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trump and russia is a made-open story. openly admitting that his firing of the fbi director right in the middle of an investigation into the trump campaign's possibly collusion was with russia was exactly what -- to make the investigation go away. it was a stunning revelation after his team spend two days trying to explain. the message had been unance muss, the president was only followinged guidance of deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. that version of events was completely blown up by the president himself. >> monday you met with the deputy attorney general. did you ask for a recommendation? >> what i did is i was going to fire comey, my decision -- >> you had made the decision

before they came in the room? >> i was going to fire comey. there's no good time to do it, by the way. >> because in your letter, you said i accepted their recommendation. you had made -- >> i was going to fire regardless of recommendation. >> the decision came days after, according to nonetheless num"ne comey asked for more resource. and hours after federal prosecutors sent subpoenas to business associates of michael flynn. it seems that timing is everything, because it was on january 26th that former acting attorney general sally yates told white house counsel don mcgann, that flynn was vulnerable. it's the only dinner that trump is believed to have had with comey. presumably it's the same dinner he described this way.

>> i had a dinner with him. he wanted to have dinner, because he wanted to stay on. >> he asked for the dinner? >> a dinner was arranged. i think he asked for the dinner. he wanted to stay on as the fbi head, and i said i'll consider, we'll see what happens, but we had a very nice dinner. at that time he told me you are not under investigation. >> close comey associates told "new york times" and nbc news a very different version of that dinner. no, comey did not ask for the dinner. his associates say he was invited by trump, and accepted he reluctantly, and know comey's association say there were no assurances from comey that trump was not under investigation. the senior official said comey tried to avoid the subject altogether and no, comey did not ask to keep his job. it was the president making requesting that comey specifically pledge his personal

loyalty to trump. sean spicer denied that claim on friday. i want to bring in my panel clint watts, malcolm nance, naismt avich, eric columbus and democratic strat skis careen jean-pierre. clint, i'm going to start with you. on this notion that the director of the fbi would number one ask to have dinner with the president in order to save his job, does that ring true to you? >> no. the fbi director is on a ten-year appointment. he's going to do his job. if you want the fbi director to a meeting, you do it in the oval office. this is the trump way of doing business, around dinner tables. he hasn't understood he's no longer running a business, he's running a country. >> would an -- i made a good point. this guy is on a ten-year deal. in theory he's got his job for

ten years. why would he have to ask for it. would a fbi director or anyone below him affirmatively tell someone you are not under investigation. trump claims he told him that three times. >> i doubt this. i can't imagine i would say this. if you have that question, and that's coercion, that's influence. if you get that question, you either don't answer it or try at least to get out of the situation, which is what i imagine director comey was doing. >> eric columbus, i want to go to the other element of this, the story that came from associates of jim comey, that what trump wanted at that dinner was a show of loyalty, and this coming so close to sallie yates, either hours or the next day after sally yates had warned don mcgahn, the white house counsel, that michael flynn was subject to blackmail, he suddenly brings in the fbi director and asks for

loyal. this is donald trump talking to jeanine pirro on fox. >> i read that article. i don't think it's inappropriate. >> did you ask that question? >> no, no, i didn't, but i don't think it would be a bad question to ask. i think loyalty to the country, loyalty to the united states is important. it depends on how you define loyalty. number one. number two, i don't know how that got there, because i didn't ask that question. >> eric columbus, the idea -- you now have a he said/he said or he said/friends of he said. if trump said that wouldn't be a bad question, would that be a bad question to ask of an fbi director, in your view? >> it would be a horrible question. i think he's been watching "the godfather" one too many times. >> in your view, i said to go back to the moment the way comey was let go. mr. rosenstein, who wrote the memo on the same day of the

firing, when you read that memo, how did it strike you? did it seem that mr. rosenstein was initiates the firing or responding to a request that he had can um up with a pretext? >> definitely the latter. i don't think rod rosenstein had any interest in getting rid of him. he was asked to come up with a pretext, appeared he came up with a pretext that would be least damaging to the department of justice and the fbi by ascribing it entirely to things we already know about, and things that no one in their right mind would think that trump would actually want to fire comey for. >> malcolm, let me go to navid on this first, the other sort of pretext that we've been given for the firing was that he was destroying moralen side the fbi. i'm going to ask clint about this, too, but this was sarah huckabee sanders, in the --

wednesday. >> most importantly the rank-and-file of the fbi had lost confidence of their director. i've heard from countless members of the fbi that are grateful and thankful for the president's decision. >> mean mile james clapper, who we presume knows some photos in that agency, told andrea mitchell essentially the opposite on friday. >> i can attest -- it's always difficult to assess the morale, but from my vantage, and i think i'm pretty good in assessing command climate as we soo say in the military, the morale was very high, and i witnessed the very high esteem and respect that people in the fbi have -- still have for jim comey. >> who is more credible on this? >> undoubtedly james claper. the biggest thing you said is --

and furthermore, sort of append that with, you know, leaked sources of who the next replacement it might be, i think what the fbi needs is a chance to breathe and stability and frankly more funding. the counter-intelligence folks have suffered a pretty big setback, when you start mucking around with a large organization and changing leaders, it causes cha chaos. >> clint, was there low morale because of jim comey? >> no, the only morale killer are the politicians and part sans on each end of pennsylvania. if they're allowed to do their sdwrob, things will get fine. they're get battered back and forth, depending on what administration is in and who's running the hill. >> too much politics invaded the fbi. i want to ask about james clapper himself. we also had trump attempting to using clapper. this is what he tweeted.

when james clapper himself and virtually everyone else with knowledge of the witch-hunt, where does it end? here's james clapper with andrea mitchell again, saying the opposite. >> it's not surprising or abnormal that i would not have known about the investigation or even more importantly, the content of that investigation. so i don't know if there was collusion or not. i don't know if there's evidence of collusion or not, nor should i have in this particular context. so, malcolm, not only trump, but also people like senator graham, attempt to imply that if the director of national intelligence didn't know or wasn't aware there was miscollusion, that there couldn't have been any collusion, does that makes sense to you? >> no, it doesn't makes sense, the director of national intelligence is responsible for the overall care, feeding and mountains of the hierarchy, but if it is something as significant as a

counter-intelligence, a counter-espionage investigation that is going on within the po administration, carried out by the fbi, it may be in the fbi's interest and maybe clapper himself could have a target not to tell him that investigation. those are two completely different things. he manages intelligence. i noticed he tends to say no evidence was brought to me. he of all knows that intelligence is not always evidence. evidence is a legal term, and that's probably what he's saying. it hasn't gone to the justice department. one other point. donald trump used clapper, because donald trump tends to carry out his campaigns against individual the way the russians do with their active measures. that's to use the same russian style strategy of deceive, deny, make counter-accusations, then he always throws a new one on the end, to dare, to dare

