lieutenant governor kim guadagno makes another appearance after she denied allegations by dawn zimmer that sandy funds were being used for political favors all of this as the scandal expands to christie's re-election campaign and state republican party. we begin with virginia though, where at this moment former governor bob mcdonnell and his wife are in richmond, arraigned on a 14 count indictment, totalling more than $165,000 from a wealthy virginia businessman. the maximum sentence carries decades of prison time and millions in fines for the former first couple. now the governor denies any illegal conduct in his dealings with the virginia businessman johnny williams. >> i repeat again emphatically, that i did nothing illegal for mr. williams in exchange for what i believe was his personal friendship and his generosity.

i never promised mr. williams and his company never received any government benefit of any kind from me or my administration. >> let's bring in pete williams, nbc's justice correspondent. pete, we just saw them leaving the courthouse a couple of moments ago. tell us what happened at the courthouse there with governor mcdonnell and his wife from what you know? >> they both pleaded not guilty today at the federal courthouse in richmond. and the judge scheduled the trial date for late in july. they arrived with a group of family members and supporters plus the priest from their catholic church. they spoke only briefly. these appearances tend to be quite short. they understood the charges and mrs. mcdonnell, the judge always asks where they are on any medications, yes she was taking medication for what she called concentration and anxiety. then both were released without having to post any bail,

released on their own recognizance. the trial will be july 28th in richmond. the judge in these hearings admonished the lawyers not to leak information to the news media. he said, quote, the gamesmanship in the media stops now. >> pete, from what you did learn today, what does this tell us about the proceedings so far and going forward? >> well, this was exactly what we thought, they made it quite clear that they intend to fight this in a trial. naturally they would plead not guilty and the test for the government is not an easy one. they have to show that all of the things that the mcdonnell's did was in fact amounted to a corrupt engagement between them and this businessman who wanted help in promoting his line of dietary supplements. normally a garden corruption cases you get something for something. you pay cash and end up getting

a vote or appointment to a state board or contract. it's a little more subtle here. there isn't anything like that. that's what the former governor has repeatedly said. but the government said nonetheless, a part of a governor's official duties are promoting businesses and he was doing this for this man because of the cash payment. that's what the government has to prove. >> quickly the word of a plea deal, what do we know about that? >> there were reports that the prosecutors offered one that if mrs. mcdonnell would admit she was behind this all and the governor would admit to one charge, but that was rejected by both the parties. >> thank you so much. nbc's pete williams with the latest. let's bring in our power panel, jimmy williams and michael steele, former rns chairman and msnbc analyst. jackie, we were just talking about it with pete. why did mcdonnell reject a plea deal if that was the case?

>> i think they think they have a pretty strong case. like pete williams says, they have to show that these gifts were in turn got johnny williams something. gave him a rolex and he got a party at the governor's mansion. that's a hard thing to show. that's going to be the tough case for the government going forward. >> the beltway so well, how does the scandal make it tougher for gop to do better elections in the swing state of virginia. >> this is going to be overhang as we go forward to the 2014 cycle. as this case unfolds going to be more and more conversations about it. and that's going to seep into just the name about the party as a whole and its leaders and what they have failed to do. makes it hard to have the conversation about what republican governors are doing successfully when you point to virginia and say, yeah, they are

getting something for it. and so i think the party will have to navigate these waters and really play up what bob mcdonnell did as a governor. he was a good governor and the polls still reflect that in terms of how people look at him and issues that he tackled as governor. that's going to be the saving grace. i think to the point about the burden here, the feds have a real burden to meet -- and i think that's why the defense team is like we're going to play this out in court. but the political ramifications are also going to be important. >> be like bob mcdonnell but don't be like bob mcdonnell is what you're saying? >> exactly. >> you read the indictment, her name sprinkled well over the pages there in it and all 14 counts. is it fair to give her the lion's share that we've seen so far? >> everything that i've read she was pretty much front and center on all of it and i have read through a lot of documentation.

