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>> after he got caught they abandon him, left him there. >> shock waves through the intelligence community. for years u.s. government insisted levinson was a private citizen. iranians denied any knowledge of the case. >> is he alive. >> translator: i don't know. >> i personally raised it with the iranians in the course of our discussions and we will continue to try to seek his release and return to the united states. >> republican revolt. speaker boehner reaches his breaking point fed up with conservative interest groups controlling his caucus. yes, he's still holding a grudge over that shutdown strategy. >> if you recall the day before the government reopened, one of these groups stood up and said, well, we never really thought it would work. are you kidding me? >> now the fight over the

bipartisan budget deal heads to the senate, the outcome there could be in doubt. >> why as a conservative do you believe this isn't a deal you can back. >> not just as a conservative but as an american. >> all in the family. north korea's rookie dictator executes his second in command who happens to be his own uncle. it could be a shakespearean drama but this one has nuclear weapons. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington where civil war has broken out in the republican party. is speaker boehner signaling an end on the tea party's grip on republicans? will a combination of factors block passage of the budget deal when it comes to the senate? chuck todd nbc director chief correspondent and host of "the daily rundown." chuck, thanks for joining us.

i know you'll scoot as soon as that briefing is called by jay carney. before we lose you to jay carney, john boehner. this is the boiling point. we know where he stands, really, and he had to play the game and try to thread the needle with his conservative caucus. now he's blown it, blown his stack over it. what does that mean going forward? >> i think that's what's unclear. does this mean he is trying to take back control of the conference in a way so that if he wants to do immigration reform that he now feels more free to do that, that he's trying to break the grip that the interest group, conservative interest group, in particular heritage action and club for growth have on enough members in his conference that they have been able to scuttle deals in the past. that's what this feels like. that's frankly what the groups themselves fear. i had the ceo of heritage action on my show this morning. he said this is all about

immigration reform, he thinks. this is all about placating -- it's funny. each side blames a small group of members for scuttling things. heritage action blames 50 republicans who say they want to go on. he's referring to all the appropriators who have been complaining about sequester and how sequester works. so we're really pressuring paul ryan to come up with something to ease that pain a little bit while staying within the parameters of a budget cutting type of atmosphere. so i think the more astonishing aspect of this is what's going on in the senate. all of a sudden we're in bizarro washington. the house is acting in a bipartisan manner. the largest vote in 15 years on a budget agreement of any kind, bipartisan manner, not even 100 members opposed. then the senate is the one that's polarizing, it's divided, it's divisive.

i guess the budget vote is in doubt, although every source i have says everybody in the past, even people who vote no, the question is who are going to be the five to seven republicans that will vote yes to make this go through. >> you've got people like john mccain upset about military pay and pensions. you've got others on the liberal left side concerned, understandably as well, about the extension of unemployment insurance. there are competing pressures, patty murray and paul ryan said they did the best they could balancing all the equities. it's a deal no one loves. it's a short-term deal but everyone loves the fact this will not have another shutdown omost people i should say love the fact -- maybe not ted cruz, there will not be a major confrontation in the next two years. >> lets not forget the debt ceiling. that shows up. there is a possibility. remember, the deal -- the fact

that they came to an agreement is remarkable, the deal itself is unremarkable. that is what everybody on both sides will admit is that the deal itself is a do no harm deal because both parties are politically very weak right now. they cannot afford owning more dysfunction of washington. they can't afford democrats carrying around health care weight. republicans are still carrying around shutdown weight. they couldn't afford. so this was a mutual assured appeasement here because they were in such a -- both of them were in such a bad place they had to essentially retreat. but they both were in a retreat. neither one was in a strong enough position to exert anything and try to have leverage. >> we've just heard the state of the union has been set, kelly o'donnell reporting the state of the union will be january 28th. we know where you're going to be january 28th. >> we will. exactly. i expect we're going to hear a

lot more about things like income inequality, minimum wage. by the way, the first time he did the minimum wage, if you recall, was at the last state of the union. at the time everybody said that's out of nowhere. no one is talking about that. now it could very well be one of the big centerpieces. thankly when you look at the polling on it, i think it's something that they can get done. it doesn't require quote, unquote, spending. it doesn't require a cut. it doesn't require a tax. so it's actually something congress can do without costing money for the taxpayers. >> chuck, i'll bet it's going to come up when some were liberal members of the party, bill de blasio with the president in about an hour. thank you very much, chuck. go to the briefing. call us if there's news. >> you bet. >> connecticut senator richard blumenthal is an advocate for tougher gun safety laws especially after the newtown tragedy and he joins me now. thank you very much. just briefly before we talk about guns, i want to ask you,

