interesting. we are just days away from the next hurricane season here on the island. june 1st is when that begins here. and still the government of puerto rico still does not officially, publicly have a clear understanding of who died when and why. wolf? >> leyla, thank you. that's it for me. erin burnett out front starts right now. out front next, rosanne fired. and trump's new conspiracy alleging robert mueller is meddling. good evening, everyone. out front tonight, abc pulling the plug on the comedian's show, the network's highest rated and most watched series.

a surprising turn of events coming in response to a racist tweet she put out early this morning. by late this afternoon abc called the tirade repugnant and inconsist with the network's values and canceled the show. she was also dropped by her talent agency just as quickly. as the outrage grew this morning barr said the tweet was a joke. she also deleted it and also apologized and then said she was leaving twitter. but the damage was done. her co-stars turned on her. least one consulter producer wanda sykes quit the show. in return for that vocal support the president has praised the actress, calling her on the phone, applauding her ratings and even saying at a recent rally the show was about him and his supporters. >> look at rosanne, i called her

yesterday. look at her ratings, look at her ratings. i got a call from mark burnett, he did the apprentice, he's a great guy. he said donald i called just to say hello and to tell you, did you say rosanne's rating, i said, mark, how big were they? they were unbelievable, over 18 million people and it was about us. >> now, we of course are standing by to see if the president talks about this at all. he's on his way to another rally this time in nashville. you're taking a look at it right there. so jeff, what is the white house saying about this tonight? >> reporter: kate, interestingly, as the president was flying to tennessee just a couple of hours ago white house press secretary sarah sanders was asked about this, of course, and she declined to comment. she repeatedly declined to comment when asked about various questions about this show. she says the president is focused on other matters.

the economy, the military, north korea. so she repeatedly declined to comment. but in making that decision it is in fact a choice to not comment specifically on the substance of the comments from rosanne. a bit unusual perhaps for this white house to not comment on the substance of that. so we will see this evening if the president says anything at all in the rally in tennessee. it's hard to imagine he would not. but aides i've spoken to said they simply don't know. they don't know if he's going to down this hole or not. as of now the white house is not saying anything declining comment on this. but surely the president took, you know, such pleasure in these high ratings. he watches the ratings. at some point, kate, he'll have

something to say. >> could be some point, could be very, very soon. out front now white house correspondent april ryan, former republican candidate for new york governor and a friend of donald trump's for more than 15 years, and a former white house aid keith boykin. when they want to take on a topic they're happy to do it. otherwise she's clearly trying to distract saying there are bigger thing tuesday discuss here. but do you think donald trump needs to discuss this concerning his applause of her in the past? >> it would be easy if they took the bar out of the area and. when i started watching the show not because it was considered a trump show or anying like that, i did like the fact there

was some give or take on both sides. the rest of the show, the rest of the series was basically a sitcom. i think there's a complete and double standard right now. i bob ieger is going to really hate the words he retweeted today because it doesn't share abc's values. okay, i agree with that. however, she basically said if you're a christian because she used mike pence, it's basically a mental illness. she went on and on. she called the bill clinton accuse accusers tramps. so there are many thing shes. paula dean used the n word and she was fired and all of a sudden she's on dancing with the stars. >> keith, what do you think? >> i think this is an

appropriate response from the president and sarah huckabee sanders not to say anything about it. it's not really about if there's a double standard. this is about basic decency. this is racist comment roseanne barb made, but the idea she was even hired is troubling. because there was a black woman involved channing dungy who fired her, that had to have some sort of impact and it emphasizes the importance of having diversity in the media and the workplace. this is big missed opportunity for donald trump. he should talk about it. but again he didn't talk about charlottesville until he said there were very fine people on both sides and he didn't condemn the kkk, and the waffle house

incident. >> why was this all about donald trump today? this was about roseanne bar. >> his former producer from the apprentice called this in saying look at this, look at this she's a donald trump supporter, the show is very political. the first show was very political. she and her sister can't even get along because her sister supported hillary. whatever. moving on. so here's the bottom line -- okay, whatever you think that is. but here's the thing, if the president doesn't say anything this evening, his silence will be deafening. the question is if he says something will it be appropriate or will it stir up the base? here's another thing, this president has to be mindful and