people, to challenge the authenticity or credibility of what he says. >> i want to talk a bit about the politics of this. the scandal on the legal side is bad enough, but the politics that we now have a president of the united states that essentially threatened of the former dreblgtor of the fib via a tweet, we have him being contradicted directly by the former director of national intelligence. why has this not moved the politics, as far as the republicans are concerned? >> that's a really good question. i do not understand. this could be a bipartisan outcry. as we know, we not for a fact that russia interfered in our election. we know that our democracy was undermined. instead of wanting to find out what's going on, the republicans wants to find out how to tax reform for the wealthy, the billionaires. this is to mitch mcconnell and

paul ryan. they need to be leaders here. this is not what our country is all about. at the end of the day, there's this old saying in it looks like a duck, it sounds like a duck, it quacks like a duck, it is a duck. if there was an obstruction of justice urges and it smells like it did and sounds like it did, there was likely an obstruction of justice. he's attacking, assaulting, undermining it is bedrock of our democracy and government and leading us to a constitutional crisis. >> if we're not it already in one already. thank you all very much. coming up a growing number of democrats are starting to use the "i" word. is that even possible one of trump's chief critic also joins me next. what's that?

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donald trump is about to give a commencement address. some have been youths the "i" word and while impeachment still remains as senator blumenthal said a distant possibility, democrats are pursuing other ways to hold trump accountable. four democrats asked the doj to open a new probe whether trump interfered in the -- and they're calling his bluff about the warning about tapes about their dinner conversation. a letter was sent to the white house on friday requesting any types regarding that

conversation. thank you for being here. i want to start with that tweet. a lot of lawyers were interpreting that as potential obstruction of justice or witness tampering. you, sir, you are an attorney as well. i wanted to ask you about it. in your view, is that either in the political sort of impeachment sense or in the legal sense obstruction of justice or witness tampering? >> it could be, but i believe the firing of director comey is the obstruction of justice. the president essential admitted he fired him because of the russia probe. what bothers me is the trump administration's disrespect for the rule of law. none of this is okay. >> you're probably too young to remember the impeachment of bill clinton, but you want to go back in a moment.

impeachment is a political process. there is a trial that takes place in the senate once articles of impeachment come out, but it starts in the house. the house files the articles. these are the articles against bill clinton, four counts total. one that he allegedly corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the united states for his personal gain and exoneration. that was 1 and 2. article 3 was he engaged personally and through subordinates and agents in a course of conduct or scheme designed to delay, impede, cover up and conceal the existence of evident and testimony related to a federal civil rights action brought against him. article 4 was that he engaged in conduct that resulted in the misuse and abuse of his high office, impaired the due -- and contravened the authority of the legislative branch and the trust-seeking purpose of a

coordinate investigative proceeding. a love of that sounds like what donald trump is engaged in. does it sound like that to you? >> it does, but in nixon's impeachment, the first article was obstruction of justice. that provides a very relevant experience to look at. in that case, richard nixon fired people who were investigating him. that's exactly what donald trump did with the firing of director comey. >> yet, the head of the body in which you serve, congressman lieu, is refusing to do anything about it, even as you and others respond. this is according to jake tapper -- i decided i'm not going to comment on the tweets of the day or the hour. he's essentially dismissed even the idea he should even talk about what donald trump is doing. do you see any chance that the leader of the house of representatives or the leadership of the house will do anything at all to constrain the president?

>> not right now, but it's starting to change. we have republican justin amash out of michigan saying there should be an independent commission to look into the trump/russia activities. darrell issa out of southern california saying there should be a special prosecutor, and you're seeing more and more republicans starting to put country above party, and eventually we'll get to the truth. >> to your point, even jason chaffetz who said he couldn't look hess daughter in her ice, but there are some movement. the reason year includings won't move is the polls. let's look at gallup's approval rating this is may 1st through the 7th. he as got 40% of independents, the average is 42, an historical

low, but in your view, as long he's at 84% with republicans, do you foresee republicans ever, ever impeaching somebody who their own voters support? >> i do not. that's why the midterm election in a year and a half are so important. let me just give you two words why they're important -- subpoena power. if the democrats control the house, we can control the subpoenas, that means we can do a real investigation, and demand documents and have witnesses come and testify. that's why the midterm elections are so important in the year and a half. >> two words -- subpoena power. keep it in mind, voters, congressman lieu, thank you very much. >> thank you. trump takes his distraction campaign to the campus of liberty university. that's next.

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will delivered his messagesment address at liberty university. they have a total enrollment of over 110,000, founded in 1971 by jerry falwell, who became the voice of the religious right, and once had to apologize for blaming several for the terrorist attacks of 9/11, his son is now the president of the university, one of the donald trump's staunchest supporters, even after release of the infamous "access hollywood" tape. donald trump is only the second president to deliver a commencement address, but he's spoken at liberty university twice before, including during the 2016 campaign. the key question about his speech thor, will he address the crisis threatening to derail his

presidency. the host of the "tell me everything" show. >> barry lynn, sister simone campbell, executive director of the network lobby to catholic social justice, an conservative commentator kristin haglet. john, this is kind of your area of specialization, right? i mean -- >> as opposed to the reverend and the none? >> i'm going to go to you first. it's not even sunday. this idea that you have the religious right that's build itself on the idea of moral superior they are four jair behind a guy with three wives, five babies with three baby mamas. what is this about? >> donald trump is jesus to followers of jesus, who have rejected the teachings of jesus. >> he allowed right-wing to vote

for couyou can -- who extold th virtue of caring for the least among us. it's possible to follow jesus or donald trump, but not to both. take a looks at the tax plan, and i had the pleasure of debating reverend falwell when i was very young. he was an ardent segregationist, who vehemently defended apartheid. now, i'm not saying the students there are bigoted in any way -- >> some objected vehemently to the president of their university supporting trump. >> absolutely. yet they're required to be there, which is funny, compulsory attendance for a school called liberty. that's the tip of the iceberg we're seeing there. >> there was a point during the

obama administration where troughs a great objection from the also sisters of the poor, with the staunch opposition to providing birth control or ab t abortifacients. so there was a tension with the democrats on the issues, but can you explain how donald trump can possibly have his staunchest base be among people who excoriated someone like bill clinton for moral turpitude. i don't think it makes sense to a lot of people. >> i don't believe any of this is about rationality. this is about the attraction of power and being more interested in having political power than they are in caring for those who, for instance need health care. they would prefer to have the aura of the president around them than to insist that those in our nation have access to health care, or those in our