what's your take. is this short-term budget deal going to pass the senate? >> i believe very confidently it will pass the senate. i shouldn't say very confidently, nothing can be predictive with certainty in washingt washington. i think it will pass because it represents a compromise. people like myself that want unemployment insurance will have to compromise. so will the other side. these compromise muscles atrophy if we don't use them. those muscles have weakened. here we have a chance to use compromise muscles to move forward, establish a template for the debt ceiling and other controversial measures. everybody knows there's another day for unemployment compensation insurance and we need to move forward. >> now, want to also ask you about gun legislation. our new nbc news "wall street journal" poll, support has slipped for stricter gun laws. it peaked obviously in the month after newtown and the tragedy a

year ago and now it's down to only 52% wanting stricter gun laws. >> the polls, i think, reflect that a majority of the american people, an overwhelming majority of the american people want to stop gun violence. newtown was a moment. we need to make sure it's a movement and that we organize and mobilize the people who believe that we can and must stop gun violence, which has killed another 10,000 or more people including 194 children since then. i'm inspired by the strength and coverage of the families. i'm going to be seeing them tomorrow, some of them in newtown in some very private church services and meetings across the state of connecticut. i think we have the opportunity to mobilize again and make sure whether it's 52% or 90%, which i think is maybe a more accurate

reflection, have their voice, have the possibility for change in common sense measures like background checks or a ban on illicit trafficking of guns, which can really save lives. >> don't politicians, like all of your colleagues on the hill, they look at these numbers. it's a reflection that the movement isn't working. whatever the white house has tried to do, what you have tried to do, as passionate and committed as you are, is not moving the needle. in fact, less support for stricter gun laws than there was a year ago. >> andrea, one of the most moving moments for me in recent days was to watch a clip of ronald reagan endorsing the brady gun bill. >> i was there. >> you were there. i saw it, as a matter of fact, on msnbc. years after he was shot, almost killed, his press secretary jim brady was paralyzed, 12 years

passed before the brady gun bill was adopted by the united states congress, only after incredible struggle by sarah and jim brady. twelve years makes twelve months look like a spring. we're prepared. it's going to take months more, maybe years but we're not going away. >> thanks for that useful reminder. i should have remembered that myself. thanks very much. thanks for what you're doing. >> thank you. nbc's kate snowe sat down with newtown families who requested privacy themselves but still want to honor those whom they have lost. >> i remember the night before on december 13th getting into bed with him. we would read every night. i misreading to him. i haven't read a book out loud. >> what do you miss the most about your mom? >> today it would probably be how warm her hands always were.

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what is your message to his captors? >> that we will do whatever we need to to bring bob home alive to his family. we miss him terribly. >> christine levinson two years ago speaking with me about her husband's disappearance in iran. robert levinson's story is taking a shocking turn. reports by "associated press" first and "washington post" the former fbi agent that disappeared in iran nearly seven years ago was doing contract

work for the cia, work the agency bosses didn't know about. levinson seen here in a proof of life video made public by his family in 2011, the longest held hostage in american history. his connection to the cia never revealed by the u.s. government. a representative for levinson family tells the news he was simply following cia orders. >> what he does not know is the manner they are using him is contrary to the policy and rules of the cia and that the people above, high above the group he was working for were not aware and had not authorized what he was doing. we want to bring pressure on the united states government to do what it ought to do to bring bob home. >> nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins me. you've been working this story overnight. the bizarre case, the fact the u.s. government repeatedly, last

month ott on one of the anniversaries of his becoming the longest held hostage repeated he had no connection with the u.s. government and the fact that he was doing something so mysterious on an island in iranian territory. >> so i think a couple of threads here, andrea, we should untangle. number one, there's no doubt about what these news organizations have reported. everybody familiar with the case reports he was work are for cia. however, the government said they tried to talk ap and "washington post" out of doing these stories because they thought it was bad timing. things beginning to thaw with iran, new president making overtures on the nuclear agreement. they thought they were getting more traction and they thought this was heard. you heard from the family lawyer after initially being concerned about the report, maybe this is time, it will get the government going again. that's the second point. the third point, you heard a little from david mcgee the

