next on "meet the press," another summertime showdown between the white house and congress. house speaker john boehner accuse the president of overstepping his authority and says he will sue. >> they are gonna sue me for doing my job. >> with me this morning, the chair of the republican party, reince priebus. plus, my news making interview with former president, bill clinton. his strong defense of hillary clinton and harsh words for dick cheney about iraq. and what does one of president obama's closest advisers think about the prospect of hillary clinton running for president? unique insights as our cynthia mcfadden gets rare, behind the scenes access of the white

house. good sunday morning, we want to begin now with this increasingly bitter divide here in washington. will speaker boehner's planned lawsuit over executive power end any hope of action during the remainder of president obama's term? our congressional correspondent, kelly o'donnell, brings us up to date. >> reporter: a fractureded relationship that once displayed at least fleeting moments of public friendship, from their one-time-only golf outing to warm praise for family roots. >> how the son of a bar keep, the speaker of the house. >> reporter: and soon, chief litigant? a new fissure broke open over the constitutional boundaries of the president's job scrip i will. >> today in america -- >> reporter: but in january recall the president made clear wasn't going to let congress get in the way of what he called his year of action. >> wherever and whenever i can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more american families, that's what i'm gonna do >> morning, everyone.

>> reporter: speaker john boehner says some of the president's executive orders and regulatory moves cross the line. >> the constitution makes it clear that a president's job is to faithfully execute the laws. in my view, the president has not faithfully executed the laws. >> reporter: house is expected to vote to authorize a lawsuit next month. aides cite the president's changes to various fixed deadlines written into the health care law as an example of overreach, but one branch of government suing another is rare. >> so, there's a high bar for boehner to meet but we don't know yet what he is going to be suing over and whether he has found some legal, technical point on which he can succeed. >> reporter: attempting to dismiss the case himself, the president used a tv interview -- >> the suit is a stunt. >> reporter: and a road trip to push back. >> decided they are going to sue me for doing my job. >> reporter: congress already headed home for the july 4th break and with just 16 legislative days left until a five-week august recess, there

is little time left in this election year to repair the damage of discord. for "meet the press," kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >> with me now in her first television appearance since stepping down from her roam as the president's lawyer, i'm joined now by former white house council, kathly ruemmler. good to have you here. >> thank you. >> does the speak ver a point sore this just poll six in. >> well, david, look, obviously, this is just for show. the -- there is a concept in litigation called standing, which i've heard some people talk about in connection with this proposed lawsuit. and what basically that means is you have to show some kind of concrete injury. and you know, speaker boehner i think knows that as well as anybody. i don't think the congress can show any injury here. congress has a lot of tools available to it to challenge the president, if, you know, disagrees with things he is doing. most importantly, the power of the purse. and but you know, a lawsuit is -- to say it's frivolous i think is an understatement. >> do you think they side stepped this and actually pursue

impeachment? >> well, i think that's -- that's -- would be extreme. and obviously, completely unwarranted. the president has said that he is going to act where he can and the emphasis on where he can. and you know, the first thing that the president would ask and would instruct his lawyers, including myself and the lers at the justice department is do i have the legal authority to take this action? and he takes that responsibility very seriously. but if you look at some of the executive actions cited here, put them up on the screen. kelly o'donnell mentioned the affordable care act and extending the employer man date, delaying that allowing illegal immigrants with children to stay in the u.s., increase the federal minimum wage, the epa set carbon limits for new power plants. here, the supreme court hands down a decision sake the president overstepped his authority with regard to recess appointments, we can talk about that later in the program, why doesn't the house speaker take solace from that and say the president has overstepped his authority here in other areas?

>> well, first of all, the speaker hassant actually said what he intends to sue the president over. i think that's pretty telling. to come out with guns blazing and say i'm going to sue you, but i haven't figured out why yet is a little bit odd to say the least. and i think is pretty suggestive that this is just for show when it's opportunistic in an election year. >> so much going on legally. this weekend, abu khattala, ahmed a abu khattala, arrested in connection with the bombing, arraigned this weekend, an unusual move in walks washington. you have heard the criticism, why not put him before a military commission, why not put him in guantanamo bay, rather in a civilian proceeding is? >> david, the federal courts have many, many, many, many years of history, dplugd dealing with terrorist suspects. the federal court does these cases well. the prosecutors know how to bring them. it's a tried and true system. it works. it's been shown to work over and over again in this administration and in prior administrations. >> but is he a real ringleader

