they have huge debt and their job prospects are gloomy. why are their dispositions so sunny? you're going to hear from some millennials heading into the real world. hey, to everyone. it's high noon in the east. developing now, there's new reaction from pro golfer phil mickelson about a "wall street journal" report claiming he is part of an insider trading investigation. who then may have passed it on to mickelson. investigators reportedly want to know if that knowledge was used to improperly trade the stock. he has released a statement saying, i've done nothing wrong, i've cooperated with the government in this investigation. under the current circumstances, it is just not possible.

joining meg on the phone right now, cnbc's scott wapner. i understand you just spoke to billionaire carl icahn about this case. what did he tell you? >> as sort of all of us were trying to get our arms around this story. he, just like phil, is adamant that he's done nothing wrong as well. he told me, we've never heard from the fbi. we don't know of any investigation. he called the report irresponsible. he said, i don't know phil mickelson. i've never met him. he went on to say he's proud of the 50-year record that he has, what he called unblemished, that he's never given out inside information to anybody. i guess he's going on the offensive as much of at least he can and defending himself. >> yeah, how about billy walters, the sports better? did he talk about knowing him?

>> he said he knew him, but that was about it. carl has had some business dealings over the years in las vegas, so the two must have met one another out there, you know, i guess we can assume that's the case. carl used to own the stratosphere. near the large tower that is out in las vegas. so he's had some dealings for a number of years related to las vegas. so i guess we can only assume that the two gentlemen met. what's interesting, we don't know the extent of any of the relationships here. we don't know to what extent mr. walters knows phil mickelson. we don't know the real extent of the relationship between carl icahn and mr. walters. only that carl said i know who phil mickelson is, but i've never met him. >> does he talk at all about phil mickelson's role? did he say he may have known mr. walters? or did he just say, look, i don't know the guy? >> he just said, i don't know the guy. it's interesting that we're talking about a very

high-profile story. there have been a number of insider trading cases that have developed over the years surrounding some well-known people and well-known investors we cover on a regular basis, but this has really ris be to a different level. talking about what the fbi and the ftc are taking a look at. you've got the richest guy on wall street. carl icahn's worth $20 billion. you have one of the most recognizable athlete notice world. who literally is on the golf course as we speak at jack nicholas's tournament out in ohio. one of the lead-up events to the u.s. open. he is on the golf curioourse as speak. >> so, scott, what do you make of phil mickelson saying, look, i'm cooperating fully with the government, he says he's not at liberty to speak about what the specifics are, but he says, i'm

cooperating. is that just par for the course, no golf pun intended but, you know -- >> phil's people said right off the bat and said, hey, we're told we're not a focus of the investigation. one of the great unknowns is we don't know what the fbi or the ftc are specifically looking at. we know that there was some suspicious trading activity apparently in the days before carl icahn launched this bid for clorox in 2011 when some very large and very well-timed option trades were made around that time, you know, those are essentially they were big, they were sophisticated trades, you know, not your average joe who is making those kinds of bets. they're short-term bets in many respects. and, you know, that's sort of how this whole thing is developing. that investigators are trying to get their arms around what's going on. it's one of those classic who

knew what and when and who, if anybody, did anything about it. >> we appreciate you filling in the blanks. thanks so much, cnbc's scott wapner. troubling details today from a newly released audit. the audit says problems went far beyond complaints with va schedulers being pressured to make bad practices look more favorable. the audit found appointments had been changed at least once and 13% of the scheduling staffers indicated they got instructions to enter a date different from the one requested by the patient. we're also getting some new reaction from veterans families to the resignation, as well as the political firestorm surrounding the widespread delays in veteran's care. joining me now, sally. sally lost her father-in-law, a 71-year-old navy veteran, to cancer last november, and blames his death on the va hospital in

phoenix. sally, thank you for joining me. this is certainly a hot topic and very emotional one. can you explain what happened to your father-in-law? >> he didn't feel good on september 28th. he was -- i rewent and got a gallon container and let him pass urine in that and there was blood. so i said, pop, it's time to go to the hospital. i was going to take him to bana but he didn't wanna. he's a true veteran. i believe in the va. we ran him down there and signed him in. there was a long wait. so in the long wait, he was filling up little by little, the blood, pure blood. and that's factual. and it was easier to explain having the blood. so i'm thinking, all right, they're going to help him. >> right, they'll see us in emergency. you say you took him in september. he passed november, right? >> yes, november 30th --

>> so what happened between your taking him in september and november 30thing? >> september 28th, when i took him, they released him. and they called after -- they told me they were going to give him an appointment in a week for urgency, urgency, a doctor, and they didn't call until he died december 6th is when they called. >> okay, so you went with the proof, the blood tainted urine. >> yes. >> he was seen by a doctor, told to come back in a week or they would reach out in a week and then nothing for more than two months? >> no, he wasn't told to come back in a week, they gave me a card stating that they would call us in a week. >> and they never -- you never heard one word? >> never. we called there. no one answered. it was a horror. we couldn't reach anybody. then i had one woman say, you have to have patients, you know -- it's a long wait.

well, i don't have patience because i brought blood to you and you dismissed him like an animal. >> when you were in with the doctor -- i don't know if you were in the examining room -- >> yes, i was. >> yes, you were. what was the doctor, the person examining him, telling him about the symptoms? >> i should get rid of the urine, me and teddy, because it was unsanitary, and for his condition -- >> was it defined? what was his condition? >> no, they had no condition. that's why i'm upset here. they didn't come out with a diagnosis. they had his past history. he used to have cancer. he had it taken care of in the va in brooklyn. he, we, gave the chief complaint to them. so they were aware he used to have cancer. but he didn't even check him yet. when the blood was in their face, they yelled at me to get rid of it because it was unsanitary, and then i got angry and i said, well, what are you going to do? this is normal, this is blood,

red flag, hello, cancer back? what are you going to do? i may not be a doctor, but he's -- >> m.a., you mean medical assistance? >> yes, i am. >> you are, but you were being seen by a physician? >> we were seen by a physician, yeah. they stated it was normal for his condition. so i said, what condition? did you take a test on my pop? she goes, we're not taking tests. we're going to discharge him and he has to see his primary in a week. they took a urinalysis. they found blood. they did an ekg on his chest for a baseline because they claim they couldn't find his records in the past hospital which is the va in brooklyn. they couldn't find that either. which is a lie because there's a stack this big. because he was an amputee as well. and then he had green -- he had -- his other foot has a stent. they did a lot of skin graphing on his foot.