family lawyer. levinson was there doing contract work for the cia. at first after he vanished, the cia, according to the family, denied to the family that he was doing work with the cia and then when members of congress started to ask told them as well, no, he wasn't working for us. there seems to be a part of the cia that didn't know about this. the other thing that's unusual is he was being directed by analysts, not the people who were supposed to help folks in the field. you put all that together and it explains why the family was so distraught early on that this man who was there on a mission for the government, the family couldn't even get the government to admit why he was there. that's all been since dealt with and now the question is can more be discovered about him, is there any indication of where he is. there's some people who hope perhaps -- some in the government worry this could be a setback. others say maybe this will help to move it off the dime.

>> the white house through the national security council issued a statement about the "associated press" story and said, "we regret that the ap would choose to run a story that does nothing to further the cause of bringing robert levinson home. as you point out the family is not happy with the administration. through senator nelson in florida, they finally got some satisfaction and some money was paid to them as a result of what their suffering has been through this period. >> yes. my guess is the reason the federal government has never publicly said -- it's a different thing what the cia was telling the family. that's a whole separate matter. in terms of what they were saying publicly, i suspect they have never publicly said why he was there plays into the statement you just read. the people in the government felt if they publicly admitted why he was there, that would complicate the efforts to get him out. not perhaps because the people holding him weren't aware of this or they couldn't be sure

but it might make it politically more difficult for an iranian official to release someone admittedly there working on a mission for the cia. >> as it may well be now. these things are very delicate. we know even in korea with the rules of merill newman last week, he had to apologize and make a public show of apology in order to get out. it was very, very important that he not be associated with the government in any way, which he wasn't as far as we know. >> it's unknowable. the ap in its own statement says they don't know what affect this is going to have but they felt they should go ahead with the story because of the misconduct by the government here, the cia especially. but because the u.s. doesn't know where he's being held or who is holding him, whether it's some part of the government, whether it's some other part of the government or nongovernment holders, they just don't know. so it's very hard to know what effect this would have. the consensus, i think, though

not the unanimous feeling was that these stories would do more harm than good. the family apparently doesn't see it that way. >> thank you so much, pete. thank you very much. >> you bet. >> people are feeling wintry weather now around the world. secretary of state john kerry was welcomed on his trip to israel with a new england-style winter storm. weather forecasters are calling snowfall in israel historic. the most jerusalem has seen in december at least in 60 years. that's pretty extraordinary. in the u.s. from the mississippi to maine, states are bracing for a winter wallop. expected to dump snow on major cities. here in d.c. they are forecasting a wintry mix tomorrow. prince harry is feeling the freeze in antartica where a team of a dozen service members made it to the south pole today. they completed the 200 mile trek to raise awareness for the association walking with the wounded.

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there's been a setback in negotiations with iran. they need more time to work on technical issues with iran before moving to the next step. secretary of state kerry asked about the delay during his trip to israel today. >> we're at a point in those talks where folks feel the need to consult and take a moment. every expectation the talks will continue in the next few days and we will proceed to the full implementation of that plan. this is sort of a normal part of the process of developing the implementation. >> this came a day after the treasury department froze assets of companies. it says they are evading sanctions and hoping to bolster the program. joining me david coen treasury department under-secretary for financial crimes in charge of

all of this. thank you very much for being with us. >> sure. >> shall would say you froze the assets, cracked down on these companies as a show of faith, show of force to try to preempt congress, those in congress who are arguing members of both parties and chairman of key committees arguing they should impose new sanctions or at least impose sanctions with a trigger date, which you and secretary kerry say would torpedo these delicate talks. >> these delegations were not designed to influence congressional action. we took these designations impose sanctions on a dozenentities involved in evading our sanctions, iran's nuclear proliferation activities. we have for many years and we will continue to take action to ensure iran is not able to develop its nuclear program. that was something that was explicitly carved out of the joint plan of action in geneva, that we would be able to