nation have access to, you know, food or shelter. i think the disconnect is with what's sometimes called the prosperity gospel. some in our nation believe jesus -- to be christian is to be blessed by god and to be rich. they see donald trump as the big accomplishments of that, but the fact is, if you actually read the gospel or ii corinthians, to follow jesus is to be at the margins, but they missed that. >> you're watching jerry falwell junior there, he either called him a gift or puffer or ideal president. he actually thinking this guy, with all of his moral proanything razzy is a gift to the christians. an important distinction here, when we talk about evan yell cal

we're not talking about black evangelicalses the the idea of donald trump speaking about at a religious university is not ideal. >> no, it's not, but this is the heart of his constituency. and you're right, this is the group of people that said the most important values are family values. they are not the people who cared about climate change, not the people who claimed about race in america. what they said is we care about moral turpitude on the part of candidates. now they have seemingly forgotten that. i think you'll get a gigantic reception at liberty university, because these are his people. as john fuglesang said they may not represent christians, but

they represent the hard religious right in a perfect way as did the late jerry falwell who i must have had hundreds of debates there. >> there they are all there standing together. >> there is a call ask and you shall receive. i asked the reverend, look at god, and she said -- she disappeared in front of me. that's how it works. reverend jackie lewis. the question i was asking before i had you sitting here, is that, you know, we keep talking about the religious right as if it is all one thing. there are prosperity preacher in the black church, too, but the black church is not with donald trump. why do you think there's a racial distinction. >> i think there's a racial distinction because there's racism in america, period. white cement sit a god that's wore hoped by some of these institutions. i think at the beginning of the church where jesus was a carpenter, teacher, he as had

this movement that gets empired in 313 when constantine says, hey, i'll be a christian. a little bit of empire, a little bit sense of who's on top, but jesus reverses all of that. i say the first will be last, the last will be first, when we're following the christ into ministry. we're following a man who cared about the people on the margins. look, what's happening right now isn't christianity. so let me just observe, not judge. is this christian? would jesus by on the side of a man who grabs women's body parts. this man as a loose -- call it an abuttive relationship with the truth, the same kind of relationship with the truth as he has with women, as he has with his property managers, as he's had with the american people. we have got to call foul every time we see the lying, from

what, from alternate facts, to strategic ambiguity. this is a liar in chief. >> i think we have reached a time where i grew up being frustrated that anytime you saw someone on the far right of clergy, tv news accepted those people as christians. one of the reasons why i love your show, you either had atheists or guys screaming at people outside clinics. >> i want to get kirsten in, we want the alternate view, obviously, because he does have a lot of support, let's listen to him doing his thing in front of this audience that obviously will be very receptive to it. >> i accepted this invitation a long time ago. i want to engineer are that i would be there. when i say something, i mean it. i want to thank president jerry

falwell and his incredible wife becky. stand up, becky, for their kind words, their steadfast support, and their really wonderful friendship. let me also extend our appreciation to the entire falwell family, trey, sarah, wesley, laura and caroline. thank you for everything you do to make this university so exception exceptional. most importantly to our new graduates, each of you should take immense pride in what you have achieved. there's another group of amazing people we want to celebrate today, and they are the ones who have made this journey possible for you, and you know who that is? nobody. you forgot already. you're going to go out and do whatever you're going to do. some will make a lot of money, some will be even happier doing

other things. they're your parents and your grandparents. don't forget them. you haven't forgotten yet? never, ever forget them. they're great. especially this weekend, let's make sure we give a really extra-special thanks to the moms. don't forget our moms. graduates today is your day, today is your day, but in all of this excitement, don't forgot that tomorrow is mother's day, right? i had a great mother. she's looking down now, but i had a great mother. i always loved mother's day. we're also deeply honored to be joined by some of the nearly 6,000 service members, military veterans and military spouses, who are receiving their diplomas today. will you please stand? please stand. wow. [ cheers and applause ]

that's great. thank you very much. great job. we're profoundly grateful to every single one of you who sacrifice to keep us safe and protect god's precious gift -- >> okay. he's just winding up. he started to say -- kristin, i want to get you in here. there's a lot of consternation that comes from these non-religious white religious white, where where is this hippy jesus? that you -- the sort of political conservative gospel. where is that? >> there's a lot of pressure and tension in the church right now. there's a lot of pressure to support president trump unequivocally. actually there was an interesting study recently that showed trump supporters in

churches where they felt like the poster wasn't supporter, they left, woulds iffing there congress gant that didn't support, but their pastor did, they didn't leave. >> what is it -- what are the policies that trump is putting forward that is the reason they support him? or is it race? is it the fact that he's not obama, they felt obama was some alien and he restores -- i don't want to put words in your mouth, but what is it that is causing people to want their pastors to support them. >> obviously the big issue was the supreme court justice nomination. insofar as that is concerned, he did a good job by them. the reactions are mixed insofar as the executive order for the johnson amendment. people don't feel that was a huge win, but especially in young churcheses. i attend a church in new york that's focused on the poor,

beings managesal in new york city, and i think you're seeing a trend among evangelicals who god burned over being very political. so the focus is how we can be admitting that the church has done things wrong, how do we show more humility and grace, that's not jerry falwell's stance at all, but he is more of a business leader than a thee t lodgian. >> ding ding. >> a lot of people are pushing forward on how they can have an impact. they're trying to step back. >> and you got an amen while here. while i'm not loathe to stop that, i don't want to pick on you, you're doing a great service being on the conservative -- >> i love kristin. >> is it unfair to ask is this about gays?

