robert: president trump purges his ranksnd exerts his power. president trump: we're drainings thewamp. i just never knew how deep the swamp was. robert: thentelligence community is rocked as the president installs loyalists. and the justice department faces new pressure as pardons areis ed. president trump: i'm actually the chief law enforcement officer of the country. robert: and looms -- president trump: roger has a very good chance of exoneration. robert: and in las vegas, tgl es comes off as mayor bloomberg t takes stage. and senator sanders rises. >> the best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. robert: next. ♪

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patricia yuen through the yn undation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our. communiti the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, from washington, moderator,os robert. robert: good evening. we begin tonight with this week's explosive developments as president trump overhauls hison na security team and clashes with his own officials. the "new york times" reportedn thursday that the president just weeks after his acquittaln th senate remains furious and stl believes thentelligence community "assessment of russia's 201rf inence is the work of a deem state conspiracy, intent on undermining the validity of his election." and when mr. trump heard that intelligence officials heard that russia was interfering in the 2020 campaigno try get him

re-elected, he bated joseph mcguire oithe ou intelligence officer for allowing the meeting to take democrats would use it ainst him. the president's anger is the driving force between a flurry of moves that up ended thi administraapon includingng a loyalist richard grenell to replace mr. mcguire. this all comes amid oth expressions of executive power from the president urging the attorney general tolean house to his issuing of a number of pardons. and joining us tonight, is elisabeth bumiller, assistant bureau chief for the "new york times." shannon pete, senior white house reporter for nbc news digital, jonathan swan national political reporter for axios. and joining us from new york i michael schmidt, washington correspondent for the "new york times." michael, we'll begin wh you. this purge inside the

intelligence apparatus and t administration based on your reporting, what is going on? and what's next? michael: well, the president is obviously very upset about anything that ties the upcoming election and russia's help to ishim. but thi story that we've seen before, a story that dates back to 2016. some reporting in this area that i've'veen and heard myself is that trying to get their nds around election meddling and preventing that is extremely and what it usually requires is the person at the top, the president and his national security advisor to use their power to make sure things arero working the gernment, to make sure that foreign paying close attention to this issue. and what folks in the government see when thisns hap when the president does things likehis is they worry that they will not be prepared for what may be coming because there's no one at the top of the government who is

using every power that they have to sp this. and it's a complex problem. it's something that can involve hacking. it can involve social media. it can involve context. and we're starting to see the begiings of it. obviouy, with the briefing this week, the briefing on the sanders campaign received. robert: what was that? that bernie sandersas briefed that the russians were interfering to help him? michael: correct. and sanders having a very different reaction than trump forcibly coming out to say that this is not something that he wantselp from. and all should be done to try it. revent a very different posture than the president who still would not even acknowledge that in 2016 the russians helped to get him elected. robert: elisabeth, this is happening inside the department of national intelligence. he atame time there's an

upheaval across this administration. what can yout hare about w the "new york times" has learned about what's happening at the pentagon and othergeies? elisabeth: basically trump is going after what he perceives ar his enemies in the deep state, across the national securiat app. for example, the number three at the pentagonas let go this ek, a very important position policy planning. there's an uproar at the state department, a -- the numbe two at the state department who was sent in as a classic garden variety republican from an earlier era. the question is whether he can quell a similar revolt at the state depament. there's an uproar about trump's ts and whether or not barr is really standing up for the department of justice or whether he's protecting trump. at the director of national intelichens where grenell just started yesterday, the number two has been fired there i'm out of agencies. let's see. the -- and a-7 there's a story on a-1,

elisabeth: interestingly enough, trump who denounced this information that the russians getting him help in 2020, h sees this as enemies everywhere. he feels from his point of vie that the mueller report is over. impeacent is over. and he thought he had put to rest this idea that the russians had helpedet him him elected in 2016. but, n it's coming back again. robert: jonathan, you painted a portrait of the president hing his fingerprint on this includingnstalling johnny atee. who is he and why does this matter? jonathan: he's a former college quarterback who workedn the trump campaign, w his body man. and was fired by the former s

