helped bill clinton through his troubles, trump not getting the credit. focusing on the economy is a building block. >> john king reporting for us. thanks very much. i'm wolf blitzer. thanks for watching. anderson and i'll be back 8:00 p.m. eastern. an hour from now. cnn special coverage of president trump first state of the union address continues with erin burnett outfront. this is cnn breaking news. good evening i'm erin burnett and welcome to special edition breaking news just hours before the president of the united states gives first state of the union address. major development in the russia investigation. we are learning significant new details about the negotiations between president trump's attorneys and special counsel robert mueller's team. pam bra brown is breaking the story. and what are you hearing from your sources at this hour? >> reporter: well, erin, according to sources, ongoing

investigation between robert mueller and president legal team, my colleague gloria borger and i are told president's lawyers making the case that robert mueller has not made the high threshold needed to interview the president in person. this in response to the request from special counsel to interview the president in person as we have previously reported special counsel mueller has made it clear that's what they want. but the president's lawyers are making the case not so fast. they believe that they have not shown that they have not met the threshold showing that the president is the only way they can get the information they need in this obstruction of justice case. which really boils down whether there was corrupt intent of firing former fbi director james comey, what the president's state of mind s president's lawyers also believe interviewing the president isn't just like interviewing anyone else. and i can tell you that there has been ongoing consultation about this between the president's legal team and white house counsel as well as outside

legal experts given the implications of any decision on the presidential testimony could have on the office of the presidency, erin. >> many cog out, pamela, they are saying you haven't met this threshold the at least the way they define it. aggressive strategy. they are pushing back. will it work? or do they anticipate the president will appear before mueller for that interview? >> will it work is still an open question. but oftentimes in negotiations like this both sides start at op side sites of the spectrum and ends up somewhere in the middle. one describes the ongoing negotiations between the teams is professional, and ongoing. and the president himself as you you'll recall, says he'll sit down ung der oath, then his attorney says he won't. his lawyer hasn't made any decision. this could end up in a court

battle. have you a situation where the president's lawyers may stand firm saying look we don't want you interviewing our client the president of the united states. robert mueller could come back and issue a subpoena to force the issue and this could ends up in court. but this is still very early on in the process. and process is really key here. because that's oftentimes how this plays out. you start somewhere and end up somewhere else at the end of it. erin. >> thank you, very much, pamela. obviously significant though the president's strategy likes to say one thing and get credit for it we'll see as the negotiations go on. this goes on as source close to the white house says it's still possible trump could fire special counsel robert mueller. let me quote it, anyone who knows trump, this guy is a street fighter and he thinks this mueller investigation is bs. jeff zeleny out front in the white house, jeff, what do you

know, those dmismissing this wl robert mueller, why do we care now? this is putting it back on the table right now. >> reporter: well, erin, never left the table at leesz in the president's mind. yes it cob a possibility. that does not mean it's going to be reality. many political impediments and red lines that republicans on capitol hill say that that would simply be too much to bear here. that the president if he fired bob mueller it would not put it a side as the white house wants it to do. it would simply deepen it. and also questions does he have the authority. his lawyer says he does have the constitutional authority to do so. others say not so fast. the attorney general rod rosenstein appointed is. so would the president get rid of him? also possible he has been in the president's cross hairs. but all of this of course is coming as this remains a focus here, a distraction here at the white house. i am told that the russian

investigation, this probe that is so angered the president, he calls it a hoax, witch hunt, he will not bring that up this evening i'm told. but a decision to make on that memo, that memo we've been talking about for several days, will he release that i'm told he is likely to in the coming days. he has not seen t but come tomorrow i'm sure he'll have a look at it. >> thank you very much. we know it's sitting in a room at the white house and loot least sources tell us the president has not viewed it but it's there. outfront now david and our panel. former white house obama director. and former counsel to the u.s. assistant general for national security. all right. thanks very much for all of you. tim, so trump's lawyers are positioning here. putting this out.

