Clash intensifying and bob mueller zeroing in on possible obstruction of justice. Mu trump asked and Officials Say that mcgabe basically told the president he didnt vote and also found this political conversation with trump disturbing, its also reportedly drawing the interest of special Counsel Robert Mueller who now is getting ready to interview donald trump, according to tonight to donald trump. Nbc news reports donald trump says basically he doesnt recall asking mccabe about that voting record. The white house doesnt deny that trump, though, asked the question. Does the president have a habit of asking career government officials their voting habits . Not that im aware of. Did he ask mccabe how he voted . I know that President Trump and mccabe had nonspecific conversations. There are widespread reports of his retirement, were making sure that were focused on the fbi and doj is serving all americans fairly and efficiently and were going to move forward from there. Thats a yes or no question, he did or didnt ask. I wasnt there, i dont know what was discussed. I know he didnt ask me, i can tell you that. What do you make of these reports of the president asking Andrew Mccabe who he vote for, is that appropriate . No, its not appropriate. I have never heard of that being done before, i think its inappropriate. That kind of question is totally improper and evidence in fact of obstruction of justice. Theres evidence pointing to the fact of possible obstruction. If theres is a case to be made about obstruction, that was one of the impeachment allegations against president nixon. Welcome to our panel. Fra frank, this is not normal negotiation, this is something that many people will welcome, because donald trump going back on the record now tonight, telling reporters on his way to this big davos trip that he looks forward to talking to bob mueller. What do you see as the significance of donald trump telling everybody its time to talk . So this is a very interesting p. R. Stunt. You have heard the president complain vociferously about clintons interview about the fbi not being under oath, so he wants to come out and say ill do what hillary didnt do, ill do it under oath. But heres the bottom line. If im mueller, im not falling into this trap. Theres no added value to the fbi swearing him in under oath. If you lie to an fbi agent, youyou e youre violating section 1001 of the u. S. Code. So hell be admonished before the interview, if you lie youre facing criminal charges. Theres no distinction, theres no value in this other than complete Public Relations at this point. Senator, this is a negotiation, and its one that, again, things arent normal, but in normal course, the lawyers like to have a lot of room to negotiate the terms. Donald trump claims to be a good negotiator, he had previously, said, well, maybe there wouldnt be need for an interview. And bill clinton as you know definitely negotiated out how to go before Kenneth Starrs report. Hes saying forget about the oath part, he is going to do an interview. The offer to be under oath has no value, other than political. What i would be more interested to see is the range of questions, what kind of limitations there are. I dont really believe this is about building an obstruction of justice case. An obstruction of justice case against the president of the yoou United States would have to be so hes shaking up the tree by doing these interviews and not limiting himself to obstruction of justice questions. Do you think its possible that all of the emphasis on obstruction is kind of a head fake to lull the white house . Thats exactly what i thinks going on. 90 of those questions may be about obstruction, but somewhere in there, i would bet my bottom dollar, mueller intends to ask questions about Money Laundering and the russia probe and thats the substance here. The idea that hes going to bring a criminal complaint against the president on a case and get unanimous verdict from a jury where the president is going to claim he has executive authority to hire and fire, i doubt it. I think this case has always been about Money Laundering. Let me bring in one of our reporters at the white house where this move has gone off with quite a bit of attention. Peter alexander, live for us with true breaking news here in this news hour, peter, walk us through how we got here from donald trump who was saying late in the year, maybe he wouldnt do any interview . Reporter yes, this certainly ends months of speculation about what the president would do, he said that he was actually looking forward to it. He said im looking forward to it, actually, his words, when asked specifically if he was willing to be interviewed by the special Counsel Robert Mueller. He said i would do it under oath, this all took place within the last hour or so, inside the west wing of the white house, the president walking into a gathering taking place inside the office that belongs to his chief of staff, john kelly. The president was asked specifically about whether a date had been set yet, obvious theres been a lot of questions and up until this moment its been that there are active discussions between the special counsel of Robert Mueller and the white house, the attorneys here about whether this interview would actually take place. The president asked about the date, and he said about two to three weeks. Two to three weeks. This makes it sound way more real than something donald trump is famous for, which is talking about a lot of things without detail. His lawyers, as you and i have reported have put out timelines that are not accurate, they said going into the new year, this might wrap up. Where did donald trump get two to three weeks . Did this relate to his lawyers discussions with Robert Muellers office . Reporter the best of the conversation we received, was it was likely to be within two or three weeks. That was what the news obviously made the most news on, they talked about immigration as well for the first time, saying he was open to a path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants, the