it was so blue, i said to her, can you look at that too? she goes, that's normal. that's normal? there was green oozy infected -- it was horrible. >> so, sally, i'm listening to this. it's apparent to me, and i'm not a physician, nor do i have any kind of medical degree, that your father-in-law was a very sick man. when you look at the situation now and that your story is not a singular one, shall we say, many people are accusing the va of these long delays, you reaction to the va secretary, eric shinseki's, resignation, what do you think of that? >> first all, when the president came on, i was horribly hurt. he was praising shinseki. i have an e-mail from shinseki's office. they took -- i formally complained, what they did to pop. they said that they were going to investigate. before i -- arizona republican front page april 10th, i got an

e-mail from shinseki's office and himself, they closed the case, they found nothing wrong, do not contact the office. i have that e-mail. so when i saw the president praising him, i think it's despicable. i think he's disgraceful, the president. personally, president obama should be accountable for his actions as well. accomplice, knew what was going on. shinseki knew what was going on. that is not politics no more. this is criminal. it's criminal. >> one thing that's been said though is eric shinseki, this is a man who's at the top of the food chain, if you will, and there may be 12 different layers of people who will go down to someone would will be initially examining someone, for example, your father-in-law. could you give some credence to the fact it's difficult to maybe go from that level all the way to the top, the man who's the secretary of veterans affairs? i understand your anger. i get it. but is there something -- >> it's impossible. impossible. impossible. he is the secretary, correct?

>> yes. >> shinseki. impossible. when there's trauma as long and systemic and problems for decades, not a day, not two days. impossible to tell me or anybody and the people and the veterans that they didn't know about this. it's nearly, nearly impossible. >> sally, i'm going to ask you, if there was one thing you think you would like to see changed, other than perhaps change in leadership -- >> yes. >> what do you think would be the most effective thing? >> first, today, yesterday and a long time ago, they need to give them a free pass to go to the doctors now. because if you go to the emergency room, they're still waiting, they're still dying. that's what needs to be done. >> you mean to go to private care facilities? they need to go outside the va system? >> yes. >> which is something, as you've heard, has been proposed. >> proposed. there's all talk but there's no action. there needs to be action ton

begin to fix a problem that is a long ago. >> thanks to people like you coming forward and talking about this and making this a front and center situation on capitol hill, it's something they are going to talk about and have some action taking. >> true, but talking about is not the answer. they have to put it now. you know what i'm saying? all this talk is not intriguing me. that should be done. >> understandably, when you're waiting for medical care, it's never quickly enough, i certainly understand. >> correct, and criminal charges need to be done. >> and we'll see if those are forthcoming as well. sally, thank you so much. i'm so sorry for your loss. >> bless you, thank you. >> and your story, thank you for your time. >> thank you, thank you. a clean-up under way after a twister tumped down near tampa, florida. it tore through more than a dozen homes. one man found his pontoon boat in the trees. >> just told me to shut the door and get the kids and just get in the closet. it didn't sound like a tornado. it was loud. nothing what you hear on tv. >> well, no oneinjured,

unfortunately. meanwhile, what about the weather for the rest of the weekend? joining me now, keith carson from the weather channel. >> we have a chance of strong storms across the northern plains as we head into the afternoon. a lot of moisture plowing into that. the areas we're watching into parts of montana and another area here in parts of minnesota, those are spots where we could see strong to severe spots. in the orange, generalized thunderstorms. tore con today, our measure of the tornado possibility, 3 out of 10. and southwest, parts of south dakota, 3 out of 10 as well. not super high. maybe a brief spin of a tornado a possibility. more severe weather as we head into tomorrow. again, in through nebraska, one of the hot spots, in through south dakota. a little more spin in the atmosphere tomorrow. southern south dakota is a 3 out of 10 on your torcon.

one more thing to think about, the tropics. obviously, the start of hurricane season in the atlantic starts tomorrow. we're looking at the possibility of some development here, which could lead to a low in the gulf of mexico by next week. this is far from a lock yet. but one of the american computer models has been very consistent, advertising something in the go gulf next week. why the chapter on the embassy attack was released ahead of her new book. there's no such thing as a free lunch, but a free picasso, that may be a possibility. it won't come without controversy though. we'll explain. mom! awesome! dad!! i missed you. ♪ oh... daddy. chevrolet and its dealers proudly support military appreciation month. with the industry's best military purchase program,

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nbc news has obtained information that hillary clinton's camp is surrounding a substantial strategy around the

benghazi chapter's upcoming book "hard choices." politico got an early copy of the benghazi chapter this week and in it the former secretary of state offersdetailed account of the deadly attack. with a welcome to you both, i'm glad to have you. this first chapter, as we start with you on benghazi, why do you think it was released ahead of the book and what are we learning from it? >> it's actually great timing. we're just at the moment now where the house republicans are going to start their special investigation of benghazi. they had subpoenaed secretary of state kerry to come up and talk about benghazi. that's now been pulled for i think very, very wise political reasons. so i think it's, you know, part of clinton's overall strategy here is to come out ahead of benghazi, of a story that she feels and that many democrats feel the republicans are using to hurt a potential candidacy

for her. >> phillip, let's talk about nbc news has learned which is that democratic strategist kiki mclean has been tasked by team clinton. so what do you make of that? what do you think that suggests? >> i mean, it suggested a continuation of a pattern we've seen. the hillary clinton team is being very deliberate about how she messages, who she is, what she's doing in the run-up to 2016. in every respect besides filing with the fcc. part of that means when a book comes out, you are very careful how you present it. it's very smart communication strategy. it's very deliberate. >> do you think it's also though that she wants to clear the air? she's tiredfed being accused of having a tin air. i think the quote is she talked about what difference at this

point does it make? she's, like, come on, let's not take that out of context. >> i think she absolutely is trying to establish. she's putting a stake in the ground. this is how i behave properly as secretary of state. hillary clinton has been around long enough to know that is not going to keep people from knowing, oh, you were at fault. she knows you were not doing anything to stop investigations but it is still the smart thing to do, say, here is my position and this is my story. >> let's talk about the other side of the aisle. we've got some big-name republicans. they're meeting in new orleans, as you know. republican leadership conference there. before that, we have to bring on duck dynasty star phil robertson. let's hear part of what he said earlier this week. >> i'll tell you something else, it's biblical. one man, one woman, for life. i'm always about this close.

to firepower. my college professors told me we crawled out of the ocean. i heard that bunk. certain inalienable rights to live. i can guarantee you in the womb or out of it is what jefferson meant. to be free and to pursue happiness. >> why does the gop put him up there? is he merely to fire up the base? because i don't think he gets read that way by people outside of that room necessarily. >> right. this is exactly the position the republicans are in. they've got somebody, as you said, fires up the base. wants to talk about positions that frankly are not actual dissimilar to what the official republican positions are on guns, on same sex marriage. those positions are consistent. but they do not buy the republican party a new generation of voters. a different group of voters.