leaking this out is that they think mueller has not made the case that he has the right to interview the president of the united states directly. how significant is this they are now putting that out there? >> well, first thing is who is surprised? given when the president said that he was ready to actually testify under oath in front of the mueller investigation, he then said if my lawyers agree. so the president opened up an escape hatch for himself from the start. but i have no idea. i would have to ask the lawyer. what is the threshold? if the investigation believes it's materially important to speak to the president? >> the threshold is executive privilege and lots of precedent in u.s. law prosecutors cannot subpoena the president and cannot compel him to testify otherwise we would have prosecutors all over america trying to divert the president of the united states and take up his team. so real legal precedent.

only way you can get the president to testify compelling him no other way to get the information and serious crime committed. neither is the case here. so he should not even be asked to testify, number within. mueller is wrong on the law. number two trump should not comply. he does not have to testify. mueller works for him by the way. it is his justice department. it is. it is not an independent agency. it's part of the can tive branch. american people elected him. >> much to his independent for his liking. but here's the point here. there is no clear precedent for the president to avoid taking questions. >> well, there is not. so first of all right now the special counsel's office has not subpenaed the president. they are not asking him to appear before the grand jury. what the reporting is they are negotiating with the white house counsel's office and with the president's lawyers is for him to be interviewed. many other white house officials, campaign officials have been interviewed out of respect and recognition that this is the president they are going to interview. they have engaged in a lengthy

negotiation. what it sounds like to me is the president's lawyers are now trying to -- encouraging public messages trying to get out arguments that they are trying to make. and it's the right thing for lawyers for them to make whatever arguments they can. their client is somebody they should be concerned about going in front of an interview given his -- >> because there is the question, if it's about russia collusion, and nothing to hide, even if he is as he can be, you know, low q&a shus or goes on a tangent, why should they fight it? >> that's true. but i think carry's point about blueprint why this investigation isn't legitimate. if he fires mueller, there is justification for that. this is all a witch hunt. so this is all an effort to

create the aaura through the public messaging piece. >> they put out tens of thousands of documents, anyone you've wanted to talk to you've talked to. that's been ts message. by saying no we'll hold back the core of this hurt the full cooperation, at least they've been trying to push? >> i think they are doing something they believe is in the best interest of their client. we have to remember this is a person, a president who has a history of testifying in situations like this. and getting caught in perjury traps in some of the lawsuits that he's been involved in in the past. so a smart lawyer would try to keep him out of that situation. that's why you've heard on television for the last two weeks ad nauseam every trump sur get saying do not testify.

chris christie is a lawyer and saying don't testify. but they also don't want to antagonize mueller which is why we heard them talk. >> grand jury subpoena, nuclear option, they have that, one would presume they would be able to get that? >> that's the club in the closet and they can bring that out. i think they are far better off to negotiate out front. i don't think it's a surprise at all the president's lawyers are negotiating with the mule tear team about are they going to be guard rails around there. the president said all along if they go into my tax returns basically that's a red line and i'm pulling out. what i think is surprising is this notion of some sort of threshold that no private citizen i've ever heard of who has been called before a grand jury or called to testify voluntarily has sort of set the ground rules. you haven't met the threshold of

the investigation. the whole purpose of the investigation is to figure out what the heck -- hold on one second. >> that's not fair. >> what is not fair is to treat the president who is above the law and treat him unlike a private citizen. that is what is at issue. show me a history of private sit citizens able to tell the private prosecutor go to held. >> i'll show you the history of presidents. this president is too busy. >> we've already litigated it. >> yes, we have. >> defeating isis and growing our economy to answer to every petty grievance. >> that's illusion. >> testify in both the civilian criminal case. the president is there for presidents to testify. and there sa precedent for presiden presidents, prior presidents to be interviewed. so precedent for both. sounds like based on the reporting like the special counsel's office and the lawyers for the president are negotiating this arrangement in a way that is respectful of the

office but also acknowledges there is a serious investigation going on. >> and let's take a step back and look at the major issue here which is whether the president of the united states worked with foreign power to rig our elections and then whether he covered it up later on through several steps. yes there is not entirely precedent for that. i guess nixon is the best comparison. but of course he should be looked at as a private citizen. >> the answer to both of those questions is no and no. there was no collusion. and after a year and a half of investigating, there was no collusion. >> we don't know that. >> and here's the thing. here we are with his first state of the union, by the way the state of the union is fantastic, economy is thriving, isis defeated, small business optimism all-time highs. that's the state of the union. yet what do opponents want to focus, they want to relitigate 2016. >> no conclusion in this investigation. >> there has been no conclusion. >> lawyers leaked this story.