or lower-level guy we are spending a lot of attention on instead of getting somebody bigger in these attacks? >> i think we will have to wait and see what the justice department's case reveals as it proceeds through the system. but i can tell put justice department has indicted him and arraigned him and believe they can prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, i expect that's what they will do. >> more from you on our roundtable in a couple of minutes. thanks very much. hillary clinton isn't even a presidential candidate yet, but she is already playing defense about her wealth n a minute, you will see my exclusive interview with her husband, the former president, bill clinton. but first, here's our political director, chuck todd, with more on how this issue is playing with americans. >> reporter: hillary clinton crisscrossing the country, testing out themes for a white house run, but also trying to sell books. >> sign some books. >> reporter: she reportedly drew a multimillion dollar advance and has been commanding over $200,000 per appearance on the speaking circuit. >> hard choices were made. >> reporter: the clintons have accumulated enormous wealth, estimated at over $100 million. it's hard to believe they were once technically in the poor

house. >> we came out of the white house not only dead broke but in debt. >> it is factually true that we were several million dollars in debt. >> reporter: criticized for how she described her own wealth, mrs. clinton tried to walk back the dead broke comment. >> my inartful use of those few words doesn't change who i am, what i've stood for my entire life, what i stand for today. >> reporter: but her struggles to answer the money question exposed a potential vulnerability for her 2016 bid. >> any time you're able to define your opponent as out of touch, potentially lethal in american politics. we certainly did that very effectively to john kerry in the bush campaign. it was done effectively to al gore. it was done effectively to mitt romney. >> reporter: near-term concern for some clinton supporters is making sure she doesn't look out of touch with her own party, especially over the issue of income inequality. >> americans don't mind wealthy people. what they do mind are wealthy people who they think are gaming the system or are taking

advantage of thing these don't have access for. >> reporter: back in 2007, candidate barack obama effectively portrayed hillary clinton as out of touch, making this point about the struggles he and michelle had. >> it wasn't that long ago that we were living in a small condo and it was getting too small for our kids, that they were trying to figure out how to save money for our children's college education, paying off student loans. >> and that was barack obama saying why he would never run for president in 2016 had he lost in 2008. david, we have a new nbc news/"wall street journal"/annenberg poll, asked whether the way hillary clinton has been that bubble with secret service protection, her wealth, whether that means whether she can connect with average americans. 55% say despite all of that, believe she is in touch with average americans, a pretty good number. >> time for her to work through all of this before -- and if she does become a candidate, chuck, thank you so much. now, go to my exclusive interview with president clinton this week in denver at the clinton global initiative america. we first talked about income inequality and the challenges

facing the american economy. then i asked him about secretary clinton's handling of all these questions about their wealth. >> you understand some people have been critical of mrs. clinton, secretary clinton, who initially had to explain, talking about being dead broke coming out of the white house, or said in an interview that you -- >> i might understand it differently than you do. [ laughter ] look, you're in politics. one of the things that's challenge for us is that somebody's always trying to change the subject. and the subject is how can we get this economy going? how can it work? and one of the things that we forget is -- she was joking about the other day half the time somebody asking her a question, couldn't even vote when we were -- when i was president. and so, you have to live in the moment, not with memory. it is factually true that we were several million dollars in debt. everybody now assumes that what happened in the intervening

years was automatic. i'm shocked that it's happened. i'm shocked that people still want me to come give talks. and so -- i'm grateful. >> but when you say you paid ornary taxes, secretary clinton did, unlike other people who are really well off, paid taxes, maybe just off capital gains, can you understand as a political matter that could strike people as being out of touch? >> yeah, but she's not out of touch and she advocated and worked as a senator for things that were good for ordinary people and before that, all her life, and the people asking her questions should put this into some sort of context. i remember when we were in law school. she was out trying to get legal assistance for poor people. i remember she was working on trying to -- believing in paid leave for pregnant mothers in the 1970s. it's -- so, i think if you don't give the most adept answer to a

question because you immediately remember what you felt like the day we left, as opposed to what it looks like to everybody else now who is having trouble, you can say, okay, i got to clean that up, which she did. >> the reaction, bottom line, before i move on, the reaction to this you think has been unfair? >> no, i don't want to -- you get to decide what's fair. you get to decide what -- we have the first amendment. what i'm saying is the debate's the wrong debate. you need to be able to show by their policies and their statements about current conditions how candidates of both parties across the spectrum feel about the central challenge of our time, which is the demise of the american dream, and the loss of our leadership as the most successful middle-class country in the world and the idea that now, after -- i think i had the lowest net worth of any american president in the 20th century when i took office. but i still could have been tone

deaf. and you know, now i don't and we have got a good life and i'm grateful for it. but i still -- we go to our local grocery store on the weekend. we talk to people in our town. we know what's going on. the real issue is if you've been fortunate enough to be successful, are you now out of touch and insensitive to the agonizing struggles other people are facing? that's the real issue. >> the real issue you talk about as well is some of this pain people feeling in the middle class, a sense of t-- of the american dream is slipping away. 3.4 million americans out of work for six months-plus, you have 7 million by their up admission are stuck in lower paying jobs, part-time jobs. how can a democratic candidate for president -- what challenges would a democratic candidate for president face running on the obama committee? >> well, first of all, that's

