captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: security check. revelations that president trump ordered his son-in-law, jared kushner, be given top-seet clearance over objections from the white house chief of staff and u.s. intelligence. then, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks are here to analyze michael cohen's testimony, and what the failed nuclear summit means for the u.s. and north korea. plus, actors ethan hawke and paul dano on their roles in the broadway revival of sam, shepard's plrue west." ep sam shepard is unbelievably funny, and he's a spiritual man. and 's got a profound sensibility about america, and it's not knee-jerk macho. it's many, many things.

>> woodruff: all that and more, r.on tonight's pbs newshou >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> text night and day. replay. it >> burning some fat. >> sharing the latest viral cat! >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plane

gned for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tvbe >> b a language program that teaches spanish, french, german, m italian, andore. >> american cruise lines. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwid >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.on and byibutions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thanyou.

>> woodruff: president trump is facing new criticism today amid revelations he demandehis former chief of staff john kelly give his son-in-law jared kushner a top-secret security clearance. it was first reported by the "new york times." mr. trump has previously insisted he played no role. top house democrats have vowedti to ce investigating the white house security clearance process. we will take a closer look at what is at stake, after the news summary. the parents of otto warmbier rebuked president trump today for not holding north korea's leader kim jong-un responsible for their son's death. the detained stuthnt returned to u.s. in a coma before passing away in 2017. sthis week, president trud he took kim "at hiknword" for noing about warmbier's mistreatment. today, fred and cindy warmbier issued a statement saying, "kim and his evil regime are

responsible for the de our son, otto. no excuses or lavish praise can change that." later, president trump tweeted,l "of course inorth korea responsible." pakistan released a captured indian pilot today. the move was billed as a "peace gesture," after tensions flared between the two countries over the disput kashmir region. armed escorts walked the pilot across the pakistani border back into india before he was whisked away for a medical examination. crowds of people celebrated his return. the u.s. treasury department has announced a new round of sanctions against the maduro regime in venezuela. they target six top members of the venezuelan security forces responsible for blocking humanitarian aid deliveries. the u.s. recognizes oppositionad juan guaido as venezuela's rightful president. at the state department,ci u.s. s envoy elliot abramson

responded torns that guaido's support might be fading. >> i'm not concerned about lossu of momthat some people allege. what underlies all of this is not anything the united states is doing. what underlies it is the desire of the venezuelan people tom escape fe conditions of dictatorship and economic misery they are suffering, that has not diminished. d >> woodrufing a visit to paraguay today, guaido announced that 600 members of theve zuelan military have now abandoned maduro's government. ie u.s. department of sta offering a $1 million bounty for information leading to the capture of osama bin laden's son, hamza. he is beeved to be the new leader of al qaeda. hamza bin laden has called for acts of terrorism in western capitals and threatened revenge

for his father's death in 2011. the government of saudi arabia also announced it is stripping bin laden of his citizenship. a deadly siege by al shabab militants in somalia's capital has ended with all of the attackers killed. 29 civilians also died. somali forces battled the extremists overnight to dislodge them from a building in mogadishu, after the militants bombed a nearby hotel. meanwhile, the u.s. military announced its latest air strike on central somalia killed 26rs al shabab figh washington state governor jay inslee announcedinoday he is rufor president, joining a growing democratic field. the foer congressman led the democratic governor's association in 2018 when the party flippeseven gubernatorial seats. inslee told supporte in seattle that combating climate change will be the centerpiece of his campaign. >> because i believe in our ability to rise to any

challenge. this we know, we are the first generation to feel the sting of tclimate change, and we a last generation who can do someing about it. >> woodruff: inslee is the 13th democrat to launch a presidential bid. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo today pledged to defend philippine forces should they come under attack in the south china sea. it was the first such public assurance from the u.s. pompeo met with president rodrigo duterte in manila, and reaffirmed the allies' 1951 mutual defense code. tensions are high in the international waters, which china claims as its territory. the u.s. insists that it has freedom of navigation. the canadian government today formally gave the green light to start extradition hearings for huawei executive meng wanzhou.ac meng fraud charges in the u.s.