is it about gay marriage? is this about the advances of lbgt rights? how much of the support is believing he will roll that back? >> for older generations, that is definitely a factor. for younger generations it's not. there's a sincere generational divide in this, where young mill lennian christians feel like we should so love no matter what and older generations feet threatened. for those who grew up with the religious right there's a lot of conflation with patriotism and conservative. i think they're still holding on to that because of these fee the norms is being threatened. they feel as an oppressed group that donald trump is the powerful leader, but that obviously is not the case, because we don't know necessarily what his faith journey is like. we don't know if he can pull through on some of these promises. if he doesn't understand the

real basis of the christian faith, can he deliver on the fundamentals rather than just some of the power grabs? >> i first want to go to barry and sister simone. a similar version of the same question. how much of the religious community generally wants this country to be ruled essentially out of the text of the bible? that's part 1. part 2 being how much of this in your view is about abortion, believing at least if you have a republican president, you will get if not outlaud, as close to it as possible. >> joy, i think there is some linkage with abortion. what we met on the road this summer in the fall before the election was much more this idea of who is speaking for me. is somebody speaking for me among the white, both evangelical, the traditional roman catholic communities? a feeling of being outside and this idea of radical inclusion was not in their -- that they

weren't included. you had to be a special group to be included. and so what we heard from a number of white communities -- i remember this goo i in indianapolis, where he had tears in his eyes say he was part of america, too, and he thought trump included him, because he had seen him on reality television. it's the hunger for inclusion which i think is motivating, which has been manipulated as an abortion issue. quite frankly my tradition, the roman kate lick church is not just pro-blirt. it's broader than that, but it's been hijacked by a very political minority that has controlled it and influenced little sisters of the poor and a few others to stand up in ways that i don't believe were helpful. i'm going to go around the table and one more comment. barry lynn, on that same point, whether or not people genuinely want theocracy, want it ruled by the bible, or what sister simone

said as a white christian to be included in the special people that get attention. >> they certainly want to be included in the so-called special people. they view themselves as victims. i have to say i've spoken at the regent, the students there some spite of someone like me show up, the truth is i have never seen any big difference generationally. there's some generational difference. there are more people who are younger white evangelicals who are willing to say, well, i guess i could have a gay friend, but on issues of victimization, they believe the baker who won't bake a cake for a wedding of gay people, they believe the little sisters of the poor just a massive kind of chain of home care centers, it's not run entirely by sisters, it's run by

a lot of low paid women workers who are now being denied the coverage of contraception that they desperately need as low paid workers. i'm not buying kirsten's basis that they're all open -- >> not all, but there are a lost of christians outside liberty university, actually a lot more than inside liberty. that's a culture that exists in that school that doesn't exist everywhere else. >> i have a white guy at the table -- >> wow, an extremely white guy. >> albinos call my honky. >> you're bad. >> throughout my entire life, the white christians have been the special people. the idea that people don't feel special, because exactly eight years, there was a black man and there were, you gale marriage

was advancing, and trans-people were saying, can we go to the bathroom we want, because for eight years we've had conversations about race and immigration, for eight out of 240 years that people suddenly feel they are terminally victimized and have been marginalized and put to the side. >> persecution complex. >> that's not an american issue. it's a human issue, if you get yours, something is being taken from me. this whole notion that equal rights spoke someone else i will call special rights leads directly to this. i don't mind a government based on kris yap values if we're going by the values of christ for individuals and nations. you take care of the poor, you take care of the sick, you're kind to those in prison. we don't have that called for here. we've actually got a society where a reality show landlord gets to have the nuclear codes, because he convinced a lot of nice conservative people that he cared about abortion, which he does not. as a result, we see a guy who

actually paid $25 million in education fraud for ripping off tax-paying americans invited to speak at a university. right now irony is hanging itself in a cheap hotel. >> i feel like than assist impasse. if it's a zero-sum game and race will rule out even more than circumstance. we'll talk about it more than tomorrow. trump supporters aren't poor. they have jobs, they have money, they have property. >> that's right. >> they still feel they are being completely victimized. if it keeps coming back to race, where is the way you reblend the society or maybe it's just never been blended? >> i don't think it's ever been blended, but i think it's blending. i want to talk a little about hope. >> please do. >> liar in chief, okay, one giant phenomenon, and this disenfranchised woe is me white people thing. put that over there, but on the other hand there is a movement afoot, a movement of love and

justice that are sikh, buddhist, christian, beyond christian, van jones, big moyers, valerie core, sister simone. we're moving things together. i want to go quick, because trump is going after "new york times" now. >> let's come back to hope then. >> okay. >> late father theodore hessberg, the beloved president of the university of neat re dame, 35 years ago, like this school's founder, he was a truly kind-hearted man, of very, very deep faith. in the letter the father recalled that the meteoric rise to a national football powerhouse, and he wrote something so amazing and generous. he wrote, i think you are on the same trajectory now, and i want

to wish you all the best and encourage you from the starting and from being ability to start very small and arriving in the big time. thanks to hard work, great faith and incredible devotion, those dreams have come true. as of february of this year, the liberty flames are playing in the fbs, the highest level of competition in ncaa football. don't clap. that could be tough. don't clap. that could be tough. >> okay. never mind. i thought he was talking about "new york times." he talked about how "new york times" went after jerry falwell back in the day and now taking about the liberty football team. >> the beautiful, wonderful jerry falwell. >> i didn't want to cut that off. i'm sorry. >> we thought that was going to be good. >> we hoped hi would talk about misnewsworthy. >> what's happening all across the country are people are

responding in love against this crazy person in the white house. and also pulling together to do voters registration, to do women's rights, to stand up for trans and gale "people," my church is a multirasual, multieverything kto hear people talk about actions we can take to change our word. 50 thousands people, though, came online, why? because people are fed up. people understand there is something we can do, must do together, we must call foul every time we smell a lie. whites, blacks, latinos, asians standing together for immigration reform, for trans people, for lgbtq people. it's a multigenerational, multiracial movement. we do follow the news here on "am joy."

he's now reading the 2018 football schedule. he's letting you all know who will be paying who. but we know who jesus wants to win. >> that will preach, now. >> >> but this is the power, this is how it happens. he gives you nothing but we keep watching to see what offensive, vulgar things he will do and that's how all this air time happens. >> but why are we watching? we are we fascinated? >> let me go to you, barry. we have this requirement. we as a country have required presidents to perform this christian service, to show that demonstrate it by going to church and being seen going to church that trump doesn't do so is it slightly on us that we need this? >> no, i think it sand we haando

be very clear that there are outward trappings. i do know that he seems to have no external interest in any of the minority communities that we've been talking about. the thing that matters to these white evangelicals who voted for him of thespor supreme court. he knows if he gets another couple of appointments to the supreme court, they will reverse roe v. wade, they will give no transgender person in this country, a decent chance of beig a first class citizen, they will devow to the religion right and the hierarchy of the roman catholic church.