my bigger problem is isn't so much that she was either kplis it or -- my problem is what they took nk, the gifts they took were legal under virginia law. that's a much bigger problem. the jurs pruns levels are going to take plays, it's three months from the election. a big problem for republicans but virginia needs to step up to the plate and change its laws. politicians can't do it in this building behind us, why should they be able to do it 100 miles away in richmond. by the way, don't forget the democrats just took over the virginia senate a couple of days ago. they should move a bill on this. >> stand by, i want to switch gears and bring in michael isikoff. you have the latest on the federal probe into chris christie in addition to of course what's happening on state level. tell us what you know about the federal probe and what entities

are named here. >> well, it took a significant turn yesterday when it was confirmed that the u.s. attorney in newark paul fishman served subpoenas on the christie re-election campaign and the new jersey republican party. now, this all relates to the george washington bridge lane closures. and the subpoenas specifically references a -- seeking all documents and communications relating to the lane closures. simultaneously, fbi agents also working with the u.s. attorney in newark have been interviewing witnesses, aides to mayor dawn zimmer in hoboken about her allegations that she was threatened with the cut off in sandy relief funds if she didn't support this development project. they seem to be two parallel probes but it's worth stressing that the subpoenas that went out, the document subpoenas are

just about the lane closures at this point. >> mike isikoff, thank you so much. our power panel still with us. you heard what mike just told us, chris christie, he's headed to six states to help the rga goal of raising 35 million. interesting perhaps is that the rga's communication director made a specific point stressing christie's plans in an e-mail to reporters. does it show the rga still confident with christie in the coming months? >> they should be. you have a lot of governors that are up for re-election and a lot sitting pretty well. at the same time, some of them are in big problem. i think that rick scott and nikki haley in trouble in south carolina. her numbers are almost even with barack obama's. when you're the sitting governor and you have chris christie

under ethics investigations, federal and state investigations coming down to south carolina to stump for you and raise money for you, that could be a problem for her. so, listen, until the wait of the scandals becomes so unbarrel for this republican governors in cycle, he will continue to what he needs to do. at some point as we get more into what michael was talking about, that's going to be a problem i think. he think he will begin to curtail that to a large degree. >> michael, putting on your old chair hat if you will, 36 gubernatorial elections if you're out there looking at them and having a tough re-election fight in places like pennsylvania, michigan. when you look at christie and his troubles, does it make it harder for the republican party to win in those states because of what's happening here? >> no, i don't think so. i think as our own polling here at msnbc and nbc have shown across the country this does not register the same negative

impact as it may directly in new jersey. i think in large measure, in those states, michigan, florida, et cetera, the voters are kind of wait and see, i think the bigness of christie's persona drives a lot of their perception of him. not this particular bridge episode. >> how do they answer the question, if asked about the christie issue, these candidates across those states i was just mentioning? >> i think they invite the governor in in his capacity as rga head -- >> really? >> i think they do. at this point, now, again, as more subpoenas come out and the indictments begin to mount up, i think to jimmy's point you'll see as you get through the summer months this thing kind of roll itself back because people don't want the distraction of all of that in their home states, certainly in a state like florida bidding for re-election. right now, until there's shoes that drop that show christie had a direct hand in this or some degree of knowledge of it, i

don't see the party backing away from inviting him in and don't see those governors doing anything that remotely distances himself from them at this point. >> jackie, give us your thoughts here. i'm going to add to this. the latest polling for 2016, it shows here that even in new jersey, voters are overwhelmingly want hillary clinton, that's chris christie's state there is getting christie on the road a way to get away from the scandal and change the headlines and look like a national presidential contender and move away from what he's facing at home? does it make sense based on what michael is saying to have these side by side with governors going up for re-election? >> well, the longer this goes on, the closer we'll get to 2016. chris christie is trying to assemble a presidential campaign behind the scenes and you don't want to do it with the spotlights on you. this is also could inhibit his future ambitions which we all assume is running for president. so are republicans governors