this white house. sarah huckabee sanders was absolutely correct in what she did in not saying anything because this whi house i currently working on a heart piece jared kushner has been pushing, that's prison reform minus sentencing reform and also talking about an urban agenda. the black leaders that are working with them quietly may turn on them. this is serious. and i talked to her this morning and she said i'm fine, and she was very thankful for the support. she didn't have the do anything. she did nothing. she doesn't even understand how it happened but she saw the people on twitter supporting her. abc did the right thing and it was a good day for goodness. >> hold on. let me actually play valerie after speaking to you she did speak out on all of this that's

happened. >> first of all, we have to turn it into a teaching moment. i'm fine. i'm worried about the people out there who don't have a circle of followers who come to their defense. those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day. >> what does this mean, april, for donald trump, do you think? what you just heard from valerie? >> he might listen to what valerie garret has to say, but he's going to do his own thing. this president has not corrected his stances on issues of race yet. they're walking this fine line trying to deal with urban agenda and prison reform. and they're going to do prison reform without sentencing reform. they're look fraternal friends. when it comes to the issue of race this president is going to have to stop his rhetoric and stop trying to just focus in on

that racist component. for example, just before the nfl said about how they are going to make the players are not allowed to kneel, the president brought that back up to the nascar group, people who are his base. white people who support him who are in middle america. this president is going to have to stop the rhetoric because there is a definite divide here. she did exactly what many of those in that base are doing. over the weekend people said the same thing to me about something fox news got wrong about me. so the bottom line is this has got to stop because it's ramping up and very dangerous and creating an unsafe atmosphere. >> bob, do you agree? >> this is why -- >> time out. >> no, let me just speak for people like me who find these comments disgusting, abhorrent, the worst. there's no question about it. but then a line is drawn if you

voted for trump you by proxy agree with this or if you liked the show you by proxy agree with this -- >> i didn't say that. i said there are a group of people who support those kind of things in that trump camp. don't say there are not. >> does that mean all democrats agree with lewis -- >> no, they don't. because i'm black do you suppose i supported barack obama? >> why are you traying ying to the subject? donald trump is supporting roseanne bar. >> there's not many conservative actors, so we only get a few and she turns out to be a dimwit. >> well, it says a lot about the conservative movement. >> no, it says a lot about hollywood and the double

standard i just talked about. >> do you think there is a double standard? >> but the president supported this. >> hold on, april. keith, do you think there's a double standard? what rob is saying is not something that i have not heard before. i hear this quite often. there's outsized outrage to -- it's not outside outrage butt because there's appropriate outrage to what you're saying when roseanne said. >> you remember jemele hill but also -- >> maybe the point is it's piece by piece -- >> i'm not even saying that. i'm saying rob's point doesn't make sense. jemele hill was fired for her job and she's an african-american woman. i don't think you can say abc is

just picking on trump supporters. that's not true. but a problem is there is an inconsistency. what we should be concerned with the consistency that comes from the white house and the president. this is white house that would not apologize for saying offensive things about john mccain dying and apologizing for five and a half years about lying about where -- demands apologies whenever a liberal says something they don't like. whenever someone is speaking truth to power and someone is powerful and speg against someone who does not have power, black people in this country do not have power. so the idea of the president of the united states or the president's friend who are saying things that are kit cr critical about black people, calling black people an ape, that's something the president

should condemn. >> but when the president very often enjoys entering into -- it's a cultural conversation, standing or kneeling at a football game, talking about ratings, whatever, he opens himself up to when you applaud a tv star and that tv star says a bunch of racist stuff, why not take the opportunity and call it out? >> like joy bayhar when she said things about mike pence -- >> mike pence is the vice president of the united states. he's not threatened by joy bayhar. >> focus. come on back. let's bring you back. >> rob, this is -- do you see it as an opportunity tonight? do you see it as a missed opportunity that sarah sanders didn't call it out this evening? >> i think it was a missed

opportunity. it's a layup. just repudiate these stupid comments. they're not defendable. they're not. >> but the reason she didn't i think april got it right because she doesn't really know what donald trump is going to say the next hour when he speaks in tennessee. he's probably going to say something crazy in defense of her and it's because donald trump keeps raising these stupid cultural issues and forcing us to talk about it. >> if we go back to last august in charlottesville, if we go to last august in charlottesville, this president does not get the issue of race right. he did it at least five or six times. when he was in front of a teleprompter we were like the nation is okay. but when he started speaking extemporaneously we were like what in the world? this president has not -- he has

ar archie bunker moments when he thinks he's okay. we are still trying to form a more perfect union, but there is a divide on matters of race. and this president is the moral leader. he has supported roseanne, and if he says something tonight i pray there is a script. >> thank you so much. everyone stay tuned. out front next, more on our breaking news. is rosanne bar's sudden firing, it is a sign of a major cultural shift, though? plus we're learning what took place hours before abc fired roseanne bar and the show. 't act an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances.

