that he was some low level person that had no contact with the president. Julia ainsley, we rely on you so much day to day. Thank you so much for your great reporting. And Malcolm Nance as well. Coming up, the president says the gunman who killed 26 people at a texas church was deranged. And the issue he says isnt guns but Mental Health. He says predictably, its too soon to talk about guns, even though americans once again, including children were gunned down by a man with a militarystyle rifle. Plus, new polling shows a very tight race. Democrat Ralph Northam has a slightly, i mean slight. But will gillespies campaign using Trump Tactics pay off in a state that trump lost . And trump is not backing off his fire and fury talk against kim jong un. He is over in asia right now we know, and he says weak rhetoric has gotten us nowhere with north
korea. Its now been revealed that the pentagon has determined that the one sure way to destroy all of north Koreas Nuclear sites would be by a ground invasion. And that is scary. Finally, let me finish tonight with the right and wrong way of dealing with a possibly nuclear conflict. This is hardball where the action. I just got my cashback match,
is this for real . Yep. We match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year, automatically. Whoo i got my money hard to contain yourself, isnt it . Uh huh let it go whoo get a dollarfordollar match at the end of your first year. Only from discover. Senator rand paul is recovering right now after being physically assaulted by a neighbor at his home in kentucky on friday afternoon. According to the criminal complaint, the neighbor, dr. Renee boucher, walked on to senator pauls property and tackled him to the ground. The senator suffered five broken ribs and bruises to his lungs. Given the severity of his injuries, its unclear when senator paul will be able to return to work. Dr. Boucher was arrested and charged with assault. His lawyer released this Statement Today saying that the altercation had, quote, absolutely nothing to do with
threatening texts. The churchs pastor Frank Pomeroy and his wife scheherri e away yesterday but their 14yearold Daughter Annabelle was killed in the attack. Today they spoke to reporters. Lets listen. Weve had a long night with our children and grand babies we have left. She is going to share this with you. Our church was not comprised of members or parishioners. We were a very close family. We ate together. We laugh together. We cried together. And we worshipped together. Now most of our Church Family is gone. Our building is probably beyond repair. And the few of us that are left behind lost tragically yesterday. As senseless as this tragedy was, our sweet belle would not have been able to deal with
losing so much family yesterday. For more im joined by nbcs Steve Patterson who is in sutherland springs. Steve, these children, do we have any idea what it seemed like, the horrible incident . Was it just a guy going into the church with a semiautomatic weapon, an ar15 or whatever and just spraying the room, including the children . Was he targeting the children . Keep in mind he was clad in all black as he entered there. It must have been a Tear Fight Situation for the parishioners that were inside the church. We what we do know, being on the ground here in sutherland springs, the homesteads and the mom and pop shops and the farm steads are the lifeblood of this community, that church was the Beating Heart here of that community. Community members dealing with the fact that if its not broken, it has at least fractured this sense of community because of the terror that was inside that church. What we do have is a seemingly
clearer portrait of the shooter. And as you mentioned, the motivations here which are becoming apparent. Weve been speaking to Authority Figures who have been telling us the threatening Text Messages were sent almost as early as Sunday Morning to that motherinlaw who is believed to be a member of that congregation. Ironically, not in the church at the time of the shooting. So we know immediately right off the bat here that this was not a shooting based on radicalization, on racial motivations, on religious motivations. That this may have been a targeted shooting based on an ongoing domestic situation from Family Members. Thats the word that were getting from authorities. Thats who we believe he may have been targeting inside that church. Were also getting a clearer portrait of kelly himself who is a member of the air force, was on an Air Force Base in new mexico from 2010 to 2014 with his wife and infant son. Court martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and stepson, fracturing his skull. Court martialed for that violent incident. Investigators are trying to piece together how he was able to buy that weaponry that was on him seemingly almost every year up until the shooting, including the piece of weaponry they believe he used to bring inside the church and commit mass murder. 20 as you mentioned injured from the gunfire. 10 of them still in critical condition, clinging to life after that shooting. Chris . Thank you so much. Nbcs Steve Patterson in texas. Well, President Trump, who was in japan today, called the shooting an act of evil. He blamed, quote, mental illness, not guns. He said that lets watch. I think that Mental Health is your problem here. This was a very based on preliminary report, very deranged individual. A lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of Mental Health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isnt a guns situation. I mean, we could go into it. But its a little bit soon to go
into it. Fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction. Otherwise it would have been as bad as it was, it would have been much worse. But this is a Mental Health problem at the highest level. Its a very, very sad event. Its these are great people and a very, very sad event. But thats the way i view it. Im joined right now by u. S. Congressman Joaquin Castro of texas. Mexico and canada dont visit like this. They dont have Mass Shootings regularly or assassination attempts throughout their history. What makes us different . Why do we allow it . Well, most of all, the governments unwillingness and congresss unwillingness to do anything about it at this point. And, you know, it was an incredibly sad and tragic event yesterday. But unfortunately, one that were not unfamiliar with at this point in the United States. And for me to think that the gunman bought that weapon in my
hometown of san antonio is very sickening and sad. Its also for texas another haunting episode of mass violence. You know, in 1966, we had the shooting at the ut tower. Sure. When i was in high school, we had the 1991 lubys killing in killeen. And Lee Harvey Oswald got his rifle by mail order. Why not . Its easy. Let me ask you about President Trump and his position. Didnt he oppose efforts to make it difficult for someone who has mental problems from getting guns . And now he says this is just a mental incapacitation issue. Its not a gun issue. Well, theyre related. The guy had a semiautomatic and