continue to enforce the vast majority of our sanctions that remain in place. yesterday's actions are following through on our commitment to continue to enforce these sanctions. >> is there any thought stumbling block today is the iranian reaction to your freeze, that you're having the same unintended consequences you've been warning congress against. >> no. i think what happened in vienna. >> vienna rather. >> the teams needed to go home after several days, three or four days after intense conversations, working out details of implementing the plan. time to go back home, consult. i'm sure we'll get back together soon. >> the reason why a delay is not a good thing, zarif, negotiator has explicitly said, we don't have that much time. we have a six-month window here. we need to move quickly because

the hard-liners are circling on all sides. >> we are moving quickly. the experts meeting this week in vienna was an important step to get to implementation of this agreement. the agreement will be implemented quite soon. that six-month window of this first step will begin. >> there were a lot of people in town over the weekend, palestinians, israelis, other officials from all sides. the collateral issues of israeli peace negotiations. there's a lot of conversation that the deal, ultimate deal is very obvious from the israeli side and from the american side. there can't be a plutonium plant in iraq, that's just a nonstarter. that has to be considerably cut back, the number of centrifuges, cascade, level of enrichment that would enable them to break

out. there has to be complete transparency and inspections. this is a very tall order, the kind of inspections that will give us an early warning and give israelis confidence there will be an early warning. >> there's a lot of work to get done here. we had a first step getting to the final step where we have real verifiable assurance iran's nuclear program to the extent it exists is exclusively peaceful and iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon is going to require some very, very significant steps to be taken by the iranians. that's what our negotiators are looking to explore over the next six months. >> and if you fail? is it an extension and hope the israelis don't get too nervous, or do you have to consider military steps? >> look, i think we'll see how this plays out over the next several months. i'm not going to predict what the next step will be. we have every intent to explore

this opportunity. it's a diplomatic opportunity here to resolve what are some very serious concerns, concerns that we have, concerns our allies have, concerns israel has about iran's nuclear program. we're going to use this opportunity to see if we can get that long-term comprehensive agreement that really finally addresses the international community's concerns with iran's nuclear program. >> david coen, thank you very much. the first time since the feud erupted with the cheney sisters over same-sex marriage. she did not mention liz or the controversial senate campaign but she did defend gay marriage. >> as a conservative, i also believe that strong families are the cornerstone of our society and that we as a society should do everything we can to ensure that all families are provided with the greatest opportunity for success. i said it before, and i'll say it again, i believe that all

families, regardless of how they look or how they are made or where they live, that all families deserve to be treated with the same respect, dignity, legal rights and recognitions as any other. i firmly believe that and i certainly hope our country will continue to move towards that goal. >> the general press was not invited to cover the event but the organizers did release this video provided by freedom indiana to nbc news. ya know, with new fedex one rate

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hunter, rick, thank you very much. you just came back. tell me about the state of life on the ground, because the pictures we see are still horrific. >> it was horrific. the devastation is unlike anything i have ever seen. i've been to a number of places where there's been incredible man made disasters or natural disasters but this was as if the hand of god came and wiped everything away. you know, the philippines gets without one out of every ten typhoons. this one was the strong eest recorded winds ever and storm surge after that the thing i took away from it, the philippine people are absolutely incredible. their resilience is amazing. they didn't have signs that said

please help, they had signs up that said thank you already. they are already rebuilding. in large part it has to do with the fact world food program was the first on the ground. they were ready to distribute not only food but help with lodge irvegal support for all the other agencies and telecommunications and people are actually out there rebuilding communities and rebuilding their lives. it was truly inspiring. you came home and felt almost 100% great about what we were doing and generosity of the american people. >> you have concerns american people, as generous as we've been and military response as well, that this will begin to lessen. we are notoriously short of attention span here in this country. >> i think with regard to the united states government, which is working hand in glove not only with the world food program but with the philippine government, i think the united states government is committed

and committed to the long haul as long as it takes. in terms of the american people you'll help us keep it in the american eye. the outpouring was substantial, 45,000 people stepped up in the first few days to provide assistance. as hunter indicated we can be proud about the u.s. government response where it be military opening an airport that was closed to aid working happened in glove with wp and meeting needs whether they be needs around hunger, water, shelter. so i think we'll be there as necessary. a lot has been done. we still have a lot of work to do. >> i love the fact your dad, the vice president, and the world food program honored bob dole at an event. what bob dole contributed to that it was so great to see him at age 90. >> he's an incredible, incredible human being. his will and his perseverance is

just absolutely inspiring. what he did as it relates to the world food program and what we've been able to do as it relates to food aid not only in this country but around the world has made all the difference in the world along with george mcgovern. if you want to see how bipartisanship works you should look at bob dole and george mcgovern. >> you know what's critically important, which is an area working to address global hunger where we, in fact, are bipartisan and always have been. i think thinking about george mcgovern and bob dole makes that point. >> thank you so much. coming up, the deadly power play in north korea. stay with us. ness credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one, i get 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. i break my back around here. finally someone's recognizing me with unlimited rewards! meetings start at 11, cindy.