she was arrested in vancouver in december. y the chinese telecom comp accused of stealing trade secrets and violoning u.s. sancon iran. meng has maintained her innocence. and, stocks closed higher on wall street toda amid optimism at the u.s. could reach a trade deal with china. the dow nes industrial average gained 110 points to close at 26,026. the nasdaq rose nearly 63 points, and the s&p 500 added 19. still to come on the newshour: reports that president trump rejected concerns fr intelligence officials and his own legal team to grant his son- in-law top-secret securi clearance. an alarming look at the future of climate change in a new book, "the uninhabitable earth." mark shields and david brooks examine cohen's testimony, the failed nuclear summit, and much

more. >> woodruff: now, the latest controversy at the white house revolves around family, contradicting statements, ignored concerns and national security. the president was silent today amid new revelations about ar. trusted advi the "new york times" and the oashington post" reported today that president truered that his son-in-law, jared kushner, get a top-sec security clearance, despite ceoferns from his own chief staff and intellig officials. that contradicts what president trump told the "times" in january, and what his daughter ivanka told abc last month. >> the president had nolv inent pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance. zero. >> woodruff: today, white house counselor kellyanne conway defended the president on "fox news." >> the president has the absolute right to do what was described. >> woodruff: kushner had a

temporary security clearanceor more than a year, as his background check hit delays. some white house officials expressed concerns over his past business dealings. during the transition after the election in 2016, kushner sought investments from chinese, russian and qatari entities. his family's company had amassed more than a billion dollars in debt on a development in new york. he divested himself after he joined the white house. w >> t that good legislation should be made in washington is when everyone's at the table.>> oodruff: since joining the administration, kushner hasn take a wide portfolio ranging from criminal justice reform to middle east peace. t juee days ago, kushner met with saudi crown prince hammed bin salman, suspe of involvement in the murder of a journalist. he's also met with israeli prime mister benjamin netanyahu, with whom his family has ties.to

kushner has hapdate his federal disclosure forms at least 40 times to include contacts with foren officials. last year, the "washington post" reported foreign officials from four countries had discussed using kushner's foreign and business ties to manipulate him. today, a spokesman for kushner's lawyer said,the clearance was handled in the regular processo withessure from anyone." but investigations into kushner's security clearance and the president's actions are underway. house ovsight committee chair elijah cummings has threatened to subpoena white use documents about clearance protocols if they are not submitted by monday. so, what is it about kushner and his family's business at have raised questions, as far back as during the 2016 campaign? caleb melby is part of the reporting team at bloomberg news keeping track of the business and its workings.

cable cable, welcome to the "newshour". so we know the kushner familybe ha involved in real estate and reements development well before donald trump started tell us what that business was, where was it. >> right. long before the campaign, this was a real estate family that had grown u doing apartments in new jersey, in maryland, but right around right before the financial crisis, they made a big move into new york and ton manhatd what that meant was they spent a record-breaking $1.8 billion on one particular office building, 66 5th avenue in new york, then market tad and they were sitting on building absolutely drowning in thbt, and that was a problem they kicked dowroad for years and years, and it really started to come to a heathduring campaign. >> woodruff: so this all happened, as you said, yers before donald trump started

running for president. why did it become an issue? did the debt keep building, putting them in a vulnerable position? how did that develop? >> yeah. in 2011, they had an opportunity to refinance their debt, slightly more generous terms to y to help em turn things around. but they failed and, as tru started running for president, they decided to go for a a moon-shot plad they wanted to knock their building down and build another twice as talin its place, and there weren't too many invtors here in the u.s. who would even look at a plan like that, and that meant thwoey d have to go oversees. real will you, the place they saw the most interest was china, and they talked to a company there and were close to putting together a deal to save their building before the debt was due in february of this yea actually, but that fell through. they had talks with qataris, with saudis, with a french billionaire, with aorean

sovereign wealth fund. they likely went all over the globe looking for someone to help them save this bulding. >> woodruff: and as you reported, cabl caleb melatby, as going on as donald trump was becoming president.ut >> absy. jarred and his family were havi with the chinese firm. after that fell through anded jared enthe white house, his father, other members of his family and company continued to have conversations with qatari ficials both to have the sovereign wealth fund in that couny and also other private businesses there as well. those conversations basically led up to the tme when qatar's neighbors, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates, led a blockade of qatar which trump and the ainistration supported, which everybody thought was odd because qatar is historically a u.s. ally. >> woodruff: so what all this adds up to it would have

presented a real potential conflict of interest for jared kushner. >> we see his family having conversations with sovereign entities at the same time he and his broad mandate for oversoutheast seas policy is making decisions. >> woodruff: we're not told what was holding up the seeacury nce, but we can assume that this had the something serious -- that there wa something about that was related to that. >> certainly, there ar questions outstanding about that business deal. even right now, as wge're try to figure out exactly how hat security clearance came to be. we don't know what was discussed in those meetings between, say, jarred's father and the qataris or between jared and the chinese firm as the president was coming to power either.