not what anybody should do you should run on making it better. but he didn't cause a meltdown. the actions that his administration took kept it from being worse. and there had been a concerted effort to stop implementing his economic plan in the second term so none of you have any idea whether it would have worked or not. >> but you don't lay this at speaker boehner, at the republicans uniquely, do you? do you really think it's their opposition to the president that has forced had into have such impediments to get the economy growing again? >> no. we do have -- keep in mind, the average crash takes ten years to get over, has always. we got the jobs back in about six years. we now got to get the incomes up. i believe -- let me just put it this way, i believe if the two branch also been working

smoothly together and taking advantage of this time when interest rates were lower than inflation to cut long-term spending liabilities, but invest now in modern infrastructure, we would be in a lot better shape. i think median wages would be going up. i think poverty would be going down. that is not what the republicanses believe. the republicans believe government would -- always mess up a two-car parade unless it's something they want to spend money on, in washington, i'm talking about. and they just wanted to cut everything and not invest any money in the things that at least i believe are important. we need to try to get back to working together again. no, i'm not blaming them entirely. i mean, i -- >> so how can you -- >> you tell me, mr. mccarthy from california, i like him. the fellow that was just elected to -- >> kevin mccarthy. >> i like him h a great visit with him at the inauguration. so, what answers the first thing he does after he becomes the

number two guy in the house leadership? what is the very first thing he does? he changes his position on whether we're going to fund export/import bank. because the conservative populace say, oh, that's just a wall street crony capitalism deal that's not a wall street crony capitalism deal that's a financing device that allows us to compete with the 60 other countries in the world who are trying to save jobs in their countries and they help finance exports. >> i want to ask you about global leadership in the world. iraq is back, unfortunately, a terror threat from this group known as isis is back and perhaps poses a -- the biggest threat we have seen to the west and to the united states since al qaeda in afghanistan. the former vice president, dick cheney, said president in an op ed, that claims that al qaeda is decimated is clearly not true that, in fact, al qaeda is in the march -- is on the march. the argument that america's less safe under president obama. do you believe dick chain nay is

a credible critic on these matters? [ chuckles ] [ laughter ] >> i believe if they hadn't gone to war in iraq, none of this would be happening. [ applause ] so i think -- >> wouldn't be happening in syria, there wouldn't be terrorist actors? >> might be happening in syria, but what happened in syria wouldn't have happened in iraq. iraq would not have been, in effect, drastically altered, as it has been, but mr. cheney has been incredibly adroit for the last six years or so, attacking the administration for not doing an adequate job of cleaning up the mess that he made. [ laughter ] and i think it's unseamly. i give president bush a lot of credit for trying to stay out of this debate and letting other people work through it. >> one of the issues about america's role in the world is if we pursue a lighter footprint

going into places, intervening that which we leave behind can become chaotic, it becomes a question of what responsibility does the united states have to be part of that future of a country? this goes to iraq. i've always believed that is as the larger question about benghazi. you understand the political question about benghazi, in many ways, some tried to make it about secretary clinton and her tenure. rand paul, ray run for president in 2016, called it disqualifying for secretary clinton. you have a response for that? >> well, let's go back to the first question, because it's serious. that's not a serious comment, it's sort of a serious question. rand paul -- when ten different instances occurred when president bush was in office where american diplomatic personnel were killed around the world, how many outraged republican members of congress were there? zero. >> most formidable republican who could run for president, in your judgment?

>> if i knew, i wouldn't say. why would i encourage him? [ laughter ] unless -- >> so good at handicapping. >> unless i thought it would cause that person to lose the nomination, i would announce it in a heartbeat. >> you're just a bit player az to whether secretary clinton runs? >> that's exactly what i am. i'm a foot soldier in an army. i will do what i am instructed to do. [ laughter ] and -- no, look, you know, it's funny. you reach our able, you just look at it differently. we have had wonderful lives. we have been incredibly blessed. and looking forward to being grandparents. and i'm -- i'm for -- you know i've said, i said in 2008, i have said it every chance anybody has given me, of all the people i've ever worked with, i think she's got -- i think the most gifted public servant i have ever worked with, even if we are married. that's what i believe. and i believed it when we were going out together. and i believe it when i asked

her to marry me and she said no. nothing's changed my opinion more than 40 years. but it's -- has to be her decision. and i agree with what she said, the most important thing is not do you want the job or can you win it. the most important thing is why do you want the job and what do you propose to do if you get it and how are you gonna communicate that to the american people? these the only thing that really matters. >> we are in denver, i got to ask this last question. back in the '60s there that was saying "give peace a chance." i'm wondering if you think now it is time to give pot a chance. would it actually help government raise revenue and deal with some of the things you're dealing with here in cgi? >> rocky mountain high? [ laughter ] i -- look, the -- i think there's a lot of evidence to