>> yes, of course he did. >> it was cops and factory workers in the midwest, those are the people who elected the president. >> one question because this could be very important. about collusion with foreign policy. it also could be about money landering. would that be on the table? >> it might be something that they are interviewing. what we don't know publicly about the approach that mueller's investigation is taking is whether they plan this interview to touch on all subjects that might be subject of their investigation, which could potentially include money laundering. a money case could be made by documents, perhaps that's an area where they don't need to interview him. just hypothetically. again we don't know if that's part of it or not. so there might be aspects of the investigation that they need his specific input on and there

might be aspects that they don't. >> all right. thank you all. stay with us on this special edition of outfront. more breaking news, head of the foreign intelligence service was reportedly allowed to enter the country, this country, united states of america last week, how did that happen. plus learning new details what the president will and will not say tonight in his first state of the union. and what may be a record number of law make tears boycotting speak and trump himself. one of those sitting it out is our guest. is this really the right way to protest the president? hey, what are you guys doing here? we're voya. we stay with you to and through retirement. so you'll still be here to help me make smart choices? well, with your finances that is. we had nothing to do with that tie. voya. helping you to and through retirement.

but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. 3 toddlers won't stop him.. and neither will lower back pain. because at a dr. scholl's kiosk he got a recommendation for our custom fit orthotic to relieve his foot, knee, or lower back pain, from being on his feet. dr. scholl's. born to move.

alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. ...and help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks! i'll take that. -yeeeeeah! ensure high protein. with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure. always be you. when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites. [ laughs ] rodney. bowling. classic. can i help you? it's me. jamie. i'm not good with names. celeste! i trained you. we share a locker. -moose man! -yo.

he gets two name your price tools. he gets two? i literally coined the phrase, "we give you coverage options based on your budget." -that's me. -jamie! -yeah. -you're back from italy. [ both smooch ] ciao bella. [ both smooch ] stop by your locale tax serjackson hewittou? and get all the benefits of a tax pro. with jackson hewitt you get 100% accuracy and our max refund guarantee. so, switch to jackson hewitt. open late and weekends.

welcome back to special edition of outfront. live in washington. president trump first state of the union speech coming up over the next hour. and trump coming under fire on multiple fronts when it comes to russia tonight. first from sanctions. and also over report that the head of russia foreign intelligence service already under sanctions allowed to turn the united states just last week. jim sciutto outfront. tell me about this guy how he got into the united states and who he was here to meet with? >> reporter: interesting, democrats drawing attention to

this for a number of reasons. foreign intelligence service, as you say, coming to the u.s., announced by soviet state media, coming to the u.s. last week in days advance of trump administration decision not to impose further sanctions as called for by this bipartisan past legislation late last year. coming in, one, in those days. two, as you mention someone who is under current u.s. sanctions. and, three, after all he run ls the russian foreign intelligence service which is it accused of taking part in the meddling in the election. so direct contact there. they would not confirm on the record whether the cia director mike pompeo met with him, but they made the case for why cia director would do that thing. they said listen we exchange

information all the time. and to the point of sanctions they made the point up on screen from a spokesman saying, rest assured that any interaction with foreign intelligence agencies would have been conducted in ha cord hans with u.s. law and in consultation with appropriate departments and agencies, in effect saying we can meet with someone under sanctions, we would let the appropriate departments know. we do that to exchange things. remarkable timing. >> thank you. and outfront senator rif. i appreciate your time tonight. >> thank you. >> obviously you heard jim not denying a report that russian sanctioned came to the united states and reportedly met with mike pompeo. did you know of any such