that's all he needs to achieve. and i believe the religious right knows him. and that's why grabbing genitals, making comments about the nature of immigrants from mexico, this doesn't bother the average white evangelical because they care about achieving success and the best and easiest way to achieve it is not through legislation, it's through the united states supreme court. >> they're in it for the long game. >> definitely more than democrats. they do think it through. i typically hate this question but i'm going to ask it. what's the limit? there are young women in the church, they can here he has a certain way of vulgarity, they watch the way he treats his wife, they watch the way he treats the other daughter that doesn't get the attention, they can see that, right? is there a line at which they say that's too much. >> i think that the line was

crossed during the lks campaiel campaign and a lot of christian woman who felt they could not necessarily support him. some still voted for him. a lot of young women felt like that was upsetting because them voting for him in the primary was obviously what led him to get to the final election in november. but, you know, i think that a lot of christians, too, feel that it is their job to pray for our president, to pray for our leaders and that whoever raises -- whoever god raises up to be president, whether it's donald trump or barack obama, that we are to pray for him and our leaders. >> do you think that people pray prayed for him? >> i think some did. we're talking about those in the

middle of the country, not on the coast, are responding to economic fear. the theological response, their faith response is similar to their response as it relates to the fear of their economic situation. i think it's important to understand. i will say, too, to piggyback on the or comment of what churches are doing, my church in new york city a couple of months ago did an event called civility in the bla public square and invited people to talk about how the church can address grievances and integrate more, come to the for common ground and listen with open ears but how do we truly respect each other in spite of differences. i'm also optimistic. >> i want to segue to the catholic church.

the catholic church is in this odd position of being the crux of a lot of the -- the catholic church in my community was all very pro-immigrant. they were the one that would shelter the immigrant, shelter the person who was threatened by deportation, they would shelter the poor. >> pope francis has lifted up the fact that we are a church who care for individuals and charity, but we also care for justice and working to the to hear the stories of everyone is how we build peace, both within our church and without. and the new appointments for leadership within the roman catholic church in the united states have evidenced a critical engagement of this caring for

the immigrant, working on these economic injustices in our nation and speaking up that we are called as people of fate to what we call at network mend the gaps, heal the incoming wealth disparity in our nation, which means getting involved in politics. we don't flee from politics but we're in poll titics not as politicians, we're in as policy to care for the hundred percent. >> there's so much in the gospels that speak to what would be bipartisan goals. >> there's christians and there's christian supremacists. christians want everyone to do well and christian supremacists want everyone to do well as long as they stay on top. you might be a christian s

supremaci supremacist, not -- >> i want to thank this panel. thank you all. >> happy mother's day. >> and if you're in new york city, you can check out john fugue fuguel sang next wednesday where here and other comedians will be roasting donald trump. and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine where it will take you. you get to do the dishes.ed... bring 'em on. dawn ultra has

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my dell small business advisor has gotten to know our business so well that is feels like he's a part of our team. with one phone call, he sets me up with tailored products and services. and when my advisor is focused on my tech, i can focus on my small business. ♪ ♪ it seems that since the election of number 45 every day is something different. every day there is a problem. every day there is a threat to our institutions and our democracy. >> this week a u.s. president made history, firing the fbi director who was leading one of the key investigations into what is arguably the biggest scandal

in american history, the possible collusion between the president's campaign and american's biggest foreign adversary, russia, which interfered in an american election, in part by hacking his opponents and searching for dirt. it's watergate on steroids. and washington's firing of james comey brought comparisons of the saturday night massacre. democrats are blasting trump calling his actions nixonian and their calls for a special prosecutor have grown louder for the day.

cassidy said trump acted like a des pit. it seems almost surprising that we were surprise when donald trump capped the week by threatening his former g-man, tweeting "james comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press." joining me is evan siegfried, tear a dow del, richard painter, former chief ethics lawyer in the george w. bush white house and democratic strategist jean pierre. the strategy here does not seem to make a whole lot of sense. donald trump on his way to liberty university was actually asked on air force one whether or not he could quickly replace the fbi director. do we have that? let's listen to what donald trump said to that.

>> almost all of them are very well known. they've been vetted over their life time, highly respected, really talented people. that's what we want for the fbi. that's what we want for the school. the way donald trump throws out an expectation almost instantaneously only to find out that congress exists. is this a situation where the republicans in senate will fasttrack whoever he puts up, no matter who they are? >> no, they won't put up who they are. we were talking about the house, a pack of wild dogs versus the senate's thinking. we'll have to look at what president trump has to do to restore confidence in this investigation. he has to pick somebody who is going to pass 100-1. i think jorn cornyn actually would have passed close to 100 but -- >> hasn't john cornyn

essentially cast doubt on the voracity of russian gate as a scandal? >> in terms of how there has been on the far left where they've been pushing a lot of conspiracy stuff. like paul ryan is also in on it and so is the janitor in the house and on the russian payroll. i think john cornyn would pass, he's very well respected and well liked and known as a studious man. >> ben rhodes, who was president obama's foreign policy adviser and speech writer wrote "this is not normal, this is not healthy for a democracy." james comey was in the midst of a ten-year term, can donald trump in that circumstance confirm anyone without a

protracted set of hearings? >> there is absolutely going to be a protracted set of hearings. there's no way around it at this point. the most damning evidence against donald trump right now is coming from donald trump. so that is not lost on people. so the senate, you know, the house as was moniesed, the house is a pack of wild dogs. the senate is a very different animal. they certainly have their wild ones, too, but it's a very different animal. and so the senate is going to have to behave differently. so i think donald trump's problem is that he still is becoming day by day a less and less popular president. if you're a senator, he doesn't have the political capital to really compel that much. >> and david, it isn't the sense that it's just a scandal, there's something about it's warping what american democracy is kind of supposed to be. i'm going to read your words back to you. you wrote "the first of the three articles of impeachment

filed by the house judiciary committee against nixon was for obstruction of justice. how can it be that donald trump seems to fit every single textbook definition of what richard nixon was impeached for, much of what bill clinton was impeached for and we're talking about the senate confirming his next fbi director rather than talking about him in terms of the house and impeachment? >> if you appeal obamacare and cut programs for the middle class and the poor, we'll stand by you because we're afraid of your base and they're going to go over the cliff with him if trump keep keeps going in this direction. the basic issue here is that russia intervened in our election with a covert

information warfare program to make donald trump or to help donald trump become president. it succeeded. donald trump has shown almost no regard for that as an issue and neither has john cornyn. so here's the guy who may become fbi and, you know, i disagree with evan here. it's not that he hasn't endorsed stupid conspiracy theories on the left, which is a nice way of diminishing the concern here, ev evan, it's that he himself hasn't shown any real serious degree of concern or worry about what's gone on here. you only have three senators who have done that and that's mccain, graham and rubio. byrd was dragged kicking and screaming into an investigation. here all these republican senators, paul ryan, mitch mcconnell, they do not care about what happened in this campaign so i would not pick any

one of them to be in charge of the investigation into what happened in this campaign. >> evan. >> respectfully david, myself and or conservatives, as well as republicans in the senate, we do wear what happened. we do want to get to the bottom of it. the senate intelligence committee is going out and doing a very deliberate job of getting to the bottom of it and i think it's very wrong to say the fringe part of the left that has embraced sort of the palmer report style conspiracy theories is somehow mainstream. >> i didn't say that. >> hold on because nobody is saying that. >> that's not the point. >> nobody's saying that. i don't think that you have to blow in every element of a donald trump -- i wrote about this in the "daily beast" to believe a foreign power interfering in our election is just in itself the biggest scandal -- >> and paul ryan calling for investigations after, they didn't do anything. they want to see this go away. >> exactly.