a more diverse group of voters. he shared a stage with ryan prebus who is the head of the party who is trying very hard, who was part of that whole autopsy report after the 2012 election after they lost the presidency again. that is not what we're seeing from "duck dynasty." >> robertson told republicans if they want to turn their party around they need to, quote, get godly. what do you think his appeal is for the gop? >> the vast majority of voters in america agree with his perception of religion having an important place in america. it's important to remember, this is in new orleans. he is from louisiana. he has become a star within a certain sector of the republican party in the conservative movement because of the fight he got into last year. i think there is, to her point, it is hard to figure out what the contrast is between having a

more inclusive party and having robertson, a very diversive figure, a popular one, up there and speaking. just showing how to actually balance between those two goals. >> can i ask you, any mainstream republicans, if you will, speaking in new orleans? michelle cruz, rick santorum. >> hopefuls in there for 2016. like ted cruz. like possibly rick santorum. could make a run again. if you're looking for sort the establishment conservatives within the party, people who are maybe seeking re-election this year like mitch mcconnell and so forth, they're just not there. >> chris christie. all right. >> i think that also speaks volumes. it's a great point to make. >> thank you, guys, so much. >> thank you. >> they are armed with their p diplo diplomas, their dreams and a mountain of debt.

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32 past the hour. we have some breaking news. from the white house, word from officials that the only american soldier who has been held captive in afghanistan has been freed and is now in the custody of u.s. officials. let's go right to the white house. nbc's kristen welker has all the details. how did this come about? >> we're still trying to determine that, alex. i can tell you just moments ago the white house put out an official statement. i'm going to read that to you now. the american people are pleased we'll be able to welcome home the sergeant, held captive for nearly five years on behalf of the american people. his parents can expect his safe return mindful their courage and sacrifice throughout this

ordeal. today, we also remember the many troops who remain captive, missing or unaccounted for. sergeant birdall's recovery is a reminder of america's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman behind in uniform on the battlefield. the statement goes on to thank the emir of qatar for helping with this release. we're just learning about this, so it's not clear how the united states was able to secure his safe return. we will begin to report on that and get you details. this statement, just a week after president obama made that surprise visit to afghanistan. earlier this week, he announced the u.s. would leave 9,800 troops in afghanistan as it draws down the war there. of course, the u.s. is waiting to see who the next president of afghanistan will be so it can

sign the security agreement to make all of those troop arrangements, to finalize those troop arrangements, i should say. the breaking news is the u.s. has secured the safe relief of the sergeant who's been held captive there since 2009. >> i want to add a little bit. we are getting from the associated press, that the 28-year-old held by the taliban since june 30, 2009, but officials saying he is in good condition and he is able to walk. i'm joined right now by former u.s. ambassador to iraq, christopher hill. so your reaction to this, sir, the fact we have the sergeant now released. can you talk about with your vast experience how something like this would have happened? this is a man who's been held since june 30 of 2009 since the taliban and now he's free. this just does not happen

overnight. >> you're absolutely right. it doesn't happen on its own. certainly when we were in iraq, we had a unit that worked on these kinds of issues. the problem is often you don't really know where the subject -- whether the subject is alive. you demand a kind of proof of life. and they stall and you're never quite clear what you have. so this is quite an extraordinary development. and, you know, hats off to all the people who obviously worked so hard, so long on this be. >> a lot of times, there will be third parties, correct? can you envision something like that? or do you think this will be negotiated between the united states and the taliban? >> hard to say, but you're right, there often are third parties. there might be another embassy in town that has relations. it might be something with another country, maybe something

with pakistan or elements in pakistan. really, we're going to have to wait for the full story to come out. these are verycat things. they have to be held in very tight circles. people have to believe in them and work very hard. it's really a great moment. >> absolutely. i should say that kristen mentioned also the government of qatar, prance they were involved. the fact that this comes when the president made this announcement saying we're going to have 9800 troops, reduce that number by half by the end of next year, and then by the end of 2016, have a modicum of troops basically just there to protect our epbase and any u.s. interests there. does that surprise you? was that kind of news appealing to the taliban? >> well, probably be appealing to the taliban, but i think it's also appealing to the majority of the american people who would like to see our troop commitments decline there. as you know, we've been carrying out kind of on again, off again

discussion, with the taliban, in qatar, and trying to work out some arrangements on various things. because the taliban is not a model -- all these different organizations, factions, et cetera. this hostage release could be a part of that process. but certainly i think overall it kind of reflects the view that somehow the u.s. is trying to wind down our engagement in afghanistan. >> we're looking at a time line on bo birgdal's life. he was captured just one month later, at the end of june. kristen, is there any time line in which the white house has expressed the details? was the release today? was it this morning the president spoke with the family? >> we actually don't have those

details yet, alex. this information all just coming out right now. in term, of the time line for bringing him home, i anticipate that will happen as quicklies an possible. based on the statement that i just read it seems as though that happened either today or late last night. as soon as we get those details, we will bring that to you. this coming as the united states just announced the new troop levelings avvels in afghanistan. you would assume this would be part of the revelations coming abo about. >> with regard to qatar's potential involvement.

you can bet this is not something that just happened since the president did that. so how difficult is it to bring in a third party like another government? just a moment. kristin's obviously got something. >> i just wanted to let you know we have confirmed that piece of information that he is in good condition, he is able to walk. that is really a key piece of information here. so he's in good condition. he is able to walk it alex. >> ambassador, back to qatar and the role it will play. is it -- are third parties willing partners always to do this kind of thing? how difficult is it tore get them involveded? >> often the real problem is you

get a lot people coming up wanting to be a third party. you have to make the analysis of whether someone like that can help. if qatar was involved in this, it would be logical, because they have had the connections to the taliban. they did establish tore allor a taliban to establish an office. the details, the facts in all of this, certainly, this didn't just happen after president obama made these announcements. i'm sure they knew and they were briefed probably on the kind of decisions the u.s. had for reducing troops. i doubt there were any surprise for anybody in the past week, but simply a matter of trying to get what the taliban felt they needed. and i'm sure a third party and probably qatar was involved in this. >> i'm curious, bo birgdal was

kidnapped in the patika province in afghanistan. what is the likelihood he spent all this time there or what are other situations like? >> we don't have a lot who have come back from situations where they've been held for five years. it's happened a couple of times in beirut. usually when these people are debriefed you find they've been moved to several locations. and that they have been held by people who are very security conscious. so i'm sure he has an extraordinary story to tell. i think we all look forward to hearing that. i'm sure he's been moved around quite often. and i'll bet this has not been -- it was not a very gentle process. i'm sure he's had some pretty harrowing experiences. >> interestingly, though, and the good news is he seems to be in good health, is a bell to