d. R. E. A. M. Ers in 10 to 12 years. Another separate topic, but obviously the big bombshell was the president saying for the first time clairively, that he was looking forward to being interviewed under oath by that special counsel lead Robert Mueller. With the big story lead running out from the white house, i suspect you may have a busy night. Reporter yeah. Thanks for joining us here on the beat. You heard Peter Alexander say it there, this is different, we do approach all of our sources and all of our stories with healthy skepticism as journalists. But as peter said it there, i dont think that somebody is going to say two to three weeks without getting that from mueller. Im still curious whether this is coming from white house lawyers or if the president just decided to spit off at the mouth which is what he often does. In his present life, the president has been like to know the facts around whether he is also a crook in his public life too. So im hoping that this investigation actually gets to the heart of the heart about what is happening with his family, his relationships, his relationships with russia and his familys relationships. Thats the red zone, if we are getting close to the truth, thats going to be the best things for this year. What im concerned about is that it seems to indicate the private message that trumps lawyers are giving him is the same as what muellers been saying. Something that ty cobb has been telling him for some time now, that he shouldnt be worried about the mueller probe. My understanding is they have been essentially trying to prep him on this. And from whats coming out this evening, thats correct. What ive been told is that john dowd and jay sekulow are the ones responsible for sort of negotiating the terms of an interview between donald trump and bob muellers team. And the important thing to bear in mind with is that john dowd has drawn a lot of criticism from steve bannon about his hes best known for his work with his nonprofit based on religious freedom as well as as a media personality. So thats the president s legal team going into what will be the most important interview of his life and the stage is set, of course, for a moment thats going to be historic and i think pretty unpredictable. And frank, interviewing a president is fundamentally different than any other interview in a probe. You certainly dont usually get two bites at the apple, whereas there are other witnesses that you can bring in and out or you put them in front of a grand jury, you check back with them if you need, particularly if something doesnt check out. Watch this tonight, the president of the United States before leaving the country telling reporters that he will talk to mueller under oath subject to his lawyers guidance and donald trump being a person who i dont know if anyone followed the immigration debate over the last 18 months things do come and go and with this is a bit of skepticism. So walk us through all this. This is a tactical p. R. Move but perhaps a legal mistake, i dont think anyones looking forward to being interviewed by mueller and his team. But the way this is going to go, you mentioned how its so different when youre interviewing the president of the United States. This is not an issue of law and order where agents are slamming their fists on the desk. This is a scripted interview, designed to confirm what they already know, dates, times, who was in the room, what was intended, what was said, very often at this level, youll hear answers like i dont recall, i dont remember, and maybe. So when the president says ill be under oath, and perhaps is plan is to say i dont recall, i dont remember, 17, 20 times, thats not helpful. But its a scripted interview, mueller will ask questions he already knows the answer to, hes confirming whos been in the room during meetings, who drafted which letter, what was the firing about of comey, et cetera. But its getting responses on the record whether hes under oath or not. Senator . Its a scripted interview by the fbi, or by bob mueller, its a scripted interview by Donald Trumps lawyers. Its not going to be scripted by donald trump. Donald trump cannot, i think this is not a partisan comment, i think this is fair for any observer sit through several hours of interview and stay on a script and undoubtedly investigators are already thinking of that. Because my description about this being an obstruction of justice case, the thought of donald trump sitting through two hours of meetings with the investigator already knowing about perjury is not typically something you want to go after a president for. In all of these cases, typically what fbi likes to do, is use perjury to open the can. You commit an offense, or your subordinates do and then youre in the hunt. Youre talking about the old expression, just a can of russian botts . Its a can that you get into by getting someone to make a mistake on perjury. Thats not a real expression about the russian bots. I just wanted to be clear. Aisha, speak to the point he raises, though. Donald trump has these what you might call passion points and he has been in a way champing at the bit to do what he said hes going to do tonight, which is sit down with bob mueller, his New York Times interview, no collusion, no collusion. You guys remember a few good men, the movie. And the big pivotal scene and the general is up there getting questioning about how the general conducted him. And hes grilling him, grilling him and he said you cant handle the truth and then he tells them the truth. He has an ego that is as large as all of new york, i cant imagine him sitting there twitching, not saying what he has to say, which is not going to be favorable for his case. Youre saying that trump is jack nicholson, and mueller is tom cruise, a young tom cruise. And its did you order the code red . I think thats the scenario. Donald trump has proven to be often a canny witness, his caution were being told, im going to be hearing this for the first time along with you, how he put it, his actual words, because this