>> and they spend half the time in each of these hearings grilling whoever's in front them about leak, the things donald trump wants them to talk about, about unmasking and about hillary clinton's e-mails. even the ones being called heroic have shown zero inclination to push aggressively for action or for reigning this president in. has one of them done one thing? >> i would love for them to reign this president in but they're not showing profiles in courage. >> that's the point, that's the point. richard, you worked in a republican administration. you know how this is supposed to work. donald trump essentially seemed to threaten the former fbi director, firing the fbi director, threatening and then saying this, this is donald trump on fox news talking to janine pejan ine piro about whether he asked

for a loyalty oath, the day after he warned don mcgann that he could be compromised. >> i don't think it's inappropriate. >> did you ask that question? >> no, i didn't. but i don't think it would be a bad question to ask. i think loyalty to the country, loyalty to the united states is important. it depends how you define loyalty. >> in a tweet you said there might be tape recordings. >> i won't talk about that. all i want is for thome to omo honest. >> he's not refusing to comment on whether he threatened james comey. your thoughts. >> well, the loyalty oath that's important is the loyalty oath to the united states. i've been active in the republican party for 30 years. i'm a committed christian, i was involved in the christian ne fellowship bringing in speakers.

our political duty is not to the president if he's going to behave this way. i listened to that speech at liberty university. there's nothing that's american or christian about discriminating against mexicans and musmuslims, about participag in a white house coverup or t e treason or collaboration with the russians. i've had enough. republicans have to tell trump that's enough and to stop behaving this way. this would have been a fair comparison to the watergate if they had the kgb do this thing. >> they were both about trying to obtain dirt on the president or agents of the president. this is a foreign power.

we are seeing at least some movement. jim comey said he's willing to testify in public. he said he turned down the chance to do a closed door testimony but the hill is reporting he's willing to go publicly and testify. the national security reporter here for nbc news said that a source close to comey that he hopes there are tapes, thehe wo like to see tapes. >> i like donald trump going after the intelligence community, going after the fbi is a lost cause. he's going to lose in that battle. the fbi, they go after terrorists and mobsters. they're not intimidated by a president who has a twitter storm. and i think donald trump is going to learn very, very quickly that this is not like when he was back in his old job trying to get into the new york, you know, new york newspapers

back in the day. so it's unbelievable that he's doing this because he's actually going to lose. and i just want to add one more thing, which is that i agree with a lot ofs historians who say this is beyond nixonian. this is beyond that. what we're seeing is trumpian. he fired the fbi director because he was getting too close to the investigation. he was getting too close to the investigation. >> the fbi director turns out not to have stopped the entire show. paul manafort, the former trump adviser, his bank reports are being sought, you have the financial crimes monitor about to share records presumably with the senate committee on the probe. donald trump got this certified letter that said it proves he

has no ties to the russians, no debt with some exception. could we see them start to dig into trump's business dealings? >> it has to. we need an independent prosecutor. the fbi agents need someone they can trust and turn to. none of the political appointees in the justice department should be supervising that investigation. there needs to be an independent prosecutor. the house and the senate, we need the republicans to be actively involved in pushing to find out everything about the president's finances, about the contacts with the russians and the rest of it. and if they don't, they're going to be in big trouble with the voters because, once again, we

as americans put our commitment to our country before our party. and we have had enough. and this is a very dangerous situation. once again, it's much worse than the nixon this evening, which is just a bunch of bungling burglars with no tie to the russians or any foreign adversary. we have a russian advocate in charge for 18 days. >> richard painter and kareen jean pierre, thank you. >> happy mother's day. >> thank you. same to you. coming up, former nixon white house counsel john dean joins me next. he's hiding a card!

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welcome back to "a.m. joy." the woman sitting across in nixon in this oval office is rosemary woods, nixon's devoted personal secretary of 20 years. she became a household name when she initially took the blame for erasing the tapes that neixon made in his office using a secret recording system. here she is demonstrating the rosemary stretch. she claims she accidentally erased several of the tapes while stretching to answer the phone. ultima

ultimately the tapes did get in the hands of the fbi and the media. we all now how the story ended, ne nixon was ultimately forced to design. joining me is former counsel to richard nixon. welcome to the show. this is a frame i want to play back to you right now. >> i began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency and if the cancer was not removed, the president himself would be killed by it. >> so you said that famous phrase, looking young and spry in that photo, john dean. do you feel that we are at the cancer on the presidency stage with donald trump? >> it's not quite parallel at this point. what happened is that was late in the game. that was eight months into watergate after the arrest had occurred. nixon was not telling anybody

how deeply he was really involved. i didn't know and i was trying to warn him at that point that he'd better end this coverup or it was going to end his presidency. very frustrating. i think that's the morning i met richard nixon. he had an answer for every problem i raised and i now today know he was deeply involved in the coverup. >> you have, just to give people the context, you have basically the job that don mcgann has now. you would have been in the position of the guy that sally yates came to who said the guy you have as national security adviser is potentially subject to blackmail. if you were don mcgann, is that something you would walk right into the oval office and tell the president and vice president? >> it is and i'm sure that's what was done. the role of white house counsel

has changed somewhat because of watergate. and because of watergate, the american bar association set out a standard of model conduct and responsibility for lawyers and today it's clear the white house counsel doesn't represent the man who is in the oval office, it represents the office itself. and that's a little bit of a different relationship. so the white house counsel really is looking out for the well being of the the office of the president, not necessarily the man who occupies the office. >> there are a lot of differences, nixon's personal secretary that we talked about at the top. this is the position of somebody she seemed to know everything going on there but it was interesting they threw her under the bus. >> they never did find out exactly who did that. a friend of mine did some deep research, found the guy who was the original repairman for that machine, who said it was not possible for rosemary woods to have erased like she said.

