sentencing hearing to see with her own eyes what was happening there and see these survivor stories. what did she tell you? >> she said she didn't have time in her schedule to come and watch me. and i just asked for me personally. she said she didn't have time. why don't we make a compromise. i'll watch the live stream. >> should she keep her job? >> at this point, i don't think so. she has not shown leadership in this prolific -- this is the most prolific sex abuse scandal i think ever in our history. instead of being there and showing she's compassionate and cares -- i mean, she should be listening to every girl that goes through to really grab the scope of this whole thing. but instead of doing that, she

has shown that she's tone deaf. they keep sayin they are seen acetone de. but their actions are showing they really truly are tone deaf. >> it sounds this week that nassar will be sentenced. who else do you want to see held responsible? >> there's a lot of people. all the enablers. all the people who were told and still have their jobs there. luann simon, ferguson. i think there needs to be a cleaning of house because they obviously -- this is obviously a problem they have on campus. it is not just the nassar case. they really do have a sexual assault problem on msu's campus. and then, you know, finally usag is starting to make those steps and, you know, three people have just resigned. at least they are taking those

steps. msu, you know, gave a -- had a meeting the other day and apparently, according to ferguson, talked about this case for 10 minutes, and it was a five-hour meeting. >> so a lot has to be done moving forward. you tried to do the right thing, larissa. you are speaking out now. we appreciate your candor then and now. thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you >> thanks to our on for you, cnn "newsroom" is next. for our u.s. viewers, "new day" continues right now. >> and that's why we say good morning. oh, look, you're back. welcome to our "new day". there are major developments in the russia investigation. first, we have sources telling cnn, special counsel bob mueller wants to question president trump.

mueller's team has already interviewed comey, jeff sessions and key presidential adviser hope hicks. now, some are asking if these interviews show special counsel's investigation may be coming to an end. but that is just a suggestion. and the "washington post" is reporting that shortly after the director's firing, president trump pointedly asked the acting fbi director, andrew mccabe, who he voted for in the 2016 election. this was during an oval office meeting. officials say mccabe told the president he did not vote but mccabe found that conversation disturbing. mccabe has been a protect target of angry tweets from the president. kaitlan collins is live at the white house. what's the latest there? >> reporter: alisyn, a day of bombshells at the white house. after months of interviews, special counsel robert mueller finally set his sights on dond ump himself. cnn learned that special

counsel's lawyers are negotiating with the president's lawyers to set up a meeting because robert mueller himself has expressed interest in sitting down with the president. special counsel robert mueller expressing interest in questioning president trump about his decision to fire former fbi director james comey and former national security adviser michael flynn, according to sources. >> we're going to be fully cooperative with the special counsel, but we're also not going to comment on who may or may not or could be interviewed at any point. but we're going to continue to be fully cooperative with the process. >> reporter: the russia probe also closing in on the president's inner circle. a source close to jeff sessions tells cnn mueller questioned the attorney general for hours last wednesday. sessions is the first cabinet secretary to be interviewed by the special counsel. president trump telling reporters he hasn't talked to jeff sessions about the conversation. >> i didn't, but i'm not at all concerned. >> reporter: topics possibly included russia's meddled in the 2016 election. last year the president said this about his decision.

>> regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey. and, in fact, when i decided to just do it i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story. >> reporter: cnn learned mueller already interviewed comey last year. the "new york times" reports that the former fbi director was questioned about memos he wrote about his interactions with the president. last may, comey testified that mr. trump asked for his loyalty and told him he hoped he could let the investigation into flynn go. >> i didn't say that. i will tell you, i didn't say that. >> would you be willing to speak is under oath to give your version of -- >> 100%. >> reporter: mr. trump's alleged request for loyalty resurfacing a made a new washington post

that shortly after firing comey, the president asked comey's replacement, andrew mccabe, who he voted for in the 2016 election. mr. trump reportedly also expressed his anger at mccabe over hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations his wife received from a political action committee run by a close friend of hillary clinton. since then, the president has repeatedly gone after mccabe. and sessions encouraged the new fbi director, christopher wray to, to replace him. threatening to quit if he moved or was reassigned. >> he's going to do a good job. >> reporter: russia's meddling case progressing. rick gates has quietly hired a prominent white collar attorney, signaling gates may be negotiating with mueller in the face of eight charges of money laundering and failing to register foreign lobbying in othesinesses. despite these developments, the white house continuing to assist that mueller's probe is a