when we talk about conflict of interest, we're talking about parallel private business interests and public decision cn mcing opportunities. >> woodruff: jared kushner is taking on the port follow, meeting with the saudis and qataris and question marks about where interests lie. >> absolutely. having him vit mohamed bin salman right now to get evybody on board fo his middle east peace plan, that's somedy he's developed a close relationship with and somebody who also has control or a sovereign wealth fund, the saudi public inestment fund. >> woodruff: a lot of questions about this and we'll continue to ask theand appreciate your reporting. caleb melby with bloomberg ws, ank you. >> thanks f

>> woodruff: climate change continues to grow as a political issue america. just today, washington's governor, democrat jay inslee, announced he's running for president and will make climater change a c campaign theme. this comes after democrats in the house recently put forward their own aggressive plan. but william brangham talks with the author of an alarming new w boch argues that we're barely acknowledging the severity of this crisis. >> brangham: "it is worse, much worse, than you think." that david wallace-wells' terrifying new book about climate change.'s alled "the uninhabitable earth: life after warming."al in it,ce-wells marshalls the latest scientific research which, he argues, points to one un-impeachable fact: that our use of fossil fuels-- which admittedly has powered so much prosperity and growth across the world-- is now the single

greatest threat to our survival. one that he says, "has brought us to the brink a never- ending climate catastrophe." david wallace-wells is a fellow at the new america foundation, and a columnist and editor at "new york" magazine. welcome. >> thank you. >> reporter: i have to admit, i haven't been b alarma book as yours. we posted the first chapter of yourook on the web soot. i would encourage people to read oit to get a sen your argument. but help us understand what deem n't appreciate about the severity of this problem. >> the first thing is speed. we long th cougmate change was happening very slowly, that it was unfolding fastest at a decade time more ke centuries and we didn't have to worry about it in our lives, may our children's lives but was something to worry abt for the grandchildren. half the emissns we've put in the saturdays fear we've done it

in the last 30 ars, s the speed is overwhelming. and if we lived off the coasts, we often thought it was a matter of seaevel rie and we would be safe, we could live inland, it would be okay. eth an all encompassg threat, much beggar than sea level rise, impacts the economy which could be 30% loer than without climate change by the end to have the sendcally, could impact health, twirce trade wty by the end of the century. that's the scope. theeverity, scientists talked about 2 degrees celsiuss the threshold of catastrophe. we're on track to feet to 3-4 degrees celsius by the end of the century and that's uonscionable. we're only seeing peaks so farw.

l see much more. >> reporter: 2, 3,, 4 degre the distinctions might seem trivial to people not immersed in this. 3 degrees, 4 degrees warming is potentially calamitous. >> we would have the u.n suggest as a billion climate russia investigation, as manas live in north america and south america combined, we uld have $600 trillion of climate dancing, double of the wealthi ce asests today, and tw much war. the impacts would be everywhere, not just self-, ctic melt or droughts, but there would be noh life unt. >> reporter: the natural clination is to say that's hyperbole, it won't be bad, we'll find a fix. seems like you have to grd against apathy, anihilism and complacency. your book seems to be arguing nothing would be worth talking

about if we didn't have some way to fix it. >> that's exactly how i feel, and i think when we consider the climate horrors that's possible, it's important to remember those are a mark of how much power we retain in the moment. the average person can thinkof scary scenarios, global refugees crisis, famine, drought, heat waves that kill people around the world and think it's over. but if we get to that sittion, it will be because of what we do from here on out. thing that happened in he past until a few years ago is going to affect climate goifong ard. the thing that will write the story is the actions we takefu moving into thure, and that means the climate of the future is always within our control a human species. how we manage that is complicated. there are many observe tackles ahead, but this is not something that is inevitable at all. we could avert all these disasters if we collectively decided to take action quickly. the quesion is how ckly and