backing away yet? no they are not. if the investigation continues and it bears out that what christie is saying right now isn't necessarily the truth, then he's going to have a heck of a problem. then you're going to see it start to really affect his future ambitions. >> thank all three. have a great friday weekend ahead. jimmy, thank you so much. michael and as well as jackie. >> thank you. >> now to an investigative exclusive, new developments of bob menendez, the justice department is expanding its investigation into whether the new jersey senator used his political influence to help two ecuador yan brothers accused of embezzling millions and fleeing to the u.s. they live in florida and run several successful businesses bu but still wanted in ecuador. they say they've been politically percesecuted by the govern. menendez responded to the

statement, we see anonymous sources making outlandish allegations and our office works each year with literally hundreds of individuals and families from across the country seeking help with the immigration process. we review each and every request we receive, if we feel any inquiry is appropriate, we make it. in this particular case, senator menendez believed the family had been politically persecuted in ecuador, including through the con fis indication of media outlets they owned. up next for you, new threats for the sochi olympics in the wake of a new terror video. we'll have the latest. today we're going to play a little game.

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sochi. >> the answer is yes. >> mitt romney ran the 2002 olympics and he's not ready to throw in the towel on the games in sochi. despite the emergence of another video threatening the games. congressman meeks sits on the house foreign affairs committee and also founder of the russia caucus. good to see you. >> good to be with you. >> the video we understand the details behind it appears to come from a militant group in central asia and caucasus, they want to embarrass russia as we've been told by richard engel, our foreign correspondent. it mocks the olympics and says violence is coming. when you look at this and all of these videos and information that you've been getting, how has the russia caucus been talking about this? >> we want to make sure there's

dialogue between our countries and make sure there's cooperation between our countries. that's important. we want to get along with the members of the parliamentarians of russia. when you talk about the olympics in particular, we know it is important for russia to make sure there's no incidences that take place. and that there's some cooperation -- >> have you had conversations about concerns based on the reports. we've had explosions in volgograd, for instance. >> to make sure there is security and covert operations taking place of which we cannot talk about because then you're giving it away. we also understand some of these extremist groupses are trying to take advantage of the situation also. >> on that dialogue, what's your view here? are the russians working with the united states well enough? should they work more closely with the u.s.? >> i think there is behind the

scenes very extensive conversations and talks going on to make sure it happens. i think the united states is going to be able to send its individuals over to make sure americans are protecting and there will be a sense of cooperation between the two governments, just as we're seeing now in other areas, russia and syria and p5 plus one dealing with iran. those opportunities to talk and have conversation and make sure people are safe during the period of olympics, that's going to take place also. >> mitt romney sat down with peter alexander and i have a bit of transcript here. mitt romney says putin has outperformed our president time and time again on the world stage. those are romney's words. what's your reaction to that? >> he's still playing politics. i think he forgot the election is over. i think that what you see our president is doing, he's talking and trying to work with individuals and deal in a multilateral way, not about trying to one step up, it's about working cooperatively so that we can have a better place

to live. >> how can the president handle this issue better? >> i think the president as i said, there's dialogue that's going on. this cooperation that's happening. now some people would love to have it where you're talking about it but if you talk about a lot of things up and open, then you're giving the people you want to make sure does not cause harm, the blue print of what you're doing. i think that the president needs to keep doing what he's doing to keep working with the russians in the manner they are working to make sure that all of the attend ees of the olympics are safe and sound. >> let's move over to edward snowden and russia significantly. he may be able to extend his stay in the country. a russian lawyer for the nsa leaker telling nbc news if he wants to extend the term of refr refugee status, he is able to do that. >> i think he should come back to the united states of america and he should then stand for what he believes in.