witch-hunt, but trump hasn't fired mueller due to potential backlash in the press. >> i think we all know what everyone in this room would do that if the president did that, and i don't think that's helpful to the process. >> reporter: so, alisyn and chris, a day of intense drama here at the white house. the president is continue to go argument this probe overall and the fbi, attacking the bureau over missing text messages between two former members of mueller's team. all of this going on as the president prepares to depart the white house for davos, switzerland, where he will taepld the world economic forum. >> thank you for all of that background. the conditions are obviously what is still in question. is there any chaps that president trump doesn't have to

have a face-to-face interview, that he could just answer questions, written questions? >> it seems unlikely, alisyn. they are going to want to interview so they can follow up. written answers, which i have seen floated in some of the reporting that comes out, i suspect that is coming from the president's lawyersr the president's side of this because that might be more desirable for them. obviously they would be heavily lawyered. it seems unlikely that would be useful for the investigators to get to the bottom of what were the president's motivations in firing the director and taking a number of other actions that he took over the course of the year to put pressure on the underlying investigations. >> david, sit one hell of a coincidence that the closer we get to the big names the more the drum beat that the justice department is dirty, the louder

it gets. we have the fisa memo. missing text between struck and page. no cures onity as to why they are missing or that this shows a glitch as opposed to something nefarious. and senator ron johnson of wisconsin. he has been on the show. we like to have his perspective. we want it right now because he said on fox yesterday that there is a secret society in the fbi. they met in private. they had a clear intention, and it was to help hillary clinton take down republicans. not a shred of proof offered. >> yeah. and i think that's such an irresponsible thing for a sitting u.s. senator to level against the fbi. and i think what's telling in all of this, some of these may

in fact, reveal bias or miss calculation or misdeeds. for a senator to make that, it has been rebutted by the president's own fbi director, who is standing up for the fbi, standing up for the investigators and is not going to wilt under political pressure. >> the reason we know about the texts isn't because of some republican has dubbed them out. the agency had the inspector general do its own investigation. that's how we know. >> they were told not to be involved anymore. >> let me just add, if you're around this town, if you know fbi saegts, if you have done any investigation about the fbi, it's not full of libals,y the and why do you think it was that

comey felt so much pressure to justify his decision not to bring charges against hillary clinton? he was facing a backlash within the fbi. there certainly are people who might have been forward with the fbi. just irresponsible to make that accusation. the president's own guy, christopher wray, in that job. they are doing their due diligence. they are getting now to the top level officials after interviewing people who are lower down. >> because they are getting up the food chain, that does mean mueller is ready to wrap this investigation shortly? >> well, remember special counsel's investigation has several different categories, as

best as we know. whether or not he obstructed justice in russia meddling, of michael flynn, that is one piece of the special counsel's investigation. it may be this crescendo of that piece of special counsel's investigation is reaching its natural conclusion and some determination will be made. but there are other aspects with respect to financial related crimes. and manafort and gates is set for trial a long time away. i wouldn't overemphasize the soon-to-be ending investigation of the special counsel. >> a quick follow-up on that. this reporting about what the

president did what he met the acting fbi director, andrew mccabe, after he fired comey, it -- the idea of saying who did you vote for banging on him about his wife's investigation is, those are inappropriate. >> first of all, andy mccabe's answer is interesting. he didn't vote in the election, which is consistent with an unwritten norm amongst prosecutors in public corruption investigators which oftentimes they forego their personal right to vote so they maintain an appearance of being objective in a particular investigation. so with respect to potential obstruction, it's not just the

firing of fbi director comey that special counsel's office might be looking at. they also could be looking the a whole range of activities including pressure that the president or the white house plays on the attorney general, other investigators, some of the president's tweets could be interpreted as trying to influence or intimidate potentially witnesses. and so i think his conversation, as it has been reported with andy mccabe, falls into that category. >> remember, this is part of an overall point of view the president has, which is the as president of the united states, he can inspectly control the justice department, the fbi. they shouldn't have any independent. he want aid clean house. that mind-set was so misguided and certainly something that would be investigated. whether it's a crime or not, it is is certainly inappropriate for the president to believe he can demand loyalty and not independence of the fbi. >> david gregory, carrie

cordero, thank you very much. how do these revelations affect the gop in the midterm elections? the party chairwoman joins us next. shawn evans: it's 6 am.