walk. my question to you, do you think he was kept intentionally as some sort of bargaining chip? what we're hearing is this release was part of a negotiation that inclupds the release of five afghan detainees from the u.s. prison at guantanamo bay, cuba. >> yes, often these issues of, you know, some sort of political way forward do involve the release of detainees. as you know, the u.s. has been looking at the remaining deta detainees in guantanamo. i can imagine something like that came up. i'd like to hear more confirmation of it before i assume that was the case. certainly the release of detainees often comes up kind of early on in these processes. and often it's difficult to do. the fact that he was in good health doesn't necessarily mean he's always been in good health for the last five years, so we need to know more from him, how his actual treatment was. but certainly when people are

grabbed in the way he was grabbed, i think they have in mind an eventual swap of some kind. otherwise, would have met with a much more decisive fate. >> that prisoner exchange comes to us from the associated press. i'll go back to kristen welker at the white house. >> i did just confirm that, according to a senior administration official, the release was secured in exchange for five guantanamo detainees. i'm also told we are going to be getting more information from the department of defense momentarily. so we will be checking our blackberries for that. and we anticipate that the information will sort of be trickling in throughout the day. to some of your questions about time like, when specifically will he be back on american soil, that's going to be the big question. and of course the point that was just made, has he always been in good condition? or has he suffered while he's

been detained since 2009? again, we have just confirmed this was released. this release was secured in exchange for five guantanamo detainees, alex. >> as you're working off information being delivered straight to you from the white house, i'm get things from the associated press and asking the ambassador to interpret them. apparently several u.s. dozen special forces were involved in this exchange. it took place in eastern afghanistan, close to the pakistani border. special forces being involved in this. it is an exchange. is there a presumption it was done peacefully? >> i think it was done peacefully but i think it's prudent to have the area secured and i'm sure that's what the special forces were doing. but these are very dicey moments. ofte often, you know, when these people are held not everyone holding them wants to give them up for whatever the exchange is. it might have been -- it might well have been of course for some people being held in

guantanamo. i suspect there are other elements of it, rather than just a straight-up exchange. i suspect there were broader political elements as suggested earlier by the discussion of the fact that our president just announced policy initiative in afghanistan. so a lot of things are going on. but certainly what you need is to make sure that everyone is supposed to release him, actually does, and you want to secure, a safe and secure area for where that reliease is to take place. >> after nearly five years in captivity in afghanistan, the only u.s. soldier there being held captive for nearly five years, bo birgdal, has been freed. we'll get more reaction to this breaking news after a short break. new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs.

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again, at 49 past the hour, that is the man who has been freed after nearly five years in captivity. the only american soldier held in afghanistan by the taliban.

that is sergeant bowe bergdahl. his parents will be very happy to have him back on terra firma here in the united states. receipt's go right to the white house. >> well, alex, i'll read you a part of the statement president obama put out. he said, quote, i was honored to call his parents to express our joy that they can expect his safe return, mindful of their courage and sacrifice throughout this ordeal, alex. think it is difficult to imagine the level of relief they must be feeling. he has been held captive since 2009. a harrowing experience undoubtedly for him and for his entire family. we are getting a few more details about how this all came about at this hour, alex. the white house official confirming that the u.s. did secure his safe return in exchange for the relief of five

detainees at guantanamo. we're anticipating we will get more details about that and information that we're expecting to come out from the department of defense momentarily. we're also being told that he's in good condition, alex, that he's able to walk around. so that's certainly welcome news from his family. and of course this all coming as president obama just last weekend when we were on the air made that surprise trip to afghanistan to thank the troops for their service, and then just a few days later, announced there would be 9,800 american troops left in afghanistan at the end of this year, as the u.s. begins to draw down its entire troop presence there. so certainly a momentum moment not only for bo bergdahl, for this administration, and for americans who have been following the story. >> absolutely. kristen, thank you for noting that the defense department will be putting out some more information. you'll be monitoring that for us. i understand happened local time saturday night. there in afghanistan. the eastern part of the country.

right near pakistan. so that means it just happened a short while ago. we will stay on top of of that and bring you more information as we get it. after a short break, we'll talk about a minimum wage hike across this country. stay with us. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should.

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raise the city's wage to $15 per hour, that plan was approached by committee on thursday and will gradually approve the wage by business side. joining me now is the former chief economist for vice president biden, also a fellow at the center for budget priorities. thank you for being here. this will probably be a little shorter than we anticipated because of that breaking news. >> understood. >> i know you do. the seattle plan gives large businesses about three years to comply, small businesses seven years. time line there, is that gradual increase necessary? >> i think it's useful when the increase is gradual. it gives everybody a chance to

ado adapt to the new wage. a seven-year phase-in is one of the longest. but a relatively large increase in the minimum, so that probably helps to defuse some of the anxiety around the impact of the higher wage. >> what kind of complications do you think could arise when you have minimum wage differences on such a local level? you think there will be businesses that just move outside the city limits of seattle? >> well, historically, that's precisely what people have worried about. if you actually look at what's happened, you don't see much of that because businesses want to be near their consumer base. instead what you find is other things work to absorb the increase. firms have less turnover. they may train their workers more. so we haven't seen that much of the sort of moving across borders that you'd expect. remember, when you're talking about retail, you want to be near your customer base. >> okay. i want to get to college

graduation season, which it is right now. the latest class to enter the real world as the folks like to say. here's a clip of that. >> the class of 2014 is adventurous. >> ambitious. >> ready to make change in the world. >> i am the class of 2014. >> we are the class of 2014. >> 2014! >> 2014! >> congratulations! >> that's a montage of vacation days. talk about the outlook for them and the fellow millenniums there. >> that was such a happy little segment. you don't want to turn to the gloomy economist. >> i know. >> let me point out, in fact, the job market is improved relative to a few years ago. this is important to graduates because if you start out in a recession, it really has a negative effect on your lifetime

career trajectory. doesn't mean you won't go u, p, but you're starting from a lower place. the fact that things are better is helpful. that said, it's still the case that entry level wages for college graduates are below where they ought to be because the downturn and the weak economy has been so persistent. >> all right, i promised it would be a short segment, but thank you for joining me. >> it's for a good reason. >> that's true, i appreciate that. at the top of the hour, we're going to have more on the breaking story. the only american soldier held captive in afghanistan has been freed. again, the top of the hour, we'll have more on this story. ♪

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my mom works at ge. alright, that should just about do it. excuse me, what are you doing? uh, well we are fine tuning these small cells that improve coverage, capacity and quality of the network. it means you'll be able t post from the breakroom. great! did it hurt? when you fell from heaven (awkward laugh) ...a little.. (laughs) im sorry, i have to go. at&t is building you a better network. smoking with chantix. as a police officer, i've helped many people in the last 23 years. but i needed help in quitting smoking. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these,