i'm a product of protest and people breaking the law,s et cetera, but each time you stand for what you believe in. you're willing to go to jail and womening to go to trial. i think that's what he should do. >> our own ari melber got to discuss clem entcy with eric holder -- >> clemency, no harm, no foul would be going too far. but in the resolution of this matter with an acceptance of responsibility, you know, we would always engage in those kinds of conversations. >> your thoughts? >> well, i think that what the attorney general is saying is, look, was the law broken? absolutely. so therefore you've got to stand up for breaking the law. that's what you do. you've done it knowingly. and so we can negotiate, is

there good conversation as a result of breaking the law in regards to where we go with nsa? yes, there's now dialogue that was taking place that would not have happened otherwise. but my problem is you don't take that kind of information and run across to russia or china. you stay here and deal with it. the attorney general indicated look, clem entcy, no, we've got to acknowledge the law is broken and not going to tell individuals they can give away american secrets and there's not a price to be paid for it. but let's work something out. >> congressman meeks, thanks for stopping by, back to work next tuesday? >> correct. >> you can catch the interview at 3:00 p.m. eastern on hs nbc. can republicans win over women voters, highlights from the winter meeting when we come back. grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff,

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the rnc winter meeting was supposed to be an opportunity for republicans to broadcast a kinder gentler image to the public. instead remarks by future governor have overshadowed the proceedings. >> if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, so be it. let us take that discussion all across america. >> casey hunt is live from inside the rnc meeting. as you know the remarks by the former governor have caused a big splash in media over the past day. you're there though. the reaction i want from you, what were being said by folks listening to that statement when he did make it? >> hi, richard, yes, look, this kind of tone and choice of words

that mike huckabee used yesterday is not something that's representative of all of the attendees here. as i've spoken to people here who reacted to his remarks, privately they say the party needs to find a way to move beyond this kind of rhetoric. while it's pretty clear that huckabee was ascribing these views to democrats and saying how democrats view women and trying to convince women they should be voting with the democrats, there's broad agreement here that using those words was not helpful on the whole and that while the party itself is really making a concerted attempt to reach out to women, these kinds of episodes don't advance the cause. >> casey, on that subject, rnc chair reince priebus spoke about that issue this morning. >> i said many times before, that the policies and principles of this party are sound. however, as we look to grow the ranks of our party, we must all

be very conscious of tone and choice of words when we communicate those policies effectively. we should set the standard -- >> [ applause ] >> we should set the standard for future rncs and also set an example for our republicans. >> so the words from priebus, be careful about tone and choice of words. that's what he was saying. was he directing that towards a specific individual there you think? >> well, there was no specific reference in that priebus speech, it was part of an overall address that focused on where the party should go forward. it's clear what the undertone was. although frankly the republican party has had some issues with a loss potentially two senate seats candidates aiken and murdoch, result the in them not winning as many seats as they could. it's a clear nod to the idea that the republican party need to be careful about the language

that he uses. >> kasie hunt, thanks. her party named her a republican rising star, thanks for joining us, alex. >> thank you, richard. >> you heard what kasie said and former governor huckabee arguing about birth control. what's your thought? would it have been better if a woman had made the argument instead of mike huckabee here? >> sure, well, thank you for the opportunity to have me on. i certainly respect the governor and i think what he was trying to do is explain how democrats are trying to frame the issue with women voters but at the same time the comments were inappropriate and not words i would have chosen. >> you would not have chosen those words yourself. what would you say to mike huckabee then? >> like i would say to the campaigns that approach us at the college republican national

committee, about how to message younger voters, it's about tone, the way we communicate things. and at the end of the day that can really start a productive dialogue with these demographics we've traditionally had more difficulty with just by changing the way we communicate. >> let's talk about demograph demographics, you're one of five rising stars. >> five raising stars. >> they are all women. what's your reaction to that? >> i think that shows chairman priebus' commitment to the growth project, which was to engage with demographics like i said, where we had had challenges and the fact he chose five women to be up there from all walks of life, all different ages, two elected officials, key states for our party, i think really shows the rnc's commitment to sticking to principles and goals of the growth and opportunity project. >> looking forward here, let's