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we are learning special counsel robert mueller wants to interview trump and that could happen in the next few weeks. what does that mean for republicans in the 2018 midterms? >> great to be here. what a beautiful studio. i've never been here so thrilled. >> come back any time. >> thank you. >> let's start with the russia investigation. >> okay. >> should president trump sit down for a face-to-face better view? >> attorneys have cooperated. it's not for me to say what the president should do. i think he should take advice of counsel and we'll go from there. >> do you think president trump should have asked the acting fbi director andrew mccabe who he voted for in 2016? >> i know this is a big story. i think it's just a conversation. i don't think it intends, you know, all of these terrible

things are trying to put forward. >> i think it is just trying to get to know somebody. >> you don't think it is that president trump thinks if anybody voted for a democrat they cannot do their jobs? >> i don't think so. he is not going around to every single fbi agent and saying did you vote for me. sit a conversation, again, with somebody in his office. he kept people on. >> he was just being conversational? >> yeah, i think so. >> aut the fb yeah. >> do u ink americans should trust the fbi? >> i do. i think it's very concerning what's happening for lisa page and peter strzok. the text messages we have seen are concerning. they knew about the outcome of

the hillary clinton investigation before it was released. >> it's hard to parse these things. >> i read them through last night. where they said hillary clinton had sent an e-mail through her server to the president. and then they changed the language. they didn't want to put the president there. somebody with high security. it ended up not being in the comey conclusion. these are things we should get to the bottom of. we know our fbi men and women are serving this country with distinction. but these two individuals need to be investigated. they have gone outside the lane and they have been inappropriate. >> understood. they have also been reassigned. so do these two taint the work of the fbi? >> no. but they taint their own work. and i think we need to get to the bottom of the five months of missing text messages that occurred during a very difficult time, during the transition, during when susan rice unmasked

the names from the fisa warrants. weeed to know what happened during that time. why are the five months missing? it warrants an investigation. >> when the president puts out a tweet after years of comey with the phony and dishonest clinton investigation running the fbi, worst in history. fear not, we will bring it back to greatness. do you think that has a demoralizing effect on the rank and file in the fbi? >> i think comey deserved to be fired especially now that we know things he did as head of the fbi. this is up to the president to decide. this is up for the voters to decide. i think there are some concerning things come canning out especially from the text messages. >> this is what's so confusing. this is our top law enforcement agency. they keep us safe. they fight crime, terrorism. do we trust them or don't we trust them? >> we do trust them. these two individuals need to be

investigated. >> fine but -- >> they are hurting the fbi in some ways because these are people working for the government talking about how they don't like the president, how they want to come after him, there will be safeguards against him. that's concerning. they should not have been doing that as fbi agents. they just got reassigned. they should be let go because they are supposed to be. >> i just want to get to the whole. do they taint the whole fbi? >> of course not. but why is everybody not willing to say they should be investigated? where areemocrats sing this is wrong? out of line. two individuals do not taint a whole body. and the president has said that. he has gone and spoken to the fbi and -- but these individuals have gone out of line. they should be investigated. i think they should be removed. >> are you hearing democrats say, nah, five months of missing texts who cares. >> i'm not hearing five texts, let's investigate. we should all be saying that.

that is truly concerning to have the people at the start of the investigation, the mueller investigation one of them exchanges texts saying how much they don't like the president of the united states, purely partisan, talking about investigations to each other. we need to figure out what happened. >> let's talk about what happened with dreamers. what is the rnc's position on what should happen to the 800,000 people? >> it will be up to the president and the legislature? >> do you understand what the president's position is? >> the president has been clear. he said we want to deal with the daca. >> let's focus on the d.r.e.a.m.ers. >> it is not just the d.r.e.a.m.ers. it has to be daca, chain migration, visa lottery, and border security. for a lot of reasons. border security is important because we don't want to find ourselves in the exact same place 20 years from now. >> it is hard to know what the president feels. >> he has been so clear. >> has he? does he want a path to citizenship or legalization? >> he said i want to deal with daca but it has to deal with