argue for the medical marijuana thing. i think there are a lot of unresolved questions. but i think we should leave it to the states. this really is a time when there should be laboratory of democracy, because nobody really knows where this is going. are there adequate quality controls? there's pot and there's pot. what's in it? what's gonna happen? there are all these questions. and i think that i like where it is now. if the state wants to try it, they can. and then they will be able to see what happens. >> mr. president, thank you very much. >> thank you. [ applause ] thank you. >> we will show you more of my interview with president clinton and special panel i'm discussing, economic challenges facing the country later in the program. joined by reince priebus, chairman of the republican national committee. mr. chairman, welcome back to the program. >> good morning, david. >> a lot to get to how on politics, for you to respond to, the former president. let's talk about this wealth issue.

is this an issue, is this an impediment for hillary clinton's candidacy? >> think it's a an impediment because of, number one, how they earned their money, how they talk about their money. obviously, i don't think there's a problem with people being rich in this country. >> mitt romney didn't lose because he was wealthy, did he? >> no, but i think when you are perceived as being out of touch with people that are struggling, with people that are out there working hard, i don't think flying on private jets and collecting $250,000 for a speech is considered to be hard work. and so, people respect folks that earn their money and work hard and they become rich, but when you talk about being dead broke and when you try to make believe that you understand how average people live, but you made $105 million giving speeches, i think people are tired of this show, quite frankly. i heard the interview u >> the show meaning what the clintons? >> hillary fatigue already out there, it's setting in. people are tired of this story and i just happen to believe that this early run for the

white house is going to come back and bite them and it already is. people are tired of it. >> you sound a little bit like barbara bush, have that same message for jeb bush, the bush and the clintons -- >> i don't think jeb and the bushes are being as obnoxious about all of this you have bill clinton chastising dick cheney for speaking opinion while bill clinton is out there speaking about his opinions on every subject there is under the sun. these guys are hypocrites. >> not ask you to relitigate the iraq debate, i do ask whether there is an emerging republican foreign policy you think is distinct from how democrats pursue foreign policy. >> well, i mean, listen, as party chairman, you know i don't get into foreign policy that much, obviously, not into those rooms. >> always a first time. >> i understand that i think maybe the difference has been that the republicans have been far more willing to be proactive earlier in avoiding some of these conflicts from occurring where it seems like the president has been hesitant,

procrastinating, putting red lines on the map. >> some might think that is more prudent than running into congress without asking the hard questions. >> right. in the case of the president, he projected a red line. the red line was crossed, he didn't do anything about it now he's going back and starting to try to do things. >> all the chemical weapons were removed from syria. all the chemical weapons were removed from syria. was that not an end game. >> he don't know that you don't know that. i don't know that nobody really knows that. my point is that this president and i think here's where we would differ, maybe not you and i but me and democrats, is that this president needs to lead on this subject, whether it be russia, whether it be syria, whether it be benghazi, all of these issues. i mean, something has to go right. everything can't go wrong. you know, sort of like a multiple choice test. it's what toward get all the questions right. but it's also pretty hard to get them all wrong. but the president seems able to get all the answers wrong. >> why shouldn't americans look at this threat of a house speaker lawsuit, the presence as a political stunt?

there's no real legal standing on behalf of an institution. the courts are loathe to get involved in two branches fighting with one another it would take several years resolve. isn't this just to gin up the base in some terms? >> i 12 times, the president struck down the overreach of growth in government, 9-0. the court said this past week, the president overstepped his bounds, which include the appointments to the supreme court. i think it is exactly where we need to be. the constitution vests power in we, the people. article i gives that power to the congress. the speaker is in charge of the house. i think he has standing. if he's helping pass laws and the president comes in and says this is the part of the law i'm gonna follow, this is the part i'm not going to follow, this is where i'm going to expand government park he is overreaching and overtaking a part of the constitution that he doesn't have the authority to take. >> let me ask you -- >> he doesn't respect the constitution, david. >> let me ask you quickly, you have said recently that your party, the republican party is

not divided at all. i only can view that as sugarcoating, given eric cantor's loss, the narrow victory by thad cochran in mississippi. you have a grassroots right now that is really at odds with the mainstream of the party. and you have -- here in thad cochran, had to rely on a republican primary, on democratic voters to prevail. how do you reconcile that? >> first of all, i think you have two -- speaking of two race and you're taking that and extrapolating it and placing it upon the entire republican party across the country. i come from wisconsin. totally unified. it doesn't matter who or what type of republican voter you're talking about. there's unity. you have two races. they are going to be republican, regardless of the outcome, going to remain republican. you know, primaries are pretty common, i'm in favor of primaries. in the end, david, what will happen this year is the republicans are gonna add seats to the house and most people out there think that we're going to win the united states senate. so we add seats to the house.