>> what scale we will take action. eporter: you argued that panic is appropriate in response to this and that panic can be productive. so? >> when we think about the campaign against cigette d smokinnk driving, these are public campaigns that drew very clearly on fear and were successful as a result. the u.n. says that in order to avoid catastrophic levels of warminwe need a global mobilization at the level of world war ii. we know fromistory we didn'tfying that war out of hope or optimism, it was outf fear and alarm. i don't think fear and alarm are the only way to talk about climate, i think there are reasons for optimism. the possibility is wih the green new deal and there ar aresonss for hope. but in the bigre picthe science is teifyingev y finding sig scientists come up we've riday makes the world look bleerk and we should allow

ourselves to be alarmed and responin kind. >> reporter: with faced with news about how awful climate change sharks there is a recollection of people to say wh can i do individually. you seem to argue that individual actions are well meaninbut not enough. >> and i worry it can be a distractio w i think peop are moved to live more responsibly when it comes the carbon, i ( applause ) them, that's noacialtion but the contribution you can make as an individual, adding up all youroi lifestyle s is completely trivial to the impact you can have through politics. >> reporter:hrough voting. i do think so. the story of climate change is so large and all incom encompasg that the reaction of individuala can'ke a dent. all that can make course ce is policy action at national and international level. we have that action at our handg by globaliround pressuring

leaders to honor climate commitments and i think that's much more important than what you buy, or wear. i worry it's a littleio distra from political action. >> reporter: "the uninhabitable earth: life after h.rming," david wallace-wells. thank you very m >> thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: a new documentary details allegations of sexual abuse committed by michael jackson. plus, actors ethan hawke and paul dano on the revival of the play, "true west." it was a turbulent week in the trump administration: from hours of damning testimony from the nesident's personal lawyer, to the collapse lear talks with north korea. to help navigate the different twists and turns, shields and brsyks. that iicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks.

welcome to both of you. are you ready to navigate the twists and turns? >> just another week in rome. >> woodruff: all right, on that note, we're going to talk about michael cohen's testimony all week long. david, before the house government oversight committee, what was your main takeaway? >>e learned trump asked about the moscow building project all the way through the campaign, we learned about the $35,000 che l. rned a few things, but to me it was more of a moral occasion than anything else. >> woodruff: a moral occasion? a moral occasion. what it illustrates is a president and frankly michael cohen who long ago decide celebrity d wealth is more important than being a good person, and they've dragged us all down with us and the people who they've dralgd down most is the house republicans

who decided that their ownle er, they tinted care whether donald trump was a good or bad ty, they were going to rie skin off michael cohen, so they attacked him. what struck me is how moral corrosion happens is you decide ignore trump and to do that you have to morally distance yourself from him, and thendi moralltance yourself from him every day and eventuallyst et numb to everything. and other people on thete commsaid we all knew this, it's unremarkable. that's how moral corrosion happens. >> wodruff: how did you see it? what role did the republican questioning take when most of them went after michael cohen rather than that talking about president trump? >> they tooled the old attack ute, judy, which is i you can't argue the substance, you after the source. if you can't deal with the menlts, you shoot the mes that's what their strategy was

testimony very fact that not a single member of the reublican committee defended donald trump er what he was charged to hav alleged to have done to me was revealing. they just decided to go aftermichael cohen. michael cohen's defect are t therey're on the record. he's going to pay for them, the legal defects in particular, but there was no payoff for him to lie. the mural crowd was sitting there, the robert mueller special counsel, they know exactly what he said. if he said anything that was false or purgerred himself, he faced pros.bl so there was strong incentive for him not to lie. it reminded me of the scripture the meek will inherit the earth, and if that's case e congressional republicans will be land barons because they are

the most docile group of people when it comes to any judgment or opinion on what donald tru does. >> woodruff: david. they don't fear final judgment. i don't mean tat in the ultimate since. >> primary judgmt. the idea that you can side and sub born your cowl seoul to someone who es constantly an you won't pay for that, how does that work? michael cohen ultimately paid, donald trump will ultimately pay. st people who lie and cheat their way through life will ultimately pa why you want to rich your career to that kind of wagon is a mystery to me because that's not the way the law of the universe works. >> woodruff: the republican argument is michael cohen is a flawed character, he's lied before and a lot, why should we believe nmow? >> we come back to there was no inaccidentive and ther a strong disincentive for him to lie in his appearance under oath