chief ff john kelly for -- it's unclear exactlywhat. but security clearance problems. was brought back in. tred kushner played a role in thatmp put him back in. he's elvated to run the presidential office. he's given johnny a pretty clear brief.d he wan him to get rid of the quote/unquote bd people. he's fed up with it. and he wants it doneuickly. so on thursday evening, this week thursday afternoon, johnny macanteeummoned white house leian sons. he sat them down. it was an introductory meeting. he said, we t needo know who the never trumpers are. 're going to stop promoting them. we're going to stop letting them move across agents sis.

he foreshadowed sweeping changes across the government. some might have to wait until after the election. buthe cle message is we need to know who these people are. we need lists of names and we need to deal with this probl. robert: as this purge unfolds, shannon, is the presint or any of his top advisors getting pushback from democrats or republicans? shannon: his allies are encouraging him. he's getti a resounding applause. where this began with the firing of lieutenant colonel vindman. a lot of peoplede's jaw dro to see a key witness of the investigation escortedutside th white house. but his advisors are applaudg him. there's a feeling that his -- these people will pull back the curtain onthe dec within this administration and that now that impeachment has past them like within 24 hours of

impeachment being past them, it wa time to stamp out the snakes, to go after the deep state. andeally the paranoia that saw in the first year about decenting force being around him, his still here three years later. that's what seems about this. it's like we're back in year one. jonathan: to be clear, these are pele trump hired. johnny macantee has no way to appoint these. he appointed over the objections of people at the p.p.o. but trum is convied that these ageies are populated by people that he hired who are de state. robert: mike, any thoughts on what you just heard from the t table about w your notebook has on the president's motivations and his next steps? michael: i guess i'm struck by the facthat it's a news story but it's not really newstory. it's the same things that he's been complaining about since

before he came into office. it's these same accusations thah government is time-out get him. now, he's at the top of the government and still claiming that people within it are trying what i wonder is how this will translate into his re-election. he did a very effective job in 2016 irunning against washington. and could he get away, again, after four years as president of running against washington again and running against the eoecutive branch and the pe in it who he says he needs to continue to get rid of? i don't know. but it seems like a familiar theme. >> it's a little different this time. this sms like a vendetta. this is getting his enemies. it's different. it's not justunning against the bureaucracy that's too big and bloated. this is running against people who are just loyal. it's something we actually han't seen in a long, long me. robert: this week, president

trump flexed his power over the justice deparent, issui pardons to white collar criminals, former governor rod blojevich. and other pardon looms for roger stone the president's long-time political advisor. stone was convicts convict of lying to congress and witness tampering. and on thursday, stone was ucntenced to just over three years in prison, lighter than the seven to nine years originally are posed. the judge in the case,my berplan jackson said "stone was not prosecuted for standing up for the president. he was prosecuted for covering up for the president." and she went on to say "the truth still exists and the truth ntill matters." jonathan, basedour reporting, where is william barr in terms of his relationship to president trump? is he on his way out the door or not? i

jonathanpoke to someone who knows him very well. and they do not get the sense he's on the way out the door. but perhaps the hallife has shrunken a little bit. it got pretty t tenuos week. i don't think that was total spin, you know, the idea sthat e considering resigning. really ieve that he was questioning based o my reporting and the people i spoke to inside the white house and inside the agency. but basally, he's in a situation where he's under so much pressure because trump wants results. and in trump's mind, results really getting some of these people indicted. i mean, trump waseally irritated that andrew mccabe, the former f.b.i. deputy was not, you know, locked up. trump is n putting a whole lot ofn pressure o the durham report which is the investigation of investigation. the russia if that report turns out to not be a blockbuster, there's going to be huge pressure on barr. robert: what's driving theon