but he was scheduled to testify. so it's a mystery that seems never to be solved. some of the other differences and i think you've been very careful for there not allowing these overbare restrictions. richard nixon didn't have the kgb -- interestingly enough, a tweet -- i'm sorry, president nixon never fired the director of the fbi. he did fire the guy who was investigating him, however. do you feel firing james comey is the equivalent justice that we saw with nixon? >> i don't. nixon also had the power to remove the special prosecutor. the difference being that archibald cox was doing things that deliberately the president

had asked he not do, in other words, stop pursuing the tape, don't go to court over the tapes. nexton wanted to protect his tape. comey has not been given any instruction to stop the investigation. in fact, trump said "i welcome the investigation." none of us believe that but there and its really the clumsiness of how it's being handled that made it reminiscent of watergate. i want to play a little bit of archibald cox. he held a press conference in 1973. we can hear him talk. this is him. >> what i see is principle, could be vanity. i hope not. in the end i decided at that i had to try to stick by what i thought was right. >> you know, it's interesting that that quote sounds like a

lot of what james comey could say. a lot of people see him as sort of self-serving. it's interesting that parallel between the sort of two people who see themselves as principled investigators. >> very very and knew their roles and were pursuing their roles. i don't think we've heard the end of comey. what's happened is trump has made him into a potential key witness. i mean, what happened at that dinner in january that trump now says he taped or hinted he papd and comey would like that tape out. >> he said he hopes there are tapes, through a friend. you wrote a book called "conservatives without conscience" where you talked about your own break of what the republican party of today has become. and james fallows, who was a young reporter different.

>> he said on the merits, this era's republican president has done more to justify the nation than this senate did. yet they have stuck with what do you make of what seems to be the incredible hesitancy of republicans in the house and nat to vigorously go after a what is to in the "atlantic." he was 24 years old at the time and all eye open in the polls this morning show that trump really is not ignoring his base and as a result, the republicans don't know quite what to do. they're not going to act until he starts losing his support,

which is remaining pretty steady. now how he's people can tolerate and accept whatever he does and the way he's doing it, i find pretty amazing. but until they work that out, he's got support slogs -- it's amazing. >> you look for heroes and you find often. chlkts john thank you. thank you very much. up next, a friendly reminder, republicans are still trying to destroy health care. stay with us. it's an important question you ask,

but one i think with a simple answer. we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. before fibromyalgia, i was a doer. i was active. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. woman: for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function,

so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. in case you missed it with everything else that's going on this week, republicans are still lying about what their health care bill does. >> i am trying to save a system so it continues to help you. that's all i can tell you. i'm trying -- i'm trying to make sure that medicaid is strong

enough to continue to help you. that's what we're trying to do is fix this system. >> you're currently getting your health insurance through medicaid. nothing's going to change. >> are you actually saying that 880 billion dollars in cuts according to the cbo, however you want to talk about that not being a cut, that that's actually not going to result in millions of americans not getting medicaid? >> absolutely not. >> so you don't think anyone's going to be hurt when you're taking $880 billion out of the system? >> no. no, i don't because i think the micromanagement of medicaid by the federal government -- the medicaid sm isnystem isn't work. >> let's be clear, cutting medicaid by 25%, $880 million will definitely have an effect on the people who rely on it.

at least one senator was honest. >> how does the public perception about what the house did -- well, the public wants every time. once you get them on the dole, that are going to take every dime you can. we have to find some way of getting them under control or your future is going to be gone. >> we won't know how much this thing cost or how many people lose coverage for another week or more. up next, attorney general jefferson sessions apparently thought the new jim crowe was a how-to guide for running the d.o.j. do you play? ♪ ♪ use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before.

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enforcement of the laws as passed by congress, plain and simple. if you are a drug trafficker, we will not look the other way, we will not be willfully blind to your mis conduconduct. >> some alarming developments. attorney general jeff sessions is now seeking tougher punishment for drug crimes, sending a memo directing all 94 u.s. attorneys office to charge drug defendants with the most serious crimes possible, which carry the most severe penalties. it's a stunning reversal of obama era policy. sessions is making this move now, he says, to try to combat what he says is an increase in violence. so, cherilyn, on this memo -- so much we could talk about with jeff sessions but eric holder back in 2013 issued a memo that called on u.s. attorney's

offices to avoid charging certain offenders that had long minimums, trying to reduce the federal prison population. here's what sessions has revised that with. he calls it a core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense, any inconsistent previous policy by the department of justice is now rescinded effective immediately. >> this is really simple. smart on crime. you and i would probably think this was smart. you've got a whole array of people you can prosecute. you want the person who is the most dangerous, engaged in the most serious drug crimes and you want to target those areas that are seeing the most serious drug crime. that's smart on crime, eric holder's 2013 memo. let's take our resources and put them there. let's not overcharge but let's

focus on those who are the most dangerous. not so smart, jeff session's memo from yesterday is let's take every single person that we're charging, every drug defendant, no matter what their background, no what their level of involvement and charge them with the most serious offense we can charge them with thus leading with that person going into jail on these mandatory minimum penalties that keeps them in jail for a long time, it calls the taxpayers money holding somebody for a long time who is not a serious threat for society and it moves resources away from where they belong, the people who are the most serious criminals. >> eric holder responded by tweet. he said the policy is not tough on crime, it's dumb on crime. this has not only been discredited but have been relegated to the fringes of debate. it's this fringe idea that there's this massive crime wave

by drug -- >> this is the ashcroft edict back in 2004. yesterday the new president of the national association of district attorney said i don't think we're at the state level going back to this. most prosecutors recognize mandatory minimums are not the way. we have a situation in which the federal government was leading the way in setting the example for states. now the states are saying, federal government, you got it wrong. we're in the going back to something that's already been business credited and doesn't work. >> david corn, this strikes me as something that is a particular obsession of jefferson sessions who once said the only time he turned against the klan is when he heard that they smoked weed, he was

obsessed with marijuana. is jeff sessions obsessed with his own obsessions. >> we'd seen bipartisan movement with republicans and democrats talking about justice reform and dealing with the mass incarceration which disproportionately affects african-american men. even trump talked about this when he said to the black community, what do you got to lose? we've seen a lot what they've got to lose in the last couple of months. sessions is swimming against that tide and seems to be exerting his power the same way, this same week he violated his own recusal by participating in the firing of jim comey when he said he wouldn't have anything to do with the russian investigations, he helped can the guy in charge of it. so he does seeming to really consolidating power at the justice department for no good end. >> and in a very specific way.