on television before the world, and the world could hear what he bewas saying and it coul stacked up to what he hadd previously sd sworn to. no, and he acknowledged the fact -- i mean, you spe ten years with donald trump and it's going to come at a moral cost, i'm sorry. that is the lesson we've learned. the one person in this entire administration that has gotten away with a reputation enhanced seems to bseems nickia haley. everyone else is wounded and taished by that association. >> dan coats. i can think of a few.th thg that got me about cohen is how many times did you become a thug to all businessmen to stiff them for dealing with the trump

administration? 500 times. i don't know if it's illegal bu whatit'sh unbecoming in extreme. so i don't treat michael cohen as repentant. i think he didn't have the air of someone who's repented or faced the spiritual music, he just decideinone side is ag his interest, donald trump, and the other side are for his interests and he'll say something nice. i don't think he lietd, bu he is basically catering to the left in some sort of go fund me campaign that will pay his legal bills. >> woodruff: does this advance? >> i don't have that kind of moral x-ray. i don't know if he was a sinner saint.ame i will say that the story of 500 people did you threaten entities, did you threaten on donald trump's behal is a good question from the consmgr

from california. and he said 500. but the thing about it is when he stiffed the small businesses, ine plumbers and electricians who did worhe trump projects and he came back, donald trump loved to hear abour it andeveled in it. at what point do you say there's no honor and nothing to admire? >> woodruff: a he made a point of sharing that. >> that's right, he did. he did not set out to flatter him. >> wo: does this advance the case of impeachment against donald trump? >> i think a little. wenow the trump tower stuff the moscow, the hush money.nk i tho think there's much more and everybody agrees and i do, too, that alexandria ocasio-cortez did a good job of slaying down questions and focused a lot on the business

side of the trump empire. if i'm republican, there's bad news to come om there, whether tax and other things and that's what the southern districts of new york is looking into. so i'm less concerned about the russian collusion and more to everything else..e >> that he advanced the collusion case not at all but he gave them leads, suggestions, people to talk to, to interview, and, you know, i would say enough stuff to keep several committees going i did want to give a shout out to emiijah cs, the chair. i thought he did a good jobs, i thought there was an earnestness and direct nesdz about -- directness and summation that said we have to return to normal. >> woouff: and handled very

delicate moments. to north korea, david, the president went over, i think, with high expectations of what was going to come out of that bu came back emptynded. was there -- and we've talked on this program about who's -- whose responsibility that was. there was disagreement abous whether ite u.s. or the north koreans, but what does this tell us about trump foreign policy and the approach tore n policy? >> i actually give the trump administration a fair amount of credit on. this you talked to the people with security clearances a couple of years ago, ey were terrified. i asked is it worsethey would say it is worse. now we're in a better place. atth better to talk and least keep them engaged and better to probe to see if there's anybody in e regime that's willing to be semidecent. i'm glad donald trump walked

away from the deal rather than have a cheap political win. are we in a good place? no, but in a lot better place than two years ago and i think the administration's policy has been basically reasonable. >> is he right to leave with no deal? s, absolutely. it had to bother him that the professionals both in diplomacy and intelligence who had been openly skeptic about the whole deal were vindicated and validated. after such a euphoric and ecstatic first date, it was almost inevitable that the cup would run into road block and some rumbles in the road, and that's what happened. 50 years after he was first asked to go the hre byis country, donald trump went to vietnam and, you kno think that he nevecame to deal with the fact at north korea is not

only the least democratic with the least economic freedom than any country in the world, it's 43rd of th pacific asian countries in terms of development. the only thi is they have nuclear weapons. the idea he'll give that up is a pipeline. >> i said it was rasonable policy. the emotional a fos feerks are app plalg paling. to sayhis guy is my friend, i like him, he didn't kill an american. this regime practices slavery. >> woodruff: and worse. d worse, massurder. so the idea that emotionally we can buddy, buddy up to the guy, that part i want to add is appalling.h >> i accep addition. >> woodruff: speaking of that, what the president had to say

about otowarmbier, the amrica student who was there and came back home in a comey and died. >> i spoke to a friend of trump's a couple of months ago and this guy hates conict. he won't do it to your face. >> woodruff: trump. trump. he won't offend the people in the room. he'll kiss up to people in the room and tweet about them behind their backs. >> he kisses up but kicks down. you're nice to people up here, but people who are below you, there's a streatment and maltreatment. >> woodruff: when he came back to the united states, he said, i hold north korea responsible, but that was not what he said re.n he was over the >> and not to warmbier's

