Were at the courthouse where the accuser told the judge she met roy moore 40 years ago. The allegations are shaping up and could impact the Senate Majority. And overnight, President Trump weighed in on the controversy. This morning the Alabama Senate race is in turmoil. Roy moore, the republican candidate, firing back against allegations report in the Washington Post of Sexual Misconduct with a 14yearold girl almost four decades ago. Three other women telling the post moore pursued them while they were ages 16, 17 and 18 and he was in his 30s. The age of consent in alabama was and is 16. Moore calls the allegations completely false, writing, this garbage is the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation. In a fatherly of tweets overnight, moore said the forces of evil will lie, tweet, steal and inflict physical harm if they believe it will shut up christian conservatives like you and me. Now a growing firestorm from capitol hill, and overnight President Trump weigh in on the controversy. Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters on Board Air Force one, like most americans, the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case, one from many years ago, to destroy a persons life. However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, judge moore will do the right thing and step aside. Reporter echoing Senate Majority leader mitch mcconnell. If these allegations are true, roy moore should step aside for obvious reasons. Reporter no stranger to controversy, defying a court order to take down a Ten Commandments order. And now his accuser telling the post when she was 14 he took off his shirt and pants and guided his haer hand to touch h. She never filed a civil suit. The Washington Post heard her after he heard allegations moore touched young girls. She felt like she needed to tell voters in alabama what she knew about roy moore. Reporter kristen, the special collection is set for december 12th. Its too late to replace roy moore. And the replacement would be a writein candidate. But again, roy moore is insisting hes staying in this race and he will fight. Kristen . Gabe, obviously we have been so focused on the politics of this, but youve been there on the ground, what are people going to be telling you. You get the sense that voters are saying, its time for him to drop out of this race, or this is our hometown guy, were not ready to give up. Reporter obviously, theres a lot of mounting criticism here. And roy moore is very popular. I spoke with a voter yesterday who said, hes going to have to wait and see how this plays out. And he hasnt made up his mind on whether or not hell vote for roy moore or not. But other gop officials strongly standing by him. I spoke with Donald Trumps then Campaign Chairman here in alabama said he does not believe these women. And other gop officials here in alabama are telling local media as well they do not believe the allegations and believe they are politically motivated. And the timing is suspect. So certainly while the allegations are drawing widespread condemnation on capitol hill and here in alabama, it is clear that at least for now, roy moore still has a lot of support. Kristen . Pretty incredible. And those four women did go on the record to the Washington Post. Gabe gutierrez in alabama, thank you for the great reporting. With us now to drilldown on this is editor and chief for the alabama political reporter, bill britt, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. Kristen, thank you. Happy to be with you this morning. I want to pick up right where we just left off with gabe. Hes saying, look, roy moore still has a lot of support. People are prepared to give him the presumption of innocence until Proven Guilty. These four women did go on the record. How much of an impact is this going to have . Do you get the sense voters are beginning to break with him . Well, kristen, i dont get that sense yet. I mean, its been 24 hours or so since this happened. But the people that have voted for moore in the past, theyre pretty solid. Theyre not going to go anywhere. And the people that were against moore, theyre not going anywhere. This gives them a reason to pardon positions on both sides. Well give them some space to see how this plays out, but in alabama, we have two football teams, auburn and alabama. And people wear those jerseys and they dont cross the line. Were seeing that here now. Every allegation against anybody who is a young child, a young woman, a young boy, should be taken very seriously. Well, and to pick up on that point, were just getting a new tweet in from mitt romney, let me read this to you. Obviously, hes a former republican president ial nominee. Innocent until Proven Guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections. I believe leigh corfman, one of the first accusers, her account is too much to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside. Do these types of calls for republicans on the National Stage resonate there in alabama, do you think . Well, the republican establishment as theyre called down here, they spent 30 million to try to defeat moore in the republican primary. It didnt work. Mitt romney, he doesnt play well down here. I mean, hes considered an establishment up candidate. I mean, we are a hard red state. And that is not going to change because of allegations. And for people to keep saying, if theyre true. We need find out more facts. The moore family deserves that. And so does the young women who say they were taken advantage of. Let me ask you about the politics