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minimize its mark on you. get started at botoxcosmetic.com. minimize its mark on you. i think, keep going, and make a difference. at some point, we are going to be able to beat als. because life is amazing. so i am hoping for a cure. i want this, to uh, to be a reality. um, yeah. red lobster's lobster & shrimp hesummerfest is back!h. get all the lobster and shrimp you crave, together in so many new ways.

there's new cedar plank seafood bake. tender maine lobster and shrimp, cedar roasted to perfection. or new caribbean lobster and shrimp. sweet pineapple salsa on grilled rock lobster, paired with jumbo coconut shrimp. and wait. there's lobster & shrimp overboard! it's a seafood party on a plate. so hurry in. 'cause lobster & shrimp summerfest won't last. breaking news, you're looking at live pictures out of tennessee. moments away from seeing president trump. he is about to speak at that rally. it could be the first time the first comments coming from the president about abc canceling roseanne barr's show over offensive tweets. it's a show president trump has praised in the past saying the show was about his supporters and him. but earlier today press secretary sarah sanders wouldn't comment about the comments on twitter.

and out front tonight don lemon and michelle turner. >> roseanne barr is a biggestot racist. it is racist behavior, and she's exhibited it for a while. anti-semitic behavior, homophobic behavior on and on and why does she continue to get these opportunities? that doesn't happen for a lot of people, especially for people of color. so why does roseanne continue to get opportunity after another opportunity when she has exhibited racist behavior? but the bigger picture and this is about every day racism, the

normalizing of every day racism and bigotry and hatred and conspiracy theories. at this president does that, roseanne repeats it, a she promotes it as well. 'r the same thing. let's not forget this start said as a conspiracy theory, some of the same conspiracy theories that people in support of this president also promote and believe themselves. so it's all connected. it's about roseanne but also about a bigger picture. >> and roseanne show, the show was huge. and in march roseanne was a known commodity. it's not like this popped out of nowhere what she said on twitter. i think they even made jokes about it during her up front on twitter feed. but back in march she said she hoped the show's return would return in her words civil conversation. listen to this. >> i really hope it opens up

civil conversation between people instead of just mudslinging. i really do because i think we needs to be more civilized than that. >> practice what you preach, roseanne. >> she had a real opportunity with this show, with huge viewership, and come on. >> she did have a real opportunity. and like you said the show debuted to 18 million viewers. president trump loves to say that number. and it did fall off a little bit to average around 10 million viewers which is still a lot of people watching network television in this time and space when there's so many choices. and the show did spark conversation. i'm from rural missouri. there were a lot of thingso on the show i recognize said within my family, questions about jobs, foreclosures, what do we do here? why did i go this way and vote for trump? all of those conversations are being had. so that was relevant, and it was good for abc to go after that

audience. when you talk about diversity and being inclusive then you do have to do it all. right, left, black, white, rich, poor, all of it. so it was a good idea for them to go after it. was it a good idea for them to embrace her, obviously they were saying no in this day and age. but it's just a very interesting -- john made -- i'm sorry, don, made an interesting point it's symptomatic of a larger issue and a larger problem in america today. >> and listen, i think michelle is right. a lot of people who watch this show believe that they are not heard, that it's a forgotten man. that's what we heard the entire election this is about an economic society, a forgotten man even though every single poll, every single study shows it's about race. i'm just telling the truth. this is what the facts show. so if you believe you are the forgotten man and woman, then

when i -- i want to bring it back to the forgotten man and woman when the comes to the people who are victims of racism. those are the forgotten men and women as well. roseanne will be fine. roseanne has millions of dollars to cry on. she will be completely fine. but the every day racism, the things that have happen every day, the people who -- in jobs they don't get promoted, they don't get respected, they have lack of opportunity when the comes to housing, when it comes to jobs and on and on. and as valvy said, the person who walks down the street and grabs her purse. you want those folks to be heard and the people unheard as well. the people whose ancestors came over on slave ships and never got the opportunity for an education or to build wealth. >> roseanne is a known

commodity. donald trump is a known commodity as well. disparaging remarks, racist. before the election before he was a candidate and after the election, do you think it is wrong -- i want to get you both on this, don, for folks who -- because i just heard it from rob astorino, what roseanne said is absolutely horrific, don't connect to it to the president, though, that's a step too far. >> i do believe that in theory. it did not come out of the president's mouth. if you're just taking this in theory, then, no, don't connect it to the president. but because we know the president embraced roseanne, and they have a relationship, they have a friendship, they talk. she's a supporter, i think it's hard not to liken those two and