we win the u.s. senate. we still going to be talking about the health of the republican party? >> well, we will see. because there's a primary fight coming in 2016. nor come on that reince priebus, as always, thank you. >> thank you, david. >> coming up next, more on this conversation. is washington only getting worse, if these possible? republicans threatening to sue the president. anger over this ongoing irs scandal on capitol hill. the president isn't holding back his contempt for the gone. the roundtable will be here to debate it all, coming up next. >> they are fabricated issues. they are phonies, scandals that are generated. >> this administration makes the wrong decisions, then won't give the american people the straight answers. >> announcer: "meet the press" is brought to you by boeing, where the drive to build something better you think you take off all your make-up before bed. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that?

[ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover.

can your makeup remover do that? woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen. other things, you don't. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you can actually see the softness with our comfort cushions. plus you can use up to four times less. enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft.

could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business.

we are back, the round table is here. kathy ruemmler, white house counsel, sean duffy of wisconsin, a lot of cheese heads. i didn't check this in advance. nia-malika henderson, the "washington post" and andrea mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent. i got to start with reince priebus and hillary fatigue he is talking about, that they are being obnoxious. the political rhetoric being ratcheted up. she is not a candidate yet. >> the book tour has looked like a political campaign. i think it is a little bit that she was rusty and a little bit of lack of self-awareness, when she talks about being dead broke and then tried to fix it. but still, not getting the language, you know, politically correct, if you will, to really understand that she is a little bit out of touch, key spite all of her work and all of her

connection to hard-working people in the middle class, she doesn't quite realize as ruth marcus wrote in the "washington post," she should stop giving paid speeches, should stop asking colleges to pay out of a foundation. she's got enough money. let it go at this stage. >> part of the idea that the politics has changed. for any establishment politician, you can be thad cochran, be hillary clinton the view of how you connect to people is changing. >> that's right. we have seen a real wave of populism. if you look at that cantor race in virginia, a brat was seen as a populace, someone that will throw the bums out. you look at somebody like elizabeth warren, she talks about the system being rigged against the average person and that's language that hillary clinton can't tap into. hillary clinton in her book talks about words constituting you the work of dip ploem plalo circumstance something she forgot n this instance, keeps going out here and talking about this. i do think this is a minicampaign, right, a trial balloon. she is going to be able to see what works, where the --

>> she has got time. >> exactly. she has a lot of time. >> congressman, let me ask you, kathy ruemmler is here. she worked for the president, tries not to get in all the partisan fights, as the lawyer said, look this potential suit that the house speaker is pursuing has no standing, should be seen as beyond frivolous. what do you think? >> first of all, we have to look at what the president's doing. he is taking historic action, never been done before, where he is waving and suspending laws and then passing -- or implementing regulation that undermines i the control of congress. and so if we don't step in and push back with this historic action, i think it undermines the constitutional balance. >> let's test that how about immigration itself, you have an answer for that, right, a bill in the senate that had been passed and the house didn't move forward on immigration reform so the president's trying to move a piece of it? >> that's absolutely right. and look, the president has a lot of discretion in -- with a finite set of resources to employ those resources in the way he thinks makes the most sense and you know, i think that's what the immigration

space, what he is going to continue to do. >> what if a president were president and were implementing health care and delaying certain parts of it. the hue and cry, i think, among supporters of health care law would be pretty big. >> david, i'm not sure about that. what i can say is throughout history, there have been complaints on either side, this president has issued fewer executive orderers than his predecessors. >> david, i think it's important to note when the president steps into a space that he hasn't gone in before, whether it is obamacare, whether it is immigration, he may not like there has not been congressional action but he doesn't have the constitutional authority to do it on his own. he has waived the work requirements from welfare from 1996. if we don't again push back, you have a president who can waive laws, suspend them do this with regard to immigration, with the affordable care act afghanistan. wh ? >> you don't have to appropriate -- >> cut the purse strings. you could just stop the funding.