of your state a little bit, you make the point, rightfully so, that you are a hard red state. The democratic candidate in this race, doug jones, is someone who has been running an interesting campaign. Hes making the case, i can work across the aisle. I can work with just about anyone more effectively than roy moore can. Roy moore is leading by only by single digits. Is it possible we could see a democrat win this race . Well, you know, ive seen it snow in april. But those are not things that we see every day. It is just difficult. Judge jones has got to give the voters of alabama a reason to vote for him. And now people have always had a reason to vote against moore. So that is where it will get interesting. Kristen, right now, i dont think theres a pathway for jones to win, but if i were at vising the democrats, i would say, spend some money. I mean, come down, try to make it competitive. But its going to be difficult. Listen, these allegations are thrown around too loosely these days. We need to take everyone serious and just step back and find out everything we can. Well, again, in this case, all four women have gone on the record, which is pretty incredible in the Washington Post speaking to more than 30 sources for this reporting. Bill britt, thank you so much for the unique perspective on the ground. We appreciate it. Kristen, thank you so much, kristen. Thank you. And we want to turn overseas now, President Trump is continuing his tour of asia, landing in vietnam overnight. Hes just wrapped up a dinner there with World Leaders. And my friend and colleague, peter alexander, working around the clock, is traveling with the president in vietnam and is joining us now. Peter, obviously all eyes were on this potential meeting, pulled aside with vladimir putin, will it or wont it happen. What is the latest there . Reporter well, its a good question. The president is here until 4 00 p. M. Our time tomorrow. So the potential still exists for some kind of pullaside between the two men. As we understand it, they are among the World Leaders who are enjoying a cultural performance at the Economic Cooperation summit. So it was a short time ago as they arrived that president s trump and putin in the same place at the same time for the first time in four months shook hands before they participated in what they commonly referred to as the class photo or family photo of World Leaders. There have been much discussion about you two meeting the president on air force one and suggesting to reporter that is the two men would immediate in person. Though the white house today, sarah suck bee sahuckabee sande its a scheduling conflict for that not taking place. We did hear from Rex Tillerson yesterday, telling us, telling reporters that unless there was anything substantive to talk about between these two men, there really was no reason for them to have an extended meeting. There are certainly some unresolved issues if they were to talk. Among them, the topics of ukraine and syria with new reports, kristen, that the u. S. And russia are nearing a deal to try to resolve the syrian civil war. Of course, all this against the backdrop of meddling by russia in the 2016 election and all those investigations you have been focusing on back at home. All right. Nbcs peter alexander, i know you have been working around the clock, i hope you get a few minutes to rest. I know its another busy day for you. Peter, great to see you. See you soon. With us now, ambassador stuart holiday, the u. N. Ambassador for political affairs. And political reporter for the Washington Post, eugene scott, and for politico flmagazine, ambassador, glad to have you here. What we thought was a meeting President Trump and putin isnt going to happen. What do you make of that . Against the backdrop that the white house is trying to secure a deal in regards to syria, maybe that didnt happen . Well, first of all, there was never a formal meeting on the books but there was a possibility. So i think this is typical to have meetings on the margins of these kinds of summits. They can get things done. But i think in this context that it is probably the north korea position that comes up. But on the syria issue, that will wait for a later date. Eugene, the fact that a formal sitdown is not going to happen, could this be smart politically, given the fact that every day, including today, there is yet another headline on the russia investigation . I certainly think it would bring more attention to this issue, which is something that the president doesnt want a lot of people focused on right now. And so something could come out of a controversy that would be a headline for a week that has not produced a lot of great headlines for republicans. It hasnt produced a lot of headlines, have there been takeaways. President trump sat down with president xi, he was going to press the president of china, presumely on stiffer sanctions on oil shipments. It doesnt seem like that happened. I think the headline has been the distinct difference in tone when he was speaking with the chinese president person to person and when he gives the speech a day later in vietnam and strikes a marketedly different tone in terms of talking tough on trade. Specifically, i think this is kind of in keeping with what we have seen from President Trump over the last 18 months or so, including the campaign, hes generally not a confrontational person and can talk tough on things. But when hes oneonone, hes much more welcoming, hes not confrontational with them whatsoever, whether that is domestically or now