border immigration. >> what are the details? >> it is up to congress to make those decisions. that's why he said president obama he used executive order. it needs to be codified by congress. >> but the problem is we don't know his position. we don't know how he feels about this. even mick mulvaney said it depends what they present us with. is that his inner feeling, his moral compass about the d.r.e.a.m.ers, let me see what kind of deal i can get. >> i think he is putting it in the body it should be. congress needs to come up with their solution and come together and present it to him. and he's going to work every step of the way. he's been willing to do that. there has been a willingness on the part of republicans to work with democrats on on daca, but it has to include visa lottery, chain my pwraeugz and border security. >> i have one specific question for you about 2018 involving one republican candidate. congressman patrick meehan. he was tossed off the ethics

committee because he was having an affair with a staffer. he used office funds to pay her. he says he's not going anywhere. does the rnc stand behind congressman meehan? >> there is an investigation going on there as well. we will get to the bottom of that. i need to see more details on that. he's been removed. and paul ryan is hamming that. listen, i'm going to be out there working to keep majorities in the senate and the house. i know our country is in a better place under president trump and republican leadership than it was. just yesterday with bonuses for verizon. all of these things are happening in our country 17-year unemployment, jobs coming back. things are good. we'll let the voters make decisions as to who is best to represent them. >> right now does the rnc stand behind congressman meehan? >> we will let the investigations take place. we will see everything happen through the ethics investigation. it is too early to say. we'll let the voters decide.

>> that's a yes? >> i'm saying let the process play out on. i have to know all the details. >> you haven't heard enough yet that he used office funds to pay for -- >> i want to see an investigation and i want to hear from the house. and i think paul ryan has awe handle on that. >> great to have you here. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for being here in person. chris? sources say special counsel bob mueller wants to talk to the president and soon. what does that say about where we are in the investigation? we ask former attorney general alberto gonzales next. [ keyboard clacking ] [ click, keyboard clacking ] ♪ good questions lead to good answers. our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours. won't replace the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan.

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all right. cnn has learned special counsel bob mueller is going to talk to president trump. the question is when and about what. we're told it will be fairly specific. the firings of former national security adviser michael flynn and former fbi director jim comey. so the president potentially testifying. what does that mean about the investigation? and this larger concern about the fbi. the the more we learn about russia and its interference and that investigation, the more the right pushes back and said the department of justice is dirty.

let's discuss with former attorney general alberto gonzales author of "true faith and allegiance." a story of service and sacrifice in war and peace. true faith and allegiance. boy, do we need that right now. >> it certainly seems to be so. the problems at the bureau in particular really trouble me. anyone who has ever worked at the department of justice is pained by these stories, whether true or on not. i don't know which is worse, that the stories are true or not true. it has been disappointing to me. and i think it's really a disservice to the many, many men and women who work at the depant of justice and doing a great job. it is important for people to keep in mind that a lot of stuff is innuendo. there are claims. we don't know how much is true. >> the irony that -- let's play it. let's play what ron johnson said

to bret baier. >> the corruption at the highest levels of the fbi. and the secret society, we have an informant talking about a group holding secret meetings off site. there's so much smoke, so much suspicion -- >> let's stop there. secret meetings off site. >> that's correct. >> and you have an informant saying that. >> al better to, you flip his "r" to a "d" and change what was happening to russia and the trump campaign, and it the same passion without proof. it is so political. he has an informant. they don't want to listen to christopher steele or what's in the dossier or anything that comes up in the investigation because it's too limited. but one informant, and we have a u.s. sitting senator ready to say there is a secret society in the fbi that meets privately to undo justice. do you buy that? >> well, listen.

it's not consistent with the fbi that i know. if in act an organization this large, over 30,000 employees, you're going to have individuals who sometimes do things they shldn't be doing. if if that is, in fact, true, that needs to be investigated and those individuals need to be removed from the bureau. >> absolutely. >> but, again, i haven't seen any proof in this and certainly inconsistent of what i know of the fine men and women that work at the fbi. >> we have seen this on both sides. you're so helpful on it and that's why i appreciate you taking the time. you can overstep very easily. that's why they got special counsel. it keeps being ignored. they talk about the texts between two fbi agents involved with the probe. the texts were inappropriate. it shows a bias. they may have been on work phones. that is an additional problems bosses like you would have to