pa >> well, in this latest batch of pardons, it is the recommendations of presidentie trump's s and allies who have been asking trump to pardon a lot of these individuals. if you thely look at then par announcement this week, ron they're all white collar criminals. th a have that in common. the white house listed people who are gone to thede pre recommending asking the president to pardon these people. and ia lot cases those people who asked for the recommendations are trump's biggest donors. sheldon adelson was one of ose. rudy giuliani had advocated for some of theseeoe. you know, president trump sees he has this ability to put his finger on the scale of justice. as he is frustrated in other areas where he cannot carry out indictments, he does have this ability with the power of the pardon. robert: mike, you covered jge

berman jackson throughout the russia investigation.er you heard statements. wat's the view inside d.o.j. as the president personally intervenl,? michael: w think that folks, obviously, as we've seen are very concerned. but there are signs to others that things are not completely out of control. we had the announcement this week that there will not be a prosecution of andrew mccabe, jonathan was pointing out desperately wants, you know, to be town behind bars for a slew of different things. and that is a line that a lot of folks have looked towards. what happens in terms of prosecutions, the real enemies. now, we know that some of these folks have been investigated because the president wanted them looked at. but will it ever go beyond tha point? this week, we didn't see that. but as we've seen before, there are other investigations that are slooking at leaks and such. and these things, the president is counting on and does think would be a good way at striking

ck at his enemies. but bar has not crossed that line y and i can't believe trump is beppy with that. robert: eli will you step back as editor in washing the "new york times," how do you pull these threats togher and what does it all tell you about how thesident is testing the presidency? elisabeth: he's gon farther every than any other president in our lifetime in pursuit of, you know, executive power and he's gone over the line a number of times. but certainly about pardons, one of the rsons he likes pardons is he can be like a king. conth stop him. the courts can't stop him. -- congress can't stop him. that's unfettered power. as h shannon say calls up his friends and business associatess and geltz id and does it -- gets ideas and does it within a matter of hours. what hrys doing e day is

expanding presidential power to the point where iredict that the next president who is not trump the will be a legislation trying to curtl executive power the next time around. i don'know how far it will go. but i think he' gone beyond anything i've seen. robert:tshe democontrol the house. but aftermpeachment, what are their realptions for oversight? elisabeth: well, there will be heargs on the hill. you raise a good question. and a lot -- certainlyf tru is reelected. and it's a still a republican senate, i don't -- you know, i think it's more of the same. robert: michael schmidt up in new york. thanks for joining us from the "new york times." i appreciate it. thank you. michael: thanks for having me. robert: let's turn now to 2020 because democrats nationally are grappling with the unsettled presidential fields. and saturday's caucus could provide some clarity days after

michael bloomberg made his debut on the debtag. in las vegas, bloomberg was under attack from the start. >> the mayor has to stand on his record. he's gotten a number of wims to sign nondisclosure agreements both for sexual harassment and for gender discrimination in the workplace. so mr.or m are you willing to those nondisclose agreements m so we can hear their sides of the story? >> we have a gro test kl and immo distribution of wealth and income. mike bloomberg owns more wealth than the bottom 125 million americans. that's wrong. at'smmoral. >> he shouldn't have to choose between o candidate who wants to burn this party down and anotherandidate who wants to buy this party out. >> i can't think of a ways to make it easier for donald trump to getnieelected than lng

to this conversation. robert: joining us from las vegas where she's been reporting all week laura barron-lopez national political reporter for politico. thanks for being here. i k you could be doing other things on a i friday nightn las vegas. so we appreciate it. what does it tell you that michael bloomberg has decided to release women who have disclosure agreements with h to speak up if they do so. >> it shows that this pressure that started mounting before the debate because warren had asked him t release them slightly from the debate slightly that up and she indeed did s repeatednding side by side with him on that debate stage. foer vice president joe biden

added to that pressure. so itha showsbloomberg is getting more and more scrutiny now that he is considered in the top tier of candidates even though no votes have been cast for him simply because he's spding an exorbitant amount of money. and a nber of the candidates see him as a threat. robert: you've been doing a lot of. reporti latino voters in thattates, the union worker, is senator sanders who is rising in national polls poised to win there in the caucuses? >> yes. th entire sense on the ground is that sanders is far and away he leading candidate in nevada, and thate has strong support among latino voters. the question is, how many turno in a caucus because the caucus is far more detailed andt takes up a more time than just going to cast your ballot in a typical primary? so it will be important to watch those numbers to see how many actually turn out and how many