as we see on the interNational Stage. So that is a headline in and of itself. An up important point. Ambassador, what did you make of the shift in tone . Smart . I would say President Trumps toughest message is for nato and the g20 like the apec summit. He believes that we are getting ripped off. Interestingly enough, instead of attacking the people he thinks are doing this, he blames his predecessors. He was well advised to take on the issues in a more private setting in china, given xis new power and authority in the country. When you take a step back and look at the trip overall for you, ambassador, what are the takeaways . What are the tangibles . He has nor time in vietnam before heading to the philippines. I would compare it to the first trip. These are wellplanned trips and the National Security council has done a good job in preparing them. He stayed on script, for the most part. We are not done yet. As you know in the last trip, it was the final day or two where issues came up, but its been a wellconstructed trip to build the relationships and reassure the North Koreans that he wont be triggering a war. And, you know, build on his relationship with the japanese. And so its been a pretty decent trip, i would say. We will continue to monitor it very closely ambassador, thank you, for helping us break this down. Stay with us, well have a lot more discussion coming up. And major developments in the russia investigation. Why Robert Muellers team is investigating Michael Flynn for a meeting he had with senior turkish officials just weeks before the inauguration. Everything you need to know coming up right after a quick break. Everyone deserves attention, whether youve saved a lot or just a little. At pnc investments, we believe youre more than just a number. So we provide personal Financial Advice for every retirement investor. Aleve direct therapy. Has met its match. The only remote controlled tens device thats drug free, and wire free for deep penetrating lower back pain relief. And now get aleve direct therapy with 20 off at your local rite aid. The market. Redict but through good times and bad. At t. Rowe price. Weve helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. The mountain like i used to. I even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. But whatever trail i take, i go for my best. So if theres Something Better than warfarin, ill go for that too. Eliquis. Eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis had both. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Im still going for my best. And for eliquis ask your doctor about eliquis. This morning nbc news is reporting new details about the special counsels investigation into former National Security adviser Michael Flynn and his lobbying efforts on behalf of turkey. According to multiple people familiar with the investigation, mueller is looking into a potential quid pro quo in which flynn would have been paid to carry out directives from turkey secretly while in the white house. Mueller is investigating whether those direct ives included removing a rival of president erdogan and freeing a turkish iranian gold trader jailed in the u. S. Facing charges. The elder did not respond to comment, and the young er refusd to comment. This all relates to a meeting that took place, you report, in december of 2016. Right before the inauguration. So the el us what happened, what are the Key Takeaways here . What happened with the special counsel is they are looking into whether there was a quid pro quo and whether there was discussion about this at a meeting at the 21 club in new york, this restaurant that is wellknown, its very close to trump tower. Where Michael Flynn spent a lot of time during the transition, and the question is, whether flynn in meeting there with senior turkish officials to discuss this, potentially, a twofer, if he could once in the white house get this cleric back to turkey and get this other gentlemen free, then he would receive indirectly or directly 15 million. So that is what special counsel is looking at. And you used the term, hes also looking into whether they were looking into possibly forcibly removing him, right . Yes. So that there was a story in the wa the wall street journal in march where flynn and turkish officials allegedly discussed a plot to essentially put him, put the cleric on a plane and kidnap him and get him back to turkey. That was during the campaign. What is new is the new meeting that happened just weeks before the inauguration. And you have been all over the russia probe story, carol. You reported a number of days ago that mueller actually had enough information to bring charges in the investigation into Michael Flynn. So how does this add to that boiling pot . Well, its obviously, if mueller is able to find out this is all true and bring charges on this particular its a really big deal. There are a number of crimes that could have been committed on that piece of things, but it kin clou includes the breath of the security. Flynn is looking into National Security adviser and this gives us more specifically what hes focused on. Yeugene, the white house has pushed back on this relating to George Papadopoulos and the former campaign chair. These are people on the periphery. They cant make that case with Michael Flynn. He was advising the president during his campaign and transition, and then brought in as National Security adviser. Talk about, to pick up on carols point, the political weight of this. If donald trump truly does hire the best people as he said on the campai