parents. >> woodruff: mark shields, david brooks, thank you. >> thank you. oc >> woodruff: a newentary is reigniting questions about the life and legacy of pop icon michael jackson. y jog has the story. and we want to warn you, that some may find the details disturbing. ( ♪ "smooth criminal" ) >> yang: nearly a decade after his death, multiple grammy winner michael jackson's music and owmanship can still castsp magical l. ♪ ♪ but questions about his life can still cast a dark shadow. >> yang: in 1994, jackson paid$2 more thamillion to settle a lawsuit alleging he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy. ( cheers ) teand in 2005, he was acquon ten counts of child molestation, serving alcohol to a minor,

conspiracy and kidnapping. now, accusations of inappropriate conduct are back in e headlines, with "leaving neverland," a two-part, four-hour documentary be broadcast sunday and monday on hbo. the film tells the stories of wade robson and james safechuck. robson, a dance teacher who did choreography for n'sync and britney spears, says jackson initiated him to sex when he was seven years old, and the pop star was 31. he alleges the behavior continued for seven years. >> hstarted talking about ho much he loves me. what this is, is us, how we show our love for each other. other people are ignorant, they're stupid, und they'd never rstand. if they ever found out what they alwere doing about this se stuff, that he and i would be pulled apart and never be able

to see each other again and that he and i would go to jaifor the rest of our af >> yang: sechuck, a former child actor who appeared with jackson in a pepsi ad, saysed jackson abusim over six year beginning when he was ten. >> secrets will eat you up. you feel so alone. >> yang: their families tell how jackson won their trust: >> he justame across as a loving, caring, kind soul. it was easy to believe he was just that. >> yang: ...and, how they feel about him now. >> michael's gone, but it doesn't change the fact that he destroyed these people. and that the world still goes on loving him. >> yang: on "cbs this morning" this week, jackson's family launched a pre-emptive strike against the film and the accusers. >> we know our brother. our brother would not do anything like that. then he comes out ten years after he died, saying stuff like that. now they are suing the estate for tens of millions of dollars.

>> yang: jackson's estate is suing hbo for $100 million. it clas the film violates a non-disparagement clause in a deal the network madin 1992 to broadcast a jackson concert. in a statement, hbo said: "despite the desperate lengths ken to undermine the film, our plans remain the same." to discuss the film, the director, n reed, joins us now. what was your intent? why did you wasn't to tell -- want to tell this ry? >> the intent rose out of an opportunity, which was my accidental discovery of wade and james, wage robson and james safechuck, who i read about as the plaintiffs in a civil suit against the jackson estate. so here were two young men who claimed that, as children, they had been seually molest bid the singer. seemed to me here was an opportunity to try and find out

if these guys had something true to say, whether they wer genuine, and if theyer are genuine, perhaps there was a way to finally delve a bi deeper into this continue varies that had lasted for so long. how did you determine or satisfy yourself that they were genuine now? >> well, the reason why wade in particular, because wade was an adult when he testified in jackson's favor in 2005imuring the al trial, the reason why wade changed his story, and that's what it looks like, and i can understand why people query that, that story of wade's awakening is the story of the film. that's, you know, it takes four hours to unpack that.wh you reduce it to its simplest, wade, as a chi and a victim of michael jackson, formed a deep tachment to his abuser. hoe fell in love with michael, and that relationship shaped his

teenage years and his adult life up to, you know, his mid 20s, so he's 22. he stands up in court and h knocks it out of the park in defense of michael and he is defense witness number one, and probably one of the most important reasons michaelas acquitted of the child sex abuse charges of the 13-year-old. why did he change his miind? hedn't want his mentor, the man he will be in a seual relationship, his idol, he didn't want him toa go to jil so he lied. a few years later he had a child anhis own son and he scribes the moment when he looks at his son and imagines michael doing e things t his son that michael did to wade as 57-year-old and becomes enraged and can't stand the thought and prompted him to look deeper into thhis relationship with michael