go to 2016 in the race for president. the republican candidate lost the women's vote by a margin of 11 percentage points in the previous race. you're part of this as well as other rising stars you were mentioning there. how are you and this new generation of rising stars going to narrow or reverse that gap? what's your idea? >> well, particularly working with younger voters. so many younger voters are young women voters, young single women voters. so part of winning over women in general starts with talking to young people. what we talk about at the committee with the research report released in 2013, the republican party has a branding problem with younger voters. they agree with us on core issues like the size and scope of government but don't connect to the republican party brand. that's where we working in tandem with our sister committees need to provide that bridge. >> how about you in public office? what's the future got? >> i want to graduate from law

school first. >> first things first. that's right, law school is certainly a lot of work ahead for you. alex smith, one of the new rising stars. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> bad bieber with his recent string of misdeeds and run-ins is the teen idol on the same path as other fallen teen stars before him? y, buddy? oh, hey, flo. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you. you always do what they tell you? no... try it, and see what your good driving can save you. you don't even have to switch. unless you're scared. i'm not scared, it's... you know we can still see you. no, you can't. pretty sure we can... try snapshot today -- no pressure. progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on progresso.com.

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98% of women saw improvement in their skins' natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics. recommended most by dermatologists. here are some of the headlines we're following on msnbc this hour. best selling conservative author is facing federal charges, akugsed of making illegal campaign donations, he urged people to give up to $20,000 to an unidentified senate campaign and reimburse them for their contributions. dsouza denied wrong doing and thinks lawyer said there was never a corrupt agreement. >> a texas judge will hear arguments on whether a brain dead woman 22 weeks pregnant should be taken off life support as her family wants. john peter smith hospital in ft.

worth says state law forces doctors to continue to treat a pregnant patient. we got new video this hour. posted on youtube by an egyptian newspapers, shows a series of bomb explosions in cairo. nbc news hasn't independently identified the video. six people are left dead. a painstaking recovery at the senior center in canada. a fire destroyed it yesterday, five people were killed and 30 people are still unaccounted for. 19-year-old pop superstar justin bieber's court date is set for monday. he's out on bail after his arrest thursday morning for driving under the influence. here with us now is celebrity correspondent for today show.com courtney haslet. justin bieber, is he growing up, is this part of him becoming a man? is this part of him trying to bring in a bad boy image that he's no longer a kid? >> i think that might be giving

him too much credit. what you're seeing is a result of something not being told the word no and having consequences. when he gets pulled over and caught for something he shouldn't be doing, there's no one there to fix it for him. this is the fallout and will it contribute to a bad boy image, sure but not an intentional one. >> abowhen we look at his publi image, might be end up to be a drew barrymore or amanda bynes. >> if you're looking to compare somebody, i think he's closer to a lindsay lohan. she had a number of arrests and went to rehash several times and now slowly clawing her way back into a legitimate acting career. with justin bieber, he hasn't hit that rock bottom yet, but, however this is very similar, simil similar path to where she ended up going. i think he's going to be ultimately pretty fine. i don't see a lot of people no

longer carrying his records. a lot of radio stations are still playing his song. his fans held a vigil for him, almost in as much denial as he is. >> he does do work in the community and this may make it more difficult for him to do that. he supported at least seven charities last year alone, august last year granted his 200th make a wish. december he raised over $1 million for typhoon haiyan relief. >> you don't want to take away from his good things. part of being a celebrity, i think, part of the importance of being a celebrity is to go out and put a face and exposure to these causes and people who can actually feel some good out of what you're accomplishing. however, it's also tried and true publicity method, if something happens, show up and do something good. i wouldn't be surprised if you see an influx of these events for him or appearances or

gestures. >> when we see the pictures, will charities say they don't want anything to do with them? >> are they going to say no to the check -- >> to justin bieber. >> in most cases probably not. it will be wise to start acting like a young adult. is that going to happen? we have to wait and see. >> thank you so much. >> sure thing. >> up next, there's an app for that. i'll speak to one of the creators of a new app that's designed to connect immigration reform advocates to lawmakers with the hope that washington will be stirred to take some action. brace yourselves people. because this hotel has some amazing.... footwear. and how about the 5 pound barbell at this resort? in to soap? this lodge has some! ...and this hostel has ice cubes! and this hotel has eggs! if you're into it.... we know a place that booking has it. liquid! recreational sand! electric wind!