deal with. they are ignoring what we know about the texts. inspector general. the agency was taking a look at it with an inspect agent. they ignore that. and you have to ask why do they ignore it. it is is inconvenient. isn't that a fair criticism? >> well, it is a fair criticism. but, again, chris, i think -- and you just alluded to this as well. to the extent that people are engaged in wrongdoing, improper communications motivated by improper motives, that needs to be investigated. no question about it. i think anyone who believes in the work and integrity of the fbi and the dartmt of juste would agree with th. again, we need to findut what problems exist. to the extent they exist, people need to be held accountable. until there is proof of this, again, these kinds of attacks, public attacks against the men and women of the bureau and other members of the department of justice really do a disservice to the fine work they do day in and day out.

>> basis for special counsel? >> i don't know whether or not there is a basis today for special down counsel. i worry about typically it's a role of congress, a role the inspector general at the department of justice to look at this kind of stuff. i have confidence in the inspector general. >> they put out the texts. >> exactly. i worry about investigating my congress because it appears things have gotten so political with anything with respect to these investigations. i worry about that. the american people deserve to know all the truth here. >> right. but what happens when mueller has to deliver his understandings, his findings, his facts, to rosenstein, the mandate. he doesn't release it to us. he releases it to rosenstein, the acting a.g. in this regard. we now have this erosion of trust in the department of justice. that's what this is about politically. why are you questioning them? in the interest of justice. they wouldn't be doing it this

way. th weyldn't be hyping a memo that if they could release the would. what happens if the american people don't trust the findings? >> i still believe, despite all the claims of wrongdoing, that there is still a fund memory trust in bob mueller. and i think that still exists within the congress. and i think at theened of the day, i think the american people will accept the findings of the special counsel. i certainly will. >> if you want to look at it in just plain politics, mueller described like it was ted kennedy doing this. this is a lifelong republican, a decorated veteran who met with the president who was handpicked by his own choice rob rod rosenstein. it is always useful to get your

help on these matters. you know it very well. >> thank you, chris. look, it ain't a coincidence that the moore you see russia getting pushed up on the more you are seeing pushback from the political right about the didn't of justice not being trustworthy. so tonight we're going to take a deep look into this. we are going to test the arguments so you can make an informed decision. tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern. >> meanwhile, a doctor being detained by i.c.e. after living in the u.s. for decades. what he is saying about the legal situation that could send him back to a country he barely knows. that story is next. i was out here smoking instead of being there for my son's winning shot. that was it for me. that's why i'm quitting with nicorette. only nicorette mini has a patented fast dissolving formula. it starts to relieve sudden cravings fast. every great why needs a great how.

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we are hearing from the michigan doctor and green cardholder after living in the u.s. almost 40 years he was detained by i.c.e. he may be sent back over misdemeanors he created 25 years ago as a teenager. cnn's jason carroll has the story. >> reporter: a year and a half into their marriage, rachelle said she and husband lukasz were looking into settling into life together. she is a nurse. he specializes in internal medicine. neither suspected a knock on their door could end up destroying their lives. >> this is my first marriage, my only marriage.

and i didn't see it ever getting ripped apart like this. i mean, i said till death. i didn't say until you're deported. >> last tuesday, immigration agents arrested niec here in michigan. >> i'm not sure of anything. i mean, i don't know what's going to happen. most of these people that are here, they were recently arrested. most were felonies. you see people in here with different stories, and it kind of blew me away. in a way. mine is probably one of the more extreme ones. >> reporter: his wife and sister now in a legal battle to bring him home. >> i haven't slept. i haven't ian. honestly, i'm not tired. i just have adrenalin. i'm going to do whatever it takes to have him be back with us. >> reporter: niec's story began in 1979. his mother escaped communist poland and was granted permission to legally enter the united states. >> and that's your mom right there? >> that's my mom. >> reporter: eventually, their mother got u.s. citizenship and

in 1989, niec got permanent status. >> i have a permanent resident card. it gave us comfort. >> reporter: that comfort broken when immigration officials determined niec should be detained for offensesomtted wh he was 17 years old, saying it's the result of two 1992 state convictions for malicious destruction of property and receiving stolen property, both of which are crimes involving moral turpitude. niec's family said one involved damages to a car, kossing him about $100. the other offense was expunged from his record after he completed ale youth training program. now it seems that conviction was not completely wiped from the record. >> so even though the record has been sealed, i.c.e. is able to get access to these old records. in fact, they might be the only ones to access it. >> reporter: his past includes driving under the influence in 2008.