because he used to think it was a relationship with a sexua mponent with michael and there waoff-->> michael jackson sas yu didn't go to them to get their side. what is your response? i lest think of that for a serkd. dn't make allegations about the michael jackson estate in my film. they're barely mentioned. i don't didn't say they moleschd dren so why would i go to them for comment? they don't know anything of any use about what happened behind a locked bedroom door between wade robson at age 7 and michael jackson. what the jackson family doadmit is michael spent many, many nights in bed in the company of little boys. you know, they've never really disputed that. and, so, they've not disputed

that wade and jam had long acquaintances or friendships, if u like, with michael, so there are many, many facts about this story that are easily corroborated, but the central facts is the question of what happened behind those closed doors, that's the central the question of the fi and i don't think that the family of the estate have anything usefu to say about that, and they also have a massive interest and a big inancial veted interest in trying to cover it up, so they certainly weren'credible or, you know, impartial witnesses in the story. >> woodruff: so much of the reason for all this attention to the film il michckson, but as a viewer, i found mosctt afg the story of these two young men and the effect at this had on them and their families, and i would like to play a little bit of james safechuck talking about the effect it had on him a an adult. >> one of the weird things is not liking yourself and not

knowing why. i didn't know why i had these problems or felt ese ways, constant anxiety and depression and not knowing why you are like that. >> reporter: now, he be talking about the the effects of something at the hands of a priest, teacher, a coach, it doesn't have to be a celebrity. talk a little bit about that part of the film. >> you know, what this film is really about is two families coming to terms withe disclosure of a long-held and very dark secret, which is the sexual abuse of their sons at the hands of onchael jac it's not about michael. it doesn't really matter that he was a pop star. i of course it matters because this is a story that's nowif siant because of michael's magnitude in our culture, but this could have easily been a

story about an uncle or priesn or trusted figure or figure of authority that a mother o father might trust to spend time with their chil andhat's how i want people to see this film.s i think valuable document which chronicles over two decades of the sto's family entanglement with a predatory pedophile. the pedophile could be anybody. this could banybody and this is how it happens. it's not a guy in a dirty trench coat waiting at the school gates o at bundles the child int van or an ally, it's the man or the woman you trust with your child. one of the things you need to watch out for asa parent is anybody who pays for att to your child than you would normally do and anyone who seemv to hmore care about your child than is normal and, you know, he said that's a real tell-tale sign. would like peoe to watch the

film and with educated about hoe sex abnd grooming likely happens. >> reporter: dan reed,ct di of "leaving neverland" on sunday and monday on >> woodruff: next, the revival of a modern classic of american theater: sam shepard's "true west."th e play has been a magnet forrs great acto since it was written in 1980. at the famed sardi's restaurant, jeffrey brown recently spoke to the latest duo to take it on. it is part of our regular series covering arts and cultur "canvas." >> i want something of. you got anything of value, lee? >>erown: "true west" is a t of sibling rivalry spiraling to the breaking point.

>> i am about to kick your ass out of here. >> oh, now you're going to kick me out? oh, oh, now i'm the intruder. >> brown: going at it nightly in a new broadway production by the roundabout theater: 48-year-old ethan hawke, as lee: menacing, a petty criminal and drifter; and paul dano, 34, as austin, a erttoned-up, straight-arrow, hollywood screenwr two brothers, locked in a psychological-- and eventually physical-- battle of wills, while house-sitting their mother's southern california home. hawke was first approached about the revival several years ago. >> i was planning to say i'm the, the wrong guy. and between the phone calls to plan the meeting, and the p meeting, ssed. so the meeting took on a whole different tone. >> brown: "sam," of course, is sam shepard, the pulitzer prize- winning playwright and actor, in 2017, known for his portrayals of rootless

characters making theigeway at the frof the american dream. "true west," premiered in 1980, is considered one of his master works, and has seen notable stagings, including on broadway in 2000 with philip seymour hoffman and john c. reillyand an earlier production at thest penwolf theater in chicago with john malkovich and gary sinise, one that was filmed and shown on pbs, where a 14-year- old ethan hawke first saw it. >> and i had seen oreard nothing like this play, and it was half-rock concert, half... i didn't know whether it was malkovich i love you know, steppenwolf, or sam shepherd, or was it the hank williams song in the beginning. what was it that was so good?>> rown: but it did something. it did something to you. >> and then i went to library and i got seven plays, you know, ed chasing all this stuff.