that is the checks and balances. >> can he waive certain parts of the tax code if he doesn't like it? >> the politics of this are such that this is not going to be resolved for several years, a lot of conservatives out there doesn't lining the president, government overreach is a great storyline in these midterm races. >> it is, a great storyline for both parties, talked to democrats about this, folks in the white house as well, they see this as something that can gin up their base as well, this idea that a democratic president is embattled, his presidency is possibly in peril, something that i think you will see gin up support among that obama coalition, right that hasn't routinely shown up in the midterm races. i think it cuts both ways. >> john boehner and barack obama theoretically could have called each other and said,s here the deal. i'll sue you and you'll gin up your base and i'll gin up my

base. everybody gets -- >> everybody wins. >> the politics, i think it is better for obama, he needs ginned up base. our base is already ginned up. >> fired up. >> but it is the institutional argument that the speaker is making, but the politics favor the president. >> kathy ruemmler, can i ask but this ongoing anger on capitol hill about the irs, missing e-mails, lost servers and targeting political groups, this, to a lot of people, is the arrogance of the irs and incompetence of government. you were in the center of this as white house counsel, whether there was any wrongdoing, very clear in saying there was none. >> well, david, look, there have been -- this investigation has been going on now for 13 months, there have been, you know, innumerable congressional hearings, witnesses have been interviewed, hundreds of thousands of documents have been produced and i think, you know, the republicans on the hill have not been able to show anything to suggest that there was anything other than sort of political tone deafness, full, in terms of creating categories at -- within theism rs and

didn't go beyond that. and so the idea that the strategy is if you just say it enough times, it will become true, that it was somehow this massive conspiracy of, you know, political targeting of groups. and that's just completely belied by the evidence. >> you're shaking your head. >> first of all, the irs a targeting americans because of their political believes and we don't know who authorized it. >> but are they doing it or trying to prevent groups that shouldn't get tax exempt status on the left or right from getting it? >> targeting the right. lois learner pled the fifth. doesn't want to inc imnate herself n able of the nsa, have all the records and e-mails, nothing goes away, lois learner's e-mails are gone. america has the right to know what happened with the e-mails, what happened with the targeting, does it go to the administration or somewhere else? to prevent it for the future, we have to know what happened. we don't know right now. >> both with the va and the irs, i wouldn't underestimate the

incompetence at the lack of computer guidance and regulations in any of these -- >> no, no, please, it's just incompetence. >> i would not rule out any kind of criminal issue as well. i think that it is truly outrageous. they should have been able to deal with it the fact the white house in both cases has not is really -- >> can i get -- i think a special prosecutor, david. i think have the administration -- >> really want to go there? >> i think we do i think if we don't figure out what happened here with the targeting, how do we prevent it with the future? >> the president is not going to go for that. >> well, david, again, they have been investigating this thing for 13 months, they can't -- i have investigated a lot of matters and i can tell you that if you haven't found one piece of evidence, not an e-mail, every irs person who has been interviewed, this is according to the inspector general who san independent inspector general at the irs, every single person, this is internal to the irs. >> i have a minute left, get everybody on this other story from the supreme court. a lot of interesting rulings, including about our privacy,

which says that police don't have the right to take your cell phone from you or your smartphone and look at the contents here. i'm just wondering whether part of this is the edward snowden effect and all of this attention that made the supreme court say the country's moving on this >> absolutely. also the fact that supreme court justices have smartphones, which tells you something about that. but the next question is going to be if the court ruled in this way, what is the impact on the nsa down the line? some very big issues. >> what does it mean for the nsa, what does it mean for cloud computing? one of the interesting things about that -- the judgment here was how essentially said cell phones are our lives, they sort of constitute who we are and there are these -- i think that was a really amazing reading there. >> all right. we are going to leave it there for now thanks to all of you. coming up, as president obama watched the big world cup game against germany this week on air force one, who is that watching with him? our cynthia mcfadden has rare access behind the scenes of the

white house with one of the most powerful women in washington. coming up. >> announcer: "meet the press" is brought

coming up here, a unique fourth of july is coming, and that means this, this, and definitely this. so if you're looking to buy a car, don't wait because the savings have already begun. just make sure before you buy to go to truecar.com or use the truecar app for guaranteed savings. happy fourth of july. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup

with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover.

here's another. try charmin ultra strong. thanks mom! make me proud honey! [ female announcer ] charmin ultra strong has a duraclean texture and it's four times stronger than the leading bargain brand. enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong.

you may have noticed the country came to a 1257d still thursday as woe watched u.s. soccer team's world cup game against germany. president obama was watching as well aboard air force one. on the left of your screen there, that's valerie jarrett, a long-time friend and one of obama's closest white house advisers. our cynthia mcfadden was granted unique access and spend a day behind the scenes with valerie jarrett at the white house. >> reporter: it's just after dawn at the white house and president obama's senior adviser and long-time friend, valerie jarrett, is arriving for work. so the president came into office with an astounding approval rating and it's now down to 41%. what happened? >> look, wary going through some tough times, but i will tell you