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worse than a dog, with wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state. it's setting off alarms in china and united states. strikes me unfair to dogs. joining me author of the book "the the impossible state." victor, thank you so much. what do we make of this. first of all, the brutality. that's been noted at the briefing today by jay carney. just the fact that he would do this to his own uncle believed to be the regent helping him learn how to assume power. >> that's absolutely right. it shows how little we know him. up until this week everybody thought he was the most important person in the country next to kim jong-un. clearly he was not. clearly he was part of a power struggle taking place in the country, which was significant proportions if he has to take out someone like this. >> he was accused and allegedly confessed at some show tribunal

to treason, over taking the regime. how do we sort it out? >> the thing about the statement, it was really detailed, the government from the organization. it was very detailed and said things you would not expect it to say. like support of youth in north korea for foreign enemies, reference to the united states in south korea in conjunction with him. the notion there was some sort of support as he tried to maneuver into power under kim jong-un's nose. i don't think they made it up. it was quite a serious concern and that's why they felt they need to get that all out in public. >> there's also the fact he was the point person in meetings with china's president. so china was blind-sided. this i think is really interesting because the united states has been working with china to put more sanctions on north korea. china has been keeping him at

arm's distance. now that their main person is gone, what are the chinese going to do, continue to press sanctions or try to get to know this new young leader. it's a difficult call for the chinese and we have to watch it carefully. >> they have been silent. they are clearly trying to sort out what their next policy is. could this be more destabilizing. is he erratic besides the funny stuff, paling around with dennis rodman, opening disney amusement parks in a famine stricken country. does this tell us he could be crazy to do something serious? he's got nuclear weapons. >> it's something we certainly have to be concerned about. very clearly the ideology is becoming much more hard line. when regions like this go through an internal power transition, they tend to be more violent in terms of their external behavior. i think you're absolutely right, we have to watch this very carefully. i don't think we're at the end of it. >> victor thank you so much.

the book is "the impossible state." a sad passing to note, matt mcgary, tv quiz master of its academic spent 50 years challenging teens with trivia questions on his iconic show. he's died at 87. with his deep voice and signature glasses he became a household staple on saturday morning television for many in washington. former contestants on the show and imitators around the country included hillary clinton, former "washington post" chairman donald graham and senator chuck schumer. mac's questions were ernest, what mythological figure has the whole world on his shoulders. the answer, atlas. macmcgarry, you'll be missed. >> thank you students and teachers. come on up here. come on.

which story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. we have our nbc chief correspondent richard engel live in south africa, the site of nelson mandela's funeral coming up this week. richard, what are the arrangements for this funeral? one of the reasons the heads of state, most of them were not coming, the more than 100 who attended tuesday's event was because there's one road into this very remote area. >> this is a very remote area, it's the rural village where nelson mandela grew up. according to his memoir, "long walk to freedom" this is where he had his happiest child hood memories, spent time in a simple house made of mud, thatched roof. his mother cooked for him over an open fire in the middle of this very humble home. he decided at the end of his life to come back here to a place he loved very much to be

buried. the problem is this village and region haven't changed very much since mandela lived here. there hasn't been improvement in infrastructure. there aren't roads, there aren't toilets. toil toilets. they have told dignitaries to avoid coming. they are telling general south africans also not to get in their cars and come here because the infrastructure simply can't handle it. there are expected to be 4,000, maybe 6,000 people who will come. this is an approved list. there's a small tent. you can barely make it out behind me. many of them will be filed into that tent and that is where the funeral will take place. it's a much smaller fare for a small number of v.i.p.s and family. >> there was security problems, from u.s. officials and other