meeting? >> no, i didn't. and i'm sure i'll in the immediate future. but look we have a lot of things that we disagree with russia on. thus we put the sanctions on. having said that, there are a number of things we do work with them on. >> counter intelligence is certainly one of them. we have mutual interests as far as intelligence is concerned. you will remember that when the boston bombers were doing their thing, it was actually the russians that tipped us off first. now, look, having said that, there is real good reasons to sanction russians. and we'll continue down that road. >> u.s. ambassador to russia, i want you to know has confirmed indeed the head of the department did meet with them, so we just confirmed that. it would be your take it happens here rather than in moscow? >> i think, first of all, i'm not sure, i'm privacy to the i list, but i'm not sure why this

person was sanctioned, if it was for his government work or for perhaps some business stuff he was doing. i'm just not sure. i can tell you this, we will find out about that on the intelligence committee, i guarantee it. >> so i want to ask you about this list. because the treasury department, as you know, right before the stroke of midnight right on the last day they had six months after you had voted requiring them to do this, actually put out their list of russian ol a gar ga ol a garks linked to putin. and basically a russian website russian government list of government ministers. but the treasury secretary today says don't just us on this. we have sanctions coming. hundreds of classified pages a whole lot more here. have you seen that additional documentation, senator, or have you been briefed on ts classified portions of this? >> yes. >> and what's your takeaway? are you satisfied?

>> well, actually, i think i can't speak for everyone. i was satisfied. i think everyone else that i know of that i talked to is satisfied. look, we did the sanctions for a very specific reason. and that was to put an economic squeeze on russia. these sanctions have done that. we were briefed on a number of transactions that were halted because our state department, through the secretary of state, met with the countries that we are going to do business with russia, and the deals were skuttled because of the sanctions we have on. >> so you don't think there need to be more sanctions or any on these individuals listed? >> i wouldn't put it that way. i would put it this way. we have sanctions in place right now. they are actually working right flou, according to the briefings that we had, obviously i can't talk about the details, it is classified. that doesn't mean this thing is over with. that doesn't mean, okay, this

was done, and that's it. we are going to watch this thing very closely. we are in an election year. everyone is anticipating that the russians are going to do what they did in last election and in the elections before that. and what they did in germany. and what they did in france. and if they do that again, you can assume that those sanctions are going to get tight end even more on the russians. >> of course i want to point out cia director mike pompeo yesterday with interview said there has been no downgrade or change in the interference as we hid into the midterm elections. and on that note the russian investigation, cnn is reporting tonight that a source close to trump said it is still possible that he fires the special counsel bob mueller. earlier today mitch mcconnell said this about him. >> i don't see any need to bring up legislation to protect someone that doesn't need protection. >> would you support legislation

to protect robert mueller? >> i might. how about disclosing the fact that said this information? you know, when you put out something this important, and you don't attach a name to it, you know, i got to have more than that to be convinced. so the president has said he won't fire mueller. i need more information before we take punitive action. >> so until the president says it himself or directly threatens it himself, then it becomes imminent danger, you would wait? >> let's wait until he fires mueller and let's you and i have this interview again and i'll tell you how angry people are. i can't fathom that he's going to do that but when that happens we won't any longer have an unidentifi unidentified source. we'll have actual sources we can talk about. >> lan befoand before we go, th president's lawyers are

negotiating with mueller team. pamela brown saying the president does not need to sit down for formal interview with bob mueller. do you think he should sit down with bob mueller or that it's fair for him to avoid it? >> that would be between him and his attorneys. i was a prosecutor. never did much defense work. if i was defending i would be reluctant to do that. the man is president of the united states. he can simply refuse. >> but if you were prosecuting. >> i would want him there. absolutely. >> all right. thank you very much, senator. i appreciate your time. as always. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right. and next on this special edition of outfront, new details just out about the president's speech tonight. and melania trump expected to be in attendance. not normally something we list as head line but first time in a while she has been seen publicly with her husband. where has she been? it's a lot easier to make decisions when you know what comes next. if you move your old 401(k) to a fidelity ira,

we make sure you're in the loop at every step from the moment you decide to move your money to the instant your new retirement account is funded. ♪ oh and at fidelity, you'll see how all your investments are working together. because when you know where you stand, things are just clearer. ♪ just remember what i said about a little bit o' soul ♪ ♪ take off for mexico with expedia. ♪ one click gives you access to discounts on thousands of hotels, cars and things to do. like the royalton riviera cancun for 54% off. ♪ everything you need to go. ♪ expedia. coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the #1 brand

that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. befoto treat her frequent 24hr heartburn... claire could only imagine enjoying chocolate cake. now, she can have her cake and eat it too. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn?

welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world this hour. this is a special edition of outfront. and you can see on your screen, stat tu are hall in the u.s. capital where president trump and members of congress will be walking in shortly. that is where you'll see everyone arriving there as they go in there to the chamber where the president of the united states, president trump will deliver his first state of the union address before the joint session of congress. before the president is expected to tout his legislative accomplishments, talk about immigration, north korea, also we are told delivering a message that he thinks is of unity and optimism. and jeff zeleny is out front at the white house. you are getting in excerpts that you think the white house is key to what they'll deliver tonight and what they'll say. >> reporter: we are indeed. every administration official used those words today upbeat as

they described the speech. that would be a change from the divisive rhetoric here at the white house hand indeed on capitol hill. but in those new excerpts looking at talking about immigration specifically. that is a key part of the president's speech this evening. and lines released by the white house say this, erin. they say struggling communities especially immigrant communities will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of american workers and american families. the president will go on to say, so tonight i'm extend ago open hand to working with members of both parties, democrats and republicans, to protect our citizens of every background, color and creed. now, erin, i can tell you those words will be tested merely by the reaction of republicans in the house of representatives chambers. they are looking for guidance from their president from their leader on what type of bill he would sign. particularly in the house of representatives. so on immigration, that will be so important. but on this whole message of unifying message and being up beat and optimistic, erin, the

test is not in the speech, but perhaps in the coming days. this of course election year. so despite the words tonight, also license for the tone. that's what i'll be listening to and what happens tomorrow and the days to come. but as for now the president still hear i'm told still fine tuning these remarks. leaving the white house shortly for capitol hill. erin. >> all right. jeff. thank you. and everyone back with me along with former communication director for senator ted crust. >>. optimistic. the words we heard. those are the words they are talking about. another excerpt. i want to talk about what kind of future and nation we'll be. all of this together as one team. one people. and one american family. obviously a unifying message. there is another one though that i was looking at here on excerpts we want every american to know the dignity of hard days work, every child to be safe in their home at night. that one was a little more sinister, because people weren't necessarily worried, i'm just

saying this sa trumpian style delivery. >> yeah, i think it is trumpian style. but i do think we ought to acknowledge he has a good story to tell about the economy. you are well taken. the united states economy now is moving forward at rates we haven't seen. there is the animal spirits are back on wall street. you see that in the stock market. people who have 401(k)s will benefit from this. and you talk to people like jamie diamond over the moon about this president. i think the president would help himself in describing the economy to avoid the hyper polly. this is the best thing ever. we have reached the summit. you know, this started and ended with obama. i wish i would acknowledge that. i think immigrants, you have to read the line here, i think carefully. he didn't talk about all people. he talked about citizens. he's going to protect citizens. that means people are already here legally. >> yeah.

what about this issue though steve of avoiding hyper pollbol i say this because you don't know what's real and what's a bubble and in case the bubble bursts. take the market he often takes credit. it goes down, ke walk that line? >> i agree. you don't own the upside of the stock market without the downside. i cautioned them to focus so much on the stock market. it's great. but let's focus on main street. bonuses for lots of workers. the president to his credit it's part of why he made him an amazing entrepreneur. he quotes in grandiose terms.