something that i learned very early in the first campaign is that you just can't look at the daily polls. my good opinions if we listen to the polls, he would have abandoned the race in the middle of the primary session. >> is he losing the people? >> no, i don't think so. >> reporter: today, rare access inside the west wing, where jarrett's office is prime real estate. >> before i was here, karl rove and before karl rove, hillary clinton. every morning, the president's briefing book on my assistant's desk. i pick up that. >> reporter: she has known the first couple since 1991 when she offered michelle robinson a job in chicago's city hall and met her then-fiance. >> starting with the front page. >> reporter: on this morning, she is eager to read coverage of the white house summit on working families. >> thank you, everybody. >> reporter: an event she spearheaded the day before. a rally for paid parental leave and hiking the minimum wage. >> that he is are common sense issues. >> one of the questions the "washington post" and "new york times" raised this morning, why

not back legislation and if the administration believes this put your money where your mouth s >> i think we shouldn't shoot from the hip. i think what the president said is, look, let's start with the premise that every american should have paid leave and then let's have a conversation about how to get there. >> reporter: difficult with an uncooperative congress and the president's own pledge not to raise taxes. >> meeting starts prompt late 7:45. so -- >> reporter: her first meeting is with the president's chief of staff, dennis mcdonough. >> we will be back soon. >> reporter: she has outlasted four other chiefs of staff, rahm emanu emanuel, pete rose, bill daley and jack lieu. >> it was said karl rove was george bush's brain and you're barack obama's spine. >> i think the president has a pretty sturdy spine all on his own. >> doesn't need you for that? >> he doesn't need me for that one bit. >> reporter: at 8:45, she sits down with her own senior team. 36 white house staffers work for jarrett. they discuss getting programs out, going around congress straight to the nation's mayors.

then, it's off to the roosevelt room. >> good morning. good morning. >> reporter: a meeting with small business owners how to make the workplace more family friendly. >> how are you? >> reporter: 2:45 p.m., the first of the day's meetings with the president himself. >> good job yesterday. >> thank you. >> i want to read you some things that have been said about you, okay? >> sure. >> that you are the most powerful woman in washington and that you're like nancy reagan, but with more power. what do you think of that? >> well, you know what i think people say all kinds of things about me. those are some of the more flattering things. but i think it's all hyperbole. >> really? >> of course it is. a process by which decisions are made as a team here around i wouldn't serve the president well if i went around that process. >> i want to talk to you about the into up chursome michelle obama gonna run for office? >> no. >> you said that very definitively. >> well, i'm absolutely, 100% positive that that will never

happen. >> how about valerie jarrett, will you ever run for office? >> unlikely u. >> but maybe? >> not as definitive as the first lady, but highly unlikely u >> the first lady said yesterday that we should have a female president as soon as possible. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> there's no question that the person who is poised at this moment to break that ultimate glass ceiling is hillary clinton. >> well, since she hasn't even announced her candidacy, i think it's premature much. >> reporter: for now, she is focused on building alliances with business leaders and others on a wide range of issues. >> even you and rupert murdoch are now breaking bread. >> can you believe that? anybody told me 5 1/2 years ago i would be having dinner with with rupert murdoch, quiet as it's known, the second time we have had dinner, everybody only knows the last time, but you know what he is committed to immigration reform. >> despite the polls, the congress and the ticking clock, she says there is still much that can be accomplished. >> as long as the president will have me, i will be here. i hope it's turning off the

lights. >> cynthia mcfadden is with me now. it's such an interesting relationship, cynthia that valerie jarrett has with the president, friend and confidant and she is kind of a key voice in connecting him to the outside world beyond the white house. >> absolutely right, david. of course, one of her -- part of her portfolio is to be a bridge, to be a -- create broad alliances with the business community and with state and local governments. she says she takes that very seriously. she is working hard to bring diverse voices into the white house. one of the meetings that i attended with her was with local business leaders from around the world who are trying to become more family friendly. one of the business leaders said that they give every employee $3,000 every year and force them to take a family vacation with it. interesting. >> good idea. cynthia, thanks so much. coming up here on our special panel discussion with bill clinton than you won't see anywhere else, and a fast food faux pas, how the president says

he never gets caught in overreach, like president obama did. >> always successfully avoided being photographed. [ laughter ] committing a -- no i used to go get the -- i violate all the health department rules. i would go get the fries right out of the -- >> annwhat's my advice foress" healthy looking radiant skin. >> announcer: "meet the press" a good night's sleep... and aveeno®. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer has an active naturals® total soy formula... one of nature's most effective skin tone correctors. it helps reduce the look of brown spots in just four weeks. now that's an idea you don't have to sleep on. [ female announcer ] aveeno® positively radiant. naturally beautiful results™. wash in sweet dreams with tide, downy, and bounce.

the sweet dreams collection has scents so relaxing so you can tuck in and turn off after a day oh so taxing. ♪ [ click ] the price was so great that we couldn't turn it down. it saved us so much money i was kind of looking around like... this is too good to be true. it was that good. saving you time and money is what we're all about. so when you're ready to buy a car, visit truecar.