go back to that. and when he's saying 18 million people, that is us, he is believing inclusive that. and she didn't say no, no, let's not equate us together, she said i did talk to him, he's a great guy. abc took a gamble here. it's a gamble that did not pay off. they knew they were in risky territory. just a couple of weeks ago in upfront listen, we're going to put the politicsaside. and it was politics that got the show canceled. >> you can't say there are fine people on both sides. you cannot say racist things, encourage people to get punched at your rallies -- >> but, don, you can, though, he

did. >> and he does. >> i'm talking about the folks who are saying this has nothing to do with the president. you cannot say that and have him say and do and exhibit all the behaviors he exhibits and all of a sudden you want to be disconnected from it. it doesn't work that way. logic does not work that way. this is, again, the normalization of conspiracy theories and racism. and we cannot allow that to happen. it is hurting the fabric of american society. people who are racist don't know they're racist. or they say that they believe that people are going to believe they're not racist simply because they say it is. i think we need a crash course in exactly what racism is. and again this president is trafficking in it just as roseanne did. >> the starry with roseanne barr today may end with the president tonight. >> and if he says nothing it speaks volumes. because he jumped on the

roseanne bandwagon. he should be saying something tonight. he should be denouncing it and saying you know what, i need do do better as the leader of the country. abc calling roseanne barr's tweet racist and repugnant. plus president trump now accusing robert mueller of medsling in the november mid-terms already. what's behind his newest conspiracy theory. coppertone sport. proven to protect street skaters and freestylers. stops up to 97% uv. lasts through heat. through sweat. coppertone. proven to protect.

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star roseanne barr tweeted a racist remark about former obama aide valery jarrett. so how exactly did this all go down today? brian, this has been an extraordinary change of events today. how did it all go down? >> i've never seen anything like this. disney executives woke up early in the morning to these racist and anti-temtic tweets by roseanne barr. there were some quick phone calls and e-mails exchanged between disney and abc executives. and pretty quickly there was in the words of one source, this was unsurvivable. one of the questions disney executives asked themselves is what happens if she does stay on the air, well, advertisers would likely shun the program, and even had some cast members, some colleagues of barr's call up

their agents and say i'm not sure i want to be part of the show. i'm told now at abc there's a sense of pride in how this was handled. there is, however, that question of why the show was ordered in the first place, why the company got back in business with barr in the first place. >> a tweet that happened off camera and not having to do with the show leading to the cancellation of the show, especially a top rated show. >> that's why it's absolutely head spinning in hollywood. tllz n there is not a pres dependent for this. partly speaks to twitter and how race is at the forefront and how corporate america wants to be seen as being on the right side of history and not falling behind. and not just abc today, hulu, paramount were bogue rerunning episodes. not today.

>> i want to bring in right now steven, he covers the business of entertainment for "the washington post." he's joining us now by phone. steven, does this move by abc surprise you? >> well, kate, i think anytime hollywood does something that is probably the right thing is a little bit surprising. so in that regard, yes, it was a little bit surprising. and certainly the speed in which it happens is right on target. the speed in which it happened that's something i think took a lot of us in this industry probably by surprise. the caveat i would throw into this not just they got into business with her in the first place as you pointed out, but abc kind of went a bit both ways on roseanne for a while. this is show that's had incredible viewership success. i don't think a single episode this season dropped below 10 million which is unheard for a network show in this day and age. and i think a lot of that is

roseanne was constantly in the news generating free publicity because of her outrageous tweets. obviously this went too far. but to say they did the right thing i think is accurate. but to some people i think they might have done it a little too late. >> we haven't heard from roseanne barr. >> that's right. not since this morning since she apologized to valerie jarrett. i was told she was working on a statement today. she was working on a statement of contrition. there was i suspect a pretty awkward conversation that had to happen by phone. she knew ahead of time the show was getting canceled but her colleagues didn't. i do think abc executives were hoping the reward outweighed the risk. bringing her back, bringing the

show back there would be a huge cultural award, she would tone down her tweets, drop the conspiracy theories. and she was unable to do that. and that's not just roseanne. in this case it's pro-trump, anti-obama stuff. that's not going away just because roseanne is going off the air. >> out front for us next we have breaking news on president trump's north korea summit. the white house says they will be prepared for a sit down but only if kim jong-un agrees to a crucial detail. plus president trump is pushing a new conspiracy theory saying spec counsel robert mueller will interfere in the november election and that's sparking outrage tonight. like those from buddy. because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. feel the clarity. and live claritin clear.