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beginning to end, end quote of the we'll follow that for you on msnbc. switching gears nouz, our next guest fulfilled the dream of many tech fan, working with mark zuckerberg and reed hoffman promoting immigration reform for undocumented immigrant. luis alma gar is the brain child for the push for reform web app. when we looked at the app this morning, tell me how this web app advances immigration reform? >> it's a tool that connects you to your representative and tells you their substance on immigration reform and let's connect you directly to them and let's you tell them what your opinion on their stance is. essentially, it connects all of america to the representative, something we felt that needed to be done with the co-creators.

we know as organizers that a lot of the people do not know who represents them and what their stance is. >> it breaks down the immigration reform substances by numbers and also gives action points. what are these action points? >> the action points -- >> louis, are you there? it looks like we've lot luis ago gu lar. he was asking you here, there's these action points that you assign, each and every elected official. is that like a score card? >> more than anything it's an action point whenever you take an action, when you tweet or whenever you make a call or connect to them through facebook, you begin to accumulate these points that shows you how much action you've taken. it encourages you to take more action and to participate more in pushing for immigration

reform. >> why did you do this? what sparked you to do this? >> i was talking and both of us had the same idea that we needed to connect the people on ground because we think as organizers. so we think that people need to know what the representative really stands for and whether they are for immigration reform or against it, and what we can do to encourage them to pass immigration reform because we really need it. >> what was it like working with some of the big names in tech here, i mentioned a couple already, mark zuckerberg, bill gates, what was it like working with those sorts of folks supporting at this moment immigration reform? >> it gives you a greater outlook. it makes you think of opportunities. you don't think as any limitations when you're working with them. you only think, what can i do next? >> what are they telling you? >> they were very encouraging,

they said, you can do this even greater. you can connect to this -- to congress this way. never there was any limitation, never there was you can't do this or can't do that. there was only expansion and limitless possibilities when working with them. >> there was a group i believe of 20 that were working on this that were focusing on immigration reform from the tech field itself. do the folks that you're working with represent all of silicon valley. do all or most, a majority of those in the valley want immigration reform? for that matter, why? >> i would say a majority do support immigration reform because in america we have a brain drain. what we need is more innovation. we need more entrepreneurship and create jobs and create startups and what we need is more people to innovate. i would say that the big majority does support this. >> entrepreneur as well as a

developer of a web app for immigration reform, thank you for your time today. just ahead, democratic senator chuck schumer's rallying call to dethe tea party. when an offensive strategy is enough to cool the tea party's influence. i have the flu,

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democratic senator chuck schumer is criticizing his own party for the tea party's rise. he's urging democrats to start playing offense. >> it is up to us to answer the tea party and expose that government is not always the problem but the solution to middle class woes. we must stop playing defense and go on offense when it comes to the need for governments. we should state loudly and repeatedly we believe government is often a necessary force for good. >> let's bring in our think tank for today, salina zito and joe,

starting with you, are the democrats here as you were listening to chuck schumer say, are they as kplis it in the rise to the tea party as others? >> they really haven't been. there are a few politicians who have been complicit and said we need -- democrats have said we need to recruit the tee partyiers over to our side. in general, ever since the 2010 election in which rand paul was elected beat attorney general jack conway for u.s. senate, the democrats have gone on the offensive against the tea party. but to some degree it hasn't really affected the tea party that much. just because there is a sizable portion of the republican party that really believes that smaller government is what's needed out there. >> more offense is what senator schumer was saying. is there a risk related to that? did the democrats go too far?