that case dismissed after he completed probation. in 2013, he was charged with domestic violence involving a previous relationship. he argued it was self-defense. a jury agreed and found him nothing. immigration officials did not cite those issues but did say niec came under their scrutiny to more than a dozen minor traffic violations, including driving without a seat belt. niec's family say they are proud americans. they cherish this picture of niec's mother on the day she became a u.s. citizen. >> i just wonder what she would be thinking now. >> i mean, up in heaven, she's -- it's one of the things that breaks my heart because i know she would be like, i can't believe after all i worked for and all we did and the man that i see him being now that this is what's happening. >> reporter: through the tears, they hope an immigration judge will allow niec to go back to doing what he did before, living legally here in the united

states. jason carroll, cnn, kalamazoo, michigan. >> all right. we will stay on that. our thanks to jason carroll. now, take a look at this. this is video out of massachusetts. a school bus, 29 kids on board, sliding down an icy hill in a residential street in the town of sutton. you will see what it does here. obviously the driver can't control it. i don't know if somebody was in that car with the hazards on. >> they slid down the hill before that. >> there was only minor damage to the bus and car. this is part of the weather realities they have to account for making decisions as to whether or not there's school, whether or not there's a delay. >> there you see it. that is the best illustration of why we sometimes have the annoying two-hour delays. that's black ice. the idea that that heavy school bus filled with kids could be sliding around like that, it is remarkable video to show how it happens so fast. >> over the years, i have taken

courses where they put you with police in the race cars and teac you how to drive. >> yeah. >> this is not an easy thing to control, something of that size. >> have you been trying to race a school bus on one of those courses? >> i actually once stole a school bus and raced it around for an entire afternoon. >> tell me more. >> i probably shouldn't. i just realized we are on live tv. >> that is so good. meanwhile, this story is not going away apparently. sordid details of an alleged affair between president trump and a porn star have been reveal revealed. but the evangelical base says he deserves a mulligan on that. that's next. set your seat height to its maximum level. bravo, tall meeting man. start winning today. book now at lq.com start winning today. nahelps protect eyes fromue damaging blue light, filtering it out to help you continue enjoying your screens. or... you could just put your phones down and talk to each other. [laughing]

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gave him a mulligan. they let him have a do-over. >> that was a long time ago. i'm more interested in who is person is today more than what they were 11 years ago. i believe he's a changed person. >> joining us to discuss this, ben ferguson and tara setmayer. ben, let me start with you. >> good morning. >> help us understand this. does everyone get a mulligan on adultry from evangelicals or just donald trump? >> i don't think everyone gets a mulligan. i n't think the majority of people who voted trump call it a mulligan. i think this is a serious issue and a lot of people also knew when they were voting for donald trump, they were voting for an individual not based on what he was coming out there and saying that he was as a big evangelical christian. they knew he had a tough past, they knew he had things in the past they wouldn't agree with maybe when it comes to moral

issues. they voted for him on the political issues and the climate. he didn't claim to be an evangelical issue like george bush did. >> my issue isn't with donald trump's imperfections or the voters. it's with the evangelical leaders. what part of the seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery unless you're running for president. >> a lot of veez leaders have to understand what their job is. if you're a pastor, your job is to be a pastor and you have to stay consistent. i do also believe very much in forgiveness. you can clearly hear that from billy graham -- franklin graham, i should say, from tony perkins. i think it has to be across the board. >> just to be clear, so you see an inconsistency and hypocrisy here? >> i see an inconsistency --