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president trump is ready to meet with north korea's kim jong-un on june 1t2th. and according to press secretary sarah sanders she thinks the discussions are going well. and that's five days since president trump canceled that very same meeting. and confirming tonight that mike pompeo will meet a former top spy in north korea in pyeongyang this week. he'll be the senior north korean official to visit the u.s. since 2000. he's kim jong-un's right-hand

man and linged to tked to the 2 hack. >> it seems like the way things have been going in this compressed period of time with sort of the lower level meetings happening at the same time as the higher level meetings this seems like the last step before both sides say -- if they're going to say it -- if they are indeed ready for a summit. they're going to be meeting for not very long a time. from our knowledge kim young-chul doesn't get in into tomorrow night. unclear when these meetings are going to take place, who exactly is going to be involved, how long they'll be. but plans could always change, too. it's clear to us that talks have always gone well in the talks that happen in north korea, in the demilitarized zone. it something that was holding

that up or went poorly you can be sure kim yung-chul wouldn't currentby be on his way to new york city. what the u.s. is looking for at the summit between trump and kim if it does happen is some big gesture from the north korean. they're not looking for this to just be a handshake. they want to see the north koreans actually do something, and that could be something like making an absolute commitment or signing on the line to get rid of some of their nuclear weapons immediately, kate. >> fascinating. michelle, thanks so. out front with me now former bureau sheaf for the associated press. the white house saying the summit really is possible. could they be ready for the meeting by then? >> two weeks is not a long of time. normally a historic summit like this would take months if not years of preparation at lower levels.

if there's anything that we've seen in the past couple of days the south korean leader and north korean leader showed they can do it, they can hold a summit in a matter of hours, and we're seeing so much political will for it. we're going to have those meetings in new york, in the dmz and local meetings in singapore. whether or not they're prepared or as prere we would like for them to be i think they're going to push forward with this as much as they can. >> and as michelle was reporting the white house is looking for a big gesture if they get to the table. what do you think that gesture could be? >> i think it's possible kim yung-chul representing him in these meetings with high level officials may be coming with a high level proposal, maybe an

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♪ big jim, he's got you covered ♪ ♪ great big jim, there ain't no other ♪ -so, this is covered, right? -yes, ma'am. take care of it for you right now. giddyup! hi! this is jamie. we need some help. tonight the art of the conspiracy theorist. president trump now claiming mueller not russia will be meddling in the mid-term elections. yet again without evidence. tweeting this, the 13 angry democrats plus people who worked eight years for obama working on the rigged russia witch hunt will be meddling with the mid-term elections. especially now that republicans, stay strong, stay tough, i mean, are taking the lead in the polls. there was no collusion except by the democrats. this is one of 14 times in the past four days the president has tweeted an attack of it russia

investigation. the reason he sent this latest flurry of tweets may be because the more he says it, the more he hears an echo. >> everybody sees it now and it is a pure witch hunt. right now it is a witch hunt. >> well, it is a witch hunt. the one kwleer anniversary of this witch hunt and so far the special counsel has not provided a single shred of evidence of collusion. >> it has been from the beginning a witch hunt to keep its hold on power. >> and the trump team admitted this weekend they think it's working. >> of course we have to do it in defending the president. we're defending -- to a large extent, remember, dana, we're defending here it is because of public opinion. because eventually the decision here is going to be itmpeach, nt patrick, between friday and

this morning, 14 tweets. it is rigged. it is a witch hunt. no matter if it is true or not true. fact or fiction when there is still no proof, should anyone think he will be letting up regardless of the backlash? >> no. this is his midterm election strategy. energy and enthusiasm and compelling candidates and messaging for the midterm elections looking at the white house and seeing there is no karl rove, no great republican brain there running politics in the midterm. they seem to be settling on this strategy, to run guest the mueller investigation. using words consciously like meddling. >> no one else is throwing out meddling. >> exactly.