turn out for sanders. he has spent -- his campaign says they've spent millionsn latino outreach alone in nevada. they're also spending a lot in texas to tur out latinos.d i the race for second is really the big deal here. who is going tot get t slot? projecting that het it. is but i was just talking to a nevada democrat who is well connected who said, not to sleep appears to be really hitting the pavement in the rural parts of th state. and that could prove pivotal for him. robert:tay with us, laura. but what about senator warren? is it too lat for a revival? >> i don't think it's too late for anybody. it will be too late in about two weeks. but she certainly could carve out a second lane for herself. but the bernie sanders eco g, litigation w whatever, seems to be really solidifying behind

him. of course, that's so much where her support was coming from as people had questions about sanders, they gave warren another look. as we've seen the biden supporters drop off, they've not gone to her. they've gone to bloom berk. m not sure -- bloomberg. i'm not sure where she picks up supp i think in the last debate, the people that she was more like an attack heat-seeking missile rather than doing any favors for hersf and building herself too much as a candidates. but we'll see. anything can happen.ro rt: bloomberg, can he come back from this? >> he's got to have a better performance in the next debate that's forin cer even his advisors were taken aback of his poor performance., althoue money goes a long way. he looks very good in hisu ads, now? but there's a difference when he gets on stage. i think that -- think he wa

better in the second part of the debate. he was more like himself. but when he was asked should you have made all that money, i yes.k it was a good answer. what was he supposed to say? no, i feel bad about that if you're an ordinary american watching, you think that seems to be the right answer. robert: what's the white house's view of senator sanders? >> they want to run against him. robert: really? >> yeah,y t. some people have the view of be careful what you wish for and i've heard that line in there beuse it's such a divided country. robert: outsider vs.nsider. jonathan: he's got real energy behind him and he can afeel some of the same voters as trump. talking to people in the white house, they want to label against them as a socialist. if joe biden wouldo happen run, they would call him a socialist. but bernie calls himself a socialist so it mak it much

easier. they want to make it capitalism vs. socialism and go to these women in the subyou are bs and go sayo that and say you want to risk iten ber sanders? and they start to win the house on that ticket. >> i thi b careful what you wish for is more so with nders. like, while they may see his policies as completely toxic and unappealing to most americans, at least that's -- the trump campaign assessment. he ha a likeability factor. he has a loyal base even he has a hearts attack. and those are strengths. think he is still a little bit of a wild card. he could reshape the map putsing texas in place. robert: final thoughts, laura?

what's on your to- list as a reporter? laura: i'll be in a caucusht s in the surrounding las vegas area in henderson. i'm going to be looki forward to see how well this caucus runs. they're a little bit on edge after iowa. they did scrap two apps tha they were planning on using. they're using google forms now on ipads. there have been some concerns about the lack of training on those. nevada democrats have been working around the clock to make sure there areo issues. they have a two-voter verification process. no matter what, they're going to be calculating the votto talls manually. >> laura, we have to leave it there. laura -- can laura hear me? >> to make it more accessible. >> laura, we have to leave it there. laura, i really appreciate it. we'r going to be following your report. thanks so much for joining us from las vegas. the show goes quick. we will havepe aal show next friday, february 28th, a super

tuesday preview for a full hour. check your local listings. for now, watch our "washington week" extra.ry thanks to ee for being here and laura out las vegas. ank you very much again. i' robert costa. good night. ♪ announcer: additional funding is provided by- the estate of arnold adams and koo and patricia yuen through thefo yue dation, cmitted to bridging cultural differences ii our commu, the corporation for public broadcasting and bys contributi your pbs station fromik viewers le you. thank you. >> you're watching pbs.

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