>> i think that was a smart but predictable statement for schumer to make and rallying call. the tea party is -- you need to sort of make someone the bad guy and the person to go after and he's sort of kicking off the midterms by saying, these are the ones that you have to watch out for and you have to play hard against them. i think in some ways you see part of the tea party -- people stopping identifying with it and supporting candidates against their own party because at the end of the day they want to win. >> salena, what have you seen in pittsburgh? >> what you see in pennsylvania and ohio, two states that are largely sort of bellweathers about what's going on in the country, both have republican governors and both republican governors have not sort of

garnered a tea party challenger. tom corbett although he suffers in the polls with both democrats and republicans, his tea party challenger dropped off a year ago and kazic had two to three challengers who have dropped off as well. i think you start to see people not identifying with the brand as much and identifying more as independents. so i don't know if this ploy with schumer is going to be effective. >> joe, to a case where there is a tea party candidate coming from the right, challenging an establishment republican if you will candidate and that's there in kentucky. the senate showdown for mitch mcconnell and his seat. when you look at that case there, what's happening in kentucky, what does the primary challenger matt bevans tea party run mean, more broadly the national party and what may be happening in your state? >> well, you had asked the

question do the democrats have to be careful when they attack the tea party. here in kentucky, it's the establishment republicans who may have to be careful when they do that. mitch mcconnell has gone on the offensive some against the tea party. he's gotten a lot of flak from the tea party for that. the tea party we really haven't seen what the strength is like here since the 2010 election with rand paul and that was a little bit of a different animal. rand paul had the built in following that his father had created here. and he had money that he doesn't have access to at this point. but mcconnell is -- needs to be careful that he doesn't anger the tea party so much that even if he wins the tea party, against the tea party or in the primary election, that they don't want to come back and vote for him. >> is that dynamic -- >> that's one of his biggest concerns? >> that dynamic that she brought up not -- those who are running

for office, not attaching themselves to the tea party brand but still holding the ideas, have you seen any indication it's going that way in kentucky? >> yeah, in some ways you are. bev vanz says he is not a tea party candidate although he has gotten a lot of support from the united kentucky tea party. you also got jamie comber, the agricultural commissioner expected to run for governor in 2015. he has been -- he's not a tea party candidate per se. he comes from the establishment part of the republican party here but at the same time, he is really done a good job making inroads into the tea party community. and you know, we're going to see how strong they are in -- in may when we have the primary here. it's hard to tell at this point though. >> thank you so much. >> salena zito, and joe, thank

you so much for your perspectives. that wraps up things for me. up next, "andrea mitchell reports." ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] don't wait for awesome... totino's pizza rolls gets you there in just 60 seconds. ♪ which 4g lte map has the most coverage? this isn't real difficult... pretty obvious to me. i'm going to have to say verizon. verizon.

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right now, a developing crisis in cairo. where these six people have been killed in a series of bombings that rocked egypt's capital as clashes break out on the third anniversary of arab spring uprisings. kerry is answering critics of america's lagging response to the civil war in syria. >> absent a political solution, we know where this leads. more refugees, more terrorists, more extremism, more brutality from the regime, more suffering from syrian people. obviously we know this isn't going to be easy. in fact, it's obviously very, very hard. it's already hard. >> new threat, another warning

of a potential attack on sochi. this time in a newly surfaced jihadist video but mitt romney, the man in charge of the 2002 post 9/11 salt lake city olympic games tells savannah guthrie, he believes sochi will be safe. >> would you go to sochi? would you send your family? >> the answer is yes. >> on the record, nsa leaker edward snowden speaks out in an online chat. we'll talk to his lawyer. an exclusive interview with nbc's ari melber, holder says clemency is not an option. >> clemency, a simple no harm, no foul, i think that would be going too far. >> and in the midnight hour, "today" show anchors let loose. and the speaker of the house gets real on his presidential aspirations. >> listen, i like to play golf.