and he is going for. audacious is on old word where trump is concerned. but he is willing to do anything on political strategy. the republicans have been frustrated that they haven't had a political strategy and the reality is if they get the mueller report and ultimately becomes a question of impeachment in the fall because mueller as we know is not going to indict president trump and it becomes an impeachment question, the republicans can run on that if they say this has been a witch hunt and this has been meddling and now it is about voting our president out of office. that is a message that can energize the base. >> messaging might be the whole ball game. let me play more on what rudy giuliani said listen to this. >> we are defending to a large extent, remember, we are

defending here, it is for public opinion, because eventually, the decision is going to be impeach, and not impeach. informed by their constituents. >> i think this is an important admission from team trump. is he right? the only thing that matters is public opinion? >> well, kate, i agree it is a telling admission. i think it is a rare moment of very frank honesty from the trump team and what they are betting on is that mueller won't indict the president. it is an open legal question whether a sitting president could be indicted. most scholars think that mueller won't do that. legal thinkers believe that because the justice department had a position for a while that is a sitting president can't be

indicted. the jurors are republican senators. the issue is that in a real courtroom, you would have a guardian of the truth and a judge that would not allow you to make up falsehoods. what we have here is a jury of sorts to not be influenced by false hoods. >> remarkable moment we are in. including this. another false hood promoted by the president. he falsely accused the new york times of making up a source. the senior white house official does exist and did speak to the new york times. sarah sanders explained it this way, obviously the president

knows his team but something in their story was completely out of context and wasn't that official said. >> we have sarah sanders now confirming that there was a source. so the president is wrong on that whether he was lying outright or he cexpressing a falsehood. >> a ridiculous thing to try to explain away. >> we know now, it is not a great deal of forethought or evidence based tweeting that going on here. several days later, they have come out and admitted that there was an official who was giving this briefing to a large am oun of team and saying june 12th is ten minutes away regarding the summit. and everybody knows what that kind of comment will be and they

can spin it however they want. there was a source. the president was wrong in it. and the white house it is -- >> you watch and wait. let me ask you this. patrick healy can speak out. the reporters of the new york times can speak out. are investigators paying attention to what the president tweets. i mean, do they take that in? >> no question. yeah, no question. you know, when i was a federal prosecutor, i would pay attention. i handled cases that were discussed in the press and i would pay attention to that. i have had times where the defense team would attack me personally and you pay aention to it. what is unusual her is look, when an investigation i ongoing before there is an indictment, prosecutors do not speak, that

is typically how they separatop. they don't say anything until there is an indictment. but the people on the other side do not want to piss off the prosecutor. they have already concluded that mueller is not going to indict. and they don't care about convincing mueller. they are going to the jury, so to speak as giuliani mentioned a minute ago, to the con stitchst. >> getting breaking news that -- russian investigation, to meet with trump. according to the times, trump raided sessions and told him he should reverse his position.

and session refused. and the confrontation is being investigated by special counsel mueller. that is fascinating. >> yes. how furious donald trump was about jeff session. >> and to openly discuss it. >> and then basically spending months torturing the guy. this is great reporting and it goes to how president trump was very much trying to use whatever word you want, but at least very much like influence or strong arm his on attorney general into not recusing himself to the point that he knew what would be coming down the line to the possibility of a special counsel getting appointed. i am offering analysis there, but that is him going to sessions. >> what do you make of that? why is this of interest to

mueller? >> for me, it is fairly straightforward. here you have the president making a big deal and pressing the attorney general in what is a routine decision for a justice department attorney which is when there is a potential conflict of interest you recuse himself. and the president saying i need you in there to protect me. it indicates he is intensely interested in the investigation and it also indicates an intent to interfere with the investigation. and remember, if he is going to prove obstruction of justice which i suspect right now is chief among giuliani's concerns, he is going to need to show that corrupt intent. an intent to corrupt the investigation and this is evidence of that. >> it raises so many questions so many more questions patrick. because sessions recusing himself, it was like the one, it

seemed pretty transparent, out there, recused himself immediately. and trump berating him and kind of holding his feet to the fire and you know, poor jeff sessions. that was really well-known, and this is an interesting take on this. >> it reminds me of the comey loyalty oath that president trump tried to give comey to give and back off the michael flynn investigation. both people he inherited and jeff sessions, someone who appointed himself. but it is interesting, kate, this whole story line, we leard things overtime and nuggets that don't come out. this is something that i imagine the trump team never wanted to get out. the notion that the president wanted to influence the top justice official.

>> what question does this raise for you? right quick. >> it suggests to me that mueller is going to present this to the senate for impeachment. >> wow. thank you very much. thank you for joining me. ac 360 starts now. good evening, the second most watched show on prime time television will not be seen at its regularly scheduled time tonight or ever begin. abc canceled the roseanne barr. you have the star of a show seen my millions every week and 18 million calling an african american the offspring of an ape. she claimed she was joking and