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qatar now. officials say birth doergdahl i good physical health. he is able to walk. a nonviolent exchange happened right near the pakistani border in afghanistan. it still remains a mystery exactly how bergdahl was captured five years ago. it happened on june 30th, 2009. he is the only american soldier who has been held prisoner in afghanistan. let's go right to the white house. nbc's kristen welker standing by with further details. i believe you have information from the defense secretary chuck hagel? >> i do. he just put out a statement. we just got it a moment ago. it says, a few hours ago the family of the sergeant was informed by president obama the long wait for his return will soon be over. he is now under the care of u.s. military after being handed over by his captors in afghanistan. we will give him all the support he needs to help him recover from this ordeal. we are grateful he will soon be

reunited with his family. i informed congress of the decision to transfer five detainees from guantanamo bay to qatar. the united states has coordinated closely with qatar to ensure that security measures are in place and the national security of the united states will not be compromised. that, just a portion of the statement from defense secretary chuck hagel about this huge breaking news that sergeant bowe bergdahl has been released. as you pointed out, at the top of your show, he is in good condition, according to u.s. officials. he is able to walk. you can only imagine those are the words his family wanted to hear. a harrowing experience from him and his family. we've heard from him throughout the course of his detention. you can only imagine their level of relief upon hearing this news. these details are just trickling in, alex, over time, so we anticipate hearing more about

how he was actually released. the president putting out a statement that he spoke to his parents and they were thrilled to get that news. so that's the very latest here as we continue to monitor this situation, this huge news that bo bergdahl has been released. of course, it comes after last week, president obama announced 9,800 troops would be staying in afghanistan at the end of the year, and one of my sources, alex, telling me at this hour the implications for the peace process moving forward are just huge when it comes to this release. so those are some of the things that analysts will be looking at when they try to interpret what this means. of course for the family, for bow bergdahl himself, just a momentum day. >> we understand the information came to them in a phone call from the president about 10:30 a.m. eastern time. the president making that call to bo bergdahl's family in haley, idaho. my thanks to you.

i know you're standing by, also the defense department. on the heels of that, i'd like to bring in our msnbc military analyst. the division commander and former national security council member. and ambassador christopher hill who joined us earlier on the broadcast. former ambassador to iraq. thanks for joining meg. general, to you, your reaction to the release of sergeant bergdahl? was it something you expected could happen after five years? >> there's been a strong ethic of never leaving your buddies behind so trying to recover bodies of those killed in action or p.o.w.s is a driving force in the armed forces. it's an important thing during this withdrawal period. our leverage is disappearing in afghanistan so i'm glad they got him out now. you alluded to the fact we need a very careful analysis of how he left the u.s. military

security and ended up in the taliban's hands. that's important to bring that out as rapidly as possible. >> absolutely. ambassador hill, let's talk about the diplomacy involved in something like this. we touched on it in the last half hour. we do have word that not only were negotiations under way between the united states and the taliban, it was very likely brokered by the government of qatar. how much of a challenge is that for the government of qatar, considering the two others involved? >> certainly is a challenge for them. i'm sure they're very pleased with the result. after all, they were the ones pushing for these direct talks between the united states and taliban in the first place. i think it really is sort a good sign that qatar has the contacts on the other side. i think, as the general suggested, it is always a very high priority of the u.s. government to make sure that issues of detainees are right up front and center, and i think

the qataris understood that and really pressed the taliban. what the actual course of negotiations were, were they arguing about which people out of guantanamo, what were the issues. hard to say at this point. i think it speaks well to the process the united states has been engaged in, which is to find elements of the taliban, we could somehow cut some deals with. this, i think, is an cexample o that. >> ambassador hill talking about the negotiations. there are five members of the taliban that were being held in guantanamo bay, cuba, for whom this release was negotiated. we believe they in the custody right now of the government of qatar. so talk about that. is it the kind of thing you think bow bergdahl was kept around, because of the possibility of using him as a bargaining chip down the road? >> oh, sure. i've been in and out of guantanamo prison. the remnants that are there now, after we sorted through most of

them, tend to be highly dangerous people. the ones we release, many of them, we end up killing on the batt battlefield or recapturing. so i'm sure the taliban were delighted they got five of their people out. that's probably not a significant detriment to u.s. national security. but they don't care about bergdahl and i can't imagine that it's actually indicative in any way of good news about the peace process. there's some huge issues at stake here in afghanistan. bergdahl's not important to any of them. >> general, the fact that he's able to be described right now as being in good health, that he's able to walk on his own, ambassador hill suggested earlier that's not necessarily something that was the case for these entire five year since he was captured on june 30th, 2009. what do you know about the kind of treatment that prisoners off have been gotten, if they're even kept alive? >> well, of course, by and

large, i think we've only had three or four soldiers in all of iraq and afghanistan who we lost custody of. a couple of them are in iraq and were later murdered. so this is good news that he's in good health. that he's a tough young soldier. country boy. this is good news. but he was a bargaining chip. they didn't want to kill him, obviously. at the end of the day, it paid off for him, with the exchange of these five people out of guantanamo. >> yeah, ambassador hill, with regard to the diplomacy that's involved here, it's a complicated process to say the least. but the setup for this it we've discussed, it could not just have happened since the president announced the reduction in troops, that he'd have 9,800 u.s. troops in afghanistan by the end of this year, cut that number in half by 2015 and by the end of 2016 leave troops merely just to maintain security around whatever u.s. presence is there,

embassy, consulate and the like. >> i think this takes a lot of time and i'm sure we focussed early on, on the issue of detainees certainly getting some proof of life. so probably this has been going on for some time. as you know, the president has been trying to close guantanamo. as the general said, we're kind of down to some really tough customers there. that chances are we don't want to release. i suspect this has been going on not just for the last few days and not just related to the broader policy themes. but the fact that something came out of this qatar connection i think is positive. i share the skepticism we're going to have some kind of easy peace process with the taliban. certainly, i mean, this is a good day for what we've been doing with the qatari and

certainly a very good day for sergeant bergdahl and his family. >> we should add that nbc's jim miklaszewski is giving us information on behalf of the defense department saying with the departure of these five detainees from guantanamo bay, cuba, there are now 149 remaining on the premises. let's go back to the white house, nbc's kristen welker. >> a little bit more information on his release and how it actually went down. this is according to a senior administration official who says that the handover was peaceful and happened in eastern afghanistan, along the border. u.s. special operations forces conducted the rescue, and they flew helicopters in the mission. here's a little bit of color for you, alex. this official saying that once bergdahl was on the helicopter, he rode on a paper place. he had to write because it was too loud on the helicopter. he wrote fs meaning special forces. the operator said yes, we are special forces, we've been looking for you for a long time.

at that point, bergdahl broke down crying. really incredible to hear about those first moments of his release, his own reaction to realizing what was happening after being detained since 2009, alex. >> boy, that is a -- that's enough to bring tears to my eyes. general mccaffrey, your reaction to hearing that? >> well, indeed, you know, his family will be delighted. the community's rallied around him over the years. the military's been very supportive. he was captured, seems to me, as a pfc. he's continued to be promoted during his cantivety. again there ought to be a full accounting of how he ended up with taliban hands. >> very much an emotional day for all of us who are sharing in this tremendous news that bow bergdahl has been released after nearly five years. ambassador christopher hill, i want to thank you for joining us. you've been with us for the better part of an hour.