story broke, with Peter Alexander in front of the white house. Now we have the audio, lets all listen. Are you going to talk to mueller . Im look forward to it, actually. Theres been no collusion, whatsoever. Theres no obstruction whatsoever. And im looking forward to it. I do worry when i look at all of the things that you people dont report about it, with whats happening, if you take a look at, you know, the five months worth of missing texts, thats a lot of missing texts. And as i said yesterday, thats prime time. So you just got to look at that and say whats going on . You do look at certain texts where they talk about insurance policies or insurance, where they say the kinds of things theyre saying, you got to be concerned. But i would love to do that, as soon as possible. Good luck, everybody. So heres the story. Do you have a date set . I dont know, i guess theyre talking about two or three weeks, but i would love to do it. Like i say, subject to my lawyers and all of that, but i would love to. Again, dont under estimate donald trump. You have been in those things, we call them scrums sometimes. The most important words to my ear, subject to the advice of my lawyers was the last comment, which leaves a big gaping hole for them to say we dont like the terms, were pulling out, and the president has that constitutional ability to negotiate this. He does. Well, exactly that, theres a door left open and bob mueller doesnt need my advice and hes got plenty of tough and experienced guys. But at the end of the day these are not 50 50 negotiations. Donald trump is going to try to limit is subject matter of this debate only to obstruction, im certain justice cant going to go along with that. Hes going to limit it to certain questions. But if bob mueller doesnt like these terms, doesnt like the negotiations, he just subpoenas him to a grand jury. Then come and do it on our temples withoterms without a lawyer totally open ended. So i doubt that trump gets this orchestrated the way he wants. So you think this news is something donald trump thinks is good, hes bragging hell go toe to toe with mueller and you dont think its so good for him . Well take a side bet. The chance between you and when that interview takes place, more than once the Trump Lawyers dont call this off because they dont like the terms. Or does mueller just take him to a grand jury or threaten to anyway. Because im a journalist, i cant take the side bet with you. Aisha might. Ill take 20 on it. Thats between you two. I want to thank the panel on this breaking story. We got to fit in a break, but theres a lot more to this, im hearing a lot from the control room about a face off that donald trump is promising tonight, sitting down under oath if need be with the man on the right side of your screen bob approximate mueller. And now new questions about other cabinet members who sat with bob mueller. And now the russians are using facebook and twitter to fuel an ongoing attack on the fbi. Its a big story, and i can tell you i have an exclusive interview with the former ceo of twitter. First word you think of when you see some of the lowest options fees in the market and no platform fees . Is it happy . Good. Then its time for power e trade. The platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. E trade. The original place to invest online. Your insurance on time. Tap one little bumper, and up go your rates. What good is having insurance if you get punished for using it . News flash nobodys perfect. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™ Liberty Mutual insurance. Breaking news. President donald trump just called a room full of reporters into his office before his International Trip to davos and said with the consultation of his lawyers, he plans to testify, he said, quote, under oath to bob mueller and he gave a time frame. This is the first time the president , whether you believe him or not, has ever provided a specific time frame, saying according to what he hears from his criminal defense attorneys, the President Donald Trump expects to speak in an under oath interview with special counsel bob mueller in the next two to three weeks. That is a rapid timeline and breaking news right now. I want to go directly to two of our analysts on this, Sylvia Hamilton and matt miller, a legal special us and former spokesman at the doj where he spoke under eric holder. Matt, your reaction to this news . I want to wait and see what happens. We have heard these kinds of promises from donald trump before. Not the promise of two to three weeks, but last summer, at a press conference in the rose garden, he said he was going to speak with bob mueller, and then he back e eed off of that, now come back the other 180 degrees. Lets see what actually happens. One difference and i take your point. You and i both cover donald trump at times, so im familiar with the concept youre raising, that what he says is not always true. Thats the nicest way i can put it. But, there is a big difference right now, because donald trump is saying this not in a theory, not in a hypothetical, not in the early stages, hes saying this at the very time that now his attorney general, his fired fbi director, his intelligence directors, his former chief strategist, have all sat or plan to sit with mueller in the case of bannon. So this feels very real as a time to give a timeline. We are certainly at a point where bob mueller and his team will want to interview the president. They are going to want to circle the target here, they have interviewed everyone they have to get close to him. He doesnt have a lot of other great options other than taking the fifth, which is kind of an unacceptable choice for the president of the United States. But i do caution, lets wait and see, you could see him say publicly, i want to do this interview, im looking forward to it and in a couple of weeks pull out because he hasnt gotten conditions he wanted, mike blike he wanted to have soe of the questions in writing. We have to wait and see what happens. Donald trump has tried to shut down the