officials involved, that they did not have proper screening and lester holt reported he walked into the stadium without anybody checking bags. security was a big issue and of course the controversy over the interpreter, officials are denying any knowledge of the reports that the interpreter in addition to not being an interpreter and faking it, which is offensive on so many levels, actually had charges never proved, but investigations at least into serious criminal charges. so he would have been a security issue as well. but i guess your reporting or others reporting on the ground there is that there's no confirmation on any of that. >> not 100% confirmation. a lot of allegations about previous criminal records and previous pleas of insanity or unfit to stand trial. but nothing that has been been able to be confirmed. there were many, many complaints about his competence as a interpreter and the responses he gave as to why his

interpretations or sign languager wasn't up to snuff, were bizarre, he saw angels and had a vision. but, security here is also of concern. you will have v.i.p.s coming and extended members of the mandela family coming and even though the government is telling heads of state not to come, a few said they do want to take part in the actual burial itself. so we're starting now to see the south african military setup. i mean just today we're starting to see them setup checkpoints and corps donees and a few military but not the kind of thing you would see the secret service do, not sweeps. we haven't seen bomb dogs or nothing along that nature. that said, there isn't perceived to be a great threat.

people are upset and want to participate more in the funeral. there hasn't been a hostile move, even though that doesn't mean there won't be any problems, couldn't be any problems. but we're just starting to see those security preps being put in place now. >> it's i guess not that there was hostility or any kind much threat left, higher threat level but it was certainly on tuesday the fact that the presidential motorcade was completely trapped and accesswise so limited and anything can happen. that will make security people very nervous indeed. >> reporter: absolutely. >> here mandela's body has been lying in state in pretoria and there's frustration there because of access, people are lining up. >> reporter: people have been lining up. he's been laying in state and the procedure now -- he's been laying in state in the government buildings in pretoria and you have to wait a long --

almost like the crown jewels, they move you through the line and it's a very slow process. not very many people get to participate in that. then tomorrow in a military style convoy, he'll be brought here to qunu and the smallish, few thousand people will be allowed to take part in the funeral. that has villagers in the area here quite upset as well because they want to be able to participate and some of these villagers are members of the very extended mandela family, member of the larger clan. and they say that it's the anc that is treating him like a mvp, they are holding on tightly to mandela and his remains to show their authority and hold on to this legacy. and so there's a bit of disappoint here because people would like to celebrate him as a tribal elder, not just an

internationally well known hero. >> all important points. richard, great to see you. thank you very much. >> and also tomorrow, we should note the white house has just announced the president and mrs. obama will be observing a moment of silence tomorrow to honor the victims of the tragedy at sandy hook elementary on first anniversary. and that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online and on twitter. my colleague, tamron hall has a look at what's next on "news nation." >> hi, andrea, in the next hour, new comments from the white house after administration officials say the former fbi agent who disappeared in iran was actually an unauthorized mission for the cia, robert levinson is criticizing the government saying it's time for the united states to step up and take care of one of its own. pete williams will join us. an update on a story, a florida family fighting to keep the therapy pet that makes life easier for their son who has

autism. j.j., the little boy and his family will join us as the family waits to hear from the city on the battle. and beyonce's friday surprise, the pop superstar drops a new album along with 17 new music videos without any notice, stunning fans and the music world. we'll talk to a writer who says beyonce hasn't only changed the game with this move, she's claimed it. all coming up next on "news nation." card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment on time each month. tracey got the bankamericard better balance rewards credit card, which fits nicely with everything else in life she has to balance. that's the benefit of responsibility. apply online or visit a bank of america near you.

so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. new reaction from the white house on reports that an american citizen who went missing in iran nearly serve years ago was actually on an unauthorized mission for the cia. for years the u.s. government maintained that robert levinson traveled to iran in 2007 on a private business trip.

but a new associated press report details how levinson, a retired fbi agent was contracted by people within the cia to gather intelligence without the knowledge of top agency officials. working essentially as a rogue spy. today the white house had this to say. >> bob levinson was not a u.s. government employee when he went missing in iran. as there is an ongoing investigation into his disappearance, i will not comment on what he may or may not have been doing. we continue to pursue all investigative leads as we would with any american citizen missing or detained overseas. >> the white house also criticize the associated press for running the story out of concerns for levinson's safety, calling the decision, quote, highly irresponsible. but levinson's family says it hopes the report will put pressure on the government to do more to bring him home. in a ste