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if you're just joining us, i want to update you on the breaking news we got from the white house. the only american service man being held captive in afghanistan has been released. bow bergdahl, who was promoted to sergeant in 2011 after his abduction june 30th of 2009. the president has spoken with his parents. they hail from haley, idaho. he called them about three hours ago, now, eastern standard time, at 10:30. kristen welker. i understand you have something new. >> we just got a new piece of information, alex, which is the

identities of those five detainees released from guantanamo bay in exchange for the release of bow bergdahl. i don't recognize these names, but we want to get on the record. mo hamd as if fasi. mohammad lubi. abdul hak rasik. that's my best attempt at pronouncing some of those names. there are still 149 detainees who remain at guantanamo bay. alex, and just to recap what we know at this hour, this release was secured at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. it occurred in the eastern part of afghanistan. special forces went in, rescued sergeant bowe bergdahl. it was peaceful. we're told once he realized he was with special forces, he broke down and started crying. you can only imagine what was going through his head at that moment. and then as you mentioned,

president obama called his parents to let them know about the news. undoubtedly, an emotional moment for them as well. in terms of when we can expect to actually see bowe bergdahl back on u.s. soil, we're still waiting to get those details. of course this just comes days after president obama announced the new troop levels in afghanistan, that there would be 9,800 american troops lefrt at the end of this year. one of my foreign policy sources saying the fact that bergdahl has been released could potentially have great implications for the peace process moving forward. other analysts will look at this and question the u.s. policy which says it does not negotiate with terrorists. that is certainly one of the things that will be discussed. i anticipate in the coming days. but of course the big news from the white house at this hour is that sergeant bowe bergdahl has been released, much to the

release certainly of his parents, this administration and the united states, people would have been watching this unfold since 2009, alex. >> just to let you know, regarding his associated press association on that time line, we're getting word he'll be taken to bagram air base in afghanistan and be coming home quickly, back state side, to be reunited with his family from idaho. i know as you get more information, we'll get back to you. we'll get some new reaction today in the va scandal following eric shinseki's resignation. two of the va whistleblowers in phoenix are reacting to the resignation after they helped bring to life the long delays in scheduling and the poor care veterans were receiving. >>cy think he had a hard time understanding that these people didn't have the same moral ethics and standards as he did. >> i don't think pandora's box has been opened yet. i think there's a firestorm coming. the only way it's going to come is if the employees speak up

without fear of retaliation. >> joining me, once again, msnbc military analyst general jerry mccaffrey. is there a firestorm of sorts coming? has pandora's box been opened at the va? >> there's two aspects to this. the va with 1,700 health care delivery places it one of the best medical systems in the country. digitized records. they're really kind to our veterans once they're in facilities. the problem is the giant bureaucracy, 330,000 people, the secretary is barely in charge, because congressmen restrict any movement of budget. it's a heavily unionized force which is good and causes issues, and it's underresourced, given the giant load that's been put on it, with 2.5 million vets coming home from iraq and afghanistan. and my age group, the vietnam veterans, 3 million of us, now getting older and putting heavy

demands on the system. so we need new legislation. we need health care cards so a veteran can go take his illness to a local provider, if he's on a nine-month wait for cardiac care in the va. >> i'm curious, do you anticipate criminal charges will be forthcoming? and that you've heard whistleblowers or those who have been queried in the investigation, schedulers have said they asked literally to doctor records to make it more favorable that the va was staying on top of patients. >> my experience in 12 years in business is if you lie to your -- about your performance, in writing, you get fired. and certainly in the armed forces, you lie to us over a radio in combat and we'll can you the next hour. so it was a surprise to me that allegedly there is widespread fraudulent reporting of data.

but this is a weakness of bureaucracy. and so we need more accountability and we need more authority in the hands of the va secretary to actually govern this giant operation. >> on the heels of that, was it appropriate that secretary shin sha saek resigned? >> he's one of the finest most honorable people i've ever met in my life. he's actually quite a good manager. he ran the, you know, 1.1 million men and women the u.s. army active reserve and guard. he was central casting for who you'd want in a va secretary. i'm glad he's relisigned. the solution will now be in congress. congress is going to posture both parties well through the november election. he would have been used as a political hockey puck. i'm glad he's out of there. >> general jerry mccaffrey, always a pleasure, sir. thank you so much for weighing in on both of these stories. coming up, a veteran

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of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. at 26 past the hour, want to bring you up to date. we were informed by the white house about one hour ago that sergeant bowe bergdahl, would has been held captive by the taliban since 2009, has been released just this morning. in the eastern part of afghanistan. he was released in exchange for five prisoners being released from guantanamo bay, cuba. those five prisoners, members of the taliban, are all now in the custody of qatar. that is the nation that helped broker this deal between the taliban and the united states. we're getting word bowe bergdahl is in good health, he is able to walk. last word is he will be

transferred to bagram airfield and then come home to the united states. we'll take a short break. u keepr lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge.