as much as i defend the president, he doentd walk on water, i would advise him, yes, dial that back a bit. but also say on the immigration front, and this is very important, and i say this as hispanic and immigrant son, nancy pelosi i think shameful, she said he wants to make america white again. no, he doesn't care what color you are, but he wants to protect americans first, and that means a citizen of the united states. >> so amanda, in terms of what we'll hear, is this going to be restrained or not? first of all come down to him and ad libbing and how he feeds off the crowd and republicans applauding him. but here's who we know wrote the speech, gary cone helped him along with mcmaster. then steven miller. so what kind of speech? because if it's calm and reaction is not calm, he'll want to spice it up? >> this may not be the state of

the union but state of trump. first is sense of accomplishment. and i think this may be where we convey optimism. he may fully list the greatest things that happened in the first year. and he might think that is his version of optimism. and then usually when steven miller is involved there is ha call to unite behind donald trump and being patriotic and loyal to the country. this is heavy handed theme he keeps returning to. and always the element of carnage and i think they tried to flip that out instead of saying the boogie man is knocking at your door reframe that and say donald trump will keep you safe. >> don't worry about your kids being safe in their beds. >> that sinister line. i'll say when you look at who wrote the speech, it is our 71-year-old white president hand three white men of varying ages. in the environment we are in right now, not just immigration, but new found focus on women and their role, it is notable that there does not seem to be at

least from what they have been telling us more involvement. >> yes, middle aged white men are very well represented in the speech and creation of the speech. look, i think my experience of working on many state of the unions, it's not just about whether a president can read from a tell a prom tear regardless what's in the speech, david is right, a lot of these trends started under president obama, economic growth was better under president obama, but still a good thing to say from this year. but what can happen tomorrow? what can happen in congress? what message is this sending to political candidates? and if you are an african-american sitting at home oh, he hasn't defended white supreme cyst because he has not said he is racist in the speech. if you are immigrant you won't say he's for me if he has ha bill that will cut legal immigration by 50%. so doesn't happen in a vacuum. i think he'll deliver the speech

tonight. he may or may not stay on the tell a prom tear. but the real test is what happens tomorrow, the next day and weeks ahead. >> i'm going to say that states of the union are a snapshot of what matters to the administration at that moment. you can look at 1963, john f. kennedy state of the union about tax cutting. two lines about civil rights. 1947 harry truman doesn't mention the soviet union except that there are negotiations not going very well. no cold war. nobody knows that marshall plan is going to happen that year. so to some extent these things can be turned over by events. i'm going to be interested in hearing what this government is going to set out its priorities is. what are the priorities? how are they planning to meet them? normally these speeches are about what all the departments wanted to achieve. that's why sometimes they are laundry lists can be too long. i'm listening to see whether the trump white house has become the

trump administration. because what makes this so different from other presidencies is it's all about him and four people that work for him. real presidency is about administration. i want to hear if there is an administration pushing and fighting on all thougrottles an all pistons. >> i think to his point objective for the white house is to make trump kind of boring tonight. he needs to be a very normal president. this is the big audience, right, this is the millions of american households pay ago tension to someone who they mostly know about through his twitter habits. this is an opportunity for him to reset with some of these people and to give a fairly boring policy focused speech that seems optimistic. i think he's probably still going to be very high per bolic about a lot of the things he's proud of. but on some of the other stuff it's about taking him down a notch and not in people's faces

and a little less confrontational which has been his big problem over the course of the last year. >> what you are both asking for is return to establishment politics. and in 2016 one thing we learned is establishment politics have not served the interests of the american worker well at all. >> i want government. >> well, the government last quarter century hasn't worked for american worker. hasn't protected the security and prosperity of the american worker. >> steve, his politics have not helped him. that's the problem he has. he has a good feel of economy but not able to convince the american people. he has the lowest record numbers we've ever seen. >> not small business. all-time highs. >> approval ratings he's referring to. >> all of you coming back in a moment. next on special edition of outfront is attending the speech normalizing president trump. i'm going to ask my guest boycotting tonight. and melania trump resurfacing expected to be at the capital

tonight. where has she been? supported by innovative packaging that extends the shelf life of foods and infrastructure upgrades that help us share our produce with the world. all across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov let office depot® officemax take care of you. this week all dell pcs are up to twenty five percent off! save even more when you purchase a dell monitor. and make sure you protect your investment. office depot® officemax. officedepot.com gathered here are the world's finest insurance experts. rodney -- mastermind of discounts like safe driver, paperless. the list goes on. how about a discount for long lists? gold. mara, you save our customers hundreds for switching almost effortlessly. it's a gift. and jamie. -present. -together we are unstoppable.

so, what are we gonna do? ♪ insurance. that's kind of what we do here.