>> i didn't have the same relationship to it that that ethan did, but the more times i've read the play, ing throughout our entire process, the more there was to be mined. and that's the most exciting thing for an actor. >> a lot of actors are drawn tol the catnip. a little bit like hemingway before him, sam has a reputation of toughness.ys and so, ften try to macho that up. and if you do that, you actually lose.nb sam shepard isievably funny, and he's a deeply spiritual man. and he's got a profound sensibility about amica, and it's not knee-jerk macho. it's many, many things. >> all right, he said it was the most authentic western he'd come across in a decade. >> he liked that story, your story? >> yeah, what is so surprising about that? >> it's stupid. >> brown: as the play develops, thbrothers' roles shift. >> hey, that's my story we're talking about.

>> it's a bullshit story, it'sti id two lamebrains chasing each other across texas, are you kidding? >> brown: with older brother lee encroaching into his brother's turf-- writing-- with unexpected and unwelcome success. >> who do you think is goingo see a film like that? >> all right, first off, it's not a film, all right? it's a movie. that's something saul told me. >> oh, he did, huh? to yeah, yeah. >> sam was tryinrite about a self. it's not that austin and lee are the same self, but each self is hurt and fractured, and we get these double natures. you know, these aspects that are spinning around and creating these cyclical, you know,at cyclone hese guys are caught in. >> and parts of ourselves that we reject or that we're afraidor of. >> running from. >> brown: by the second act, much alcoholas been consumed, and mayhem ensues. the actors, working with director james macdonald, had to decide how to play it. >> that's not a scene that when skread the play in my bedroom or whatever, at my that i can fully comprehend or dream, until we're throwing ourselves around tting lost in. so that the way that stuff developed was really, was fun, was challenging. and, god, we're so drunk bthat point in the play. >> each scene we get a little

.runker and a little drunk you start to feel drunker and drunker, you know? it's a hypnosis. when nina simoneings, what makes her great is she hypnotizes herself. y she hypnotiz. right? and in our job there is to hypnotize ourselves, just be inside this play. >> that's right. i mean, that's crazy. i mean, and that's beautiful. it's still surprising us. and that's why we rehearsal a lot. so you can get a little lost an still nohurt each other. >> there is a collective energy that starts to happen with the audience, you know, and with other actors, and with, you know, the whole act of >> brown: hawke and dano both started acting very young, and have sought a variety of different kinds of artistic experience. hawke has appeared in more 70 films of all kinds, included a widely acclaimed performance in last year's "first reformed." he directs films and plays, and has written three novels. dano, who first appeared on broadway at age 12, made his directorial debut last year with the film, "wildlife," an

adaptation of the novel by richard ford. >> making a film is something i wanted to do for a long time. and i was, i'm so happy i got to go do it, you know. ur brain just starts to dream that way.it s about learning. and that still is probably one of the parts that gets me offst the is trying to figure out how to do it, you know, and at's what gets me excite >> the great challenge in an actor's life is, we're all only as good as our opportunity. you see something, a piece of art at a very high level, and it's a little bit liketh star or something, where you go like, oh right, i want to be a partf that, and i want to do that. and i know i'm not doing that at a high enough level yet. and so you just go back to work. >> brown: "true west" runs through march 17 at the american airlines theater. b onadway, i'm jeffrey brown for the pbs newshour.

>> woodruff: political junkies, stay with pbs. robert costa breaks down what michael cohen's testimony and jarekushner's security clearance mean for the president. that's tonight on "washington week." tomorrow's edition of pbs newshour weekend looks at how isis is stepping up attacks ina, liespite previously losing ground there. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you,nd good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> on a cruise with american cruise lines, you can experiencc histestinations along the mississippi river, the columbia river and across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of small ships explore american landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways.

american crue lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> bnsf railwa >> consumer cellular. >> babbel. a language programhat teaches spanish, french, german, italian, and me. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and theirs solution the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and pporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made

le by the corporation fo public broadcasting.io and by contrib to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.♪

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour." and company. here's what's coming up. >> sometimes you have to walk, and this w times. ne of those >> an abrupt end to the north korea talks. president trump walks away from the table and flies back to a political firestorm in washington. ors it a diplomatic failur the art of the deal in realtime? i talk to former national security adviser stephley and "new york times" senior correspondent david sang. and another asian hot spot. nuclear powers, india and pakistan, step back from the brink. my interview with pakistan's foreign minister. plus, controrsy over former ew york times" editor jill abramson's new book. how did a high profile journalistail to meet her own ethical standards?