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i'm sure my subaru will get me there. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." approaching 30 past the hour. we've got breaking news. joined by nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker with the latest on the release of sergeant bergdahl. what are you hearing? >> i can tell you the release happened at 10:30 a.m. eastern time, in the eastern part of afghanistan, the special forces went in, rescued bow bergdahl, it was a peaceful rescue. and he's in good condition, able to walk around, according to a white house official, and according to a senior defense official, once he realized he

was with special forces, he broke down and started to cry. we are getting a statement from president obama who said, quote, on behalf of the american people i was honored to call his, bowe bergdahl's parents, to express our joy they can expect his safe return. today, we also remember the many troops held captive and who remain missing or unaccounted for in past wars. a reminder of america's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield. right now, bergdahl is headed home. he'll go to bagram airfield, first, we are told, and then will make his way back to the u.s. we don't have exact timing on when we anticipate his return. now, according to a senior administration official, this release was secured in exchange for the release of five detainees at guantanamo bay. and it comes just a few days after president obama announced

those new troop levels in afghanistan, that 9,800 american troops would be left there at the end of the year, and then ultimately all of them will be withdrawn by 2016. so certainly you would have to anticipate this news is a part of some of the negotiations going on around those troop levels. one analyst telling me this could have significant implications for peace negotiations moving forward. another thing that i anticipate analysts will be looking at in the coming days is of course the u.s. policy that the administration doesn't negotiate with terrorists. one person telling me that the more accurate way to say it is the u.s. does when it's necessary but won't put u.s. security or interests at risk. you can only anticipate the relief on the part of bowe bergdahl's family and of course this administration. alex. >> absolutely. you've summed that up right. thank you very much, kristen

welker, from the white house, for that. i'm awfully glad you stuck around, sir, because i want to ask about two things kristen was talking about, first, the fact that the united states does not negotiate for the release of prisoners. and also your take on the prospect that this will help further along the peace process. i take it from a conversation earlier that you're not that positive that this will have a good effect or a positive effect on that. >> certainly, our policy in public has always been we won't negotiate with terrorists. we know that will put ensuing situations, people at risk. but i'm sure this was the right thing to do. we wanted bergdahl back under our control. he was a political chip in the hands of the taliban. we're always concerned about any soldier that is held in captivity. it was the right thing to do, no question. i do want, though, to have a full public accounting of the circumstances under which he was lost to u.s. military control. and in terms of the peace

process, i do not believe this is significant in any way. there are some huge issues at stage in afghanistan. the united states is now a dwindling factor in the eventual outcome. so i think the taliban and the pashtun and the, you know, government of kabul have got some real serious issue. millions of people are at risk now in the waning days of this u.s. presence. i don't think bergdahl is important in any way in that. >> general mccaffrey, weighing in on the va scandal and eric shinseki, thank you so much, i appreciate your time. we're going to get a bit more on the va scandal. we talk about of course eric shinseki having stepped down, but not before he publicly apologized to all vets for what happened at the facility in phoenix. >> that breach of integrity is

irresponsible, indefensible and unacceptable. i can take responsibility for it. and i do. >> he does not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care that they need. >> in terms of fixing the problem, many in congress are calling for the fbi to investigate the case, but what do the veterans families want and how do they feel about shinseki's resignation? joining us now, daryl richardson. his brother was a vietnam vet who had liver cancer. he was told he would have to wait seven months for an appointment. he died five months later. can you explain in further detail, as we welcome you to the show, and express my condolences for your loss, what happened to your brother? >> well, thanks, alex, for having me on. i would like to basically start off by saying my brother was a decorated vietnam vet. he was one of the 40-plus people that died while waiting for care

at the phoenix va. he served in the brownwater navy in north -- in vietnam, i'm sorry, on the quaftree river and returned in 1969. have a lifetime of battle with post traumatic stress and survivor's syndrome. and spent a great deal of time with military organizations and veteran organizations throughout the country. in the summer of 2012, he was diagnosed with liver cancer in late july. he summered in wisconsin and wintered here in arizona. decided he would pack up and come down here with the complete package of records and scans and everything the doctors could provide him, to bring to the phoenix va. and upon his arrival, his attempt to get an appointment with the phoenix va starting in august, was told that the wait

to see a primary case physician and subsequently a referral to an oncologist would be seven months. and at that point in time, at the same time, we were trying to get the oncologist to give him a referral to the houston va, which had one of the leading edge treatments for treatment of liver cancer at that point in time. >> and that obviously went nowhere, you didn't get the referral to houston? >> no, we did not. as a matter of fact, while waiting for an appointment for the primary care physician, the pain got so bad that he went into the va emergency room and was seen there. they looked at his records and scans that he brought from minnesota, or i'm sorry, wisconsin, and basically determined that he did have liver cancer, they did start him on chemotherapy treatment, and that lasted for about a week.

he had an appointment to go back and see his oncologist, which he did get referred from emergency to an oncologist specialist at that point in time, and they immediately saw -- took one look at him and checked him back in the hospital. his blood sugar was over 700. he was there for three days. and they got it below 500 that evening. the next day, it was back up over 700. they got it down to about 300 to 400. and they released him from the hospital. >> we should let people know who aren't familiar with blood sugar. it's supposed to hover around like 90 to 100. so what you're talking about is exponentially worse than what it's supposed to be. >> correct. >> whom do you hold most responsible for dennis's death? >> well, i have to say that it's the va hospital system and the way it's being administered and managed by the administration.

and it's not necessarily whether it's a democratic or republican administration. i'm just looking at it from the standpoint of a veteran looking at what kind of system operates and how it operates and how that care is administered. it starts all the way from basically getting started with the appointment setting procedures. getting the appointments with the primary care physicians all the way through referrals to specialists. to the primary care situation. so that -- it's a complete collapse of the whole system. >> which means that it's going to be a very, very difficult thing to try to fix. we know that congress is on it. many americans outraged. and of course there are those of you who have suffered so greatly as a result of the mismanagement. in the meantime, i do want to thank you for joining me and talking with me about your brother, dennis. daryl richardson, best of luck. thank you. >> thank you, alex. coming up at 1:00, we're going to have a very short break. we're going to be speaking with

colonel jacobs about our breaking news. that man right there, bowe bergdahl, seen in a taliban video provided as proof of his existence, we know he has been released, some three hours and change ago, eastern time, 10:30 a.m. he is son his way to bagram airfield, then on to the united states. we'll talk with the colonel after this. stay with us. ♪fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow♪ ♪fame, puts you there where things are hollow♪ the evolution of luxury continues. the next generation 2015 escalade. ♪fame

at quarter past, more on today's breaking news. the only u.s. soldier held in captivity in afghanistan is free today. sergeant bergdahl was released near the border about 10:30 eastern time today. this in exchange for his relief. the u.s. has released five taliban detainees held at guantanamo bay. they're now in the custody of the government of qatar. join me on the phone, msnbc military analyst retired army colonel jack jacobs. with regard to what you know

about the taliban prisoners who were released from guantanamo bay or the type of prisoners who were still being held at this point, share with us what this means, these five that are gone, leaving, i believe, 149 still in captivity there at guantanamo. >> these are the people who are perceived to be less likely to line up on the battlefield again, but they're still pretty bad people. the administration has been working for quite some time, trying to effect some kind of transfer so we would be able to get bergdahl back. you can also look at this as an attempt by the administration to, as quickly as possible, establish some sort of rapport with the taliban, and in effect wind up getting them involved in the government in afghanistan so they won't be as violent. but that's going to be very difficult to do. as you said, you still have over 100 people in guantanamo. what are you going to do with