time for cnbc's executive edge week ahead. >> i'm andrew ross sorkin with your week ahead. on monday, we are going to find out how much general motors is going to be paying the victims of crashes linked to its faulty ignition switches. on tuesday some college costs are going up, again. that's when interest rates of federal student loans are going to be rising almost 1%. rates were set to double last

year until congress reached a compromise. and then on thursday, we are gonna find out how many jobs were created in the economy

you saw my one-on-one interview with president clinton from his clinton global initiative america conference in denver where 1,000 leaders.business, non-profits and government came together to discussion solutions for the country's economic challenges. the 42nd president also joined a special panel discussion i moderated on the future of america's economy. we tackled many of the top economic challenges facing the country, including income

inequality, the minimum wage debate and the role of government in it all. these are some of the highlights. i i wanted to start though, we came across this picture, which i think might be a startling example of government overreach. now, monty, this is at chipotle. and -- >> an outrage. >> i mean, this -- by all accounts, that's foul, is it not? >> outrageous. yeah. just can't accept that. >> my boys would not do that mr. president, way back, i mean, now you're like a model, but way back in the day when you used to go to mcdonald's, you were never guilty of an egregious act like that, were you? [ laughter ] >> i was trying to think of i always successfully avoided being photographed, committed a -- no i used to go get the -- i violated all the health department rules. i'd go get the fries right out of the -- >> you know, where the minimum wage is important, but i don't think it's as important as what

you do when someone comes into the business. the question is the goal of whoever hires them, the business, to keep them at that wage or is the idea that you're going to take that person and empower that person to take advantage of on states on that they can rise up and have positions of leadership? >> i think there's no question that if you're making minimum wage, you think you want to make more. on the other hand, the sad truth is that raising the minimum wage will hurt those who are looking for entry-level johns. >> so i think it should be raised because i don't think that -- and i think all consumers should be prepared to pay for it if somebody works full time and have kids, ought to be able to raise their kids without being in poverty. >> i think that we have to change the frame to say how can we be meaningfully independent, because that's the only way that we are going to see an economy that's sustainable. >> well, i think we are dancing around the core issue in this country and that is growing inequality. the very idea of inequality is so problematic for public

discourse in this country. but at the core of the american dream, our narrative is the idea of social mobility. >> i don't think government can do this alone, 'cause it's a private economy. and the one thing i think the conservatives are often right about halfway is that -- [ laughter ] i will tell you what i mean, is that culture really matters. >> by the way, culture matters government, too and a big unaccountable democracy. >> and who had the smallest government workforce since eisenhower? me. i believe that >> you declared the era of big government over. >> yeah, but not -- i didn't declare the era of weak government that had nobody at home at the s.e.c. before the financial crisis. >> i agree with that, too. i agree with that, too. >> bottom line, one thing we need to do to take a positive step toward dealing with this kind of income inequality that's really affecting workers? >> understand how talented the group of people is in the united states who don't have education

and who don't have much experience and also the immigrant population. understand how talented they are and that they have characteristics that you can't train, but they have these fundamental characteristics that will allow them to be incredibly powerful future workers in our country dprks we only empower them. >> i think we have to realize that the era of big work is over and people are going to be working project to project, job to job and that sin her recently nimble, but we have to imagine this in the context of the future where the question that we ask ourselves is this enabling people to be meaningfully independent? >> ronald reagan reminded us that the best investment we could make is in infrastructure. we desperately need a massive investment in infrastructure in this country. it creates -- it creates good jobs, sustainable jobs and it provides hope, which is at the core of the american narrative. we need hope and optimism. >> encourage main street entrepreneurialism. it has always been the hope of this country. it is sometime the hope of this

country and everything that goes on in washington, complicated tax codes, complicated regulatory structures, they help big business, but they crush little business. >> should help self-employed people and small businesses to develop creative options. there's almost no creative thinking doing -- going on here at the national level about how we, instead of -- the government can't regulate all this. you can't make people do the right thing, but if somebody is doing something that's really empowering people, we should think about how it can be rewarded and incentivized. >> see the extended panel session from cgi america in denver today at 3 p.m. that's on msnbc. we want to continue this morning's conversation throughout the week. this week's big question is the wealth issue for hillary clinton. is it a sign of a bigger connection problem for hillary clinton as a potential candidate? weigh in on that is all for today. we'll be back next week. have a great fourth of july holiday. if it's sunday, it's "meet the

press." > -- has a stern message for them. >> do not send your children to the borders. if they do make it, they'll get sent back. more importantly, they may not make it. plus, major weather systems having a big impact across the country. a wild weekend of world cup drama. look at that. and much, much more. all righty. good morning. i'm richard lui. breaking news in the oscar pistorius murd