well come back to our special edition of outfront. tonight a record number of law make tears boycotting president trump state of the union. another congressman adding to the list. so now 14 members of congress. all democrats saying they are staying home in protest of trump's policies and offensive language. that is the most ever. only year that comes close was 1971. that time 12 members of the congressional block caucus

skipped president nixon address after he refused to meet with them. not attending my guest jan is here on outfront tonight. thank you for joining us. you are the chief deputy work. nancy pelosi is not boycotting. she will be there. what did she say? >> i didn't discuss it with anyone. this is my discussion. because the president has subjected americans for the whole year to the most racist and divisive kind of language and actions and i just felt that i cannot accept this as the new normal. i cannot help to normalize this president that i don't think is fit to be the president of the united states. >> so former white house adviser david axle axelrod tweeted said

not agree with it. the fact this this doesn't mean others should follow. do you worry about that, that you could be denigrating the office of the presidency by not attending? >> i think the one denigrated the office of presidency the most is donald trump the president of the united states. and i believe the way that he has divided the country, the way he has recklessly talked about the use of nuclear annihilation, the way that he has name called. given people names. he is a bully. he's mean. and he doesn't respect the institutions. he's made fun of the fbi. he's gone after judges. i just think that to normalize this president is wrong. >> so your fellow female democrats who are attending, some of them are, are wearing black tonight. you are wearing yours as well. >> yes. >> to acknowledge the me too movement.

some of them are bringing guests. i wonder if you debated staying and bringing a guests. maybe one of the president as accusers, something like that where you would get a lot of visibility and a voice there in that room instead of staying out. >> well, first of all, at the podium will be a sexual predator, let's be honest about it. when we talk about the times up or the me too movement, why doesn't donald trump get talked about more than we do? and that's one of the reasons. i just feel that i can't be there. he'll walk down the center aisle and he'll be slapping people on the back and people will be cheering and standing. i just felt in my heart that i could not be part of that. >> your colleague congressman sedrick richmond is attending. and he will be among the congressional black caucus members ho says are, quote, staring racism in the face. angina couple are not attending. he says he is because he wants

to stare racism in the face. does that make you reconsider? >> no. it's not it's not a matter -- for me it felt wrong. this president, he's the one that has delegitimated the presidency. that he has tried to delegitimate millions of americans insulting them quite directly. immigrants and people of color. and jews. like myself, saying that the nazi rally and white supreme cysupremeist, they were fine people there has well. who knows what he's going to tweet at midnight when he gets home? who knows what he's going to say tomorrow? tonight if he's going to read off the teleprompter, it's going to be about unity and about we are all going to get along. no, that's not what we hear and see from this president. >> all right. well, thank you very much, congressman, i appreciate your

time tonight. >> thank you. >> and next on the special edition of outfront, we are awaiting for president trump now to arrive at the capital. he's going to come through there preparing to give state of the union speech, and melania trump is expected to attend her husband's speech after forcing her husband to go it alone in davos. manatees in novelty ts? surprising. what's "come at me bro?" it's something you say to a friend. what's not surprising? how much money matt saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. i'm the one clocking in when you're clocking out. sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable.

i can also help with this. does your bed do that? oh. i don't actually talk. though i'm smart enough to. i'm the new sleep number 360 smart bed. let's meet at a sleep number store. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. whhe's happy.im? your family's finally eating vegetables thanks to our birds eye voila skillet meals. and they only take 15 minutes to make. augh!

(family giggling) oh my. birds eye voila! so veggie good. money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. and butch.aura. and tank. and tiny. and this is laura's mobile dog grooming palace. laura can clean up a retriever that rolled in foxtails, but she's not much on "articles of organization." articles of what? so, she turned to legalzoom. they helped me out. she means we helped with her llc, trademark, and a lot of other legal stuff that's a part of running a business. so laura can get back to the dogs. would you sit still?