them, because the congress is not going to let them come to the mainland any time soon. >> colonel, it has been my understanding that those who remain in guantanamo, now down to 149, that they are -- i guess you can call them the worst of the worst. is that how you see them or not? >> oh, yeah, some of these are extremely bad people. it's interesting to note, of the people who have been released before over the last, let's say, five years, from guantanamo, and sent back home, that we have kill order captured add significant percentage of them back on the battlefield. and so to say that what's left in guantanamo is anything other than really the worst of the worst is -- if you say anything other than that, it's a gross understatement. these are really, really bad people. >> i want to go over what we're hearing in terms of the actual swap. it involved a couple dozen u.s. special forces. most likely delta forces

operating under the u.s. forces afghanistan. 18 taliban members were on site at the exchange. multiple u.s. helicopters involved as well as extensive overhead surveillance assets. i guess that could be interpreted as drones. apparently no shots fired during this. but clearly there was extraordinary amount of security on the scene. and that would be for what reason, not only to ensure bowe bergdahl's safety but to ensure nothing erupted? >> well, it's also to make sure the taliban delivered what they say they're going to deliver. the assets you're talking about not only include helicopter assets but also fixed wing. jet planes with the ability to strike precision guided munitions if necessary. also awac s aircraft. plus satellite downlinks to the

a ba awacs and people on the ground. there also had to be a commitment from the taliban not to bring any surface to air weapons. by the way, taliban's got 'em, surface to air weapons. if they brought them, if they were perceived as bringing them, and we can see from satellites and aircraft, all bets were off. so complete coverage and security in the area. >> thank you very much for weighing in with your expertise. i appreciate that. this breaking news. we're going to stay on top of it as we get more information from not only the defense department n or the white house. we'll talk about this guy, he's back, the controversial "duck dynasty" returns to rally the republicans. is he the voice of the party?

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i'll tell you something else. it's biblical. one man, one woman for life. and i'm always about this close to fire power. my college professors told me we crawled out of the ocean. i heard that bunk. endowed by a creator with certain inalienable rights to live. i can guarantee you what was meant, to be free and pursue happiness. >> all right. that was "duck dynasty" star phil robert son addressing republicans at their conference in new orleans this week. he kicks off today's big three. the toipices, voice of the party, traitor or patriot, and the candidates for best week/worst week if we have time. joining me now, opinion writer and msnbc contributor goldie taylor, morris reed, and

republican strategist alice stewart. with a welcome to the three of you. you guys, we're going to have a little bit of a shorter time than usual given all the breaking news from afghanistan. that great news. but alice, let me talk to you about your former boss, rick santorum, who i know is speaking today at this conference. do you think he's happy to be sharing the stage with phil robert son? >> well, phil robertson is not a voice of the republican party. he's one person who spoke about the importance of getting back to god. and if the republican party really wants to connect with a large part of the base, they need to get back to god. what senator santorum and all those at the conference are going to do is to ignite the base and remind the republican party that it's important to communicate with all facets of the party. that means working americans. we're going to hear that from senator santorum coming up shortly. certainly, everyone that's stepped up to that podium at this conference has an important message to share with those at the conference. >> but i'm curious, alice. this is a man who has said some questionable things in the past certainly. so why put him up there?

because he represents perhaps some parts of inner mainstream, but other parts may be more extreme. if you're looking to try to bring people under the tent, if you will, the gop tent, do you think it's wise to use a man like this? >> well, as i've said, he's one voice that represents his personal views and his personal values that are faith based and faith driven. that's a large part of the republican party, faith and family and traditional values. he's just one voice. he's voicing his opinion. to silence that or to not bring him and speak to a crowd like this, i think, would be a mistake. >> okay. goldie, what do you think the appeal is of phil robertson for the gop? >> you know, i live in the south. i'm absolutely christian, but our founders got on the boat because they were running away from religious fanaticism, the kind of religious fanaticism that's taking root within this modern-day gop. i don't believe, however, that phil robertson speaks for the gop. however, i do believe that there are far too many voices like

him, voices that are sbointoler, voices that don't represent social justice in this country, in terms of moving it forward. so to bring phil robertson and others like him to the leadership stage, i think, frankly, is a mistake for the gop and will cost them in elections to come. >> okay. morris, you're a political veteran. is the gop looking short term, if you will, to try to drive the base to the midterms? and if so, how does that help them with the long term? >> well, you know, you live election to election. i must say, though, that anyone that steps on that podium is endorsing your brand, and you are endorsing their brand. so the fact he's on the podium, the republicans noo eed to deale fact this is the wrong message to send. this guy is the wrong person to be on that stage. so, yeah, this is about midterm elections. we'll see how this plays out in the long term. but this certainly doesn't help them long term. >> okay. let's move on to traitor or patriot. of course, we're talking about nsa leaker edward snowden's

first american television interview since he sought asylum in russia. here's what he told our own nbc's brian williams about being a spy. >> i was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that i lived and worked undercover, overseas, pretending to work in a job that i'm not. and even being assigned a name that was not mine. >> goldie, is this the first we're hearing about him being trained as a spy? what's the read on that statement? is it plausible? >> i think it absolutely is plausible. unfortunately, it is. it is something very different from being this low-level hacker that we'd heard about before. certainly he had more training and more reach than we ever once believed that he did. but that kicks it up a notch for me. that says he absolutely violated his oath to these united states, to the contract he signed to his employer to take this information and then make it public. now, are we having a meaningful conversation about privacy in this country? absolutely. should we be challenging our government on his transparency and whether or not it should be

more transparent? absolutely we should be. but the manner in which this has been brought out, i have real problems with. >> morris, earlier we played the reaction from secretary of state john kerry as well as national security adviser susan rice. they were quite direct, offered some biting comments, if you will. they usually don't speebak like that. so what do you think is at the heart of their disdain for snowden beyond these obvious leaks? >> he's an absolute traitor. he should never be allowed to come back to this country. he should give up his passport, give up his citizenship and let the chips fall where they may. i don't believe anything he says. anyone who loves his country should not be endorsing what this man is doing. >> alice, in 15 seconds, do you think there will ever be the catch-all answer everyone can agree on with snowden? >> i think many people will agree he's a traitor. he was a low-level contractor, had access to valuable information.

if he was really concerned about the intelligence gathering at the nsa, should have taken it to congress and not to the press. that made him a traitor. >> all right. we'll have you all back again for the big three. thank you so much. that's a wrap, everyone. up next, craig melvin has our continuing coverage of bowe bergdahl's release by the taliban. see you back here tomorrow. thit's not the "limit yoursh hard earned cash back" card . it's not the "confused by rotating categories" card. it's the no-category-gaming, no-look-passing, clear-the-lane-i'm- going-up-strong,

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