>> why not hypocrisy. >> let me finish my point about pastors. i think pastors' jobs first and remost are to be pastors and not be in politics. when you start meddling i between, you'll have to start changing lines and narratives that fit. that's also the reason i don't like evangelicals to court o out and support candidates. >> tony perkins said something different in 2007 when it involved john edwards having an adulterous air fachlt he said, when it comes to presidents in particular, social conservatives think character is an issue. as harry truman once said, a man that will lie to his wife will lie to me and a man who will break his marriage oath will break his oath of office. >> i don't know what happened to that tony perkins. what's happened is, exactly to ben's point, these pastors and these men called to be leaders,

their leadership should be to their flock first and to biblical principles. as christians we're supposed to be the lights of the world. i don't understand how any of this is furthering the message that the christian church is called to do which is supposed to be converting lives to christ. they're not setting that example, by being hypocrites which is what ben wouldn't say. but i'll say it. these evangelical leaders are hypocrites, based on what you just read of what tony perkins says. trump is getting a mulligan because he's doing what we want they're putting politics over christian biblical principle. >> which christian biblical principle is it where christ first referred to the mulligan, do you think? >> i do know christ talks an awful lot about forgiveness. that's where tony perkins -- >> agree. >> he talked about repentance,

also. i would like to know franklin graham's reference about trump is a changed man. in what respect? he's never asked for forgiveness, he's never asked for -- engaged in repentance. that's where it comes in, you repent and change your behavior. what has trump down to change his behavior. people are making excuses here? >> i'm not defending the behavior. i said this at the beginning. i'll say it again. this is the problem i have with evangelical pastors and others weighing in on politics. >> i get it. you don't want them to, but they do weigh in on politics. why don't you want to call that hypocritical? >> there's one thing to weigh in on a moral issue or an issue that deals with politics. abortion is a great example of that. i have no problem with a pastor talking about that issue. but if you're going to come out and use the word mulligan on an individual because either, a, you're close to him or, b, because you backed him and don't

want to 'embarrass yourself per se, that's where it becomes a real problem and you lose the high moral ground or footing. >> if you believe in these ideals -- let me just reado you the family research council's mission statement. their mission statement is to promote marriage and family as the foundation of civilization. and so does he think it helps marriage to have an affair with a porn star or not? >> i think you'd have to ask him that. clearly he would say of course not. what i do know -- >> apparently it's okay. >> i'm not going to speak for him. >> he spoke for himself, ben. he used the term mulligan. even if you wanted to accept that as a one-off, maybe. but this is a consistent pattern of behavior for donald trump. it's not just the adult rouse behavior he's exhibited his

entire life, but his other i'm morality, the way he speaks about people, the way he denigrates groups of people, the way he attacks the media and institutions in our country. donald trump's character deficit is something that the evangelical church should never have tolerated just because he gives them a few bones by saying he's going to be pro life and have religious freedom. you cannot put this kind of policy gains over biblical christian principle. that right there is the same -- what does it gain a man to inherit the world and lose his soul? that's exactly what's happening in the evangelical community. >> if there's one person who seems to be upset by it, only by appearances is melania. she canceled a trip to davos today with her husband, and it was their 13th wedding anniversary on monday night. we didn't see them celebrating. that is the day she announced she wasn't going to be going to davos. >> she knew what she was

marrying. >> tara, ben, thank you for the debate. >> thanks. we're following a lot of o news. let's get right to it. if they really are trying to interview the president, that is very good news for the president because it means that are starting to wrap up. >> we're going to be fully cooperative with the special counsel. >> the attorney general and james comey have both been interviewed by the special counsel's office. >> i'm not at all concerned. >> it is not appropriate for the president of the united states to ask a federal official who they voted for. >> he doesn't understand the separation of powers. >> are you concerned about the investigation with the fbi? >> let's see how it all works out. >> these people hostile to the president have not been conducting themselves in a manner that be fits the federal bureau of investigation. >> this is all part of trying to save this president's bacon by damaging the fbi and the department ofjustice. beautiful sunrise there. good morning everyone.

welcome to your "new day." it's wednesday, january 24th. 8:00 in the east. big developments in the russia investigation, all in just one day. sources tell cnn that robert mueller wants to interview president trump to question him about the decision to fire former fbi director james comey and former national security adviser michael flynn. another sign the mueller probe is ratcheting up and perhaps somehow closing in on the president, special counsel questioned attorney general jeff sessions for hours we're told last week. we also have exclusive reporting about a former trump associate who may be thinking about cooperating with the special counsel. >> shortly after president trump fired comey, he asked acting fbi director andrew mccabe to come to the white house and then he asked him who he voted for in the 20167 election. that was in an oefl office meeting. he then be readed mccabe for donations his wife had taken from terry mcauliffe, a democrat in his