he either is just indulging his obsessions or some private prison interest and they're going to enrich him or this is about a kind of trolling of people of color that is common in your party. jefferson sessions amade the turmoil he's facing now on russiangate took the time out to be honored by a police union boss in new york, a guy named edward mullens. he's been called crazy eddie by the former nypd commissioner. this is a guy who objected to the eric garner settlement, who said it was a travesty, who walked out when police had to admit that they beat a 60-something-year-old man and they had to settle, he walked out and called that a travesty. he objected to beyonce's performance at the super bowl. this is an extremist and jeff

sessions proudly stands next to him. >> unlike the prior segment, i think david is 100% right. the criminal justice reform is very important. if you look, trump voters want it. 81% of trump voters according to a charles h. koch study that came out, 81% are in favor of justice reform, and they're in favor of forfeiture laws and 63% are in favor of judicial discretion to avoid these mandatory minimums. we need to be tough on crime butbut we have to be smart on crime. this is not it. when we have murderers and rapists getting less time in prison because of what's going on in terms of our criminal

justice system, that's wrong. and what's also wrong is where jeff sessions in his press session announced this, he said we don't need washington micromanaging, which is why i'm telling everyone what to do. >> you raised a good point. brock turner got three months in prison for violently raping a woman. meanwhile nonviolence drug offenders who are incarcerated for decades right now. i'm going to deviate from everyone on this panel and i believe the war on drugs and the way jeff sessions wants to prosecute it is a war on the african-american community. we know when prosecutors have discretion, that the sentences, the way they go after drug offenders is very different if they're african-american versus whether they're any other group in this country. this is dangerous and people need to understand jeff sessions

single handedly led the charge to block the very bipartisan criminal justice reform that was sought in the senate. >> and immigration reform. i would be remiss, i have the great cherilyn in front of me. i'm going to ask you quickly, the ldf is involved in fictional voter fraud. >> jeff sessions prosecuted our clients unsuccessfully for voter fraud. this is something we talked about when he was nominated for this position. the president created as co chairs -- we truly believe that this is essentially an effort to nationalize something that has been on the fringe and create a

national voter intimidation plan against african-americans and latinos. we filed a foia request. senator mcconnell said no federal funds should go for this investigation. we've filed foias for the secretary of state of kansas. we'll be all over this. >> and i believe we'll have a member of your team tomorrow to talk about this more. not on the federal side but on the state side, if you go to prison on a state marijuana charge, you also lose your right to vote. it's pulling people not just out of society, out of their families and communities and away from the economic life of their community, in a lot of cases, it's disenfranchising them as well. up next, spicer on the loose!

melissa mccarthy style. stay with us. hey, the future, what's her problem? apparently, i kept her up all night. she said the future freaks her out. how come no one likes me, jim? intel does! just think of everything intel's doing right now with artificial intelligence. and pretty soon ai is going to help executives like her see trends to stay ahead of her competition. no more sleepless nights. - we're going to be friends! - i'm sorry about this. don't be embarrassed of me, jim. i'm getting excited about this! we know the future. we're going to be friends! because we're building it.

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built for business. all right. it is time to find out who won the week. back with me now, before we do that college football did win the week, at least today, because donald trump used his liberty university commencement address instead of talking about the students or giving them a charge for their future to say things like this. >> just wait until the world

hears the football teams you'll be playing on your schedule starting next season. president falwell gave me a list of some of those schools, the ones you're going to be playing 2018. would you like me to read the names? just came out. would you like to hear them? i'm a little bit concerned. umass, virginia, auburn -- jerry, are you sure you know what you're doing? >> so here's the thing, donald trump, the president of the united states, those kids were graduating, so they're not going to be there when that happens and you're telling them about things they're not going to be there for anymore. presumably they'll be at their jobs or graduate school. so telling them who they were going to be -- never mind. your thoughts. >> you have nothing to fear but fear itself. ask not what your country can do for you. and here is your 2018 football schedule. that is just inspiring. >> yes. i'm inspired. >> i just can't -- i thought he

had the best words and i'm very let down. >> he has a very good brain. did anybody win the week this week? >> i think james comey won the week because on october 28th he lost every friend he had and they said in washington get a dog if you want a friend. >> now everyone loves him. >> we do have a major loser and that's congressional republicans both in the house and senate because there were a lot of republicans who became very uncomfortable with what the president did with gyms comey trying to impede or intervene in the investigation of russia, and they didn't stand up. i am disappointed for them not standing up saying this is wrong and we must have an investigation. >> we talked a little bit after the last break and you were saying even if they do a hearing for the fbi director and it's protracted, it may not be real. >> i think the democrats will make it protracted and the republicans need to put on a show in the senate. their goal is to give the impression that they have some concern about russia-gate when

they don't at all, as we know. but they have to put on a show and they're going to use that show to try to actually talk about leaks, like you said, deflect and do things like you want to do. mitch mcconnell's wife works for the administration. she's a member of his cabinet. he's already compromised by definition on that alone. >> anybody win the week? >> i would say lester holt for getting donald trump to indict himself on national television. >> he's a calm interviewer but comes across as so nonpartisan and down the middle he doesn't seem hostile to donald trump at all and so donald trump opened up to him and told him, yeah, i did it because i don't want russia-gate anymore. he indicted himself. >> committed to the crime. >> i'm guilty. would you like some nice chocolate cake? >> i'm tempted to say james comey, too. i think being fired by donald trump is a good career move. i'm going with sally yates. we kind of forget that was how the week started.

she testified before a senate subcommittee. she was firm. she was steady. she indicted the whole white house from michael flynn to pence to donald trump to the whole communications team, and i think it was, in some ways, for donald trump the final straw against comey. it was the next day that he fired comey. he saw sally yates' testimony. kept the story alive. the old story is true, revenge is a dish best served cold. sally yates got the better of donald trump this week. >> she absolutely did. sally yates and jim comey have been made political stars. unfortunately, i think the person who woman the week was russian intelligence. they managed to get into the oval office, they duped the entire white house staff, got in there with all their electronic

equipment. it was embarrassing for our country, but they won the week, unfortunately. the american people lost. happy 67th birthday to stevie wonder. you always win every week. one of the greatest performances. that is our show for today. we'll be back tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern. keep it here on msnbc for the rest of your saturday. get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority boarding... and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine where it will take you.

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stay ahead of ibs-d with viberzi. oscar mawe went back toig the drawing board... and the cutting board. we removed the added nitrates and nitrites, by-products, and artificial preservatives in all of our meat. every. single. one. why? for the love of hot dogs. you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me.

you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom, i'm taking the subaru. don't be late. even when we're not there to keep them safe, our subaru outback will be. (vo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. good day, everyone. i'm alex witt here in new york where it is high noon here in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. we begin with breaking news. moments ago president trump wrapping up his first commencement address as president at liberty university in virginia. but on the plane heading to that event the president making some headlines telling members of the press about his time line for nominating a new fbi director. the very latest on the president's address in a moment. but first let's get to