this is laura's mobile dog grooming palace and this is where life meets legal. successful people have onthey read more.on. how do they find the time? with audible. audible has the world's largest selection of audiobooks. for just $14.95 a month, you get a credit-good for any audiobook. and you can roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. audible members get free, no-hassle exchanges... ...and use the mobile app to listen anytime, anywhere. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. listening, is the new reading. text "audio 5" to five hundred five hundred to start listening today. thisreally passionate about- i really want to help. i was on my way out of this life. there are patients out there that don't have a lot of time. finally, it was like the sun rose again and i was going to start fighting back now. when those patients come to me and say, "you saved my life...." my life was saved by a two week old targeted therapy drug.

that's what really drives me to- to save lives. . breaking news, the president of the united states moments away from leaving the white house to deliver his first state of the union address. the president is expected in the address to reverse president obama's executive order to close guantanamo bay. dana bash is out live. >> reporter: as you said, our colleagues were first told about the fact that the white house was making calls here to capitol hill to their fellow republicans warning or giving a heads up i should say that the president is in fact going to announce here at his state of the union address that he is going to sign an executive order that will officially formally reverse

president obama's executive order that was to close guantanamo bay. this is something the president campaigned on. it is something that is expected. the fact that he is going to do it in this formal setting is note worthy. i can tell you a little more than an hour before the speech, something being buzzed about by republicans i talked to. >> as you get ready for the arrivals the question will be melania trump and how she arrives. she will be seen publicly since repor reports the -- >> reporter: well they even had to be asked, our colleague asked and yes, she will be attending.

that is usually not a question that has to be asked of the first lady's office. the atmospheric around the first lady and the president is not what we have normally seen particularly in the last several weeks. the first lady is having a reception on her own tonight in the white house for the 15 or so invited guests that she will have in the first lady's box here tonight at the state of the union and she will clearly be in the hall, in the first lady's box. we won't see her tonight physically with the president and we haven't in several weeks. >> dana, thank you very much and our panel back with me. let me start with you jen, as dana points out, expected yet being buzzed about this hour saying he is going to do this. this is it. this is something president obama had failed to complete but

was one of his core campaign promises he signed. >> we significantly reduced the population in gaut tan mobay. it will be interesting to see how trump explains this. and how his national security team feels about it. this has been significantly across both party lines. we couldn't do it because of legal barriers. something, david, you would imagine, h.r. mcmaster knew a lot about. >> what is a surprise to me, this is a moment when the president has a maximum opportunity to persuade people about his big ideas, and the two

things he needs to persuade people on is the economy is going really well. and the second thing is infrastructure and that is a major, major, you know, aim of his. and he has -- this is a distraction getting into gaun tan moin the middle of the speech. >> we also have this breaking news from the washington post. senior officials have urged chief of staff not to release that memo, that partisan gop memo. their reason it could do damage and it is not accurate. and yet all indications are that the president will release this memo. >> having not actually seen it myself yet, it will be interesting to see what happens through this inner agency

process. the post is reporting that kelly pointed the justice officials back to the process the way in which they can voice the concerns. and also said that the president wants this released. not knowing what is in it. and also not caring a whole lot about some of the concerns that his own justice department are raising about the classified information underlying this report. this is the president's justice department, these are the people that he has appointed who are trying to pull him back on this. >> and they are saying it could do damage and it is not accurate. let's just make this loud and clear. it is the only piece of record the american public is going to see. they are not going to see the underlying classified information. they are only going to see one

thing. and a lot of people are going to believe it. >> we are talking a lot of things if he release the memo which he has the authority to do, that is going to be unpresidential. if his justice department is telling him this is going to mislead the american people about the use of surveillance, an issue of our privacy, our fourth amendment right, if they are saying it and he does it anyway, that is not presidential. >> this is donald trump's favorite part. when everyone speculates about the crimes and abuses that may be contained in the memo while the fbi has no chance to defend themselves or explain what is there. this is the dangerous part. >> let's not forget who is the author of this.

devin nunes who recused himself. >> if it is true. >> under lying classified information. >> and that is the argument for declassifying the information. >> and the president should. >> thank you all so very much. thanks for joining us. our special coverage continues now with "ac 360." and good evening welcome. i am anderson cooper with a special edition of "ac 360." two new bombshells in the russia investigation. arguing that robert mueller has not met the threshold needed to